Chapter 11

Nadir Kahn's car… July 26

The passing surroundings were too dark to be described with clarity. All I knew was that we were headed towards Kentucky. I'd never been to that part of the country and would have loved to enjoy the new place, except.. there was one problem… We were going there to find the man who raped me. It pretty much ruined the whole trip.

It was past midnight now. 2:15 am to be exact. The only sound was that of soft classical music coming from the CD player.

I couldn't sleep. The meaning of the trip was one reason, sure, plus the fact that sleep never came easy anymore.. but there was one more reason- Erik was sitting right beside me to the left. It felt weird not talking to him, but I didn't know what to say. He was such a mysterious man. If only my damn kidnapper hadn't looked exactly like him! One thing remained, though.. Even though he did look like William Grant, he wasn't. He was my hero. He saved me from the nightmare.

"You should sleep." The sentence disturbed my thoughts. It was Erik who spoke, and I couldn't help but enjoy the magnificent sound of his voice. How was it that one man could possess such a voice?

"Sorry, but I am driving," Nadir replied.

"I was not speaking to you, Daroga," he snapped rudely. Addressing me again, he softly said, "You should sleep, Ms. Daae."

I had no idea how he could tell I was awake. I certainly couldn't see him in the darkness. "You have good vision."

"Yes."

"Well, I can't sleep," I admitted, looking down sadly.

"And, why is that?" He seemed truly interested in what I had to say.

"I'm not sure." Of course, I was sure, but I couldn't tell him. It'd make me look weak, and that was the last thing I wanted.

"Well, do try." His voice was sincere.

That voice.. There was just something about it that made me want to listen forever. It was so smooth and comforting. Actually, it was making me realize just how tired I was. Exhausted, really. "You're right," I said sleepily and yawned.

I leaned my head against the head rest and closed my eyes.

--

I awoke to light hitting my eyes. The car wasn't moving. All was silent. For a moment, that scared me to death, but I then remembered why I was in the car. Suddenly, I froze.

My head wasn't against the head rest anymore... It was against Erik's shoulder. I blushed fiercely and quickly sat up. Really, I didn't want to look at him for fear of him looking angry or something, but I glanced his way on instinct. He was awake and looking straight ahead. My blush deepened.

Nadir was sleeping in the front seat. I was glad for him to rest. He deserved it. Then, my attention focused back on the masked man. That stupid mask always made me cringe. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Do not apologize, Ms. Daae-"

"Please, call me Christine," I interrupted. The way he referred to me was too formal, yes, but I also wished to hear his voice saying my name. I felt like a child.

"Well, it is fine, Christine. You needed rest. My shoulder served as your pillow. Nothing is wrong with that." He looked into my eyes with a strange intensity, and I blushed. He then looked ahead again.

"Thanks." There was silence, and I became aware of the fact that I really wished to speak to him about something. So, I decided to. "Erik, um, I don't think I ever got a chance to tell you.. I want to thank you for taking me to the hospital that day. I- you saved me. You really did." I turned my eyes towards him shyly and saw that he was staring at me with a mixture of warmth and sympathy.

"You needed help. I only did what was right." We stared at each other for a moment, but I had to break it.

I smiled. He was being humble. "Well, thank you."

"You are welcome."

There was more silence where I felt he was as lost in thought as I was. There was something else I wished to talk about, though. But, did I dare? I felt I had a right to know, so I decided to jump into it. "Nadir told me you were interested in my voice."

All he said was, "Did he," as if he already knew.

"Yes," I replied. "What do you want to know?" I asked nonchalantly.

Erik regarded me with his light blue eyes before answering. "I already 'know' about your voice. You have quite a gift, Christine. I could tell by your one brief performance."

I blinked and my brow furrowed. How could he possibly think my voice is that great by me singing blindfolded and battered in his car? "But, that was nothing-"

"Yes, I know it was nothing. But, I could sense the potential." His eyes glistened with what I concluded was excitement. "If I remember correctly, you are pursuing a vocal career?"

I nodded. "Yes, I am. I mean, I will. I mean, I was." For the first time, I realized that I wasn't sure of my future anymore. William Grant really had ruined everything. "I was going to go to Indiana University to major in vocal performance."

"'Was'?" He turned and looked at me sharply.

I fidgeted nervously before saying, "Well, after all that's happened, I really think I should wait.. Maybe after a semester of two.."

"If you wait, you may never go. That is not an option. Christine, when did you make such a decision?" He was no longer the complimenting man he had been only a few seconds before. Now, he was angry.

I looked down under his stare. "Um.." I guess I should be honest. "Just now, actually..." I realized that I did not actually come to a 'decision', though. I was still unsure of what to do.

"But, what will you do if you wait? Do not tell me you will continue to think of your horrible experience. That will drive you to insanity."

