Deepest apologies for the wait on this chapter. It took a direction I wasn't used to taking, but I promise the next chapter will be out much more quickly, as I've had it planned out for a very long time. A huge thank you to my loyal readers and reviewers. You are the reason I am going to see this through to the end.

Please, don't forget to leave me your thoughts.

Nothing But A Lie

Chapter 17

He was having a difficult time that night, which—unfortunately—seemed to be a thing that happened quite often lately.

An overwhelming itch pestered him, sinking through his papery skin and setting his blood hot and thick. It was not enough that he was already a grotesque, unlovable being on the outside during all hours, but on top of all of that, he became worse when completely alone in the darkness, his darkest desires and urges craving to control his thoughts, direct his actions. Recent nights had reduced him to a truly repulsive, sick demon of a man, inside to match his out. But tonight was different, because this time, he had to scratch.

Erik preferred to keep his home at a relatively low temperature. He tended to focus better on his compositions when he was comfortable and cool, and he knew Sasha was grateful for the cold air that blew from the vents, especially after a long walk in the heat. He remembered how Nadir's eyes had gone wide when he learned that Erik would keep the thermostat set at no higher than seventy-two, but Erik did not care. He could certainly afford it.

Not even the icy air conditioning could cool him tonight, and he could not even seem to set his attention on his music. No, the hunger that possessed him was unforgiving and stifling, coating his ghostly skin in a thin sheen of sweat, making it unbearable to keep his mask on. He did not see the harm in relieving himself of it; it was midnight after all, and besides a sleeping Sasha outside of his locked office door, he was completely alone.

Alone...

Except for her, of course. She never left him.

There she was, pulled up on his desktop, wearing that little white dress, her lips painted crimson, the purity of her voice swirling around his head. It was dreadfully embarrassing how often he pulled up the video of her singing; he could not even begin to guess the number of times he'd watched it. God, he was such a creep. But she was always much too persuasive, her loveliness and voice calling to him like an irresistible siren, and who was he to refuse such sweetness?

He knew how disgusting he was to be doing this. He knew how awfully wrong it was to defile such purity. But he just could not seem to say no to the temptation, especially when he had never experienced desire quite to this capacity in his entire life, not even in adolescence. Her claim on him was something fierce and intense, something he could never have dreamed up before, something he could not fight.

His clammy hands trembled as they held himself, his breath heavy and panting like a dog's as he pretended a different pair of hands stroked, smaller and warmer than his own…

"Sweet Christine," he whispered, his eyes shutting as the scenario presented itself in his head, her angelic voice playing softly in the background making it all to easy to picture. Her hair down and flowing like a pale golden waterfall, her red lips upturned in that shy smile, the little white dress pooling at her knees where she kneeled before him, worshipping him with her perfect little hands as he craved to worship her…

Erik, he imagined her sighing his name, tightening her grip on him as he let out a soft groan. Strange how easy it was to imagine her touching him willingly, her wanting to touch him, when he knew that it would never be so.

He would pay for this later. The pain of knowing this would never be a reality would crush him greatly, and he would suffer. There was absolutely no doubt about that.

But for now, he brushed that aside, focusing instead on his impossible fantasy, knowing he was reaching the end of it as she quickened her strokes, eyes staring intensely up at him.

Her song was reaching its climax, and so was he. A bead of sweat trickled down his neck, his heart racing and his breath quickening even further, his stomach aching, flipping, as he got closer to the edge. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, seeing his sweet Christine coquettishly take her plump bottom lip between her teeth, her shining violet eyes blinking up at him as she stroked, and he knew he would burst any second.

When the angel's song reached its peak so did Erik, voice crying out and creating the strangest harmony with hers, shuddering violently as he spilled out into his hands. The song finished moments after, and then all that could be heard was deafening silence and his disgusting panting.

He immediately regretted everything

Though one ache had been satiated for the moment, tears welled in his eyes with the knowledge that the ache in his heart would always be there every torturous moment she was still not his.

As he quickly cleaned himself up, unable to face himself in the mirror, he wondered how on Earth he would be able to face the angel herself tomorrow.

The next morning on the way to campus, Sky broke the news about going to his parents' house that upcoming weekend, vanishing the good mood Christine had been in.

Strangely, she had slept quite soundly in Sky's arms after he had fulfilled her request the night before, and had woken feeling only mildly ashamed. It was hard to feel bad after experiencing something so good, something she herself had asked for instead of getting it stolen from her without a choice. And after, Sky had not further taken advantage of her like she had been afraid of, and for that she was even more thankful.

No, he had simply held her close, kissed her softly until she fell asleep, which of course did not take long at all. She had been cheerful and smiling as she got ready for school and ate breakfast that morning, feeling even better when Sky seemed to be fulfilling his other promise not to bring it up again. Of course, the smugness was ever present in his eyes and smile when he looked at her, but she was already somewhat used to that.

Her morning had seemed to be going great, and she was excited for the day, and even more excited for her voice lesson. But then…

"Oh!" Sky had exclaimed randomly once they were driving down the street, making Christine jump a little. "I completely forgot to tell you. We're going to my parents' house Saturday for Labor Day weekend. Make sure to be packed by Friday night."

