Escape

It was raining when Erik got outside. The door banging against the wall before slamming shut, not that he noticed, too busy trying to get away from the theatre as fast as possible. Fortunately, he had parked only a little ways down. He quickly got his keys out and unlocked the car door, though it was a lot harder than usual since his hands would not stop trembling. When he was finally able to get the key in the lock and open the door, he practically threw himself inside, his music sheets from earlier getting scattered in the front and back seats.

Once sitting and with the door now closed, Erik allowed himself to take in a couple deep breaths. After a few, he was calm enough to notice the rain, and how he was currently soaked. Quickly he turned towards his music sheets, dreading the state they might now be in, then let out a moan in dismay. While most were lucky enough to have only gotten a couple drips here and there, there were at least two that were half ruined, and that were only the ones he could find in the front seat. He slumped forward in his seat, letting his head hit the steering wheel, dejected.

The feeling soon got replaced with the earlier panic, when he remember about the two still in the theatre. They might be leaving any moment, and he wanted to get away before they even had the change to think about searching for him with his car! Not that they knew what he drove, but they still might be able to recognize him inside his, even in the rain.

Hurriedly, Erik placed his keys in the ignition, starting the engine up before quickly making his way out. The trembling began again, so he tightened his grip on the wheel to make them steadier, soon the tips of his knuckles were white. He paid no mind to that as he drove, focusing only on his destination. Or at least he was trying too, the more he drove, the harder it became to ignore the weight in his stomach and the choking sensation crawling up his throat. However, he forced himself not to stop or even think about the reasons why these sensations were occurring.

Destination. Focus on the destination.

After what seemed like hours of driving, but was only in reality about 15 minutes, Erik saw the place he wanted to be. The lights inside were on, making a small weight fall off his shoulders and he pulled into the driveway. It was still raining, if anything, now it was full on pouring down like a waterfall. Turning off the car and leaving the music sheets inside, he made his way to the front door. He pressed the doorbell and waited, luckily there was a small overhead, so he was not completely vulnerable to the rain. When the door opened after a minute or two he met the shocked eyes of M. Giry.

When Erik spoke he could not stop the choking stutter that came with it.

"I messed up."

M. Giry did not say anything at that. Her face just took on a determined frown before grabbing Erik's wrist to pull him inside. He had not realize how cold it was outside till he stepped inside the house and was surrounded in warmth. He saw Meg out of the corner of his eye on the couch watching TV. She had turned to see who was at the door but had done a double-take at seeing her uncle there as she had never seen him before.

"Meg, get the shower ready." M. Giry ordered, taking his hands and began guiding Erik towards the guest bedroom. Meg jumped off the couch, she glanced back at him once with worry before rushing off. He did not put up a fight, though each step begin to feel heavy, the invisible weight on his shoulders causing him to slump forward a little.

Erik did not realize how badly he was shivering until he noticed M. Giry tightening her grip in an attempt to keep his hands still. They got to the guest bedroom, unofficially his anyways, and M. Giry turned to face him. When she reached up to take off his mask, he could not help but, almost violently, recoil from her hand. She stopped and just observed him for a few moments before slowly reaching out again.

"Now, none of that. We're all loved ones here."

This time Erik allowed her to take the mask off, letting out a shuddering breath as it was lifted off his face which M. Giry ignored. She brought the mask to her stomach, and stood watching him. When he did not say anything either, M. Giry broke the silence.

"Meg is getting the shower ready. As you cleaning up, we'll get the bedroom set up. You know where to put your clothes."

He nodded but could not hide the peek he took at his mask. M. Giry saw it.

"It'll be with me as you get settled, afterwards I'll let it be within your sight range."

Erik grimaced but nodded again, he really did not have the energy to fight with her at the moment. When the nod was the only reply he gave, M. Giry grinned sadly before leaving the room and closing the door so that he could get undressed. He begin to do so, trying to do it carefully because, while his hands are no longer shaking too badly there is still a slight tremor, and because he really liked this suit. He was disappointed by the rain damage he will have to pay to fix it. Probably be better to buy a new one that is exactly like it…

Erik let his mind drift to similar thoughts, simple and non-troubling. Anything to distract him.

He heard Meg call out that the bathroom is ready and went to the closet to put on a robe he kept there. Heading to the bathroom, he found himself relieved that he do not come across Meg. While he knew she is fine with him being with or without his mask, he already felt ashamed for letting her see him in such a disordered fashion earlier.

