From Heaven's Mind

Chapter Twelve

Time stopped.

And then there was a thud as Christine's suitcase slipped from her hand and she stepped back. Erik stepped towards her.

"Christine…" He whispered.

But she spun around and fled. Erik made after her but Kelly caught his arm.

"Erik-"

"Get out of here!" He spat, pushing her away and chasing after his wife. He burst into the corridor just as the elevator doors closed. Erik swore and fell towards the stairs.

Christine clattered down the front steps of the building, bumping into a group of people. They said something but she ignored them, hailing a taxi and clambering into the back seat.

"The airport." She gasped, slamming the door shut. The car started off down the street and she twisted in her seat to see Erik fall through the doors of the building. He looked around wildly and she slid down in her seat, her hands over her mouth as she tried to hold back the tears.

"You OK?" The driver asked in concern. She nodded mutely, as cold, penetrating numbness flooded her body.

Erik walked slowly down the corridor to the penthouse.

Christine was gone.

He looked down at her suitcase that still lay in the doorway and then moved it inside. To his fury, Kelly was still stood by the window. She turned to him.

"Erik?"

"Get out." He said, his teeth clenched. She frowned slightly and stepped towards him.

"Erik, I-"

"Get out!" Erik shouted, unable to hold back the fury. She fell back.

He seized one of the carefully arranged glass vases and threw it at the wall. It shattered, scattering shards of glass and crimson roses everywhere. Kelly cried out and left, eyes wide with fear.

Erik fell to his knees, leaning on the suitcase, breathing heavily and trying to ignore the clenched pain that shot through his chest.

Nadir had been looking forward to a peaceful weekend. No such luck. It was gone midnight when he was woken by Maria, one of the servants. She was dressed in a dressing gown and looked terrified.

"Mr Khan, please wake up!"

"Maria? What is it?" He said, sitting up.

"It's Mrs Destler… She's…"

"Christine? She's in New York?"

"No, sir. She's in her bedroom, but… please come!"

Nadir pulled on a robe and half-ran through the house to the master bedroom. Several servants were gathered, looking concerned and panicked.

"Mr Khan, what's going on?"

"She won't tell us what's wrong."

He pushed through and saw Christine, with two other servants. She was pulling her thins out of the wardrobe and drawers and throwing them into bags, her face carefully blank. Trsiter sat nearby, watching curiously. He caught her arm.

"Christine, what's happened?"

"Go back to bed, Nadir

"Christine, you're supposed to be in New York." Nadir said. She didn't reply, stuffing some pictures into a bag. Nadir turned to look at Maria. "Get Mr Destler on the phone. He'll be worried sick about her."

"No!"

They all stared at her. She had stopped, still clutching a shirt in one hand. Nadir noticed for the first time that she was pale and trembling. He frowned.

"What's going on?" He asked gently. She looked at him and then closed her eyes and looked away, putting things away but more slowly now.

"Christine, have you had a fight with Erik?"

She stiffened, seized the bags and pushed her way out of the room. They all followed as she went downstairs. In the entrance hall, Nadir snatched one of the bags from her and took her arm firmly.

"That's enough, Christine. You are going to tell me what's going on."

"No."

"Christine!" Nadir snapped.

"No!"

"Tell me what happened!"

"I… I…" She stammered. Nadir shook her slightly.

"Christine, what has happened with Erik?"

"He… Nadir, he…" She began, tears threatening to spill over.

The phone rang and Nadir glanced at it. Maria answered nervously.

"Hello? Oh! Oh…" She looked at the pair, terrified. They all knew who it was. Nadir looked down at her.

"Talk to him!"

"No."

"Christine, whatever he's done it can't have been so bad that-"

"He was with another woman, Nadir!" She cried and then clapped her hands over her mouth.

Several gasps went up from the hovering servants and Nadir's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"He was… I got there and he was kissing her and…and…"

"Mr Destler, please, I-" Maria stammered as furious sounds came from the telephone. Nadir took it quickly.

