#this is old as hell i just feel sick n sooky

[bloosemood]

am I just going through the motions or is this how I'll be?

[alonely-dreamer]

The Valuable Sun | Chapter 2

Summary: Brooklynne Stackhouse is Sookie and Jason Stackhouse’s little sister. Like her older sibling, she is a telepath, but her powers are far more stronger and far more uncontrollable than her sister’s. After a series of murders in Bon Temps, Sookie takes it upon herself to investigate, taking her younger sister with her in a club called Fangtasia, where they meet vampire and sheriff Eric Northman.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+ (language, violence, blood, mention of sexual assault)

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 6479

Schedule: A new chapter will be posted every Monday. Chapter 3 to 8 are available on my Patreon for early and instant access.

Masterlist

Chapter 1

Sitting at the table in the kitchen, Brooklynne couldn’t look away from the floor. It was clean now, Sookie had made sure all the blood was washed away as soon as the police had gone. But Brooklynne could still see it, as if it were still there, as if it couldn’t be washed away, as if it would always be there and nothing could make it go away. And in a way, nothing could, because nothing and no one could bring back Adele Stackhouse to life.

It was odd for both Stackhouses to stand in the kitchen knowing their grandmother would never stand there again with them. It was hard for Brooklynne to imagine a life without her grandmother. She had raised her, taken care of her, kept her secrets. And now she was alone. Sookie and Jason had a life to get back to. She didn’t.

Neither sisters had talked to their brother ever since that night. The last time they saw him was at the church, when Bill was speaking at the “Descendants of the Glorious Dead” meeting. It angered Sookie, but Brooklynne couldn’t even think about it. Her mind wasn’t her own. Especially not now that a crowd of strangers/neighbors/friends had gathered in her house to pay their respect to Adele Stackhouse.

Food was piling up on the table. With each plate came apologies, condolences, tears… Everything that people were supposed to say and that nobody wanted to hear. Fortunately for Brooklynne, people usually ignored her. They knew it was useless to even try talking to her as she never seemed to hear them, or listen to them. But unfortunately, she did hear them, though she wished she could stop listening. For most people who stepped inside her house just wanted to see where it had happened, trying to find a speck of blood, waiting for Sookie to lose it, to do something weird and freaky. They were all convinced that she had done it. Murdered her own grandmother. Why? Because she was a freak. And that was what freaks did. They killed people. Didn’t matter if it didn’t make sense, if it were their own flesh and blood, their only parent left. Brooklynne heard it all. How it was Sookie who must have done it and not her because she was too ‘retarded’ to be violent. She wasn’t a freak like her sister, no, she was retarded, stupid, crazy, etc. She was too much of a moron to kill someone. Brooklynne didn’t care. Maybe it was because she had been called that her entire life. Maybe it was because she just didn’t care what other people thought of her. It didn’t make her angry or sad. It was how it was. People sucked. And she knew that. Any telepath knew that. They heard things people thought and didn’t say aloud because it was too horrible, because it was easier to lie, because they were hypocrites. She heard things even terrible people wouldn’t dare say aloud. And now, these people were in her house. Judging her, judging her sister, when they had no idea what had really happened. Like flies attracted to garbage. They lived for it. The gossip. The gore. The feeling of being superior to someone else. Easier for Brooklynne to ignore them all.

At some point in the morning, Tara had dragged her and Sookie upstairs after the older sister had yelled at Maxine Fortenberry for touching what was left of her gran’s last pie. But even in Sookie’s bedroom, Brooklynne could still hear every single one of their horrible thoughts. They mixed together, becoming one big headache.

It all disappeared in an instant however, when her brother entered the bedroom suddenly. The door swung open, startling all three of them. Sookie stood on her feet to greet him but she barely had the time to say a word that he slapped her hard across the face, making her fall over on her bed. Brooklynne gasped, not only because of the violence of his action, but because of the violence of his thoughts.

“What the fuck?!” Tara shouted as she got off the bed to push him away.

“It’s your fault!” he yelled. “Gran is dead because of you. It should have been you!”

“Bitch, don’t you lay a hand on her!” Tara stopped him as he tried to take a step forward.

“She’s screwing a vampire, Tara. A fucking vampire!” he growled, making Brooklynne jump.

“Yeah, well, that vampire was there for her when you weren’t! You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Is that how your grandma raised you? To beat on your own sister? Look at you! I don’t even recognize you anymore. Get the hell out of here! Get out!” she yelled at him, pushing him out of the room, slamming the door in his face. “You okay?” she asked both sisters as she returned to the bed.

Brooklynne could hear Sookie think Jason was right. That it was her fault somehow. That the killer hadn’t been there for Adele, but for her. Because, like Maudette and Dawn, she had been with a vampire, and, unlike them, she wasn’t shy about it. Because she had brought Bill to Adele’s life and that if it hadn’t been for her, her grandmother would have never met Bill, and she wouldn’t have invited him to host a meeting, and she would still be alive.

“It’s not your fault,” Brooklynne told her, uttering her first words of the day.

Her sister didn’t reply.

***

Tara had kicked everyone out of the house tactlessly. Nothing Tara did was tactful. But at least it was efficient. She and Lafayette had been kind enough to stay over. They cleaned, took care of all the food, made sure both Sookie and Brooke were doing okay.

Neither women were ready for the funeral. Especially not Brooklynne. She didn’t do well in public. She’d have to hear all of the terrible thoughts of whoever was going to show up. And she’d have to say goodbye to her grandmother for good. She wasn’t ready for that at all.

Sitting between Jason and Sookie, Brooklynne tried to focus on the red-headed woman who was singing before them. Jason looked sick and was sweating profusely on his chair. She knew why. All he could think about was getting more ‘V’. Vampire blood. What an idiot. He was sweating for drugs at his grandmother’s funeral. How could he somehow be worse off than her?

But that stopped to be true as a young man showed up in the cemetery, pushing an old man in a wheelchair towards them. Brooklynne straightened up as she saw him approach them, approach her. She seized Sookie’s hand who squeezed it almost immediately. Her sister wasn’t happy to see him either, in fact, they were both uncomfortable and scared. Not because their safety was at risk in any way, but because his presence brought back memories for them both. Memories they wished would stay buried forever.

The young man positioned their uncle Bartlett next to Jason and Sookie stared at him with disgust. Brooklynne couldn’t even look at the old man.

“What are you doing here?” the waitress asked.

“She was my sister,” he replied with a tired voice.

“You haven’t been part of this family in a long time.”

“Sook, come on,” Jason stopped her. “Give the guy a break.”

His sister gave him a dark look but said nothing. Brooklynne tried as hard as she could to stay out of his mind, of anyone else’s mind, but all she could see and hear were old memories she wanted to bury again. She got up suddenly, well aware of all the pairs of eyes on her, exited the cemetery, then ran back home. The voices faded away as the cemetery disappeared behind her. The house wasn’t far away, in fact, it was very close. She entered her empty home, walked up the stairs, stepped in her bedroom and lay down on her bed where she fell asleep for the rest of the day.

