It Can’t Be
Chapter 03
Ghosts
**
After sliding the lumpy mattress across the room in our box laden studio apartment just off campus, I climbed back into the bed while she laughed and wrapped my arms around her.
She kissed my cheek and hummed a thank you against it. “Can’t we just leave it here? I like watching it rain.”
“I don’t see why not. It’s our apartment… Sookie, do you love me?”
She giggled and snuggled back into me. “Eric, you know I do.”
“Do you love me enough to marry me?”
She turned slightly to give me a more serious look. “With this onion ring, I thee wed?”
I laughed at her. “Not tonight. Maybe when we can afford to have the power turned on though.” When our manager tasked Sookie with showing me the ropes when I started working at the café/bookstore, it had been one of the best things that ever happened to me. Signing a lease and getting the keys to the apartment we were keeping a secret from our families only to have our paychecks bounce before our deposits for the utilities cleared… sucked. We couldn’t even call our parents or friends for help because they were all just as broke as we were. If it hadn’t been for our student loans including room and board, we’d have been fucked.
“The phone too? I’d want to call folks and let them know.”
“That’s pretty lofty of you.”
She sighed. Fake whimsy thickened her already sexy drawl. “I might never find a man that can spoil me in the manner in which I believe I should be accustomed.”
“Seriously.”
She giggled again. “What? You call me a ‘spoiled little shit’ all the time.”
“When you shove my Suave off the lip of the tub to make room for your Herbal Essences… I meant will you marry me?”
“I’ll marry you when you build me a house made out of honeysuckle and glass.”
“Done.”
She started laughing. “We can’t afford honey for our biscuits… or a pane of glass for that potential pneumonia hole you put in the window with our drafting table.”
“Sookie.”
She answered by grumbling my name. It was her way of making fun of me for being serious when she was in a joking mood.
“We won’t always be this broke. When we can afford to build our house, will you marry me?”
“Well, when you put it like that… definitely.”
“Really?”
“No. I was just kidding.”
I rolled on top of her and tickled her. By the time I was done, she agreed to marry me as soon as we could afford more than $575 for rent.
Then we took the most miserably cold and raced showers ever, since without power, there was no water heater, and rode our bikes to the student union with our meal tickets… Our first night in our new apartment was actually spent in the dorm rooms we didn’t want so that we wouldn’t die in our sleep of heat stroke.
Three days later, after selling back all of our used books, hocking all of our CDs, and being criminally creative with Pell coupons… we finally had enough money to have the power turned on so that we could spend the night in OUR place together and had enough left over to celebrate with breakfast at IHOP on the way to class the next morning.
By the end of the week we both started work at Rafters. She was bartending… when she told me that she’d applied, I wasn’t happy. We knew too well how much grab-assing went on since it was our favorite club and pretty much the only one we ever went to… That’s why I applied as a bouncer. It didn’t happen often that she worked when I didn’t. Not only could I keep an eye on how she was treated, it was that much more time we could spend together.
**
Things were amazing. We didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves… I think we were both expecting to hate each other eventually. None of our parents seemed to stay with a partner any longer than they did a job. We’d made a joke out of the fact that we were waiting to get sick of one another. Neither of us made a secret of hating that we’d grown up below the poverty line. I’d made a model of a trailer and we kept it on our cinderblock and plywood coffee table to motivate us through deadlines and study crunches. We both had the same simple goals. Most of them (99.999%) had nothing to do with what we would do with our degrees, but what our lives had been like to make us need college… Food Stamps and free school lunches weren’t something we wanted to put our children through. Starting our own firms and/or becoming ‘famous’ would’ve been nice, but we’d have settled for doing malls, banks and condos as long as we weren’t hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck.
Everything WAS amazing… the turning point had been Spring Break. Our friends Sam and Callista were getting married right after graduation so they decided to turn Spring Break into their Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties… The guys went on a ‘cruise to nowhere’ so that we wouldn’t get into too much trouble and the girls went to Myrtle Beach… Once Sookie and I were home, I was geared up and ready to jump into my finals so that I could put school behind me, but Sookie hadn’t been nearly as motivated by our vacation…
She was having a hard time concentrating. She was jumpy. She wasn’t herself in general… I’d gone a couple of weeks without hearing her laugh.
**
I came home from class one day and Sookie was on our only barstool slumped over the counter, running her finger along the rim of her coffee cup and drawing with her other hand. It was one of the 2 we owned. Both were bought at Dollar Tree along with almost everything we had. Anything else was bought at yard sales. Since we’d managed to find jobs, she’d been thrifty. Even though we had been blessed with decent paychecks, she didn’t want us to ‘get ahead of ourselves’.
She didn’t force it on me though. For the most part I was careful about my paychecks too. We split the bills and she still insisted that we eat at the student union as much as possible. She only ever replaced what desperately needed to be replaced and she seemed perfectly unwilling to ask for anything. It made Christmas nearly impossible. I resorted to planting the business card for a jeweler in my pocket so that she’d confront me. The argument ended when she finally admitted that she wanted new sheets for our bed.
We’d managed to save a few thousand dollars each in spite of how much our supplies cost.
