Here's another wonderful chapter everyone!
The following morning, I was a total wreck. I was still in pain, but I had to go help Esmeralda out. I felt bad about leaving her all alone yesterday, let alone for another day. Erik would have stopped me, but thankfully he wasn't around, nor did I know when he would be coming back. After making my way over to the caravan, I sat down and began to eat my breakfast as quick as possible, as Esmeralda prepared breakfast for everyone else.
"You seem worried today." she replied.
Oh yes I was worried…the one man I yearned for had asked me on a date! I was bound to screw it up…like everything else.
"I was asked on a date." I said.
"By who?"
Now the question was, whether to tell Esmeralda or not. I knew Erik liked keeping his life private, and so that's exactly what I did.
"A boy…" I said. "I've never been on a date before, and I'm nervous."
"Well I've been on plenty of dates before. Ask me anything you want to know."
This gave me a sigh of relief.
"How do you know a date's going well?" I asked nervously.
Esmeralda smiled.
"Well if a date is going well, let's just say you'll know it."
"How?" I asked. "How will I know?"
"Well, you'll see at the end of the night."
I had no idea what Esmeralda was talking about, but decided to just wait and see. After she handed me the basket of food, I left the caravan, and began my route. As soon as I stepped out of the caravan, Lonnie was there waiting for me. Oh how I hated the boy even more for what he did to me the other night. Then again, I was the dumb one for thinking I would ever like him. I ignored him, and walked along, as if he weren't even there.
"Oh would you stop acting like this?" he wailed.
This provoked my anger even more.
"Me? You act like it's my fault. I'm not the one who ran off and left me to fend for myself."
"You're still alive."
I tried to walk on, but Lonnie stood in my way.
"Move out of my way!" I yelled.
I waited, but Lonnie didn't move.
"Lonnie, I want you to leave me alone, and I don't want you to talk to me ever again."
"I want you to forgive me, Lauralye." he said. "What do I have to do to gain your forgiveness?"
"Nothing!" I shouted. "Because I'll never forgive you!"
"Let me take you out on another date. This time I swear to be a better person."
I couldn't, and wouldn't forgive Lonnie for what he did to me.
"Tonight." he replied, getting down to one knee. "Go with me tonight."
I pulled away from him, and shook my head.
"I'm busy tonight."
"Busy with what?" he questioned.
"Going out with a friend!" I shouted, walking away from the very sight of him.
"With who? That hideous mess you've been staying with?"
This stopped me. I turned around, and came barging right back to Lonnie, and as soon as I reached him, my hand took on a mind of its own. I slapped him so hard across the face, that he stumbled backwards.
"You will not talk about him that way!"
"And why not?" he asked. "I'm only stating the truth."
"That man has given you a job, and a decent pay. How can you say such horrible things about him?"
"I would love to get a look at what he's hiding under that mask."
"Don't you even think about doing such a thing!" I yelled. "You're evil Lonnie, and I'll never be your friend."
"We shall see."
With that, I stormed off to complete my daily chore. After delivering lunch, and dinner, I returned to the caravan. I was so nervous about tonight, that I looked like a complete mess. Esmeralda let me have another one of her daughter's dresses, a red one this time. I loved the way it looked on me, but it didn't change the fact that I was nervous. After dressing, I stood in front of her mirror, as Esmeralda brushed my hair. To top it all off, she placed a single rose within my locks and smiled.
"There," she replied. "All done."
I thanked her, and ran my fingers through my brown locks.
"Don't play with it." she said, handing me my cloak. "Now go have a good time."
I carried my cloak back to Erik's tent, and took deep breaths as I became closer. Once I was right at his doorway, I entered and stood there in the main room. The immediate scent of Erik's cologne sent my body into a love stricken state of hypnotism; oh how I loved it! Seconds later, Erik appeared from behind the bedroom drapes, dressed in his black suit. My knees weekend at the very mere sight of his handsome self…He smiled as soon as he laid eyes upon me, causing my cheeks to light up a bright red color.
"Once again Lauralye, you have indeed impressed me." he said, extending his hand out to touch mine.
"You look nice as well, Erik." I said nervously.
Erik raised an eyebrow at me.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "You seem nervous."
Great, leave it to me to show off every emotion I was feeling. I couldn't let him know, I just couldn't! Oh dear god, what to say? What to say?
"I'm still in a little pain is all."
