My apologies for the wait, once again. School is starting up again which means I will be very busy, but do not worry. I promise I have no intentions whatsoever to abandon this fic, especially not with all the wonderful support from my readers, and most of all, my reviewers! You all are what keep me going. Thank you.

Please continue to read and review.

Nothing But A Lie

Chapter 14

There were tears in her eyes as she finished, overwhelmed with the indescribable feelings that the music brought. Dr. Gabriel seemed a bit overwhelmed himself, silent as her final notes echoed in the air, his fingers trembling as they hovered over the keys of the piano, his breath heavy and his eyes staring at her with an intensity that burned. Her cheeks heated, and she could have sworn she felt a profound moment pass between them in the silence, the faint buzzing of the small room's fluorescent lights the only sound for a while.

They understood each other. They both knew of the power that music held, both craved it, experienced it differently than others, knew the depths of its demanding pull, always willing to succumb to its all-encompassing embrace. She'd never really been able to put the feelings into words, but she felt like she did not have to. Not when everything was explained by the look in her teacher's eyes alone.

Dr. Gabriel released a shuddering exhale, breaking his gaze from hers as he smoothed back his thin, black hair. She blushed brighter now that the moment had passed, internally chiding herself, embarrassed. Nothing had really passed between them, had it?

No, it had to be all in her head...

"Good work, Miss Daae," his velvet voice eventually broke the thick silence, and she shivered as its warmth caressed her. "I am pleased with your progress already."

Her heart fluttered, a beaming smile stretching across her face. "Oh, thank you," she breathed. It's because I have an excellent teacher, she almost added reverently, but thankfully stopped herself in time. There was no telling how Sky would react to that…and no doubt her teacher would find it strange.

He rose from the bench and returned her sheet music, his heart swelling in torturous agony at her smile. Though reluctant to break his eyes from the sight, he checked his watch, finding that they had gone over their scheduled lesson time by five minutes. The girl did not seem eager to leave, very slowly gathering her things and looking up at him as if expecting—perhaps even hoping, but ah, that was likely wishful thinking on his part—him to say something more.

He cleared his throat quietly. "Have you thought at all about what song you will choose for your quarter performance?"

Her smiled turned sheepish as she shook her head. "Oh, uh, not really…yet."

"Then that will be your assignment for the weekend," he said, slipping back into his usual demanding self. "We only have a few weeks, and I want you ready to begin working on it by Tuesday. That is, unless, you want me to choose a song for you. I have absolutely no problem with that." He stared down at her, waiting.

She swallowed, her smile falling at his abruptness. "Uh, I'll…I can choose one. Thank you, though."

Erik nodded once, could tell that he had offended her again with his poor manners, and his fists clenched at his sides. He hated himself for it, and in turn hated himself even more for even hating himself for offending some insignificant girl in the first place!

Oh, but she was far from insignificant.

The girl had turned his whole world upside down in the span of a mere week, and he ached to think of how much longer he would suffer from the infliction she'd bestowed upon him. How he already yearned for her to smile again, his fingertips twitching with the memory of just barely brushing against her...

A wicked thought crossed his mind. He'd never used the hypnotic quality of his voice to its full potential with the girl, and he wondered if she would respond positively like others have in the past…it would not be so terrible to simply try, would it?

She was about to turn and leave, feeling awkward by his silence, but was stopped by the most beautiful of sounds. "Enjoy your weekend, Christine," the voice swirled around her head, its seductive warmth the single most entrancing sound she had ever heard, causing a fluttering sigh to trail through her lips. She could hardly believe it came from the tall, skeletal man before her, the only warmth about him being his fiery eyes, and she wondered briefly if she'd imagined such a lovely voice. But then, it spoke again, the words sounding low and delicious in her ears. "I look forward to shaping your already exquisite instrument to be nothing less that perfection. The world will fall to its knees by the time I am finished teaching you, my dear."

She was smiling again now; a dreamlike sort, of course, but he would take it. And then, unconsciously, she took a step toward him, causing him to swallow hard.

Ah, it was not right to use his voice this way, he knew. Yes, he was a selfish creature, one who was completely at the mercy of this tiny blonde woman, and was undeniably pleased to know he could hold power over her as well…

But it was not right. The angel deserved much better than a wicked monster.

He cleared his throat, the sudden rough sound causing her to flinch out of her entranced state. "I will see you Tuesday, Christine," he hinted softly, and she nodded after a moment.

"Um- yeah… H-have a good weekend, Dr. Gabriel," she stuttered breathlessly as she picked up her things with trembling hands, reluctantly turning to leave.

"Erik."

She turned back to him. "I'm sorry?"

"You may call me Erik, Christine."

Erik… She smiled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture. "Oh, okay, sure. Thank you…Erik. Bye."

Oh, his name on her perfect lips! He could not decide whether it was the sweetest gift or the cruelest torture, and he could only stare as she turned to leave him, as she took what was left of his pathetic heart with her. He knew he would not feel truly alive until he was in her presence once more.

