Oh... I couldn't bare the cruelty of making you wait a whole week for this. It was a particularly nasty cliffhanger. So here's the latest chapter. I've got a good feeling about it, hehe. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

I stared numbly at the letter, waiting for the ominous words to sink in. Only one person could have left it here, and it worried me... no terrified me,to think of what this 'news' might be. It didn't help me in the least to think that Erik rarely treated anything with this kind of urgency. What problem could possibly warrant a note such as this?

Something inside me twisted up. What if Erik knew something about my family that I didn't? I hadn't heard from them yet this week. Maybe something had happened to them and I hadn't been contacted.

I was frantic with worry… almost to the point of making myself sick. I couldn't eat my food at dinner, and I paced my room impatiently for nearly an hour afterwards, waiting for a time when it would be safe for me to make a break for the Assembly Hall and meet Erik. Minutes dragged by at a snails pace before my patience ran out completely and I grabbed my coat. I didn't bother with my music or anything else…all that mattered was getting to the Assembly Hall. The housemistress didn't appear to notice my rushed and anxious manner as I requested permission to leave the house, and neither did anyone I passed on my way.

The sky over the courtyard was full of bright glittering stars and the few clouds that hung above were lit up at the edges by silvery moonlight. It was beautiful… and at any other time I would have stopped to appreciate it. But not tonight. Tonight I only gave the sky a brief glance before moving quickly to the big double doors. But to my intense frustration, they were locked once again. I was ready to try and kick them down… anything to get to the man waiting inside with his urgent news. Then, finally, I remembered the side door Erik had shown me before, and ran around the building in the hopes that I would find it unlocked.

To my relief, it was, and I charged up the steps to the backstage area, nearly falling over in my rush. By the time I got to the stage, shrouded in its red curtains, I was out of breath and had a terrible stitch in my side. There was barely enough air in my lungs for me to call Erik's name.

"Erik?" I gasped, looking desperately in every shadowy corner.

Finally, a white mask materialised in the dark around the mass of backstage props, and a tall figure stepped into the light.

"I'm glad you could make it," he said simply.

I was in no mood for his cryptic pleasantries. Without another word I rushed at him and, not even thinking about what I was doing, gripped him by the arms. He didn't seem at all phased by my actions, but even more surprisingly, he didn't appear that anxious either.

"Erik…" I was still breathless from my run. "What's… going on?"

"Calm down," he said serenely, brushing my hands from his arms and placing his own firmly on my shoulders. He gazed down at me with infuriating calm. "Everything will be alright."

Oh god… that's what people always said when something terrible had happened. I felt the beginnings of hysteria building up inside as I went through the endless list of scenarios… the horrible things that could have befallen dad, Paula… even little Joseph. After everything else that had been happening to me, why did something have to happen to them?

In growing panic I clenched my hands into fists around Erik's coat. I was so close to him and could even feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath my fingers.

"What's happening?" My voice was strained with suppressed tears. "Please…"

But he hushed me gently, and I felt his grip on my shoulder tighten in reassurance. "Don't cry, Christine…" and as he spoke he reached into some inner pocket of his coat. My eyes flicked from the shadowed eyes beneath the mask to the white envelope that he slowly drew out and then handed to me. At first I didn't want to take it… as if it were a plague-ridden rat that would infect me… but finally I grasped it in my trembling fingers and sniffed loudly, preparing myself for the worst as I prised open the seal.

I took out the contents slowly, and stared numbly at the pieces of paper in my hand. It took a long time… or what felt like a long time to me, for the reality of what I was holding to sink in as I read what was printed so clearly on the paper. A ticket… to Rome. And behind it another… travelling from Rome back to London Heathrow. The dates… the name printed on there… everything matched. They were for me… to take me home.

Speechless and numb with shock, I lifted my head up from the plane tickets and stared up at Erik… and realised that he was smiling. Smiling broadly and generously… and I could see the sparkle in his grey-blue eyes… the knowingness.

