Erik's POV

And so it was settled. I was going to make sure to be out of Madame Giry's household by the end of the month. To face Christine again would only break my heart now that she had stated about her many life's mistakes. I worked everyday, tolerating the horrible words said to me, the items being thrown at my body, even the uncomfortable coffin I was forced to sit in. I tolerated it all, thinking about Christine and what she would say if she saw me living with Madame Giry upon her arrival. Some nights I left the freak show smelling like a garbage can, other times I was so sticky with filth, that I would have to shower twice in order to wash away the grime stuck to my flesh. The money was worth it. Each night, I stuck my day's pay into the jar I had sitting on my desk. Yes, my pay was all in singles, but I was so close to getting enough to get out on my own.

Miss Fleck was a big help when it came to finding a place to live. I had described the environment I wished to live in, and she came back with the result I had been wanting. She told me there was a secluded home on the other end of where our freak show was located. The home was on one floor, but it had a music room with a piano and enough darkness to keep me hidden from the world. Besides Christine or Madame Giry, Miss Fleck had been the first stranger I had trusted. She was honest, and willing to help as much as I needed.

By the end of the month, Miss Fleck helped me move into my new home and assisted with explaining where everything was. I could see the outlines of the furniture, even the outlines of the rooms. Yes, I wasn't able to see the wallpaper or the beautiful rose bushes that Miss Fleck told me about, but I liked it. It was most certainly a step up from the cold lairs of the opera house. The home I lived in was far away from Madame Giry's home and that's all that mattered. Plus, it was closer to the freak show, so I wouldn't have to walk as far as I used to.

I had expected Christine to be in Coney Island by now, but kept my thoughts elsewhere. In my mind, I wanted to hate her, but my heart wouldn't allow such a thing. But I promised myself to stay away. My heart was begging me to go past Madame Giry's home just to see if she were really here, but I denied its request. Instead, I continued working endless hours to keep my mind off of everything. Some, if not most nights I would be bored and lonely. How I missed playing and writing music, but that wasn't possible anymore.

"Oh, Ayesha, I miss her company." I cried one night in the warmth of my bed. My cat was curled up beside me as I laid there wide awake at such a late hour. For weeks, I had been having horrible nightmares about Christine. Most of them took place while I was locked away in a freak show and I would jolt awake, breaking out in a sweat. The summer heat was slowly fading away and winter would be here soon. Luckily, I had enough money stored away to last me until spring arrived. But what would I do until then? Lay here lonely and bored? I was a body without a purpose in life. When I could see, I was able to play and write music to pass the time away, but now? Now I had nothing to do and without work the only thing to do was lay in bed.

One morning as I was laying there resting, I heard a knock at my door. Figuring that it was Miss Fleck coming to check on me, I rose from my bed just as the grandfather clock in the hall struck nine in the morning. After taking a few seconds to fix my hair and place my mask on, I reached for my staff to assist me in getting to the front door. Though, now that I was blind, I never opening the door until I knew who it was.

"Yes?" I called upon reaching the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Meg."

Meg? I had not seen her in months. What did she want? And how on earth did she find me? Curious, I opened the door only to be met with her figure.

"How did you find me?" I angrily questioned. "I kept this place a secret for important reasons."

"I've been following you the past few days."

"Following me? How dare you-"

"It's because I needed to talk with you, Erik."

I decided to let the girl in before we drew attention to ourselves from the people passing by. My neighbors still didn't know who lived here, and I planned on keeping it that way.

"Could we turn on the lights a little?" she asked. "It's very dark in here."

"Well, now you know how I feel everyday." I snapped, closing the front door.

"Sorry, Erik."

I grunted at her remark, and went for the light switch. Too much light bothered my eyes, which was why I enjoyed the darkness, but for the time being, I dimmed them just enough to light the kitchen we were standing in.

"You have a nice home."

Why was Meg here? Why now? And why on this very day? She never cared about me before so why was she here now?

"I'd invite you to sit, but you're not a frequent visitor here. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen you since I left Madame Giry's."

"I had to come, Erik." she confessed. "It's Christine."

"Christine, Christine, Christine!" I growled, slamming my fist down on the table. "Can't you see that I'm living here alone and in a secluded home for the simple fact that I'm trying to forget her! What makes you think that I still have feelings for that woman! If I did, don't you think I would have came snooping around your house in an attempt to see her again?"

