Here you go guys, this is chapter 22, keep in mind it hasn't been to my beta yet, I just thought that you had all waited far too long again. I've actually got chapter 23 started (yay me!) but it may not be for a few days as my boss has decided to book me for another night this week, and I've got a million and one things to do for my classes. (note: don't ever get involved in performing arts….too much work! Ha-ha just kidding, I live for that stuff!) Anyway, now that you all are probably thinking…why am I reading her little rnat at the beginning…here's the chapter:

Chapter 22 –

Erik stared at her with a blank unreadable expression. The tears running down her face made it even more real, it wasn't a dream; she was here and begging him to stay. No one ever wanted him to stay before her. Then it hit him, how many things had he never experienced before meeting Elizabeth, she gave him everything that he valued in his life. Before her, all he ever had was a twisted dream of him and Christine, who was terrified to be around him. Now here was this other woman, standing right in front of him, she knew everything that he had hidden from the rest of the world, but she had never pried it out of him, and she had seen his face, but didn't scream, or faint, or run; in fact, she had done the opposite, she wanted him with her. But she just couldn't understand, no one would understand.

"Erik say something." Elizabeth said as the tears still ran freely down her face.

"You do not need me; no one in this world needs me. The world and you will be better of with this monster." he replied in a monotone voice.

Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore, her sadness was steadily becoming anger, she reached and tore off his mask before he even expected it she threw it into a pile of hay. "THIS DOESN'T MAKE YOU A MONSTER ERIK!" She screamed. "EVERYONE HAS FAULTS; YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE THAT YOURS ARE PHYSICAL FAULTS. Who cares that people have treated you unfairly because of the way you look, half of world would kill to have an ounce of your talents, and you hide from the world because of what? This," she gestured towards his face. "You don't even know how well you have it." Before she knew it he had her by the throat against the wall of the stable. She couldn't breathe but she refused to break the eye contact they had. When she felt like she could hardly take it anymore he let go and her body collapsed to the ground.

He walked over to the pile and put the mask on his face then looked back to Elizabeth. "You have no right to pretend like you understand. This mask is who I am and you have known that from the moment I met you. As I said before, you don't need me, you need companionship, and there are others that can be better company than me. I can't see that you have a reason for needing me around."

"But I don't want them Erik, I want you. For a genius I can't believe how naive and stupid you can be." The statement shocked him almost as much as the removal of his mask and he didn't speak. "I love you Erik! Is that enough reason for you? I can't live without you, and I think that somewhere in there you need me too."

"I'm sorry Elizabeth, you're going to have to learn to live without me, and you will soon realize you are not in love with me. You will be okay." that was the last thing he said. He jumped on the horse, kicked in the side, and rode off. She ran to the doorway and watched him slowly disappear. She stood out in the rain that seemed to have started sometime between the time she had arrived home and now.

After a few minutes she found herself strolling around in the garden completely soaked and the blue paint leaving a trail behind her. She had told him the one thing she had refused to tell herself in the last few weeks. He meant more to her than anyone, and he rejected that. Elizabeth hadn't felt this lost in the entire course of her life.

Erik rode quickly and slowed down when he was out of sight of the house he had called home for the last months. The last things Elizabeth said to him were relaying in his mind over and over again. 'Love' he thought, 'she couldn't possibly love me, no one could love this monster.' That word monster was the other thing that was stuck in his head, she refused to let him call himself that, not only had she been the first to tell him to stop using that word about himself, she was actually the first person to not call him that themselves.

She was different! It was the thought that finally hit him about an hours ride away from the mansion. Elizabeth was different and the concept of her loving him wasn't completely impossible. He might in fact have feelings for her. he always thought love was the way he felt for Christine, but now that he really had the time to consider the concept of love he lusted for Christine he needed her to sing for him, and he obsessed over her beauty, was that really love? It was, he reasoned, but not a healthy form of it. With Elizabeth he was able to talk to her, she treated him as an equal, not once did he ever have power over her. Even more importantly, she trusted him around the most important things in her life, her students and her family.

