Chapter 25

Morning came and went; it made no difference to Elle. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her hair a mess, and she wore the same dress from the preceding day. The previous night she had cried herself to sleep and now she was awake, lying in her bed and staring into space. She had no motivation to leave the warmth of her bed nor did she find a reason to. Outside the world was going about its business ignorant to the pain she felt. Her curtains were drawn closed and she kept them that way, intentionally keeping out the light. The sunshine of afternoon would only make her feel worse.

The world, or at least her world, was crumbling beneath Elle's feet. She had nothing to hold on to in order to keep from falling and all hope seemed to have faded away. There was an important decision she had to make, which was like deciding which path to take when encountering a forked road. There was no telling which road led to happiness and which to deprivation, so choosing was like flipping a coin and hoping that it lands on the side that you wanted it to land on. Elle's choices were limited and neither promised her a better life. Before she had been more leaning to the option of staying at the opera house and visiting her father weekly, but now the situation had tilted. She was not sure if either choice held for her something worth living for.

Leaving meant giving up the opera house and the possibility of becoming a singer, for good. When she was younger being on stage was something that she had dreamed about, due to her own mother's love of the opera, and now her dreams had come true- to an extent. She could finally sing now that she had the training, but if she left the city then she most likely would not be able to use that skill. Her father was retaining the ownership of the building, but he was handing over the management to the two directors. This meant that things there were going to change, if only barely. Without him there they were free to do and conduct business as they wished. Elle was not sure if it was smart to leave the place in their hands, especially if both her and her father were leaving. There was no telling what they might do and it worried her that she would not be there to watch over. That was not the only reason that she did not want to leave.

Her father had moved her family from their house to live there and Elle had found a way to adjust to the changes. Now that she finally had a place for herself there, actually helping with the operas, he wanted to move again. That meant more change and she felt that she had enough of that for the time being. It was enough that she had lost a mother and a friend, if she left then she would lose another friend and a teacher. That seemed bad enough, but she would lose along with them a chance to utilize her new talent, another chance at the stage. Her first performance would have been her last and the wonderful experience would have been a tease. Plus there was Erik… but now she was not sure that meant anything. He did not care if she stayed, and that changed everything.

If she did stay, which the chances of were decreasing, then she would be alone. She would have the opera house, she would have her singing, she would have the stage, but she would not have family. Her entire family would be gone and the only person she would have to talk to would be Nadia, and she did not feel close to her anymore. Erik would have been the main reason for her staying, he was a teacher and a friend to her and he meant a lot to her, but now it would be just as painful to stay as to leave. If she stayed then Elle would still see him, if he agreed to continue lessons and whatnot, yet it would not be the same. It would be hard for her to look at him, to be around him, knowing that he did not return the feelings that she had for him. She knew that Erik still loved another, but that does not mean that he could not care about her. He could not even tell her that he wanted her to stay, which hurt more than anything. Why stay for someone who does not care if you leave?

These were the possibilities that she had to consider, and faced with all of the details she felt that it was a no-win situation. No matter what she decided on one fact remained the same: Erik did not love her. That piece of knowledge made it seem to Elle like nothing else mattered, like all the other details were unimportant. She could not force him to love her, she could not force him to do anything, and the pain was too much to bear. Nothing she could do would take away that pain, but there was a chance that a new place could bring her a change for the better. There was no telling what the future had in store, perhaps this time her father was right by wanting to leave. The question now was not whether she could get on without her father if she stayed; it was if she could get on without Erik if she left.

Elle was not planning on getting up for the day, so she did not move from her spot. Time passed, yet Elle was not aware of it. She was not sure of how long she had been laying in the same position for, and she did not care. Some time later there was a knock on her door. It was not a usual knock or a thud, it sounded fast paced and light- the person was not knocking very hard. She did not move an inch or even bother to pick her head off from the pillow; she was not interested in greeting visitors. There was more knocking and then a pause. Elle sighed, thinking that the person had gone away and left her alone in her misery, but then she heard the doorknob turn. Slowly she remembered that she had forgotten to lock her door the last time she returned to her room. The door creaked open and Elle sat in silence.

"Elle?" a young woman's voice asked, peeking around the room. Her feet tiptoed over the floorboards, causing a slight squeak to come from the wood. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for signs of her missing friend. The room was dark, she noticed that the window was covered, and so she had to squint to try to see anything. She caught sight of a form on the bed on the far side of the room and, after closing the door behind her, ran over to it. "Oh dear lord Elle, what happened to you?"

Elle had recognized the voice and did not have to look in order to know immediately who it was beside her. The girl was indeed her friend Nadia, who was currently kneeling at the side of Elle's bed inspecting her. Elle's eyes wandered over to glance at her friend, yet she did not answer. Nadia looked well, but worried, which was understandable under the circumstances. Elle was aware that she did not look presentable, but she did not care. As far as she was concerned she appeared as bad as she felt and there was not much to be done about that.

Nadia looked over her friend with concerned eyes. Elle had not been seen by anyone in the opera house since the performance, and she was beginning to worry. She had not been there when people were reading the reviews from the newspaper, which was an event that she would normally attend. Nadia knew that there must be something wrong if she was not interested in the opera house, so she decided to go and check up on her. It was odd that Elle did not answer her door, and even odder that she simply was lying in her bed in a dark room with her eyes glazed over. The girl could not imagine what had happened to her friend or why she looked like a mess. When Elle did not answer her she did not give up, instead she continued with her questioning, wiping away the hair that was stuck to Elle's face.

