Thank you guys so much for the amazing response last chapter! I was totally blown away.
I'm gonna keep it short this time: Thanks as usual to TT, my awesome beta, and reviews are loved and cherished. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Four: Questions
The entire time they rode the elevator Meg had a small grin on her face. Christine frowned at her; she knew that look, and it meant secrets, that something was about to happen.
"What did you do?" Christine asked as they got off the elevator at the ground floor and walked toward the glass doors. Meg shrugged, the smile still on her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Meg…" Christine pushed open the door and breathed in the humid city air. She felt like the city even smelled different in the daylight. The sky was a hazy early morning blue and the few trees lining the street were heavy with shiny green leaves.
"Well there might be a surprise for you but I wouldn't know anything about it." Meg sounded too smug, her tongue stuck playfully between her teeth. Christine shook her head adamantly.
"I don't want any more surprises in my life," she said. "I think I hate surprises."
"Christine?"
Christine felt her heart stop. The last time she had heard that voice she had been running through the woods, in the darkness, afraid for his life. Slowly she turned her head to face his flushed face; he was breathing heavily, as if he had run the whole way there.
"Raoul," she said evenly, torn between being happy and nervous. "How are you?"
He laughed and pulled her into a quick hug; he smelled like cologne and cut grass. "I'm great, it's so good to see you again! Meg told me you were back. I didn't hear from you all summer. How are you?"
Christine cleared her throat nervously. "I'm…I'm fine." She glanced between the two of them. "When did you guys become friends?"
He smiled at her. "I kept calling over the summer to have her read me all of your emails, since you didn't have my address. We both missed you a lot." He paused, a worried look crossing his face. "Are you sure you're OK?" He brushed a hand against her cheek. "You're so pale, Chris."
"I'm fine," she nearly snapped, and there was silence for a moment.
"Ah…wanna walk down to the park?" Meg volunteered, and Christine quickly nodded. The three of them fell into step on the sidewalk, not saying much. Raoul still had a strange look on his face that Christine wasn't sure was worry or nervousness.
They crossed the street and as they moved past a building a shaft of morning light broke through the haze and nearly blinded Christine. She stopped abruptly and turned her head toward the searing light, her eyes closed, feeling like her heart would burst.
"The sun," she whispered, feeling so warm. The inside of her eyelids were colored a brilliant red from the light and made her feel as if she were inside the sun, wrapped inside the daytime. Her pale face and arms, used only to the darkness, were hot and flushed with red, but even when it burned it felt good. "I had almost forgotten what it felt like."
Meg and Raoul glanced at each other as Christine basked in the sun. "So, you, uh, didn't have a whole lot of sun in England?" Meg's voice was thin and not quite as upbeat as it had been.
Christine blinked and stepped reluctantly out of the light to join them, though a red halo still lingered in front of her eyes. "No," she said, her voice tight. "Not any, really."
Raoul put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched, a nervous gesture. "Bad weather?" He asked.
"Look, I don't really want to talk about my time away, OK?" Christine said, speeding up her pace. "Please, let's not talk about it anymore."
Raoul jogged lightly to catch up with her and caught her arm, forcing her to stop. His handsome face was crinkled with worry, and she noticed that when he was upset he drew his brows together rather endearingly to form deep lines between them. "Listen, Christine, something is the matter, what is it?"
She glanced over at Meg, who stood a little way away from them, biting her lip and looking worried. Christine sighed and ran a hand through her hair, trying to stay calm and not blurt the truth out. 'Well, you see, I was actually kidnapped by a crazy in a mask and held hostage for the past four months, and incidentally he happens to control all of America, so there is no getting away, and frankly I'm just going a little out of my mind right now.' She shook her head and twirled a blonde strand around her finger, tugging lightly at her scalp as she formed her answer. "Honestly Raoul, nothing is the matter. I'm just tired, that's all." She looked at him but he didn't respond; he was staring at the hand she had twined in her hair and though she tried desperately to hide it, it was too late.
"What is this?" He asked, grabbing her wrist and lifting her hand to examine the small gold band around her fourth finger. "This looks like a…"
"Oh my God, Christine," Meg gasped as she edged closer to stare at the ring. "Who gave that to you?"
Christine yanked her hand away from Raoul and held it to her chest as if she had been burned. "No one gave it to me, it's not what you think. It's just an old ring of mine."
"But Christine…" Raoul started, but she shook her head furiously.
"Please, stop talking, stop asking! Just stop, ok, I don't want to talk about anything!" Her voice was rising in pitch and she was close to tears; she held her hand with the ring on it almost protectively, trying to hide the gold band and make it disappear.
"Ok, ok, we won't talk about it," Raoul's voice was soothing as he moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her. Christine had to fight to not break down completely and sob into his shoulder; instead she just smiled falsely and nodded.
"I swear I'm ok, really Raoul, please believe me," she pleaded. "I've just been so sick and I'm really tired."
"I believe you," he said soothingly. "We're just worried about you, that's all. You were gone for so long, and we never heard from you except in emails. It was difficult for me. I missed you, Christine. I really did."
"I missed you too," she whispered.
The three of them continued to walk to the park without saying much; Christine felt so distant and withdrawn that she didn't know what to say. She was afraid to open her mouth, afraid that anything she said would condemn her, reveal things she could not reveal. If anyone found out the truth she was afraid that everything would spiral out of control, that Erik would find out and come take her and lock her up and never, ever…
'Stop it,' she told herself. 'That's not going to happen. I'm free now, I'm here with my friends and everything is going to be alright.'
