The Man Who Once Inspired My Voice
In my life with Christophe, I had always had a strict social schedule I was expected to uphold and never had I been given the chance to simply lose track of time, which was what I had done for the past week.
Since I had met Erik, everything changed. Never had I imagined that a man, such as he, would enter to my life and impact it so much. He had saved me from a horrible death and paid his own life to do so. It astounded me that any man would be willing to do that for me, and the moment that bullet had entered his body, my heart felt as if it had received the shot itself. If he died, all good that remained in me would be doused in a pool of his blood….the blood that was shed for my own life. I loved him so much and desired to see him.
For the last few days, my mind was consumed by the loneliness his absence abandoned me to. Each morning when I awoke, I would envision him somewhere near me. Sometimes, I awoke to his masked face above mine, staring down at me as he had when I first saw him. Other times, he laid propped up on the pillows watching me sleep. In all the hallucinations I had about him, he was always perfect in everyway. Each time he seemed as real and handsome as ever, but when I reached my hand out to him, it was met by emptiness.
On this morning I opened my eyes to see him standing in the doorway. He was looking at me as he always did, with affection and tenderness. Something about his presence made me second guess myself. In his eyes, I saw a hint of pain and discomfort and he seemed almost weak. I knew I would curse myself later for even thinking that this time he would be real, but I pushed back the covers and got ready to stand none the less. As I did so, the whisper of my name echoed in my ears. I stared into his eyes. WAS IT REALLY? WAS I NOT DREAMING? COULD IT BE?
"Gabrielle…we are together again at last…" I didn't believe it, couldn't believe it. I remained as I was; frozen. He stared at me with some alarm. "My angel, what is the matter?" His breathing grew slightly harsh.
He made to come towards me but stumbled and fell to the ground. In that instant I knew I was not imagining him. I rushed to his side the moment his knees hit the ground and after a seconds hesitation, I placed my arm around his shoulders. The sensation of his warm muscles underneath his shirt sent me into a frenzy of emotion. I sobbed out his name, wrapped my arms around his body and kissed the unmasked side of his face. He simply rested on his knees, eyes closed, and breathing roughly with his arms around my waist. I regained my self-control somewhat, then sat back on my own knees to studied him. What a sight he was to my eyes! I stood and helped him to his own feet. He faltered and had to steady himself with my body. I was overjoyed at being with him again, and the love I felt was beyond words, but I was also worried about his lack of strength, which created an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach.
After quite a struggle, I had him lying beneath the crimson velvet covers of his bed. I sat on the edge of it and looked into his eyes. He was staring directly back at me. His gaze held the pain that he felt but the expression of love was far more dominant.
"Erik…" I sighed and kissed his cheek. "…you DO know that you shouldn't have left the doctor…you are still very weak…" He never let his gaze leave my face. It upset me that he hadn't spoke a word to me as of yet. "and I REALLY SHOULD call the doctor back for you…"
"NO!" His outburst nearly sent me flying off the bed in alarm. I gawked at him, letting the fear in my eyes burn into his. "You cannot! They will separate us…they…will…take me away…" His energy was diminishing slowly. "What they…don't realize…is that…YOU are the only cure for me…You take away the pain…YOU…my love…I want to remain with you…I have to! I need to! I…I…"
"Shhhh, hush now…Calm down…I wont call them then. Please, just rest and I will take care of your every need."
"All I need, is…you here, beside me…"
I lifted up the covers and slid in next to him. He opened his arms for me to snuggle into, so I nestled against his body, and looked up at his face. His lips were inches from my face. I could feel his hot breath against my face. Inside of me, my passion intermingled with every other emotion I had felt towards Erik and I pressed my lips against his.
It took a short moment of this for us both to realize how much we had missed each other. He then took my mouth more forcefully with his and I put up no struggle against this. Our passions rose as we grew more desperate with our kisses. My hands moved to his face and I placed my hand on his jaw. I felt the power of his muscles flexing while he continued to kiss me. I wanted to run my fingers along his face, but the mask restrained me from doing so. I held the edge of the mask with my fingers. He stopped kissing me when he noticed my fingers were on his mask. I began to remove it, but his trembling hand caught my wrist.
"Erik…you forget I have seen your entire face before…" He loosened his grip a bit.
"But, there was so much else occurring around us…and…please…don't do this…You don't have to see my hideousness…I…I am afraid…I…I don't want to lose you…"
I was dumbfounded as to how anyone could be so cruel as to deny him friendship and or love because of something that he was unable to control. I spoke softly and with caution. "Erik! YOU WILL NEVER LOSE ME!…nothing could make my love for you die…I want to see and love all of you , not just the half that you are willing to let me see." He closed his eyes and nodded, letting go of my wrist entirely. With that, I removed his mask.
