Christine's POV
That night when I arrived home, my son was already in bed. I crawled in beside him and ran my hand through his chocolate locks. My son deserved a father so much, and I wanted Erik to be there for him.
"Mama?"
When I heard his small voice, I looked down to see him staring up at me.
"Yes, angel?"
"Nana Giry said you were sad today. Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened, angel. It's just that I saw someone from my past. He doesn't remember me and it hurts."
"Why doesn't he remember you?"
"He got hurt in the head and his memory isn't as good as it used to be. Nothing to worry about though, angel. I know he will remember me soon enough."
"Goodnight, mommy…"
When my angel was back asleep, I lay awake thinking about my angel, wondering if he were thinking about the past. When I could no longer keep my eyes open, I drifted off to sleep. When I awoke, I looked out the window, finding it raining cats and dogs. I rose from my bed and covered my child up. After slipping on a dress, I headed downstairs to get breakfast before my trek to work. It was Friday, making it my last day until the weekend was over.
"How has the Phantom been?" came Madame Giry's voice. I spun around to find her standing near the sink. I made myself a cup of tea and looked up at her.
"He's been fine," I snapped. "He hasn't done anything."
"Perhaps you could work on getting a few free passes to his new world."
"Madame, how could you expect me to ask him for free passes? I hardly speak to him. He's not the friendliest of business men."
Madame Giry shrugged her shoulders. "If not for us, do it for Gustave. The child has done nothing but brag to Meg about how he wants to go there. Tomorrow is opening day, and what better way to get in than to ask the owner for passes."
Knowing that I wouldn't get out of the house without agreeing, I nodded and finished up my tea.
"And take an umbrella, Christine." Madame Giry scolded. "You'll catch your death out there."
Walking to my angel's home in the wind and rain was anything but pleasant, for not only was it extremely humid, but the wind caused the rain to blow in my face. I was never so happy when I entered his home and got out of the dreadful weather. After wringing out the skirts of my dress, I started my day by entering the kitchen to see what he wanted for dinner. I thought something was wrong when I noticed that he hadn't left any requests. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but went about my day. I knew he'd be home sooner or later due to the horrible weather and I would ask him then. After heading down to the basement to fold his shirts that had been hanging on the clothes line, I carried the small stack of shirts up to his room and placed them into his wardrobe. The way he kept his room was the same messiness as his lair back in Paris. How badly I wanted to straighten up, but knew better than to do so. If there was one thing I didn't want, it was to see his temper again. Therefore, I spent the next hour sweeping the stairs and dusting the family room that he barely used.
As the hours passed, the weather only worsened, for the wind became too unbearable. That was when I heard the front door opening and spotted my angel walking in. He was soaked to the bone and he didn't even have an umbrella to keep him dry. Knowing that he would catch his death, I dropped what I had been doing and hurried to his side. Usually, back in Paris, I wouldn't hesitate on touching him, but given the circumstances, I asked before I dared to make a move.
"Monsieur, you're soaking wet."
"It's raining," he angrily snapped. "That's what happens when it rains."
"Could I take your jacket from you?"
At first, he attempted to complete the task on his own, but when I saw him wincing in pain, I came to his aid and removed it for him.
"Your clothes are soaked too," I added. "You should change."
"I don't need you to tell me what I should do. You're not my mother… I had a mother and she was an evil woman."
"I'm sorry, monsieur. I just want to help you is all."
Believing that he knew my intentions, he nodded. "Follow me, girl."
I didn't want to argue, therefore, I followed him up to his room. Once we were there, he went behind the privacy wall he had near his bed. I didn't follow him, for I knew what he was going to do. When I saw him throw his shirt up over the side, something buried deep within me coursed through my body. How badly I wanted to go to him and see his naked flesh before my very eyes again. I wanted to feel him more than anything in the world.
"Get me a pair of dry clothes out of the wardrobe, please…"
When I heard his command, I didn't hesitate on doing so. After picking out a black dress shirt and a clean pair of trousers, I didn't think twice about walking around the wall to hand them the garments. Oh, but that was just it! I was so lost in my emotions that I forgot about handing the clothes over the wall to him. The moment I came around the corner and saw him standing there without a shirt, I gasped, but not in fear…No, I gasped because I wanted nothing more than to feel those scars against my own bare chest.
"What is wrong with you!" he snapped, his arms flying up to his chest to cover himself. I didn't want to look away, but I had no choice. I quickly backed away, but not before getting a glance at the horrible damage the mob had done to him. His chest was slightly caved in and his back was covered in lumpy burns and scars that had never healed.
