A New Beginning

Chapter 3

Chapter 3
(Erik's POV)

Not long after my head hit the pillow was I awoken by a sharp scream. Instinctively, I jumped out of bed and ran into my angel's room. She was covered in sweat and crying and screaming in her sleep.

"Angel," I said shaking her shoulder, but she still didn't seem to wake up. "Angel," I called again, this time more urgently.

She awoke at last, and sat up abruptly, breathing heavily. Then she turned to look at me and gave me a look that clearly begged for me to hold her and never leave her. I got in the bed with her and pulled her to my lap as she clinged on to my neck and cried her eyes out.

I didn't stop her tears from falling, I instead let her let it all out, ocassionally rocking her back and forth and placing a kiss on her head.

When she had alomost no energy left to cry, I wiped away all of her tears with both of my thumbs as I had cupped her face and tilted it upwards so that she would look into my eyes and I could let her know I was there and would never leave her, just like her eyes asked me.

"What was it?" I asked.

She sniffed a little. Oh, how I hated seeing her in pain! "N-nothing," she replied hesitantly.

"If it were nothing, you wouldn't be like this," I replied.

She took a few moments to compose herself and then opened her mouth to speak, "It's him. It's Raoul," she sighed but trembled with fear.

The moment she said that, my blood started boiling. I held her closer in a protective way and I started clenching my jaw and grit my teeth. I asked her, "What did he do to you?" I was trying really hard not to lose my temper, but I did it for her, to keep her feeling safe and calm.

I let her catch her breath before she answered my question, "I-I didn't deserve him," she sobbed.

I couldn't belive my ears, my perfectly well trained ears. My mind ony started swimming in the thoughts of all the possible things he could've told her to make her believe that; and still, none of them made sense.

I held her closer to me and repeate my question, "What did he do to you?"

She took another deep breath and started talking, "I-I couldn't do things the way he wanted me to do them, I was useless."

Her words made my breath get caught in my throat. I inched towards her to let her know that I was there and waited for her to continue. After a few seconds, she did. "H-he would come home late, sometimes with marks on his neck and looking drunk." As she said all of this, I was only hoping this torture would stop, and yet, I wanted to know every detail, I had to know what he had done to her.

She sobbed and covered her face as she said the words that followed, "H-he hit me."

Those three words were enough to make my heart shatter and any ounce of respect I had ever had for that man fade.

I held her tighter but more carefully, as not to hurt her, and rocked her back and forth. Then, I proceeded to take her hands in mine and kiss every knuckle with love.

Then it was my turn to speak, and it as I did so, my voice cracked and I stuttered, "M-may I see?" I asked. She looked into my flooded eyes, her own starting to water as well, and gave the slightest of nods.

I laid her down, getting some supplies from the bathroom to treat her injuries, and came back as quickly as I could. When I did, she had uncovered her stomach and arms, revealing the cuts and bruises he had caused.

When she said he had hit her I thought she meant once or twice at the most, but this was serious, he had beaten her.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I kneeled next to her and started treating every single one of her wounds as carefully as I could. She would occassionally flinch, and I would kiss her hand, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I would say, my voice cracking.

I kept going for a while when I felt a hand running through my hair, and I turned to see my angel staring at me with adoration in his eyes, something I couldn't believe, "Thank you," she whispered and I placed a soft kiss on her hand.

I finished my work a few minutes later and looked up to find her asleep. I stood up and smiled sadly at her sleeping form. "Goodnight, mon amour," I whispered kissing her forehead.

Seeing her like that made me understand what I had to do then, so I put on my cloak andd hat and ran to the streets of Paris, determined to do my job.