Chapter 9

After making sure Katie was deep in slumber, Tarek left her, and secretly made his way to her friends home.

"She won't be able to get in the way." He told himself, as he slipped into her bedroom. She laid asleep on her bed, clutching to a small white teddy bear that wore a black mask.

"Erik" she whimpered in her sleep, and rolled over to face away from him. After hiding himself in the shadows of her closet, he began his work.

"Jammes" He threw his voice into her ear "Jammes wake up." She grunted, and rolled over again.

"Lotte is furious at you, for getting in the way. She hate you now, she loves Tarek." Slowly she opened her eyes, and sat up in her bed.

"Lotte hates me?" Fright filled her eyes, ans she clutched her bear tighter to her chest.

"You drag her down, you know you do. She needs friends who will help her achieve her dreams, not stop her." The words surrounded her, and echoed in her mind. Tears began o swell in her eyes.

"But I only want the best for her, I just want her to be happy, she is my best friend." She whimpered.

"Your not good for her, it would be better if you left."

"Left?" She wiped a tear from her eye. "Were could I go? I couldn't skip school."

"She will follow you, she doesn't know how much damage you do to her."

"I don't want to hurt her anymore, I love my Little Lotte."

"Than remove yourself from her life, from life its self. You don't deserve to be friends with such an angel, and she doesn't deserve to be chained down with your failures."

"No, she doesn't." Mandi rose from her bed silently, and seemed to glide out of the room, returning shortly with a large knife in her right hand. She sat down in front of her mirror, staring at the sight that repulsed her. She wasn't horrendously ugly to the public's eye, but in her own, she was worse than her dear Erik. Every feature looked grotesque to her. From her untamed blonde hair,bland eyes, imperfect skin, to her plump figure, everything about herself looked unworthy of peoples glare.

"This was easier than I thought." He told himself, as he walked up behind her, letting his presence be known. She turned, and locked her eyes with his, oblivious that he persuading her.

"Let Lotte have her fairy tale ending, end your tale." She nodded, and raise the knife to her throat.

"Wait, Tarek, please leave, no one should see something as worthless as me leave this world." He nodded his head graciously, and left her alone, confident she was to go through with her unforgivable act. He made his way back to his home, were Katie still slept peacefully, unaware of what her close friend was doing on her behalf.

"This is for you Lotte." Mandi looked at the picture she had of Katie from the day they became friends, at Mandy's birthday party, the first time she was exposed to The Phantom Of The Opera. The knife barely grazed her skin when another voice whispered in her ear. She couldn't place who's voice it was, but it sounded familiar, like from a dream.

"Don't so this Jammes, it will kill Lotte." She stopped driving the blade in, and just held it, slightly dug into her flesh, the blood just starting to trickle down her neck.

"Lotte deserves better than me."

"No, she doesn't." The voice warmed her very core, driving away all the cold degrading thoughts Tarek instilled in her fragile mind. "You are the perfect friend for her, don't let anyone tell you your not." Mandi dropped the knife to the floor, and sobbed into her palms.

"D'arret mon chere, do not cry, your Lotte needs you now."

"But she has Tarek."

"She needs you! Your her dearest friend, she relays on you, and Tarek is not who you think he is." She wiped away her final tears, completely ignoring the blood running from the shallow wound.

"Clean yourself up, and go to her, save her."

"Oh yeah, let me go be the fop of the story." She said sarcastically. The voice laughed in her mind at her statement.

"You are far from a fop."

Mandi nodded her head, went to her bathroom to get the supplies she needed, and tended to her neck. She glanced up at the mirror quickly, ans swore she saw a pair of gold eyes look back at her tenderly, then fade away.