***

Days passed, and even though Jason still hadn’t apologized for slapping Sookie, he came by from time to time to eat their food and steal some silverware. Brooklynne knew why he needed the money, though she hadn’t told Sookie yet. She was waiting, perhaps foolishly, for her brother to sober up and stop being an idiot. But it didn’t look like it was going to happen any time soon.

She heard him come in one night. She was in her bedroom, reading one of her grandmother’s bad romance novels, when his thoughts invaded her own. He was going through drawers, looking under the armchairs and the couches, in between cushions and pillows, hoping to find some cash. He was desperate. He needed V and he needed it now. As he grew more miserable by the minute, he made a decision that Brooklynne knew he’d come to regret, and probably with his life. He exited the house with a destination in mind, a club Brooklynne had been before, somewhere she knew he would find what he was looking for, but he would also find something else, something he wasn’t ready for. And neither was she. She had just lost her grandmother, she couldn’t let her big brother get himself killed like the junkie idiot that he was.

She called a taxi as soon as he left. When she arrived at Fangtasia, she saw her brother’s truck was already there, but she couldn’t see nor him anywhere. He was probably already inside. She paid the driver then walked through the crowd of vampires, ignoring them as they looked at her like she was their next meal. She didn’t know if it would be scarier to hear what they’d like to do to her or if it were better she didn’t.

When she reached the entrance, she found Pam blocking the door. The vampire looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes slowly moved from her face to her feet, then back up to her eyes. Brooklynne would have felt self-conscious if she had cared. She was wearing a knee-length dark blue dress with long sleeves, nothing fancy, and a headband of the same color, but it didn’t stop strands of blond hair from falling across her face. She was the complete opposite of the vampire who was wearing a black short dress with a very revealing cleavage, as much makeup as she had the last time, with a dark red lipstick and colored cheeks.

“Look who’s back,” Pam said in her usual uninterested tone. “What’s the little lamb doing here on her own?”

“I’m looking for my brother,” she replied, and the lack of fear in her voice surprised the vampire. “Have you seen him?”

“Jason Stackhouse? Tall, blond, cute idiot?”

“That’s him.”

“Yeah I saw him.”

Brooklynne waited for the vampire to tell her where he was and what she knew but Pam stayed silent.

“Um… is he inside?”

“Do you know your brother’s looking for vampire blood?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here.”

“To do what, exactly?”

“Send him home.”

Pam smiled as if she were amused. “He didn’t look like he’d go anywhere without what he’s looking for.”

“I’m extremely persuasive.”

“Good for you,” she said as she stepped aside. “Have fun inside.”

Brooke nodded. “Thanks.”

She felt Pam’s eyes on her until she got inside. It was as dark, loud and chaotic as it had been the first time. Somehow, she had felt better outside with the vampires. A crowd of humans was scarier to her than any crowd of undead people. She looked around, trying to find her tall, blond cute, idiot of a brother. It took her a minute or two, but she eventually found him in the middle of the crowd, being dragged away from the bar by a woman she had never met. She made their way to them.

“Jason!”

His eyes grew big as he saw his little sister walk towards him. “Brooke? What the fuck are you doing here?”

She didn’t reply but she wanted to. Formulating the words were difficult. She had to pick them from her mind but there were too many unwanted thoughts in there at the moment.

“Brooke, hey,” Jason waved a hand in front of her eyes, “stay with me!”

“You need to leave,” she told him quickly before she would be unable to do so.

“I need to leave? I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to leave the house alone! Does Sookie know you’re here?”

“No, just like she doesn’t know why you’ve been stealing from Gran and why you’re sweating like you just ran 10 miles!”

“Whoever that is is right,” the woman he was with said, “You’re going to get yourself killed if you keep at it.”

“That’s my sister, Brooke, and who the fuck are you?”

“Jason!” Brooke called her brother’s attention once more. “Go home and don’t come back.”

As soon as she said it, he started to walk away. He didn’t say anything or do anything else, he just did as she asked. The stranger gave a weird look to Brooke before she followed Jason out of the club. Brooke wanted to stop her, but some nasty thoughts and images appeared in her mind, making her jump and lose focus. She brought a hand to her head, then took a deep breath. It was dangerous for her to be alone, especially in a crowd. She could lose focus so easily and end up somewhere without knowing how or without any way to go home.

She turned around, looking for the door, but the noise blinded her. Someone was angry, someone was sad, someone wanted something they couldn’t get. Most people were drunk, some were high, it didn’t make a difference. She could hear them all. She moved, not knowing where she was going, trying to step away, to get as far from the noise as she could. But as soon as she took a step, she bumped into someone. Someone tall and strong. Someone who hadn’t been there a second ago. Someone empty.

“Well, hello there.”

She looked up to see Eric smirking down at her. He looked amused. She didn’t feel like smiling back. She looked around, looking for an exit, ignoring, or forgetting, the vampire. She tried to step away, but he stopped her, placing a hand on her arm.

“Miss Stackhouse, are you drunk?” he asked mockingly.

“No,” she answered, still looking for an exit.

“Why don’t you come with me? I’m feeling a little lonely up there on my own,” he said, gesturing towards the stage where three seats were waiting for them.

She exhaled, trying to focus, but it was just too loud. The music wasn’t helping either.

“I can’t hear you,” she said, and she didn’t mean it like he understood it.

Usually, when people touched her, or when she touched people, it made their thoughts louder and clearer, easier to focus on. But he was different. She couldn’t hear anything from him but silence. She put a hand over his and focused on his empty mind.

But as soon as she took his hand, he moved. One second, they were standing in the middle of the club, and the next, he was sitting on his ‘throne’ and she was on his lap.

She gasped as she felt the movement. Her left hand went to rest on his right shoulder as her right shoulder collided with his chest. She thought she heard him laugh.

“I’m surprised to see you here alone,” he said with a silky voice.

She looked up at him with wild eyes and saw him smirk. The voices were going away, some stayed longer and louder, others were already gone. She tried to focus and remember what he had just told her so that she could give him an answer.

“Wh- what?”

“Mr. Compton and your sister are nowhere to be found.”

“Sookie’s at work,” she replied, though she didn’t know why she’d answer any of his questions. She probably wasn’t safe here alone. Especially on his lap, not when he was looking at her like she was his dinner.

“What did you do to get your brother to leave?”

“I just asked him,” she shrugged as she looked down, hoping he’d buy her lie, then prided herself for lying. She wasn’t used to lying, it was hard to come up with lies when it was hard to think.

“I know a V addict when I see one. They can’t be persuaded away so easily. It was as if… you glamoured him,” he said, his right hand running up her bare leg slowly, sending shivers down her spine.

“I can’t glamour people, I’m not a vampire.”

“Well, you obviously did something.”

She straightened up as she put a hand over his as it reached her knee. His touch had set off an alarm inside her head. “Don’t,” she stopped him. “Please,” she continued in a trembling whisper.

“I may be a vampire,” he said, removing his hand from her knee and taking her chin in his fingers, making her look up at him, “but I’m not that cruel.”