"Erik?" He listened and then looked at Christine. "She's here. He wants to talk to you." He told Christine. She shook her head fiercely.

"No. I'm going to my house." She said, picking up her bags and walking to the door, quietly furious, Trister at her heels.

"Christine, what should I tell him?"

"Anything. It's not like he'd even give a damn!" She spat, slamming the door behind her.

She drove quickly through the streets to her home and sat in the car for a few minutes once she'd parked. The tears that had been threatening all the way home had finally reached breaking point and she held her head in her hands and sobbed. Only one thought ran through her mind.

Why, Erik? Why?

After ten minutes she took a few gulping breaths and picked up her bags. She didn't have all of her belongings but she refused to stay on Rochdale Avenue. She wouldn't stay in his home. She had her own. She climbed out of the car and walked slowly up to the house. The lights were still on.

She knocked on the door and heard talking coming from the living room. They were probably watching TV. Max opened the door and stared.

"Christine? What are you doing here?"

"I… I need to stay here." She said weakly. Max nodded and took a couple of her bags.

"What's up? I thought you were going to New York."

"I was… I mean, I did…" She fell silent. Max took her into the living room. Tom and Meg were sat on the sofa together. Meg frowned and switched off the television.

"What's wrong? Have you been crying?" She asked, sitting Christine down. Trister lay down by the fireplace, obliviously peaceful.

"What's happened?" Max asked, sitting on the arm of her chair. Christine fixed her eyes on her hands.

"I… I went to New York. To see…"

"Erik?" Tom asked. Christine nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She couldn't even say his name.

"What happened?" Meg asked, taking Christine's hands in hers.

"He was… he was with someone else. A woman. Meg, he was kissing her! They were… they…" She felt tears again and shook her head. Meg was staring at her, aghast.

"No… no, he wouldn't…"

"Bloody hell." Tom said, stunned. Christine let out a hollow despairing laugh.

"Oh, it gets better."

She stood up and paced the room, running her hands through her hair. Meg watched her sadly, knowing what was coming. They all waited for her to work up to whatever it was that she was going to say. After a moment she leant against the mantelpiece, her heads in her hands and her back to them."

"…I'm pregnant."

There was a gasp but she didn't know who from. She turned to look at them, tears of both sorrow and fury on her cheeks.

"Isn't that just perfect? I'm pregnant and my husband is cheating on me. Isn't that just fucking perfect?"

Christine rarely swore. This in itself was so out of character that the three exchanged worried glances. And when Christine turned in anger and smashed her fist into the wall with a shout. Trister looked up sharply at the unrestrained display of anger. Max jumped up and stopped her. She turned on him, glaring and beat her bloody fist into his shoulder. He pulled her close to him so she couldn't struggle.

"I hate him! I hate her! I hate them both, why did they do it?" She screamed.

Max didn't know what to do, so he just let her cry. Meg was watching Christine with a pained, tearful expression and Tom didn't seem to know whether to be sad or angry. Eventually Meg stepped forward.

"Come on, Christine… let's get you to bed."

"Bandage her hand, Meg." Max said and she nodded.

Like a small child, Christine allowed herself to be led away. Tom looked at Max.

"What now?"

"I haven't a bloody clue." Max admitted.

It was a hard night. Christine lay curled up in the newly made bed, clutching her bruised and cut fist to her. Trister was lying across her feet, grunting occasionally in his sleep.

She didn't want to be like this. She was strong. She knew that she was. She had proved it, hadn't she? When her parents had died she made herself a life. She had always been strong, that was what she did. She coped with things.

And he had made her weak. Christine bit her lip. She had depended on him to stop her from hurting anymore. Erik was the one who would never hurt her, the only person who she had always felt that would be there forever.

