The Scorpion In Heart (Erik X OC)

Chapter 10: It's not the same

   Penelope actually felt good to make Erik happy by not reacting too scared or shocked to his face. It was the smallest thing she could do for him yet it was probably very important for getting his trust. He didn't love her but she's already got something Christine never got. A trust that she won't ever be horrified by his appearance. When he came back from the bathroom he was wearing grey pajamas and his skin smelled of chamomile soap. ,,May I ask you where you are sleeping? You said that the whole Louis Phillipe room is mine now when I'll be hiding in here. But...I didn't notice any other bedroom here. Only...the one with the organ. Was the thing covered in veils your bed?" She asked him. ,,Yes" he admitted. ,,Maybe....When you see it you'll be shocked" Penelope smiled ironically. ,,Well, I don't think so. I am not a child neither a twenty one year old girl. I am a grown twenty six year old woman" ,,Did you ever meet a man that slept in a coffin?" he asked. Penelope wasn't shocked or surprised. Christine told her about it already. ,,Well, no. But I know that about you. Christine said that. But...I wanted to prove to myself that you still do" she explained. Erik blushed. He probably realised how much she knows about him from Christine. ,,I don't like that actually" she said. ,,It ruins your back" Erik frowned. ,,And? I thought you came here to hide from your abusive husband which I understand. I would do that as well. But now it seems you came to persecute my lifestyle" He took a sip of water. Penelope gave him an apologetic smile. ,,Sorry, it wasn't meant this way. She said. ,,I just think the reason you sleep in a coffin is not that you'd actually like that. I think it's bound with other people's prejudices about you. That you are....a living corpse" when she said that Erik choked a bit from the water. She just mentioned his childhood. Christine had to speak with the Persian to know about it and tell Penelope about it. ,,That's a nickname I've got on a traveling fair as a child" he admitted. He was honest with her a lot because he already knew that she knows much about him. ,,I know... That's partly why I hide at yours. Because I know that you know how it is like to be.... abused" the last word she said quietly not to hurt him much. ,,How many times he hit you?" he asked even more carefully than her. ,,Only once... today" she answered. ,,I don't mean to underestimate your pain. It's horrible. I can't stand hearing about husbands who abuse their wives. They don't deserve them. They got the greatest gift in their life...a life company. And they decide to torment them. I can't stand even thinking about it but.... Please, never try to...say that you understand my pain" he spoke quieter and quieter. ,,Never..." He undid two buttons on his pajama shirt and revealed his collarbones. They were scarred. It couldn't be even caused by someone's hands. But a whip and belts. Then he buttoned it up again. Penelope gasped. Now she understood that she'll be never able to completely understand Erik's pain.