She breathed a sigh of relief then looked away once again as she felt a wave of shame take over her. His hand returned to her leg, beneath her knee. She felt his other hand move above her waist.

“Bad luck with men?”

She frowned. She didn’t have the clarity of mind to wonder why he’d ask such a thing or why he’d think she’d want to talk about it. She shook her head. “When I was younger,” she said. “A long time ago.”

“And what happened to them?”

“Him,” she corrected him, “and nothing.”

“What a shame,” he sighed, “I’d have made him pay.”

She ignored him and looked at the crowd before them, most people were looking at her. Her cheeks turned red as she saw herself in those people’s minds and tried to shut out the horrible things they were thinking. She failed. She looked away and decided to stare at his black shirt instead, focusing on the silence in his mind.

“What do you want from me?” she asked as she started to play with one of the buttons of his shirt.

He raised an eyebrow as she unbuttoned and buttoned it over and over again.

“Just a little fun… And for you to tell me how you knew about the undercover cop the other night.”

“I can’t tell you that. Sookie will be mad.”

“Sookie doesn’t have to know.”

She shook her head and let go of the button.

“Maybe I can guess,” he said. “Stop me if I’m right.”

She considered it, then nodded.

“You’re a mind reader.”

She looked up at him with big eyes, wondering how he knew. He laughed.

“Wasn’t hard to figure out.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“I wanted to see if you’d lie to me. Again.”

She frowned. She should leave now before she said too much.

“Now, tell me. How did you make your brother leave?”

She gave him a worried look, then looked around, wondering if other vampires could hear them talk.

“Don’t worry. They’re not listening. They’re too busy trying to find something to eat.”

“I shouldn’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know you.”

“I can keep a secret,” he grinned playfully. “Can’t you read my mind?”

“No,” she said which surprised him. “We can’t hear vampires’ thoughts.”

“Interesting. How frustrating it must be for you,” he smirked.

She chuckled. “Not really. I can’t control it like Sookie can. And even she can’t really control it either. I think that’s why she likes Bill so much. It must be nice to be with someone and just… enjoy the silence.”

“And are you? Enjoying the silence?” he asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“It’s…” she started to say but then got distracted again. Her eyes moved up to the ceiling then slowly down at the crowd. She shivered. “What?”

“I was asking you if you were enjoying the silence. I guess not.”

“It’s complicated. But it’s easier.”

“I make it easier?”

“Yes. It’s like… instead of your thoughts invading mine, it’s just silence taking over.”

“Well I’m happy to be of service,” he joked. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

She started playing with a lock of her hair. “What question?” she asked, and he wondered if she was doing it on purpose or if she had really forgotten.

“It can’t be easy, having all of these thoughts in your head. Is that why you’re not supposed to leave your house?”

She didn’t even ask herself how he knew that. She was in a state of mind in between distracted and focused. She could hear what he was asking but wouldn’t be able to stop herself from answering any questions she shouldn’t.

“Yes, I get distracted.”

“How did you get here?”

“I took a taxi.”

“Can’t you drive?”

“I’m not allowed to drive.”

“Because you can’t focus.”

She nodded.

“How did you make your brother leave?”

“I told him to.”

“But why did he listen?”

“Because I told him to.”

“Did you glamour him?”

“No.”

“Then how did you make him do it?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just did.”

“Do you do that often?”

“Sometimes.”

“What else can you do?”

She shrugged. She never talked about that, not even with Sookie. Her sister knew what she could do and even they didn’t talk about it.

“Can your sister glamour people too?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t know. We’re different. It’s not as loud for her.”

“What are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you human?”

“I think so.”

“Are your parents human?”

“My parents are dead.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and she laughed. “What’s so funny?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because I lost my parents too, and I know how it feels.”

She looked up at him, finally. She hadn’t expected an honest answer. She locked her eyes with his, like she’d do if she were trying to read someone’s mind. But all she found there was his ice blue eyes and silence.

“My turn.”

“Your turn?”

“To ask questions.”

He laughed. “Okay,” he agreed, amused and curious to find out what she wanted to know.

“How old are you?”

“I’m over a thousand years old.”

“You’re a thousand years old?” she repeated in disbelief. “Have you seen the whole world?”

“Most of it,” he nodded.

“Have you met kings and queens?”

“Some. And some princesses,” he grinned smugly.

“Are you from Sweden?”

“I am.”

“Is Pam your girlfriend?”

He chuckled. “No. She’s my progeny.”

“What does that mean?”

“I made her.”

“You made her a vampire?”

“Yes.”

“How old is she?”

“I wouldn’t ask her that if I were you,” he chuckled.

“I didn’t ask her.”

He smirked, then considered answering. “She’s over a hundred and thirty years old.”

“What’s a sheriff?”

“As vampires we answer to the Authority. As sheriff my job is to make sure the vampires in my area are safe and are following the rules.”

“How long have you been a sheriff?”

“Twenty years.”

“Do you like it?”

“It has its moments.”

She was about to ask another question, but he interrupted her.

“My turn,” he said, moving his legs so that she’d slid between him and the arm of the chair. He caught her with his hand, making sure she wouldn’t fall, and leaned forward so that his face was inches from hers. She shivered as she felt his cold breath on her face. “Would you like to be mine?”

“I… I don’t know what that means.”

“It means…” he started, settling her back on his lap. “That you’d be under my protection. You’d be my human and no one else would be allowed to touch you. Or feed from you.”

“Feed? Why would I want to do that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” he gave her an arrogant smile.

“How many humans do you have?”

“I don’t collect them,” he told her, amused by her question, “I don’t usually surround myself with humans. But you… I would like to have you.”

“Why?” she asked. She was at a complete lost as to why anyone would want to ‘have her’.

“Because I find you interesting, Miss Stackhouse. You are valuable.”

“So, you want to own me?”

He breathed out a laugh. “I won’t harm you. Or do anything you don’t want me to.”

“What if I don’t want you to feed from me?”

“Then I won’t.”

She frowned. What would be the point then?

“And if I’m yours, and you don’t have anyone else, then does that make you mine?”

He laughed. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“Why not?”

“We’re vampires. We don’t belong to anyone but our makers.”

“That doesn’t seem very fair.”

“Are you negotiating with me?” he asked. He hadn’t expected her to ask so many questions.

“No. I’m just saying. Sookie is Bill’s and if Bill isn’t Sookie’s then that’s not fair.”

“You don’t understand. It’s a way to tell our kind that you are under the protection of another vampire. It’s a way to keep you safe.”

“I don’t really need protection.”

“Oh, but you do, Miss Stackhouse. Someone with your… abilities, is very valuable. Besides… you and your sister have… very distinct smells.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means you stand out, and not in a safe way. You smell better than most humans. In truth, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who smelled as good as you.”

She looked at him, really looked at him, trying to see if he was trying to trick her, if he was lying, if he had some bad intentions. But the silence she found in his head didn’t help answer her questions.

“Vill du ha ett nytt husdjur till din djurpark?” (Do you want another pet for your zoo?)

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t call you a pet, exactly.”