"You…"

I couldn't finish speaking. Moments ago I had wanted to cry with fear and misery… now I could have screamed with happiness. All that held me back was the confusion… the complete unexpectedness of this show of generosity on Erik's part. I could think of nothing to say in the face of it. 'Thank you' would have mocked the kindness he was showing me.

"Why?" That was all I could muster in the end.

The sparkle dimmed… became more serious, but lost none of its softness. I felt a light touch against my hair as he stroked curly strands away from my face, gazing at me with an emotion that both thrilled and startled me.

"I knew it would make you happy," he murmured, his lips barely moving as he spoke.

'Happy' was barely an adequate description of this emotion. What I felt bubbled up inside me like a volcano ready to erupt. The shock had stopped me before, but suddenly I felt an explosion inside my heart that was almost painful. I stared up at Erik, then looked down at the tickets again, making sure they were not some kind of desperate illusion. I felt breathless again...

"Oh god… thank you. Thank you so much…"

Bodily instincts took over once again. Just like in my panic I had gripped Erik… my first impulse now, in my excitement, was to throw my arms around him. And I did…swift and quickly I reached and put my arms around his neck…

… or… I would have put my arms around his neck. But to my intense surprise my show of gratitude was halted abruptly by Erik himself. Like a cornered rattlesnake he leaned back and away from the reach of my arms… and then lashed out, grabbing my wrists so tightly I nearly cried out in pain and dropped the tickets and envelope, which fluttered to the ground between us. Almost immediately the crushing grip lessened, but the sudden, tense atmosphere that had descended was not so easily dispelled. I was wide-eyed and trembling from Erik's reaction, and even he seemed shaken by it.

Feeling that I must have done something wrong, I tried to form an apology. I wet my lips nervously and lowered my hands a little. But Erik did not let go of them.

"I'm sorry…" I stammered uncertainly. "I didn't mean to -"

"No," he said, cutting me off abruptly. I flinched at the sharpness in his voice, and when he saw this he immediately softened his tone. "No… it's alright." And, as if to prove it, he let his grip on my wrists slide, and I felt his gloved fingers intertwine with my own instead, strong but still gentle and comforting.

But I still tried to explain… feeling that it was needed… feeling as if could thank him forever and still feel grateful. "I just… I can't believe you did this for me." I laughed softly just thinking about it. "I don't know how to begin to thank you."

He shook his head and then reached out again with his gloved hand, touching my cheek with the backs of his fingers.

"Knowing that I've made you happy is more than enough."

I still couldn't believe it, and as I gazed up at him I shook my head slightly in a show of that disbelief, feeling my cheek brush against the leather of his glove. I had never thought that anyone in the world would do something like this for me… would care enough about my happiness. It was overwhelming… so much so I thought my heart was going to swell and burst with it.

"Thank you," I whispered again.

We stood there smiling at each other, so close I could feel the fabric of his clothes against mine… and suddenly I grew aware of the deep intimacy of it all – Erik's hands… one clasping mine, the other caressing my cheek… and his eyes gazing at my face and into my eyes with their own kind of urgency… barely contained behind his calm exterior. I knew instantly that something was about to happen… something monumental… and as Erik bent his mouth to mine I found myself unable to make a single move to prevent it.

With all Erik's coolness… his gracefulness and care-free attitude, I would never have expected his kiss to be so… tentative. His lips rested on mine as though I were an exquisitely fragile creature that might break under the slightest of pressure. His lips were slightly cold, and felt strange somehow… different to anything I could have expected, but I soon laid this aside as I felt Erik's other hand rise, so that now he held my face in his two hands, tilting my head back so he could deepen our kiss. I was so caught up in the sensation I allowed him, merely placing my hands against his chest, feeling his heartbeat under my fingers.

