"I never cheated on her," the tawny-haired man argued. "I loved her-"
"Bullshit," Erik gritted.
The security officer had taken both Erik and Raoul out from the party and off to a separate meeting room to talk. Mr. De Chagny was considering releasing Erik without pressing charges, but having a civil conversation had become apparently near to impossible.
Raoul breathed deeply in an attempt to calm himself before speaking further, trying to choose words that would not provoke the man in front of him. "She's beautiful, I'm sure we can both agree on that, but she wasn't ready for a life with me. She needed something else. Although she wouldn't admit it, and I'm sure she wouldn't admit it now even, she wasn't entirely happy with me. I was always traveling and making big business arrangements; and she always wanted to stay here, stay put."
Raoul sighed as he tried recalling the previous year and the events leading up to him breaking up their relationship. "I had found someone new-a girl who liked adventure and traveling, someone who could appreciate my lifestyle. I fell in love, but I never acted on it. Maybe had a few business dinners, but I never touched her or anything of that sort." Erik's hand fisted beneath the table and he bit his tongue to refrain on commenting, making a small effort to listen.
"I wished to carry on with Christine," Raoul continued, "Marry her as I planned, but I started having dreams." The man shifted in his seat and began recalling what had pained him to end everything with Christine. "She was depressed when she was with me. Everything I did couldn't satisfy her and then one day she had found out I loved someone else and she was mad at me for never telling her. It was a nightmare, a recurring one at that. One morning I woke up and I knew what I had to do. It wasn't easy, but I thought it was the best for the both of us. She may not understand and I don't care if she ever does, but all that matters to me is that she ends up finding someone who can truly make her happy."
Raoul's eyes became clouded with tears and Erik's gut twisted in shame for acting so swiftly and wishing death upon someone whose story he didn't even consider. Yet still, he felt pained for Christine. He wondered if she knew of the dreams, if Raoul had explained to her or tried to. Had she listened, if so? Or was she too upset to listen?
"Do you love her?" Raoul asked suddenly, desperate for an answer.
Erik picked up his shoulders and returned his posture back to its original rigid position. "I do."
Raoul nodded. "And is she happy with you?"
Erik shrugged and shook his head unknowingly. "I'm not sure. By what I've seen, I like to think so. I'd do anything to make sure she is."
Raoul smiled and shifted in his chair to stand. "Be good to her, Erik. She needs someone caring like you, someone who actually loves her as she deserves to be loved." His smile dropped. "But I do have to say that after what you've done here tonight I can't let you continue on as a member of our team."
Erik nodded understandingly. "It would be awkward walking in on Monday morning if otherwise."
Raoul laughed lightly at the thought. "I suggest you pack whatever you have here tonight then."
As Erik stood from his chair to leave and Raoul extended his hand across the table. It took a moment for Erik to register what he wanted, and he reached across, shaking briefly before being escorted to his desk to collect his things.
The ride back to his apartment was painful with her perfume lingering and no her to look at. As soon as he parked his car, his phone was out, and their conversation on the screen.
Alright, I'll be waiting! See you! Drive safe! she had last texted in reply to his message of being on the way to pick her up. She liked using emoticons in her messages, oftentimes a heart or blushing smiley face that roused his hopes and made his heart fill with joy.
He didn't try perfecting his messages. He had spent enough time before trying to text her something that would spark a conversation only to end up scrapping everything before he could send it off. She deserved Erik. Not the washed down version of himself, the one that tried being perfect when he was truly not, but the true, honest Erik that loved her to bits and desperately needed her to allow him into her heart.
It was an agonizing five days for Erik. Christine ignored every text and call. He thought to visit Christine at work, ask her out to lunch to try and explain himself. But he didn't want to arrive at her work and upset her. The bar would be best, he realized. Even if she were to break down before him and push him away, the least he would like to do was say goodbye and commit every last of the freckles on her face to memory before he lost her forever.
It pained him that he was so close. She had considered the idea of the party being a date, had held his arm, had smiled and enjoyed herself in his presence. He thought about how he might kiss her in the car afterwards, how he might've touched her face and taken her back to back to his condo. He could've had her for the night, let her know he loved her and wanted her in his life forever.
All until.
Erik sat at the bar and ordered their nachos as her band finished up on stage. His heartbeat thrummed throughout his entire body, growing heavier and heavier as they neared the end of their set.
He forced himself to calm down when they left the stage, but as she appeared once more with her guitar case strapped to her back his heart sped up again, dropping as she walked past him without even a glance.
Erik jumped from his seat, forgetting the nachos, and ran out after her.