Once in the bathroom, Erik made sure to avoid taking a glimpse at the mirror, he disrobed and stepped into the shower. The temperature felt hotter then it usually did but he knew it was because he was still cold from outside. Normally he did not like to be in the shower for long, it could be both wasteful and time-consuming if allowed to be, but at this moment he allowed himself to stay under the spray until his skin was red and fingers and toes were wrinkly. Mostly this happened because he did each movement slowly. When he finished, he turned off the water and stepped out. Taking the towel Meg had left he put back on his robe and headed back to the room using the towel to dry his hair.

When Erik got back to the room, fresh sheets covered the bed and a few blankets were added on top. He put on the pajamas left out for him and sat on the bed when done. While the shower had warmed him up enough to make him feel human again, to feel human was not what he wanted at the moment. He also did not want to go back outside, since that would mean answering questions that he was not ready to face yet, not even to get his mask back. This whole scene for the past two hours, he did not want to face. It has only been two hours! Surely it has been days that have already passed since Miss Daae and Mr. de Chagny confronted him in the theatre…

He shook his head quickly, trying to get rid of the thoughts before they created another episode.

Sighing, he threw himself back onto the bed, arms spread to cover the width of it.

"What a mess." he whispered to no one, staring up at the ceiling.

As minutes passed, he continued to stare at the ceiling, but as he did so the exhaustion of the past two shocking hours finally took its toll and his eyes drifted shut without him noticing…

When Erik woke up, it was dark outside but no longer raining. He could feel his hair being gently tugged at and opened his eyes to see M. Giry over him. Somehow without waking him she had placed his head in her lap and had been running her fingers through his hair for he do not know how long. When she saw that he was awake she pressed her finger to her lips then used the same finger to point at something next to him.

Ah, that was when he noticed the slight weight on his arm and the warmth at his side.

Without moving his head, Erik glanced down to his side and saw Meg's head resting just under his arm, the rest of her body curled up on her side facing him. Clenching his fist a couple times to get some blood flow, he met M. Giry's amused eyes.

"I will not be able to use that arm tomorrow." he whispered, loud enough for M. Giry to hear but not disturb Meg.

"You deserve it after the worry you brought Meg tonight over your appearance when you came." She replied with a teasingly tone, but then got serious.

"Erik…What has happened—"

"Please, my dear Madame. Not tonight." he interrupted, shaking his head gently.

She sadly grinned then placed her hand over his eyes. "Then rest."

And he did.

Next time Erik awoke, the sun was peeking out and brightening the sky. Next to him, Meg was still curled up but her head no longer on his arm and she was facing away from him. Above him, M. Giry was asleep but was still sitting up, leaning against the headboard. Slowly and quietly as not to disturb them, he unraveled himself from them and got up. He found his mask on top of the nightstand and put it on before grabbing his now dried but wrinkly yesterday clothes and went to the bathroom to change and freshen up. Once done, he made his way back to the bedroom to find the two still sleeping. He went to M. Giry and, as carefully as he could to not disturb her, laid her down next to Meg so that she was more comfortable. Leaving the bedroom he went to the kitchen and wrote down a quick note that he placed on the counter so that they would find it easily.

Feeling slightly guilty for leaving but still not ready to face their questions, Erik left the house.

In a couple hours when M. Giry would wake up, she will find the house too quiet and make her way around the house searching for her friend. When she enters the kitchen, she'll see a note with Erik's elegant handwriting on it. Then she'll read:

I'll tell you all, just give me time. Thank you.

Forever with love, Erik

There it was. Erik freaking out and going to M. Giry for comfort. Such scenes can be exhausting after all. Anyway, next chapter will be in Erik's POV cause he's not done sulking yet.

I also would like to say something. My dear readers, you're killing me. Not literally, of course, but I'll say in spirit. I was so excited about posting this story and all the chapters but that has slowly died with the lack of reviews I've been getting. I use to wait eagerly for the next time I would update the story, but now I barely remember the fact that it's an update day. I post with no excitement any longer, which makes me sad because I love my story. I had hoped for at least one comment for every chapter, but that hasn't happened in a while.

Tell me your favorite line for the chapter and why. Or just say something general about the chapter, characters, and story. Or even something short and sweet. Maybe this sounds like I'm complaining, I hope not, but please give me a comment. Renew my enthusiasm for my story again!