Chapter 18: Arguments

The last thing that I remembered was being stabbed in the gut by Raoul, as if having my heart torn out, chewed one, and spat out wasn't enough. I know he didn't mean to stab me in all realness it was my fault., What kind of a nit wit runs out in front of a sword? Apparently I do, I couldn't just stand by and let Raoul kill Erik. Despite everything I still loved Erik, I just wish he felt that same about me. I opened my eyes half expecting myself to wake up to the welcoming sight of a coffin top; but instead I awoke in a stark white room. It reeked of antiseptic, in that moment I nearly felt sick to my stomach. Lately strong scents or other various things made me uncontrollably nauseous.

I sat up slightly in my bed and looked around. All seemed normal until I turned my attention to the farthest right corner of the room. There sitting in all his glory was the phantom himself. His arms were folded across his chest and his head was slightly bowed, I'd concluded that he was asleep. Why was he still here? He made it very clear to me that he had absolutely no intent to show interest in me. Slowly I got out of bed and made my way over to him; I had to approach this the right way I didn't want him to spring at me. He looked so peaceful as he slept, his steady breaths and closed eyes showed just how relaxed he was.

"Erik?" I whispered his name and softly shook him from his slumber. He mumbled a few times and yawned.

"Claudine?" Once his eyes had opened his back went erect almost immediately as he grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Hello Erik." I smiled sheepishly, I was self-conscious at the fact that I was only wearing a night gown. Though that seemed silly, he's seen me without the gown.

"What are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't be out of bed you're injured and…" He hesitated with the last part of the sentence.

"And?" I watched as he looked down at the floor and then right back up at me.

"Have you been feeling ill lately?" I smiled and chuckled nervously.

"I don't see what that has to do with anything, that's such a random question."

"Just answer my question Claudine, have you felt ill lately?" His eyes snapped to mine and he held me in his icy stare.

"Y-yes I have, but only when I smell strong fragrances and sometimes early in the morning." Erik nodded his head and lowered his stare.

"Erik? What's the matter? You're starting to scare me." He looked back up at me then back down.

"Claude, the reason you've been feeling ill is because… well… uh… do you remember the night before the masquerade?" I thought back to that night and nodded.

"Well, due to the events that took place that night it seems that an unsatisfactory consequence has happened." He stood up and held his hands behind his back.

"Oh please don't tell me my Aunt found out, she'll murder the both of us!" Erik turned towards me and sighed,

"No Claude… I mean that you're pregnant… with my child." Those words struck me like lightning. Pregnant?

"Haha very funny Erik." I tried to laugh it off, this had to be one his sick jokes that he liked to play on me.

"I'm not kidding Claude; we need to find a solution to this problem before it gets out of hand." He paced back and forth.

"Problem?" I gripped the blanket that was covering me tightly.

"Yes Claude, this is a problem. This child should not even exist, and even if it did it should have been Christine's child." His eyes were on mine now. I could feel the tears stinging my eyes, but instead of feeling heartbroken, I felt rage.

"How dare you." Erik looked away from me. "I'm sorry if I've inconvenienced you, but you weren't concerned with the consequences that night. In fact, you rather enjoyed it. My child is not a problem, in fact now they've become a source of happiness for me. Because now I have someone who'll love me unconditionally. Which more than I can say for you."

"You're getting rid of it, I have a tea that will destroy the fetus." Erik's jaw was tense.

"I'm not killing my child." I stood from my bed.

"Claude quit being stubborn and think rationally for once in your life." Erik walked up to me and held my shoulders. "Think about the risks, what this can do to your reputation and your health." His eyes were pleading now, the amount of emotions this man filtered through himself baffled me.

"Don't touch me!" I threw his arms of me and back away from him.

"Claude…" He tried to walk closer to me again and then stopped.

"You don't get to act like you care about me. Don't act like you give one damn about my reputation. I know that you prefer Christine to me. I know that this child is a problem for you. But like it or not Erik, I'm keeping this baby. Like it or not this child has your blood running through its veins." I was shaking at this point, everything that I said to him made my blood boil.

"Fine then, if that's what you wish then keep it. But don't expect me to father it, I will not acknowledge that thing as my own spawn." With those words being said he turned on his heel and headed for the doorway.

"Good luck Claudine." Once he left I let my tears flow freely. With or without him I was going to get through this.

A Few Weeks later

Erik's P.O.V

It's been weeks since I've told Claude about her pregnancy, I hadn't wanted to say those things that I did but I couldn't let her get her hopes up. The doctor had expressed to me that she could have a miscarriage at any time. That or she was at risk to give birth to a still born. The very idea of her going through that pain was too much for me to bear. It made my heart wrench.

"So I see you're nursing your sorrows." A small voice rang out in the darkness of my home.

"What do you want Antoinette? Here to reprimand me?" I held my cup of whisky tighter.

"Yes I am actually. How could you say those things to her Erik?" She walked closer behind me.

"I have my reasons now leave me be." I downed the last of my whiskey and looked into the empty glass.

"What reason could possibly be a good enough reason for you to say she was a mistake. That your child was a mistake!" Antoinette hardly rose her voice, but given the circumstances I understand why she's upset.

"Because she can lose the baby any day now." I got up and refilled my drink.

"What?" Antoinette's voice was now breathless and shocked.

"When she jumped in front of me, to save me she took on a lot of trauma. Which in turn put a lot of stress on the baby, and since it's so early in the pregnancy it's likely she can lose it, even later on there can be complications." Once again I tightened my grip on the glass. "I didn't want her to get her hopes up… and she can't be with me. A life down here isn't a life she or my child deserves to live. I can't do that to her." I looked down at the contents of my desk and sighed.

"Then why is this life good enough for Christine?"

"Christine could continue to sing here at the opera, but Claude can't continue to play while pregnant it's too much strain for her." Antoinette placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Erik…why is it that you care so much for Claudine but you push her away so often?" I looked up at her and sighed.

"Because she deserves better than a monster like me. I don't know how to be a husband to her let alone a father to our child. With Christine at least she'll have her singing to distract her from my flaws." Antoinette pursed her lips and looked down at me.

"You don't know Claudine that well then, since the day you two have met she's been trying to break down your walls. She's been looking past your flaws; in fact, it was working given the situation you two are in now. If what you're saying is true about her possible miscarriage, then you need to be there for her now more than anything." She squeezed my shoulder slightly. "Or at the very least keep an eye on her." She then stepped back and began to walk away.

"The decision is yours, and you should only approach her when you're ready." With that Madame Giry left me to ponder. Why was I persuading myself that I had no feelings for Claude? It was obvious that I was falling for her, maybe my warped reality of Christine was blurring my vision. I had to decide what I wanted… and fast.

Hello my loves! So this chapter got a bit dark and I apologize, but I promise there will be a bit of fluff in the next one! The next chapter is going to skip ahead by a few months, and there will be a few surprises as well! In regards to the timeline and plot of the movie I may go a bit AWOL. Why? Because it's fun and its good to get the creative juices flowing. Anyways I want to thank you all for sticking by my side through the entirety of this story. Your views and your reviews are much appreciated! Speaking of which I'm going to have a poll on my page where you (the lovely readers of my story) will have a say of what happens next in the story. Now because of this it may take a bit of time to get the next chapter out because I need to allow some time for you guys to vote and what not. However, if there's little to non of participation then I will decide the fate of our characters and you can't complain :P. Anyways I hope you guys have a safe and blessed day and for all of my American readers I hope you have fun holiday next week!

-Kara