Christine's face fell, but Sky was too focused on the busy streets to notice. Luckily, she was able to act somewhat okay with it, and to Sky she probably just seemed nervous, which of course she was. To have to act normal and civil around the people who created Sky sounded like a nightmare in itself. But at the same time, it would be interesting to get to observe the people and home that made Sky the way that he was. Perhaps that curiosity would be sated, at least.

Besides…maybe some miracle would happen, and they would be decent people who knew when something wasn't right. Maybe they'd sense her distress, rescue her…

But how would they know? She knew hoping was a wasted effort.

So why couldn't she seem to give it up completely?

Erik's stomach dropped when she walked in the door, that shy, sweet smile on her lips, and he could feel his face turn hot underneath his mask. Seeing her after what he had done the previous night—what he had imagined her doing with him—was just as difficult as he knew it would be. He absolutely despised himself. He was sick. Disgusting. He would burn in hell for eternity for even picturing her in such a way. He was not worthy of a mere glance from her precious eyes. He scowled, avoiding those violet depths now.

"Your music?" he demanded, holding his hand out expectantly.

Christine's smile fell at his abruptness, his lack of greeting, but she dutifully scrambled in her backpack for the song, handing it to him. He snatched the papers from her fingers and examined them briefly before setting them at the piano, and she swallowed. Had she done something to upset him? She couldn't think of an instance. Still, his manner set her on edge, especially after their friendly interaction in the hallway yesterday. She had hoped he would be in a similar mood today, and she was deeply disappointed to see that that was not the case.

Erik sat at the instrument, busying himself with testing out a few chords, his movements jerky and aggressive. "Is- is everything okay, Dr. Gabriel?" he heard Christine ask him softly after a moment of hesitation, and he could tell his manner had disturbed her.

He sighed deeply, shutting his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to relax a bit. "Erik," he reminded her, his tone gentler this time.

"Oh...right. Are you okay, Erik? Did I…do something to upset you?"

He sighed again, hating himself all the more for making her think so. "Of course not. I...apologize. It is nothing you need concern yourself over. Now, let's get to work. Remember, I need absolute focus. We only have four lessons to get this song to perfection. Let's begin, yes?"

She nodded after a moment, though only slightly appeased. Still, she obediently stood up straighter, and they began her warm up.

The week passed quickly, her lessons with Erik being the highlight. Despite him being more strict and less friendly than usual, Christine could tell she was getting a lot better already. It made her excited for her quarterly performance, and she hoped she could get Rey to film it for her again like he had last year. It was nice to be able to look forward to something in the midst of all the awfulness.

Christine wasn't sure how much longer Sky could go without crossing the line she refused to speak of, refused to think about whenever she could avoid it, but it was difficult not to after the week they'd had. Almost every night that week had begun the same and ended the same: she would finish her homework and dress for bed, and Sky would try to seem innocent as he pulled her close, played with her hair. Eventually his hands would wander to her arms, then her back, hips, thighs, and then his demanding lips would find hers with no room for protest.

She tried, of course, though not with words. The last thing she wanted was to earn a night in the basement. She would try to squirm away, avoid his insistent lips by turning her head, but that only made him angry, made his touch more aggressive. Just breathe, she had to remind herself, it will be over soon. Sky would seem to take the hint that she didn't want his attention, but that still didn't stop him from taking his pleasure from her, and in the weirdest way. She wanted to gag even thinking about it now; the way he would bury his face into her neck and lick and kiss and inhale, all the while thrusting his center into hers, both of them covered by their pajamas. She hated hearing his heavy breaths, hated the animalistic sounds that he made along with the disgusting pet names he always had to call her, hated how loud he would groan when he was finally done, and hated most of all the feel of that frightening hardness pushing against her, threatening her.

It was terrifying. She knew it could only keep him satisfied for so long before he invaded her body in a way they could never come back from.

She had to get out of there, and soon.

To make things worse, she started having intense menstrual pains during class on Friday, and she knew that meant her period would come by morning. Sky did sometimes give her cash to take to school with her for snacks or whatever else she might need, but that day she only had two dollars left. The university convenience stores were much too pricey to get what she needed with that, and so she would somehow have to ask Sky to get them for her. The thought of that…

She almost preferred the thought of death itself.

Christine pondered these things as she waited for Sky to pick her up, sitting at her usual spot on the bench. Her final class of the week got cancelled, so she had a while to sit and wait outside. Monsoon season seemed to not be over quite yet; the skies a threatening grey and the air smelling deliciously of the coming ran. The rare, cool breeze sent tendrils of her hair afloat, tickling her face. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes and trying to relax her haunted worries and enjoy that it wasn't a hundred and ten degrees for once.

She opened them when she felt the presence of another sit down next to her quietly.

Erik could not resist. She looked so insanely lovely sitting alone at the bench, and he had to take advantage of the opportunity. It would be a long weekend without seeing her, after all. She blinked up at him as he sat, eyes a startling shade of violet-blue under the grey skies, and they brightened in recognition at him. His stomach flipped.