Even though we’d both found jobs in Shreveport that far exceeded our salary hopes, she still didn’t change her ways to splurge. She eventually turned house hunting over to me and I’d found a loft apartment. It wasn’t expensive, but there was a lot of room and I’d gotten attached to our little studio. No matter where she was, I knew what she was doing.
When I put my hands on her shoulders, she jumped, sitting up and knocking her coffee over to spill on her notebook.
She shot off of the stool to grab a dishtowel. “Jesus Eric, don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you were so engrossed…” I looked down at her sketch while she mopped up her coffee. “…You were lost in a commercial bathroom?” It wasn’t terribly original either. It looked like the one at Rafters.
“No… I was just doodling.”
“Are you alright? You’ve been spacey. Don’t let finals stress you out. Even if you shit the bed on all of them, your grade won’t drop below passing… We still graduate. We still move to Shreveport to work our enviable jobs and live in our sexy loft nowhere near a trailer park…”
“It doesn’t mean that I’m going to just tank the projects and throw off my GPA. I have some pride.”
“I know you do. What I’m saying is that stressing out will only drop your GPA. You have a creative major. Loosen up before your creative juices end up on the floor.”
She scoffed and moved everything off of the counter so that she could spray it with cleaner… it was a ‘new’ thing I didn’t like. For weeks, she’d been wound up and cleaning every surface like she’d caught a viral OCD.
“Sookie, what’s wrong?”
She snipped, “What could be wrong? Why does something have to be wrong? I’m allowed to worry about my GPA. Not everyone can roll out of bed and be fantastically creative like you. Some people have to work at it, you know.”
“Is…” I was sure I was about to be hit or maced with 409. “Sookie, is this a PMS thing?” She wasn’t usually ‘one of those’ women that punished the world for a week every month, but it didn’t mean that the stress of finals wasn’t amplifying things.
Her furious attack on the countertop halted in a fraction of a second… there were tears flowing before she bolted to the bathroom and slammed the door behind herself.
I took that as a yes.
I leaned against the door and slid down to get comfortable on the floor. I had a feeling that I was going to be there for a while.
“Sookie, talk to me. You’ve never stressed out about your grades like this before.”
“I’m scared.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“Girl, you know how I am. I need details.”
“There’s just too much… I can’t… we aren’t going to live happily ever after.”
“Why wouldn’t we? We’ve been broke together. We can be gainfully employed together. In fact… I think we should celebrate. We don’t have to go to work for a while. Why don’t we go get fitted for our Professional Costumes. A couple of suits to ease us into the idea of skipping a tax bracket or two.”
She didn’t answer and her weeping became more audible as she slid down the door.
“Sookie, you’re freaking out.”
She wailed, “I know.”
“Why don’t we go to the campus clinic… Maybe they can give you something for anxiety.”
“I can’t.”
“If it zones you out, you can stop taking it, but you’re worrying me.”
“No.”
“Then… calm down. Everything is going to be fine.”
“No. It’s not. You’re going to end up hating me. I’m going to end up crazy…”
“Sookie, we aren’t our parents. We actually love each other. We’re going to be fine.”
“Nothing’s going to be fine. Everything’s already ruined.”
**
My memories were cut off by the smell of gasoline. Topping off the tank in Vicksburg while we stopped for sandwiches and drinks had resulted in my shoes being soaked with gas while I was lost in thought.
I’d thought about Sookie more often than not since she left. Most of the time I was terrified that something horrible had happened to her. Even though it was 3 states away from where we lived together, when a body was uncovered during a freeway construction last year, I dropped everything to drive 700 miles thinking that it could be her. There were times, usually when alcohol was involved that I hated her. Times when I was sure that she left me. Left without giving me the chance to fix what I’d done wrong. Left without giving me the chance to beg her to stay. I’d have done anything for her. I had a bartender tell me once that he pitied me for peaking so young… That the universe was a cruel bitch to have given me something that made me so happy and then taken it away. ‘The one great love’ wasn’t supposed to happen until you were mature enough to hold onto it. I decided that the prick’s girlfriend had made him watch The Notebook so I found another bar when I threw my next pity party.
All this fucking time, Sookie had been fine. Not laying in a shallow grave or as a Jane Doe in a civil cemetery. She’d left our apartment, empty except for a change of clothes and the mattress we weren’t taking with us because what little we had was already on our U-Haul… she’d left me asleep by the window and jumped on a bus or plane… she’d left.
No kiss goodbye. No closure. No peace.
16 fucking years of questions.
The few ‘relationships’ I’d had since, felt wrong and were so short lived that they weren’t worth mentioning… I told one of them about Sookie’s disappearance and she might as well have been gone before I was done. Not that I missed her. Rum had been the reason for the ‘honesty’ in the first place.
Sookie had left me with nothing and took my child with her. I needed a really good reason to be level headed. I needed a stellar fucking reason to not come unhinged. I’d been robbed. I couldn’t think of a single fucking reason why I’d been spending hours every week looking for her when I could’ve been teaching my son how to ride a bike, helping him with homework… Fuck. I didn’t even know what his favorite color was. Had he already had his first kiss? Did he have braces? His tonsils? How much did the tooth fairy leave him? I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything about him. I should’ve been there. I should’ve been the one to hold him still for shots and nail clippings. I should’ve been at parent/teacher conferences. I should’ve been there to teach him to swim. Could he swim? Fuck.
