Hi! So, I'm pretty nervous about this one. I've never written anything like this before and I'm trying out something new. It is sort of book based as well as musical based, but modern. I hope you like this. It's not going to be overly long, but I still hope you like this! It will be set as a T rating for now, but it may change in the future. Also, please forgive any grammar or spelling mistakes.
Let me know what you think!
Chapter One
Christine was exhausted when she finally punched out and grabbed her bag from the back room of the Waffle House she worked at. It wasn't an amazing job by any means and she had begun to detest waffles, but she made enough money working the evening shift that she could pay her rent and bills. The free meal was helpful too.
It had been a year since she'd gone off on her own, determined to prove to herself that she could do it. So far, she had. The same couldn't be said for her mental health or her grades for that matter, but at this point, she was thankful her head was at least above the water. Even if it was by a minuscule amount.
Christine wasn't paying attention at all when she exited the restaurant and headed for her car, her admittedly uncomfortable bed calling her name. It had been a long day of exams and then a busy work evening. She doubted she passed some of her tests and there had been one too many rude customers.
So when she finally looked up and saw four men wearing all black, blending into the night, and staring right at her, she froze.
"Well aren't you a pretty little thing," one spoke gruffly, sending a chill down her spine. Was she about to be kidnapped for the second time in her life?
"He shouldn't have let you go," another said as they began to advance on her. She took a scared, cautious step backwards.
"Pity we'll have to roughen you up." She gulped. Could she make it back into the restaurant for help before they could grab her?
"Leave me alone," she tried to defend herself, but knew that she wouldn't stand a chance with these men. They were all easily six feet and seemingly in good shape. They wore ski masks so she was unable to see their faces but it hardly mattered. She needed to get away from them. "I don't have any money."
One laughed. "We don't need money, sweetheart. Just you."
"I'll scream," she warned. Surely they wouldn't want witnesses.
Another cackled. "I'm counting on it."
Christine shook badly and took another step backward as they continued to move toward her. Heart pounding in her chest, she knew she didn't have any more time. Counting to three in her head, risking everything, she turned and bolted for the restaurant door.
Before she could even take a step, she ran hard into a hard chest. She did scream then, thinking she had been surrounded by them from behind too, but the hands that gripped her shoulders were long and lengthy. She snapped her head up to the masked man and her heart flipped.
"Erik?" She squeaked in disbelief. His yellow eyes pierced her from behind his full face black mask and then looked up at the men behind her.
"Get to the car Christine."
Christine hadn't heard that voice for a year and she had a moment of delusion, unable to move.
"Go!" She jumped and made a run for her car, surprised when the men went for Erik instead of her. She didn't turn around, fumbled with her keys and jammed them into the keyhole. She unlocked it clumsily and stole a glance back to see Erik literally fighting the men off single-handedly.
Never once had she seen him physically fight before and she stared in awe. Before she knew it, all four men were bloody and knocked out on the ground.
"Get in the car, Christine!" He demanded and she did as she was told, too numb with fear and shock to protest. Besides, there may have been more men lurking.
She pushed her key into the ignition and before she could drive, her driver side door swung open and Erik stared down at her. "Move over!"
"What are you-"
"Move over, Christine. There are more coming and they will not stop until they find you."
She climbed over the center console and got into the passenger seat. Before she was even settled, he had folded his extremely long body into the driver's seat and shut the door.
He pulled out of the parking lot and she glanced at the side view mirror to see the men struggling to get to their feet. She panicked and clutched the seat with tight fingers.
"Who were those men?"
"They are a part of a certain group of people that are responsible for a lot of deaths in this country. You would call them a mafia, or sorts."
That made her shudder. "What do they want with me?"
"They're intending to use you to get to me."
"But why?" She was unaware of how loudly she was speaking, her voice high and shrill from fear.
"Because I killed their leader. They've been hunting me for years and I've been able to keep off their radar but only recently they have found my weakness to draw me out."
She still couldn't believe he was there. Alive.
"How did you know where I was?"
A pause. "I was in the neighborhood." That she did not believe. Her heart was slowing, realizing the position she was in and becoming more disturbed.
"I apologize, Christine. I had no intention of invading your life ever again."
She stared at him, hands shaking. She couldn't tell if he was telling the truth. She never could. "I thought you were dead."
He was silent for a very long time then and she looked out the car window, watching the buildings pass by in a blur as he drove them out of the city, troubled by her thoughts. When he finally spoke again, he was quiet and uncertain. "Are you disappointed?"
She whipped her head back to look at him, surprised by the question and the way he asked it. It did weird things to her heart she didn't want to focus on, but she answered honestly. "No."
He gave a short nod and continued driving. She looked back out the window, remembering the last time she'd seen him.
Leaving his home under the theater with Raoul's hand firmly clasped around hers, him tugging her along as she chanced one last look back at him. She will never forget how devastated and defeated he had been.
Attempting to stop herself from falling into a downward spiral into things she didn't want to face, she changed the subject. "So this mafia… gang, did you really kill their leader?"
His answer was immediate, without any remorse and very factual. "I did." He glanced at her once. "It was… before you. I lived a different life then. I knew my actions would come back to haunt me eventually, but I never wanted you to be a part of it."
Christine swallowed uncomfortably. "How did they find you? Have you been in the theater all this time?"
