As this chapter was already half-written, I got it out quickly. Plus, I haven't gotten that many reviews in a long time! Thank you guys so much. You inspire me to write faster. :)
As I said, we still have quite a ways to go with this story. I'm going to take a slightly original turn in the upcoming chapters, although it's going to keep fairly in line with Leroux. Both E/C and R/C are to follow and, looking at my reviews, it looks like we have people in favor of both pairings. Interesting... :)
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"Christine?"
Raoul stood beside the open door for several seconds, staring at her in disbelief. His face was bright red, and his hair and coat were soaked with melted snow, as if he had been walking outside for a significant period of time. After glancing at Mrs. Valerius, he turned back toward Christine. She quickly gathered her thoughts.
"What...what are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
Her friend stepped into the middle of the room, eyes still wide with shock. "I thought I saw you in New York City. I know it was you! That car drove off so fast that I thought you were in some kind of trouble."
"But what are you doing here?"
Raoul shifted, looking a little embarrassed. "I was trying to find someone who might know something. I drove up here yesterday and went to your apartment. Your next door neighbor said that Mrs. Valerius was in this hospital. No one had seen you for some time. I didn't know where else to go..."
"Oh." Her heart rate began to increase as she realized the implications of her friend's visit. What was she supposed to say to him? She was both relieved and terrified. "On Christmas? You shouldn't have."
He took a few steps toward her, reaching out a gloved hand in a comforting gesture. "I was worried, Christine. What's going on? Something's not right with you."
"I..." She shook her head and swallowed. "I'm fine. Really. Except for Mrs. Valerius, I'm fine."
"What were you doing up in New York City?" He sighed. "I want to know why you've been acting so strangely. Even now." He looked at her tightly folded arms. "You're shaking. What are you so afraid of?"
She paused and looked at the floor. The machines continued to murmur behind her, sending an almost ghostly noise throughout the little room. Desperately, Christine attempted to clear her cluttered mind.
What if she did tell her friend everything? Raoul would want to call the police. Either Erik would end up in jail or Raoul would end up dead. Somehow the latter sounded more likely, although Christine strangely found that she didn't want either scenario to occur. Everything was jumbled and confused. There was no solution. She knew that she couldn't let her friend get hurt, though.
A lie emerged from her quivering lips. "I'm doing some singing in New York, actually. That's all. Just busy with that. Nothing is wrong." She put on the most cheerful tone that she could muster.
"Christine has a wonderful instructor," Mrs. Valerius suddenly murmured from the bed, causing them both to turn around. "He will make her great. Her father will be very proud!"
Raoul narrowed his eyes. "An instructor?"
"Yes," the elderly woman said, with a distant smile. "A miracle. A voice that teaches her."
Raoul gaped.
"No," Christine quickly interrupted, very distraught by the effect that the pain killers were having on her guardian. "I have a voice instructor who helps me sing. That's all. I've been busy with that."
"Oh," he replied, clearly unconvinced. "But why did you disappear so quickly? Why didn't you just tell me what was going on?"
She sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her thick hair. "Raoul! I've been very busy. Please. Forget about me. I'm fine. Okay?"
He wearily shook his head and looked down at the floor tiles. "All right, Christine. If you say so."
Both were silent for a moment, lost within their own somber thoughts. Mrs. Valerius soon drifted back to sleep with an expression of peace upon her withered features. A nurse peeked in, scribbled something down on a chart, and left. The machines continued to hum. People murmured in the hallways.
"So what have you been up to?" Christine softly asked, quickly checking the clock to see that she still had a fair amount of time before her ride returned. She couldn't make her decision with Raoul there, yet she wasn't ready for him to leave. His familiar face was immensely comforting. "Having a good holiday?"
He glanced up and nodded. "Yeah. I've been staying in the city with my family. I...uh...I may go to Aspen next month with some friends. We'll see."
"Aspen? That should be fun." And get him out of danger...
"Yeah. It'll be nice to get away. It's been a while since I've skied." He paused. "You're welcome to come. We've got plenty of room."
She quickly shook her head. "Thank you. But I can't. I'm very busy."
"Yeah. I kind of thought you might be." Raoul silently looked toward Mrs. Valerius, and his expression softened. Christine followed his gaze.
