I'm alllivveee!

So, my 'month' off really was more like two months, and I'm sorry about that. Life has been insane, and I have a new job and many night classes and not nearly enough time or energy to write. But I'm getting there, don't worry.

Note: In upcoming chapters I'm going to stray from the strict third person that only follows Christine, as there are important scenes that she is not in. Meg and Raoul are going to play a bigger part as the story progresses. Just wanted to give you a heads up before the POV's start switching. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I think. And if not, well, my beta will smack me around and set me on the right track.

As always, please review, they make me so happy.

Onward to Part 2!


Chapter Twenty Three: September Releases

The air was warm and fragrant as she stood on the pavement and watched the dark car slowly pull away from the curb. Christine just stared at it, motionless, her mind still unable to comprehend the fact that it was over. He had let her go.

'He let me go,' she repeated in her mind. 'He let me go. He really let me go. I'm free. Oh my God I'm free!'

Christine started to laugh, loud, wild raucous laughs that seemed to echo back at her. "I'm home!" She screamed out loud. "I'm home! I'm home!"

Tears were streaming down her face as she danced on the sidewalk like a wild woman, her arms flailing in the air, hair whipping around her face. "It's so beautiful!" She exclaimed.

Then, as if the strength had drained out of her, her legs shook and she collapsed, sobbing so hard she could hardly breathe. "I thought I'd never see this place again," she cried. "I'd thought I'd be trapped in the dark forever. He kept his promise. He let me go. I'm home, oh God, I'm free."

She cried the first tears of happiness she could remember. "I'm home," she kept repeating. "Oh God, thank you, thank you, thank you."

Finally Christine picked herself up and wrapped her arms around herself, fighting sudden nervousness as she approached her front door. Home. It had been so long. Was it really home anymore?

Biting her lip with anticipation she pushed the button for the elevator and climbed on, watching as the numbers ticked higher and higher. What would she do now? School started in a few days and she hadn't signed up for any classes, and what would she tell people, what would she do about Raoul, about Meg; how would she explain her absence to Auntie V?

Christine fit her key into the lock and opened the door, and as her small, cramped apartment appeared before her she nearly started crying again. Home.

"Christine?"

Christine snapped her head up to see Meg coming out of the bathroom, her dark hair pulled into a bun, her overlarge nightshirt hanging to her knees. Christine blanched; she hadn't expected Meg to be back at the apartment before school started, what was she supposed to say?

"Well don't just stand there, come on, I want to hear everything! God, it's been months!"

"Hear…everything?" Christine repeated weakly as she closed the door behind her, her eyes still drinking in the familiar kitchen, a familiar face.

"Of course, I mean it's not everyday your friend gets back from England!" Meg frowned and stared at Christine's empty hands. "By the way, where are your bags?"

"England?" Christine sank into a chair, her face pale.

"But did you even get to see much?" Meg sat down and began peeling off strips of an apple with her teeth. "I mean, with the mono and everything. But at least you must have stories about your family!"

"M…mono?" Christine asked. "Family?" She felt like she was going to faint. It was all too much.

"Oh God, you still have it, don't you. I should have known; your last email said you still weren't feeling well." Meg inspected Christine's face and frowned. "You're so pale, and thin, weren't they feeding you over there?"

Christine had finally managed to stop repeating everything Meg said aloud, but thought, 'My last email? What the hell is going on?'

"I need to sleep," Christine said mechanically. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Yeah, of course." Meg nodded, looking worried. "I'm just happy to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too." Christine suddenly was afraid that she was going to cry as she walked over and hugged the smaller girl. "I missed you," she said, and suddenly couldn't control the tears that streamed down her face. "I missed everything." She began to cry in earnest. "Oh Meg, I was so alone, I thought…I thought I'd always be alone…in the dark."

Meg awkwardly patted her friend on the back. "Why don't you get some sleep," Meg said softly as she pulled away from the still sobbing Christine. "We'll talk some more tomorrow, ok?"

Christine sniffled loudly and nodded. "Ok. Sure."

She padded into the small bedroom; Meg's side was a mess of clothes and half unpacked belongings from home, while Christine's side looked exactly as she had left it. She didn't know whether that was a relief or just depressing.

Sighing, Christine changed out of her jeans and tank top and into her old pajamas. As she carefully folded her shirt she paused for a moment and lifted it to her nose; it still smelled like his house, the scent of pressed petals and hinted incense and that vague dead smell she associated with him.

'Erik,' she thought, placing the clothing into a drawer, realizing that it was not even really hers, it was one of the outfits he had bought for her. 'I wonder what he is doing now.'

Flipping off the light she crawled into her small bed and listened to Meg move around in the kitchen. Her head felt heavy on the pillow and as she moved to fluff it her hand touched something small and light.

Frowning, Christine pulled the slip of paper out from under her pillow and felt her face go white as she recognized the familiar knotted texture. How did it get here? Quickly she unfolded the paper and read by the dim city light filtering through her window.

Dear Christine,

I hope that you are happy now that you are home and with other people. I know that you could not be happy being alone with me forever, without the sun. I know how much you missed it.

