Yet again, it breaks my heart to announce that I do not own Phantom of the Opera therefore I do not own Erik. I wish I did though. Then I would have A LOT of fun. I do have a lot of fun writing these stories for all of you!

By the way, this chapter is mainly about Raoul. I didn't want to make this, but I needed to get a few things cleared up about him.

Though a Rose May Fade…

Chapter VI- Losing Grip

Raoul watched Christine leave in a daze. He didn't even try to stop her. His heart begged for him to stop her, to catch her. His heart told his feet to follow her, but his feet were frozen on the spot. He had lost his voice. He had lost all senses. He had lost Christine, his Christine. He just watched her disappear from sight, tears streaming down her lovely face. He could see his parents smirk from the corner of his eyes. Why didn't he defend her? He was stupid. He knew.

As everything dawned on him, he fell to his knees in agony. It was too late to stop her now. She wouldn't even talk to him. His parents tried calming him down immensely, but all was false pity. They were happy she was gone. They were happy…

"What have I done?" he repeated to himself over and over again.

"Don't worry, son. You will find someone to replace her." His mother cooed. Replace her? Replace Christine? How can you replace an angel? At the thought of this, he bolted from the cold comfort of his parents and headed for his room, their room, to find it jammed.

"Damn door. Open up!" he begged, his voice faltering. With as much strength as he could draw, he busted the doors open to find no one but open doors of the balcony. He peered down below to find a cloth sheet on the wet grass. He hoped it wasn't what he thought.

He searched through the whole interior and exterior of his household, completely forgetting about his parents' presence. The only thing on his mind was his Christine. She was nowhere to be found. He called her name many times but no one answered his pleas. She was gone. She was really gone.

"No," he shook his head in dismay. "No! It cannot be. Christine!" he screamed before falling in tears. "Christine…"

He had lost everything in him. Anger rose within him because of his stupid actions. He pounded the ground in fury. How could he be so stupid? He needed her. He loved her. He couldn't live without her.

"I'll find you, Christine. I promise and will make you see how much I love you. Then you will come back to me." he vowed to her through gritted teeth. "I will..."