To Be Near Her

Christine was, yet again, locked in her bedroom. Yet, this time she was not in a paralyzed state. No, this time she was on her bed lying on her stomach with her head buried in her pillow. Her body was trembling and her head was shaking back and forth. Why did I go there? Why? Now that she thought about it, going to the mansion was an utterly stupid thing to do. I could have gotten a new driver's license.. I could have gotten a new 'everything'! I didn't need my purse that damn bad.

It hadn't even been thirty minutes since she'd gotten back from Erik's mansion. Not only did she have her purse and driver's license back, but her mind now carried a terrifying new image of Erik in a coffin. He had looked so dead. But then, when his eyes had opened so suddenly, it was obvious that he was very much alive. The entire thing had been a set up, from keeping her purse to pretending that she was killing him… Erik had tricked her into returning, and Christine was feeling angry and highly embarrassed about it.

Above everything else, though, she just wanted to get away from it all. This whole thing with Erik had gone on long enough. It was time to move on with her life.

What Christine didn't realize was that she hardly had a say in the matter.

A confident Erik sat in his den holding a glass of red wine and contemplating his options. The coffin had been removed from the room, and a fire was now burning in the fireplace.

"She was startled for obvious reasons," he said aloud in the empty room. "Oh, Christine.. Christine, my frightened angel.." Many thoughts of how to get her back were rolling through his racing mind. There were numerous possibilities.

"Pascagoula, Mississippi? That sounds like a long trip for you to be making on your own." Gary Daae's tone held the undercurrents of disproval as he waited for his daughter to speak again. It was a warm Wednesday evening, and he had just gotten back to their apartment from work. Christine was trying to convince him to let her go see Meg Giry, her best friend from college.

"Yeah, it's four hours, but please let me go. I really want to see her. I'll be careful, I promise." Christine was flat-out begging him. She had to get away, if only for a few days.

His face took on a concerned expression. "Are you all right, Christine? You don't look well.."

"I'm fine," she lied. "I just feel like I need a change of atmosphere. It's only for a few days."

Gary knew that there was more to it. "You seem jittery. Are you really ok?"

"Yes," Christine said firmly. For reasons she couldn't fully grasp the meaning of, she refused to tell her father about her drama. Perhaps it was just that she didn't want him to worry.

"I thought we were going to see the house this weekend."

"Oh.." The mere mention of their new house made her nervous. He had designed it. Except… she remembered the first time she saw the drawing of it in Erik's office. Really, she'd loved it. The house was perfect. Now, though, she was thinking it was too perfect. "Yeah, how about we go see it tomorrow?"

Gary finally gave in. "Ok Christine, you can go see Meg. And yes, let's go see the house tomorrow. You'll be surprised by how far along the construction is coming. Really, I think we'll start moving in soon. I'd say we can start packing within the next week." He grinned. "Isn't it exciting?"

Christine nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, I can't wait."

"How about we go out for dinner tonight? Italian?" he asked, knowing it was her favorite kind of food.

She really didn't want to leave the apartment tonight. The day had been physically and mentally exhausting, but she couldn't tell him no. "Sure, that sounds good. Let me grab my purse." My purse… She shivered involuntarily while remembering.

Erik decided that he had to see her again. "Tonight, yes," he announced in the still-empty room. He wanted to see her smile, to hear her laugh. He wouldn't allow his presence to be known, though. "No, I believe she needs to recover from what she saw today. The poor child was terrified." 'I don't want you to die..' He basked in the words, remembering how she initially looked when he had opened his eyes. It had been such a beautiful sight. "She was worried.. about me."

What Christine didn't know was that she really had saved Erik. He really had been fully prepared to die. The Sunday she left, after she'd seen his face and felt his blood on her hands, he thought that it was the end. In his mind, life was not worth living without Christine. It was unthinkable.

"But she did return. The blood is gone. The blood is gone because she washed it away. She washed everything away." Erik knew she had recovered. She was ready to reenter his life.

"And that is why I must see her. She has forgiven me as I have forgiven her." He stood from his seat abruptly. "It is time!"

Nadir heard Erik's voice while passing the den. He couldn't hear what he was saying, but it seemed the man in the mask was back in the world of the living.

Unfortunately, that fact was not comforting. What is he up to?

