Chapter 12

Christie woke before Erik and was surprised that he was still there. He had taken his hat and glasses off sometime during the night. Christie propped herself up on one elbow and looked at his whole face for the first time. The burned area was over most of his forehead and eyes. The fire had singed back his hairline on one side as well. The scars were red and looked bumpy and almost veiny. She thought he looked naked without his hat and glasses, but she thought that he looked alright, even with the burns.

His brow furrowed in his sleep and Christie smiled; she thought it was adorable. He slowly blinked his eyes open and saw Christie and smiled. 'his eyes crinkle when he smiles." Christie noticed. Suddenly his smile vanished and his eyes grew wide as he realized that Christie was looking at his face. He turned and pushed her away.

"Wait, please." Christie pleaded, trying to pull him back. He glanced over his shoulder at her warily. She tugged his shoulder and he turned towards her reluctantly. His blue eyes filled with sorrow and self-loathing. She held her hand up slowly to the side of his head, brushing lightly against his scars. He winced but didn't pull away. "Morning." She said shyly. Erik's face filled with relief; he tucked her hair behind her ear. Christie was surprised how easily she could read him now that she could see his entire face.

"How did you sleep?" He asked cautiously. Christie remembered her crying fit and blushed. She took her hand off of his face and tugged on a strand of her hair.

"Ok, I guess… you?"

"I haven't slept that well in a long time… and it doesn't hurt to wake up to you." He said and grinned at her. Christie hid her face in his chest and he laughed. She couldn't help but giggle at the sound of his laughter, it just made her happy. She peeked up at him to see his smile. She realized then that she didn't care how he looked, because he was wonderful and he made her happy. "You hungry?" He asked her. She nodded and looked up at him eagerly. She couldn't get enough of his cooking.

He chuckled at her expression and ruffled her hair. He gently pushed her off of him and stretched, then stood up. He was wearing black pants and a white button-up shirt. The type of thing he usually wore. He walked over to the kitchen, tapping a hello on Gussie's tank as he went by it. Christie watched his movements and then Christie suddenly realized that she had terrible morning breath. She hurried into the bathroom to clean up and change into some fresh clothes. When she came out, he was making an omelet. She went and stood by him, poking her head around his arm to smell the food. She looked up at him and smiled and he smiled tentatively back at her, not a hundred percent comfortable being looked at yet. She turned away and put out plates for them.

After they had finished eating, Erik took his turn in the bathroom. Christie washed the dishes and fed Gussie. She was making fish faces at him when Erik came out of the bathroom. He laughed at her and she glared at him, pretending to be mad. She turned to the window and opened the curtains, the low evening sun illuminated the room, he came up behind her and lightly tickled her side. She jumped away from him laughing. He grinned and grabbed her around the waist, making her squeal. She tried to wiggle free, but he was much stronger than her.

"Give up?" He asked.

"Never." She said back defiantly. He chuckled and sat down in the chair by the window, pulling her down on his lap. She put her legs over the armrest and laid her head on his shoulder. They sat together quietly until he broke the silence.

"You must think I'm hideous." He stated without feeling, as if he was saying 'the sky is blue'. Christie looked up at him in alarm.

"No, I don't." she said determinedly, and then quietly added "I like seeing your face."

"Why?" He asked in surprise.

"Because it is yours." She whispered. "Did it… did it hurt very badly?" She asked nervously. She felt him shift beneath her and his hold on her tightened slightly.

"I can barely remember it; it was years ago… I was younger than you are now when it happened… I remember people shouting and a lot of smoke… but I mostly remember waking up in the hospital, I thought I had gone blind because there were bandages covering my entire face. The day they came off was the last day I ever saw my mother… she couldn't even look at me without grimacing. She told me that she didn't want anything to do with me after that. I promised myself that no one would get the chance to look at me that way ever again. Until you, that is." Christie blinked back tears, she understood why he had acted so defensive before. His odd behavior made more sense to her. "After you saw my face the first time," he continued, "I thought you would never come back after I got angry… but you did." He looked at her and saw that she was about to cry again. "Don't cry, it kills me." He whispered. Christie wiped her eyes on her sleeve and smiled. "Better." He said warmly.

"Can I ask you something?" Christie asked nervously.

"Of course."

"Why did you really get Joe fired?"

He paused and looked out the window. "Because I had to."

"Why are you so protective of me?"

"Because you need protecting." Erik said simply.

Christie tilted her head at him, frustrated at his reasoning for doing something so dramatic in response to someone merely trying to kiss her.

Across the room, from inside her purse, her phone rang. She got up to get it; it was almost dead when she pulled it out of her purse. The ringing was her alarm telling her to get ready for work. She groaned and he stood up quickly.

"What's the matter?" He asked, looking anxious.

"Just my alarm for work." She told him. He looked at the clock on the wall.

"I should get home and change." He said and he went to her dresser and put his hat and sunglasses back on mechanically. Christie hated to see him do it.

"I guess I will just see you later then." She said as he walked to the door. They said goodbye and she finished getting ready for work.

The entire day at work, she couldn't stop picturing Erik's face. She wished it didn't cause him so much pain; she hated seeing him upset by it. At lunch, Meg invited her to go out to dinner at an all-night diner with their sales team. Christie liked hanging out with everyone all together; it made her feel like she was a part of a big family for once. She texted Erik and let him know that she would be going out to dinner with friends right after work, so he didn't need to take her home today. He responded with a simple 'Ok.'

When work was over, they all went out front to catch a cab, Meg got in one with Sylvia and Tatiana and then told Ralph and Christie to try and catch another one. Carla and Peter weren't coming, and Christie looked nervously at Ralph and gave him an awkward smile. Ralph called a cab and they stood together on the sidewalk, waiting for it to arrive. They were talking about work when Ralph suddenly put his arm around her; Christie stiffened and looked over at him.

"You look cold." He said, unapologetically. The car pulled up just then and she quickly untangled herself from him and jumped into the car. They got to the diner quickly and joined everyone. Meg looked at Christie and winked. Christie blushed and looked nervously at Ralph, who was smiling at her. They all ordered and were talking and laughing together. Tatiana and Sylvia were taking pictures of their food and Ralph was telling Meg a story. Christie ate her pancakes happily, she liked to listen to everyone joke and laugh together. She was trying to picture how Erik would act if he were here too. She wanted him to be able to do normal things like this without feeling ashamed of his face. If only he saw himself the way she saw him.