Erik cringed at what he discovered in the neatly wrapped packages lying in Arabelle's room. One of the boxes was missing its contents, which made him cringe even more. It was nearly eleven and Arabelle wasn't even back yet. Erik felt sick at the sight of the note from Cornette. He couldn't believe that Arabelle was mixed up in all of this again, that she was actually willing to enter back into the profession she had been desperately trying to avoid for years. But she must've had a good reason. He could see in her eyes how much she hated it, she wouldn't just give in. Was Madame Cornette using something, or someone, against her? Erik paced around the room for several minutes before finally deciding just to wait it out for her.

He flopped on the dusty couch and slowly began to close his eyes. He would wait for her to get back, then he would confront her, and he would know the truth, but for now, he would just rest his eyes for a second or too, maybe a few minutes…

A sudden explosion of light in the room made him jump up instantly. There was nothing but white while he waited for his eyes to adjust.

"Jesus! You scared me! What the hell are you doing here?" Arabelle scolded him. He could hear her moving around, and rustling things, but he couldn't see her.

"I was waiting for you to get back," He stood and almost ran into the trunk. The room began to get clearer and his eyes landed straight on a ragged, tired, and completely disarrayed Arabelle. Her makeup was smeared, her curly raven hair was a giant mess, and her small legs were shaking.

"Well I'm back, so you can go. 'Night," she quickly rushed to the bathroom to change. Erik grabbed her arm before she could grab the knob.

"I know where you were, what you were doing. Don't lie to me." Erik tried to make his tone as dominant and intimidating as possible. She simply looked away for a second and then returned with a straight, unreadable face. Oh, she was good.

"Are you looking for a freebie or what?" She was trying to cover up how she really felt, he could tell.

"Do you like doing this? Playing pretend, playing the whore?" Erik's tone became dead serious. A wide smile fell on her face. Erik couldn't help but stare in horror and disgust.

"As a matter of fact, I do. It isn't nearly as bad as I thought. I didn't understand it when I was younger, but now I do and I quite enjoy it." Her expression, her words, her voice were all convincing. She must have been hiding something, he thought.

"I don't believe you." He simply stated and turned her so she faced him fully. Her performance didn't falter a bit at his stare, at his accusation, in fact, it got even stronger.

"I admit that at first I wasn't sure about it, but then, tonight- him, wow. It was so much better than I thought, in fact, it was extraordinary." Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she let out a deep sigh of pleasure. Her smile grew wider and she bit her lip. Erik shook her shoulders hard. Her eyes shot wide open and looked straight into his.

"He also pays so well!" She was practically giggling like a little girl. Erik's mouth hung open in disbelief at the words that were coming from her mouth. There was no way this was real, he thought. It was all an act, wasn't it? He found himself more confused than ever, not really sure what was real and what wasn't.

"I really think I'm going to continue this, I mean I'm good at it, it pays well, plus it feels absolutely amazing!" Arabelle's words snapped him back to earth, and Erik began to stare her down once more.

"You like doing this? Being a whore? Being an empty shell of a person, just serving others? That sounds nothing like you!" He shook her shoulders hard and she growled and wormed her way out of his grasp.

"What the fuck do you know about me anyway? We've known each other for what, two weeks, maybe?" She hissed. "You know shit about me, about who I am! I can do what I want; I'm a grown mother fucking woman!" Erik felt his own anger rising. Did she really think this was a way of living?

"I know that if your father were alive, he would be ashamed of you, of his only child!" Erik wanted instantly to take the words back. He never meant for them to actually be said. But once they were, it was done. Tears rose up into Arabelle's eyes and her face went hot with embarrassment and anger.

"Get out!" She screamed with hatred. Erik stood his ground and didn't move a muscle. This only made matters worse, making Arabelle grab at a knife hidden in her pocket.

"Get the fuck out, or so help me god, I'll cut up both sides of your face!" Her words were filled with poison and honesty. The lights flashed out, and Erik left without another word.

All the way back to his place below the Opera Populaire, all Erik could think about was Arabelle's words, about how she seemed proud of her new profession. How her face, words, and even voice were all convincing. But that her eyes were what gave it all away. When he saw them he instantly knew it was all a ruse. That she was just trying to push him away, trying to protect him. But why should he care? She wasn't important; he still loved Christine...didn't he?