She considered it. She didn’t want to say yes, but she didn’t want to say no either.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Please do.”

“I should go now.” She was tired. The noise was exhausting her. Even now that she was on his lap, touching him, the voices wouldn’t go away.

“Leaving so soon?” he said, as if he were disappointed, but didn’t try to stop her.

“If I’m not home when Sookie comes back from work, she’ll be worried,” she told him as she got up. As soon as she was away from him, the voices became louder. She tried to focus and keep them away long enough for her to make it to the door. She wondered if she’d make it.

“I look forward to seeing you again,” Eric said with what could have been a threatening tone, and she didn’t want to tell him that she did too.

She gave him an awkward and shy smile before she turned around. She tried to ignore the feeling of his eyes on her as he watched her walk away. She had to concentrate. She made her way to the crowd, trying not to lose focus. But she had barely made it into the pool of people that she had already forgotten about Eric and lost her way. She kept walking, though not really knowing where she was going. A shirtless woman appeared before her, dark tape covering her breasts. She had short black hair, it looked like a wig, and she was wearing a very short black skirt and very high black heels.

“Hi honey,” she said but Brooke didn’t hear her. “Can I buy you a drink?”

Brooklynne was confused. A voice in her head was crying, another was shouting, someone was very angry and sad, or maybe it was two people and one was angry and the other was sad. She couldn’t tell. Someone wanted V, someone else wanted another drink. Most people were looking for someone to have sex with in the bathroom. Some of them were even looking for vampires to feed from them. She turned around, away from the woman whose presence she hadn’t acknowledged, and stepped away. She brought a hand to her head. She didn’t know where she was. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do.

She barely felt the cold hand that came to rest on her shoulder and didn’t resist when the person dragged her away. She walked through the crowd and exited the club, shivering as the cold night came in contact with her body.

“Brooklynne?” a voice called. “Brooklynne.”

Someone snapped their fingers and startled her, bringing her back to reality. Eric was standing in front of her, waiting for her to reply.

“What? What?” she asked as she looked around. She recognized the parking lot of the club. She was out, the voices were less loud, but they were still there.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t need protection? I could have been anyone. A vampire dragging you out to drain your blood and leave you for dead in the alley.”

“I’d do her. I’d do her good. Teach that fangbanger what a real man feels like, and she’d never go back to those bloodsuckers.”

She ignored Eric and stared at the man smoking a few feet away from them. He was wearing a pair of old, used and dirty jeans with holes in them. Muddy shoes, a khaki shirt and a black leather jacket. He looked old though he couldn’t have been older than 35. His hair was brown, though clean and with a little light they’d probably be blond. He was staring at her. She was staring back.

“What is he thinking?” Eric asked.

She looked up at the vampire, finally acknowledging his presence.

“What did you say?”

“I asked what he was thinking.”

“No, before that.”

“I said you need protection. You couldn’t even leave the club without getting lost.”

“I’m not supposed to be here,” she said. She sounded tired.

“Clearly.”

“I’m not supposed to leave the house alone.”

“Are you sure you want that retard to be yours?”

“Pam,” Eric growled. “Cover for me.”

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure she gets home safely.”

“Why? Just lock her up and make her yours if that’s what you really want.”

“She’s the sister of Bill Compton’s human. I can’t imagine that going well.”

“Since when do you care about Bill Compton?”

“Since I don’t want him to become a pain in my ass. Just do as I say.”

Pam rolled her eyes but eventually turned around and entered the club.

“Nothing nice,” Brooklynne suddenly said.

“What?”

“You asked what he was thinking. It was nothing nice.”

***

When she woke up the next day, it was already late in the morning. She was asleep when Sookie had come back from work and unless Jason told her, she’d never know of her little adventure in Fangtasia.

A week had passed, and she hadn’t heard back from Jason. She wondered if he was still doing V. He hadn’t come back to steal more silverware, so maybe that was a good sign.

Sookie was never home at night, always spending it with Bill, leaving Brooklynne alone. She preferred it and wouldn’t complain. She didn’t have to focus to keep anyone’s thoughts away.

She had spent the whole week wondering if Eric had meant it when he had asked her to be his, and if she wanted to say yes. Of course, she wasn’t going to ask Sookie for advice. She figured she didn’t need protection as she never left her house. Going to the club alone had been a terrible decision, though it had probably saved her brother from some serious trouble. However, she should have been smarter. She should have asked him to bring her home.

Brooklynne was lying on the grass, admiring the sunset sky. Though, now it was completely dark. She had lost herself, once again, in another world. She was whispering song lyrics at the stars, trying to shut out her sister’s thoughts. Sookie was in the kitchen, waiting for Bill. She heard someone approach and thought the vampire had finally arrived, but he didn’t greet her like he usually did. For the past five days he had called her name, asked her if she was okay, asked her what the stars were saying, before wishing her a good night, and joining Sookie inside the house. But this time, the man approached silently and stopped near her, looking down at her curiously. He was taller than Bill and hadn’t come for Sookie. No. This vampire had come for her.

“Well, hello there.”

She grinned at him. “Hi.”

“You’re in a good mood today,” he said as he crouched down.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to ask for your help.”

She raised her eyebrows as she propped herself up on her elbows. “My help?”

“Yes. I’m in need of a telepath.”

“Eric!”

Brooke turned around as she heard Bill from behind her. Eric stood up as the vampire approached quite angrily.

“Bill,” the Viking greeted with a sigh. “I should’ve known you’d be around.”

“What are you doing here? Leave her alone!”

Eric chuckled. “Maybe she doesn’t want me to leave her alone.”

“What’s going on?” Sookie asked as she joined them. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress and white ballerinas, an outfit similar to her sister’s. “What are you doing here?”

“He needs help with something,” Brooke said as she got up.

“And what makes you think you’ll find help here?” Bill asked.

“I didn’t ask you for help, did I? I asked her.”

“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Sookie told Eric.

“That’s not for you to decide,” the vampire replied as he turned to look at Brooke.

“What do you need help with?” the young telepath asked.

“Business. I just want to make sure my employees are honest with me.”

“She doesn’t work for you,” Sookie said.

“She could.”

“No, she can’t.”

“Again, that’s not for you to decide.”

They all turned to look at Brooke, waiting for an answer. Of course, Sookie wanted her to refuse, but she wouldn’t mind helping the vampire out. After all, she hadn’t left the house in a week, and she could use a little action.

“Okay,” she shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” Sookie said.

“Fine,” Eric agreed. “If you insist.”

***

Fangtasia was exceptionally closed for the night. Inside were only Longshadow, Pam, and two humans. Eric, Brooklynne, Sookie and Bill joined them near the bar. It was odd to see the club empty. Especially for Brooklynne, whose only memories of this place was as a loud box from Hell. Eric invited Sookie and Brooke to sit at a table where one of the two humans were already sitting, waiting impatiently and nervously, while the vampires leaned back against the bar.