He should’ve had a father that he took for granted. He should’ve had a father to roll his eyes at and make fun of to his friends.
The more I thought about it, the situation, what Sookie did… the less confused I was. She left and it scared the shit out of me. The mystery I’d been trying to solve for 16 years finally got answered. She’s fine. The new problem was that I was so pissed about what I’d missed out on, that I was very close to asking him to live with me until he leaves for college. I wanted to get to know him and one weekend every month wasn’t going to make up for what Sookie had deprived me, us of. There was only two years left of his ‘childhood’ and I wanted them. He deserved the time to figure out if he even liked his father.
If Sookie had let me know him, visit him… allowed me any kind of contact, then I wouldn’t be a stranger to my own son. How completely awkward the invitation could make him feel was the only thing keeping me from asking. Fuck Sookie and her feelings. He was my son too and she’d been hogging him.
**
“What are you thinking about?” Even though we’d been in the car for more than an hour, the question still hit me too hard. I was thinking about how to steal some time with him. The ride had been quiet. Both of us were at a complete loss for words. I honestly didn’t know if I was close to being able to express what was going through my mind. I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him that I remembered clues from right before she left that suggested his mother resented the pregnancy.
“I didn’t know anything about you… When she left… I’m pretty sure she knew about you. I’m remembering some hints, but I chalked it up to her being stressed about finals.”
“You said she left after graduation… what were y’all planning to do?”
“I found a job with Fowler, Fowler and Green. Sookie found a job at Edgington Homes. We were moving to Shreveport. She’d helped me load everything onto the truck before we left for graduation… I woke up the next morning and she was gone. When she didn’t come home, I called the police, filed a report, paid another month’s rent and waited for two weeks instead of taking the time to move. When I got to Shreveport, I took one weekend to unpack and buy a car and then started my new job… I drove back to our old apartment every weekend until Christmas hoping she’d show up. Like a fucking idiot. When the building was bought, I traded the developer plans for the condos in exchange for our unit. I still have it… Since Sookie knew the address of our apartment in Shreveport, when I started my own firm a few years back, I bought the building and turned it into my offices. I did everything I could so that she could find me… How… How are you dealing with all of this?”
“I’m pissed.”
“Could you be a little more specific?”
He snorted. “I’m pissed as all hell.”
I laughed at him. “Ok… Fine. What made you look for me?”
“I was waiting for Mom while she picked up some materials, right? I’m sitting in the reception area because it was freezing outside. I’m bored and my options are obviously interior design and architecture magazines. I’m leafing through one of the damn things and pretty much see myself, only old. It was a small picture, but you’re ERIC Northman. You were quoted as saying that one of your biggest influences is Frank GEHRY… Mentioned the college you went to and some of the buildings you’ve cranked out just so happened to be side trips when me and Mom hit the road. Two and two is four… I didn’t even need an excuse or anything. Uncle Jason’s been asking me to come out to visit for a summer for years. Once I got there, all it took was talking his kids into looking for embarrassing pictures of each other to get the photo albums out… Crystal was at the store… badda-bing, badda-boom. ‘Hey uncle Jas, who’s this guy Mom’s dancing with? What is he, like 8 feet tall?’ He tells me, ‘Who him? That’s just Errrrrrrr… Shit. I don’t remember his name.’ Like I said…”
I laughed, “…Kind of a tard.”
“Yeah. And since you’re so public, it didn’t take much to get your address. I had Aunt Crystal drop me off at the mall and got a cab to your neighborhood. I honestly just wanted to meet you. I didn’t think for a second you’d hire me… Why did you hire me? I know you have landscapers.”
“You have Bill Compton to thank for why I hired you. That dolt’s daughter shows all the initiative of a paperweight and I’ll put good money on the fact that the first ‘job’ she’ll ever have will be snagging a husband once her inheritance is gone. I liked your excuse about saving for a car.”
He shrugged. “It’s not really an excuse… I’ve been working during the week with Uncle Jason. Siding is a snooze-fest, but swinging a hammer pays alright.”
“How much do you have saved?”
“Four grand.”
“Eight thousand should get you a decent car.”
“Yeah. I’m stalking Auto Trader…”
“Twelve would buy a nicer one.”
“What?”
“I don’t see why I shouldn’t offer the same deal as your mother. I’ll match you too.”
“Really? No… I’m… I don’t want your money… Seriously. That’s not why I…”
“If I had been the Kinkos employee of the month, you’d have still been curious about who your father is. If you’d known me all your life, you wouldn’t feel the need to turn the offer down. Hell, if that were the case then your mother and I would fight because I’d want to just buy a new car for your 16th birthday present. I’m only offering the same deal as your mother.” I might still just buy him a new car once I find out what he’s shopping for. I suddenly found myself in arrears of child support.
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it… Mom could be… Nevermind.”
“Mom could be what?”
“I was going to say that Mom could be pissed that you’d bogart her offer, but… ummmm… I could give a crap right now if she’s pissed.”
“What were you picturing? You had to wonder over the years.”