There was no doubt in his mind that it would be one long, excruciating weekend.

She had no idea what possessed her to do it.

One second, she was walking toward that dreaded silver sedan that waited for her, and the next…she was running.

The sick feeling had immediately resurfaced when she'd walked out of the practice room, and it had only intensified as she made her way toward the curb where Sky's car waited. She had been pondering the strange feeling of leaving her lesson, almost like she were coming back to reality, as if being in her voice lesson with Erik was some alternate life where she was safe and respected and unafraid. She had not wanted it to end…

And when Sky had looked up, spotted her from where he sat in the car, their eyes meeting to where she could see the angry look they possessed, she'd decided she would rather be killed on the spot than return home with him.

That is when she began to run, not pausing to think about how idiotic it was to try in the first place. She was not a fast runner by any means, nor in any way coordinated or athletic, but she sprinted as fast as she could down the sidewalk, ignoring the strange looks she received from what little students she passed. Maybe it would concern one of them enough to call the police…or maybe it just looked like she was running late for something.

She desperately wanted to look behind her, to see if Sky had jumped out of his car to chase after her, but she was afraid, and knew if she didn't focus on running and running alone then she would probably trip and fall flat on her face on the concrete. That wouldn't be helpful.

An empty alleyway to the left caught her eye, and she sprinted toward it, nearly crying out in relief when she realized it was a shortcut to the campus police building!

This was it!

If she could just keep going despite the protesting ache already in her lungs, she could be free of all of it! Fierce hope drove her onward, and it intensified as she almost made it down the alley with no sign of being caught.

But, as usual, Christine's hope was short lived.

The tip of her sandal caught on a crack in the sidewalk, and she sprawled forward, her body painfully slamming against the hard ground, the sharp concrete scraping nearly every inch of her legs and hands, which she'd instinctively used to break her fall. She cried out in pain, frantically trying to ignore her protesting body and lack of breath to get up and run again.

Of course, it was too late.

The moment she stood again, two arms from behind her held her tightly, and her terrified scream only lasted a fraction of a second before one hand clamped her mouth and nose to where she could make no noise, couldn't even breathe. She struggled, panicking at her lack of breath, and then she heard a deep, unfamiliar voice growl, "If you promise not to scream, I'll let you breathe. Do you promise?"

She immediately nodded, gasping in relief when he finally complied.

The man fumbled into his pocket for his phone, using one hand to dial while keeping his other arm firmly around the breathless girl.

"I've got her," she heard him say into his phone; finally realizing him to be the man Sky was paying to follow her. A roll of nausea churned her belly, and she took deep breaths, trying not to get sick. The man continued, "Yes, in the alley. No, no one saw me run. She's so slow I barely even had to. Yeah. Hurry." The phone went back into his pocket, and she began to cry.

"This is sick," she cried. "How could you even…? Let go of me!"

"Shh!" the man hissed, holding tighter as she struggled, and she only cried harder as she realized how useless her attempts were.

Of course, she had failed. How stupid could she get? She had known from the start that trying to escape was futile, and of course the one time she finally tried left her battered and cripplingly scared for what was to come when Sky got a hold of her. She wouldn't be able to charm her way out of this one; for that she was sure.

Sky turned the corner, spotting the two of them in the middle of the alley, jogged to wear they stood. Christine was a mess, crying, covered in scrapes and her clothes and face dirty, her knees and hands bloody. The rage that had been boiling to the surface as he had made his way to her evaporated slightly when he saw she was hurt, and he leveled his steely gaze to the man who held her, flaring with unnecessary jealousy.

The man had some sense and released her as soon as Sky was close enough.

"What the fuck happened?" Sky growled, his touch controlled and gentle, however, as he picked up one of Christine's scraped hands.

"She fell," the man shrugged.

"Is that true, baby?" Sky asked her calmly, examining the worst of her injuries, her bloody knees.

She nodded, the smell of blood and the stinging pain of her wounds making her stomach twist. "M-my shoe caught on the s-sidewalk," she sniffled, hoping her pathetic state would somehow make Sky feel sorry for her, and maybe even show her mercy.

Sky sighed, annoyed with Christine for running in the first place and even more so for getting herself hurt. He shushed her, wiping the tears from her face. "Don't bother showing up tomorrow, Pearson," he muttered to the man, who seemed to be waiting for the okay to leave. "She definitely won't be here." Christine flinched at that, whimpering quietly, and he put his arm around her. "Let's get you home, baby. You and I need to have a very important talk."

She cried quietly the whole ride home, and he surprisingly stayed silent, letting her. Quivering with fear and grief, Christine snuck glances up at him every so often as he drove. He didn't seem extremely angry, at least, but she could tell that he was deep in thought about what he would do, and that was terrifying enough as it was. Plus, she couldn't remember a time when he was so quiet, always either offering some passive-aggressive comment or threat about her behavior, or even just being creepily mushy.