She never had once pried him to see his face, she just let it be, today when she had first seen it she didn't scream of faint or act like any other before her, she looked at him as she always had, in fact it wasn't until a few seconds later that she even noticed it wasn't on. With Elizabeth, she treated him the same either way. She had given him everything even when he tried to push her away. It wasn't impossible; no, it was probable that she did love him.

This new enlightenment made him realize even more now than ever that he was hiding from the truth. He the brave Phantom of the Opera who had seen more horrors than many would ever see was afraid. He was afraid to admit he loved her back. Love had brought him nothing in the past, and now when love had given him the chance to have everything he could have ever dreamed, he had run away.

Erik immediately stopped the horse and turned him around. He needed to get back to Elizabeth, he needed to get back to his life.

Elizabeth sat on a cement bench that overlooked a group of rosebushes that had yet to bloom this spring. It was here that out in the middle of her garden in the pouring rain that she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up, looked to the sky and screamed as loud as she possibly could, there was no one there to hear, and no one to understand.

She dropped down to the ground and laid back staring up at the grey clouds letting the rain hit her face. it was the lowest point in her life and for once she felt like death didn't seem as horrible a fate as it always had.

Erik rode as fast as the horse would take him back to Summerside and when he was in the stables he jumped off the horse took the saddle and bridle off in record speed patted him on the neck the headed to go find Elizabeth.

When he got inside he found the staff in the kitchen talking. "Sir, where have you and Miss Bennet been?" Asked the old butler Harold.

"She's not inside the house?"

"No you and her never re..." Erik was out of the room in an instant. He knew she didn't come after him because the horses were all still there, she wasn't in the stables when he arrived back. 'don't let her be in the garden.' he thought to himself as he ran looking for her in the pouring rain, somehow though, he knew that's exactly where she'd be. "Elizabeth!" he screamed in his booming stage voice, even that could probably hardly be heard over the rain, and besides, if she were out here in the garden for as long as he was gone he feared she probably would not be able to hear him two feet away from her.

he searched frantically and had a glimmer of hope when he saw something in the grass b the old willow tree and the rose bushes. it was Elizabeth, she was positioned as if she had been looking up at the clouds. He ran to her and found her body lifeless, but he still felt a faint pulse and soft breathing. He scooped her up smoothly and ran her as steadily as he could to the warmth of the house. He stormed in the front door and into the sitting room where a large fire was burning. He set her down by the edge of it and took off her soaking cloak. After removing her clothing down to her undergarments, where he dared not go any farther, he got up and met Marie at the door, she had seen them come in and he told her to change her clothing and wrap her up in some thick wool blankets. He went to the stables grabbed his bag and changed his own clothes then headed back to the sitting room where Marie and Delores were adding wood to the fire. He thanked them and dismissed them from the room.

"Sir maybe we should stay to help," the older lady said protectively. She wasn't sure about what happened earlier and she didn't want to leave Elizabeth, a girl she partly helped to raise, with him alone.

"I can handle this, she will be fine." Erik replied.

"We just are worried and we want to make sure..."

"Please?" Erik pleaded almost childish, his voice cracked and the old lady felt some sympathy for him.

"Just promise me you'll come get someone if you need help."

"I will." He replied, the ladies left the room, he closed and locked the door and headed to tend to Elizabeth.

When she was as warm as he figured she would get without time he sat down right next to her and spoke quietly to her. "I'm so sorry Elizabeth, this is all my fault," he began his rant. "You were right, I need you in my life, and you're so different from everyone else. You see me as Erik, not as the Phantom, not as a murderer or anything else that the rest of the world does. you've given me everything I've desired, you've showed what it it's like to live. I love you Elizabeth, I need you to wake up please. I never meant for you to get sick. Please just wake up." He continued as tears trailed down his face. Soon, even he became tired and he added two logs to the fire then laid down next to her.

He knew he was exhausted but he was still very worried for her and he tried hard not to fall asleep, if he did nod off for a second he'd feel a nonexistent move of Elizabeth he'd wake up and check that everything was alright and Elizabeth was warm. he was feeling fairly cold himself, so he un-tucked a blanket around Elizabeth and wrapped it around himself, he moved a little closer to her making sure she was still warm and soon he fell into a deep peaceful sleep.