Chapter 50 (please believe me)
Meg knew that confronting Erik with the lost of Lavender would be anything but easy. Erik was a wreck; he was in a daze from that day onwards. Meg would watch silently with tears flowing as Erik stared at a sprig of lavender aimlessly. Sometimes, Erik would toss and turn in his sleep.
"Erik, I am sorry Lavender is dead, really," said Meg one evening. Erik was slumped in his chair, stirring his tea and looking at Meg with unfocused eyes.
"Erik?" Meg asked, scared.
"Lavender…..Lavender…." Erik moaned. Meg walked over and put her hand comfortingly on Erik's shoulder. Erik gave a cry, and collapsed.
Things got really out of hand one day when Meg returned to find Erik standing on a stool and putting a rope around his own neck. Meg screamed for him to come down and prevented the awful happenings before Erik could kick the stool away. Erik's suicide attempts also included poisons. Meg had to beg for him to put down a cup of poisoned wine before Erik downed it.
Meg was getting into her bed when she heard Erik screaming Lavender's name. she made her way to him.
"Erik….." tears started flowing again, down Meg's face. She stroked the visible side of Erik's face. Suddenly, Erik gripped her hand in a vice-like grip. Meg flinched.
"Lavender?" Erik's voice was filled with love and hope. Meg knew he was hallucinating.
"Lavender?" Erik said again. his unfocused eyes were suddenly filled with a sudden peace and passion.
"Oh, Lavender, I am sorry, I would never do that to you again. please forgive me," Erik moaned. His face was pale and his knuckles were icy.
"Erik, Lavender's dead," Meg said, but regretted it later, as Erik took a suddenly gasp and fell unconscious.
For the next few days, Erik laid in bed. He was becoming sick, thought Meg. He would stay awake all night, staring at the ceiling in a state of horror. the once genius was becoming a shadow, a mere immortal soul.
They were at lunch one day when Erik grabbed his arm.
"What is it, Erik?" Meg asked, concerned. Erik's eyes were closed and he was shaking his head.
"No, not like this, no, don't do this to her. Please, don't, don't, don't. no, not my sister. No, no, no, stop it, stop the torture. Please, STOP!" Erik's bright green eyes snapped open. He looked wildly around.
"Raoul just strike Lavender on the arm," Erik said in a whisper.
"What?" Meg asked, frightened.
"Raoul just hurt my sister," Erik said loudly.
"No, Erik, don't be ridiculous, Lavender is dead." Meg said, sadly.
"No! she's not! Raoul is torturing her, please believe me!" Erik said, his voice rising to a shout.
"But…."
"I am going for her this moment!" Erik said, jumping up and taking his cape. He stumbled over a rock and his entire body splashed into the cold, freezing lake. Meg screamed, and went forward to help. Erik lay slumped in the water and was panting, as though he had just run a mile.
"No, Lavender, no, run, don't let him catch you," Erik was mumbling. Meg helped him into the room and sent for her mother.
"Mom, I think Erik is getting mad," Meg said breathlessly as Madam Giry walked briskly into the room.
"What happened?" Madam Giry asked, looking down at the phantom, who was breathing quick, fast breaths and looking pale.
"Well, he started saying something about Lavender getting strike by the Vicompte on the arm. He grabbed his own arm at the time. Then he began to rant about Lavender being alive and that he had to go and help her. So he fell into the lake," Meg said all this very fast.
"But other than that, he was fine?" Madam Giry asked anxiously.
Oh, he's fine, besides trying to kill himself several times a day; he was absolutely fine, thought Meg. She nodded.
Madam Giry gently pulled up Erik's left arm. Both Girys gasped. Erik's muscular arm had a long, dark red mark on it; it looked as though someone had used something hot and pressed it to the skin.
"Did he try to cut himself?" Madam Giry asked, frightened.
"No, he did not. He was never out of my sight these days," replied Meg, whose big brown eyes were filled with tears.
"What happened?" Madam Giry mumbled.
Suddenly, Meg remembered Erik telling her something thing about his and Lavender's connected feelings.
"Mum, listen. I was having lunch with Erik one day a few weeks ago and he told me about this strange connection between him and Lavender," Meg said quickly.
"What do you mean by strange connection?" Madam Giry asked.
"Well…it….well…I don't really believe him but he claimed that he could feel how Lavender feels about a person, an emotion and physical and mental pain," Meg said softly.
Madam Giry looked both shocked and surprised.
"Why, do you think this is true?" Meg asked her mother.
"No, I think this is very unlikely. Erik must have just hit his arm on somewhere hot or what," Madam Giry said in a firm voice. But even in her mind, she knew that Erik hitting his arm somewhere and obtaining the injury was impossible. He was wearing layers of clothes at the moments and Meg did not really let him out of her sight around the clock.
"What are we to do now?" Meg asked, worried.
"Take very good care of him; he is really weak at the moment. If he continues to behave in this way, we will see," madam Giry said sadly. Meg nodded.
She sat down beside the bed. Oh Erik, Meg thought sadly. What happened? She only knew that the Vicompte had being involved in this. Erik's words were carved in her mind, "please believe me, please believe me……" Meg shivered, should she? She could easily put the thought of sibling telepathy out of her mind, but could it be true?
