Thanks again for the wonderful constructive criticism from many of you! However, in reply to one guest reviewer, I have put a lot of hard work into my story, and I ask that you respect that. The story is meant to seem hurried and strange because that is how Erik's mother's life seemed at this time. Remember the beginning of chapter 1, where it explains that this is Erik's mother's account of what happened near the end of her life. Realistically she wouldn't remember everything in perfect detail. And, I am older than you are treating me, so please, again, respect my work.

I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and can give me some more helpful advice! Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Phantom of the Opera. That was all created by Gaston Leroux.

Erik and I were playing on the living room floor one lazy Sunday. He had just received his first mask. Thankfully, he was too young to argue. He was just barely talking. He tried to pull it off a few times, but a stern look from me would silence him. He also knew that on nights he was bad I wouldn't sing for him. That kept him in line most of the time.

The last 3 years had been a daze for me. Erik was my world. I had given up my friends and ignored my family for him. Now, though, the prospect of school, was making me realize that we were going to have to try to have as normal of a life as we could.

Erik giggled as I made a plastic monkey walk up his arm. Then the doorbell rang. I hurried to the door and opened it.

"Miranda! It's so good to see you finally!"

"We were getting so worried!"

What were my parents doing here? I had purposely avoided them, taking Erik away anytime they called to say they were driving down whether I wanted them to or not. They didn't even know of his existence.

"What are you doing here? You didn't call."

"Well that's a fine way to treat your parents," my father said pushing his way through the doorway. "We didn't call because if we did you wouldn't be here when we arrived."

I followed them into the sitting room trying to think of the right words to stop them before I heard my mother give a shriek.

"Miranda you better have an explanation for this!" my mother screeched, furiously.

"Sit down and calm yourselves. I'm only babysitting for a girlfriend."

My father sank into an armchair and my mother delicately sat on the edge of the couch. The rest of that evening went better than I expected. I continued the lie that Erik wasn't mine and that he had been in a car accident, and was horribly scarred from it. They still wanted a better explanation for why I had kept away from them for so long. Better than, "I was too busy," at least. But, they were willing to wait for that. Of course, Erik's charm had sucked them in as well. He was sitting on my mother's lap, trying not to fall asleep, as we planned our next evening together. Just as my father was suggesting the next weekend my mother spoke up.

"Miranda, dear, you don't suppose I could take Erik's mask off for a moment? I just want to see his face. I'm sure it can't be that badly."

"Oh, Mother, no. It's a mess of scar tissue, really, we're supposed to just leave it alone." I reached over and began to grab my baby away just in case. "I really should get him to bed anyway. His mother likes him in bed early."

I knew her curiosity would last, especially because I was always "babysitting" Erik while they were around. He just loved them too. They really were like his grandparents. My mother continually asked after removing the mask, but I would distract her and give her the same excuse as before.

That is, until the day that I came home from work to find her waiting on the front porch, envelope in hand.

"Miranda, you have some explaining to do. I looked at this medical bill of yours and-"

"What? You had no right to do that! Why would you even think that that was okay?"

"Well, your father and I figured that you had been sick before, and that's why you were avoiding us. We thought that you were trying to spare our feelings. I wanted to see for myself how much your bill was, figuring we would help you pay for it. But, you can try to explain this."

"Of course, there must have been a mistake," I laughed. "I take him enough times that my address must have somehow got put in." Yes, I knew it was cheap. But, she somehow bought it. I've always guessed that she wanted to believe it, so she did. She was good at that.

"Of course," she agreed in a clipped tone. She then turned around and headed towards Erik's room. I followed, suspicious. She threw the door open and before I could stop her, tore Erik's mask off.

She shrieked and fell back onto the dresser. "Well, I believe you now," she stammered.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"Well, nothing that hideous could have been related to us in any way."

At that, something inside of me snapped.

"How dare you! After all the love you've shown him! I will have you know that he IS my child and I love him more than my own life. I was afraid to tell you about him, because I knew you would act this way. I was afraid of the shame you would feel after you found out that I had a one-night stand with someone whose name I didn't know and could not tell you today. But, more than that, I was scared of the shame you would feel about having a deformed grandchild. But, now I realize how wrong I was. Erik is a good boy and deserves to be surrounded by people who love him. You obviously don't love him if you can't stand his deformity. I don't want you in my life or in his life if you can't find any compassion in your heart for him." I picked him up and held him against me tightly. He looked up at me, confused as to why I was yelling at my mother, relieved to have the mask off, and happy to be held by me. I promised myself to do it more often.

"I hope your happy with the mess you've put yourself in. Your father and I have our reputations to worry about."

"Fine, then get out of my house before anyone might see you here."

She stared at me furiously for a moment. "You're not my daughter anymore," she assured me. Then, she left. It was just Erik and I again. I knew we had many challenges ahead, but at least now I knew for sure which side I was on: Erik's.