Heya guys I'm on a roll :D So here is chapter thirteen guys :D As you know I don't own any of the characters from Phantom...just Charlene :D Thank you to all my readers and reviewers your comments mean so much to me and keeps me writing :) Anyway on with the show :D
Heartache and Pain
Chapter thirteen: The beauty underneath...
Charlene's POV
It was morning and the day of my date with Erik but I had to wait until this evening once Erik finished work in order to see him so I had all day to keep myself entertained. But it hadn't even been five minutes since Erik left and I was already missing him. Was this what it was like to be in love? You have to spend every waking moment with the man you love otherwise it hurts inside. I had to think of a way to keep myself entertained otherwise I would go crazy with longing for him. Since I had picked out a dress I decided to pick out the rest of my outfit as well; this was so I had everything set out for Christine when she came round this afternoon. She said she would come round so she can help me get ready for my date this evening; this was because we had a reservation for six and so I didn't want to make him late or make myself late either. I soon had everything all set out and I realised how long I took as my stomach grumbled loudly; I thought for a moment and remembered I hadn't actually eaten anything for breakfast and it was now lunchtime. I went downstairs towards the kitchen to make myself a sandwich before I collapsed from lack of sugar. After making the sandwich I took my plate over to the sofa to watch some TV as I ate my lunch.
"Charlene! Are you there? It's me Christine!" I heard someone question from behind the door and I quickly paused the TV and ran to answer the door.
"Sorry I must have lost track of time. Come in I was just eating some lunch. Would you like anything to eat?" I questioned politely.
"No thanks, I've already eaten." Christine replied kindly. I nodded and went back to eating my sandwich.
"So how have you been?" Christine asked curiously.
"I've been ok although I am missing Erik a lot; I've tried to distract myself as best as I can though." I replied quietly. Christine nodded and she then questioned.
"What would you like to do now since we have a couple of hours or so to kill?" I looked at her for a moment then replied with.
"I am not sure really."
"Would you like to play a game or two of chess?" Christine asked. I nodded and smiled a little as I watched Christine bustle around to get the game out and set up. We then proceeded to play several games and after around about five or more games it was time to start getting ready for my date with Erik. I proceeded upstairs to have a shower whilst Christine got out her make-up bag from the car and set out the make-up needed to complete my outfit. After half an hour I came out with a towel wrapped around me and after drying myself off I got into the dress and waited for Christine to finish lacing me up into it.
"If you set yourself down in front of the mirror and close your eyes I'll do your hair and make-up for you." Christine explained gently. I sat myself down and closed my eyes.
I am not sure exactly how much time but I opened my eyes when I heard Christine call my name whilst shaking my shoulders a little. At first I just stared at the reflection in the mirror as I couldn't recognise the girl in front of me.
"Erik will be jealous of every man looking at you tonight and his jaw will drop to the floor." Christine explained kindly. I then heard a gentle knock at the door and I got up to answer it. I smiled when I saw Erik in front of me in a smart black suit with a red waistcoat underneath his suit jacket.
Erik's POV
I stood there stunned into silence as I saw what must be an angel approaching me with a smile on her face. I then recalled the words Nadir told me as I got ready tonight; "just show her a good time but most of all be yourself and trust your instincts."
"Charlene you look beautiful; like a fallen angel." I said kindly whilst taking her hand gently and kissing her knuckles. I laughed deeply as I saw her blush a little at my comment.
"Would this Mademoiselle like to be escorted to our vehicle?" I questioned in a gentlemanly manner.
"I would be honoured good sir." She replied happily and I held out my hand for her; I looked at her with a sense of trepidation and waiting for a response from her. I was worried for a moment she would reject my advances but I suppressed a sigh of relief when she went up to me and took my hand gently. I marvelled at how perfectly our hands fitted together and also at the fact my large hand enveloped her smaller one. I then gently led her out of the door towards the car. I momentarily let go of her hand to open the front passenger door for her. I looked towards her and took her hand to help her into the car; I then went around to the driver's seat so I could take her to the restaurant.
