Disclaimer: I do not own the Phantom of the Opera or August Rush. I only own some of the characters and some ideas for the plot.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait again. I was really enthralled in writing Infinite Love and then I got an idea to write another story. I hope you guys will check it out. I will write more about it at the end of this chapter. Here is chapter 7 of Music Within. Present Day, Christine is 34, Erik is 45, and Lyla is 12.
Music Within
Chapter 7: Lives Now
New York City
Lyla woke to the sound of cars beeping and screeching brakes. She opened her eyes and brought her head out from under the tarp covering her. She slept under the large blue cover in the back of a pickup truck that she saw at a rest stop on the highway. The whole back was filled with luggage and large boxes so she was unnoticeable to the driver. It had been early in the morning, a little past midnight, when she reached the rest stop and found the empty car in the parking lot.
Now she looked out at the very sunny day and realized the car wasn't moving. She lifted her head to look in the window that showed the front seats. No one was sitting inside and the car was parked parallel on the side of the street with traffic making all the noise that woke her.
She pushed the tarp off of her and climbed out of the back of the truck. She stood on the sidewalk and watched as men and woman walked by without looking at her and paying all their attention on their phones and trying to get to their destination.
Now that she was here in the big city she didn't know what to do. She knew she needed to find her parents, but she didn't know where to start. She decided to just start walking.
She walked down the sidewalk surrounded by tall adults wearing designer clothes or business suits and walked in no real destination. She believed if she was meant to find her family she would be lead there.
With all the noises and chaos of the city she could hear the music being constructed. Everything came together in a beautiful melody.
A person's cell phone beeps and a car started beeping from annoyance. The beeping of the crosswalk would go off to allow the pedestrians to cross the street.
The people walking down the street were walking with a shuffling of their feet or stomping them in their jogging. Woman wearing high heeled shoes made clicking noises as they walked.
She turned the corner to see a large drill making a hole in the ground and the scraping of a shovel picking up loose dry cement and piling it up to the side.
Loose trash tumbled in the streets from the wind like tumbleweeds. A man threw a can of soda and missed the trash can to make it smash on the cement. The whistling of the wind and the scuffling of trash against the ground hinted in the air.
Another noise floated in the air from an unknown location and Lyla found herself walking in the direction it was coming from. She must have had very great hearing because all the other noises around her were much more ear piercing and the glorious noise of a guitar was playing pretty far away.
She went to cross the street and almost got hit by a Toyota Corolla with a man driving that suddenly yelled out his window for her to get out of the way. She shakily kept crossing and avoided getting struck by another impatient driver and when she got to the other side she could hear the music clearer.
She walked past apartment buildings and businesses until she reached a less crowded area. She found herself standing in Washington Square Park. The smooth ground and structures that towered over everyone were most prominent and there was a fountain in the middle spraying water higher than everyone's heads. The music seemed to come closer and she turned to see a boy standing on a platform with a guitar and he was singing along with the tune of his guitar. He seemed to be trying to get people's attention while everyone kept walking and avoided the boy.
She stared at him from a few feet away and admired his physical appearance. He had lightly tanned skin, probably from being outside all day on such a sunny summer day. He had clear blue eyes and jet black hair that stuck up in a greasy do. He looked to be tall and was wearing worn jeans with big holes that showed his knees. He was also wearing a t- shirt that looked a little baggy and seemed to have a logo on it; it was so dirty that she couldn't understand what it said. His fingers were long and didn't look to be taken care of. His nails were cut really short, as if he bit them a lot and he had dirt covering them. Even though his hands looked messy they played the guitar very well.
Lyla was suddenly standing right in front of him and he still played on as if she wasn't there. She looked down to see the guitar case was open by his feet and there were coins and a few dollar bills sitting inside.
"Don't get any ideas. This is my money, I earned it." the kid said as he kneeled down and started gathering the money up and placing it in his pockets.
"I wasn't going to steal your money." She said shyly. "You play beautifully."
The boy looked at her for a moment and started to feel guilty for jumping to conclusions. "Sorry. You wouldn't know how many teenagers come by and snag my money when I'm not looking." He said as he jumped down from his platform and placed the guitar in its empty case.
"I'm Ryan." He said as he locked the case and flung it over his shoulder.
"Lyla." She said back.
"Pretty name. How old are you?" he asked curiously.
"Twelve." She said wondering why he would ask that.
"Where's your mom?" he asked thinking a twelve year old girl shouldn't be wondering New York City by herself.
"I don't know." She said with a shrug.
"Great." He said sarcastically. "Let me show you to the police station and they can get you back home." He said as he started walking away in the direction of the police.
"I don't want to go back there." She said thinking her home was that children's home she had walked all night away from.
