Bitter Kisses and Shattered Memories
A/N: So here it is! The flashback is all in Italics so dont get confused my dear readers! ;D Here it is and enjoy!
"Why is it that hate comes out so easily…and yet love gets trapped inside?"
"Ah mademoiselle good to have you back!" Victor called out upon seeing Monica emerge from behind a rack of old dresses. She stumbled slightly as she pushed the large mass of dresses aside trying to get through. She squeaked slightly when the weight of the dresses was too much as it pushed her back while a cloud of dust rose up from the rack.
Victor chuckled slightly as he walked over and pushed the costumes aside. He found her sitting on the ground covered in dust. She scrunched up her nose slightly and then sneezed quietly before he offered his hand once she was done and pulled her up on her feet.
"I owe you one Victor," she told him rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment before glaring over a rack of dresses that stood a few feet away. Several of the renovators paused when they caught sight of her and nodded their heads in acknowledgement as she passed by with the head renovator when he showed her around. Their progress during her absence was remarkable to say the least.
The entrance had new door upon it already, the main room had been finished as well, the carpeting from the stairs replaced, the statues and ornaments cleaned and repolished a golden glow surrounding them. The walls held a new coat of paint, a dark crimson. The floor had been cleaned meticulously and waxed till you could see your own reflection. The paintings had been cleaned as well and placed in the same way they had been, furniture burnt beyond recognition had been replaced by exact replicas.
The curtains hanging from the crystal windows had been replaced as well with new ones and tied into place with golden rope. The moment Monica had walked in she could almost picture herself in the time when the Opera House had been in its prime. She frowned wishing she could have seen it, wishing she could have lived during that time period.
She was pulled from her fussing as Victor directed her from the entrance to the main stage. Its chairs were being worked on still being cleaned, some having to be replaced as an endless sea of red velvet greeted her eyes. A nearby worker passed carrying a large roll which he set down and kicked.
It unrolled down the aisle all the way down to the stage, it was then that it hit Monica; it had been the carpet that went in the middle of aisles. She turned her head towards the various statues around the stage and balconies and found them restored to their original glory. Her mouth opened at the pure beauty of the ceiling paintings, angels to be exact as they were being redone by one of the renovators who moved the brush with ease over the paintings.
What caused her the most shock however was the chandelier, it had been restored as well, the shards that had been missing or broken replaced as it hung from the majestic ceiling, despite it being off it seemed to give light to the room.
"I love it!" Monica exclaimed in joy as she turned her gaze onto Victors, her eyes wide with joy and amusement at seeing everything back to its previous beauty. It was overwhelming and she couldn't contain herself as her eyes wandered everywhere simply amazed at the detail these men put into everything.
"I'm glad you do mademoiselle, we were hoping we would not disappoint you," Victor told her as she turned to look at him with a smile that seemed to make his day. He could see the kid within her begging to run around and see what else they had done but he held back on giving her such liberties, some parts of the Opera House were not yet ready and he wanted it to be a surprise.
"We found something…I planned to mention it earlier but you seemed….distracted by the changes," he told her as he motioned over to the new stage, dark floor boards beckoning to her as she tilted her head in an confused puppy dog look before he chuckled slightly, "it's on the stage, I made sure no one else looked through it, it seems…the Phantom was real," he told her before walking away to help a renovator who was struggling with a chair. She gazed over at the stage in slight panic, he had not seen the pure look of shock when he had walked away, and it was for the best that he had missed it.
Her eyes trailed over to the stage, what had they found that was so important? She decided to check it out as she walked over but quickly found a predicament to her situation.
The stage was clearly high off the ground and impossible for her to pull herself up onto it. She huffed in agitation slightly, she wasn't going to let a stage get the better of her…but how could she possibly get up on it without having to go around backstage?
She glared at it once more before she felt a pair of strong arms on her waist lifting her as she gasped slightly and took the ledge of the stage and pulled herself up with the help of said arms on her still. She finally got on as she turned to look at the person bold enough to do something like that to her.
She nearly fainted in shock once she saw who it had been and uttered a gasp of panic while her whole body tensed visibly.
A coy smile met her horrified frown, onyx eyes locked with brown. The blood red spikes in his hair seemed to glow eerily in the dimly lit room. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and his infamous 'I caught you in the act' look placed on his handsome features.
"L-Logan?" she stammered as she tore her eyes from his and looked around starting to hyperventilate with panic written all over her features. If Logan was here Jack wouldn't be far behind.
Logan frowned upon seeing this, he knew she was looking for Jack…but what had he told her if she looked this horrified of him?
He quickly pulled himself up on stage without problems and ran over to her side.
The Phantom who currently found himself up on the rafters of the stage frowned deeply upon seeing his muse in such distress; he would kill whatever caused her such discomfort without hesitation. She seemed rather pale now that he really examined her from his vantage point up above everyone.
He had his cover due to her arrival once more; no one would dare look up when she distracted the renovators with her presence once more. It was the perfect spot to keep an eye on her to make sure nothing happened to her.
"Hey…he's not here; he doesn't even know were here calm down…." Logan told her stressed now that she looked worse than before, the color had drained from her flush face, her hands started to shake slightly as her pupils dilated the panic in her expression only increasing by the moment.
