Erik's POV
After a few long hours of sitting at the piano, I finally stood and headed towards the door. I wasn't even on the sidewalk, when I was tackled. I fell to the ground, landing on my chest and causing myself excruciating agony.
"You son of a bitch!"
I knew that voice…I'd know it anywhere. It was Nadir! But why was he attacking me? I rolled over, only to feel his fist against my face. The punch had knocked the mask nearly off my face, and now, my sorry excuse for a nose was gushing blood.
"What the hell is wrong with you, man?" I growled, adjusting my mask. "You could have killed me."
"And I wish I had. Oh, Erik, I wish that I had killed you just now. You don't know what you did! You don't know what your foolishness has done!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You left your poison sitting out! You left that horrible substance out in the open and my son got a hold of it!"
"What? I don't know what you're talking about."
"He drank it! Both him and Gustave drank it!"
My heart stopped within my chest. Oh, if my son was dead I would never forgive myself. My son! My son…Harmed and all because of my neglect.
"My son drank it?" tears rushed to my eyes as I stumbled to my feet. "Is he…is he?"
"Dead?! Is that what you want to know? Is he dead! How about my son? What about Reza? Didn't I just tell you that he drank the poison too? You selfish bastard! You don't care about anyone but yourself. That's always the way it has been. I wish you would have drank that poison before you went to work…But no, you were too selfish to end your life without ruining Christine's! You wanted to move yourself right into her heart and then, only when you possessed her soul, you were going to take your life. You couldn't stand the thought of her going on without loving you and only you for the rest of her life! You're selfish!"
"My son…"
"Oh, thank you for asking about my boy," Nadir choked. "Thank you, Erik…He's going to live, if that's what you're wondering."
"But my boy!" I cried. "How is he? How is Gustave?"
"You don't deserve them, Erik…Your son does not deserve to have a father like you in his life. A real father wouldn't have left something so dangerous out in the open. I…I don't think I can ever trust you again. I think you should leave…I think you should leave and never return. You said it yourself that you were going to kill yourself anyway, so why not just pretend that it happened now."
"And what? Leave without saying a word to Christine?"
"Christine? Erik, you have a lot of nerve asking about her. Reza woke and told us the entire story. The moment he told Christine that they found the bottle of poison on your night table…well, let's just say that she never wants to speak with you again. I don't blame her…You almost killed her only child. He's in worse condition than Reza… Reza can leave tomorrow, but Gustave might not ever be leaving."
I backed up against the nearest wall and began to sob. This was all my fault… Because of my stupidity, I didn't have any more friends or family. How could I ever look my son in the eyes again and tell him that he would be safe? I had been the one thing that had put him in danger.
"I will always watch over Christine, Erik, but I think you should stop being selfish and leave…Kill yourself if you wish, but trouble Christine or Gustave no longer. It would be for the best if you didn't contact Marisha and I ever again as well…It's only for the best."
I nodded, knowing that Nadir was right. Christine didn't need me, nor did my child. They deserved better, and for them, I would disappear.
"You're right…" I said, approaching Nadir and placing his hand against my throat. "So why don't you do what you were going to do once before in Persia. The Shah had ordered you to kill me, so why not finish what you started long ago?"
"I will not be the death of you, Erik… I refuse to have your blood upon my hands. If you want to end your life then jump off the pier. I won't murder you…"
"And what would you tell Christine?"
"I'll tell her that you never wish to see her again…. I'll tell her that you wanted to poison both her and Gustave in order to take them with you in death."
"Don't tell her that…I…I can't bear the thought of her hating me over such lies. No, tell her that I couldn't stand the guilt for what I had done and jumped off the pier."
"Anything else?"
"No, that is all…False hope and heartache isn't going to change what I am. Just know, Nadir, that you were always there for me in my hard times, but you never gave up. I will thank you for that and in return, I shall honor your wish for me to never contact you or your family again. So long…"
Nadir and I parted ways, knowing that I would never see him or my family again. Just the thought of Christine sitting by my son's deathbed made my heart ache. I knew I would not survive the night, for my family meant everything to me, and knowing that they hated me was enough to kill me. But seeing that the poison was now gone, I would most likely jump off the nearest bridge at high tide, for it would help with the process. But what about my son? I couldn't let my mind die with the image of him lying in that hospital as my last thought…Oh, here I was again, being selfish! No, I didn't deserve him or Christine and so, I would never seek them out again.