“Pam, Longshadow and I are partners in this club,” Eric started to explain. “And we recently noticed that $60,000 has gone missing from our books. And Bruce,” he said as he placed a hand on the human’s shoulder, which made him wince, he was perspiring profusely in his white shirt, and his breathing was unsteady, “Bruce is our accountant. Perhaps you can start by listening to him.”

Brooklynne hadn’t waited for him to say so to start listening to him. In fact, she couldn’t help it. He was practically screaming his fear at her. She already knew he hadn’t done it, nor who had. So, she said so. “He didn’t do it.”

“Well, that was fast,” Pam said with her usual annoyed tone.

“Are you sure?” Eric asked.

“Yes,” she said as she put her elbows on the table and rested her head between her hands, like a child would do.

“Alright then.”

“You trust the skinny human to clear the fat one?” Longshadow asked from behind the bar.

Eric ignored his bartender. “Bring the next one in,” he told Pam.

Bruce took a deep breath, relieved, as if he had just avoided death, and both Sookie and Brooklynne knew he probably had.

“We find who did it, what are you going to do with them?” Sookie asked.

“We’ll report them to the police and let the authorities take it from there,” Longshadow said which made Sookie scoff.

“Hundreds of years old and you’re still a terrible liar.”

“Sookie!” Brooke reprimanded her sister.

“What? You know as well as I do that they’re going to kill whoever’s stealing from them!”

“We don’t know that,” she said. But it was a good point, she had to admit.

“Promise you’ll report them to the police, and we’ll help you,” Sookie told Eric.

“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t need your help. Just your sister’s.”

“Brooke?” Sookie turned to her sister who was confused as to what she was supposed to do.

“Fine,” Eric asked. “I promise I’ll call the police,” he said with a fake smile. “Happy?”

“Yes, very,” the blonde nodded.

Bruce left to give his place to a very skinny blonde woman who was barely wearing any clothes. She was wearing a black leather bra top and very short jean shorts.

“Ginger, these women have some questions for you,” Eric told her. “Be a good girl and answer them, will you.”

“Aye, aye, master,” she smiled.

“Ginger, someone’s been stealing money from the bar,” Sookie asked.

“Really? Uh.”

“Don’t look at me you fucking bitch. I didn’t do nothing. I’ll beat the shit out of you if you say I did. It wasn’t me that took it. It wasn’t me.”

“She didn’t do it,” Sookie said.

“But she knows who did,” Brooke finished.

“What? Fuck you.”

“Shit. How’d she know? I didn’t tell anyone, I swear. Fuck, he’s gonna kill me.”

“She’s scared.”

“Who?” Sookie asked. “Who’s gonna kill you?”

“There are holes in her mind.”

“She’s been glamoured,” Pam said.

“It’s a vampire,” Sookie guessed.

Suddenly, Ginger jumped on her chair and looked with fear at someone behind the two telepaths. Sookie jumped on her feet and turned around, fast enough to see Longshadow jump from the bar. She pushed Brooklynne away and her younger sister fell on the floor. The vampire jumped on Sookie, pushed her against the table, his hands tightening on her neck.

“Sookie!” Brooke called.

But Longshadow barely got the time to do any damage as Bill broke a chair and used one of the feet as a stake on Longshadow.

Ginger started shrieking. It was a horribly loud and unbearable sound. Longshadow started vomiting blood all over Sookie before he exploded and turned into a pool of blood. Ginger’s screams were now accompanied by Brooke’s.

“Humans,” Eric sighed. “Honestly, Bill, I don’t know what you see in them.”

**********

Tags: @thepoet1975 @nerdysandwichqueen @catchmeupimgettingoutofhere @raegan-hale @colie87

[alonely-dreamer]

The Valuable Sun | Chapter 4

Summary: Brooklynne Stackhouse is Sookie and Jason Stackhouse’s little sister. Like her older sibling, she is a telepath, but her powers are far more stronger and far more uncontrollable than her sister’s. After a series of murders in Bon Temps, Sookie takes it upon herself to investigate, taking her younger sister with her in a club called Fangtasia, where they meet vampire and sheriff Eric Northman.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+ (language, violence, blood)

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 5064

Schedule: A new chapter will be posted every Monday. Chapter 5 to 9 are available on my Patreon for early and instant access.

Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Sookie didn’t have to tell Brooke that Jason was in jail. She had heard it as soon as Sookie had. Jason had called from the police station to let her know. It put her in a rage. Jason had confessed to crimes he hadn’t committed because of guilt and grief. Because his girlfriend who was a V addict had died and he had no better explanation for it. “What an idiot,” Sookie had said, right before she left the house. She drove to the police station where René, Arlene’s future husband, was already visiting Jason. She told her brother not to worry, that she was really close to finding out who the real killer was, but he didn’t want to believe it. In his mind, it was set, he was the killer. He had killed them all, somehow, even if he didn’t remember it. All but Adele. He knew he hadn’t done it, he knew he couldn’t have.

Brooklynne didn’t want to stay inside, she wanted to be out there, looking for Drew Marshall with Sookie. But even Sookie couldn’t do that. She had to work. She’d go out there on her own but the last time she did that, she had needed Eric to bring her back home.

Being alone in the house made her feel uneasy. That unfamiliar feeling helped her focus. It was like she was in someone else’s house, a house she didn’t know, and the unknown made her feel anxious. Her routine had crumbled when Adele died. No more exercises, no more games to help her control her abilities. But she had no one to talk to now. Or someone to talk to her. She felt lonely, and somehow that helped her focus. Because, for the first time in a really long time, she was bored.

Maybe it was because there was no one around, no one to listen to, no one to hear, but she felt different from her usual self. She could hear herself think, and maybe that was why it was easier to focus. She thought about Adele, she thought about Jason, she thought about Eric. But the one thing she wished she would stop thinking about, dreaming about, was blood. She saw blood every time she closed her eyes. Her grandmother’s blood all over the kitchen floor. Longshadow’s blood all over Sookie. How the vampire had exploded into a disgusting pool of red liquid. It made her sick.

She decided to keep herself busy. To try and see how long she could stay focus and do normal things without accidentally mentally slipping into another world. She remembered Sookie saying they’d have to wrap up their grandmother’s things at some point, and Brooklynne thought she’d make herself useful by starting to clean Adele’s bedroom. The boxes were already there and marked ‘to keep’ and ‘goodwill’. She started going through her grandmother’s jewelry, giving a look at the old wooden clock on the wall wondering how long it’ll take her to get distracted. But she never did. She worked for two hours in silence and was only interrupted by the ringtone of her phone. She saw a text message from Sookie, letting her know that her car broke down and that René was driving her home.

Brooklynne had never met René, but she had heard of him. He was a colleague but also a good friend of Jason’s. He had probably been at Adele’s funeral, but she had left too early to get the chance to meet him.

She was happy to have some company. She wanted to try and see if she could stay out of their heads. Or, at least, if she could stop their thoughts from invading hers.

She had just finished sorting out her grandmother’s clothes, when she heard a car stop in the driveway. She heard Sookie and René enter the house as she started walking down the stairs.

“It’s hotter in here than hell on a Sunday,” she heard René say.

