Categories > Books > Phantom of the Opera > Angel in my eyes
Two sets of eyes unseen by the pair watched over the entire scene that played before them, the gentleman took a swig from his glass of brandy. As the pair below in the courtyard parted ways he signed, "This isn't good," he pointed to Christine; then to Erik.
"Nicholas, it is none of our business," Annette answered him just sighing as she watched the retreating form of her friend.
Nick scoffed at her and pointed in Erik's direction, "He is my business, and he pays me to make sure HE is my business!" Nick just took a long drink from his glass and took a few steps away. "Not to mention he's still ENGAGED! Or have you forgotten?" His snide remarks were a little harsh but he knew this business and the horrible things they could do to a person just for the money shot or the perfect story.
Annette shook her head and finally tore herself away from the window, "No he's not, Erik broke it off...they couldn't make it work after well after the accident." She rubbed her temples as the slight pulsing that had begun. "I bumped into Elizabeth at the party; she was with her 'friend' Mike."
"What!" Nick spun around quickly looking at her to make sure he had heard her correctly. At Annette's nod his temper flared, "That's just great; I'm just fricking ecstatic to hear that fact. So wonderful to keep me in the loop considering...lets see I take care of all his business needs from producing his music to helping coordinate his tour, hell I even help...oh never mind." He lifted his glass and finished off the entire glass.
"Nicholas! We do not need to know anything about his personal life, we need to know about his business life; don't you think he's hurting beyond what you or I could ever understand?" She felt a twinge in her heart for Erik and all he'd gone through. "Isn't it bad enough what he's gone through in these past few months; first the accident, then Elizabeth not to mention you parading him about at his party like a little puppet. Christine could be just what he needs to become our Erik again." Annette feared for all the time Erik spent alone, going from one extreme to the other with his personal and public life could cause irreparable damage to him; he might never be the Erik of old.
"Christine! Ha," he laughed sarcastically as he continued to pace around the room. "Oh please, she is his rebound. You don't fall that hard for someone that quick he just met her. She's the only female besides you that even notice him since the accident and she's a love sick school girl fascinated with the man she grew up listening to she's kind of like a groupie. Erik doesn't need this right now, not with tour practice starting and his first tour a little over a month away." Whether it was due to the brandy or his temper he suddenly felt constricted in his tie and moved to loosen the burden.
Annette started to defend Erik but was at a loss for words; she didn't know what was happening or exactly what her place was in all this anymore. "Please keep your voice down; you know he moves around this mansion like a ghost. If he were to hear you I'd not wish to be present to deal with his anger."
"To hell with it, I'm going to his room to have a talk to him man to man." Nick turned on his heel and strode purposely away from Annette in the direction of Erik's wing to have a serious conversation with him. With Erik's tour starting he definitely needed nothing but positive press right now, he couldn't afford negative press.
"Nick no..." Annette reached out to stop him but gave up; men were really just like children. She just couldn't believe that life had become such a horrid mess in such a short time. Throwing her hands up in defeat she started to make her way back to her room, it was going to be a long couple of weeks once practice started tomorrow and she needed as much rest as possible.
Erik made his way inside his room, it took all his strength not to turn around and glance back at Christine as he walked away. He had to admit that he had enjoyed the entire time with Christine and the kiss had been unplanned but definitely not unpleasant to say the least. 'You kissed me back' was the only thing that kept repeating in his mind, whether it had been his doing or mutual he definitely enjoyed it. He made his way across his room to his dresser with a large smile on his face; he was starting to prepare for bed when a photo caught his eyes on the dressers mirror. It was a photo of Elizabeth he'd saved stuck into the corner of his mirror; her eyes seemed to stab into his heart like she somehow knew what he had done.