She bent her head, trying to block out the image that seemed to have burnt itself into her mind. A door swinging open to reveal room filled with beautiful flowers, soft light and sweet music. And Erik with another woman in his arms.

Erik sat at the kitchen counter, his head in his hands. The shards of glass glinted in the soft light. He should clear it up but he couldn't bring himself to move.

She had refused to talk to him. And he didn't blame her. He couldn't call again. It would be too late there. It was too late here. Or too early, depending on how you looked at it.

"Christine…" he whispered.

He wanted to cry. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried. Why should he? It had been so long. And he'd been so happy these last few years, he'd never needed to cry.

And now, knowing that he may lose it all, everything that mattered, he wanted to weep the bitterest tears. He wanted Christine to be here, to wipe those tears away; he wanted to explain what had happened.

She would never forgive him this. It wouldn't matter how many times he assured that it hadn't been his fault. Because it had. He should have seen the signs; he should have known what Kelly Delaney was planning.

But he hadn't. And because of that error Christine was gone.

Christine didn't know how she got any sleep that night but she woke late on Saturday morning. She showered and dressed slowly before going downstairs. To her relief it was just Max there. She didn't feel like she could face all three of them right now. Meg was at a student's house, tutoring them in French and Tom was at work.

She sat down and Max put some toast in front of her.

"How'd you sleep?"

"With my eyes closed." She replied. Inappropriate humour. Odd. Max smiled nonetheless and began to pour her tea. Christine crumbled a bit of toast and Max lifted an eyebrow.

"Don't play with your food." He said in a fatherly tone. Christine pushed the plate away.

"I'm not hungry."

"You've got to eat. Otherwise you'll be starving for two." He said, glancing at her stomach.

"I know, I just… Max, what did I do wrong?" She whispered, putting her head in her hands. Max sat down.

"You haven't done anything, Christine. You're a fantastic person. He screwed up here, not you."

She shook her head.

"I must have done something to drive him away. What if… what is he loves her?" She looked at him and he saw fear in her eyes. "Max, what if he wants to marry her? What if he wants a divorce? I can't…"

Max put a hand over hers and she took a deep breath.

"You should have seen her, Max."

"Is she ugly? I bet she's ugly."

"She's gorgeous. She looks like a model. Blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect figure, much taller than me. Who would you choose? An idiot like me who can't even keep her husband interested in her or a model-like American with qualifications coming out her ears and legs the height of Big Ben? What a hard choice that must have been." Christine said bitterly.

"You." Max said quietly. She looked at him.

"What?"

"I'd have chosen you. And my guess is that Erik is kicking himself now for even considering someone else."

Christine sighed.

"You have to say that."

"Nope. Remember during The Phantom of the Opera? Terri Ennis had a thing for me?"

"How could I forget? She sent me threats because of it." Christine said dryly.

"Yeah, but remember how hot she was? I mean really hot. I mean phwoar." Max said dreamily. She glared at him.

"I'm sorry, are you trying to help?"

"Wait, it's coming to a point."

"It had better be."

"My point is, I knew that Terri liked me. But I couldn't even consider going out with her because I liked you. You're beautiful and kind and friendly and… well, you're perfect to be honest, apart from the strange relationship you have with your dog. However attractive that woman is, she can't hold a candle to you, because you're… you. That's why I'd chose you over Terri, Christine."

Christine looked at him and a very tiny smile crossed her face.

"Thank you." She whispered. He smiled.

"You're welcome."

A moment of silence.

"And then you went off with someone else, consequently breaking my heart into itty bitty pieces."

"Max!"

"I'm kidding!"

"Oh, you…!" She smacked his shoulder and he smiled sweetly.

"Tea?"

Later that morning the phone rang. Max was tapping away on his laptop and Christine was reading so they let the machine get it. When the voice spoke, they both looked up sharply.

Christine? Christine, are you there? Pick up. Christine, I need to talk to you. Please pick up the phone.

Max glanced at Christine. She was looking at the phone, chewing her lip.