Christine's POV
I'll never forget the moment I walked through the door of Nadir's home and spotted my baby lying lifelessly on the floor beside Reza. I thought they were napping, but when I knelt down beside my child noticed that he wasn't breathing, my world came crashing down around me. My baby…My baby was lifeless! I cried, oh, how I cried! Everything stopped around me, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in the hospital beside my baby. Reza had told the entire story of how they had gone into Erik's bedroom for a toy and found the bottle of yellow liquid. They were only children playing a game, one that nearly cost them their lives. Reza had been the lucky one, for he had only taken a single sip. Gustave, however, had not been so lucky, for Reza counted at least five sips, if not more.
"Christine, how is your child?"
I turned to find Nadir standing behind me.
"He…He hasn't woken yet," I said, interlacing my hand with Gustave's small, cold one. "I'm afraid…I…I don't think he'll ever wake up. The doctors said that he drank a lot of that poison. I don't understand…Why…Why would Erik have this in his room?"
"There are a lot of things that you don't understand about Erik, Christine. You might not ever understand him."
"…I….I was actually starting to love him, you know? It was so long ago and yet, the moment I start to actually have feelings for him, he does this…How can I actually trust him again? How can I ever feel safe with him watching our child again?"
"You won't have to trust him again, Christine…"
"What do you mean?"
"He's gone, Christine, and he isn't coming back…He's gone for good."
My heart stopped within my chest. He was gone? How was he gone? He couldn't be! He couldn't be gone for good!
"Nadir, don't joke around. Where is Erik?"
"Christine, he…he couldn't handle the guilt of what happened today, and he…he jumped off the pier."
"What?!" I stood to my feet, tears running down my cheeks. "No…NO! Nadir, don't lie to me. Don't tell me such things. Oh, God…No…"
"How could you not be happy, Christine? He nearly killed Reza and he might have killed Gustave. How could you ever want to forgive a man like him?"
"Because he is the father of my son, Nadir," I cried. "I know he didn't mean to have that poison lying around for the boys to get a hold of."
"He told me everything, Christine. He told me how he got a hold of that poison. Did you know that he was going to poison himself and take you and the child with him to hell? Did he tell you that?"
I shook my head, refusing to listen to such lies.
"No, Erik was a kind and loving man…He loved me, Nadir! He loved Gustave. Stop lying to me, I have to find him!"
When I tried to leave, Nadir grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back.
"He's dead, Christine! He jumped off the pier and sunk to the bottom of the ocean! He made me promise to protect you, and I will stick to that vow until the day that I die."
"I don't want you, I want Erik! Do you hear me, I want Erik!"
"And Erik is dead!"
I didn't want to believe Nadir. How could my angel just end his life without a single word to me? He was such a coward if it were true, but thinking that it wasn't, I ventured away from my baby's bedside and found myself at Erik's warehouse. I hurried up the stairs and climbed in through his open window, expecting to find him sitting in his room, but sadly, it was empty. It was as if he was never there. Fresh tears fell down my cheeks as I took a seat on his bed and sobbed into my hands. Yes, I was angry at him for what he had done, but we all make mistakes. It wasn't anything worth killing yourself over. I picked his pillow up and pressed my face into its softness, inhaling his familiar musky scent. I loved his smell, for it always surrounded and comforted me.
"Erik, don't leave me…" I cried. "I need you here…Gustave needs you here. Oh, mon ange, I wouldn't hate you for this. I don't know why you had poison in your possession, but I know you had a good reason for it."
Without another word, I lay down and stretched my hand beneath his other pillow to rest my head upon it…Only, when my hand was fully beneath the pillow, I felt something strange and grasped my fingers around it to pull it out. It was a note, one that was addressed to me.
"Christine,
Don't ever feel as though you are not loved. I love you more than anything in the world, and my mistakes are something that isn't forgivable. I don't deserve you, nor do I deserve to be around my son. I am a horrible man, one that needs to leave this Earth. If you're reading this letter, then it is too late for me. Nadir will look after you from now on. Stay with him…Gustave deserves to live a happy childhood, and with him being raised in New York, I'm sure he will grow to be a wonderful and talented young man. Beneath my bed is something I had promised to give to him…Make sure that he gets it. Loved you yesterday, love you still, always had, always will…Until we meet again, Christine, my love shall never die.
Erik…"
I wiped my teary eyes and reached beneath his bed and pulled out a familiar heavy case. I opened this case, and there, lying inside was my papa's violin.
"Oh, Erik…"
I hugged this violin close and remembered the many nights back in Paris when he had played for me. Oh, I missed him…If my Erik was truly dead, then I wouldn't stop until I found his body in order to give him a proper burial. This was my promise...
Ok, now I know this is really going to suck, and don't kill me...But...But this will be my last update until 06/29... I'm going on Vacation and will not have internet or my computer with me to update. So, this shall have to do until I return. Sorry... Please review everyone! See you all again soon.