“I don’t know. I… a headstone… mug shots… beer goggles… I didn’t know what the hell she was keeping from me. I didn’t know if you beat her up or your wife didn’t like your girlfriend or you joined the damn Merchant Marines when she told you she was pregnant. Every time I heard about someone who didn’t have a father, I wondered if it was the same scenario. I didn’t have anything to go on other than a weird middle name.”
“So you’re pissed because I seem normal.”
“No. I’m pissed because Grampa was an asshole.” I knew about ‘Grampa’s assholery. I’d wondered for years if that was why Sookie left. I could have forgiven that… if she was afraid that I’d end up an abusive alcoholic…
“How so?”
“He wasn’t exactly a teddy bear…”
“No. I know he should’ve been in prison for what he did to his family. How is it that you’re pissed at Sookie for it?”
“It’s… I don’t know… it’s just that Uncle Jason isn’t like that. He still has the same six-pack in the fridge that was there when I got to Shreveport over a month ago. He doesn’t get drunk. The most aggressive thing I’ve ever seen him do is give a bear hug… he got beaten up by his father for scratching his nose the wrong way and he’s harmless… Even if you were a complete monster, I should’ve been able to know that… But you are normal…”
“I’m not that normal. I’ve spent the last 16 years looking for someone who, as it turns out, ran away from me and took my son with her.”
“Yeah. There you go. Right there. You don’t know why she left. I don’t know why I didn’t get to know you. It sucks. I mean you obviously weren’t bored with her…”
“We were going to get married as far as I knew.” I’d actually bought a ring. With my first paycheck once I moved to Shreveport. I was going to give it to her when I found her.
“No.”
“I asked her months before she left… We weren’t just a fling… We’d joked about what we’d name our kids… That’s how you got stuck with Gehry… You’d have a brother named Wright too… the other half of the joke was that we couldn’t have girls because we couldn’t come up with names.”
“Wright as in Frank Lloyd?”
I shrugged with a nod. “We were just joking around… We aren’t far from Jackson… where am I going once I get there?”
He snorted. “Funny you should ask.”
“Why?”
“Just follow the signs to Fountainhead.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No. Mom put me in private school so that we’d have an excuse to drive by it every day. The public school is in the other direction…”
It was probably a bad idea to say it out loud, but it slipped… “Our first road trip together… was to Fallingwater… We went to 6 of his houses together.” I still had the pictures we took since she left our albums behind along with everything else.
“You’re kidding me!”
“No.”
“What the hell!? That’s just… why? I mean…”
I snorted at how flustered he was. “I see your point.”
I was finally on the receiving end of my angry face. “My mother took off in the middle of the night, knowing she was pregnant… and names me after you and your favorite architect, cries every time I mention my dad, moves us to a place right down the road from a landmark reminiscent of your first date…”
“She was never so confusing when I knew her. I think I’ll blame you.”
“That’s not funny!”
“I’m sorry…”
“Yeah me too! I’m packing my shit when I get to the house. She can go fuck herself.” I didn’t know if he meant that he wanted to stay with me or Jason, but either way, he’d be closer to me. More available.
I had a hard time forcing myself to discourage him. I didn’t want it to seem like I didn’t want him, but he needed to calm down.“You should give her the chance to explain first.”
“Tell you what… why don’t I just leave her my contact info. Maybe by the time I have grandchildren she’ll be ready to talk to one of us.”
“Like it or not, you’re still a minor. You don’t get to chose who you live with.”
“I’ll use my goddamn car fund to get a lawyer. You can’t tell me with a straight face that I don’t have the right to be pissed. My mother still loves my father and I’m only just now meeting you… and even then it’s just because I initiated the meeting.”
“She doesn’t still love me. If she did, she wouldn’t have stayed gone.”
“Well there you go… How about… if she loved me she wouldn’t have left it to Architectural Digest to tell me who my father is.”
“I’m pissed too.”
“You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me for being a little over stimulated. I’ve been worried that the woman I love was mutilated and discarded and I was still searching for her when I met our son who I didn’t know existed.”
He slammed himself back in her seat and growled at the ceiling before yelling, “You just said that you still love her!”
EricIzMine FanFiction 
As much as I hate to say it, i am really enjoying the different point of view/actions of “this sookie”. I say enjoying in the aspect that yes I think she is being a total pain and sooo someone I could give “the what for”, but it is different in fanfic land to see her written as other than “our sweet confused” sookie. You have taken a risk and as with all of your stories…fleshed out the characters that we can commit to the ride you are taking us on…. Much luv on your ability to do just that… That is indeed what a writer does…Allow us to escape and immerse ourselves..outside of ourselves! P.S. thanks for the story updates!
Thank you for such a fast update, HE STILLS LOVE HER YAY!!! You have a devoted fan and slave on me with all your fast rolling out chapters lately.
Damn! I feel so bad for both Erics. Particularly the young one.
OMG, this story is like crack. I need more!
Ditto!!! Am absolutely loving this… even if I do want to beat the bejeesus out of Sookie.
i can’t wait to see sookie’s reaction!
WOW!!! What a fantastic story!
i’m dying to know why she left! so good.
I loved the bit about being confronted by his own angry face. That and the last line had me laughing out loud . . . again!
My father died three weeks ago; I thank you most sincerely for the sincere laughs.