Now, that angered me. I haughtily replied, "No, I will try to recover. I believe that will take more than a month, and that's all I would have if I decided to go to college."

"So, you are still unsure of your decision?"

How did he come to that conclusion? I sighed. "Yeah, I guess I am." Then, I looked into all I could see of his face- his eyes. "What should I do, Erik?" Why I was questioning him with such sincerity was beyond me. His voice seemed to comfort me, and with that comfort, I was beginning to trust him.

"I believe you already know what I will say. You should not wait. You should attend Indiana University this semester, Christine."

I looked at the back of the seat in front of me. Considering his words, I finally nodded. "Maybe you're right," I murmured.

It was then that Nadir woke up. He turned his head to us and smiled. "Good morning, you two."

"Morning," I mumbled. Erik didn't speak. I could feel his gaze upon me. He was still thinking of my decision.

That was when I realized we were parked in the middle of nowhere. It seemed we were on the side of a road in a deserted section of somewhere. There wasn't a sign of life anywhere. "Where are we?"

"I am not sure, actually. I just got off of the interstate and parked where I thought the car would be safe from passersby," Nadir replied.

"Oh."

"Is anyone hungry?" he asked jovially.

I immediately replied, "Yes."

Erik replied, "No," at the same time. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He just shrugged.

"Well, I am with Christine on this one. I saw a McDonald's when I got off the interstate. Will that be alright?"

"Sure, that sounds great," I said politely while Erik just sat there. It seemed I had to make the decisions. Erik barely spoke in Nadir's presence. Or, maybe he just didn't speak in his friend's presence while I was around. Whatever, I thought.

We went through the fairly new looking McDonald's drive-thru and ordered our meal. Erik only ordered coffee. How can he not be hungry? Another thought crossed my mind. It must be hard to eat or drink with that mask… I cringed at the thought of the mask.

Nadir parked and we ate. As I chewed on my biscuit, I could see Erik out of the corner of my eye. He was sipping his coffee through a straw. So, that's how he does it! Quite frankly, it was a little amusing, but I refused to draw attention to myself by laughing like an idiot.

After we ate and Nadir began to drive again, I asked, "How far away are we?"

"Erik?" Nadir asked.

"About two hours."

"Oh.." I had no idea how Erik knew that off the top of his head, but I'd come to realize that he was a most unusual man. It would be best not to question his abilities. It was going to be a very boring drive without something to do. But, there was no choice, so I sat back and got lost in thought.

After ten minutes, a voice interrupted. "Do you play cards?" Erik asked.

I couldn't believe he just asked such a thing. And here I thought the trip would be boring... He brought a deck of cards out of his jacket pocket. "Yeah, I know a few games."

"What games do you know?"

I thought about that for a second. Well, ok, to be honest I didn't know many games at all. Only one, really, and it was pretty embarrassing. "Umm.. War?" A blush crept to my cheeks knowing he was going to think I was retarded.

But that didn't happen. The only reaction I could see was that his eyes brightened. I could tell he was smiling. "You are in luck. I, too, know that game."

"You want to play it?" I asked. I found this whole situation to be funny. Playing cards with someone like Erik seemed impossible. But apparently it wasn't.

"Yes."

"Ok." He shuffled and dealt the cards like a professional, and my eyes widened. Whoa, he's talented! I heard him chuckle, meaning that he'd seen my expression. I didn't care, though, because what he'd done was something to be admired. We played using the middle seat as our table.

It really did help to pass the time, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. The most fun was when we would lay down two cards that held the same number. Then, as the rules of War went, we each lay three cards face down before putting a fourth card face up. The card with the higher number won, and the winner got to keep all ten cards. Us getting the same numbered cards happened quite a bit, too. When the winner was discovered, one of us would have to hand over our cards. And when that happened, our hands would brush.

Our hands touched many times throughout the game, and I would blush every time hoping against hope that he didn't notice. If he noticed I was blushing, he would wonder why. I didn't even know why it was happening... All I knew was that I liked it. I liked playing cards with Erik, I liked thinking that we were both having a good time, and I liked it when our hands came in contact. 'Odd' didn't even begin to describe it. Not even 24 hours ago, I had suspected that he was the man who kidnapped and raped me, yet now it seemed like my suspicions had never taken place. How could I have grown so comfortable with him so quickly? After all that's happened to me, I thought I would never trust anyone again...

I pondered this while we played but never came up with a clear, definitive answer. Time passed, and eventually Erik won the round. I had a feeling he would, although the game was all a matter of luck. He was just so good at cards, though, that he could probably manipulate the system.

I congratulated him with a sincere smile before looking outside the car for the first time since we began playing. "How much longer?" I casually asked.

"Actually, Christine, we entered the city about five minutes ago," Nadir said.

My heartbeat quickened immediately, and all fun came to an end. There was only one thing on my mind now. William Grant…

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-Lauren