“Yeah, Gran used to leave the windows open all day but… I haven’t felt safe doing that in a while… Especially with Brooke staying here alone. Have a seat, I’ll fix us some iced teas.”

“Sounds good.”

Brooklynne watched from the bottom of the stairs as he turned on the ceiling fan, before he stepped inside the living room. She didn’t even get the chance to try and block his thoughts as she saw him look around and the first thing he noticed was the shotgun leaning against the fireplace. Brooklynne heard him plan to remove the bullets from it. She heard him plan to take Sookie by surprise and strangle her with his belt like he had Maudette, Dawn and Amy, the girl from Fangtasia, the girl Jason had loved, the girl he had confessed crimes he hadn’t committed for. She took a deep breath. She should be afraid. The thought crossed her mind. Why wasn’t she afraid? But it seemed like she was on autopilot at the moment as she calmly walked down the rest of the stairs, knowing she was going to face him, her grandmother’s killer, the man who had been terrorizing the town and her sister for weeks. She took him by surprise, appearing in the doorway as he was placing the shotgun back where he had found it.

“Got ya,” Brooke said with no special emotion in her voice or on her face.

“Oh,” he chuckled after he turned around and saw her standing there. “I was just looking at it.”

She tilted her head, wondering if no one had told him about her, about how she knew everything. She knew he must have. It was probably the reason why he had avoided her. But there was something he didn’t know about her, something he wasn’t ready for.

“You killed my grandmother,” she told him, calm and composed.

The look on his face didn’t change. He was still wearing that stupid smirk even though he knew he was made. Even as he made the decision to kill her too.

“Don’t,” she said as he tried to take a step forward. Of course, he obeyed, he didn’t really have a choice.

“Brooke?” Sookie asked as she appeared from behind her with a jug of iced tea in her hands. “What’s going on?”

She didn’t get the time to reply as René launched himself at them. Brooke’s command had been for him not to step forward, so he had to find another way to move.

“It’s him! He’s Drew Marshall!”

Sookie would have guessed and she would have given a sassy reply to her sister if it hadn’t been for René jumping on her, making her fall hard on her back. He moved his hands to her throat and started strangling her.

“Stop!” Brooke ordered him.

“You stop,” he growled, tired of being manipulated. He got up and slapped Brooke so hard she fell over.

“Don’t touch her!” Sookie snarled as she jumped on his back and started punching his shoulders and his chest.

He shook her off and she fell on her ass. He then proceeded to kick her once, then twice, giving Brooke enough time to recollect herself. She knew she had to choose her words carefully to stop him.

“Stop it! Don’t do anything! Don’t move!”

He stopped. Sookie took a deep breath, bringing a hand to her stomach and another to her bruised face, before she pushed herself away from him.

“You’re never going to kill anyone again,” Brooklynne said. “You’re going to surrender to the police and confess everything.”

“Fuck you!”

“You killed Gran!” Sookie yelled at him. “Fuck you! She didn’t do anything to you!”

“I came for you, you stupid cunt!”

“Shut up,” Brooke ordered him. “Don’t say another word until the police arrives. Don’t do anything until the police gets here, don’t move.”

“How do you do that?” he asked silently but she didn’t reply.

“Are you okay?” Sookie asked her sister as she brought a hand to her sore face.

“I’m fine,” she nodded.

Catching him might not bring her grandmother back, but at least it would bring justice to his victims, and it would clear Jason’s name.

“Poor Arlene,” Sookie shook her head. “She’ll be heartbroken.”

“Sookie!” someone called from outside. Sam appeared in the doorway. He was out of breath, as if he had run all the way here. “It’s him,” he said as soon as he saw René standing in the living room. “It’s him, he’s the killer,” he made his way towards who he had thought was his friend and seized him by the shirt.

“We know,” Sookie told him.

“He’s stopped. He won’t move or say a word until the police gets here.”

“You bastard,” Sam growled before he punched him in the face so hard he knocked him out.

“Well,” Sookie sighed. “At least that would be easier to explain to the police.”

***

A coward. Of course, he was. Changing his name, killing women… only a coward could do such things. Just like only a coward would use his belt to hang himself in his cell. Brooke couldn’t say she was sad to see him go, in fact, she’d be lying if she did. Sookie wasn’t particularly hurt by the news either and life started to feel normal again as the days went by. It was as if his death had made Adele’s more real somehow. More definite. As if she hadn’t really been gone until her murderer had been caught. Or maybe, her granddaughters just weren’t good at letting go. And who would be? Especially Brooklynne, as she now spent her days alone, reading her grandmother’s books, playing cards by herself… She had no one to talk to, not even Jason who had disappeared as fast as he had come back.

After they arrested René, they had released Jason, who had been over the moon to hear that he wasn’t a bloodthirsty murderer. Neither Sookie nor Brooklynne knew where he had run to, or where and how he spent his free time. But at least he showed up on time to work, and he was clean, according to Hoyt Fortenberry.

Bill had showed up to the house as soon as the sun had set on the night when they caught Drew Marshall/René. He had felt her fear and had tried to intervene, but the sun had stopped him from going far. Sookie forgave him, of course she did, she could barely remember why she was mad at him in the first place. Brooklynne remembered, but she wasn’t about to remind her sister. Not when she was literally glowing with happiness.

The glow of happiness didn’t last long, however, as Sookie came back home one night, after finding a dead body in Andy Bellefleur’s car. It looked like Bon Temps had gotten itself another murdered. And another vampire.

It turned out, as punishment for killing a vampire, Bill had had to create a new one, and her name was Jessica, and Bill had kept her a secret for two weeks, which Sookie didn’t appreciate. She didn’t appreciate it at all.

One afternoon, a few days after René’s arrest and death, Sookie and Brooke were finishing up on cleaning Adele’s bedroom, when a notary came knocking on their door. Having company was a good exercise for Brooke, especially when it was only one person. She could try and focus on staying out of their mind and staying inside of hers.

“Is there a problem with my grandmother’s papers, Mr. Lancaster?” Sookie asked as they settled in the living room. “I know you asked for a copy of the deed to the house.”

“Oh, no, no, that’s all okay,” he said, then paused, then sighed, “I have some terrible news, I’m afraid. Your great-uncle Bartlett has passed on.”

A chuckled escaped Brooke’s lips. The notary gave her a weird look, which she ignored.

“Excuse her, she has ADD,” Sookie explained.

“Ah,” he nodded, he obviously didn’t know what it meant. “I know it’s so soon after your grandmother. This must be quite a shock.”

Brooklynne laughed again. Of course, she wouldn’t be sad about it, but her reaction was the exact opposite of Sookie’s who was stunned by the ‘tragic’ news.

“Tell me what happened,” she asked, ignoring her sister who was trying to stop smiling.

The notary stared at the youngest Stackhouse for a moment before he returned his attention to Sookie. “Well… the Lincoln Parish Fire Department found him a few miles south of Simsboro. He’d washed up on the shore.”

“How’d he get all the way down there?”

“The Walnut Creek runs behind his house. Sheriff’s guessing he got too close and fell in.”

