𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄
one day you're gonna have to stop pretending everything is okay
VICTORIA GASPED AWAKE due to hearing a loud clatter. She sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. She tilted her head and listened, and only got up once she heard another noice.
She grabbed the baseball bat that was beside her bed and started making her way downstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible.
When she rounded the corner to the living room, she let out a screech once a person came in view and she ended up hitting them with her baseball bat.
"Ow!" The person yelled, stumbling back. "What the fuck, Victoria?!"
Victoria lowered her baseball bat and slumped her shoulders in relief, glad that it wasn't some robber. But, she wasn't really that happy that it was Jason, either. "What are you doing here, asshole?"
"Tori!"
Both Victoria and Jason turned to see Sookie in a striped blue shirt, and her white nightgown idraped over her left arm.
"Oh, my--" Victoria cut herself off, realizing where Sookie was all night and what she must've done.
"What are you doin'?" Sookie asked her brother, walking towards them, and stood beside the brunette who was in her pajama's which consisted of pink silk shorts and tank top.
"Uh?" Jason looked between both girls. "Nothin'. Nothing." He then leaned over to Sookie with a scowl. "You went ahead and did it, huh? My own sister. Nothing but a damn fangbanger. You saved it all these years for a fucking vampire?!"
Victoria scowled and stepped in front of Sookie. "She's a grown ass woman, Jason. She can do whatever the hell she wants. At least she doesn't go around hitting women."
Jason let out a breath. "I tried to apologize, but you wouldn't let me."
Victoria rolled her eyes. "Yeah." She scoffed. "Pushing me down on the floor is an apology." She crossed her arms, looking at what he had in his hands. Candlesticks and a large paper bag. "What are you doing with Gran's candlesticks?"
"I'm just taking half of what's mine," Jason said, defensively.
"They were her wedding present from her mother," Sookie said, her voice cracking slightly.
"I need the money," Jason said, shrugging.
"For what?" Victoria questioned. "You have a job and a house. What could you possibly need the money for?"
Jason frowned and scoffed. "It's none of your damn business, woman."
"Is it for drugs?" Victoria asked, seeing the signs. Her little brother used to do drugs.
"I said it's none of your goddamn business!" Jason hissed, scowling.
Sookie stepped forward, gettiny defensive. "Don't talk to her like that!" She all but shouted. "Gran might've have spoiled you rotten, but I won't. This is my house now!" She then gestured to Victoria. "And she is my guest and our cousin." She pointed at him. "You put those things back and get out!" She grabbed at the bag and it ended up ripping.
"Hey!" Jason exclaimed.
Various things had fell out of the bag, but most of it was Gran's jewelry.
"You were gonna sell her jewelry?" Victoria asked softly, her voice breaking as she looked up at her cousin.
Jason shook his head and pushed past the girls who were both about to have a breakdown.
UPON SEEING SAM rip Sookie's scarf from her neck, Victoria ran over to them and pushed Sam away from her cousin. "Hey, you keep your hands to yourself!"
Sookie was also angry. "You have no right to touch me!"
Sam ignored Victoria as he stared at Sookie. "You're a damn fool, you know that?"
"Anything she does with her spare time is none of your business, Sam!" Victoria shouted, tired of everyone in this town thinking it was alright to act like women are property and that they have the right to touch them however they like.
"Yeah!" Sookie shouted, agreeing with her cousin. She turned her head to stare at everyone who was watching the scene. "Or any of y'all's!" She was fuming. "Yes! I had sex with Bill, and since every one of y'all's too chicken to ask, it was great! I enjoyed every second of it. And if you don't like that, you can just fire me!" Sookie slammed her tray onto Sam's chest and walked away.
Victoria turner to everyone. "The shows over! Go back to eating your damn food!" She looked to Sam, seeing his kicked puppy face. "I know you care for Sookie, but you are not her boyfriend or her dad, so stop trying to control her goddamn life. She has been through enough as is." She patted him on his shoulder and walked away.
VICTORIA STOOD BESIDE Sookie as three hungry looking vampires walked into Merlotte's. The girl vampire has walked over to a boy and leaned over him.