"What is wrong?" she inquired, noticing her friend's red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. Her skin felt clammy and damp under her hand, and it was a shade paler than usual. Nadia knew that she had been crying and she wanted to know why. As far as she was concerned Elle should be happy, the performance had gone well and the reviews had been positive. This strange behavior meant that something had happened; something had made her terribly upset… something or someone. She took Elle's hand in hers and looked into her swollen eyes, waiting patiently for answers.

Her friend was not sure where to begin. There was no simple answer for the question that Nadia had asked and there was no way that she would completely understand unless she was in her shoes. Plus Elle had kept Erik a secret from everyone. He would have to remain a secret; Elle could not bring herself to betray him, no matter how bad he made her feel. She would have to lie to her friend, or at least not tell the entire truth. Elle found it hard to speak, and when she finally did her voice came out raspy and strained. "Everything Nadia, everything is wrong."

"Tell me about it," Nadia replied, getting up from her spot on the floor yet still keeping her eyes on Elle. "I am here for you Elle," She moved from the bed and over to the adjacent side of the room, preparing to pull open the curtains. When she tore them apart the light poured in, washing over the room and making it easier to see. The black-haired girl thought that perhaps the light could help, or at least it would help her to see as she tried to clean her friend up.

"I- I don't know what to do," Elle cried. She was in a state of mind that Nadia had never seen her in before. The normally practical and sensible girl was not thinking rationally. She took a long time to answer questions, but Nadia decided not to pressure her. Instead she would wait until she was ready to speak, even though Nadia had no idea what Elle's response meant.

"You can take your time," the young woman responded, returning to Elle's side after she was done with the windows. She pulled back Elle's blanket and helped her sit up straight. Then she walked over to the vanity and picked up a brush and a bowl of water. She set the bowl of water on the stand next to the bed and then sat down on the edge next to Elle. With the brush she began combing Elle's tangled blonde locks, running the bristles through and stopping at parts where the hair was knotted. Nadia felt like a mother, sitting there and taking care of someone. Her mother used to brush her hair when she was a little girl, so this brought back memories.

Elle allowed her friend to comb her hair and she sat silently for several minutes before she decided to continue. Maybe Nadia could help her make her decision, or maybe it would just help by talking to someone about the situation. Either way she chose to speak as Nadia continued to drag the brush over her long hair. "My father is moving out of Paris," she began quietly and Nadia listened intently, yet did not stop doing her task. "He has already bought a house outside of the city and will be leaving shortly. I am not sure when, but it is soon."

"Oh," was all her friend said in reply, being quiet so that she could speak more. This conversation felt odd because they had not spent much time together since Elle's mother died, but close friends have a sort of bond that never dies- no matter what happens.

"I can stay, if I choose to, and continue on with the operas. Madame Giry said that she would look after me once he is gone. He said that I could visit him, that I could take the horses and carriage and ride out to see him whenever I want to-" Elle began to cry, suddenly and softly, and Nadia stopped brushing her hair. She set the brush down next to the bowl and took the woman into her thin arms, rubbing her back with her hand. Elle cried into her shoulder. "But Nadia, I am going to miss him!"

Nadia thought she meant her father. Little did she know that Elle was speaking of a completely different person; a person who, even though was famous around the opera house, was not really known by any of them. Elle knew that Nadia did not know who she was talking about, but she did not care. She was so concerned about the present that she did not bother with thinking of the future. They held their embrace for the duration of Elle's weeping. Nadia tried to soothe her by whispering into her ear. "Shh… things will get better Elle, don't cry."

Eventually Elle stopped crying and they broke apart. Nadia picked up the sponge from the bowl of water and began to wash Elle's face. It was sticky from all of the salty tears she had cried. At first Elle pulled back from the cold water that was being placed on her face, but then she obeyed and allowed her to continue.

"You don't have to stay you know," Nadia spoke as she squeezed the excess water out of the sponge after dipping in the bowl and then applied the sponge to Elle's smooth forehead. "You can move with you father. He is your family and I would understand that you would want to be with him, we would all understand. We would miss you here though, I would miss you. You will be a great woman someday Elle, and then everyone will see what I see."

"Not everyone…" Elle whispered to herself as she pondered her friend's words.

Nadia finished cleaning Elle's face and then helped her into a different dress. After a while she left; Elle told her that she needed to go and speak with her father. Nadia nodded and told her to come say good-bye before she left, that is if she decided to leave. Elle glanced at herself in the mirror before leaving her room. She appeared considerably better then she had when Nadia had first seen her. Her hair was now combed and straight, her skin clean and healthy looking, and the dress was fresh and free of wrinkles.

She set out into the hall, taking the well-known path to the office hallway. When she arrived she paused outside the door for a moment, taking a breath. Then Elle walked in the room; her father was sitting behind his desk. He looked up from it when he heard her approaching and waited for her speak. She stopped several feet from the desk and stood still, looking straight into his eyes. "I've made my decision."

A/N: Wanted to get another chapter out before my last week of actual classes. I really can't wait until school is over. Anyway, thank you all for reading and reviewing (it's your reviews that motivate me). Oh how I love cliffhangers! devilish smile

mrmistoffelees- Would you like him to?

phantom's gurl- Thank you, I'm glad that you like it. I usually update about once a week due to school, but hopefully after it ends I'll be able to update more often.

TheWyldeWestWynd- lol, love the enthusiasm. Thanks.

Amanda- Thank you. That reminds me of a song- should I stay or should I go now, know what I'm talking about? I'll keep your hint in mind.

Captain Oblivious- Yeah it would, and vulnerability is not something that he likes to show.

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Lynandreth- Thank you, I'm glad you think so. Actually I have read three books about the phantom, one being the original by Gaston Leroux of course. Yeah, the website was acting strange for a couple of days; sometimes it does that to me. Anyway, thanks for the compliment, I really appreciate it.

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