Absolutely FABULOUS!!!!
Cant wait to see if Sookies life revolved around everything that is ERIC then why did she run away and stay away??? Eric jr sound just like Eric sr.
Excellent job!!
Awesome chapter, and so soon, thank you for the treat. I can’t wait to find out Sookie point of view. She must have a very good reason especially since she obviously still loves him.
Is it wrong that I find their conversation at the end cute?
This is heartbreaking! I’m starting to think that there is much more to Sookie’s story than meets the eye. The mentioning of her parents’, and more specifically her father’s brutality makes me think and sorta frightens me.
I can’t wait until Sookie and Eric come face to face for the first time, and I REALLY can’t wait to hear her excuse! I am so looking forward to reading more:)
I love this story! I can’t wait to hear Sookie’s excuse, I have a feeling it’s gonna be pretty good… Can’t wait for more! Oh, give us more Meanwhile too PLEASE!!!!
Yeah, Erics have a right to be pissed all right. I am glad they are going to see her, you know rather than bitch her out over the phone. I don’t think I could have waited to start my yelling if I was either of them. Very good story. So excited for the next chapter.
This story is sooooo amazing! I don’t want to think badly of Sookie…seems to me like she did what she did so that he could succeed. She didn’t want to hold him back from his dreams. It’s going to take a lot of talking to get through the resentment, but I can’t wait to see what you do with them. GREAT story!!!
Don’t think there is going to be any excuse good enough to explain away Sookie’s actions…. abandoning your man with no word, and keeping him from his child…and she was supposed to have loved him?!?!? Not sure love is strong enough to conquer that lousy decision.
Great so far. I look forward to seeing Eric interacting and getting to know his son.
I love this male bonding, but it seems like Sookie bashing. I hope she has a real good reason for what she has done. Wonderful wonderful story:)
Linda
I can’t wait for the next chapter and to see what Sookie has to say for herself. And what Eric says to his son about still loving Sookie.
Lucy’s got a helluva lot of ‘splainin’ to do!
Yea a totally can’t wait for them to reach Sookie to see what excuse she has…, I mean how crazy is she wow….. I’ll be waiting with baited breath for the next update!!!!!
Wow! I love this new story so far! (Actually I love all of your stories) I can’t wait to hear Sookie’s reasons for keeping such a secret.
Can’t wait for the next chapter!
i want, no need more…i haven’t been so enthusiastic about a story in a long time…well a new story…i just abosolutely love this plot
I gotta say that I have loved BTD and Meanwhile and even AIW but THIS one I love the best. It’s fresh, it’s got an interesting POV and I love the kid!
i cant wait to see what sook is going to have to say.why leave someone you still love? why leave when you know he loves you? is good to you? CANT WAIT FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS!
i love both erics! and feel bad for the both of them also!
Great Story ….as always. I can’t wait to see what Sookie’s reasons were.
Poor Eric. He did all that searching only to find out she’s still alive after all this time and she just bailed on him. Oh gosh! I NEED to know what was on Sookies mind! And of course he still loves her! He’s been looking for her for 16 years! Thanks for the quick update! Looking forward to the next.
i do like this story… the Eric’s get along so well … and Big Eric saying he still loves Sookie after eveything, I can’t wait to hear her side of the story…. judgement still on hold.
Both Erics are justifiably pissed off. I’m already not a fan of this Sookie just for keeping Eric from his son, however, I am looking forward to finding out her reasoning. Whatever it is, I hope neither Eric lets her get away with it!
Another great chapter… I am eagerly awaiting more! 🙂
I love the bonding/ sarcasm going on inside this car. Two peas in a pod, hmmm? Kinda makes me feel sorry for this Sookie and what she’s about to face… KINDA, but not really. But be still my heart… *swoon* two, count ’em, TWO Eric’s… well, you got my attention.
fucking brilliant. So much emotion coming across. Loving the flashbacks. I’m getting more and more pissed at Sookie!
I am still incredibly curious as to how Sookie is gonna dig herself out of the hole she has apparently put herself in. How on earth do you forgive the first 16 years of your child’s life being taken away? Not even figuring in the worry of her disappearance.
I spent the whole day being lazy and rereading AIW and S&S and then I see this and now I don’t know what I want more!
He DID build her a house of honeysuckle and glass! That about killed me. And what made her leave like that? She didn’t seem to take the marriage proposal very seriously, and that was months before she found out she was pregnant. But there was nothing hinting that she wasn’t in it for the long haul, either. Wow.
Next chapter is done, you say?
Post. Post. Post. Post. Post.
(Doesn’t have the same ring as ‘chug chug chug’)
Maybe if we all chant really loud, she’ll cave and post one a day 😛
Well.. we can hope anyway.
I love this story! I’m unsure how I feel about Sookie and what it is that she was thinking to justleave like that let alone not tell her son. All in all I hope that she had as good a life as Eric….I’d hate to think that she ended up in a trailer park after college….which has me thinking about Eric’s comment about his college girlfriend being trailer trash….It makes me wonder what his thought about it….I hope you’ll grace us with another chappie tonight…
If I was Eric 2, I would ask Eric 1 if I could live with him or if he didn’t (yeah right) I would probably try to get myself emancipated. What she did was completely shitty for hundreds of reasons. The main reason being she didn’t need to run AT ALL. Her brain is gonna start stuttering at this confrontation.