I didn't know how long he kissed me… I was only aware that I didn't want him to stop, especially when he began to move his lips over my cheeks, my forehead… even my closed eyes. The nose of the mask, smooth and cold, brushed against my skin too, but somehow this only added to the pleasurable sensations I was experiencing, and I welcomed it. It was only when I sighed that Erik drew away to look at me, and I stared back at him, eyes glazed and mouth slack. He seemed much the same… dazed by what had just happened. It was so unlike him I almost laughed, but the moment was too precious for that.

I was slowly coming back to reality, remembering where I was and what was happening, but Erik seemed more reluctant emerge from the dream, because he began to pull me closer… more certain of himself now. This time there was more passion behind his kiss, but I knew I couldn't allow that. Not now… not yet. I gave in for only a moment, then pushed gently at his chest and lowered my head. He didn't force me to continue… instead he softened his grip and drew away a little.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, reaching up to my mouth as I felt the delicious tingle where he had kissed me. "I'm just… I think it's…" I struggled for words to explain my reason.

He nodded, and his expression was unreadable. "It's too soon."

I turned my face up to him and frowned. Did he know about what had happened between me and Richard? About our fight?

He must have read the question in my eyes because he traced my jaw with a fingertip and smiled softly. "I know everything about you, Christine."

It sounded so overly romantic, but somehow it rang with truth. Erik really did seem to know everything about me. Sometimes I felt he knew me better than I knew myself… something that I had never felt before with another person. It was comforting, yet strange. Months ago I would have laughed at the idea that someone like Erik would be closer to me than even my own father. Now I was curiously accepting of it.

I smiled and allowed him to kiss my forehead before stepping away from him at last. My whole body felt strange… jittery, like a little schoolgirl, and I reproached myself a little for it. I knew I shouldn't be feeling this way… not so soon after my fall out with Richard. And I certainly shouldn't be acting on my feelings. But I hadn't been able to resist… it had felt so natural and I could still feel the tremors running through me as I locked away the memory of Erik's touch and his sweet kisses, to be savoured at a later time.

"I'd better go."

Another nod, but no words.

"Good night."

"Good night."

I turned and began to walk towards the door, biting my lip to resist the temptation to turn back… to stay.

"Christine?"

Erik's voice halted me and I felt my heart jump. What was he going to say now? I turned to find out.

"Forgetting something?"

I stared at the plane tickets held in his hand, which I had dropped earlier, and flushed at my own absent-mindedness. I really was turning into the giggly, airhead now. Red-faced and smiling nervously I returned to him and plucked the tickets from his gloved fingers. His smile and his eyes teased me mercilessly even as I turned to leave again.

"Good night," he said again.

But I didn't reply. I was staring down at the tickets… at Erik's thoughtful and generous gift, and was suddenly seized by panic. I half-turned back.

"Erik?"

He waited for me to go on.

"You're coming back too, aren't you?"

In the shadow of the mask, I saw the reassuring smile spread on his thin-lipped mouth, and I already knew the answer.

"Of course."

I returned his smile and nodded. I still wished I could have thanked him more for what he had done… but there was nothing I could think of to say. Maybe one day I'd find some way to repay him… it would be the least I could do.

As I made my way across the courtyard, I marvelled at how wonderful life seemed to be now compared to before. Suddenly everything felt better. I was going home. How I was going to explain my good fortune to my father didn't bother me… I'd think of something, and hope he was too glad to have me back home to be suspicious.

I smiled all the way back to my room, where I safely placed the tickets in my top drawer. I could go to my housemistress at evening roll-call and give her the details. Right now I had work to do… and I went about it with a new-found vigour. I was elated… nothing could bring me down tonight.

"Thank you, Erik," I murmured softly once again.

As if in answer, a cool wind blew in through my still open window, swirling through the room and sending a sweet chill down my spine and under my skin. My body trembled with it from head to toe and left me yearning for something I couldn't yet find a name for.

But I sensed somehow that the answer would not lie to far from me now. Somewhere, out in the darkness, it was waiting… and I would find it no matter what.