All I Ask of You

Chapter 9

"Erik," I said quietly, "You don't have to if it hurts you."

His eyes met mine and displayed a look of shock.

"What's wrong?" I said so quietly it was almost a whisper. 

"I've never met someone like you... You're so different than the rest of the world..."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean by that," I said looking deeply into his beautiful eyes.

His eyes became glossy. The million times I had cried reading Leroux's novel, watching the movie, or seeing the musical live could never prepare me for the horrible ache I felt in my heart for him at that moment. "Erik?" He was sitting close enough to me that I could touch his arm. I hesitated for a moment, afraid of how he would react, but I decided to do it anyway. I placed my hand on top of his arm and moved my thumb back and forth as a sign of comfort. He went to open his mouth despite his eyes growing wetter by the second. "You don't have to say anything," I shook my head.

His faced twitched as he tried to hold back tears. He tried to speak again, but a sound didn't escape from his lips. 

"Erik, I mean it... You don't have to talk about it if it hurts you. I might have never been in love romantically, but I've lost so many people in my life... I know it's painful."

"It's not that..." he finally spoke, "It's you."

"Me?" I asked. 

"No one has ever been so kind to me-"

"Oh, Erik! You saved my life! Why wouldn't I be kind to you?"

"No one else has ever been."

The ache in my heart was growing and I felt tears brimming in my eyes. I stood up from the chair and knelt in front of him, "Erik," I said barely able to hold my own tears back. He covered his face with his hands. I gently took his hands away from his face so as not to accidentally remove his mask. He leaned away quickly probably thinking I would remove his mask in this vulnerable moment, "Shh, I'm not going to take it off. Don't worry about that." Once he released his hands to me, I held them in mine and looked into his eyes and at his tear-soaked cheek and mask. "Erik, the world is a cruel, cruel place, and I am so very sorry for whatever you might have gone through. It seems as though we've happened upon each other for a reason. Don't you think? Please don't cry," I smiled at him as I repeated what he had told me the first few days I was in the lair. 

He let out a little laugh, "I should tell you the same."

"Oh stop," I laughed, letting a few of my tears escape. 

"Are you saying you want to stay here with me?" he asked, his eyes full of hope, "Isn't that improper for unmarried people?"

"Who's going to know?" I asked matter of factly. 

"You've got me on a technicality," he smiled as his tears began to dry, "Her name was Christine."

"Huh?" I acted puzzled.

"The woman I loved... Her name was Christine."

"Erik-"

"No, I want to... It's alright. She was my prodigy. Her father died and I took over her training. She was much younger than me... It never would have worked, but I fell in love with her. She had these beautiful curls like you, but she was blonde instead of brunette. I confessed my love to her and she ripped my mask off. Then she deemed me a monster and her suitor took her away from me. He even tried to have me killed. Would you believe that? It's not bad enough that I live in hiding away from society, but he tried to invade my home." 

I listened intently, but couldn't help think that the Phantom was either telling the story to paint him in a better light or that the story had gotten severely warped over time. I wasn't sure if I would ever know now, but I knew that Erik had been the perfect gentleman to me. 

"That's just awful, Erik. I'm so sorry." 

"It's alright. I'm thankful I have a companion here now." He gave me a small smile, and I gave his hands a little squeeze.

"And I as well." I replied with a smile.