I found a computer! My neighbor has internet it appears. I tried to finish this chapter in a hurry if you can't tell....anyway-have fun reading and review please!

All former disclamers apply.

Chapter 7

"Daddy!" Christine cried as she bolted up in an unfamiliar room. She looked around, trying to see where she was. Then, she caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure that seemed to have just woken up as well.

"Christine?" Erik asked, worried. He had fallen asleep after reading the book and had been woken up by Christine's screaming.

"Erik? Where am I? What am I doing here?" Christine asked, slightly panicked. He sighed.

"You're safe-in my home, this is the guest bedroom. I brought you here after I...found you in the ally." He replied evasively. He didn't want to tell her that he had killed the man-or that he had been following her.

Her hands reached under the neckline of her shirt and for a brief second he wondered what the hell she was doing. To his relief-or it could have been interpreted as disappointment-she was not stripping. She pulled out a chain that has a cross on it. She sighed in relief.

"What's that?"He asked curiously. He had never noticed it before. Then again he didn't make a habit of looking under her clothes.

"It's the crucifix my father gave to me about two weeks before he died. It used to be my mother's." She whispered, tears gathering in her eyes thinking about it's history. She was glad to see it hadn't been ripped off the night before.

"Christine...I don't want you scaring me like that again! Please, promise me that you'll never go back there!"Erik blurted. Christine looked down.

"I-I can't promise that Erik. I have to earn a living, now that I have Meg and Ayesha. I can't just work minimum wage as a bar maid. It's not enough. And nowhere else is hiring for hours I can do." She admitted quietly.

"You could have done something! Stayed in the Canada-the U.S-some country that doesn't have whores on every street corner!" He spat with rage. There was always a choice! Why didn't she pick the right one? Why didn't he?

Her face hardened.

"Nice to see you think so highly of me Mr Destler. If you'll excuse me-I have to get home. Meg will be worried about me." She seethed.

She tried to get up but Erik stood in front of her, arms crossed and determined that she would not pass.

"You are not going anywhere Ms Daae, you're injured, in shock and I-" He stopped, horrified at what he was about to say. He was just about to confess that he loved her!

"You what?" She asked curiously.

"I'd rather babysit you in the comfort of my own home then where you could get into trouble again!" He said, without thinking.

She almost turned purple from rage.

"Why you ignorant son of a-" She started but Erik cut her off.

"I'm sorry-I didn't mean that-and watch the language! What I meant to say was that it's not safe for you....if you would like I could help you look for a job..." He said the last part a bit awkwardly. Christine stared at him a moment-wondering if he had split personalities.

"I don't need your charity. If you would like I could be your whore-oh I forgot, you already have someone for that position." She sneered. She was jealous-there was no denying it. And it hurt her that she wasn't the one who could take care of him. She wanted to be the one he treated so tenderly.

Erik looked lost. What had he said? All he had asked is if she needed help with a job. But he understood that he was on the defensive and decided to leave her alone to sulk.

"I will leave you to contemplate what you just said." He replied and walked out the door, locking the door from the outside. He heard her try to open the door, then start banging on it.

"Erik-what are you doing?! You bastard! You can't leave me here! Answer me!" She shouted, after that she shouted random things. He stayed behind and listened, amused to what she was saying. After an hour he heard something so rare that he bolted straight up, as though electrocuted.

She had started to sing. Not anything serious really, it was from the musical Sweeny Todd. The song was 'She's only a bird in a gilded cage'. Under any other circumstance he would have found it amusing.

But her voice! She was not a human-she must have been an angel come from heaven! For what reason, he had no idea. What had he ever done to deserve God's grace? He couldn't stand it. He needed to make sure that it was really Christine in there and not an angel.

He slid the key into the lock and slid the door open, stepping into the room. Almost forgetting to close the door behind him. Almost. Not quite though.

As soon as he stepped through the door Christine stopped singing and looked at him expectantly.

"Well? Am I sprung?" She asked, crossing her arms. He looked at her, speechless. Did she not see the effect she had on him?

Ignoring her question he asked her

"Why do you have such degrading jobs when you sing like that?"

She looked at him with sadness he had seen in no other eyes other than his. He wanted to cut out his tongue for saying something that wounded her so deeply.

"Because-I don't sing." She replied, trying to get past him. He blocked her off.

"Then what was that I just heard?" He asked, getting frustrated. Were women always like that? So stubborn?

"It's called I want to leave! Just leave me alone Erik! Go back to the person who deserves you!" She cried. He stared at her in astonishment-leaving his defences wide open.

She dashed for the door-reaching it just in time. She opened it and closed it quickly. She looked down the long hallway, realizing she didn't have long.

She ran to the left-it seemed like the best idea. When she realized that the stairs weren't that way and she reached a dead end she hid herself in the nearest room.

It turned out to be a bathroom and she locked the door. How was she going to get out of this? The man she had a crush on-not only did he already have a mistress but now she was in his house, being hunted down and treated as if she were a rabid animal! What on earth was going on?

Yet somehow she couldn't find it in herself to regret a single moment of it...

XXX

After the shock of Christine actually running from him wore off Erik dashed out into the hallway.

What was she thinking?! All he asked was for her to sing! With her Angel's voice! And what did she mean about having a whore and someone who deserves him? It was he that did not deserve to even look at her! He was a monster! He had the blood of many people on his hands and yet it was him that did not deserve her?

Women!

He looked both left and right, wondering what direction she went. He decided to try the right first, if she had gone that way she would have had to find the door that held the stairs-and it was very well concealed.

He took off in the direction and looked around. Most of the doors on this side of the hallway was locked-not even the servants had a key. Most of them had to do with his obsession with Christine.

She was obviously not down here. That only left the other side of the hallway. That would complicate things. Most of those doors were open (though not all of them) and had some pretty good hiding spots.

He ran down the other side and looked into each room, making sure to be absolutely silent. Finally he reached the dead end and there was no sign of the lovely lady.

He looked around in bewilderment. Where could she have gone?

He quietly looked around the hallway, counting off the rooms, checking to see if there were any he had missed.

Wait-why was one of the bathrooms closed?

Ah-so his little vixen had found a hiding spot! Rather clever of her too!

He made sure that she would be able to hear his footsteps as they walked down the hallway.

"Have you found her Charles? No? Then she probably escaped downstairs. Let's go check!" He used the ventriloquism technique he had learned years earlier to make it appear that his voice was going down the hallway.

He thought he heard a sigh of relief come from behind the door-then the sound of footsteps. He walked down the hall a ways and then hid in one of the other rooms, waiting for her to come out.

When she did she poked her head out first, making sure that he wasn't there, ready to run back in if he was. When she was satisfied she stepped out fully. He caught his breath and once again wondered why God had given her back to him.

She started down the hall, looking into every room and ready to bolt at any minute at a sign of movement.

As she inched her way down the hall Erik got ready to pounce. He knew he would have to be quick about it.

As he heard her footsteps approach he tensed. Finally she was inch beyond the door.

He jumped and grabbed her. She screamed, but he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Now my dear we are going to walk back to your room and discuss this rationally." He compromised. She nodded mutely.

"Good, good. Nice to see you're being agreeable." He murmured into her ear. She shivered and he wondered what he had done to repulse her so much.

When they marched down the hall Christine had a feeling like she was walking towards a start of a new life.