Hello everybody! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews. Things finally start to heat up in this chapter so be prepared. Enjoy, and brace yourselves for some major plot twists. *C.E.L

Chapter Ten

The holiday was one of the best in my memory. My family obviously adored Rom, my younger, female cousins, maybe adored him too much. He charmed my grandmother, who could talk my father into anything and my mother kept telling me how wonderful he was. I didn't need her reminder but I was glad she approved. Rom seemed really happy on the ride home. Just before we left, he had a long conversation with my father, and as a goodbye, he said to me, "He's a good boy, Elise, he loves you." Those words very nearly made me cry.

We had finally finished rehearsals. Tonight would be our first ever performance. Everything had drawn together into a wonderful success. Onstage I managed to mask my discomfort of being around Eric; Reginald even said that I made the performance believable. As high, praise as it was it came at a cost. When I returned home, there was another picture waiting for me. This one was of me and Rom, embracing in after the confrontation with Firmann. In red paint were the words, "you can't escape me, he can't take you from me". It was the longest message so far, and the most chilling. When I showed it to Rom, he begged me to go to the police but I refused. If I said anything the show could suffer for it, and that wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

By the time I made it to the main floor of my building, Rom was waiting for me. "You shouldn't have come," I teased, "You might have been late." Rom smiled, his gold-flecked grey eyes dancing.

"You will never be late to an opening night, Lissie, we both know that." I laughed again, and we headed out into the frigidly sunny winter day. We laughed and talked about our excitement. Opening night was always a big deal, a rush of adrenaline that can't be described, and this was my first one as a real singer and actress.

"I can't tell if you're shivering from cold or excitement, Lissie." Rom teased, sliding his arm around my waist.

I laughed at him, "Excitement obvious-"I cut off suddenly with a scream. Out of the shadows of an alley someone had grabbed Rom, pulling him backwards.

Rom jerked out of his grasp and turned to face his attacker. He took a wide swing at the assailant, but he just missed him. The attacker's fist connected with Rom's eye with a noise that turned my stomach. As terrified as I was, I couldn't think of anything to do. I could no longer fault Christine for not acting when Raoul was fighting the Phantom. I now understood the terror of seeing the one you love being attacked.

Suddenly, terror loosened its grip on me. I looked frantically for a police officer, and seeing one, called, begging him to come. He rushed over, but as he arrived. Rom's attacker released him and ran away.

The cop took off after him, but returned, moments later. "I'm sorry," he said, "He ran around that corner and just… vanished." He looked at a loss for words. "I've never seen a mugger act like that; it didn't even look like he stole anything." Rom shook his head.

"That's because he didn't. He just attacked me, he had his hands around my neck, the when you came he ran off." Rom straightened up, rolling his shoulders back and taking a deep breath to calm down. "We have to get to work, Officer. Do you need anything from us?" Rom asked, taking my hand.

"Just a description of the guy, if you have one." Rom nodded.

"I can't be very specific, it all happened really fast, and he was wearing a mask. A black leather mask that covered almost all of his face, I could only see his mouth."

"Was he Caucasian?" The officer asked

"Yes, he had black hair and was about six-two or so. I hope that's at least a little helpful."

The officer shrugged, "It's not much to go on I'm afraid, we probably won't be able to catch him for this. I'm sorry."

Rom and I thanked him for his help and walked toward the Grant. I was fighting to regain my enthusiasm for opening night but I was losing the battle. Rom eventually broke the silence. "It looked like one of the masks Eric tried on, one of the ones costumes thought about using, the more leroux-like one. It could have been him; I didn't get a very good look at him." He speculated.

"Even if you didn't get a good look at him you should be able to tell if it was Eric, you've been working with him even longer than I have." I pointed out, trying to think logically.

"He's lucky he got a chance to run away, I was about to beat him." Rom said, not defensively but, I knew he felt the need to point it out.

"Rom, he was strangling you, and anyway no one really wins in a fight, but someone always loses. I'm glad it wasn't you." I kissed his cheek, embarrassed at how clichéd and girly that sounded. Christine was really getting to me.

Rom rolled his eyes, "I had just landed a punch to his throat, Lissie, He let go of me before the cop came. He was already running."

"Would that punch have left a bruise?" I asked, "Because, if so, we can prove that Eric has been doing this, confront him, make him stop." I rambled desperately, knowing that a confrontation would only ruin the show. Still, I wanted to know who was doing this, just to prove he was real, not some figment of my paranoid mind.

"It probably wouldn't bruise," Rom said, sounding frustrated. "The skin on your throat doesn't bruise much, but it is very sensitive, so he'd be in a lot of pain." I felt bad for Rom. He tried so hard to protect me from someone who posed so much danger, but didn't leave enough proof. Eric was like a ghost, ironically enough; the only thing he left behind him was the fear. Eric also knew that the game he was playing was almost entirely in his favor. I couldn't turn him in because the show, and my career, would be ruined. It led me in confusing and frightening circles to think about it.

I was glad when we arrived at the Grant. It was a relief to be able to immerse myself into Christine, her problems would become mine. I could let go of myself and become someone whose story had a certain end. I wished I could see the end of this ordeal that should have been the most wonderful part of my life so far.

"Ready, Lissie?" Rom said, "The costume ladies are going to eat me alive for the black eye, so I'm going to get it over with."