"Then I don't know what to say." He said as he walked in a different direction to his home.
He headed out of the park and down the street to get to his place. He could hear small footsteps behind him and he turned around to see Lyla following him.
"Why are you following me?" he asked nervously.
"I don't have anywhere to go." She said back.
"Am I supposed to take care of you now?" he asked sarcastically. He knew he was too young to have to take care of someone else and he didn't have enough money to support himself let alone a girl.
She shrugged and stood waiting for him to think of something. After only a minute the kid sighed and outstretched his hand. "Come on. I'll show you who takes care of me."
xXx
Boston, Massachusetts
Christine answered the phone on the fifth ring as she raced into her apartment and put all her bags down. When she pressed the speaker button she said, "Hello?" out of breath.
"Hi baby. Did you just get in?" a male voice asked.
"Hi, Danny. Yeah, I just got out of work. How are you?" she said as she grabbed her bags full of clothes off the floor where they fell and unpacked them.
"I'm good. I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner tonight?" he asked hopeful.
"I am really busy tonight. I have to prepare for the presentation to my boss tomorrow and I still have a lot of work to do." She said.
"How about I bring over some ingredients and make you dinner? I know that if I don't make you food you won't eat." He said on the other line.
"That's true. How can I say know to your cooking?" she said thinking of all the times he made her dinner and each time the meal made her mouth water.
"You can't." he said with a laugh. "I will be right over."
Before she could object he hung up and was probably already preparing to pack up the food. Christine brought the clothes she bought into her bedroom and placed them on her bed. She had bought ten different outfits and each one was filled with colors. She hoped her boss would be proud. She was an assistant for a clothes designer and for her job she had to inspire her to draw new things.
When she first got the job she thought she would be running around, answering phones, getting coffee, and running errands, but her boss was more interested in getting inspired. Christine has been getting paid to shop for ten years. She has loved her job but she believes it is a dead end job. Her boss will never want to lose her for an assistant.
She was trying on all the outfits to make sure every piece looked good together and see what other pieces will go with what to help her boss get interested in the outfit. Once she had half of the outfits tried on and set as a definite show to her boss there was a knock at the door.
She knew it was Danny so she yelled across the apartment for him to enter. She was currently standing in her bra and panties and didn't want to go answer the door. When she heard him come in she said, "I will be right out."
She put on one of the dresses she bought and added black high heel boots and a chain necklace. She walked out of her bedroom to see Danny standing in the kitchen unloading a bag full of food. He looked up and stared at the very revealing short dress and sexy long boots that reached her knees. He smiled delightfully and said,
"You didn't have to dress up for dinner. It is nothing special. Just steak and steamed vegetables." He said sarcastically.
"I had to do some shopping before returning home. Melinda wants ten outfits by tomorrow to show to her and I only had a few hours to get it done. What do you think?" she said as she spun around slowly to show every angle of the dress.
"I thinkā¦" he walked out of the kitchen and over to her standing form "you look very sexy in that outfit."
She giggled softly and said, "I knew you would say that."
He kissed her on the lips passionately and she kissed back with a smile on her face. When they pulled away he walked over to the kitchen to continue cooking and she went into her room to continue trying on the other four outfits. She knew she didn't have to worry about the attires looking good on the models as she was model material. She was skinny and tall and could be a model if she wanted to be. All the sizes she was trying on now would fit a model perfectly.
Melinda was going to give her ten models to work with and she was going to have them wear the outfits she had laid out and they would do a small runway in her office.
When she finally finished getting all the outfits picked out she put the different finished designs into separate bags so she wouldn't forget what goes with which. When she had that finished she put them in the corner and went into her walk in closet to get a comfortable outfit to wear for the night.
She picked a pair of lime green pants and a large t-shirt that belonged to Danny and her slippers. She walked out of her bedroom to see the table was cleared of mail and other dishes and now had a lace tablecloth and a candle sitting in the middle. There were two dish settings across from each other and a bottle of wine sitting in a bucket of ice. She looked like she was much underdressed for a nice restaurant setting.
Before she could turn back to her room and change into something else her boyfriend came out from behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room and saw her. He laughed at the change of outfit and outstretched his hand in invitation.
Christine walked across the living room and took his hand. He kissed her on her palm and led her to the table. He sat her in the seat and went over to the stove and brought over two plates and put them down on the already existing place settings.
"Steak, medium well, steamed broccoli and homemade mashed potatoes." He said as he placed the mouthwatering dish in front of her.
"This looks amazing." She said admiring the dish as if it was a tall naked man standing in front of her.
He pulled the bottle of wine out of the ice and showed the label to her.
"Oh my God. You got my favorite red wine, Cabernet Franc. This is so rare, how did you find it?" she asked with wide eyes.
