Ahhh, the holidays are coming up, arn't they? Lovely.
Though i still don't know what i want...anyways, here's the next chappy!!
Part Twenty-one:
Erik stumbled back with a cry, how long was she in there? Her head was down again, one of her hands clutching a dusty bottle that had given her hideout away. She was trembling, not with cold, but with fright. Erik seized her hand and pulled her out, the bottles clattering noisily on the hard floor. Pulling her up to her feet, Erik made her face him. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, shaking her a little, she had scared him. Lark's head flopped back and forth slightly, the girl not even trying to stop it. She murmured something under her breath. "What?" he asked, leaning forward. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she repeated herself, this time he could here, "They're after me…"
"After you?" Erik knew he should have bought more morphine sooner, now he had a headache. "Why?" She looked up at him with such lifeless eyes it sent chills down Erik's spine; it was like the Lark he knew was gone. "I…I'm a…" Lark stammered. Erik waited, almost patiently. She looked down and whispered to the floor, "a murderer…" She broke down, almost literally, with an aching sob sinking to her knees at Erik's feet. He started to draw back, but looked down at the girl wailing her heart out. 'This isn't her.' He thought, 'This isn't the way she's supposed to be.'
He sighed and kneeled down to her level, seeing the colors of her tear spilling eyes, a sea-green with a deep blue ring around them. "Hey," he whispered, she looked at him, "tell me what happened." She shoulders shook up and down as she shook her own head frantically. "Come on, now. Tell me what happened, it will help." Erik said gently, very out of his normal character. "No…I…can't…" she whispered. Erik made a noise of scorn and could only respond with logic. "Who am I going to tell?" He looked around at the house, "the walls?" A small noise that could have been a laugh came from in-between her newly forming hiccups.
"That's better," he said, getting up and helping Lark to her feet and over to a chair. Pushing her into it, Erik settled in a chair himself. "Let's hear it," he said leaning back. The girl wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm herself. "I was coming back from cleaning work…" She then told Erik all that had really happened, she hadn't stole anything from the man, he had been drunk and had chased her In act of self-defense, she had pushed him and, loosing his balance, Louise had fallen off the rafter. "That's what happened, but I didn't kill him on purpose!" Lark said hurriedly, "I swear!" Erik still sat listening; his face or the side she could see was expressionless.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Lark cried out, panicked. She started to jump up but he pulled her back down to her seat. "I believe you," Erik said, "I just don't believe the crowds didn't believe you. Didn't you tell them you side?" She shook her head sadly, "They wouldn't listen to me…" Her face was solemn as she thought of what they said. 'Why should we believe a child?' She swallowed hard, the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. "They didn't want to hear." Looking up Lark thought she heard Erik mumble something about 'had to live in an Opera,' under his breath. They didn't say anything more and neither was willing to strike up another topic. Lark looked at her arms and clothing, the bottles she was hiding with sure had gotten her dusty, looked like a phantom herself.
Finally Erik sighed and got up from his chair and went to the cupboards overflowing with bottles. Picking up one at a time he shook them, then grumbling placed them behind him when it was declared empty. Lark watched him curiously, and then looked at the bottle she still had clutched in her grip. The girl shook it, listening, and an unidentified liquid inside sloshed around. There was a minute's pause of Lark looking back and forth from the bottle to Erik, and of his grumblings of, "No, empty, empty, damn headache, empty…" She blinked and looked at the bottle for a label, turning it over in her hands, there was none. Getting up slowly from her chair, Lark meandered over to where Erik was searching.
"Um…Erik…?" she asked, touching his arm lightly. He gave a small cry and spun around and stared at her like he never saw the girl before. Recognition filled his eyes as he blinked at her. "What?" Looking at the bottle she placed it on the counter near the cabinets he had been searching through moments before. They both looked at it before he looked at her suspiciously and grabbed it. Lark managed a small grin which was returned for a scowl from Erik. Sensing he wanted to be alone, Lark started to scoot out of the room, Erik watching her as she left. "I'm going to go to…err…that one room?" she called over her shoulder.
"Your room, not 'that one room,'" he corrected. Lark turned to him with surprise. "Does that mean…?" she asked breathlessly, hardly daring to believe it. He waved her away, pouring some of the liquid in a glass from the bottle she left. "Yes, yes, you're staying here. Now, go away, please for I have a huge headache I would like to get rid of without your help. Thank you very much."
Poor Erik, lol!