Erik slid gracefully into the driver's seat of his black Jaguar and sped towards Christine's apartment. His plan was to sneak around the apartment looking through windows. Spying seemed to be the best option. Little did he know, he wouldn't have to resort to that.

When he arrived near her residence, he stopped the car and turned off the headlights. Then, he waited while debating when to get out to find her. A few minutes later, however, the door to her apartment opened and both Christine and her father emerged. The setting sun was enough to illuminate her features, and Erik watched her every move.

She wore the same clothing as she had earlier in the day. "Beautiful.." he whispered. He watched as they walked towards a vehicle, and Erik suddenly gasped when he at last saw her smile and laugh. Her father had obviously said something to cause such radiance. His heart pounded roughly and he gripped the steering wheel. "My precious Christine."

He was obsessed, and her actions were raising a passion within him so intense that he felt delirious. She is mine. Without even thinking twice about it, he started the ignition and followed their car. Erik knew he had to keep a little distance between them so they wouldn't become suspicious, and he did so easily.

While driving, he hummed along with music coming from the CD player. He'd recently recorded himself playing Christine's song on the piano, the song she had learned during their previous voice lesson, and it was now playing in the car. He still remembered how excited she had been when he played it for her, how eager she was to learn it. But then… the lyrics didn't sit well with her. She became timid. Erik wouldn't dwell on that now, though. "Everything has changed," he said aloud. "And she will soon sing my music again."

Erik followed them to their ending location, which was an Italian restaurant. He parked across the parking lot from where they had parked and turned off the ignition. His head then spun around, in order to locate them.

Christine and her father were walking side by side towards the restaurant's entrance, both chatting with smiles on their faces. An abrupt, yet powerful, jealousy came over Erik then. "If only I could be as close to her as her father is. Walking with her, talking to her, causing her to smile-." His voice broke off as he remembered with resentment how unfair life was.

A moment later, his good mood was back. "Time, Erik. Give it time." He decided to wait in the car while they ate. Then, when they exited the restaurant, he would follow them again. "I am her guardian now."

Though she tried to resist, Christine couldn't help being nervous and jumpy. She kept looking around suspiciously, which was causing her to tune out conversations with her father.

Gary noticed this and frowned. "Christine."

Her eyes had wandered again, but she instantly looked at him when she heard him call her name. I've got to stop this! "Yeah, sorry. I guess my thoughts keep drifting," she said with a small laugh.

"Yes, I can tell. What's on your mind?"

Lie, lie, lie. "Raoul," she blurted out. For some reason, his name was the first thing that came to her mind.

"Raoul," Gary repeated, not knowing if he should believe her. "And how is Raoul?"

Actually, speaking of Raoul.. Christine hadn't heard from him in a few days. Not that it really mattered, thanks to all of her other worries, but he had seemed so eager to hang out with her again. She shrugged. "Oh, I guess he's ok. He hasn't called me since our.. well, I guess it really was a date. I'm sure he's just been busy, though."

Gary considered her words. "Yes, and so have you. How is your job going?"

He was asking what he thought were such innocent questions. Too bad that isn't the case. I need to tell him one truth, though. "Dad, I don't think I'm going to be working for Er- Mr. Delozier anymore. He kind of ran out of work for me to do, so there's not really a point."

"I see," Gary said with a thoughtful tone. "And what about the voice lessons? It seemed like they were really helping."

She looked down at her glass of water. "Well, they weren't really helping that much. And I'm about to see Meg this weekend. That will really help." Christine could only hope her father wasn't reading too much into what she was saying.

He studied her expression for a short time before hesitantly saying, "Well, I hope it does." They continued to eat in silence. When they were finished, Gary paid the bill and they left the restaurant.

Erik had now listened to Christine's song ten times and was becoming more and more impatient with each repeat. People kept emerging from the restaurant, but none them were Christine. He growled. "It has been forty minutes. Where are they?"

Suddenly, he made a decision. "This is not working. I cannot bear to be away from her." He sighed and started the ignition. "I need time to fix this problem." He headed back towards the mansion in order to think. "I need her by my side…"

About two minutes after Erik left, Christine and Gary came out of the restaurant. "Well, that was a good meal," Gary said.

