Thanks for sticking this out with me. It's about to get a little mucky in here though. Erik and Christine aren't the best at communication.
Chapter 6
Raoul was beside himself with worry and he was wringing his hands as he left the police station. He had tried calling the number Christine had called him from a million times, hoping that it would go through but each time it said the phone was out of service. He just didn't understand.
After all this time he was alive. He had lived in a false sense of security for a year and had actually moved on from the traumatic events of almost being killed by that monster. To learn now that not only was he back but on the run with Christine - someone who Raoul would always care for regardless of what happened between them, it sickened him.
He didn't know what else to do. The only thing he could do was contact the police and tell them what he knew. But even then, it was like trying to catch smoke - as it always had been when he had been involved. The damn bastard was really adept at being invisible.
He sighed and ran a hand through his short cropped hair, realizing he should probably call Meg. The poor girl would be beside herself with worry by now and he knew the news would only make it worse but she deserved to know. Christine was her best friend. They had been practically sisters at one time.
He pulled out his phone and dialed her number as he climbed back inside his car. It rang a couple times before she answered. "Hey Meg. How are you holding up?"
She sounded stressed. "I don't know I'm - I'm hanging in there. You?"
"Exhausted with worry," he confessed. "She contacted me yesterday."
"She did ?!" Raoul winced at how loud her voice became in his ear.
"Yeah, but look, it's not good news. She was trying to get ahold of you apparently and she doesn't have her phone so she called me. Said she was fine and what not - going on a road trip and didn't want us to worry about her." He took a deep breath. "The issue is all of it's a lie."
"I know…"
Raoul froze. "You know ? What does that mean?"
"Before you freak out, listen to me. My mom, she knows someone who knows the situation. And from what I gather, Christine couldn't be more safe-"
" Safe ?!" Raoul couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That deformed bastard has her, Meg! How on earth could she be safe ? Do you not remember what he did to me? To her ?"
"Listen - I can't tell you everything, Raoul. It's not safe for them. You gotta believe me though. It's going to be fine. He's taking care of her so she doesn't get killed!"
Raoul froze. " Killed ?" His heart hammered in his chest and his hands began to sweat. "What do you mean killed ?"
Meg sighed heavily. "I can't tell you everything, like I said. All I can tell you is that she is safe and that she will be back when it's all over with. And from the sounds of it, he isn't coming back with her."
"What does that mean?" He was so confused and aggravated that he was being left out of the details.
"I mean I don't think he's gonna survive."
Raoul stared ahead, not really seeing anything. "So he's gonna die for real then?"
"Yeah… that's what it sounds like."
Raoul furrowed his eyebrows together. "How do you know all of this?"
Meg paused. "My mom is friends with someone who is friends with him . Or whatever. I don't really know the situation but that's what I have gathered."
Raoul didn't like the sound of any of that. Someone that was friends with that crazy person could not be a good person. He was shocked to hear Meg's mother would be in on it.
"Either way, Raoul, we gotta keep this quiet. They're up against some really nasty people and anything we say or do could end up hurting Christine."
Raoul ducked his head and his cheeks bloomed red. "Oh… I… wish I had known that before I talked to the police."
"Oh my god, you didn't."
Raoul laughed slightly, guiltily. "Yeah I did. I didn't know. I panicked and all I knew was that he had Christine."
Meg sighed heavily, seeming to attempt to not berate him. "I get it. Just - just try not to cause any more disturbance. We don't need anyone tipping off those people on where they could be."
"Yeah, no, I get it. I'm sorry." He swallowed thickly. " Do you know where they are?" Raoul questioned.
"No. I don't."
Raoul ran a hand through his hair, thoroughly messing it up, but hardly caring. "I'll try to clean things up with the police. I'll let them know I made a mistake and she just went on a road trip without telling anyone or something." A beep echoed in his ear and he pulled the phone away to glance down. "I gotta go. Just… let me know if you hear anything, alright?"
"Of course. You'll be the first person I call."
"Thanks Meg." They hung up and he was left answering his next phone call with dread in his heart. Christine … please be okay. "Hey sweetheart. I'm on my way now."
Maria laughed. "You better be. I've been sitting alone like a dork in this place for fifteen minutes."
Raoul forced himself to chuckle lightheartedly, even though he didn't feel it in any part of his body. "Ha, yeah. Sorry. Got caught up. I'll be there in five."
Erik drove them down highway after highway, intent on getting away from that area as quickly as he could. It was dark by the time he decided to pull off and find a better vehicle for them to travel in. He couldn't expect her to ride the rest of the way on a motorcycle and he needed to ditch the thing before they were caught up with. Even though he had to admit he enjoyed her arms wrapped around him and her cheek pressed against his back.