"Get us three Tru Bloods," One of the vampires, Malcolm ordered Sam.
Sam stood tense. "Y'all need to go somewhere else. This is a family place. Locals only."
Malcolm grinned. "Well, we just closed on a place up the road, so that makes us official citizens of Renard Parish. We're the new locals."
Sam scowled, stepping in front of Victoria and Sookie. "My place, my rules."
Malcolm tilted his head, his expression contorting into that of anger. "Discrimination against vampires is punishable by law in the great state of Louisiana. Personally, I don't give a fuck." He looked around the dining area, and sneered. "But I am thirsty."
Sam tilted his head. "You are not welcome here," Sam sneered, growing angry.
Diane, the girl vamp, chuckled. She is still at the booth, running her fingers through the young man's hair. "That only works in a private home."
Malcolm grinned once his eyes landed on Sookie who quickly placed herself in front of Victoria. "Oh! How nice to see you again, Sookie!" Malcolm walked towards Sookie." Diane frowned, pushed the young man aside, and left the booth. "You are looking delectable as always."
Sam looked to Sookie. "You know them?"
Sookie looked directly at Malcolm as she replied to Sam. "We've met."
Malcolm grinned, noticing the fang marks on Sookie's neck. "It looks like Little Miss Holdout has given up the goods. Brava! Did he leave enough for the rest of us?" His eyes wandered over to Victoria and grinned. "Oh, if you don't do, she certainly will. She smells delicious."
Sookie straightened up. "We are his."
Malcolm looked around. "Well, he is not here, is he? And while Bill's away, Malcolm will always play." With a click, Malcolm exposed his fangs.
Victoria gulped but pushed past Sookie, and shoved him away. "Don't you think for one second we'd ever have anything to do with you! I'm sure you were trash while you were alive, and now you're just dead trash!"
Malcolm snarled. "I'm gonna drain you so slowly, you're gonna beg me to kill you."
Terry Bellefleur ran from a booth in the back toward Malcolm, screaming. "Jihad this!"
With lightning speed, Diane grabbed Terry and threw him across the room. Terry landed at the pool table in the gaming area. Sam broke a pool cue in half over his leg, and pointed the thick part of it toward Malcolm.
Malcolm narrowed his eyes at Sam. "You are a dead man."
Sam shrugged, still pointing the man-made stake at him. "Maybe. But I'm gonna take one of y'all with me."
Victoria and Sookie both shouted in protest. "Sam!"
Sam ran towards Malcolm with the pool cue and Liam, the third vamp, took the makeshift stake from Sam, hurled it like a javelin to the stack of glasses behind the bar.
Liam grabbed Sam and had him on his back over the bar, his right hand around Sam's jaw. "I'm gonna reach down your throat and yank you inside out by your dick."
"Please!" Victoria shouted, her voice cracking. "Leave him alone!" She was not going to lose anyone else, not today.
With lightning speed, Bill ran into Merlotte's and walked towards Malcolm, Diane, Sookie, and Victoria. "Stop this! Now!" He shouted and Liam released his grip on Sam. Victoria ran over to Sam and pulled him into a hug as Bill spoke up again, "You're here for me, not them!"
Malcolm looked from Victoria who was hugging Sam and then to Bill. "We had to get your attention, and I do believe it worked."
Bill narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
Malcolm grinned. "You never call me back. Now, if I remembered what feelings were, mine might be hurt."
Diane rushed to Bill with lightning speed and stroked his cheek with her hand. "Join our nest, Bill. Forget these blood sacks." Diane put her arm around Bill and ran her fingers through his hair. "Let's party like we used to, huh? We used to have so much fun."
Victoria, upon seeing Sookie's heartbroken look, left Sam's side and walked back over to her cousin, taking her hand.
Bill looked at Sookie and Victoria. "All right. Let's go."
Sookie stepped forward. "What the hell are you doing?"
Bill just looked at her. "I should be with my own."
"But you're not like them," Sookie spoke softly. "You're better than they'll ever be!" She exclaimed, tears stinging her eyes.
