Erik's POV

"Erik…Erik" I heard my name being called, but couldn't respond. Over and over again my name was called, but who was calling me? I had literally passed out from the burning pain I was in, never knowing if I would regain consciousness again.

"Erik? Answer me."

I was warm, wrapped in blankets and laying on something soft. When I opened my eyes, I noticed the figure of a woman standing over me.

"Erik?"

It was Meg. I'd know that voice anywhere. I was alive. In a bit of pain, but I was alive. My deformity was still burning from when the snow melted over it. My legs still hurt, but I was thankful to be alive.

"Where am I?" I croaked.

"In your bedroom. I found you while I was shopping."

"With Christine?"

"Yes. It broke her heart, really."

"And why is that?"

"Because I…I told her that you died when she arrived in Coney Island."

"You what?" my heart stopped. I told Meg that I wished to be left alone. She didn't have to tell Christine that I died.

"Well, it was the only way to get you out of her head for good."

I felt her dabbing my head with a damp cloth.

"I called a doctor over and he said you need to stay in bed for the next few days. You've sprained your ankle and bruised your ribs."

"Yes, all thanks to the thugs who taunted me in the streets."

I pulled the covers over my body tightly as I turned to face the wall.

"She wants to see you." were the next words that escaped Meg's mouth.

"Tell her I said no."

"You should see her, Erik."

"Why? What good will it do me? She left me, remember?"

"Erik, you should really see her. I…"

"You what?"

"She's beautiful, and she has…"

"Has what?"

"Something to tell you."

"I still think it's a terrible idea, Meg. But, if she wanted to see me, I guess one time wouldn't hurt. Is she here?"

"Unfortunately, no. She didn't want to upset you."

"Tomorrow is Christmas." I said. "If she wants to see me for a while tell her to come over tomorrow around noon."

"You shouldn't be left alone." Meg said, tucking me in. "How will you manage?"

"I'll manage by staying in bed."

And with that, Meg left me alone. All throughout the night, I attempted to sleep but my legs were screaming. Ayesha even tried to make me feel better by crawling in beside me, but still, I couldn't sleep. The following morning, I was finally drifting off when I heard a knock at my door. I sluggishly rolled over, placing my exposed face into my pillow.

"Answer the door, Ayesha." I murmured in an attempt to fall back asleep.

When the knocking continued, I finally sat up and ran my fingers through my gray strands of hair. I would have placed my mask back over my face, but sadly, the thugs had stolen it. When I felt better, I would have to make myself a new one. As I attempted to reach the door, my legs weakened, but I forced myself to stay standing. When I finally reached the door, I called out, awaiting an answer.

"Who is it?"

And then, for the first time in months, my angel responded to me.

"Erik? Oh, my god, it's really you! It's Christine!"

I took a deep breath and opened the door. My angel was indeed standing there, her outline and shadow instantly taking my breath away. But, I stayed strong, remembering that she was in love with Raoul and not me.

"Erik, you look great."

"Surely you must be joking?" I said. "I was beaten to a pulp yesterday if you haven't noticed?"

"Yes, I know about that." she kindly stated. "But you're up and about. Even your eyes are looking well again."

"Thank you… Oh, I was acting completely horrible. How was I supposed to be acting? Grateful? Happy? I felt nothing of those things. "Would you like to come in?"

I stepped aside and let her enter before closing the door behind me.

"Oh, this is a lovely home you have."

"Yes, it's better than living with Madame Giry. I don't really know what it looks like, but it gets me up and about safely." I headed to the counter and began filling up the tea kettle. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"I'd love one…here," Christine attempted to take away the kettle, but I snatched back, placing it over the stove. I may not have been able to cook, but making tea was something I was able to do blind.

"No, I can do it, Christine. I'm not as blind as I used to be."

"What do you mean?"

"What? Meg didn't tell you that I could see shadows now?"

She gasped. "Really? You can see me?"

"Your outline and shadow? Yes. I cannot see colors or the details in objects though. That's a task I simply haven't mastered yet. But, I guess outlines and shadows are better than complete darkness."

I took a seat at the kitchen table with Christine, not knowing quite what to say. The only thing running through my mind was that night-and the morning after.

"Meg told me you helped her find me when I didn't show up at the end of June."