He still was in shock from what had transpired against that tree. Had it been adrenaline? Was it the mixed up emotions she'd been recovering from during her meal? He had been frozen, unable to think let alone move, completely at her mercy with his heart pounding deafeningly in his ears as she removed his barriers and leaned in.
He swallowed thickly at the reminder of her taste. He would never get enough of it. It provoked the part he was desperately suppressing around her. He couldn't allow her to get too deep again. He'd only ruin her. Or worse, get her killed.
He couldn't let that happen.
Not only that but… he couldn't open himself up to more hope and heartache. Once was enough for one man.
He found a closed used car lot and pulled in, trying to stop his mind from spiraling out of control. To stop his heart from spiraling out of control. Christine wasn't in her right mind. She was on the run. Her life was in danger. Her emotions were all over the place. She felt alone and depressed. That was all. There was absolutely no way -
"I can't feel my legs," she laughed weakly when he turned the motor off. He turned, glancing at her as she stumbled to get off, her hands releasing him from their beautiful prison. "And I feel like my body is on permanent vibrate."
"It will end shortly," he assured her, using a hand to help her before getting up himself. She grabbed at the helmet, pulling it off of her head and he tried not to stare at how adorable she was with messy hair. "Stay here," he told her, eyes moving around the lot. "I need to find us a car."
She nodded silently and stood near the bike, huddled in his jacket that was horribly too big for her. He ground his teeth as he walked away, hating how he enjoyed every part of this trip with her. How he wanted to hold onto her and never let her go again. It took every fiber of his being to stop himself from spiraling down that hole of madness again.
He found a dependable vehicle and then disposed of the motorcycle in the junkyard down the street, while also quickly replacing the helmet with his disguise he'd stuffed in his pockets: a pair of sunglasses and a surgical mask. His full face mask had been stowed away in the previous car and there had been no time for him to retrieve it. He'd have to make due.
When he returned to her, she was waiting for him by the new car, eyes intent on him and causing his heart to quicken a few beats. Would he ever get used to her looking at him? He felt as if he'd been a mere shadow in her life for so long, that being an actual presence was a little unnerving.
That and the way she looked at him. He didn't understand it.
"How much further do we have?" She asked him as they got settled in the new car. It was a smaller version of the SUV they'd previously had.
He had broken into the building and found the keys for it so he was able to simply turn the ignition and drive off the lot. "Not much further. We will most likely be there by noon tomorrow." Unfortunately . He was relieved she would finally be safe, but he was really beginning to dread when he'd have to leave her.
"Oh…" She looked ahead of her thoughtfully, face unreadable. "Good."
He stifled a stung comment in reply and merged onto the highway. Of course she'd want to get out of his presence as soon as she could. She had always wanted to leave him, hadn't she? Well - she'd be happy then. He'd never invade her life again and she'd never gain control over him. Win, win.
"Uh, hey Erik?" Her uncertain tone had him looking over at her. Damn! She was beautiful in the moonlight. "It's probably hard to drive with those glasses on and I know you don't have your mask anymore… it wouldn't bother me if you took them off."
Suddenly, it felt like there was no air in the car and he grew defensive. "I'm fine!" he practically snapped and immediately regretted his reaction when she ducked her head and looked away.
"I just wanted you to be comfortable," she mumbled awkwardly and rubbed her arm over his coat that she was still wearing. .
He briefly shut his eyes. "I've never been comfortable in my life, Christine. Don't worry about it."
"Why not?" Her innocent question had him giving her a sharp glance. "Why can't I worry about you?"
Why was his turtleneck feeling like it was choking him? "Because I am nothing to you, Christine," he bit off, a hand going to his throat to pull at the offending material.
She gaped at him for a second in utter disbelief. "Nothing? Since when have you ever been nothing to me?"
She was clearly becoming upset but he was unable to calm himself down at that point.
"Since I let you go. And tomorrow I will let you go again and I will become nothing to you once more," he told her plainly because she needed to know that he was not going to go back on his word. "My job is to get you to safety and that is it."
She was silent for a good solid minute before speaking quietly. "So what happened before…" she trailed off, shaking her head before unknowingly meeting his eyes. "That meant nothing to you?"
Erik swallowed thickly, preferring to not have this conversation. "And what exactly happened before, Christine?" His heart jumped wildly after he spoke the question, terrified of her answer.
She immediately grew flustered and looked away from him, tugging his heart in her direction painfully and making him angry. "Do not make me say it. You know ."
That did it. "Oh? And what do I know?" How would he know anything? Not for the first time did he curse the day he had fallen into a woman's trap. He may have been depressed before her but he was down right miserable now that he'd experienced love and all that came with it.