"More or less." He shifted in his seat. "I've become rather easily spotted since…"
Christine knew what he meant. He has been on the most wanted list until recently and the security of the school had increased tenfold. "But you've followed me this whole year and I had no idea. Am I just that oblivious?" She suddenly felt rather dumb.
"Of course not." He chuckled at her fondly. "You just don't know my tactics as well as these men do. I worked with them for years before leaving their regime."
It occurred to her that even though they technically had spent a lot of time together, she did not know him at all. When they had conversations in the past, it had always been about her. "What do we do now?" She was fearful of the answer.
He gave her a weary glance. "For now, my plan is to get you as far away from them as possible. Once you're safe, I will return and take care of it."
The cold and determined way he spoke sent a shiver down her spine. Take care of it. Meaning he would get rid of the people after him. He would kill them.
That made her stomach twist. She didn't know what was worse: being hunted down by mafia trained killers or being in a car with a mafia trained killer.
Christine side eyed him and tried to figure out if she trusted him or not. A big part of her wanted to, especially since she had felt very safe with him once upon a time, but a lot had happened since then. A lot.
"Are you hungry?"
Christine was surprised by the question, her brain going in all sorts of directions. "Oh, um not really."
"Understandable. It's been a long evening."
Christine nodded and stared down at her fingers in her lap. "Where are you taking me?"
Erik shifted in his seat, obviously worried to give the answer. "Washington State. I have a residence there that will keep you safe."
Her jaw dropped. "Washington? That's- that's across the country! It's going to take us like… like-"
"Three days. Give or take. It'll be easier to stay out of sight at night so we will do the most driving then. I do not believe we are being followed but I must be as careful as I can be, you understand."
Christine did not like this. Not at all. "Erik, how am I supposed to survive? I don't know anyone there and I won't have a job and-"
His voice lowered to a soothing calm that put her at ease involuntarily. "You don't need to worry about any of that now. I will take care of it all. Just try to relax and get some sleep. It's going to be a long night."
"There's no way I'm going to be able to sleep."
"Humor me."
Christine crossed her arms and humphed, not caring if she seemed like a child to him then. She scowled and didn't understand why all of this was happening to her.
At some point in her stewing, she did begin to feel sleepy and the hum of the car began to sound relaxing instead of irritating. Her eyes began to close and if she had been more aware, she would have noticed the gleam in Erik's eyes when he glanced knowingly at her.
In all of Erik's fantasies, reuniting with Christine after all this time had never gone the way it had. He'd had no time to think of the repercussions as he'd forced himself back into her life. He'd only been thinking of her safety and needing her to get as far away from those men as possible.
She was innocent in all of this and she didn't deserve to be thrown into the horrors of his past life. He'd done enough damage to her and when he'd let her go one year ago, he had sworn to never disrupt her life again.
He had promised himself that he'd stay away from her and he'd intended to keep it, but he'd broken down one day and had gone to check on her - to just see her one last time. From afar of course.
Imagine his surprise when he saw she was not living or with her handsome boy. He'd expected them to be married, living the American dream with a white picket fence and a beautiful child on the way. The thought had made him sick to think about but he had just had to see her. He really was a masochist, he knew.
Instead, she had rented a run down apartment near the school and worked full time when she wasn't in class at a Waffle House down the road. Erik purposefully did not intrude on her classes, especially her music ones, as that brought up too much emotion in him and he didn't think he'd be able to stay in the shadows. But he did stay away, for a time.
He fought with himself, unable to watch her and unable to leave her once he'd started. He could pick up immediately that something was wrong. She looked exactly the same as the first time he'd seen her. Depressed. Just watching her became hard. It was harrowing to watch her close in on herself and become a shell of the beautiful girl he knew she was.
He knew it had to have been him that had done that to her. He had taken her light and shut it out, corrupting it until it was nothing. He supposed threatening to kill a person's fiancé would do that to a person.
And now… here he was, doing it again. Taking her away from her dancer friend, her classes, her work - everything she depended on because of what he'd done.
Erik wanted to pitch himself out of the car, not caring if he were to die at the hands of another. He'd rather die a most painful death than have her in danger, especially because of him. But, he had no choice now. He had to protect her, no matter the cost.
As soon as she was safe, he'd set her up with all the money he had to offer and let her live her life without him. For good this time.
He'd call up the daroga, tell him where she was, and then give those men a reality check.
He may not have been the Reaper any longer, but he'd remind them that he still carried the capabilities.
For now though, he needed to get her to Washington as quickly as possible. She'd have to endure his hideous, wretched presence one more time. Just a little bit longer.
Christine slept for most of the night and he couldn't help but peek over at her quite frequently because he couldn't believe that she was right there. Right there next to him.
It was of course not how he'd prefer the situation, but just having her this close to him again had him mesmerized. He could hear her breathing. He could see her beautiful lashes upon her cheeks. Her plump little pink lips parting when she blew out.
Good God, she was gorgeous. Having her this close was going to be torturous for him, he knew, but simultaneously he would relish in the company. He knew he'd never get this opportunity again and he wasn't going to take it for granted.
No, he didn't want her life on the line. And no, he didn't want to damage her further. But God, he loved her and he'd soak up every second he had with her until it was time for them to part ways for the final time.
This time, he would not be returning.
This time… he really would die.