I want to see Sookie’s face when they show up together. I don’t think she can justify leaving while PG. If she didn’t want to get caught PG in a trailer park, she shouldn’t have kept the baby. But once she decided to keep the baby, she contacted Jason, and found out that Eric was looking for her, she should have contacted Eric. The two Eric’s have a right to be pissed at her. I can’t think of any excuse except embarrassment, and she should have sucked it up! And Jason should have gone against blood in favor of common sense, if he could locate some, and told Eric.
did her parents have to get married because her mom was pregnant? and it made them resentful?
geez, poor Eric… did he never think to hire a private investigator? It seems like he could have handled the expense… Still, 16 years of wondering where she is and why she left, he’s lucky he’s not crazy or an alcoholic…
loving it! 🙂
I don’t want Sookie dead, but I’m still not seeing anything that makes me anymore on her side… she messed up major!
Wow not only did Eric spend time always looking for Sookie, but he made it as easy as he could for her to find him and she still didn’t? Her excuse better be damn good!
I hope Eric and Jr follow through on Jr living with him so he has a chance to get to know his dad and punish his dolt-head of a mom too.
I can’t wait to see what Sookie’s excuse is. What excuse could ANYONE have in this instance????
WOW I feel so sorry for both Erics I can’t wait to see what Sookis reaction is going to be . She has alot of explaining to do I mean why would you leave the man your in love with just because you find out your pregnant and she was going to give him up for adoption thats just crazy!!! I can’t wait to read more thank you for the quick updates your AWESOME.
Am I the only one that thinks that something happened to Sookie at Myrtle Beach? Love the story so far and thanks for updating so fast.
UGH!! i really want to kill Sookie…grrr! she have better have a goddamn good reason for leaving not telling each of the Erics about each other.
other than that, great chapters 🙂 i can’t wait to see how the Erics relationship develop. i’ve been spoiled with the long chapters (from you & Morgaine Sawnn) so i can’t say that i’m a fan of the short chapters but i’ll take whatever you’ll give us 😀
“Fuck Sookie and her feelings.” – couldn’t have said it better myself.
Sounds like something bad happened on that pre-wedding trip, so either she got drunk, cheater or she was raped-which is horrible if that’s what happened, but it’s still no excuse for the thoughtless callousness of taking Eric son, because it’s clear she kept him because she could tell that baby resembled Eric. I’ll be surprised if I ever come around to accepting Sookie in this story, because no matter the reason it’s the deed-robbing him of his son’s life & the son of a father. It may just be the first fic I don’t want Eric to forgive Sookie & don’t want them together.
I agree with the first part that something happened on that trip, but I think Sook got scared that Eric would hate her because someone else ‘had’ her, or something like that and after finding out that the baby was Eric’s just couldn’t face up to him. Not that I agree with that but I can see that as grounds to start communicating with each other.
GAH!!! I’ve gotten so spoiled with the long chapters! So, I was thinking at first that Sookie left to ‘protect’ Eric Sr. somehow, but now that we know they made it out of the poverty bracket, I’m left wondering (again) why the hell she left someone like Eric. Plus, as Eric Jr. pointed out – THEY STILL LOVE EACH OTHER!!!!!
Okay, here’s my two cents. I think Sookie was afraid that if she let Eric know she was pregnant, it would have changed the course of their lives for the worse. They were ready to graduate and take on the world, and this would have totally KO’d their plans to live above the poverty line.
I know Eric Sr. said they already had their jobs lined up, but I’m wondering if Sookie ever believed in them and their future, their ability to face adversity together. I feel like she thought she would drag Eric down if she made the pregnancy known. What if she loved Eric so much she didn’t want him to sacrifice his career or his dreams for them? I can see her accepting the responsibility and being willing to suffer so that he didn’t have to.
I am eager to hear what Sookie says, and how she interprets her actions, because so far, we’ve only heard others’ interpretations. Hindsight can play tricks on us. Eric makes Sookie seem less than committed to him in his flashback.
Otherwise, I love the developing relationship between the two Erics and want to hear more. Looking forward to whatever you post next!
There is so many thoughts in my mind right now. Of course they are both pissed at her. They have good reasons to be. Yes Eric still loves her. You never forget your first love. I can’t wait for the first time they see each other. It’s going to be epic.
Well, as usual, I’m hooked by sentence 2! You amaze me–you manage to remake the same 2 characters without losing the essence of the originals BRILLIANTLY every time! And I absolutely love seeing Eric in a situation where he isn’t 3 steps ahead of everybody all the time. By the way, the honeysuckle and glass house bit–something so completely understated giving off emotion that strong–again, you amaze me! As always, waiting with bated breath for the next installment.
“Well there you go… How about… if she loved me she wouldn’t have left it to Architectural Digest to tell me who my father is.” 😉 I Call BINGO! That just about sums it up IMO.
