The games of deception continued.
Christine spent time with Raoul, and began to plan their wedding arrangements. For this she was grateful, for it proved that her fiancé did indeed want to wed her. Raoul was distracted a lot of the time, but also at the same time loving and sweet with her which made Christine feel worse then ever.
For she was addicted.
The drug was not a substance but an art, and it brought her to La Bayou every Monday evening.
It went on for about a month, during the day she would plan the wedding, and put on a happy face. Even face her soon to be mother-in-law for details. But every Monday night she would tell Raoul she was hanging out with a friend and go to listen to Erik play, and for some reason, she felt this as the worst betrayal of all. She did not merely go to listen to Erik she went to converse with him too. She was intrigued by his thoughts and feelings on things, and their mutual passion for music sometimes made the conversations spread hours into the night. Many times they had become the last people sitting in the restaurant, talking only by candlelight before Christine would realize the time and have to come up with yet another excuse of why she was so late.
Lying was a trait that she soon mastered.
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"You're going away? Where?" Christine asked, her face visibly pained by the news she was receiving.
"To Boston, you must believe me Christine. It is not in my power to refuse. I must go. I was not given a choice."
"But, you can't leave! I'll…I don't know what I'll do. I'll miss you so much!" Christine exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes.
Erik considered her for a long moment, his expression unreadable, and Christine fought back the tears threatening to spill in buckets down her cheeks. She had never been one who could easily contain her extreme emotions, especially when she felt strongly about what was happening.
"Erik, I'm sorry that I'm like this. It's just, I…" Christine paused, not wanting to scare the man in front of her, "I will miss hearing you play, and I have not yet heard the work in which you are spending so much time composing."
Erik briskly nodded as if finally he understood, "Christine you were never meant to hear that work. That is for me alone."
"But Erik…" she softly pleaded, "I just…"
Christine choked back a sob and Erik hesitantly put his large hand upon her much smaller one. She froze at the sudden contact and Erik did too, he hurriedly tried to pull his hand away but Christine firmly entwined her fingers with his.
He looked at her then, his eyes full of total shock, and as their eyes locked a strange emotion riffled between the two of them. Something completely foreign to them both, a force that neither of them could control was emerging and neither one knew what they were supposed to do.
"Christine," Erik said softly, "If you are ever in Boston, you must visit me. I…I must go now. I must…"
Christine's heart beat was rapid and her breathing heavy, her eyes flickered from Erik's soft enticing eyes, to his mouth and back again. She had long since grown used to the mask and she did not see it shining forebodingly in the candlelight. For a moment she forgot about everything, her wedding and Raoul and the obligation she had to them. All she knew was this…she could not see Erik leave.
"Erik please stay…" she pleaded.
Erik let his eyes slid shut, and he finally responded to her touch, grabbing her hand too with certainty. "That is something I cannot do." He said, his voice low.
Slowly he stood and slipped a small card out of his pocket lay it on the table before her.
"We will see each other again Christine…I am sure of it."
Christine couldn't respond as he reluctantly let go of her hand and walked to the doorway.
"Goodbye Erik," she whispered, as he pushed the door open half way.
He paused in the doorway but did not turn around. The candlelight flickered across the dark fabric of his strong back, the cool air from outside slowly entwining with the warm, sultry air from the inside. The last thing Christine heard him speak were two simple words, which had never held so much meaning.
"Goodbye Christine."
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The days after Christine spent in a daze, she kept the card with his address in her purse at all times, and sometimes reached at it without thinking just to check that it was still there. Erik's presence was something that was now existing with more realism that when he was actually there, and her attachment to him scared her a little.
She did not love him, but found in him a companion in which she desperately needed. Someone that completely understood her and Christine knew he did without any doubt. She chose to ignore the way their eyes would sometimes lock or the way he would catch him looking at her, or she at him, or how he thought about him more then she thought about her own wedding…
But despite all things she loved Raoul too much to let a slight infatuation get in the way. She had just felt that they had somehow began to grow apart as their wedding became closer and closer to being final, which was something she knew was not supposed to happen. But he was having some problems with his work and Christine respected him for the hard work he was putting up with.
"Good morning Chirstine," Raoul said, giving her a small kiss.
" 'Morning Raoul," she replied groggily as she ate her morning cereal.
"What are you up to today?" he asked as he reached for his own bowl and poured some of the 'Vector' which still lay on the counter.
"The cake," Christine said between chews, "I'm going out with your parents to pick the cake."
"Ah," he vocalized, "I'm really sorry I couldn't be there Chris, I just…"
"No, its ok," she replied, "It'll be fine."
When they had finished their cereal and dressed, they were walking out the doorway when Raoul did something he hadn't in a long time. He spontaneously turned around and pulled her to him, giving her a long and deep kiss.
They parted Christine's eyes wide and her breathing deep. Raoul entwined his fingers in her hair,
"A few more weeks Chris," he said affectionately, "I can't wait."
Christine smiled a genuine smile and together, hand and hand, they walked out the door.
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Christine was still happy as she walked in the door later that evening. Raoul still wasn't home from his work and Christine wasn't at all surprised. The day hadn't been as torturous as she had originally thought it would be, as she had grown accustomed to her in-laws slight abusive tendencies. She had finally chosen a cake, something that was not as easy as it sounded. She had been baffled at all the choices she had, all the styles and flavors, and the money! It amazed her how much a simple wedding cake cost, but then again, none of the cakes had been that simple.
But in the end she had found one to her liking and everything was running as smoothly as it had been before in a panic she had realized she had overlooked ordering a cake and feared she couldn't do one in time for the wedding.
Christine kicked off her shoes and slumped down on the couch, a bag of chips in her hands. She had long since given up the idea of loosing plenty of weight before her wedding, so she didn't feel at all guilty at indulging just a little, when it came to the junk food.
Finding nothing remotely interesting on, she finally settled on the local news. A pretty, blond anchorman sat at the desk and was talking seriously as if she really cared, something that was strange of a newswoman.
"And in other news, there have been advancements in the case of Jeff Heffes, who was announced missing last month. He was filed as a missing person, by his girlfriend Kimberley when he didn't return home for a week."
Christine was only half listening as she ate more chips out of the bag and stuffed them into her mouth.
"Police announced today that someone came to them earlier in the week and said they saw him at the local restaurant 'La Bayou', talking with a female companion, on the night that he went missing."
A picture appeared on the screen and Christine began to choke on her chips. He was a young man with short brown hair, striking brown eyes, and someone that Christine immediately recognized.
"Sources say he left the restaurant at approximately midnight. There he has mysteriously vanished."
Christine started to visibly shake, remembering him and the warning he had given her that night about a month ago. At that moment Raoul walked in and threw his keys on the counter,
"Hey," he said, and then froze as Christine hastily stood and ran her hands down her sides, her eyes wide and visibly shaken, "Chris are you ok?"
Christine glanced at him for a second and then nodded, "Yeah it's nothing...it's nothing. I'm just going to go to bed...yeah...I just need to sleep."
Before rushing over into the bedroom and shutting the door. Raoul watched her go, utterly perplexed before glancing at the TV, which held a picture of yet another missing person, and switched it off.
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A/N: And after a rather long wait here is Chapter 14. I'm really sorry about the delay in chapters, and then chapter 14 mysteriously disappearing. Don't worry, this story is not forgotten and I've been hard at work on it.
Thanks for all your reviews and support!