It angered him, being so confused. He was no longer sure if he felt anything at all for Christine anymore or if maybe he felt something for this new woman that had very suddenly entered his life. In frustration, Erik growled and screamed fiercely down the canal. The echo that came with it was menacing, even the rats seemed to flee in fear.

He wanted so much to break something, to tear something to bits. "No", he yelled at himself. "You're not angry, you don't care about her; she means nothing to you!" A picture of the old woman and her words crossed his mind, making him angrier. He had promised to protect her, to watch over her. When he made it to the cavern, immediately, he grabbed a bottle of hard liquor he had managed to save from the raid, and sucked at it, falling on his bed, or what remnants of a bed he had.

For hours, that's all he did: lie on his bed and, every once in a while, take a couple sips from his bottle. He wanted so bad to just jump from the top of the Opera house and end it all.

"Now what possibly, do you think that would accomplish?" A voice came from the darkness. It was one he most definitely recognized, one that he had wanted to hear for so long.

"Christine?" She appeared before him, exactly the way she looked the very last time he saw her. But something seemed different about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Is that really you?" He reached out to her, trying to touch her hand, but all he found was air. She was a hallucination, he thought, a drunken hallucination.

"In a way, yes, but I'm not a drunken hallucination. You're just so confused and lonely that your brain is projecting the image of the person you think you miss the most, Christine Daae." Erik became even more confused than he thought possible.

"So you're here because I miss you so much? And because I'm confused, so I think I'm seeing you?" He tried to make as much sense of the situation as possible. She nodded and giggled a little.

"Now back to that first thought. Why, dear Erik, would you want to kill yourself?" She sat down next to him and rubbed his face. He leaned against her hand and closed his eyes. But when he did, it was cold, like winter winds blowing against his cheek.

"Because I couldn't bear the thought of living without you," her hand pulled away and Erik's eyes quickly shot open. She could see straight through him.

"That's not true; at least, that's not what your heart says." He looks at her, not believing a word.

"Yes it is! I still love you! I miss you so much, that's why you're here!" He said franticly. Christine shook her head.

"Your heart has let me go, your head hasn't. I'm here because you're confused about what's happening to Arabelle because you care for her deeply." Erik wanted desperately to deny it, but something in him knew it was futile.

"What do I do?" He confided in her. She stroked his cheek and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Watch over her, like you did me. Be her guardian angel. Sooner or later she's going to need you." Erik hung his head, looking at his feet, he sighed then returned his gaze to the woman he had once desperately wanted, then lost. She could feel doubt in him and pulled his face to look at her.

"You can't give up on her," her eyes bore straight through him. Her words making him even more unsure. The last time he had refused to back down, he had sent the Opera house up in flames, and killed several people. This seemed to cross her mind as well and she looked even deeper into his eyes.

"She doesn't want you to give up on her. She's pushing you away to save you, because she cares deeply for you." These last words brought comfort to him and a sense of peace filled him for the first time in a very, very long time. He nodded and smiled at her, the woman he had once loved so.

"I won't give up." Suddenly, Christine transformed into the old woman, Sabine. He jumped up and stared at her, wide eyed. "What is this trickery?" He demanded of her. The elderly woman stood and came towards him.

"Please watch over her, she needs you much more than you know. Please." Erik's body shook, like he was having a falling dream. His eyes shot open. He had been asleep; it had all been a dream. It was all a dream. He thought about it for a second. He thought of how real the dream had seemed, how real it felt. Erik dug Christine's ring from his pocket and studied it, waiting for any sort of emotional response he had towards it. But, after several moments, he found he felt nothing whatsoever. Had he finally let Christine go?

"I think I finally have."

A/N: First off, I want to apologize for this being so late. I'm really sorry, guys...girls...people? Anyways, I'm sorry! I've just been having a really rough year at school and all the stress of classes and terrible relationships was finally catching up to me! Plus, I've been having a little trouble with depression...but not to worry, that's just going to make my terrible writing seem less terrible!

Hope you like this chapter, I realize the plot continues to move slowly...but I wrote all of this, through chapter eleven, a year and a half ago. Once I start writing regularly, things will move much faster! I swear to you! I'm also going to post another chapter on Saturday night, Sunday morning. Things are looking up for the first time in a very very long time, so updates will be more regular and less lengthy in time!

Thanks for being loyal...those of you who are!

Luce, Your Surly Mermaid

P.S. Go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7 part 1 tomorrow! I'm going! So should you! And don't be lame and just read the full in depth synopsis on ...fight the temptation, fight it!