Brooklynne burst out in laughter. She first thought she’d thank karma for it but then heard from her sister that Bill was potentially responsible, which instantly made her like him more.

“Brooklynne!” Sookie reprimanded.

Knowing she wouldn’t stop laughing, she left the room and walked back up to her bedroom. She wasn’t happy by the news, though she wasn’t unhappy either. It was a mix of surprise, exhaustion and nervousness that had set off this reaction from her. She knew her grandmother would be deeply ashamed of her, but she’d be really proud to hear that she had managed to keep away from Mr. Lancaster’s mind.

***

$12,000. Maybe that’s how much Sookie and Brooklynne’s innocence and dignity was worth to their great-uncle Bartlett, or maybe that was really all he had left, but either way, the sisters didn’t want it. They didn’t want anything from him. Sookie had given it all to Jason, and Brooklynne hoped he’d be smart with it.

A week passed, during which Sookie and Bill kissed and makeup. Sookie was motivated to get to know Jessica better as she was Bill’s progeny, and therefore, they were a package deal. It was both of them or none of them. So, she had taken the night off and asked Bill to leave them both alone so they could have some alone time together, something the vampire had reluctantly agreed to.

Brooklynne wished her sister would spend some alone time with her, but she was getting used to being alone. She had begged Sookie a few times to take her with her to work so that she could try and control her powers, but her sister always refused. And she wasn’t about to say yes now that she had found a dead body in the parking lot of the restaurant.

Resigned to spend the rest of her life alone and doing nothing, Brooklynne had collapsed on the couch with a sigh. Bored out of her mind, she started to wish something, anything, would distract her. At some point in the evening, her wish had come true as she ended up walking around barefoot on the wet cold grass.

The pond was surprisingly bright considering it was nighttime. As usual, nobody could see her, but she could see them all. They were all very happy, almost glowing, as they drank and laughed and danced. She started dancing with them, enjoying the music, enjoying the silence inside her head. Maybe it was because she wasn’t physically there, but she couldn’t hear any of their thoughts. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she enjoyed the fresh air on her skin, and the happiness around her. But suddenly, the laughed were replaced by cries and gasps and the dancers quickly scattered away in fear as the lights faded away and darkness took over the pond. Brooklynne looked around, confused, trying to find what they were running away from. But she only met silence, and darkness.

A knock on the door brought her back to her living room. She stood up slowly, as if she had just woken up, wondering if she had imagined it. But she heard it again. She knew it was a vampire, because she couldn’t hear their thoughts. She stood up and walked barefoot to the front door. She immediately recognized the tall figure standing behind it. She opened the door and saw Eric standing on her porch. He was wearing blue joggers and a matching jacket, and his hair was shorter than the last time she saw him.

“Brooklynne,” he smirked, as if he thought she’d be happy to see him.

“Eric.”

“Did I wake you?” he asked as he saw her rub her eyes, though he didn’t sound particularly concerned.

“No. What do you want?”

“Well, I want a lot of things, you’re going to have to be more precise.”

“You cut your hair,” she said, and he wondered if she were already distracted.

He didn’t bother to answer. “Have you thought about my proposition?”

“Your what?” she frowned.

“Don’t tell me your forgot,” he said as he took a small step towards her. “You said you’d think about it. I gave you plenty of time to do so.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yes, ‘that’,” he repeated as he placed a hand on the wall, above his head, and leaned forward. “Let’s talk about it inside.”

She tilted her head and stared at him. She had thought about it, like she said she would, but she didn’t have an answer for him, or at least, not one he’d like.

“I’m not supposed to invite people in,” she said in a whisper as she looked down at her bare feet.

“Now, now. I won’t bite. I promise.”

She looked up at him and hesitated. Inviting a vampire in her home was a stupid idea. Though, Sookie did mention it was possible to revoke the invitation, so, maybe it wasn’t such a big deal.

“Come in,” she said as she stepped aside.

A victorious grin appeared on Eric’s face before he stepped inside the house, his eyes never leaving hers.

“You have a lovely home,” he said, and she didn’t miss the mockery in his tone. “You must be bored stuck here alone.”

She shrugged as she closed the door.

“If you were mine,” he said as he trapped her between the door and his body, “you’d never be bored a day in your life.”

Her eyes grew big and a gasp escaped her lips as his body approached hers. He was so tall it was hard to meet his eyes, but she could see the smirk on his face.

She swallowed. “Sookie says I should stay away from you.”

He chuckled, as if it amused him. “Well, aren’t you a disobedient little human.”

“Why do you even want me anyway? I’m not… like other humans.”

“But that’s exactly what makes you so… interesting,” he said as he ran a finger down her neck and onto her shoulder, brushing her hair aside. His gentle touch sent shivers down her spine, though she had no doubt he had his eyes on her vein.

“If I had been yours the other night, and Longshadow had attacked me, would you have killed him like Bill did?”

“No. I’d have been smarter. I’d have stopped him, and then I’d have taken him away.”

“Away where?”

“Where no one would have seen me.”

“So… you would have killed him?”

“Probably. Vampires should know better than to attack other vampires’ humans.”

“Bill got into a lot of trouble for what he did.”

“It could have been worse. Trust me.”

“You wanna know what I think?” she asked, and he raised an eyebrow. “I think you only want me because you can’t have Sookie. I think if Sookie were available you’d want her instead.”

“Now, why would you think that?” he said as he stepped away from her.

“Because… Sookie’s better. She’s not…” she paused, looking for the word. “She doesn’t glitch.”

He laughed. “And you do?”

“All the time.”

“You think you’re broken? You think you’re… malfunctioning?”

“Sookie can control her ability. I can’t even leave my house.”

“I think it’s all a matter of self-control. What you need is practice, not self-pity.”

“I tried to practice. But Sookie won’t take me anywhere.”

“I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

She frowned and tilted her head. She knew he would. But did she want to go with him?

“Why did you come here tonight?”

He sighed. He obviously had more troubling things to talk about. “The sheriff of Area 9 in Texas has gone missing. His name is Godric. He’s… a friend of mine. I want to take you with me to Dallas, so you can help me find him.”

She opened her mouth, but then closed it. “I… I want to help you but… what can I do? My powers are useless against vampires.”

“There are always humans around to interrogate,” he said. “Besides, I have a theory on who’s behind it.”

“Then why don’t you just go yourself?”

“I can’t. I have no jurisdiction there. And no proof. The humans who may have taken him are idiots but they’re idiots prepared. We’ll know more once we’re in Dallas. One of Godric’s trusted friend is waiting for me. But…” he paused, as if what he wanted to say was hard for him to admit, “I could use your help.”

“I’d like to help you but…”

“Let me guess,” he sighed, “Sookie.”

“She’ll never let me go.”

“If you were mine, your sister wouldn’t be able to tell you what to do anymore.”

“If I were yours, my sister would kick your ass.”

Eric laughed. “She’s welcome to try.”

“I’ll help you,” she said. “Or at least I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask,” he nodded before he stepped towards her once again. “Now. Let’s get out of here before your sister comes home.”