"Christine!" he yelled, slightly irritated. She'd ignored his texts and calls, but she was not going to ignore him any longer. "Christine!" he yelled once more and she whipped around.
He stopped a foot away from her, breathing heavily. He tried calming himself before he spoke. He hadn't thought she would even attempt to walk away from him in public, that she was too good for that. He realized that he'd been wrong and it made his heart ache that she would even think to do something to him as she was.
"You've been ignoring me, Christine," he decided to speak the obvious, afraid anything else he wanted to say would've made things worse for the both of them. She dropped her gaze and looked towards his feet. Guilt, he thought. "Why?" The question was difficult to squeeze out since tears were threatening to take place of his words. Yet still, he managed to hold back in wait of a reply.
She had thought of the words a thousand times, knew already what she was going to say. "I wanted to see if you actually cared."
He looked to her in offense. Did she not think he did? After everything he'd done for her, did she not believe in the least bit that he actually cared for her?
"When Raoul broke things off with me," she bit back the tears, embarrassed she was still upset by what had occurred, "It was through text." She managed to meet Erik's eyes now through a gloss of tears. "We'd been together for seven years and he didn't love me enough to address me face-to-face." She shook her head pitifully, her next few words choked by disgust. "I don't want that again."
In one swift movement, Erik folded her into his arms and she began trembling against him, letting go of all the pain she had pushed to the side over the past year. He waited until her tears started slowing off to pull away.
"You're coming home with me tonight," he spoke softly and decisively.
"Mamma is expecting me," she argued weakly, not arguing at all.
Erik chuckled lightly and curled a lock of her hair around his forefinger in a manner that made her heart lighten. "You'll just have to call her and let her know you're spending the night."
Erik slipped his hand into Christine's and walked her to his car, taking her guitar from her and setting it in the back before opening the passenger side door for her. She made a call to Mamma on the ride to his condo building, wearily informing her that she was spending the night with a "very good friend". After hanging up, she settled her head against the window and closed her eyes, nearly drifting off entirely before they'd reached their destination.
Erik exited the car, pulling her guitar case onto his back. Christine started to rouse from her light sleep and she exited the car as well, a pair of lithe arms scooping her up before she could even close the passenger side door. Erik offered her a gentle smile as he closed the door with his foot, and carried her up to his floor.
Ayesha greeted them as soon as the door opened, crying loudly for attention as she rubbed her side up against the leg of a dining chair.
"I know, girl. I'm sorry it's late."
Christine lifted her head from his chest and peered down at the cat, smiling sleepily. "Hello again, Ayesha."
Erik carried her to his bedroom and set her upon his bed, careful in transitioning her weight from his arms to the mattress. Christine smiled gratefully at him through a flutter of eyelashes.
"Goodnight," he whispered, starting to turn back towards his bedroom door.
"Wait," Christine said, lifting herself onto her elbows. "Can you pull out my purse from the back pocket of my case? I need to put my contacts away."
Erik pulled her case around, unzipping the front pocket and pulling out a small blue cross-body bag.
"Thank you," she smiled as he handed it to her. She unzipped her purse, pulling a plain white contact case from the inside.
"Do you wear glasses as well?" Erik asked, intrigued that he hadn't even noticed her contacts.
"Sometimes at home, but never out," she replied, pulling a contact from her eye with the lightest touch of her fingertip.
"I bet you look adorable in them," he thought aloud. Christine's cheeks colored as she registered his words. She wanted to argue once more with him, but he'd already made his way to the bedroom door and she was too exhausted to put up a fight. "Goodnight, Christine."
She placed her final contact lens in her case. "Goodnight," she responded, and he shut the door, leaving back to his living area.
Ayesha sat on the back of the couch, whining loudly once more. "Shh," he hushed her. "She's trying to sleep."
Ayesha responded with another loud mewl as Erik crossed the room to set Christine's guitar case by his piano.
"I don't care, you're not the only lady in my life," he argued and stopped to realize that he'd completely lost it and was now speaking to his cat as if she were an actual human having a conversation with him.
Ayesha cried out once more and he moved to the kitchen to fix her some wet food. "There," he settled, placing her bowl in front of her. "Happy?"
Ayesha licked at her food contently and Erik shed his suit jacket, realizing he was going to settle for sleeping fully clothed for the night, unwilling to disturb Christine's sleep in order to pull out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from his dresser for the night.
He settled on the couch, falling asleep to the sound of philosophers philosophizing on the possibility of aliens playing in the background on his television. He hadn't been asleep but five hours when a gentle hand was shaking his shoulder to wake him.
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. Getting behind on my writing... Tried an attempt at a Raoul that isn't a complete asshole since it pains me to always do him like that. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading as always!