A Bit of Warm Comfort (A True Blood - Sam/Tara Fic)

Chapter 2 - Hot Fury

CHAPTER 2 - HOT FURY

Arlene hurried over to the bar. Sweat stained the armpits of her white Merlotte's t-shirt and her once perfectly coiffed fire-red hair was matted to her forehead. "Sam, table three is still waiting on two Michelobs and a basket of chili fries," she said in a rush. "And table five needs a refill."

"Coming right up." Sam grabbed two beer bottles from the cooler underneath the bar and set them on the counter in front of Arlene. "How's that order of chili fries coming along, Lafayette?" he hollered back to the kitchen while pouring a pitcher of beer from the tap.

Lafayette poked his head out the server window. "Tell Miss Thang to keep her britches on. Order'll be up in two shakes, baby."

Arlene leaned against the bar, fanning herself. "Jesus, it's so hot I swear I saw the Devil drinking a beer with Jane Bodehouse."

Sam smirked. "Nah, that's just Mike Spencer in a red Hawiian shirt."

She leaned closer. "You heard anything from Sookie, yet?" she asked, pushing a wayward strand of hair from her overly made-up face.

"Nope. Far as I know she's still down in Mississippi looking for Bill."

Arlene shook her head in disapproval. "I swear that girl has more drama than the Parish community theater."

Sam placed the pitcher of beer on Arlene's tray and gave her a leveled look. "I think just about everybody in Bon Temps has gotten into some form of trouble now and then."

"True, but Sookie's troubles have more to do with vampires than anything else. I ain't got nothing against Bill Compton, but everybody knows if you hang with vampires you're just beating on trouble's door begging to be let in. If you ask me, most of 'em are just a bunch of blood-thirsty killers."

Like your ex, Rene Leiner? he thought snidely. Sam had his own opinions about vampires, but didn't care to share them with Arlene. He suspected that she was a closet racist and wondered what her opinion would be if she knew about his secret life as a shifter. Would she judge him just as harshly?

"Order up," Lafayette called from the window. Arlene picked up her tray and went to get the rest of her order while Sam finished making drinks for Rachelle, the cute new waitress he hired last week.

He thought it ironic that the two women he cared about the most were both unreachable, one physically, the other emotionally. Sookie was off on some wild goose chase looking for Bill, who was most likely dead -well finally dead this time. Sam hadn't heard from Tara in three days, not since the night she spent at his trailer. He told her to take all the time she needed to grieve, but would it kill her to pick up a phone to say she was alright? Maybe Lafayette could divulge some news on his cousin's whereabouts.

Sam walked over to the service window and peered inside. Lafayette was busy dropping another tray of fries in the deep fryer.

"Hey, Lafayette, you talk to Tara?"

"Not lately," he said, picking up a spatula to flip the burgers on the grill. "Last time I saw her she was in pretty bad shape."

Sam's eyebrows rose with alarm. "What do mean by bad shape?"

"That poor child was a hot, pitiful mess, boo-hooing and blubbering all over the place. When she wasn't crying, she was staring off into space like a zombie. The shit was fucking pathetic, Sam."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yep, but if you ask me, Eggs wasn't worth a squirt of piss, let alone Tara's tears. I warned her the motherfucker was poison hiding behind a pretty face. Satan in a beautiful Sunday hat. But you know my cousin; you can't tell that heifer nothing. Some women are doomed to always pick the wrong man."