Christine's POV
I had only been at the opera house a few days, and already I was beginning to love it. My ankle was feeling much better now, and I was glad, for I was taking care of the owner of the opera house. He apologized to me for what he had said, but for some reason, I didn't find it effective. His words hurt me deep to my core, and even after he apologized, I still felt the pain from it. He wanted toast with a cup of tea and the only place to get such a thing was the kitchen. Nadir had brought me my dinners so far, and now it was time for me to enter the kitchen for myself. It was busy, that was for sure. The moment I entered, I was met with cooks and other women preparing the meals for the staff and patron's of tonight's opera. It was so fast paced that I wasn't even sure on how to go about getting Erik his breakfast. I nearly bumped into three cooks on my way to a long counter, apologizing every few moments. Oh, I didn't belong in here… There was a pot of water boiling on the burner of one of the stoves on the other side of the kitchen. Deciding to help myself, I grabbed an empty cup and began to make up Erik's tea.
"Did you hear about the Phantom?" I heard one of the female servants ask another. "Word is that a few of the guards shot him dead."
"They didn't find the body though…" another servent argued. "All they found were a few puddles of blood."
"That is quite strange… Then again, the Phantom is supposed to be. No one has ever seen him."
"I heard he's hideous," the woman said. "Betsy said that she saw him."
"Oh, come now. Betsy is always spreading false rumors. No one's seen him."
"She said that she was walking near the stage after the performance one evening and he was there…"
"What did he look like then?"
"She never saw his face… She said that he was tall and dressed in black."
"They didn't shoot the Phantom," I said, turning around. "The guards missed and shot the owner of the opera house."
The two women gave me a strange look before shaking their heads at me. They were staring at me as if I had spiders crawling all over my head. Deciding to head back up to Erik's room, I took my tray left the kitchen.
"Some people just love to spread false rumors," I mumbled under my breath. "They talk, but they don't have a clue on what they're talking about."
When I entered Erik's home, I walked back into his bedroom and placed the tray into his lap.
"Here, Monsieur, your tea and toast."
I stood at the end of his bed, waiting for him to eat, but he never touched his breakfast.
"Something wrong, Monsieur? Did I do something wrong to your tea?"
"No," he softly groaned. "I just prefer to eat alone. If…If you wouldn't mind going into the next room it would be greatly appreciated."
This was a strange request… I could understand if he was going to the bathroom or changing, but eating? I didn't quite get the logic in it all. This man was certainly strange.
"Yes, Monsieur…"
"And close the door on your way out."
I simply nodded and decided upon cleaning his office while I waited.
Erik's POV
Even after the woman left, I waited ten minutes before removing my mask. I couldn't possibly eat with my mask intact, and I never had a reason to do so. I was always alone, from the time of my birth up until now…But now, I had this woman in my home. After removing my mask, I placed it on the night table and began to eat my breakfast. I wasn't hungry, seeing that my body was in agony. I gnawed on a piece of the toast and washed it down with the tea.
"Monsieur?" when I heard a knock at the door, I put my mask back over my malformed face, fearing that she was going to walk in at any second.
"Yes?" I groaned. "I told you that I was going to call you in when I needed you."
"Are you finished with your breakfast?"
"Yes, come in and take it away…"
This girl came walking back in and when she noticed that I had only taken a sip of my tea and a bite of my toast, she began to nitpick once more.
"You've barely touched it."
"Well, girl, if you had an unbearable ache in your chest, would you want to eat? I'm beginning to feel sick in the stomach. Just take it away…"
"Nadir said that you will get sick if you take your medicine on an empty stomach."
"I want my medicine and for you to stop talking. Just do as you're told."
This girl didn't say another word. No, she simply handed me these strange capsules and I swallowed them one by one. A few seconds later, I began to feel a tight pressure in my bladder, and I knew this familiar sensation… I needed to use the bathroom.
"Here," I forced myself into a sitting position and swung each leg over the side of my bed. Oh, this was more painful than I first believed it to be. I braced myself with my hands as the girl came rushing to my side.
"What are you doing?"
"My chamber pot," I moaned. "Beneath the bed…"
The girl bent over and handed me the small pot.
"Do you need any help?"
"Help with what? I can urinate without your hand holding my manhood."
The girl gasped at what I had said and went rushing to the door. It was apparent that I had disgusted her…
"Mon Duie…" as the urine left my body, it burned…Oh, how it burned.
"Erik?"
I heard Nadir's voice on the other side of my door. Oh, what did he want? Wasn't he just here?
"Damn you, Persian, can't a man piss in peace?"