It threw his mind back to the day he'd made her leave; when those eyes practically said everything he never wanted to hear. He touched the picture softly then moved his hands to his mask; the rest of the evening seemed to fade away and he was stuck in his self created hell once more. Erik closed his eyes tightly and removed the mask; a gesture he'd only done once since the accident. He kept his eyes closed tightly as his hand started crushing the mask; his heart started to pound in his ears as he took a deep breath and opened his eyes looking directly into the mirror. Slowly his hand came up to touch the disfigured side of his face, there wasn't enough words to explain the emotion that coursed through him like a virus. Erik's nostrils flared and his rage over came him causing him to slam the mask into his mirror and when the mask crushed he continued with his fist. Pieces of glass and his mask started to fly as the mirror crashed to the top of the dresser along with the picture of Elizabeth that had slowly fell to the dresser and was now covered in shards of glass and drops of blood.
Nick had finally made his way up to Erik's door and was going to wait to build up the courage he'd lost on his trek across the house but the sound of glass breaking caused him to rush inside. He quickly looked around and found the reason for the shattering noise, "What the hell are you doing!" He raced to Erik and grabbed his arm to stop him from destroying his hand. "Erik! Stop!" He continued to pull on his arm spinning Erik around and at his enraged look he pulled back holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture.
Erik growled and spat at Nick, "Get off me, get out of here." At Nick's scared look it only fueled his anger, "What! Can't look upon me...at this." He pointed to his scarred side of his face.
Nick just stopped it was the first time he'd seen Erik with his mask off, and he just stood there. He had no words but he tried to find something rather than standing there in ignorant silence, "Erik... your hand is bleeding."
"Fuck my hand!" He growled and pushed past him dripping blood from his hand on the hardwood floor. He moved to his bar and just grabbed the bottle of Bacardi 151 and took a long drink, the liquid a few months ago made him sick but after so many nights alone with the drink it had become like water.
Nick's eyes went wide; he'd never experienced this side of Erik and he had to admit he was afraid, "Erik...151 it'll kill you if you drink that much." He moved to him and tried to grab at the bottle from his friends hand.
Erik reached out and grabbed Nick's shirt with his bloody hand, "If you touch this bottle I will throw you over the balcony rail that you can bank on."
Nick took a few deep breathes and swallowed hard, "Ok ok I'm sorry." As Erik's grip loosened Nick pulled back putting some distance between the angry singer and himself. The entire angry attitude he'd initially stormed across the house with seemed to disappear as quickly as the bottle of alcohol in Erik's hand. "I'll just leave you to...whatever you were doing."
Erik waved him off continuing to take large drinks of the alcohol and moved to his piano taking his aggression out on the keys. He saw the blood dripping from his hand, he knew it should hurt but whether it was the anger or the alcohol he couldn't feel anything. He'd regret it in the morning or whenever he awoke from this nightmare when he saw the blood splatter over the beautiful porcelain keys.
Nick took a few steps back watching him and just sighed, if he hadn't got here when he did what else would he have destroyed. He shook his head; how could he turn so quickly from the man he observed with Christine to the broken man before him now. Nick thought that he needed to warn Erik about latching on too quickly to another when really he needed to warn Christine to keep her distance. The pounding rhythm coming from the piano sounded so aggressive, driving and yet sad and tormented in the same instance. Nick knew Erik didn't even realize that he was still in the room and decided to take his leave.
Christine had felt on cloud nine after the entire experience with Erik, she couldn't believe what had just occurred not even an hour ago. His lips had been so soft and warmly inviting and the best part about it was he kissed her back; she felt like a school girl getting her first kiss from her crush. She turned around many times as they parted hoping to see him looking back at her, but he was steadfast in his departure and never turned once to even glance over his shoulder. As she was making her way back towards the house she remembered her phone and the call she'd missed, she flipped open her cell it wasn't actually a missed call but a picture text from Meg. "You devil, what have you got yourself into?" she asked aloud as she continued to stroll across the yard, as the picture came up the caption below read 'You're missing all the fun!' and the picture was of Meg and she guessed Raoul drinking and dancing.
Christine couldn't help but giggle at the picture and how she longed to be out with her friend for a night out on the town. The little song bird stopped and took one last glance over her shoulder and sighed, "But I wouldn't trade tonight for the world," she whispered to herself. It was time for a very nice hot shower, 'or cold' her mind thought sinfully. Tomorrow was the first day of tour practice, after that she decided she would see if Meg wanted to go back to their apartment and collect some belongings for their extended stay, most importantly her car. The next few weeks before they actually left for tour was going to be busy and very long, but a bright smile crossed her lips. "It'll be the best time of my life..." She thought as she made her way inside to prepare for bed.