"That's the thing, Erik," Meg cried. "She hasn't shown up."

This calmed my anger. Christine had not arrived yet? I left Madame Giry's home nearly two months ago. I surely thought Christine would have been living here by now.

"Well, perhaps she's made other arrangements." I said. "She probably went crawling back to her precious boy."

"Erik, Christine told me she would be here by the end of the month. That was two months ago. She would have written me if she changed her mind. I haven't gotten a single letter from her since the one she wrote about her plans to come here."

"And what would you like me to do about it? Do I look like the authorities?"

"No, I just thought that maybe you knew where she was?"

This made me laugh. Me? Know about Christine's whereabouts?

"What's so funny? This is serious, Erik."

"It's about as serious as a bunch of circus clowns, Meg. Your friend is probably married to the boy and living a wonderful life curled up beside his wonderfully handsome body. I've accepted the fact that she's never going to see me again, and you should start accepting it as well."

"What's happened to you?" she barked. "You're not the same man I remember. The Erik I knew would have been more worried than anyone about Christine. You're acting as if you don't even care-"

"I don't!" I was furious now. "I don't care about Christine! I've accepted my fate long ago. Even you believed that she slept with me out of pity."

"Yes, I did. But after I read that letter, I knew otherwise."

"What? What are you talking about? I heard what she wrote. A mistake! That's all I ever was!"

"No, you're wrong, Erik." Meg took the crumpled letter out of her pocket, and began reading it to me again.

"Meg,

I know it has been a long time since we have spoken, but I have written to tell you that Raoul and I are no longer together. I returned to him, only to find that he has changed. For what reasons, I'm not sure of, but as of last night he has started beating me. It started with a slap to the face and turned into me being thrown across the room. I have left the estate and Paris. In my heart, I still love him, in my heart, I still love Raoul. Perhaps I shall return to him one day, but until he is back to being himself, I simply cannot stomach the thought of being around him. Yes, I have made many mistakes in my life, but some of those mistakes were the most beautiful and best nights of my life. So are they really mistakes? Oh, Meg, if only you knew what's happening to me now? It's frightening, but at the same time it's wonderful. When everything is over and done with I hope I can love just as much as he had loved me. You may still think me crazy for envying another, but someday I will make it up to him. If only he knew that the biggest mistake I had ever made was leaving him before the sun rose. But I had no other choice. Someday I will attempt to tell him how sorry I am for the pain that I've caused. I hope that time can be soon, Meg. I shall be arriving at the end of the month.

Until we meet again,

Christine."

When Meg was finished with the letter, my heart wanted to cease within my chest. In Christine's letter, she had written everything to sound as if she were talking about Raoul, when in reality she was talking about me. Did she really love me?

"See, Erik?" Meg asked. "I was going to tell you, but you were so upset. I decided to wait and let Christine explain everything to you, but she never arrived. I'm beginning to worry."

Christine needed my help. Horrible thoughts began running through my mind, horrible thoughts about her ship sinking, or being stranded at sea. If she was to arrive two months ago, then she was possibly already on a ship by the time Meg received her letter.

"It's likely that she booked a passage from Calais to Coney Island." I said. "She could be stranded at sea, especially if a storm damaged a part of the ship. They would have to wait until help arrived. You should check with the coast guard at the docks. They'll be able to tell you more."

Meg wrapped her arms around me, taking me by surprise.

"Thank you, Erik. I'll see what's going on, and report back to you."

"No, Meg." In Christine's letter, she had stated that she would eventually return to Raoul. It would do me no good to hope for the love that Christine would never give me. No, the best thing to do was stay away.

"And when Christine arrives, please tell her that you have no clue on my whereabouts if she asks."

"Are you certain?"

I nodded. "I helped you, now you must help me by keeping her away. Her stay will only be temporary. If she were to leave me again, I wouldn't be able to function. Please…"

"All right."

I wasn't sure if Christine ever arrived, but something good must have came from my help, otherwise Meg would have been back. The summer season came to an end, allowing winter to take over. I stayed inside most days, laying in my bed to stay warm as the snow fell outside my window. I still had not attempted to play the piano, but without Christine or my sight, there didn't seem a reason to do so. Because I had nobody around to help out, feeding myself was something nearly impossible to do. Most days I settled with bread and cold meat. I had only attempted cooking one time, and that turned into a disaster. I had wanted to cook myself soup, but wound up burning my hand over the stove before I could even start it. From that day forward, I stuck to cold meals.

