He must have judged by the size of eyes bugging out that I didn't find this situation the least bit humorous, as he seemed to. Grabbing his arm, I drug him inside and slammed the door closed.

"Thanks a lot big mouth! I don't think the neighbors two streets over quite heard you!"

He just chuckled and said "don't worry Tessa; no one was in the hallway." Before I could even begin to explain he walked right through my apartment like he owned the place and quickly found the source of the smell.

"Well well, looks like you had quite a night."

"Uh yeah, listen, I know you don' know me very well and you probably have all kinds of important vamp stuff to do; but I just didn't know who else to call and I'm kinda freaking out right now" I blurted out.

"Yes I do have important vamp stuff to do" He said mockingly. "But I can see that you have a problem you obviously need help with."

"I…I don't know what happened; I mean I met him at a club and I brought him home, but the rest of the night is just a big haze. I have these little flashes of memory, but I can't really remember what happened. I just woke up a few hours ago and he was here…dead."

"Let me guess; does this lack of memory have in anything to do with your fondness of recreational drugs?"

"Well yes, but I've never had something like this happen before! I've never been so out of my mind that I would hurt someone and not even remember it! I just don't understand….I'm so scared."

"If I had to guess, I would say that your recent dose of my blood coupled with whatever you were on is what made you have such a reaction. What drugs did you take?"

"I took some purple wave; it's called bath salts on the streets. It's not actual bath sa…"

"Yes I know what you are speaking of. They are cheap, dangerous, and highly unpredictable. If I remember correctly, they interfere with your body's ability to correctly register your fight or flight response; I guess for you it was the fight that won out. Since you had my blood pumping through you as well, the boy didn't stand a chance."

"Well that would have been nice to know beforehand! Maybe next time you give someone your blood, you should give them a little tip about not getting high because they might freak out and kill someone and not remember it!"

"And what exactly would you like for me to do? Surely you didn't just invite me over for a snack; since I can assure you that vampires do not drink the blood of the dead, it is…..tainted."

"Of course not! Honestly, I called you because I don't have anyone else that I could call with something like this. I guess I figured that you've probably seen more than your fair share of bodies, and maybe you could help me figure out what to do. I feel bad that he's dead and all, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison."

"I see; well the first thing you need to do is dispose of the body before the smell gets any worse or someone finds him. Then you will need to destroy any evidence that could link you to him. Anything else?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm. I had a feeling he already knew that I wouldn't be able to accomplish the things he seemed to think of easy tasks.

"How the hell am I supposed to get rid of a body?! I don't know how or where I would take him and it's not like I can just lift him up and take him down the elevator. Do you think you could….help me? I don't have much money, but I can find a way to repay the favor."

"Yes I've seen how good you are at repaying favors." He smirked seductively and took a seat on the recliner. Now he was leaning back with one leg crossed over the other at the knee. Well it must be nice to be so damn nonchalant about a dead body a few feet from you.

"Look, unless you help me I'm screwed. So how about I screw you for the next six months or something, and we can call it even."

"As delightful as that sounds, this is a very big favor Miss Stackhouse. I'm afraid I'll need more than just the charm between your legs to settle this debt."

"Ok" I said nervously. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

He sat silently looking at me for a minute; probably trying to make me really nervous (it was working) before he finally answered. "There are a few things I want from you. First; I would like for you to come work for me, I own a vampire bar in Shreveport and I am looking for new talent. Second; I will fuck you and feed from you whenever I choose."

"You want me to work in your bar? How will I pay my bills if I have to quit my job?"

"I never said you would not be paid. I will pay you $500 a week, plus any tips you make are yours alone. You will stay in one of my properties in Shreveport so you are closer to work and for our extracurricular activities."

"Ok, so you're going to pay me and you want me to move. Will you be staying at this house too?"

"No. It is one of my many properties spread throughout the state. It is a one bedroom condo which is far nicer than your current shithole and you will have no roommates. I can come over when I wish to see you and you will not have to pay any rent."

"Right. Forgive me if this seems ungrateful, but it seems like you're actually giving me a lot when I'm supposed to be paying off a debt. What's the catch?"

"Ah you are catching on to how vampires do business Sookie. The only 'catch' is that you will do the things I ask of you; which will not be too difficult and you will refrain from using drugs. I do not wish for your blood to be soiled by disgusting chemicals. Other than that, you are free to come and go as you wish during the daytime and I will set your schedule up for two weeks at a time so that you may resolve any other conflicts accordingly. Your job at Fangtasia will be your priority and you will make yourself available to me on the nights that I desire your company. Are these terms acceptable to you?"

I weighed my options mentally before giving him an answer. Who was I kidding; his option was the only one. It was that or go to jail and I sure as hell didn't want that. So I could get a nice apartment for free, a good paying job, and have sex with a hot vampire; it didn't seem like a bad deal to me. Giving up my few vices would be a small price to pay, especially since after last night I probably shouldn't be getting high anymore anyways.

"Yes, I agree to those terms. Now will you help me take care of this?" I asked waving my hand towards the couch.

"Excellent." He said shrugging off his jacket. "Now let me show you vampire 101: How to dispose of a body without getting caught." That asshole was actually smiling like this was hilarious.

Maybe later when I was not in such a hysterical state, I would look back on this night and realize it wasn't really so bad or maybe I would realize that I should have listened to the terms of my contract better. Either way, Eric was now flying out of my window with the biggest mistake of my life (so far) carefully wrapped up in his arms. Essentially I thought all my problems were flying out the window; I should have known that was just not the case.