A/N: Sorry
it took so long to update. I want to dedicate this chapter to my
sister, Nicole and my cousin, Kim. Happy Belated Birthday Kim. Happy
Half Birthday, Nicole.
It is September 30.
Chapter
17
Christine roused from her sleep when she
felt the weight of someone sitting on her bed. 'Erik,' she
thought hopefully. She looked up to see her father staring at her.
Her heart dropped in realization of Erik's absence. She pushed the
thought away in fear that she would start sobbing.
"Are you okay, Angel?" he asked with concern etched on his face. "You slept all day yesterday."
"I'm alright, Father," she lied. "Why didn't you wake me up yesterday?"
"I thought you may need the rest. You did look quite tired," he replied while running his fingers threw his dirty-blonde hair. "I made breakfast for you."
"Thank you. I will be right down," she informed him.
Gustav groaned as he stood up. "I'm not as young as I used to be," he chuckled. He exited the room slowly to allow Christine her privacy. Christine climbed out of her bed and shuffled to her dresser.
XXX
Gustav was sitting at the breakfast table, reading the paper. He paused to take a sip of his bitter coffee. Gustav heard the light footsteps of Christine coming down the stairs. He looked up from his paper to greet his daughter, but paused with a frown on his face.
She was dressed in a black dress, black shoes, and her black ribbon. Gustav would have laughed at this change of style, but the look on Christine's face made him think twice. She had a distant look on her face. As if she had lost something very dear to her.
"Christine, darling. What is the meaning of this?" he asked calmly. "Why the change in attitude? It looks as if someone has died."
"It feels like it," she replied, referring to his last statement.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."
"Nothing," she mumbled. She decided not to answer his other questions.
She sat down in the seat across from her father and pocked at her food with her fork.
Gustav cleared his throat to grab Christine's attention. She looked up from her plate and stared at his light blue eyes.
"I want you to pack your bags today. We are going to be leaving tomorrow," he ordered.
She looked at him with wide eyes. "We're leaving tomorrow?" she echoed his statement. "Has it really been a week already?"
"I'm afraid it has, Angel."
Gustav turned back to reading the paper. "You may start packing when you are finished with your breakfast." he informed her without taking his eyes off the paper. Christine immediately started eating her warm roll.
In no more than five minutes she asked her father if she could be excused from the table.
"Yes, you may go," he replied. By time he looked up from his paper, she was gone. Gustav's laughter turned into a fit of coughs. He hastily grabbed his cup and finished the rest of his coffee. The coughs quickly disappeared, except for an occasional wheezing cough.
XXX
Christine started to pack all her favorite dresses and books. She picked up the drawing Erik had given her and placed it in her traveling case. She almost finished packing when she heard her father going into another coughing fit. The only thing different about this cough was that is was much louder then his normal coughs.
She stopped packing to listen. She hurried to the door as she heard a tinkle of broken glass. The coughing stopped.
"Father... Father!" she called. She ran down stairs as fear gripped her insides. Christine screamed when she saw her father's unconscious body on the floor. He was lying on his back with his hand clutching his blood-spotted handkerchief.
A/N:
Lookie here... a cliffie.
I hope you all liked this chapter.
Please review.
-Jess-