Several men threw worried glances over at her as well before she shook her head struggling to remain conscious battling with her desire to simply close her eyes and forget about the world around her. Her hand reaching up to her throat as she struggled to breathe tears streaming down her face in fear, not only for her but for the Phantom.
She could almost see Jack standing there like he had done the night before the memory of it still in her mind. His emerald eyes burning into hers, it was the first time she had ever seen him that mad. It horrified her to no extent. She could only imagine the Phantom with that look; no…she didn't even want to picture the Opera Ghost raging at her or anyone else. The memory of it swam through her mind as her vision turned blurry and dizziness started to flood her senses.
Monica sat on her couch, the dimly lit living room giving a nice cozy feel to the house as her two dogs bounded up to her and settled on either side of her stumpy tails wagging furiously. She smiled nonetheless and scratched on of them behind the ears as the other whined in the lack of attention he was receiving from her.
Before she could do anything however sharp knocks came from her door causing her to nearly jump out of her skin, it was too late for even Lucy to show up, who could it be?
She felt a rush, what if it was the Phantom? She quickly dismissed the thought, it had been over a week and she hadn't heard of the Opera Ghost since. She frowned slightly and got up from her couch, her feet barely making a sound as she walked over to her massive wooden door and silently wished no one would visit her, she didn't want to put up one more fake smile to pretend she was fine. She truly wasn't, something was missing but she couldn't quite place it.
"Who is it?" she asked quietly as a sigh came from the other side in reply. She leaned on the door curious now before a male voice answered back.
"Who do you think? The Boogeyman?" Jack's voice replied sarcastically. She sighed even more as she opened the door and stepped aside as he shivered in the cold of winter and hurried in to the warmth of her house.
Out of all the people she didn't want to see he was certainly one of them. She had grown somewhat distant from him and that didn't go unnoticed by him as well. Her dogs, Alucard and Dante, jumped from their spots on the couches to sprint over to greet him bounding on him and barking in joy.
"Its late Jack, what brings you out here?" Monica asked snapping her fingers, in an instant both of the dogs stopped their greeting and sat at her feet obediently. Jack then turned to look at her, cheeks and nose red from the bitter cold outside as a sheepish grin settled on his features.
"Surprise!" he told her as he pulled out a rose from behind his back and held it out for her. Her lips threated to betray her fake façade as they dipped slightly but then pulled themselves up into a smile the next instant. She took the rose from him still smiling and held it up to her nose.
It smelled divine, in that instant she could smell the river down in the lair, the everlasting sea of candles, the ink, the fresh sheets of music lying around carelessly. She pulled the rose from her nose instantly shattering the image of the lair and the Phantom that had been evoked with it. That haunting white mask gleaming eerily in the center of the stage looking at her accusingly, she had left him. She had left…
"Thank you," she told him as best she could without breaking down, she wanted to go back. She wanted to sleep on the Swan bed once more, to wake to the organ, to see the Opera Ghost. She wanted the impossible.
"You don't like roses?" Jack asked upon seeing a slight frown form on her face her eyes fixed intently on the rose before her, pale fingers caressing the petals as her glossy eyes looked up from the flower and locked with his.
"No..it's not that," she reassured him as he nodded and proceeded to taking off his leather jacket and tossing it over the edge of one of her black sofas while he flopped down on them with a heavy sigh. He hadn't slept well that week either, he felt like the moment he let his guard down the damn monster would crawl out of its hiding place and drag her back with him. He wouldn't not allow her to be taken by him again, it had happened once. It would never happen again.
He motioned over for her to come and join him, like an obedient pet she followed his orders and walked over to him, rose still in hand as she started to walk past him to sit beside him. However he had other plans, his arms wrapped around her waist while pulling her down onto his lap. She made no objections and allowed him to have things go his way for once.
He pulled her closer while leaning forward as his breath danced across her neck as he breathed in slowly. She was his and his only, any other bastard who was stupid enough to look at her had gotten a punch to the face and he reveled in the thought of her belonging to him.
"I missed you," he whispered into her ear as she stared blankly at the blazing fire, flames dancing around capable of consuming anything in their path. One of his hands snaked up to her hair as he played with it pleased with himself.
Her dogs however stayed away from the couple on the couch, they could feel the tension coming from Monica, and the way her eyes held no emotion whatsoever only increased their worry. Something was bothering their owner but being dogs they could only watch and do nothing.
"I've been thinking of going down to the city soon," Monica told Jack turning her face away slightly from his hand when he tried to touch her cheek. He frowned almost instantly; she knew he wasn't going to be pleased with hearing her thoughts.
"I don't want you anywhere near the Opera House much less the city where that rat might be hiding waiting to take you back," Jack growled into her ear as his grip on her waist increased slightly making her tense. This was not going according to plan but she was past the point of no return. She turned her body to look at him and nearly flinched when she met his eyes.
They were storming and full of hate, something that got her skin crawling. She didn't know what he was capable of nor did she wish to know.
"It's not like I'm going to go and get myself kidnapped Jack," she shot back defensively as his eyes narrowed dangerously and his grip turned into and iron one, she struggled to move away as his raging eyes locked with hers finally.