Without another word, Nadir came walking through my door, causing me to nearly miss the chamber pot.
"Christ, man…" I growled. "How dare you walk in here when my pants are down."
"You're pants are not down, Erik… You simply unbuttoned your sleep trousers and pulled yourself out of them."
"You're disgusting…"
"And you have the same thing I have… There isn't one that's different, Erik. Anyway, I came here to see if you're treating Christine kindly…"
"After an hour?"
I adjusted my sleep trousers and tried to lie back down, finding it impossible to do alone.
"Here, let me help you."
Nadir grabbed my arm and guided me back to my pillows.
"I apologized to her if that's what you're worried about. She didn't say a word to me… It's as if my apology wasn't good enough for her."
"Here, let me prop your feet up on some pillows. It will make your feet feel better."
"There is nothing wrong with my feet, thank you very much."
But the Persian didn't want to hear any of it. No, he took my bare feet into his hands and propped them up onto a few spare pillows.
"I bet if you treated Christine a little kinder, she might massage your feet for you."
"I don't want her touching any part of me, thank you very much. The less I see of her, the better. I can't stand her…Please, Nadir, take her away from me. Fire her and send her out of this opera house."
"And if I send her away, Erik, she will be homeless. She doesn't have anywhere else to go. I took her in and made her your housekeeper. You should be thankful… She's a beautiful girl, and even after all the things you've said to her, she's still here. That proves a lot."
"It proves that she's desperate for a job."
Nadir rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Erik, when you're well again I would like you to accompany me on an outing."
"I've seen your outings," I growled. "Your outings are filled with nothing but late night excursions to the whore houses."
"The pleasure of a woman every once in a while is not disgusting, Erik."
"You should be out finding a suitable woman to settle down with. No, instead you enjoy making love to them and wasting my money. Why pay for pleasure, Nadir?"
"And why not?" He argued.
"Paying is for those who cannot get it for free…"
"You can't get either of them, Erik."
"How dare you say that to me," I snapped. "How dare you come into my home and say something like that. I don't want it for free and I don't wish to pay for it."
"You're just upset that you were turned away that one night. If she didn't turn you away, you would've become addicted to it."
I ran my fingers over my bandaged chest and groaned.
"Nadir, I'm giving you five minutes to leave me in peace. And tell Christine to stop coming in here when I ask her to close the door and leave me in peace. It's not becoming of her…"
"As you wish, Erik," Nadir sarcastically snarled. "But your temper is going to get you into deep trouble one of these days. It already has…If you would have heeded my warning, you wouldn't be in the position that you are in now. Look at you, you're basically crippled."
"Hardly not…"
"I'll swing by tomorrow and check on you. Until then, be kind to Christine."
Christine's POV
When Nadir emerged from Erik's bedroom, he smiled and took the tray from my hands.
"I'll take this out of your way, Christine," Nadir said. "I'm going to grab some lunch from the kitchen anyway. Why make you go all the way down to the kitchen when I'm going there?"
"Thank you, Nadir. Does he want me to come back in or leave him alone?"
"Ah, keep him company. If he took his medicine, already, he will be asleep in no time. It helps with pain and sleeping."
"What about his bandages?" I questioned. "Should I change them before I leave tonight?"
"Yes, give him a sponge bath in a few hours and then change them before you leave. I would stay to help you, Christine, but sadly, there is another opera tonight."
Nadir made his point to leave, when I called his name one last time.
"Yes, Christine?"
"When…When I was down in the kitchen earlier, I heard two servants talking. They were saying that the guards shot and killed the Phantom of the Opera. I knew that it wasn't true, Nadir because Erik was shot. You told me that the bullets missed the Phantom and hit Erik instead. So, I turned to tell them this, but instead of believing me, they simply looked at me as if I had two heads."
"Christine, you must never speak of that again, do you understand me?"
"Of course, but why? Why is Erik being shot a big secret? He's the owner of the opera house… Shouldn't people know that the Phantom is still out there and the owner is injured?"
"No, they must never know that the Phantom is still alive. Do you understand me, Christine?"
Nadir grabbed my shoulders and lightly shook me.
"Whatever goes on in this room must be kept between you and I. Do you understand? I need you to promise me that you will not speak to another living soul in this opera house about Erik and what has happened to him. People will come snooping around and that is the last thing we need. Are we clear?"
I was still confused, but I nodded.
"Good. I will see you tomorrow, Christine. Good day."
And when I was left with Erik, I never felt more alone that I did in my entire life.
Sorry about the late update. I've been really busy with getting ready to go on vacation. I should be able to update while I'm away...I hope. Please review!