As bad as what Sookie did to Eric is, what she did to her son was worse. I’m expecting a whiny, crying, sobbing, then indignant, righteous Sookie, but for the life of me I can’t come up with one reason why she thinks she’s entitled to tears. I know someone else said it, but I’m really hoping the boy packs his shit and either stays with Jason to be near his dad or moves in with Eric. I’m also ready for more indignant Sookie screeching if Eric buys him anything, again, as I see it, she has NO right to say dick shit about anything. She lost all her rights to complain, get angry, cry, sob, stick up he snooty little nose and all the other Sookie shit behavior, a long time ago when she took off. I hope she feels like shit on the bottom of a shoe when she finds out he combed missing persons & everywhere else for her for 16 years. And built her the fucking glass honeysuckle house. Aargh! I wanna pull my hair out…or push her in front of a bus! I really don’t care about how bad her life & childhood was, don’t care what happened to her, just don’t care in general. My only hope is her son packs up and leaves because turnabout is fair play, she deserves it & Eric deserves to get time with his father & big Eric deserves at least a little bit of the kids childhood. I not sure I even care that they still love each other, Sookie made a mess & she doesn’t deserve that love, IMO. I might feel differently if Eric wasn’t so public & easily found & hadn’t been in touch with Jason, but he made sure she could find him, but she was never decent enough a person to try. She probably thinks real highly of herself and thinks she’s a real lady, but she’s the lowest of the low & pretty much proved she isn’t worth more than the trailor park she came from.
The only thing that makes sense is that she didn’t think that Eric was the baby daddy and when she saw Baby Eric she was to ashamed to go back. I wonder how she will be explaining this to the two unhappy Erics that on their way to her for an explanation.
more please… it’s amazing. I’m hooked… thank you.
so cute how Sr. is an age progression of Jr. The outburst at the end show the temper, but not the control. PERFECT! thanks for the update.
Loving this story. I usually don’t like human Eric/sookie stories but this one is awesome.
I’m so damn mad, I want to give both Erics big hugs. Sookie has some explaining to do… big time fuck up Ms Stackhouse. We can have the next chapter now, pretty please?
also… It worries me that he knows what Grandpa was like. Why would he be allowed to know someone like that and not his own father?
You do it again! I humbly pay respect to Your kick-ass creativity and your wonderfull muses. You bring a new story with a fresh plott.
This time you nailed Sokkie the coward. I can’t believe shell actually did that. I know going for the big love is scary as hell, but this is just mean! I hope she pulls her self togeter… And it’s no wonder she cries everytime Eric sr. is mentioned, the guilt must be killing her. (and hopfully the longing)
The Eric’s have every right to be pissed as hell.
Thank you for yet another lovely universe filled ith Eric and Sokkie. The caracters are alive when you wright! Can’t way for more iformert this story!
Huge smile from
-LilleIngrid
Damn!
I can’t wait for Sookie’s POV. There has to have been something major that we don’t yet know about for her to pull such a d*** move. I’m not burning her in effigy just yet: let’s see what she has to say for herself.
Eric Jr is a crack-wise, mouthy and cocky BAMF and I already love him.
I want to know what happened on that bachelorette trip to change everything and make Sookie run. And why is it that Sookie is always running – really annoying habit that!! This story is incredible, the super fast updates are spoiling me – I love it!! I’m also glad you are planning a sequel to BTD, i love that fic!!
So Eric jnr went to private school, Sookie must have done alright for herself. My poor brain is still taking a beating as to why, she left. They where clearly in love, even disscussed children why would you leave??? Mental Illness it can only be!!! yup she is fruitier than a fruit cake…. nuttyier than a sunpat peanut butter…. crazy i tell ya…it must be right? right?
keep up the wonderful work
JoXx
You work hard and fast girl!
I´m not going to repit all of the above,there´s no point.I have all the same questions,and joys of the rest of the readers/reviewers.
There´s only room for a thank you,then.For updating,for taking the time writing and sharing with us.
Big Eric and , uh, “little” Eric. They are so much alike. Sookie won’t know what hit her when she sees them. I think something awful must have happened to scare her off. This is so good, and I’m glad you plan to continue the others.
Honeysuckle and glass..he built his house for her..How could she take off like that and keep their son away from him? Did something happen on spring break with the girls? You definitely have a way of pulling readers into your stories. I fell like a tornado has picked me up and put me down somewhere else entirely..and it’s not Kansas.. How will she ever make this up to her son, depriving him of his father… I can’t wait for the next chapter.
Here I was, getting ready to crawl into bed when I decided to check my mail. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Worth staying awake a little while longer for.
Whilst I am still incandescently annoyed with Sookie and not sure what possible reason could justify her terrible behaviour to the two Erics, I hope they at least give her a chance to tell her story. These guys are so cross and probably making each other worse, that they might just yell and her and leave, so I think they need to chill out a bit before they see her. I can only think she is punishing herself every day for what she has done and continues to do, the thing I cant work out is why she feels unable to stop it…
Brilliant chapter, bring on the meeting 🙂
I love this story. I sure Sookie thought she had a good reason for leaving. Fear is a great motavator. I am sure she was afraid that Eric would not finish school and do great things with his life if he had a wife and child at home. She sound like her father was abusive and she may have felt she did not deserve to be happy. It will be cool to see what the reasons are.
Poor Eric and Eric G, I think Sookie is going to shit and fall back into it when she sees them together.