"He could take you back, and we would never find you, is that what you want?" he barked back at her as she winced slightly at the grip he was applying and squirmed slightly in his grasp. His face had lost all trace of compassion and love; instead it only bore hate and resentment.
"I feel like an animal locked inside of a cage with a view of the outside world, being so close and yet not being able to enjoy the feeling of fresh air!" she yelled back tears forming on her eyes as Jack released her suddenly aware of the force he was using to hold her in place as she backed away from him defensively.
"Please tell me this has to do with him," Jack told her eyes flaring up even more as he towered over her cowering form beneath him clutching at a pillow that had been on the couch. He had sensed her growing distant from him; he had prayed that it had nothing to do with the hold that the monster held over her. He could feel his fury taking the better of him, his shoulders were hunched dangerously and his fists were clenched tightly, knuckles turning white.
She hesitated in answering him and that's all it took to send him over the edge.
"He is a monster Monica! How dare you even think of him now that you are free from that…that…thing!" Jack thundered at her as she flinched once more and shrunk under his gaze. She clutched the pillow tighter to her weak form on the couch and felt the hot tears streaming down her cheeks.
"What has he offered you that I can't give? You are still under his influence that I can guarantee! Look at you! You look worse than when you got here, he's affecting you let him go he is nothing but an animal who hides underground! Wake up from this nightmare for both our sakes!" he yelled all while pacing around the room furiously before he stumbled over one of the dogs that lay near the fire earing himself a yelp from the Rottweiler who scurried out of his way but not before receiving a kick out of Jack to the stomach.
That was enough for Monica to snap as well.
"Stop it!" she yelled weakly as she ran over to her dog and cradled it as it lay whimpering in her arms. She stared up at Jack, pure loathing emanating from her piercing glare as her tears continued to flow freely from her face. She held her dog close to her and refused to meet his gaze once more as she tried to comfort it by petting it and whispering praises into its ear.
Jack then pulled her away from her dog with a fierce tug as he forced her to stand in front of him.
"Do not defy me, don't even think of going out of this house without someone I know accompanying you, and don't you dare go near that damn hellhole of an Opera," he hissed at her as she winced under the grip he was applying to her arms and looked down refusing to meet his eyes.
"As for that freak, I'll find him…I'll find him and make him pay for kidnapping you," he warned her as he shook her forcing her bloodshot eyes to look at him in horror, "If I find out you were anywhere near that Opera House, I'll kill him…and make sure you never think of defying me ever again, am I clear?" he spat at her as she whimpered slightly when he shook her outraged again at her ignoring him.
She finally tore her eyes away from her cowering dog in front of the fireplace and landed a cold gaze on him.
"Yes I understand," she told him in a monotone voice as he realized that he had been grabbing her a little too tightly and released his hold on her almost instantly. He instantly calmed down and rose her chin with one of his hands.
"Hey babe, I'm sorry I got out of hand…I'm sorry," he whispered to her as she refused to meet his gaze when he took her hand and kissed her knuckles slowly.
"I'm sorry baby you know I would never hurt you," he continued as she drowned out his voice, all she could hear was the organ back at the Opera Populair. He pulled her in for an embrace but all Monica could think of was his outraged expression seconds ago.
"I gotta go, I'll come by tomorrow and make it up to you ok? Goodnight babe," he told her as he pulled her in for a kiss. Monica didn't even bother as he pulled away with the same sheepish grin from before and started for the door.
The resounding click when he closed it relieved her nerves somewhat. She walked over to her dog and collapsed in front of it finally releasing what she had been holding back since he got to her house. She picked herself up still a crying wreck as her shoulders shook violently with the force of her sobs.
"I won't be here tomorrow you bastard…" she whispered after him as his once fond memories faded form her mind only to be replaced by her fear of him and most importantly his rage. She needed to feel safe, to be comforted by something or someone. She picked herself up and dragged her shaking form to her bed and collapsed on it.
She cried herself to sleep setting her mind on one thing and one thing only. As soon as she woke she would go over to the Opera Populair no matter what Jack said. She needed to see him, to hear his music, but most of all she wanted to warn him of Jack.
Her heart couldn't bare losing someone like him to one of his jealous rage fits ever again…
Her body snapped back into reality from the sudden flash back. Her vision went black as she collapsed into Logan's arms while he caught her and frowned in worry.
He sighed as he held her close as two renovators ran off to get something for Monica; Logan sighed and looked at her. She was like a sister to him and seeing her this horrified of something had him seeing red. He would have a word with Jack, after all he had already had one of the renovators move her car from the entrance of the Opera Populair to the back where Jack wouldn't see if he happened to walk by.
His thoughts screeched to a halt when a sudden ruffle of clothing from up top made his eyes shoot up towards the movement as a black cape danced in the darkness of the shadows following after its wearer, a white spec catching his eyes up on the rafters. He shook his head and thought it was his imagination playing tricks on him as he proceeded to waking Monica up and demanding answers.
Review! There are some of you that refuse to do so and it gets me so depressed! So please for your poor deluded writer's sake...review ;D