"Nicholas, it is none of our business," Annette answered him just sighing as she watched the retreating form of her friend.
Nick scoffed at her and pointed in Erik's direction, "He is my business, and he pays me to make sure HE is my business!" Nick just took a long drink from his glass and took a few steps away. "Not to mention he's still ENGAGED! Or have you forgotten?" His snide remarks were a little harsh but he knew this business and the horrible things they could do to a person just for the money shot or the perfect story.
Annette shook her head and finally tore herself away from the window, "No he's not, Erik broke it off...they couldn't make it work after well after the accident." She rubbed her temples as the slight pulsing that had begun. "I bumped into Elizabeth at the party; she was with her 'friend' Mike."
"What!" Nick spun around quickly looking at her to make sure he had heard her correctly. At Annette's nod his temper flared, "That's just great; I'm just fricking ecstatic to hear that fact. So wonderful to keep me in the loop considering...lets see I take care of all his business needs from producing his music to helping coordinate his tour, hell I even help...oh never mind." He lifted his glass and finished off the entire glass.
"Nicholas! We do not need to know anything about his personal life, we need to know about his business life; don't you think he's hurting beyond what you or I could ever understand?" She felt a twinge in her heart for Erik and all he'd gone through. "Isn't it bad enough what he's gone through in these past few months; first the accident, then Elizabeth not to mention you parading him about at his party like a little puppet. Christine could be just what he needs to become our Erik again." Annette feared for all the time Erik spent alone, going from one extreme to the other with his personal and public life could cause irreparable damage to him; he might never be the Erik of old.
"Christine! Ha," he laughed sarcastically as he continued to pace around the room. "Oh please, she is his rebound. You don't fall that hard for someone that quick he just met her. She's the only female besides you that even notice him since the accident and she's a love sick school girl fascinated with the man she grew up listening to she's kind of like a groupie. Erik doesn't need this right now, not with tour practice starting and his first tour a little over a month away." Whether it was due to the brandy or his temper he suddenly felt constricted in his tie and moved to loosen the burden.
Annette started to defend Erik but was at a loss for words; she didn't know what was happening or exactly what her place was in all this anymore. "Please keep your voice down; you know he moves around this mansion like a ghost. If he were to hear you I'd not wish to be present to deal with his anger."
"To hell with it, I'm going to his room to have a talk to him man to man." Nick turned on his heel and strode purposely away from Annette in the direction of Erik's wing to have a serious conversation with him. With Erik's tour starting he definitely needed nothing but positive press right now, he couldn't afford negative press.
"Nick no..." Annette reached out to stop him but gave up; men were really just like children. She just couldn't believe that life had become such a horrid mess in such a short time. Throwing her hands up in defeat she started to make her way back to her room, it was going to be a long couple of weeks once practice started tomorrow and she needed as much rest as possible.
Erik made his way inside his room, it took all his strength not to turn around and glance back at Christine as he walked away. He had to admit that he had enjoyed the entire time with Christine and the kiss had been unplanned but definitely not unpleasant to say the least. 'You kissed me back' was the only thing that kept repeating in his mind, whether it had been his doing or mutual he definitely enjoyed it. He made his way across his room to his dresser with a large smile on his face; he was starting to prepare for bed when a photo caught his eyes on the dressers mirror. It was a photo of Elizabeth he'd saved stuck into the corner of his mirror; her eyes seemed to stab into his heart like she somehow knew what he had done.
It threw his mind back to the day he'd made her leave; when those eyes practically said everything he never wanted to hear. He touched the picture softly then moved his hands to his mask; the rest of the evening seemed to fade away and he was stuck in his self created hell once more. Erik closed his eyes tightly and removed the mask; a gesture he'd only done once since the accident. He kept his eyes closed tightly as his hand started crushing the mask; his heart started to pound in his ears as he took a deep breath and opened his eyes looking directly into the mirror. Slowly his hand came up to touch the disfigured side of his face, there wasn't enough words to explain the emotion that coursed through him like a virus. Erik's nostrils flared and his rage over came him causing him to slam the mask into his mirror and when the mask crushed he continued with his fist. Pieces of glass and his mask started to fly as the mirror crashed to the top of the dresser along with the picture of Elizabeth that had slowly fell to the dresser and was now covered in shards of glass and drops of blood.
