I'm so sorry for the delay. I was going to post this last night but I fell asleep! My doctor says I have...INFLUENZA AND TONSILITIS! Fun, no? Isn't it ironic that a couple of days after I make Amile get sick, I get the same sickness? Anyway, thank you for the get well wishes. And the Erik plushies, and the peanut butter cookies (courtesy of Singeriter!) And thank you to Fox for being like my mom and telling me what to do. I drank three cups of soup and slept for five hours during the day. Yay for you all! Now read or get infected!

Chapter 23: You're Lying

Amile looked around quickly, taking everything in. It was as though night had become day very quickly. Everything was so bright and vibrant to her. Was it a dream? No, it wasn't. She held up her old blanket and smiled. No wonder she was called the Blood Ghost. She stretched out a little bit, still looking everywhere. A smile took over her. Then a frown overlapped it. She would have to look at Erik. She had never actually seen him, but she had heard enough to know that it wasn't going to be pretty.

She slowly approached where the organ was. Her eyes looked around excitedly, taking in everything. And no surprise to her, Erik was sitting at the organ, composing something. She smiled and remembered the song he made that she liked so much. The one that burned and soothed her. Quietly, she approached him, then stopped. Did she really want to tell Erik that she could see again? He had been so used to her being blind, how would he react to this? That's when she decided she wouldn't tell him for awhile. Let him figure it out for himself.

She put her hand on his shoulder and he turned to face her. He was wearing his mask and from the looks of it, he didn't look too bad. He smiled at her. "Did you sleep good?" She pretended to look behind him so it gave her the affect of still not being able to focus. She nodded and smiled back. "I just kind of have a headache this morning. I don't know why." He took her into his arms and rubbed the back of her neck gently. "Right there?" She nodded. He continued rubbing it. "Probably trying to put itself back in order." She paled. Did he know? He let her go and smiled again. "Don't worry Amile, someday, you'll be able to see again. I know it." She let her eyes go up to the ceiling. 'If you only knew.' she thought to herself.

Now she wanted to see everything. Sneaking past Erik, she ran upstairs. The sight of the opera house practically took her breath away. She had been running around this? It seemed so big. She walked around, in the shadows of course. Now she wanted to tell Madame Giry and possibly Meg. Darting around obstacles, such as random cleaning ladies, she made her way to the dorms. She closed her eyes for a second, using her other senses to find where she was going. Even though she had her sight back, she wasn't very reliant on it. She had done quite well with her other senses. She felt her way to Madame Giry's room.

When she got to the door, she knocked. Madame Giry opened it, gasped then smiled. "Hello Amile! Good to see you again." Amile nodded and smiled as well. "Madame Giry, something wonderful happened. I can see again!" Madame Giry gasped again and hugged Amile. "I'm so happy for you!" Amile pulled away and looked up at Madame Giry. "But I didn't tell my father."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know what he'll do about it."

Madame Giry looked up sadly. "I don't know either, but he's going to find out sooner or later." Amile sighed and stared off into space. "I know, that's what scares me." Mme. Giry sighed again and looked at the girl before her. "Amile, tell him. He's your father. I'm sure he will be excited about it." Amile nodded and looked down at her feet and bit her lip. Mme. Giry placed a reassuring hand on Amile's shoulder. "Just tell him."

On her way back to the lair, Amile decided against telling him. She was scared of him. He had hurt her, betrayed her, abandoned her. She couldn't trust him now. Not with something as big as getting her sight back. God only knew what he would do. He might abandon her completely. The only reason he saved her from the alley was because she was blind and defenseless. Now, he might view her as strong enough to defend herself and she could see. So why would he bother with her? Even though he was always telling her she would see again, would he really be still kind to her in the end?

She stood in front of him, her face pale. He had asked to see her about her headache. He looked her over and lifted up her long hair to see the back of her neck again. He sighed and faced her again, bringing her head up. She diverted her gaze from him to make it look like she was still blind. "Amile? Is something wrong?"

"No, why?"

Then he sighed again and made her look at him. "You're lying to me."