Please don't think that I was oblivious to your sadness; I know how hard it was for you to be separated from humanity for so long a time, and I am sorry that events occurred the way they did. Know that I only wanted to help you, that I knew that we had to go through difficult times before you could truly see me. But I told you I would let you go and so I have, and now I only hope that you will keep your promise and remember me, and come back to me.

You don't have to worry about school or about excuses for your time away from home, everything has been arranged. You will find your class schedule in your mail. Your friends have been informed via email that you were spending the summer with relatives in England, but unfortunately was very sick throughout the duration of your stay, and unable to see many sights. This will explain your absence without calls, but also keep you from having to speak about your experience much. Keep it simple and do not speak much on the topic. We want everyone to eventually forget that you were gone.

Do not forget to wear your ring. It is the symbol of a promise that I expect you to keep. Should you remove it I will consider that promise broken. Do not forget that. Keep the package with you as well.

I will contact you soon.

-E

Christine stared at the note for a long time, turning over its words in her head. Her first inclination was to laugh at his choice of ruses. 'Keep it simple,' she thought mockingly. 'He says this as he creates an elaborate deception and expects me to play along. Why couldn't it have been something simple, like I was with Auntie V or Jammes?'

She bit her lip, trying to clear her mind. If she had been with any relatives or friends someone could have attempted to contact her, only to find out she wasn't there. If she was anywhere near the area someone could try to find her.

'Unknown relatives in England,' she mused. 'England is far enough away that no one could come looking for me, no one could reach me…and the sickness is so that I won't have to talk too much about my experience. It's actually…perfect.' She snorted to herself then as she reread the note for the tenth time. 'We want everyone to forget…we. He acts so much like I am an equal in this, like it's what I want, not just what he wants. I don't want anyone to forget. I want out of this. But he keeps saying We.' She sighed sadly. 'I guess there will never be just I again…always we. Always he.'

Swinging her legs out of bed, Christine padded to her dresser and tucked the note securely at the bottom of a drawer, then stood staring into space for a long time. Even though she was free he was still controlling everything. He still kept her on a leash; she could practically feel the collar digging into her throat, making it hard to breathe.

Unconsciously she put a hand to her throat as if to reassure herself that there was nothing there. Tears welled in her eyes, so hot they were nearly scalding.

"I don't want to lie anymore," she whispered, staring at the drawer where the letter was buried. "I don't want to lie anymore."

"Christine?"

Meg stood in the doorway, her freshly washed face troubled. Christine turned to her slowly and tried to smile.

"I'm just going to bed, Meg. I'll see you tomorrow."

Christine could feel Meg's worried eyes on her as she crawled into bed. She tried not to think, but suddenly she felt cold and alone and almost sick. 'You're stupid,' Christine chided herself as her quiet tears soaked the pillow. 'Stop crying. After all of that you're free, you should be happy.' She sniffled, the same thought spinning inside of her head until she fell asleep.

'I should be happy.'

The next day Christine woke to sun streaming through her window, and she scrambled to the edge of her bed to yank open the glass and stick her head out. The morning was muggy and still, the streets below her silent, and the soft light that flooded the city was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.

"Christine?" Meg asked, sitting up in her bed, her dark eyes groggy. "Why are you sticking your head out the window?"

Christine smiled and jumped off her bed to bound to the closet. Suddenly everything seemed so clear and fresh, the odd sadness of the night before gone with the appearance of the sun. Freedom.

"It's a beautiful day!" She crowed, pulling out a worn pair of jeans and a familiar tank top. "I want to be outside the whole day!"

Christine nearly skipped to the shower, humming the whole way; she turned the water on icy cold to ward off the summer heat, undressed, and stepped in, lathering her hair with the same shampoo she had left so many months ago. As she rinsed her humming turned to song, and it was only then that she realized the tune she was singing was one that Erik had taught her. She froze and clamped her mouth shut, feeling tainted even as the frigid water fell into her eyes and down her back.

'No, none of him, not today,' she thought, stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around her too thin frame. 'I won't let him intrude on me today.'

Meg was still in her pajamas and drinking streaming coffee when Christine emerged from the bathroom. Christine nudged her as she passed and pulled out her favorite tea. "How was your summer, by the way?"

Meg took a long drink of coffee and rubbed her eyes. "Oh, it was fine. I spent most of the time with my family and working, though I did have some awesome parties here that you missed. But mostly it was another boring summer, nothing like yours."

Christine filled her mug with water. "I'm sure it wasn't," she said ironically before shaking herself out of that dark thought. "Ok Meg, get dressed while I dry my hair. Let's do something fun."

Meg glared at her from the rim of her cup. "Do you realize how early it is, Chris? I thought you were sick."

Christine stuck her mug into the microwave and faced Meg with a small frown. "I was," she said quietly. "But I'm better now. Everything is good." She reached over and took one of Meg's small hands. "Come outside with me, Meg, just for a little while. I want to see the sun."

Meg patted Christine's hand tiredly. "Ok, fine, I'll be ready in fifteen minutes."

Christine beamed and waltzed into the bathroom to dry her hair, humming unconsciously again.

"What'cha humming?" Meg asked idly before Christine closed the door. "It's pretty."

Christine stopped so suddenly she nearly choked. "Nothing," she muttered as she turned the hair dryer on to stifle any further conversation. "Nothing."