Bill shook his head. "I am not human, Sookie. I am vampire."
Bill and Sookie exchanged a long stare before he left with Malcolm, Liam and Diane.
AFTER THE INCIDENT with the vampires, Sam had made Victoria leave early and go back home, to make sure that she was safe. Of course, he had escorted her just in case anything were to happen.
So, the next morning, when she woke up, Sookie had told her about how people burnt down a house with those vampires inside and she suspected Bill was among them.
Of course, Victoria asked if she saw Bill's body, but Sookie said it was impossible to know for sure because all that was left was coffins full of blood and other body liquids.
After Sookie tried to call Bill a couple times, Victoria decided it was best to not leave the blonde alone so she helped her clean the house.
It was the afternoon when Tara came into the kitchen and rushed ober to Sookie who was bent over in the oven, cleaning the inside.
Tara pulled the blonde out of the oven. "Jesus Christ! What are you doing?!"
Sookie took off her protective mask. "Stop with the J.C. I'm cleaning, what does it look like?"
"Everything okay?" Victoria asked, leaning out from beneath the sink. She smirked in amusement when she saw Tara jump a little.
"Watch your feet!" Sookie exclaimed. "We just waxed."
"I hope you mean the floor," Tara said, crossing her arms.
The blonde walked over to the table and grabbed a towel. "Can I help you? I'm up to my elbows in Easy-Off."
"My mama made me hoecakes this morning," Tara said, as if surprised.
"That actually doesn't sound too bad," Victoria spoke, standing up. She looked to Tara. "What the big problem with that?"
"She cooked me breakfast," Tara said. "When's the last time you saw my momma lift a finger before noon for anything besides Mad Dog 20/20?" The cousins just stared at her. "We went into the woods to get a four hundred forty-five dollar hoodoo exorcism last night, and you do not wanna get me started on that!"
"Our grandmother's dead!" Sookie snapped, making Victoria glance down at the floor, trying to not cry. "At least you got someone to make breakfast for you. You ever stop thinkin' about what's happenin' with others before you barge in on them?"
Tara blanched. "Sorry. I didn't mean--" she stopped herself when she saw the bite marks on Sookie's neck. "Oh, my God, are those fang marks?"
Sookie held the collar of her shirt away from her neck to expose the marks fully. "So what? It means someone cared for me when everyone else except Tori left me high and dry!"
"No wonder you're crazy," Tara spat, glaring at the blonde. "You let a vampire make a meal of you!"
Sookie threw down her towel. "Why am I the only person that doesn't think vampires are monsters?!"
"I don't," Victoria whispered but was ignored.
"They drink our blood!" Tara screeched. "What's to say Bill won't leave you once he's had his fill?"
Sookie got in Tara's face. "Do you have any idea what I've been through today? A friend would ask!"
Tara scowled. "Don't tell me how to be your friend. I'm the only one you got, goddamn it!"
"Lord's name in vain," Sookie muttered.
"Fuck off!" Tara shouted.
"That's it!" Victoria shouted, walking over to Tara. "Get the fuck out of here now, Tara! Sookie's been through enough!"
"I've gotten very good at losing people lately, and you are only making it easier for me!" Sookie yelled, throwing up her hands, her face red in anger.
Tara looked at both girls. "Bitch, I don't even wanna be here! If you are hell-bent on bein' alone in this world, I ain't gonna stop you!" Tara turned and left the house.
Sookie slammed the oven door, which bounced back open.
Victoria walked over to the blonde and wrapped her in a hug.
IT WAS NIGHTTIME when Sookie came running into the house, telling her that all the worry was over nothing.
While Sookie got ready for work, Victoria just laid on the blonde's bed, listening to her talk about Bill seeing as she didn't have to work tonight.
Though she listened to Sookie talk about Bill and how much she loves him, Victoria couldn't input much into the conversation due to not yet experiencing anything that Sookie had in regards to relationships. Of course, she's had crushes, Sam was one of those crushes, but she's never actually had a boyfriend, especially with a boy who was interested in her, and only her.
After Sookie had left for work, Victoria stayed up most of the night, just writing in her diary before passing out.