Hey hey guys! :D Here rolls chapter eleven and things are starting to get interesting :) I won't reveal too much but hopefully you will like how things progress in this chapter :D As you know I don't own any of the characters from Phantom apart from characters of my own creation :) Thanks once again to all my reviewers and followers and on with the show :D
Heartache and Pain
Chapter eleven: Angel of music my protector...
Charlene's POV
There was nothing I could bring myself to say as I stared at three very familiar figures in front of me. I thought I would never see all three of them together after that night I suffered under their hands. I could see Erik sitting in the chair still but it looked like he was clenching and unclenching his hands; almost like he wanted to kill them or something. I then gripped the sheets tightly when I saw Joseph try to approach me. Suddenly I saw Erik get up and he stood in front of me in a protective stance. Why was he protecting me for?
"I see the masked freak is still here. Why are you protecting her? She is a disabled freak who is now ruined goods. There is no point protecting her now." I heard Joseph threaten coldly.
"Step away from her or I will call the police." Erik threatened coldly.
"Just hand her over and no-one will get hurt." Joseph threatened slyly. I looked between Erik and Joseph waiting to see who would crack first. I just hope Joseph would crack first because I certainly didn't want to find out what fate awaited me if Erik cracked under the pressure first.
"I will not hand her over to monsters like you. Why do you want her so badly anyway?" Erik replied coldly.
"We have plans for her. But we won't reveal them to a freak like you anyway; we can't have you interfering with our plans or our boss won't be very happy with us." Gerard explained coldly. I could see Joseph trying to stop him revealing anymore of the plan and so it made me wonder what they were hiding from me about their boss.
"Now I won't ask you again; hand her over and no-one gets hurt." Joseph said threateningly. Suddenly I thought I heard something almost like the sound of sirens and when I looked around I couldn't see Joseph or his henchmen in sight. How did they disappear so fast without Erik or I noticing?
"Charlene...are you ok?" Erik suddenly questioned.
"I admit I've never felt safer until I met you Erik. And I can't believe I have been hiding these feelings for so long but I think I'm in love with you. I just hope you can forgive me for taking off your mask." I replied sheepishly.
"If anyone should be forgiven it's me; if I didn't scare you off with my temper you wouldn't have been in hospital and you wouldn't have to face them men again. I'm sorry I put you through such an awful ordeal; I just hope you can forgive me. I forgave you for taking off my mask after Nadir gave me a stern talking to; I guess you could say he was acting like a father figure to me." Erik replied passionately.
"I understand why you reacted the way you did and I forgive you to that." I explained passionately.
"I'll be right back. I'll try to find the nurse to see if you can get discharged." Erik explained suddenly. But instead of letting him leave I grabbed his wrist firmly and pleaded.
"Please don't leave me Erik! What happens if they come back?!"
"I'll just poke my head out of the door; I'll be there the whole time. I'll never leave you again; I can promise you that." Erik replied passionately. I then saw him open the door and look up and down the corridor for a moment. He then must have called someone over as a moment later a nurse came into the room with a clipboard and a small pile of clothes in her hand.
"You are free to go Miss Rose. I'll just get your erm...friend over here to sign the documentation and then you may go." She explained matter of factly. I saw Erik sign the form with a flourish then the nurse gave me my clothes and left out of the room.
"I'll just go and change." I explained quickly and I immediately went behind the screen to change.
"I'll be here if you need me. Just shout if anything's wrong." Erik explained reassuringly. A few minutes later I was dressed and so I followed Erik out of the door towards the exit.
When we got home I went straight up to my room without saying a word to anyone as I was tired from today's events. But I didn't get the peaceful, dreamless sleep like I hoped I would.
I was walking through a park with Erik and I seemed happy. I then realised it was something from our future as I noticed I had a beautiful wedding ring on my finger that consisted of rubies and emerald that formed the shape of a rose. I then heard a little voice that sounded almost musical but they called me 'Mama'. I could see in sight a little girl of about four or five years old with long brown hair and the sweetest button nose; but instead of having my brown eyes they had Erik's gorgeous blue eyes and voice as well. But before my daughter could come towards me she screamed as three men approached her. They grinned evilly as she tried to run from them but tripped in the process. I tried as hard as I could to save her but I could see them taking her away from me; when I tried though to reach her I couldn't seem to get to her and she disappeared out of my reach.
"Christina!" I yelled. I looked around to see no-one in sight. Why did I shout out that name? I mean that was my mother's name before she died but I knew I was calling after the child; but why would I be calling after a child I haven't had let alone named yet?
"Charlene! Are you alright?! Are you in some kind of danger? We heard you shout out!" Nadir and Erik questioned simultaneously.
"Where is she?" I questioned quietly; to be honest I don't know why I asked that question but I guess I was still shaken from the nightmare.
"Where is who Charlene?" Nadir questioned slowly.
"Where is Christina, my daughter?" I replied quietly.
"Charlene, you don't have a daughter." Erik explained matter of factly.
"But it felt so real. It was like I actually had a daughter." I replied quietly.
"It's ok Charlene; I'll always be here for you no matter what. I'll stay here with you whilst Nadir gets you some breakfast." Erik explained. I nodded then decided to get ready for the day.
"I'm going to get dressed. I'll be right back." I explained. After grabbing my favourite t-shirt, cardigan and pair of jeans I went to the bathroom to get washed and changed. Five minutes later I came out all washed and dressed ready for the day. But when I got out I couldn't see Erik in sight. Where did he go?
"Erik!" I called out. I didn't hear a response so decided to try and look for him around the flat. It didn't take long for me to find him as I could see him running around the flat picking up items as he went.
"Erik what's got you in a hurry?" I questioned curiously.
"Sorry but something urgent has cropped up and they need me at the office. But I'll try to be back as soon as possible." Erik replied quickly as he continued to pick up a few items from around the room.
"You mean you're leaving me all alone after the promise you made to me. Did my confession mean nothing to you?" I replied quietly. I then saw Erik stop running around for a moment and he came towards me with what looked like to be single minded determination. He then gently placed his hands on either side of my face and explained passionately.
"I am not abandoning you but I need to do this otherwise I'd lose my job and I could potentially lose you too. I don't want to leave you on your own so I've asked Christine to come round to keep an eye on you. I'll keep my phone with me and I'll leave my number by the phone so if you need me you can call me directly. I'll be back soon." And with that he kissed me on the cheek and left out of the door. I just stood in the sitting room in shock as I could still feel my skin tingling from that kiss. I then knew I was right about something all along; I love him and I can't let him go...