"So where are you taking me?" She asked with excitement lacing her tone.
"It's a surprise." I replied cryptically. I then suppressed a laugh when I saw her fold her arms and pout in response.
"Why do you always have to be so cryptic?" She questioned.
"I like to surprise you and that's what you love me for." I replied with a smile. I then saw the restaurant up ahead and pulled into a parking space nearby.
"We're here." I said matter of factly. I then quickly went to Charlene's side of the car and opened the door for her before promptly holding out my hand to help her out of her seat. After shutting the door and locking the car behind her I led her to the entrance of the restaurant.
"I have a booking under the name of Destler please." I explained to the woman at the door.
"Yes sir we have you here; table for two? Follow me please sir." The woman replied politely and with that she led us to our table.
"I can't believe you actually got a table here; this is like the most expensive restaurant in London! How did you manage to book a table here?" Charlene asked excitedly.
"I have my ways." I replied cryptically yet again. After helping her into her seat I ordered our drinks then perused over the menu. I had soon decided what I wanted to eat and looked over to see Charlene still trying to decide what she wanted to eat.
"Have you decided yet Charlene dear?" I questioned teasingly.
"Yep I finally have. I will have the Spaghetti Carbonara please." She replied and with that answer I called the waitress over to take our orders. Whilst waiting for our orders I decided to try and find out more about Charlene.
"How about we take part in 20-questions?" I asked.
"Ok, I'll ask the first question." Charlene replied.
"Ok what do you want to ask me?" I questioned curiously.
"First question; favourite movie." She asked.
"Hunchback of Notre Dame; yours?" I replied.
"The Phantom of the Opera; 2004 version." She replied; intriguing answer; so it appears she likes musical theatre. As we progressed through the questions I found out more and more interesting facts about her; I found out her favourite colour was red, her favourite flower is the rose, her favourite genre of music is musical theatre and she does creative writing and sewing as a hobby. I can see why she picked the dress she did as it was predominantly red in colour; I have to admit she did look very nice in red. The colour seemed to suit her complexion and hair colour very nicely. Just as the last questions were answered our food turned up and I realised that not a lot of time had passed and we did the 20 questions pretty quickly. Charlene's plate was put down first but I noticed she didn't eat any of her meal until my meal was placed in front of me. As we started eating I asked her.
"Why didn't you eat until my plate was placed in front of me dear?"
"It was a habit my parents kind of enforced on me as a child; we had to wait until everyone was seated at the table before we could eat." She replied; so she was well brought up as a child? I thought to myself. At least she had respect and morals unlike most of the young people of today who have no respect for anyone different to themselves. But could she have respect for people who are different because she herself is different to the rest of society? I thought to myself as I continued to eat the meal in front of me; in the process causing discomfort to myself due to the mask.
"Are you alright Erik? You don't have to eat with the mask on if it causes you discomfort. Your face doesn't scare me; it was your temper that scared me that day." Charlene questioned kindly whilst touching me gently on the hand which caused me to still for a moment. I felt a lump in my throat and realised I was feeling choked up after her heartfelt speech.
"No-one has ever been concerned about my well-being before; well apart from Nadir but no woman has ever shown concern for me before." I explained whilst trying to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. I then looked around and then proceeded to take off my mask; but instead of gasping or running away Charlene smiled when I took off my mask.
"Why are you not running away from me or screaming?" I asked curiously.
"Because I don't like seeing the mask; it hides your eyes from me and I can't tell what you're feeling. And even though I find it difficult to understand facial expressions and body language I still like seeing your whole face. To me you are beautiful; I have learnt to judge a person by their heart, not by the way they look. That is why you are beautiful to me because you saved me that night; you could have left me to die but you decided to save me that night. Why did you save me that night?" She replied passionately.
"When I saw you lying there bleeding that night I had to save you; something inside me was telling me to save you that night. I am glad I did otherwise I would never have met you; maybe it was fate or destiny that made us meet that night. Even if the circumstances were not exactly pleasant when we first met; but think about the good times we will have together." Erik explained matter of factly. I then saw her smile a little and I smiled back as I held her hands gently.