This could not be good.

He'd already made it clear that he wouldn't let her go to school tomorrow…what else would her punishment entail?

When they returned to Sky's apartment, he opened the door wordlessly, leading her inside with a gentle hand. He set her things down for her and led her to the bathroom, effortlessly lifting her to sit on the counter. He could see her fear, could sense her caution, and it made him scoff inwardly. She could really be so childish sometimes. Of course she should be waiting for her punishment. What should she expect, after misbehaving so drastically? "You have no one but yourself to blame, you know," he murmured, rifling in the medicine cabinet for peroxide, cotton pads, and Band-Aids.

She sniffled hard, a fresh wave of tears welling up in her eyes. "I know."

He saturated a cotton pad with peroxide before pressing it to the bloody scrapes on her right knee, and she shrieked a bit at the sting. "Yes, that hurts, doesn't it?" he crooned. "Poor little Christine. Never able to accept the consequences for her actions."

Christine shook her head, her eyes going wide at his strange teasing.

"Care to explain what exactly you were thinking, sweetheart?" he growled through clenched teeth, pressing harder to her wound.

She flinched, gasping through her tears. "S-sky I-I'm sorry- I just…I saw that you looked mad and I…I freaked out. I don't know w-what I was thinking!"

His brows furrowed. "Well, of course I was mad! You were ten minutes late, Christine. Spent all that time flirting with your creepy voice teacher, too. What the hell was I supposed to think?"

"Flirting?" she squeaked. "Sky, no! I would never…"

"I don't want to hear it, Christine!" he shouted in her face, and she flinched backward, whimpering. "You're way sweeter to him than you ever are to me! Why is that, baby? I'm nothing but good to you!"

"I'm sorry," she choked, barely able to speak around her breathless sobs. "I didn't mean to…I'll be better, Sky, I promise. It's just…all so hard for me. This is all so new and scary and…I'm trying. I swear I am." She wept into her scraped hands, not even caring that the salt of her tears made them sting even worse. She wanted nothing more than to die in that moment; thought she might actually be paralyzed by her fear.

Waiting to see what Sky's motive of punishment would be was always pure torture, and that was no different now. Actually, it seemed much, much worse this time.

Sky's anger dissipated once again as she crumpled before him, and a lump even formed in his throat when her words made him realize why she'd done it...

He was rushing her again, being too intense and impatient, and it was only making her more scared and uncomfortable. He was being a shitty boyfriend, and he really shouldn't be surprised that she was lashing out. Hell, just that morning he had threatened her when she was already obviously distressed by the events of last night. Fuck, I'm a jackass.

He would need to do better himself, would need to be more patient, gentler with her, work on putting her mind at ease more so that she would have no reason to try and escape him…

But he still had to punish her…of course he did. She'd broken his number one rule!

Sky let loose a long, heavy breath, setting to finish cleaning and bandaging her scrapes. "Hush, Christine," he tried to sooth, his voice gentle. "It's okay. We'll be okay. I promise. We both need to be better. I see that now."

Christine eventually lifted her messy face from her hands, wanting to ask what on Earth he meant but not wanting to make him mad again. It was always so scary when he shouted at her… So she simply nodded, whispering, "I'm sorry," a few more times as he tended to her wounds.

Once her scrapes were all taken care of, he dampened a washcloth with warm water and cleaned her face, wiping away all traces of tears and dirt. She wasn't crying anymore, but still watched him with cautious eyes, knowing she was still afraid to be punished. And it was then that he realized what he would do.

They both obviously needed time alone to think about their actions, and how they could both be better in their relationship.

The basement was their best option.

"You broke my number one rule, Christine," he eventually stated, throwing away the dirty cotton pads and putting away the rest of the supplies. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "I'm so sorry."

"Well…I know why you did it. And I'm sorry too. Like I said, we both need to be better. And I promise I'll try. Will you do the same for me?"

She nodded fast. "Yes, Sky, I swear I will."

"Good girl," he smiled softly at her, but it fell when he remembered he had to break the news on her punishment. "I think in order for us to become better, we need some time to think about our actions. Alone. Don't you agree?"

Her heart dropped, thinking she knew what he was suggesting. Still, she nodded, mouthing, "Yes."

"So…why not kill two birds with one stone? Your punishment is the basement for the evening, where you can think about what you've done and how you can do better. But don't worry, baby, I'll be up here doing the exact same thing. I promise."

She closed her eyes in resignation, nodding solemnly. She tried not to cry again, but a few tears still managed to escape her as he walked her down to the dark, cold basement. The chains were heavy and icy as he secured them to her wrists, and she broke into more sobs, knowing what she would be going through once he would shut off the one, dim light in the room and leave her alone.

Sky sighed again, hating to see her in such a broken state but knowing it had to be done. He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the top of her head, whispered an, "I love you," and strode back upstairs, flicking off the light as he went, trying not to be swayed by the guilt that threatened to break his resolve.