"Well if you're feeling too ill, perhaps we shouldn't go." he said, in a caring tone.
Great! Now I did it. Me and my big old mouth! I had to think of something before the night was blown off.
"No, it's fine." I said. "Nothing I can't bear for a few hours."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yes, I'm very sure."
Erik then interlocked his arm with mine, and began to lead me to the doorway.
"Ok then, let's be off."
The feeling of his arm making contact with mine, scent a feeling of warmth throughout my body. As far as I knew, the date was going well, and I only hoped that it would continue to be. I wondered what Esmeralda was talking about when she mentioned the wonderful ending of a date? I told myself to wait and find out, but I wanted to know now…When we made it to the opera house, Erik didn't take me through the front door…why not?
"Erik, where are we going?" I asked, as he took me towards a door in the back alley.
"We can't go through the front door. The whole city is probably looking for you, and if you're spotted, who knows what might happen."
He had a point… When we were in a dark hallway, Erik led me down to its end, before pushing back a red drape. When I entered, I noticed that it was his personal box…box 5! I was actually going to be watching my first opera in a real live box! Erik entered after me, and took my cloak from off my shoulders. He then motioned me to have a seat. When I sat down into the comfortable cushions of the chair, I sighed…this was heaven. Erik then took a seat in the chair beside me, and crossed his lanky legs.
"I take it you like my box." he mentioned, after a while.
"Oh yes, I love it. Who was the last person who came here with you?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well you come here a lot." I said. "So you must bring friends with you, right?"
Erik shook his head.
"No, this is actually the first time I've ever brought someone else along."
"Why?" I asked. "You're so very kind. How is it that you never brought anyone else here?"
Erik's head lowered, and it took a few moments before I heard him reply.
"I'm not a sociable man. I prefer to keep to myself, and for good reason."
"Why's that?" I asked.
"Hopefully you shall never have to know why."
And I kept it at that. The last thing I wanted was to make Erik upset and spend the next four hours with a miserable man. When the lights dimmed, I glanced towards the stage, and began to hear beautiful music being played. There weren't words to describe how beautiful and wonderful my first opera had been. The sets, the music, the costumes…oh they were magnificent. I even watched Erik every so often…his facial expression never changed, and his foot tapped along to each symphony. I knew then and there that I wanted to attend every opera with Erik. I would become his permanent opera mate. When it was over, Erik and I walked out of the opera house, arm in arm. I was having the best night of my life, and I didn't want it to end. On our way home however, Erik took a different way, and we ended up in a small park. It was so beautiful! Street lamps lit the cobble stone path, and the sky was full of stars to gaze upon. There was a wooden bench under a dimmed lamp, and that's where Erik and I stopped to sit. I glanced up at his masked face, and smiled.
"Do you know why I brought you here?" he asked.
"No, why?"
Erik laughed. "Oh, I don't know. Sometimes I just come out here to think. It's beautiful is it not?"
"Oh yes." I said. "very beautiful."
"You know it's funny to think that I always dreamed of taking her here on Sundays."
This caught my attention. Her? Who was "her"? was there another? A small pain localized in my chest as soon as I heard the words.
"Who are you talking about?" I asked.
Then from his lips came one name.
"Christine…"
The pain instantly went away as soon as I heard her name. She was dead….
"Do you think about her a lot?" I asked.
"If only you knew."
How I wanted to tell Erik how much I adored him. What if he didn't feel the same way about me? What if he just liked me as a friend and nothing more?
"Do you think you could ever love again?" I asked.
Erik laughed in his throat. "Who could ever love me? I thought Christine could love me, and look what happened? She left without a second thought…oh how my chest still aches from it. I've never been loved in this world, and I never will be…"
Poor Erik, if he only knew my true feelings for him. After a moment of silence, I placed my hand over his and smiled.
"Could I always accompany you to the opera house?"
Erik's face brightened, causing my smile to widen even more.
"You mean, you enjoy spending time with me?" he asked.
"More than anything in the world." I replied.
Erik then stood to his feet, bringing me along with him.
"That." he began. "is one of the nicest things ever said to me. My ears aren't used to hearing such things, because…well…people don't speak kindly of me."
When we made it back to the fairgrounds, I knew the date was at its end. I only hoped it went well enough to have that special thing Esmeralda told me about. When we were back inside the tent, I stood there, my chest touching his. His hands were in mine, and the feeling sent warm shocks throughout my body. I waited, waiting for what Esmeralda told me about….but nothing happened. He just continued to stand there looking down at me, as if he weren't sure what to do either. Finally, I decided to break the silence.
