It was an unfair effect to the morphine. Without it, he caressed the idea of death with his spindly fingers. And with it, death surrounded him—but it was not his own. His own, he encouraged. Her demise, unfortunately, was too much to bare.
Erik wrenched himself from the piano he'd been previously curled over. His ecstasy numbed him no longer, left to bare the weight of Coney Island and its many servants, all relying upon him for their new life. Like leeches. Like parasites.
They may have loved their new life, but he hated his own. More than he had ever before.
No matter what he did, she was there. But, she'd left him. Even in his stupor, she bled in his hands, a boy nearby and a lake of tears just beneath them. Envy. Meg had enviously murdered his Christine for performing the number he'd prepared—
He would murder her!
No. It was all very similar to now. Christine was on her way to the man she supposed was Hammerstein. She should have known better.
He stared at Christine's painting, then scampered to find his pocket watch. "I have time," he murmured before setting out upon his decision.
Opening Night. Meg Giry. An apology.
"Meg, your dear friend shall pay us a visit. Christine. But you, my dear, are still the star of Phantasma. Believe me. I will watch every performance."
She was a fidgeting thing, fretting over if he would watch. He had promised an opening night like no other, and this was, indeed, exhilarating to have so many cheering for you. But if he was not present, it felt akin to failure.
Christine had received his praise relentlessly. And after hearing his equally angelic voice briefly during Don Juan Triumphant, Meg yearned for his approval. She thought saying Christine's name aloud, like bait, would lure him to her. But she missed her friend too much to use her name idly.
Many of the other performers and even the audience rumored over Meg fancying him. It was untrue—deeply so. She felt for him as one would an older brother. She was proud of him.
Proud.
Peeking through the curtains, Meg had to stifle her giggles. Older brother, indeed! She tittered. He was the Phantom!
But the amusement died when she heard a curt clearing of the throat, as if he had read her mind. She reeled, eyes wide.
There he was, cloaked and masked as always. She refrained from cowering beneath his scrutiny. Albeit, she did shrink back when she recalled what she was wearing and how very lonely he was. He was a man after all.
Erik's eyes never cared to roam.
"You're here," Meg managed, almost inaudibly.
His eyebrow arched. "I am a man of my word. Besides, you were good to Christine." He noted her shiver. "Does the name cause you distress?"
"When you say it, sir. Yes."
He could not help but grin, wryly. "I do not say the name as often as I once did." A perfect liar he was. It was merely that no one ever heard him. They could never hear when he cried out Christine's name in the night, or when he marveled her painting, or when he composed with only her name as the lyrics. "Yet, I do have news. News pertaining to her, Little Giry."
Meg stared onto the stage briefly, impatiently, face scrunching. "News?"
He nodded and waited for her full attention before continuing: "She will be here soon. I want the two of you to have the day of it. I will pay all the expenses, no matter the cost."
Her eyes widened, and she nodded hastily. "Yes, sir. Yes, thank you." The catch, though? Where is your catch?
He was turning to leave, allowing her the debut she wanted in peace, when he desperately caught her arm. "And please tell her I am not dead. But say no more. She will find me. She always does."
*Does pointy-gun fingers* Hey. hey. hey. So it's me. Your infrequent writer. I'll add to this story when I can. But I will say that my leaves of absences are usually caused by the fact that I'm writing my own series and am in the process of being published. That takes up a lot of my time. But if you review, I swear that it motivates me to write more on here. And I'll try. As it seems that the publishing process draws closer to a head, I'll have a lot more time on my hands.
Also, I think I'm gonna do a one-shot thing for cute Erik and Christine stuff. (And other phantom characters if you want). Is that something anyone would be interested in?
Much love.