Christine glared at him, obviously not appreciating his scorn, and he noticed the tears beginning to sparkle in her eyes from the streetlights they passed. "Why do you make things so difficult?"
He couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "Perhaps it has escaped your notice, my dear, but everything about me is difficult."
"Don't deflect! This has nothing to do with what has happened before!"
"Of course it does, my dear!" He countered sardonically. "In case you have forgotten, since it has been a year, I threw everything I had at your feet and you stomped on it with betrayal for the hand of one Mr. Raoul Chagny! Forgive me for being quite suspicious of your motives!"
Christine balked at his words but did not argue which only infuriated him more. Why couldn't she just explain ?!
He could not stay in the car for another second without completely becoming unhinged and so he swiftly turned the wheel down a darkening exit, ignoring the way she squeaked in surprise and held onto the seat with tight fingers from the jagged movement.
He pulled the car to a stop at the first road he saw and quickly exited the car without a word. He needed to get himself under control. There was no time for this. She needed to get to safety and the sooner he got her there the better. Then he could breathe. Then he could never see her again. That beautiful, tormenting face of hers. That face that had looked up at him in the exact why he'd always wanted. How her soft, petal like lips had felt against his own. How her tongue had tasted him without any disgust. How-
"Erik!" She called after him and he heard her car door slam but he did not slow down. Instead, he kept walking further into the shadows. "Erik please! Stop!"
She sounded scared. He gritted his teeth. Unable to see well in the dark, he grabbed the sunglasses from his face and clutched them to his side. He pulled the mask down to his chin and drew a large breath of the night air. Finally, he came to a stop and forced himself to take a deep breath to avoid a meltdown.
All too soon, she caught up with him and he shut his eyes, keeping his back to her. She had been put on his earth to perpetually torture him, he was convinced.
"Erik?" She gasped, out of breath. She must have ran to keep up with his quickened pace. "Erik, please. Come back to the car, it's… it's getting really dark out here."
He didn't respond, even though he was making her anxious. Even though he told himself he wouldn't put her through anything else. He fisted his hand around the sunglasses and tried to steady himself.
"What did it mean, Christine?" He asked through gritted teeth.
She paused for the longest, most excruciating minute. "What did what mean?" She asked weakly. But she knew. He knew she was evading. For what purpose? Was she disgusted with herself now?
Angry all over again by her, he spun around and took a step forward, watching her eyes widen in surprise at his bare face. He hardly cared at that moment. "Why did you reveal my face again and kiss me?!" When she didn't answer quickly enough, he yelled, " Tell me! "
She grabbed her arms, jumping at his demanding voice in the night. She looked away from him, scared. Of what? He was uncertain. Of him? That was the most likely answer. All he did was scare her. But he couldn't let it go. Not after she had willingly kissed him. Had asked him to kiss her!
"I… I wanted to," she mumbled quietly but he heard her just fine. It made his heart dramatically come to a stop.
He was stilled into silence to the point where he could only stare at her dumbly. When she did not elaborate and he swallowed over a dry throat, he finally attempted words. "But why?"
Christine finally met his gaze and his breath left him. She was still frightened, he could see it even in the darkness, but she was curious and that intimidated him. "Because ever since the last time, I - the first time I mean, in your home a year ago - I have been unable to stop thinking about what it would be like to do it again."
Erik's brain went utterly blank. Her words swirled around him like the wind, caressing him and gracing his skin, but not penetrating his body in any way. No. There was no way. No way that the woman he'd been thrown down a rabbit hole for was actually returning the affection in any possible way.
"I do not believe you," he finally admitted in a little over a whisper. His vision blurred.
She let out a harsh exhale. "It's the truth."
"But you said-"
Her eyes cut to him. "I know what I said and I meant every word. However, no matter what you did or what has happened, you are still the person who has meant the most to me. When I thought you had d-died, you took my soul with you. Can't you see how miserable I am?"
Yes, of course he could. He'd been able to tell the moment he had laid eyes on her after he had let her go.
A lapse of silence fell over them, the sound of the highway in the distance, while Erik tried to process what exactly she was telling him. He should have been happy, but how could he be? Not only was it so far-fetched that it was almost laughable, but it was so tempting to be drawn into the dream of being cared for by the only woman he'd ever loved.
But why now? Why when he'd come terms with himself that he would die? After he'd convinced himself that he could not be in her life without putting her in danger?
She didn't say anything more, allowing him to process what she had confessed. Her eyes fell from him when he didn't respond. He didn't know what to say to her.
When she shivered in his coat, he cleared his throat. "We should… we should get back to the car."
She nodded silently and followed him, keeping distance and yet he felt her presence like a burn on his skin.