Nick had finally made his way up to Erik's door and was going to wait to build up the courage he'd lost on his trek across the house but the sound of glass breaking caused him to rush inside. He quickly looked around and found the reason for the shattering noise, "What the hell are you doing!" He raced to Erik and grabbed his arm to stop him from destroying his hand. "Erik! Stop!" He continued to pull on his arm spinning Erik around and at his enraged look he pulled back holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture.
Erik growled and spat at Nick, "Get off me, get out of here." At Nick's scared look it only fueled his anger, "What! Can't look upon me...at this." He pointed to his scarred side of his face.
Nick just stopped it was the first time he'd seen Erik with his mask off, and he just stood there. He had no words but he tried to find something rather than standing there in ignorant silence, "Erik... your hand is bleeding."
"Fuck my hand!" He growled and pushed past him dripping blood from his hand on the hardwood floor. He moved to his bar and just grabbed the bottle of Bacardi 151 and took a long drink, the liquid a few months ago made him sick but after so many nights alone with the drink it had become like water.
Nick's eyes went wide; he'd never experienced this side of Erik and he had to admit he was afraid, "Erik...151 it'll kill you if you drink that much." He moved to him and tried to grab at the bottle from his friends hand.
Erik reached out and grabbed Nick's shirt with his bloody hand, "If you touch this bottle I will throw you over the balcony rail that you can bank on."
Nick took a few deep breathes and swallowed hard, "Ok ok I'm sorry." As Erik's grip loosened Nick pulled back putting some distance between the angry singer and himself. The entire angry attitude he'd initially stormed across the house with seemed to disappear as quickly as the bottle of alcohol in Erik's hand. "I'll just leave you to...whatever you were doing."
Erik waved him off continuing to take large drinks of the alcohol and moved to his piano taking his aggression out on the keys. He saw the blood dripping from his hand, he knew it should hurt but whether it was the anger or the alcohol he couldn't feel anything. He'd regret it in the morning or whenever he awoke from this nightmare when he saw the blood splatter over the beautiful porcelain keys.
Nick took a few steps back watching him and just sighed, if he hadn't got here when he did what else would he have destroyed. He shook his head; how could he turn so quickly from the man he observed with Christine to the broken man before him now. Nick thought that he needed to warn Erik about latching on too quickly to another when really he needed to warn Christine to keep her distance. The pounding rhythm coming from the piano sounded so aggressive, driving and yet sad and tormented in the same instance. Nick knew Erik didn't even realize that he was still in the room and decided to take his leave.
Christine had felt on cloud nine after the entire experience with Erik, she couldn't believe what had just occurred not even an hour ago. His lips had been so soft and warmly inviting and the best part about it was he kissed her back; she felt like a school girl getting her first kiss from her crush. She turned around many times as they parted hoping to see him looking back at her, but he was steadfast in his departure and never turned once to even glance over his shoulder. As she was making her way back towards the house she remembered her phone and the call she'd missed, she flipped open her cell it wasn't actually a missed call but a picture text from Meg. "You devil, what have you got yourself into?" she asked aloud as she continued to stroll across the yard, as the picture came up the caption below read 'You're missing all the fun!' and the picture was of Meg and she guessed Raoul drinking and dancing.
Christine couldn't help but giggle at the picture and how she longed to be out with her friend for a night out on the town. The little song bird stopped and took one last glance over her shoulder and sighed, "But I wouldn't trade tonight for the world," she whispered to herself. It was time for a very nice hot shower, 'or cold' her mind thought sinfully. Tomorrow was the first day of tour practice, after that she decided she would see if Meg wanted to go back to their apartment and collect some belongings for their extended stay, most importantly her car. The next few weeks before they actually left for tour was going to be busy and very long, but a bright smile crossed her lips. "It'll be the best time of my life..." She thought as she made her way inside to prepare for bed.
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