"I had a wonderful time with you tonight, Erik. If I had the choice to stay just like this for the rest of my life, I seriously would. Being with you makes me feel complete."
I was sure tears had began to make there way to his eyes, but the mask hid it. He then lifted his hand to my face, and traced my lips with his soft, yet cold boney finger.
"I want to do something, but I have to do it a certain way, or else I could hurt you."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, looking me in the eyes as if he were trying to read me.
"With my life." I replied.
I guess my answer suited him, for he began to untie his red cravat from around his neck. Watching him do this sent erotic shivers throughout my spine….oh how he moved like a dove. He then placed it over my eyes, and tied it tightly around my head.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a frightened tone.
"In order for me to do this, you must be blindfolded."
I was still confused as to why I needed to be blindfolded, but I obeyed. I was now standing still, blinded, and waiting for Erik to do what he wanted. I couldn't feel his presence around me any longer, but I could still smell him. I then felt his two shaking hands cup each of my cheeks. The warmth from my cheeks immediately warmed his flesh, but they were shaking so bad that it was hard to keep contact with them. Why were his hands shaking? It was as if he were nervous or scared…but why? Then at that moment, everything came together. One moment I could feel nothing but his hands, and the next I could feel everything. The first thing I felt was soft leather making contact with my dry lips. It stayed like that for several moments, as if it were waiting for something….and that's when I realized that the soft leather I was feeling, were his lips, and he was waiting for me to accept his kiss! He was kissing me! Without a second thought I opened my mouth, and began to kiss him back, taking in the taste of his lips. Tasting his lips only left me wanting more, and I forced my tongue into his mouth. His breath was ice cold, and as soon as my warm tongue met with his, the chill from it caused me to shiver….but it turned me on ever so much. This man was driving me completely wild, and I didn't want to pull away. As our mouths came tighter together, I could feel my top lip touching his, and that's when I knew he wasn't wearing his mask…which was the reason for blindfolding me. When my teeth bit down into his bottom lip, he stopped me by pushing my lips away from him.
"Easy." he whispered. "with how sensitive my flesh is, you could scar me like that."
Ugh! Why didn't I think of that myself! Here I am getting my first kiss by this wonderful man, and what do I do? Hurt him! I reached out for his body once again, and let my curiosity get the best of me…I raised my hand to his neck and was about to go for the unmasked side of his face, when his hand stopped me.
"Please don't." he begged. "please let us leave this date as wonderful as I've imagined it being."
"Why did you take your mask off to kiss me?" I asked.
"Because the mask could have scratched your cheek."
"Why did you kiss me?" I asked.
Once again, me and my big mouth. Instead of just assuming he enjoyed the date as much as me, I had to go and ask him something like that. He immediately tore away the cravat from over my eyes, and ran across the other side of the tent in such shame.
"Oh please forgive me…" he cried, turning to place the mask back on. "I knew I shouldn't have done it. Please forgive me…you must have felt so disgusted tasting my rotting flesh…"
I had to stop this, I had to tell him how much I enjoyed the kiss and wanted to do it again. How could I stop this? How could I change things back to being the way they were a few moments ago? I then approached him as fast as I could, and placed my lips over his, tasting salty tears and cold flesh. I didn't care about the discomfort coming from the mask against my cheek, I had to stop his crying.
"Don't apologize Erik, I enjoyed it ever so much."
"You mean it?" he asked.
"Yes, it was my first kiss, and I couldn't have shared it with a better person."
Erik showed no emotion what so ever, and lightly kissed my hand.
"Goodnight, Lauralye."
I smiled.
"Goodnight, Erik."
I left Erik to his music, and went into the bedchamber to change. Afterwards, I lied in bed, slowly drifting to sleep, thinking about the wonderful night I had shared with him…oh how I wanted to spend the next fifty years with this man…he was the first friend I had made, and I loved him so…Though good things in my life never stayed for long, especially after what happened to me the following day. The following morning, I awoke ever so happily. The kiss Erik and I shared was on my mind…I wanted it again! I came out to the main room, only to find that he wasn't there; probably on another outing in town no doubt. I knew he would have probably taken me with him, but as he said, I needed to stay out of the city incase Mr. Crawly was lurking around. I was running later than usual, keeping my conversation with Esmeralda to a hi and bye basis…I was glad…I didn't want to have to lie to her about my wonderful date with Erik. I passed around breakfast as usual, always dreading my meetings with Lonnie. Today however, when I came to his tent, he was waiting for me. I didn't say two words to him as I handed him his breakfast. As I began to walk away, what came out of his mouth angered me.