"She's not doing too well. I'm really going to miss her. It all happened so quickly, just these past few months."
Raoul nodded. "She was a great woman. If I had known she was so sick, I would have visited sooner."
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I was so occupied. I should have said something..." Christine trailed off, absentmindedly playing with the ring upon her finger. A hollow sensation was gathering in the pit of her stomach, a nauseating mixture of fear and sadness.
"That's a nice ring," Raoul commented, looking back toward her.
Christine quickly folded her hands together so that the piece of jewelry was no longer visible. "Just a ring I've had for a while," she said quickly. "A gift from a friend."
Raoul kept his gaze on her hands, a frown forming on his face. "There's someone else, isn't there?" he asked, after another moment. "That's fine, Christine. I wish you would be honest with me. Tell me that you're already with someone. I get it."
She shook her head. "I can't explain, Raoul. Please don't ask."
"But..."
"Please," she pled. "Don't ask."
With a sigh of frustration, Raoul stepped backwards. He lingered next to the door, obviously not knowing if she wanted him to stay or not.
Christine turned away from her friend and walked back toward Mrs. Valerius. Her guardian's chest rose and fell with each shallow breath, and Christine was afraid she would suddenly stop breathing altogether. The sickening feeling still sat inside of her stomach. Turning around, she again checked the clock on the wall to see that time was quickly ticking away. Forty-five minutes remained to make a decision. First, she would say her goodbyes. It might be her last chance.
Taking a shaky breath, Christine reached over and took Mrs. Valerius' wrinkled hand into her own. The elderly woman's eyes slowly opened and looked up at her.
"Hey!" Christine said, straining to hold back her tears. "I guess I'd better be going now."
Mrs. Valerius attempted a smile. "All right, dear," she said in a weak voice. "You come visit again, soon. I'm sure I'll be back on my feet in no time."
Christine turned her head to hide her pained expression. "Yeah," she choked out. "You'll be fine, soon. Get lots of rest. I'll try to call sometimes."
"I'll look forward to that. And you keep singing, Christine," she replied. "You'll become a star. And I'll come see you someday."
"I will." Several tears fell, dotting the plain white sheets. "Have a Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," she murmured. "Thank you for coming, dear." Mrs. Valerius' eyelids began to close, and she slowly drifted back into a serene sleep.
"Goodbye," whispered Christine.
She squeezed Mrs. Valerius' cold hand one last time and then quickly turned to leave the room. After saying his own quick goodbye to Mrs. Valerius, Raoul followed her into the hospital corridor.
"Christine," he said, uncertainly resting a hand upon her arm. She whirled around and began to sob into his shoulder. Raoul gently wrapped his arms around her shaking frame. "It's going to be okay," he said softly. "I'm here. You're going to be fine."
She shook her head in reply, continuing to softly sob.
"Whatever it is, we're going to fix it. Tell me what's going on. Is someone hurting you?"
She allowed herself to relax into his warm embrace for a moment, resting her cheek upon his shoulder. It felt wonderful to be held. "I don't think it can be fixed," she murmured. "Everything is so...so completely wrong."
"What is wrong?"
"Oh, Raoul," she murmured sickly, averting her eyes. At that moment, she almost told him everything. She wanted his reassurances. She wanted him to tell her that everything would be okay...that there would be no more pain...that they would be safe.
But what would they do? Run away? Erik would be right behind them wherever they went. She would be locked away forever, and Raoul would be killed.
And that promise...That promise gnawed at her constantly. Poor, desperate Erik. Why did he have to want her so much? What was so special about her that made him constantly stare at her with that overwhelming adoration...that unbearable longing? Sometimes she wanted to scream and run from those yellow eyes that constantly followed her.
And yet, her presence made him so happy that she felt almost guilty for trying to escape. She felt horrible pity for him sometimes, even a strong desire to bring him comfort. Her reassurances of return were the only things that had gotten her to the hospital that day. Erik had released her to make her happy. Honestly, she didn't want to hurt him.
But if she did return this time, would she be trapped with him forever?
Christine swallowed, realizing that precious seconds were continuing to pass. "Let's go downstairs."
