The next week was amazing for me. Every day Erik would pick me up to go somewhere in Paris. More often than not we went by ourselves, but every once in a while Meg and Tony would accompany us. They seemed to have become pretty good friends, so even when they did come with us, they typically went off by themselves.
One day Erik confessed to me that he thought that there might be something going on there. I laughed so hard. I had to explain to him that Meg was as gay as the day was long. But he still didn't seem to buy it. That day when Meg and I returned I told her what Erik said, and she laughed. She told me that she and Tony just liked to talk away from us (which made me think that it may be about us) and that she was still a lesbian.
I enjoyed this time with Erik immensely, but I knew it would be over before too long. Meg and I were only staying for another two weeks, and that would be that. But I tried my hardest not to let this get to me.
One day at lunch Erik turned to me and said, "You know, mon ange, you have, how do you say it? Come out of your shell more recently."
I laughed and replied, "You should have seen me as a child, no one could tell me anything. It was all lies. Except my mom and dad, they were my only links to reality."
"What changed?"
I had to look away from Erik then. I was never too good when it came to talking about my past, "My mom died when I was five. There was an accident on her way home from work. A car didn't see her, and-"
Erik rushed to my side and held me, "Oh, mon ange. I am so sorry. I had no idea."
I lightly pushed away from Erik, "It's ok, really. See, no tears or anything," I said looking at him with unwavering eyes, "It's a little hard to talk about, but I came to terms with it long ago. There paramedics did all they could. They just couldn't save her."
Erik still sat by me, I could tell he was still worried about my mental well being. "Really Erik, I'm ok. I know in every book and movie the child always blames themselves because their mom was rushing to get to them for some reason, or some other thing such as that, but that wasn't the case for me. I mean, yeah, it's sad, but I know it wasn't my fault, so I'm ok," I said while smiling at him.
"Then," he half whispered, "if you don't mind me asking, if you are so ok with it, why did you stop being who you were before?"
I felt my back stiffen against my will, "What, are you saying my mother's death wasn't significant enough to bring me back down to earth?"
"No, mon ange, that is not what I am saying, and you know it," he said while staring at me.
I sighed, "I should've known I could put nothing past you. I was in shock for a few years, but when I was eight I returned to my world of fantasy. Complete with Goblin Kings and living mothers. Then, my dad remarried," I had to pause here to gain composure.
"She was…horrible. When they first started dating, she was nice enough. She even pretended to like me. But when they got married, things changed. She was ten years my father's junior. My father is the heir to the Johnson fortune. He has lived in the lap of luxury since he was born, so it's hard for him to comprehend that others have not. She was born dirt poor, and slept with any man who could change that. Then she happened to get her claws into my father.
"My father was still smarting from his wife's death. He loved her so much. I'm amazed he ever had any love left for me, but he did. He adored me even more after her death. And I took it for granted. So it hurt when he turned his attention to this woman. But I wanted him to be happy, so I didn't let it show. He didn't believe he loved her, but he hoped he could come too, and she was very pretty. So my father married her.
"After that, my life was hell. I tried to make her feel welcome, I really did, but she hated me. I was the one set to inherit my father's fortune, she didn't get much compared to me, and she hated that. She never told him, of course, but she never failed to tell me. It took me until I was seventeen to tell my father this. That she verbally abused me every chance she got, and he didn't believe me.
"And that was the proverbial straw. I loved my father, I still do, but if he couldn't see her for what she was, I couldn't stay there, so I left. I've never been back. I've learned to live without my father's money, and have been living with Meg. She's closer than blood to me. But I never got over all those years of being told that I was worse than dirt. So I'm an introvert, I'm afraid of criticism, I don't let people see the real me until I know I can trust them.
"And I can trust you Erik, and for that I am grateful," I finished as I kissed him.
AN: I have no excuse for taking so long. All I can say is MySpace is freaking addicting, and I apologize for the wait. It wasn't the best writeen chapter, so I also apologize for that, but it needed to be written, so there it is.