"Yes. She was worried and I told her to check with the coast guard."

"Yes, well our ship became stranded at sea for a while when the generators died. We had to wait for someone to come fix it."

"Well, you're safe and that's all that matters."

"Meg told me you were dead." she began, her voice filled with such sorrow. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but soon leaned to accept it."

"That wasn't my idea, just so you know. I told her to tell you that I wished to be left alone."

"But why?"

How badly my anger wanted to come out. How I wanted to scream and flip over this very table…but I didn't.

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Erik, please don't bring that night up."

"I didn't, Christine." I stood to my feet when the kettle began to whistle. "But one does wonder why you left me alone to fend for myself when morning came? I woke up naked, alone and left to find Madame Giry. Did you know how hard it was to dress myself and hurry out the door-to a crowded dock with no idea where I was going?"

"Erik-"

"I'm not done yet!" I snapped. "So was it my face? Did you wake to find a monster laying beside you?"

"I didn't want to leave, Erik." she cried. "I woke to dress, only to find Raoul's guards searching for me. I knew if I went with them willingly, that they'd leave Calais. I did it for your safety."

I stood there completely still, feeling her hands bracing themselves on my shoulders.

"You must believe me when I say that when I woke in your arms, I smiled when I noticed you were sleeping soundly beside me. Did you not think that I didn't want to wake with you? To tell you how much I enjoyed the previous evening?"

My hands were trembling around the kettle as I began pouring the water into the cups I had set out.

"How could you say that you've enjoyed it? I was fumbling around like a blind bat, nervous about disappointing you."

"You did nothing of the sort, Erik. It was breathtaking."

"A mistake!" I had to get myself out of this daydream. Christine was not in love with me! I heard what she wrote in that letter. "You called it a mistake!"

"Maybe, but it was the most beautiful mistake I could have ever made. This I promise you, Erik. When I returned home to Raoul, he beat me."

"Why? Why would he beat you?"

"Erik, please…can't we take this one step at a time?"

I turned and handed her a cup of tea.

"If that is what you wish."

When we were seated again, I stared down at my cup, wondering what to say.

"I take it you have a job?"

"Yes, I do. During the running season, I expose my face to paying crowds in a freak show."

"No, you don't." she gasped.

"Yes, I do. It's the only thing I'm good for. I'm known as the "Living Corpse."

"Erik, it's horrible!"

"It pays the bills!" I snapped. "Who else was going to help me if I didn't help myself? Madame Giry was going to be satisfied with sending me away to a mental facility."

"I'm staying in Coney Island until further notice. If you would allow me to help, I could-"

"No!" I barked. "I'm doing well on my own, thank you. Since you've left me, I've learned how to dress myself, find my way to work, even cook for myself. Yes, I'm still working out the strings with cooking in darkness, but I'm doing all right."

"Erik, I can help you if you would allow me to."

"I don't need you anymore, Christine." I was trying to hold back my anger, but I was never too good at it. "Besides, you love Raoul. That's what you said in your letter. You said that when he begins being himself again you'll return to him and marry."

"Erik, I…he…"

"Spit it out, woman! You sound like an uneducated monkey."

"I'm never returning to him. He wouldn't accept me back. Not now, not ever."

"And why not?"

"I…I can't tell you."

"Can't, or won't?"

"I want to tell you, but I don't want to upset you. These past ten months have been terrible for me and I don't want to bring us anymore pain."

"What do you want out of me, Christine? You left me. I know you sit here and tell me it was for my own good, but I can't believe it. Danger or no danger, if you cared about me, you wouldn't have left me alone to fend for myself."

"I don't blame you for feeling that way, Erik. But, please don't shun me from your life. At least let us be friends. Let me spend time with you."

"Spending time with you would only prolong the pain of everything that's happened between us. I think it's best if we just didn't see each other again."

"Erik, please, don't do this."

She was begging me now. Why was she begging me?

"Just leave, Christine! Please, for both our sakes!"

"Erik, there are things about me that you don't know about."

"Such as what?" I was losing my patience with her now. All I wanted was to crawl back in bed and be left alone.

"I…I-"

"I don't believe a word you're saying, Christine! You sit here and tell me that Raoul has beaten you and that you wish to spend time with me! I don't believe your boy would ever lay a hand on you!"