Raoul nodded, and they took the elevator to the front lobby. Christine remained silent during the descent, attempting to find some sort of clarity. The door slid open at the bottom. She stared out for several seconds as other people began to climb on, her eyes slowly wandering to the front desk. Raoul squeezed her hand. "Christine?"
"Maybe we would make it," she murmured, taking a slow step out of the elevator. "We have over thirty minutes left." She paused. "He'll be so angry, though. Poor Erik."
He looked at her in bewilderment. "Make it where? Who's Erik?"
She blinked, realizing that she had been speaking her thoughts aloud. As each second drifted away, her mind traveled back and forth with her decision. Maybe they could escape. But then what? Where would she go?
"Christine? Who's Erik?"
She started to reply. Then, she saw it. Just barely visible from behind the glass doors was the long, black car. It was unmistakable. It was waiting for her.
She froze, realizing that it was now too late. The decision had been made.
"I have to go, Raoul," she stated, breaking free from his hand and jogging forward.
Her friend stared after her in shock. "What? Where are you going? Christine!" He began to run after her, nearly slipping on the wet tiles.
She turned around, horrified that he would follow her out to the car. "No! Raoul. Don't come with me. I have to go!"
"What is going on with you? Stop!" He started to follow her out the glass doors. Christine whirled around again.
"Leave me alone!" she yelled, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "I don't want to see you anymore! Leave!"
Raoul looked as if she had slapped him across the face. Finally, he stopped running and stood staring after her in the middle of the lobby. Christine gave him a pained glance before running out the door. The cold wind slammed against her, making the tears on her cheeks seem even icier. She knew that Raoul was still watching her, but nothing could be done. The cruel words were needed to save his life.
The black car moved toward her, and the door opened with a click. Christine numbly climbed into the warm darkness of the backseat. Even without looking up, she knew that the golden eyes were upon her.
"You are very early," stated the melodious voice that she had come to know well. "Conveniently, I am, too."
She nodded. "Yes. I'm here."
Suddenly, she saw Erik's eyes dart upwards and flare. An angry growl emerged from deep within his throat. Christine turned to see Raoul come out the glass doors. His hands were in the pockets of his jacket, and his disheartened gaze was focused on the ground. He didn't notice the black car, continuing to walk forward and around the corner of the building. Feeling Erik's anger, Christine turned back around to face him.
"Erik. I promise I didn't know that he would be here. He's worried about me. But now that he knows that I'm fine, he'll leave me alone. I promise." She paused before continuing her frantic ramble. " And-and he's going away soon. To Aspen."
Erik said nothing for several moments, his deadly gaze still focused upon the window. Christine held her breath during the tense silence. Finally, he spoke.
"You are here as you promised. You returned to me. It does not matter, I suppose. Perhaps the boy will leave you alone now that he has seen you alive. He had better." She watched with relief as Erik relaxed into the seat and turned away from the window. His hands unclenched. "You returned," he repeated, more to himself than to her.
"I did." The car began to drive forward. Her window fogged up again.
"And your guardian?" Erik enquired. "How was she?"
Christine bit her lip as the painful memory came back. "She's not doing very well. At least she's comfortable, though." She sighed sadly. "I...I said goodbye."
Erik nodded. "You will miss her. I know that she has been good to you. But you will not be alone without her, Christine. You will never be alone again."
Christine wearily looked up at him, allowing the golden eyes to momentarily hypnotize her. "I know," she replied.
"Good."
Closing her eyes in exhaustion, she allowed her mind to wander back to the past hour. Why had she hesitated so long to run? Was she a little girl, afraid to make choices? Or maybe Erik had been there the whole time...watching...waiting... Maybe she never had a choice in the first place.
Oddly, she wasn't upset or frightened. Christine was resigned-peacefully resigned to her current fate. She didn't have to run from anything. The decision had been made for her. If she wanted to escape, she would have to wait for another day. Right now, though, she wanted to sleep-to escape from reality.
Her eyelids momentarily fluttered open to see that he was still watching her. Turning her head, Christine closed them again. As she drifted into a slumber, she thought she heard Erik's voice. The whisper was barely audible over the hum of the car.
"My Christine."