When I went out, I usually bought enough food to last me a few weeks. Christmas was nearly a day away and I would be spending the holiday alone. Miss Fleck had offered to let me spend it with her and her friends, but I declined. Why? I wasn't quite sure, but being around other people made me nervous. Then again, Christmas was a happy time for people, and never once was that holiday ever joyful for me. The merry atmosphere would only sadden me. It was a time to spend with loved ones, and I was without a single one.

I had decided to stay inside with Ayesha, but in order for me to do so, I had to go shopping for my meal. I had run out of bread and Ayesha had lapped up the last drop of milk.

"I'm putting you on a diet." I spat as I through on my jacket. "It's too cold and icy for a blind man to be walking around. If you hadn't drank all the milk, I wouldn't have to leave."

Ayesha was taunting me, circling my feet as I dressed to go out.

"Yes, well, you should be going out, not me."

After taking a few dollars from my stash and placing it into my pocket, I grabbed my staff and was off. As I walked up my driveway, I took extra precaution on the icy cement. The last thing I wanted to do was slip and break a bone.

Coney Island was anything but safe for me. People had come to know that I was blind, which brought on more taunting when I wasn't working. Children would shove me in the streets, people would laugh, some people would even attempt to trip me. I had become known city wide as the "Living Corpse" and everyone knew it. The streets of town were deserted today, and I couldn't blame the people for not wanting to come out. The weather was dreary and the snow was beginning to get deep. I was about to turn the corner, when I heard two familiar voices coming from up ahead. I knew those voices anywhere! Christine! Quickly I ducked into a nearby alley and stood with my back against the wall as the figures of Meg and Christine slowly walked by. I might not have been able to see her chocolate curls, but her outline and figure was just as I remembered it being; beautiful!

"Oh, Christine, this shall be a wonderful Christmas." Meg exclaimed. "We shall have to take your prince out for a sled ride."

Her prince? What on earth was she talking about? Had Christine married Raoul? Was he here?

"Oh, Meg, I'm not sure. You know how he sleeps a lot."

"Christine, you've been here a few months and you don't want to do anything. I had to pry you out of the house just to come shopping with me today."

"I know-but…I-"

"Christine, I told you before."

"Yes, yes, I know. It saddens me though."

And with that the voices faded away. I knew when my angel was sad, and she was most definitely sad. But why? She probably missed Raoul.

I was coming out from the ally, when all of a sudden, I was grabbed from behind.

"Oh, look boys." came a voice. "It's the living corpse!"

I turned to see the figures of three tall men standing there. I quickly snatched my arm away to continue on my way to the market, but they wouldn't let me leave.

"Going some where?"

"Just leave me be!" I demanded.

"And what's this?" my staff was grabbed from my hands. "Look at his cute little staff."

The other two men began shoving me from side to side, causing me to lose my balance and fall flat on my stomach. I groaned, already feeling the stinging of my palms which had been scraped by the icy cobblestone road. As the men were standing around me laughing, I kicked their legs so hard that one of the men fell.

"You'll pay for that, corpse!"

I was grabbed again, this time thrown into the ally. I tried to scurry to my feet, but they bashed my legs in, kicked me in the side, even threw away my mask. I couldn't see much, but felt the snow burning into my deformed flesh.

"Look at his skull! It's exposed!"

"Bash his brains in!"

I felt the part of my exposed skull being hit over and over again. I tried to shield it with my hands, but that didn't stop the men from continuing their attack. I could taste blood now, feel it surrounding my broken body. When the attack finally stopped, my money was snatched from my pocket. There was silence again. Dead silence except for the sound of the wind blowing. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't…I couldn't move a muscle.

"Help…" I called out, hoping someone would hear me, but the extent of my voice only got so high because of how breathless I was. Blood was choking me from the back of my throat, making it nearly impossible for me to continue calling out.

"He-help…"

When no one answered me, I began crawling. I crawled my broken body out of that alley and collapsed in the middle of the road whispering "help" over and over again. But nobody would stop to help me. Carriages passed by without stopping, people passed right on by without even a second glance. Miss Fleck was right. People here loved seeing the freak shows, but when one of us were in need of help, no one ever dared to lend a hand.

I know, cliffy... Well, no new chapters until I get back from my trip. Hope this holds you over until then. Please review!