“Sookie’s with Jessica tonight.”

“Bill has her babysitting?”

“No. She wanted to.”

Eric raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t she take you with her?”

“I… I don’t know,” she shrugged. It hadn’t even crossed her mind. She hadn’t even met Jessica.

“I wouldn’t complain about it, if I were you. Jessica’s unbearably annoying,” he said as he put his hand on the handle of the front door. “You might want to put some shoes on.”

She looked down and remembered she had left her shoes in the living room.

“Where are we going?”

“Fangtasia. We’re going to put that little head of yours to the test.”

***

Fangtasia, as always, was loud. The music was insufferably bad and so were all the thoughts of its human costumers. Sitting on Eric’s lap, Brooklynne had a good view of the club, and the club had a good view of her. She was trying to do as Eric told her, to focus on a man’s thoughts, and his only. He was a short man, though he was probably taller than her, a little heavy, wearing a red shirt and khaki shorts, seemingly out of place among the leather-wearing vampires dancing around him. It took her minutes to slid inside his head. She had had to go through all of the other thoughts that were invading her mind. Pushing them away, and keeping them away, was like building a wall inside her head and it was harder than anything else she had ever tried to do. Every time she put a brick, another one disappeared, taken down by someone else’s thoughts. She wished she could just let Eric’s silence replace the deafening noise inside her head, but he insisted on making her practice, and if she were honest, she needed it.

“No one’s ever going to make me a vampire. Nobody’s even looking at me. I just want to find a nice vampire lady, maybe I came to the wrong place. I’ll take anyone. I’ll fuck anyone, just make me a vampire!”

“He wants to become a vampire,” she told Eric. “That’s all he can think about.”

“What else?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. I’m tired.”

“Just focus. How does your sister do it?”

“I don’t know. She says she just stays out of their head. But I’m not even in their head, they’re in mine.”

“Then push them out.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Just do it.”

She sighed again. She closed her eyes as she shook her head. She had a headache. And a big one. Focusing on Eric would be cheating.

“Focus on your own voice,” he told her.

Well, that wasn’t a bad idea, actually. Brooklynne had never tried that. What was she even thinking right now? She didn’t know. She wandered among the loud voices, trying to ignore them, trying to focus on something else. How many people were here? Too many.

Her body relaxed suddenly, and he thought she had managed to cast the voices out of her mind, but as her head fell lazily on his chest, he knew she hadn’t. Her eyes were open, but they weren’t focused on anything. She had gone somewhere else.

“Brooklynne,” he called, snapping his fingers.

She blinked once, then twice, then straightened up.

“Stay with me.”

“Sorry,” she said as she ran a hand through her hair. “I’ll try again.”

She tried to do as he had said, focus on her own voice. She had to find it first. She tried to cast aside the disgusted images and thoughts, wondering how Sookie did it, how she managed to keep them away so well. She eventually found her own voice, and it was like a snake biting its own tail. “Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus.” After a while, all she could hear was this one word. And as all she could hear was her own voice, she took the opportunity to build a wall inside her mind. She wanted it strong, unbreakable, and with a door, a door only she could open.

“Focus.” Brick. “Focus.” Brick. “Focus.” Brick. “Focus.” Brick. “Focus.” Brick.

She didn’t stop until the wall surrounded that trail of thoughts, her trail of thoughts. She imprisoned the snake and it released its tail.

Silence.

“I did it.” She heard, and it took her a few seconds to realize, it was her own voice.

“Welcome back,” Eric said, and it made her jump. “You’ve been gone for two hours.”

“What?” she breathed out. She looked around and saw there were still a few people around, but most of the crowd was gone. She laughed. A wholehearted laugh she didn’t recognize, but that was coming from her. “You know what she’s thinking?” she asked as she pointed at the girl who was flirting with a vampire near the bar.

“No,” he shrugged with a raised eyebrow, wondering what was so funny.

“Me neither,” she smiled, clapping her hands in victory.

“Well, what a productive night,” Eric smiled back, though with a little mockery. “Can you try and read her mind?”

She stopped laughing. She didn’t want to. What if she opened the door and the wall crumbled?

“I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“Now, in the span of two hours you went from hearing everything to not hearing anything. How about we find a middle ground?”

She sighed. He was right. That’s why she had built that door. She focused. She locked her eyes on the girl and slowly unlocked that door. She held it tightly, firmly. She didn’t want it to open fully because she was afraid she’d never close it again. She had spent her entire life stuck in that house, not being able to go to school, not being able to go play with the other kids. She had grown up thinking her ability was uncontrollable. It turned out she just hadn’t tried hard enough. She closed the door shut, however, when a thought crossed her mind. Sookie didn’t let the voices inside her mind, it’s her mind that found the voices. She shouldn’t open the door to let anything in, she should open it to let something out. She focused again and tried to slip inside the girl’s head.

“How much is he gonna pay me if I let him bite me? I won’t do it for less than a thousand bucks. I know girls who do it for more than that. And if I fuck him, he’ll give me more.”

“She’s more interested in his money than anything else,” she told Eric who chuckled, like he already knew that.

“See what happens when you’re with me? You control yourself. Imagine what else you could do if you were mine?”

“Are you ever going to stop asking me that?”

“Once you’re mine, I won’t have to ask you ever again,” he smirked, and she rolled her eyes.

She brought a hand to her forehead, trying to massage her headache away. All this wall building had exhausted her. She rested her head against his chest and felt herself falling asleep. To her surprise, he didn’t stop her.

She didn’t know how long it had been but when she woke up, the club was empty. She was sitting alone on Eric’s chair, and Bill had just burst through the front door with Sookie unconscious in his arms. Brooklynne practically jumped off the chair.

“Eric!” he called, panic and desperation in his voice.

The blond vampire appeared instantly and asked calmly: “What happened?”

“I don’t know. She was attacked by a creature.”

“Sookie, oh my God,” Brooke breathed out as she ran towards them.

“My blood won’t heal her!”

“Pam,” Eric called, still calm, but alerted.

“What?” his progeny asked with her usual annoyed tone as she appeared behind them.

“Go fetch Doctor Ludwig. Now.”

Pam’s eyes fell on Sookie. She saw the blood on Bill’s shirt and the scratches on Sookie’s back that were dripping blood all over the floor. She grimaced then disappeared as fast as she had appeared.

“Did you see the creature?” Eric asked.

“No. She said it was half bull half human,” he said, like he didn’t believe it.

“What?” Brooke breathed out. “Does that… Is that possible?”

“I don’t know,” the sheriff replied. “I’ve never heard of such creature. Which is odd.”

“This… Doctor Ludwig,” Brooklynne asked, “how do you know he’ll be able to help her?”

“She,” Eric corrected her, “specializes in supernatural diseases. She’s our best shot at saving your sister. If she doesn’t know how to heal her, no one does.”

Brooklynne’s heart tightened as a gasp escaped her mouth. A serial killer, a woman found with a hole in her chest, and now this? A Minotaur like creature? What the hell was happening in this town?

**********

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