"He did!" she cried. "He beat me black and blue!"

"For what reason! Tell me! Or else you can leave."

"He…I..I told him about what happened between us."

"Why would you do such a thing?" I grabbed her wrists, pulling her body close to mine.

"Because….because…I had not made love to Raoul. I was only a week back when I began throwing up…when I stopped having my monthly cycle."

My heart ceased within my chest. Had I made my angel sick? Had I done something to cause her body to act up? It was my hideous seed. It must have made her so ill….I shouldn't have let myself pour into her.

"Are you all right now?" I asked, gently releasing her from my grasp.

"Erik, you do know what I'm talking about, right?"

"I..I had made you ill."

"No, I was not sick."

"But you were throwing up."

"Yes, because on the night we made love, we conceived a child."

My body stumbled backwards upon hearing this. A child? No, how could I have created a child? A little baby? Another life? How could something as hideous as me create another life?

"And you got rid of it?" I questioned. "Please say that Christine disposed of it?"

"No…" she gasped. "Why would I have gotten rid of it? That's why Raoul beat me. That's why I confessed to him about what I did with you. When he heard about our growing child, he beat me."

"And the child?"

"He's perfectly healthy."

"He?" my heart was racing again. A boy? I had a son?

"Yes, Erik." she said. "A son. I had him a few weeks ago."

"Wh…What does he look like?"

"Oh, Erik, he's beautiful. He has dark hair, and your eyes. His face is completely flawless."

"And his name?"

"I named him Gustave."

"After your father." I stated.

"Yes, but his middle name is Erik, after his father."

"And his surname?"

"I…I was hoping to name him after you. I just didn't know your surname."

I turned away from her, still completely taken by the thought of me having a child.

"I can't do this, Christine. I can't be a father."

"And I thought the same when it came to me being a mother, Erik. I was frightened at first, but I love our son. He's just like you in every way."

"No! Just stop….please…"

"I want you to meet him, Erik. He's your son."

"No, Christine! He's your son…not mine."

Christine grabbed my arm, but I pulled back.

"He needs his father."

"Do you think this is a game, Christine? He needs his father? I am not a father. No, he needs Raoul!"

"An abusive man? Is that who you want raising our child? Raising your child?"

I didn't say a word, my heart was bleeding from the news I just received. I couldn't be a father…I just couldn't be.

"Erik, please say something."

"I don't love you anymore."

"That's a lie, Erik."

"I wish it wasn't."

"Erik, I know that we have a lot of problems, but if you would let us get through them together it would be much easier."

"Christine-"

"Please, Erik. Just let me see you."

I felt her warm hand caressing my cheek, sending shivers down my spine.

"Please…Let us see you. You'll love him, Erik. If you would allow yourself to see Gustave, you would love him."

As much as I wanted to say no, I couldn't. My father wasn't alive when I was born and I was forced to live life without one. If Gustave was my child, I didn't want him going through life without one either. I may not be the best father, but as least I could be there for him.

"I'll agree for Gustave's sake."

"I know that you have to stay in bed for a few days, but if you'd like, I'll invite you to dinner tomorrow."

"I don't feel comfortable at Madame Giry's house." I said. "If you want to see me you'll have to come here."

"You can't cook, but…I'll come cook dinner here then."

"Agreed."

Before leaving, Christine wrapped her arms around my waist and brought me in for a hug.

"Thank you, Erik, for everything."

"I haven't forgiven you." I firmly stated. "So there's no need to thank me."

"I'll be over tomorrow evening. I'll make…um…."

"Surprise me."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"I look forward to it."

Christine gave me another hug before heading to the door.

After letting Christine out, I backed up against the door and slid down. I was a father….Those words ran through my mind over and over again. I didn't know what to do with a baby. I didn't know how to feed a child, or how to make it happy. When I was a baby, my mother didn't even care for me….how was I supposed to care for my own flesh and blood? He was coming tomorrow. Tomorrow, I would meet my baby. Tomorrow I would have a son….my son…and I was more frightened than anything. What if he didn't like me? What if he found me hideous? If he did then I would completely understand. I was a father….the words continued to haunt my mind. If Christine was bringing my son here tomorrow, I needed to clean up. I might have not had any cribs or playpens for her to place him in, but the least I could do was make it childproof.

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