A/N: Hi everyone! I am so sad… I had my last recital Saturday! I can't believe how fast the 12 years has been. I'm going to miss it very much. Good thing was my birthday was on Friday and now I'm officially 18! Whoo-hoo! I'm also posting my new story, the sequel to Lessons on Love called His Modern-Day Angel so feel free to check it out. Thank you Halley for a good job and please don't forget to review!
Chapter Twenty-Four:
Christine/Aminta Lives
Emmy sauntered out the doors and headed down the hall that led to the choir and band rooms. But she didn't go in that straight direction… she veered off to the right towards the darkened hall for the health and art classes.
The giggles and chatter grew distant as she quickened her pace.
"Come to me… Amelia."
Emmy's heart pounded as she spotted the only room in the corridor where light streamed from under the door.
"Come!"
Without hesitation, she entered.
xxXXxx
Gloria Sawyer fidgeted in her seat as the lights were beginning to dim again. She twisted her head towards the doors, hoping that Emmy would come in any second. Had it been another time, she wouldn't be half as worried, but after the visits to Dr. Stanton and Willow Hospital and learning of her daughter's… situation she was wrung up with anxiety.
"It doesn't take her this long," she murmured to herself, as her legs bounced up and down. "She should have been back a while ago."
She continued to glance back, her uneasiness growing more pronounced as a student was presenting the next act. A gentle, reassuring hand rested on her knee and Gloria turned to her husband.
"Relax hon," Will chided softly. "She'll come. Probably a long line. There's nothing to fret about."
Gloria nodded though that wasn't enough to soothe her jittery nerves. For a mother knows when something is amiss in her children, and Gloria knew something was afoot.
xxXXxx
"Hey! You're not on the program! Where are you going? Hey! Hey!"
She ignored the guy from the Tech Crew as she calmly stood in the wings, waiting for her cue. As the stage cleared off from the previous dance routine, she began walking out before the curtain could close.
In her mind's eye, she wasn't in the Cherry Hill High School auditorium, but the renowned Opera Populaire. The people in normal garb were transformed into the noblest of the noble, the richest of the rich, and were all there to watch her sing.
The long skirt of the scantily dress trailed behind her bare feet as she stood at her mark, the spotlight shining down at her.
Brown eyes twinkling, she opened her mouth, releasing her majestic voice:
"No thoughts within her head,
But thoughts of joy…
"No dreams within her heart,
But dreams of love…!"
xxXXxx
Maggie's jaw dropped open in stunned shock as her former best friend strutted out. She was pretty sure her eyes were bulging from their sockets once she realized the outfit Emmy was wearing.
It was an exact replica of the costume from "The Point of No Return"—pale yellow skirt, crimson corset, and lacy sleeves draping off her pale shoulders and all. Even her curls were pinned up and a vibrant rose, nearly dark as night, was tuck behind one ear.
Her eyes held a faraway, dreamy glaze as she began to sing the familiar lines of the seductive song.
Maggie's heart stopped; something wasn't right.
Emmy would never do this.
And the harder she stared at the girl on the stage, the more Maggie began to realize there was something else… something deviant in her irises. Then an image of Emmy clinging to her desperately, begging for help leaped into her memory. The petite strawberry blonde's jade orbs widened in horror.
Oh my God… she wasn't lying…
All too soon another voice bounced off the walls. One that Maggie was very familiar with indeed.
"You have come here…"
xxXXxx
His deep, baritone washed over her, her blood flowing hot through her veins by the merest hypnotic pull of his voice. She watched, her eyes darkening with desire, as he moved closer to her, the lyrics pouring from his sensuous lips.
My dark Angel… she thought as he brushed behind her, his arm wrapping around her tiny waist. His large palm splayed across her abdomen, keeping her close to his taut body as his other hand tangled itself in her curls. He purred into her ear, his husky tone sending tremors as her knees buckled.
She could sense him smirking; she was putty in his grasp as he continued to tease her. When he joined her on stage, it was a delighted surprise to behold the man that still managed to haunt her. He wore his attire as Don Juan, even donning the black mask, and the moment he began to sing, she felt herself falling deeper into the spell he woven.
She let out a startled gasp as his hand wandered over her belly and slowly caressed her arm as his fingers loosened themselves from her hair to rub tiny circles on her neck. His very touch sent a scorching flame through her limbs as she fell against him.
She should be appalled and embarrassed, yet there was only him and her. The rest of the audience disappeared in front of her, leaving her completely at his brazen mercy. The song and he were all that mattered.
A low moan escaped in her throat as he planted a heated kiss upon her neck, his teeth grazing the flesh as he practically hissed the last words…
"Beyond the point of no return…"
He unwound himself from her trembling form, backing away as she turned to him, her breathing ragged. He still could affect her so much… and now it was her turn to repay the favor.
"You have brought me…"
Yes I have, he thought triumphantly.
xxXXxx
Trey was among the crowd in the right wing, flabbergasted as Emmy and the strange man sung. He shook as the man appeared out of nowhere and before going out had tossed Trey a spiteful glare, silently telling him she was his. Never in his whole life was Trey Michaels confused and at the same time disturbed at the way Emmy literally threw herself into this stranger's arms.
A sharp jab went through his heart at the sight.
He didn't like this at all. And he hadn't a clue as to why.
Sure, this was unexpected and unplanned. Yet, there was something in the air— an ominous veil surrounding the auditorium.
"Trey, do you know who's that with Emmy?"
His girlfriend's voice brought him back long enough for him to register a blank look.
She rolled her eyes as she pointed the obvious. "Him! I know him from somewhere, I'm sure of it."
"Sarah—"
"Whoever he is… he's kind of hot. I would be swooning like her… humph. I never saw Emmy like this before, except when she's watching the Phantom and she gets into it. She plays a good Christine. Too bad she didn't audition. Mrs. Anderson is flipping out big time."
Trey did a double take. "What did you say?"
"I said, 'Mrs. A—"
"No! No. About Emmy," he interrupted.
"Oh. That she plays a good Christine. Why?" she demanded suddenly.
"The parking lot… him…" Trey murmured to himself.
"I'm scared Trey. He's done something to me. Something so horrible and I can't seem to escape. He's there, everywhere! They're taking me away. Everyday, a little bit, I find myself falling apart. A small part of me goes missing and I can't get it back. I don't know how long I have left before she takes over. You have to help me. Please, that's all I ask of—"
The fear in her voice… His breathing stopped. The man's HIM! He realized. And she must be Christine…
"Um, Trey, you okay?" Sarah asked. "You're pale!"
This has to be a sick joke but oh God is that real? He shook his head, quashing the irrationality of the situation. All that mattered was that Emmy was in trouble and he had to act.
Fast.
xxXXxx
"We've passed the point of no return!"
They held into each other as the words hit reality. The point of no return has passed for both.
The moment, no, the time that Erik had been waiting for several lifetimes has at last reached its pinnacle.
He will have his Christine.
No fop could take her away. No willful and disobedient teenager could evade him.
She was all his. First heart, then spirit, and now finally body.
They will all be the first to witness her resurrection. They will all be the first to witness true love. And they will all be the first to witness the living Phantom and bride!
Now… to recapture that sweet moment where he had once held her in the same position, the same love flowing through him as he sang his everlasting devotion—
"Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime…
Lead me, save me
From my solitude…
"Say you want me
With you
Here beside you…
"Anywhere you go
Let me go too—
Christine,
"That's all I ask of—"
TBC…