"Heard Mr. Crawly is looking for you."
I immediately turned around, and stood there…what else was I supposed to do? Erik had told the fair grounds to be hush hush about my existence….I knew Lonnie was going to use it to his advantage.
"Boss told everyone not to say a word." I replied.
"That doesn't mean I won't." he said. "I almost have all my money saved for Florence, what's to say that I need to stay hushed about it? Crawly might even pay me the rest of what I need, just for word of where you're at."
"Lonnie." I began. "Please don't rat me out."
"Well that might come with a price." he replied selfishly. "I want a date with you."
"I don't want to go out with you, Lonnie! I love someone else, and it isn't you."
I could see the anger in Lonnie's eyes.
"You will go on a date with me tonight, or else tomorrow morning I'll go straight to Crawly."
Here I was…standing with one choice on my mind. I either gave Lonnie a date, or else he was going to give me away. Then again if I had to leave the fair ground, I would never see Erik again….Oh why me?
"Ok, I'll give you one date." I replied. "And that's it."
Lonnie smiled.
"Good, meet me here at sundown, and don't make me wait."
I had some time before lunch, and found myself back at Erik's tent. When I retuned, he was there, sitting at his desk.
"Hello." I said happily.
Erik lifted his head from staring down at his paper work, and smiled.
"Good afternoon, Lauralye. What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I have some time before I have to deliver lunch, so I decided to come say hello."
"Well later on I shall be leaving for the opera house, which reminds me. Do you want to accompany me tonight?"
Oh how I wanted to…Oh how my body ached to be with him..but where was I going to be? With Lonnie….oh what fun…
"I can't." I replied in a sad tone. "Not tonight."
Erik's happy face turned to one of loneliness, as soon as I turned him down.
"I see." he said angrily. "Weren't you supposed to be my opera partner? That means you go with me to the operas…am I wrong?"
I couldn't tell him about Lonnie. I had to lie…I had to think of something else that would be a good enough excuse as to why I couldn't join him, one that wouldn't make him upset.
"Esmeralda." I blurted out. "She needs help making deserts for tomorrow."
Erik's expression no longer looked sad, giving me a sense of relief.
"Oh, excuse me then for my earlier judgment. I shall see you tomorrow morning then…"
Oh if I knew this was going to be the last happy moment of the day, I would have just threw myself at Erik…but I didn't know…I didn't know what lied ahead for me tonight…
That night, after I finished delivering dinner, I dropped the basket off to Esmeralda before making my way through the crowds of people coming into the fairgrounds. Instead of going back to the tent, I went straight towards Lonnie's…heck I wasn't changing and making myself look pretty for the likes of him. When I arrived, he was already waiting for me…ugh I hated him.
"Shall we be off then?" he asked, taking my arm in his.
I snatched my arm away, and kept my distance from him as we walked.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
We came to a broken fence post at the other side of the fairgrounds, and Lonnie motioned me to go under it.
"I'm not supposed to leave the fairgrounds." I said.
"We're going into the woods." he replied. "No one's going to see you there."
When Lonnie and I were outside the fence, he led me into the dark, cold woods that sat in the back of Erik's fair.
"What's out in the woods?" I asked.
"I made something for you." he said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"You'll see."
We walked through the woods for the longest of times. Oh where was he taking me? And where was Erik? How badly I wanted to be in his arms right now. When we crossed over a small creek, and came to a dead end, I wondered where we were, or where he was taking me now?
"Lonnie, where are we?" I asked in a frightened tone.
When I didn't get a reply, I turned around, and that's when I felt a heavy object hit me upside the face. I fell back into the small creek, and looked up to see Lonnie standing over me, with a thick tree branch in his hand. He hit me! I could feel the splinters in my face, as I lied there thinking of what to do next….and that's when the most unspeakable things you only see in nightmares began happening….
Sorry about the cliffy! Happy Valentine's Day everyone…show me some love by sending me your thoughts…I promise not to leave you hanging too long…Wow Lauralye really gets herself into some deep trouble doesn't she? Thanks everyone!