"Have you had enough to eat or do you still have room for dessert?" I questioned.
"Will you share one with me?" She questioned meekly.
"Sure which one would you like to get?" I asked. I then saw her peruse the menu for a moment before picking a chocolate sundae. After ordering our dessert I asked her.
"Have you had a good time so far?"
"Yes I've had a great time thank you. I would love to do this again some time." She replied happily whilst taking my hands gently.
"I am glad you've had a good time. This is the first time I've enjoyed spending time with anyone and I'd like to do it again sometime." I explained passionately. She smiled and then let go of my hands as our dessert was placed in front of us. But when she let go of my hands they felt cold and strangely enough alone; it was like I enjoyed the feeling of her hands around mine and felt almost sad when she let go of them. After we finished our dessert I asked the waiter for our bill.
"I'll just go and powder my nose whilst you pay the bill." Charlene explained and after I nodded in reply she went in the direction of the ladies' restroom. The waiter came with the bill on a small tray and I gave him cash to pay for the meal. I then waited for our change and when it came I then realised Charlene had been gone for quite a while. Maybe there was a long queue or something and I decided to wait for ten minutes or so before going to look for her. But before even a minute had passed I heard screams of panic and knew almost immediately something was wrong. I went to get out of my seat but was stopped by a voice commanding.
"Stay where you are or we'll shoot!" And when I turned around I saw the man who first raped Charlene holding her tightly around the chest with a gun poised at her heart. I looked on in shock and for a moment I didn't know what to do.
Charlene's POV
After I came out from the toilet the first thing I felt was being grabbed around the waist from behind and dragged out into the restaurant.
"Don't you dare scream or I'll shoot you." The voice commanded icily and I tensed instantly as I recognised the voice to belong to Joseph from that night. But what was he doing here right now? There had to be a reason why he was here; I mean it wasn't just an off-chance moment that he would find me let alone know I was here.
"Come on let's give your boyfriend a choice shall we?" He said icily with a menacing quality to it. He then forced me to walk out whilst still poising the gun towards my chest. For a moment I didn't register anything he said until Joseph forcefully jabbed me in the chest causing me to start sobbing rapidly.
"Please Erik make him let me go." I pleaded.
"So the monster has a name; tell me my dear have you seen what horrors lie under that mask?" Joseph questioned coldly. I didn't respond but instead continued to sob harder which caused me to start taking a deep intake of breath every so often.
"I asked you a question and I expect an answer my dear." He said coldly.
"And why is that any of your business?" I heard Erik question emotionlessly.
"I didn't ask you to get involved you masked freak!" Joseph yelled.
"Now I won't ask again, have you seen under his mask my dear?" He continued menacingly. All I could do was nod in assent.
"And was it a truly horrifying sight for a delicate little flower like you?" He asked.
"No it wasn't and I think you are pathetic to judge a man by his looks and even though I should feel sorry for you I can't bring myself to do so." I replied emotionlessly.
"You know what Erik; I might keep this little jewel for myself, I don't think my boss would miss her company at all." I looked across at Erik with tears in my eyes and could see him clenching and unclenching his fists almost like he was trying to refrain from killing Joseph. Suddenly I could hear sirens and I felt Joseph's grip loosen for a moment which allowed me to kick him in the shin; I heard him yell out in pain and I was able to escape out of his grasp. But as I proceeded to run towards Erik I heard a gunshot and I fell to the floor in pain; I was in such pain I couldn't really bring myself to scream from the shock of the experience. After about ten minutes or so I finally looked down to see blood pouring out of a wound in my ankle. Why did he just shoot me in the ankle rather than take me away? I then looked around but couldn't see Joseph in sight. I could faintly hear Erik calling out my name but I could see the darkness closing in and instead of staying awake I surrendered to the darkness; the last thing I heard before the darkness overtook was Erik yelling out my name in what sounded like to be in anguish...