Christine nodded absently while looking around. Come off it already, Christine! There's no one there! She shook her head and refocused. "Yeah, it was really good. Thanks." They drove home, and Christine read a book in the den with her dad to try to get her mind off the day. Soon, she became tired and excused herself to go to her room. Almost immediately after lying down, she fell asleep.

It wasn't exactly pleasant sleep, but it was more than she'd gotten in days.

The following morning, Christine awoke feeling fairly refreshed. It was a relief. She spent the majority of the day packing for her upcoming trip and looking Online for directions to get to Meg's house.

By the time her father got home, she was all set to go. "Well, how about we go see the house?" Christine suggested.

"Great idea," Gary said. "I can't wait for you to see it. You're going to love it."

Maybe, since he sounded so sure, she really would like it. For the moment, though, she could only think of him, the designer.

Christine admired the neighborhood as they got closer to the new house. There were so many beautiful homes. She couldn't help but get excited, and all thoughts of Erik were eventually pushed from her mind. "This neighborhood is gorgeous."

"I agree, but trust me, none of these houses even begin to compare to ours."

When their car approached the intended house, Christine had to blink to get over her initial shock. "This.. is ours?"

"Mm-hmm," Gary replied. "Isn't it great?"

"It's-.. wow.." They parked in the circular driveway and got out of the car. Their new home was a cream-colored brick two-story. A large porch wrapped around the front. There were many windows, all with maroon shudders, making the house look warm and inviting. Christine admired the three-car garage while walking towards the front door. Gary unlocked the door, and both stepped inside. Most of the inside looked finished and it was stunning. The many windows allowed light to pour in and liven up everything. The hardwood floors were also a nice touch.

Each room was huge. "Dad, where are we going to find enough furniture to fill this place?"

He chuckled. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to go shopping."

She looked at him then. "How are we going to afford all this?"

He smiled at the worried look on her face. "Your grandmother left us with enough money to take care of everything."

"Amazing," Christine breathed. They continued to tour the house, but Christine stopped when they reached her new bedroom on the second floor. "My room," she whispered in awe. As promised, there were French doors leading to an outdoor balcony. She timidly walked towards the doors and opened them slowly, almost afraid of what she would find.

Her fear soon faded. Everything was so pretty that it was impossible to be scared. The backyard that she could see from the balcony was large, but that wasn't what caught her eye. There was a small building being built towards the back right of the yard. It had the same color of bricks as their house, but it was small and cute. It looked like a cottage. What was it that Erik called it?... My vocal haven. It was perfect, absolutely perfect.

"Do you like your room?" Gary asked from the doorway.

Do I like it? Christine turned to face him with a genuine smile on her face. "Yeah. It's all so perfect. I love it."

Gary walked towards his daughter and hugged her. "It is perfect, isn't it?" They laughed together and decided it was time to leave. On the way home, they discussed packing and shopping for furniture. There was so much to be done, but both were ready.

Christine decided to pack her car when they got home. That way, she would be ready to leave first thing in the morning. She couldn't forget her music, as she and Meg would probably be practicing some. It only took two trips to get everything in the car, and she let out a satisfied sigh when she was finished. Right as she was closing the trunk of her car, she heard the sound of her cell phone receiving a text message.

She reached for her phone in the pocket of her jeans. Maybe it's Meg.. or maybe it's Raoul. She pressed a button to open the message and found, strangely, that she didn't recognize the phone number. Nonetheless, she pressed a button to read the message.

Christine froze as soon as she read the short message.

'Where are you going, Angel?'

Instantly, she knew who had sent it, for it wasn't hard to figure out. Erik.. Her hand shook violently and she found she couldn't move for several moments. He knows I'm going somewhere.. That means he's near.. He can see me.. Oh, no.. That's when fear spread through her whole body. She sprinted into the apartment, slammed the door shut, and locked the dead bolt. Then, she sank to the kitchen floor.

Erik put his cell phone in his pocket and stared at Christine as she read his message. He was standing across the street obscured by bushes and a tree. It was dark, so she wouldn't be able to see him.

He watched as she nearly dropped her cell phone. Frowning, he thought, Why must she be so timid? And where is she going? Oh, how I wish she would reply.. That obviously wasn't going to happen, though, as she made a mad dash for the door of her apartment.

After a few moments of standing with his arms crossed, Erik shrugged. No matter. I will find out on my own. You cannot run, Christine. Nor can you hide. Soon, you will be by my side.