She tried so hard to believe it.
As they reached the park she thought of something, and whirled on Raoul, her face concerned. "Oh, Raoul, how is everything with the company? Have you been able to get another job?"
He sighed and sat down on the grass, leaning on his elbows to stare at the sky. "Well, nothing's happening with the company, as it's still not ours and never will be again. This guy took it, totally and completely. But at least the places I've been applying to have become more receptive; I have a steady temp job now and a permanent one should be opening up pretty soon. It's weird, well I mean this whole thing has been weird, but…"
He trailed off and shrugged lightly, as if to dismiss and seriousness, but Christine turned from her spot on the grass to stare at him. "What?"
"Well, it's just that for the longest time no one was even willing to speak with me. They all acted as if my family name had some kind of plague attached to it. But then…all of a sudden they were calling me, offering jobs, being open and helpful. It was like something changed and I just don't know what. I almost think that…but I'm being stupid."
Both girls were glaring at him, and Christine had a knot of unease in her stomach. "Seriously, Raoul, out with it," she said, frowning.
He shrugged again, his face serious. "It seems to me almost like someone was maybe smearing our name, or telling people not to hire me, or something. I know it sounds far fetched; I mean why would anyone care if I got a job or not? But for everyone who was shunning me to just open their doors again, as if they knew something I didn't, as if someone told them it was OK, seems too much of a coincidence, don't you think?"
"Do you think it was the same person who took away the company?" Said Meg, who seemed to have been filled in on the details of Raoul's life over the summer.
He laughed lightly. "I don't think so. He has the company, why on earth would he want me to be out of a job? No, I don't know who it is. I can't think of anyone who would have a reason to hurt me. But maybe I'm just being paranoid."
Christine, who was staring off into the distance, didn't answer.
The rest of the week went by quickly. Christine avoided her friends as much as possible as she settled back into her old life and routine; classes began and she threw herself into them, grateful for something to focus on. She called Auntie V in the nursing home and the nurses told her that V was happy and stable, and asked about her often. Feeling guilty, she called V several times a week to talk and to assure her that everything was going well in her life. She also called Jammes and tried to dodge the inevitable questions about the summer, though it did feel good to hear her friend's voice again.
Every day that passed without contact from Erik made her breathe a little easier, and on Friday, over a week since her return, she agreed to go to dinner with a group of friends at a local Mexican restaurant. She ended up sitting between Raoul and Meg at a small table with too many people at it, most of which she didn't know very well, and Raoul had that nervous look on his face again.
"Listen, Christine," he started off, leaning in to make himself heard over the din, his voice hesitant. "There's something that I've been meaning to talk to you about for a while, but, well, you've been so upset lately that I didn't want to bring it up."
Christine took a bite of her fajita and tried to look calm. "What's up?"
"I…" He took a deep breath. "I saw you over the summer. I know you say that you were in England but I saw you…on the fourth of July…and I know that you saw me too." Christine had gone pale, but he kept talking, his voice urgent. "You were with someone and when I called out to you, you ran from me. Ran through the woods to get away from me! I don't know why you would do that but I know it was you!"
"I…" Christine's throat was dry and she stalled for time by taking a long drink of water. When she finally set it down she found her voice and tried to sound bright. "I'm really sorry Raoul but whoever you saw wasn't me. I wasn't even in the country. You must have seen someone who really looked like me."
He shook his head adamantly. "No, it was you. I know it! Christine, something is wrong, you can't deny that. Why won't you tell me what is going on? I'm worried about you."
The room suddenly seemed stifling hot and hard to breathe. "Damnit Raoul, no, listen to me, you didn't see me over the summer, nothing is wrong, I'm just worn out, that's all. Why can't you just stop asking all of these questions?"
"I'll stop when you tell me the truth!" His handsome face was earnest, and that worried crease between his eyebrows was hidden by a lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes, making him look tousled and young. Unconsciously Christine reached out to brush it from his face and let her fingers linger on his cheek.
"I'm sorry, Raoul, I can't tell you…"
He leaned in, his face so close to hers. "Tell me what?"
She bit her lip, the need to blurt the truth out so strong she could feel the words pushing against her teeth. "Tell you…tell you that…."
Suddenly there was a shrill beeping sound, loud and jarring, and the moment broke. Christine straightened up in her chair and shook her head furiously to clear her mind. No, she couldn't say anything, even if she desperately wanted to; saying something would put him in danger, would put both of them in danger, and the last thing she wanted was for Raoul to be hurt because of her.
The beeping noise was still there, and it was beginning to give her a headache. "What is that?" Christine asked, looking around her for the source of the noise. "It's so loud."
"Uh, Christine?" Meg had turned from her conversation with a tall brunette girl to point at Christine's purse. "I think it's coming from you."
"What?" Christine said, staring at her bag in disbelief, but after a moment she realized that the jarring sound was definitely coming from it.
"What the hell?" She muttered to herself as she dug through the bag. "What could it possibly be…"
She froze as the screeching object came into view. It was the package, the small, thin one that Erik had given her before she left. She had shoved it in her purse out of habit, knowing that it must be something of use or he would not have told her to keep it with her.
Meg and Raoul were peering over her shoulder as she ripped the packaging off to reveal the small dark object that continued to beep blaringly.
It was a phone, and it was ringing.