"Forgive me, monsieur. I wasn't thinking…"
It took him so long to get dressed and I could hear him wincing with every movement he made. When he stepped out from behind the wall, he had a disgusted look upon his face.
"Don't overstep your bounds again, are we clear?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"Good, take my wet clothing to the wash room downstairs and then, meet me in the kitchen. I'd like my dinner now."
"You didn't leave a menu for me today, monsieur."
"A cheese sandwich is what I want, and I want it in ten minutes."
I couldn't stop wondering what had happened to my sweet angel, but I wanted him back. This man was not the Erik I knew back in Paris. He had been replaced with a monster. After placing his wet clothing downstairs in the wash bin, I hurried back upstairs to the kitchen to prepare his meal. While I made his sandwich, I noticed my angel sitting at the large dining room table looking over some of his documents. Every few moments, I would see his hand reach down to rub the side of his chest that had been injured by the mob. He didn't deserve to live like this, for it had been my fault. If he would have just let me help him instead of making me promise to stay hidden, I could have saved him.
"Here you are," I softly said, placing the plate down in front of him. My angel's blue eyes gazed at the sandwich before he made another request.
"There should be a vial of pills up in the third cabinet," he said. "Give me two of them."
I did as he asked, curious as to what these horse sized pills were for. My angel placed each one into his mouth and struggled to swallow them, even after gulping down a mouthful of his water.
"Monsieur, I know it's not my place to ask, but what are they for? Just in case something happens."
"Such as?" he growled. I knew he was getting angry with me wanting to know his business.
"Well, in case they were for your heart."
"They're not for my heart, girl. They are for my pain."
"Pain, monsieur?"
To be smart with me, he pushed out his chair and lifted up his left pant leg to reveal a metal brace of some sort encased tightly around his leg. It didn't look comfortable at all, and from what I could see of his flesh, it was marked with bruises from having to wear it.
"I need this brace to keep my leg from buckling. Without it, not only would I be crippled, but I wouldn't be able to keep my knee in place. The pain is so severe that it keeps me up at night. Each day I have a thousand cramps in this very leg, cramps that feel as though someone is twisting off my limb with their very hands. Those pills you keeping asking about are my only means of relief from the pain. Without them I wouldn't be able to function."
With that, my angel tossed down his pant leg and took a sip of his water. I was now at a loss for words, for I didn't know what to say.
"Tomorrow is opening day for your park. It must be exciting."
"It's anything but. It's so stressful and I know I probably won't sleep a wink tonight. Everything has to be perfect tomorrow, otherwise, I will fail."
"I know everyone is excited to see it. My son…" I stopped when I said the words, for how could I possibly speak about Gustave around my angel? Not when things were like this.
"I didn't know you were married."
"I'm not…"
"Having a child out of wedlock is highly frowned upon."
"Something terrible happened to him. We…We confessed our love to one another and spent the night wrapped up in each other's arms. We talked about marriage afterwards, but that never happened. He died and I found out later that I was pregnant with his child. That was three years ago."
I tried to hold back my tears, for I wanted to break down and cry.
"And I'm sure every time you look at your son you hate him because he looks just like your fallen lover."
"No, I don't… I love my son more than anything in the world because he looks like…like…"
I couldn't hold back any longer and cried. I sobbed into my hands and tried to stop, but it was impossible.
"Oh, enough…"
My angel held out his handkerchief to me and I took it to wipe my eyes.
"Your son has been impressed with Phantasma has he?"
Phantasma? Was that the name of my angel's park? Oh, it fit him so well…
"Yes, he's always bragging about how fun it looks."
My angel reached into a drawer that was behind him and pulled out a long roll of tickets. With the click of his pen, he began writing on each ticket. Afterwards he handed me two of them.
"That's two passes for opening day tomorrow. You will be able to get in without paying admission and you can ride any of the attractions you want along with seeing the shows…All at no cost for you and your son."
I smiled, for this was the first kindness my angel had done for his son.
"Thank you, monsieur."
"Don't thank me… Take your son to Phantasma tomorrow, feed him all the cotton candy he can eat and let him ride until he gets sick. That's what this new world is all about after all."
And after leaving my angel's home for the night I looked at the two tickets he had given me and knew that I would always cherish them.
Aww, well he does seem to have a caring soul...Well, since my other story is done now, I shall be updating more often. Please review!