…please call me. I need to talk to you, it's urgent. Call me back. I love you.

The message ended. Christine got up slowly and crossed to the machine. Max watched carefully. For a few moments, she stared down at the machine, the new message light flashing. And then she pressed the delete button before moving into the kitchen.

Erik continued to call all day. Nobody picked up the phone, deciding it wasn't worth risking Christine's anger. She simply deleted every message and that evening Max unplugged the phone.

"Not that I don't want you to fix your marriage, Christine, but the constant ringing is driving us all crazy." He informed her.

Nadir came to see her that evening.

"I tried to call but I couldn't get through." He said. Christine shrugged.

"Max unplugged the phone."

"Oh… right." He looked at her concernedly. "Are you alright?"

"I feel sick, my hand hurts, I got very little sleep and my husband is cheating on me." She said flatly. Nadir winced.

"Right… wait, what did you do to your hand?"

"She punched a wall." Tom said, passing by on his way to the kitchen. Nadir stared at her and she shrugged again.

Nadir shook his head, shaking the comment away.

"Christine, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. For a start I'm going to get through next week. I'm going in for scans on Tuesday morning, before work."

"That's not what I meant." Nadir said gently. Christine met his eye.

"I know."

"Christine, I swore not to get involved with you and Erik-"

"Then why are you here?" She said coldly. Nadir looked understandably irritated.

"Because you're my friend and I'm worried about you and your baby. No, Erik did not send me to check up on you. Well, he wanted me to but I would have done anyway, and no, I'm not going to be telling him what you said."

Wow. Guilty feelings came rushing in at full force. Christine looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry, Nadir. I just… I just…"

"I know." He said, and put his arms around her in a welcome hug.

Sunday arrived and they plugged the phone back in. By midday there had been four messages for Christine. She ignored them, sitting in the kitchen with the newspaper, working on the crossword puzzle and failing because she wasn't concentrating in the least. The radio was playing cheerful songs she had never heard before but she couldn't be bothered to turn it off.

"Four down…" She murmured, tapping her pencil against the table. The radio changed songs and she half-listened to the lyrics.

Love breaks and love divides

Love laughs and love can make you cry

I can't believe the ways

That love can give

And love can take away

Christine reached over in disgust and turned the radio off. She closed the newspaper and looked down at her stomach.

"I'm not sure if you can hear me in there, but I'll let you in on a secret. Right now, you're just about the only good thing in my life. I know that sounds dramatic, but I work in a theatre, so give me a break. And it's not exactly an exaggeration at this particular moment in time."

Trister came wandering in from the garden and she patted his head, hearing the phone ring. The others were all out so she went to the living room and sat with her back to the wall beside the table, listening to the message. Trister lay down with his front paws on her legs, searching for attention. She stroked his head as Erik's voice came through the tinny machine.

Christine, it's me. Again. I know you're probably standing there listening and cursing my very existence, but I need to talk to you. I have to explain that what you saw… it wasn't…I know what you saw and I know how bad it looks, but it's not what it seems. I don't want to tell you this through a telephone message. Please give me a chance. Call me back. I love you so much. Please…please.

She tucked her knees up under her chin and sat, looking at Trister. He was panting, his ears pricked up.

"I don't know what to do, Trister." She whispered. "Why can't I be strong? Why can't I just pick up the phone?"

Trister just stretched, yawned, and rubbed his head against her hip. She sighed and hugged him tightly, placing a hand over her stomach.

"I want to be strong." She whispered. "I want to be strong again."

A/N: Hmm… not so sure that I like this chapter. It just seems so predictable. Please excuse the swearing but I feel the situation called for it. I mean, wouldn't you be just a teensy bit annoyed? And after those two lovely cliff-hangers you people have been calling me some rather rude names, so let he who is without sin cast the first review!

Let me know what you think of the chapter.

Lotsa luv

Katie