I Belong to You (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Meg proceeded to let out a long sigh and stand from Christine's bed, taking in all of the new information she'd just received.

"I know it sounds insane," Christine began. She shook her head a little. "Everytime I say it -that I love him- I feel a little crazy-"

"Don't say that," Meg suddenly intervened. "Seriously, saying that you feel crazy in court won't release him. They would just send you to some mental ward and lock him up, probably for the rest of his life."

Blinking, Christine slowly asked, "So.. You don't think I'm crazy?"

Studying her friend, Meg replied, "I'm still debating that." But then she laughed some. "No, I don't think you're crazy. I mean, the story is a lot to take in, but I can see that you're in your right mind. So you fell in love with the guy who kidnapped you." She shrugged. "It sounds like he never really hurt you and that he does love you. He just made some bad decisions. Some really bad decisions. But you say that he didn't know any better. Who am I to judge? I'm just glad you're safe. And I'm also glad you're happy."

Christine was completely stunned by her words. All she could do was hug her best friend. "Thank you, Meg. Having your support is.. well, it's a little unbelievable. But then, you are my best friend. You know me better than most people. I'm just so glad you're ok with this."

Meg hugged her back. "As I said, who am I to make judgement?" She moved towards Christine's computer desk and grabbed a pad of paper and pen. "Now, we need to come up with what you're going to say in court. Your parents told the court date is set for Monday, so that means we only have a week to make this sound good."

"You're really going to help me?" Yet again, Christine was stunned.

"Of course I am. You're my best friend. Now let's get to it." Meg was all business. "I'll write, you talk."

There was some silence. "I.. don't know where to begin."

"Well that doesn't sound confident at all. Christine, you can't go in and say that in front of a jury!"

"No, no," she said with a laugh. "That's not what I mean. I mean, I really don't know where to begin. I don't know what to say or how to start."

"Oh." Meg thought about that and tried to envision what a prosecutor would ask when her friend took the stand. "Hmm.. Well, I'm sure they're going to want to know the story. So tell them what you just told me. You have to be honest."

"But Meg, my parents didn't even accept my story. If they can't even accept it, I highly doubt a court would."

"I accepted it," Meg pointed out. "And trust me, I wasn't a fan of Erik at all. Quite frankly, I wanted to kill him for what he did to you. But what you said has changed my mind. So maybe it would convince a jury, too. You have to try."

Christine tried to think positive, although it was difficult given the current circumstances. "Yeah, you're right. I do have to try. And really, how can they convict him when I, the victim, don't want to press charges? It wouldn't make sense."

"That's the way," Meg encouraged. "Keep that frame of mind and everything should be fine. In fact, I would include what you just said in your statement." She wrote it down and said, "Ok, let's continue."

It took about an hour to think of and write down Christine's statement. The girls were fairly confident with the finished product and concluded that what they needed now was rest and time to absorb everything. They walked to the front door and Christine thanked Meg profusely for her friendship and help.