"Oh, hi, Erik. Enjoying this weather as much as I am?" she asked with a smile.

He swallowed. "Indeed. I will miss the rain. Pity we only get it a few times a year."

"Heh. Yeah. Me too." He seemed much more relaxed now outside of lessons, and it made Christine easily maintain her smile. It was so weird how comfortable she felt around this strange man now—more than comfortable, actually, especially considering the inappropriate thoughts she still sometimes had about him—even as her eyes focused on the edges of his realistic mask. What could be hidden under there?

They sat in contented silence for a few moments, until Erik noticed her studying him. He shifted, clearing his throat quietly. "Any plans for the long weekend?" he asked, pointedly looking into her eyes in hopes she would break her scrutinizing gaze.

It worked. Her smile faded and she looked toward the parking lot again. "Um, yeah. I guess I'm supposed to meet my- my…boyfriend's parents."

She wondered if he noticed how the blood drained from her face, how her mouth tightened around the word boyfriend. Erik nodded once, looking as if he regretted asking. Still, he followed with another question, his tone taking on a bitterness she'd never quite heard from him before. "And how long have you been seeing this man? That sounds like quite the step."

He scoffed inwardly. As if he would know anything about relationships.

"About...a month now," she murmured, staring blankly ahead.

He blinked, speechless. A mere month? She wore—what he had to assume—was the man's ring, got dropped off and picked up every day by him like some child, was meeting his parents, and they had only been together one single month? He looked at her in shock, noticing how her arms had crossed tightly around her stomach, the way her face was slightly drawn, her eyes staring at nothing. She was clearly uncomfortable, and it was all his fault.

"Forgive me. It was not my business to inquire," he amended hastily, making to get up.

She shook her head. "No, it's...it's okay, Erik." She would have to be better at pretending everything was fine, Christine decided, mentally kicking herself. But she desperately did not want to talk about Sky anymore. An idea popped into her head, and she perked up again. "Hey, why don't we talk about you for once? Are you married, Erik?"

He barked out a humorless laugh. "No, child."

"Oh…well, do you have a girlfriend?"

The fact that she could even imagine the concept was baffling to him. He shook his head once. "I do not. Sad to say the only companion I have in my life is my dog."

Christine immediately brightened, turning toward him with a gasp. "You have a dog? Wow! What kind is she?"

"Sasha was a rescue," Erik stated, reaching for his wallet. He pulled out the photo of the golden mutt, handing it to Christine, his heart squeezing with her delighted coo, her wide smile. "Unsure of what he is exactly. Some sort of retriever mix, I'd guess."

"He's huge! Awe, he's beautiful, Erik," she gushed thickly, her throat getting tight as she handed the picture back, wishing she could keep it.

"He is," Erik agreed, voice filled with fond warmth, amber eyes glowing brightly into hers. His obvious love for the animal made Christine's stomach flutter, and she reached out to brush her fingertips against his hand, not quite sure why she did. His skin was cold.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, raindrops beginning to sprinkle onto the concrete ground, students and faculty beginning to move faster to evade the coming storm. Erik was vaguely aware of these things, of life and Earth and people existing around them, but for some reason felt as if his entire world had stopped the very moment she touched him. Nothing could describe the rush of emotion that came with the feel of her warm hand resting atop his. Even his intense fantasies were put to shame by the tiny gesture. It ceased his heartbeat and shortened his breath, and he almost could not even believe it at all.

But he looked down from the spell of her eyes and saw that it was real, that she had touched him and still was, and when he looked at her angelic face again she was still smiling. Not a trace of fright…

He could die right there and be absolutely fine with it.

Christine's lips parted, wanting to say something but unable to find the words. She felt the strangest tingling sensation where her fingers met his skin, and she wondered if he felt it too. What could it be? Static electricity?

But before she could ask, she heard the intentional throat clearing of someone as they passed by, and looked to see the man who still followed her every day walking towards the parking lot, his eyes looking pointedly ahead. She followed his gaze and stood quickly, realizing he was letting her know that Sky was pulling up. She was almost grateful toward the horrible man's tip, but dread overpowered any sense of that.

Erik stood with her, noticing the silver sedan pulling up to the curb, his thin lips curling in distaste. Of course he would be the one to ruin such an amazing moment. He wished he understood why such a perfect girl was with someone like that. And—perhaps it was wishful thinking on his part, but—he thought Christine seemed almost as disappointed as him that they'd been interrupted. That could not possibly be normal in a relationship, could it?

"Sorry, uh, I have to go," she said quickly, already taking a couple steps away. She only just realized that the rain was beginning to fall. "I'll see you Tuesday?"

He nodded once, slipping back into teacher mode, any trace of a smile gone. "Do not be late. Make sure to practice over the long weekend. I expect nothing but excellence for our final two lessons before the performance. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," she sighed sadly, already missing their moment before. "I'll do my best. Have a good weekend, Erik."

He nodded curtly once and then quickly walked away, and she swallowed the lump in her throat as she made her way to Sky's car, quickening her pace when the rain began to come down fast.