She better have some good answers, although I don’t see what will make up for what she took from them both…
And he has the house of honeysuckle and glass…
I’m almost feelin’ sorry for Sookie… 2 times the fury… and no clue they are coming! Well… an angry Eric Sr. is going to be hott! – crap someone turn on the a/c… hot flashes comin’. Can’t wait for the next chapter!!
I love you! and I wanna break out my pimp hand all up the side of Sookie’s head. I’m getting the “she didn’t wanna ruin his life just when they were getting started by having a baby and ending back up in the trailer park” vibe, but they had already graduated and had jobs line up, so that shit don’t float. And while it is TERRIBLE what she did to BigEric~leaving him wondering, worried, and with no explanation~what she did to LittleEric was worse. Saying nothing and letting him assume the worst about half of himself? Knowing that grandpa’s a dick, but mom lets him see HIM, so what’s wrong with dad? Bitch move.
More please! I am on love with this story already!
Poor kid! Man that’s gotta be tough. 😦 Sookie’s an idiot. Though I’m still curious to see what she has to say for herself.
This story plain rocks! I hope that once the Erics know why Sookie was so wrapped up in her nincompoopery, that things will progress forward and that Little Eric, who found out who his dad is, won’t eventually regret Big Eric being in his life. I can’t wait for the Bill Cosby curse to show itself —“may you have children that turn out exactly like you”…..
Pat
Well! I can not wait to hear Sookie explain herself the the Viking and Mini-Viking.
And….I love that Eric built Sookie her dream home “honeysuckle and glass” —-
Pat
I’m so loving this… I am so curious to see Sookie’s reaction to seeing Big Eric! I can’t wait for more!
I have read all your stories and have to say that you are probably my favorite fanfic writers that I have come across so far. I love everything you’ve published. Keep up the great work!
“I’ll marry you when you build me a house made out of honeysuckle and glass.”
*sniff*
he did
more please
First let me say I am so glad to hear about BTD, Meanwhile, and Dead Sexy. I love those stories. I wasn’t going to read this one because I don’t usually read the human stories ( only because I like Eric as a vampire) but this story is really good. I am hooked. I can’t wait for Sookie to explain herself! Thanks.
OMG!! You are a ROCKSTAR!!!! I love this story. It doesn’t even make sense how talented you are. Seriously.
So I’m already addicted and I’m so furious with Sookie. The only thing I can think of is that she was raped at the club they were working in and didn’t tell him(from her drawing it must have been in the bathroom). Maybe she left because she thought the baby was the person who violated her and it wasn’t until he was born that she knew it was Eric’s. I hope I’m right because if not..WTH. Even then she shouldn’t have run.
I love how Eric Sr and Eric Jr have bonded already. I can not wait to read more. Please please hurry. i hope i didn’t give the story away.
I have come to the conclusion that you are incapable of writing anything that doesn’t completely rock. Seriously, freaking wow, I normally hate these kinds of baby drama fics, but I freakin love this.
Great can not wait for more Ilove your stories keep them comming.
your pictures of Alex are just soooooooo dreamy
Thank you ,
Rosesmary (Ericsbickerchick)
This looks really bad for Sookie, but I have faith. You’ve never given us a Sookie who wasn’t thoughtful and intelligent, so I am going to assume there will be a really good explanation for all of this. I admit I can’t think of anything, but that’s why you’re the writer and I’m the reader.
This is actually really good! I love how it shows Eric’s flashbacks to when him and Sookie were together.
Thanks for the great story!! I am loving it!! I am a little more hesitant to judge Sookie just yet. I have a feeling that something happened to her while she was in Myrtle Beach, seeing as her behavior changed so drastically when she returned home. Maybe she was raped? Maybe Eric Jr. isn’t really his? Maybe I’m just grasping at straws!! It just seems as though she was acting desperately. I dunno…I just hope she had a really good reason. As much as she loved Eric, I cannot believe she would have considered aborting his baby! Please post the next chapter soon!! I need more :)!!!
you are great, loved the line about getting maced with 409. I’m old enough to know that the decisions you make at the time have to do with the situation and information that is available at that time, 20/20 comes later. can’t wait for more.
Something bad happened at Myrtle Beach, didn’t it. Eric hadn’t heard her laugh since she came back and she jumped out of her skin when he ‘sneaked’ up on her.
Gah, I’m being dragged out the house…. I wanna read more!
Love their convo in the car! Gald they’re bonding this way & a tiny part of me feels bad for the wrath of these two men who she has no idea have met & are on their way to see her. Oh wait… I changed my mind…I don’t feel bad for her anymore! Ha!
But I wish Eric would’ve hugged his son! C’mon! I know you’re wigged out by this bomb being dropped on you but he could’ve hugged him right?
OH! PLEASE hurry with the next chapter! PLEASE???!!!!
Can’t wait to hear what the HELL was going through Sookie’s mind because right now… I think she’s NUTS!!! Like bat shit crazy!
Awww so sad it seems like she left him because she didn’t want to ruin his future 😦 Wonder what her excuse is going to be when she didn’t have to anymore, but didn’t go back… “I was afraid you’d hate me for leaving in the first place?” *sigh*
Wow! Loving this.