"That's not important. Did you really think I wouldn't do something special on our one year anniversary?" he said.
Her eyes widened again in surprise. She put her head in her hands in embarrassment. "I completely forgot. I am so sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Christine. You can make it up to me later." He said with a wink.
She laughed at the hint he was making and kissed him softly. She grabbed the steak sauce from the middle of the table and poured it onto the meat before taking a bite. Her eyes closed slowly to savor the taste. It was so good that it melted in her mouth.
The dinner was amazing, the man was amazing and her job was amazing. After a little over ten years she wished she could forget completely, but the memory of her daughter she never laid eyes on still screamed in her mind. The thought that a man wearing a mask was somewhere in the world and hated her for lying was painful as well. It was a throbbing pain to know that she couldn't sing or play an instrument without thinking of them and being hurt by the memory. She hadn't touched music in over ten years and she never thought she would be able to again.
xXx
Los Angeles, California
Erik sat in his office staring at his computer screen. He was watching a video online of a girl sitting at a piano and playing a version of Enchanted by Taylor Swift. She had to be in her early twenties and her hair was cut short to her shoulders and it was died an unnatural red. She was wearing a green sundress that completely clashed with her hair and her skin was an olive color.
Erik watched as the girl sang her heart out and when she finished playing she stood and gave a bow.
Erik clicked out of the video and brushed it off as mediocre. The girl didn't have the voice to last in this business, maybe after a lot more practice and determination she could get somewhere. He wasn't going to be signed by him though.
Erik turned his desk chair so he was staring at the wall and looked at the diploma from Juilliard he had hanging on the wall. After leaving New York he didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do, he just knew he had to get out of New York City. He had gone to Maine to visit his brother and stayed with him for a while. When he almost ran out of the money he earned from his Juilliard concerts he left and went to Los Angeles.
Since then he has worked as a music agent in one of the most popular music industries in the world. For eight years he has lived in this office trying to find a voice that was good enough to be signed. He gave a few young people their dreams, but most of the people he saw were brushed away like dust. Ever since hearing Christine, no voice was better, no voice could top hers.
A couple years back he went to New York for business and while he was there he stopped at the bridge where he had met her. He caressed the brick structure thinking he could touch Christine one last time. But of course she was long gone and she wasn't coming back. She is probably happily married to that blond guy and probably has children. He should hate her for lying and making him believe she cared, but the truth is he never hated her, he was just angry with the situation. If he saw her one last time he would go to her and hold her in his arms for an eternity.
Erik was broken from his thoughts as his speaker beeped announcing his assistant needed to speak.
"Yes, Allie." He said as he held down the button to allow her to hear him.
"Sir, you have a phone call on line two. She says her name is Stephanie Emer." The new assistant said nervously.
"Thank you." He said. He was surprised to be hearing from her as he hadn't spoken to her since he left New York thirteen years ago. He picked up the phone and pressed the button to connect with line two and said, "Hello?"
"Hello Erik. How are you?" It definitely sounded like Stephanie with her squeaky voice.
"I am fine. How are you?" Erik said back as he looked through his papers for something to do, he didn't want to get stuck in his thoughts for another half hour when she hung up.
"I'm doing alright. I am actually in Los Angeles for business and I was wondering if you could take an hour from your busy schedule and have lunch with me."
Erik looked up at the clock and saw the time, realizing he had skipped out on lunch. "It is three in the afternoon?"
"Oh. I keep getting stuck in Eastern Time. How about dinner?"
"Well I am really busy today. How about breakfast tomorrow morning?" he said as he looked at his schedule and noticed he didn't have any important meetings booked for the morning until ten.
"That sounds great. How about eight?" she asked.
"Sounds good to me. Where are you staying I will pick you up?"
"I am staying at the Hilton."
"Alright I will pick you up at eight. See you soon." He said as a goodbye.
"See you later." She said back before hanging up.
Erik put his phone down and added his breakfast plans to his schedule. He wondered what had made her think to call him up and meet. He knew it couldn't be just because she was in Los Angeles. If she had come for business she would be too busy to meet personally. She must have something important on her mind to ask him or else she wouldn't have called. He wondered what it could be and too soon he was lost in his thoughts again.
xXx
Stephanie had hung up the phone and smiled. She was happy to be seeing Erik tomorrow morning and she couldn't wait to ask him what she hoped he would say yes to.
xXx
So that's where Erik has been! I couldn't decide what to have his occupation be, I didn't want him to desert music all together so he became a well-known music agent.
So the story I have uploaded two chapters for is a Titanic love story for Erik and Christine. I wanted to have it up on the 100th year anniversary of the sinking and I am proud that I got that accomplished. I hope you will check it out and please review it also.
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