From Shadows to Starlight

Suspicion

Chapter Twenty-eight

“In love, deceit almost always goes further than mistrust.” --Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Suspicion

The journey to the Opera Populaire seemed to last forever. Finally, Meg left Erik leaning against a brick wall in an empty alley as she cautiously went to investigate the area. He closed his eyes and tried not to fall. His whole body ached and his heart still stung with rejection. All he wanted was to collapse on the ground and never wake up again, and yet…there was something holding him back. The words Madame Giry had said…she’d told him she loved him. That meant the world to him, and he was only angry that she hadn’t said it sooner. He had a love for her too, in his own way, and he regretted the many times he had been cruel to her. He’d make it up to her, if he made it out of this alive.

And what did she mean when she said she wasn’t the only one who loved him? It couldn’t be Meg she was referring to. Meg might be helping him now, he reflected gratefully, but she still harbored some fear and resentment towards him. And it was clearly not Christine, he thought bitterly.

Who?

Suddenly the answer came to him.

It was unbelievably obvious, yet the realization struck him with such power that he nearly fell to the ground.

Could it be?

It had to be.

But it was impossible! He was…Erik. Alone. Unloved. But now…he wasn’t.

How did he feel about that? Being loved by another...what was that supposed to feel like? He didn’t even know.

And he didn’t have time to think it over, because Meg had crept back to the alley, her face pale in the moonlight.

“The entire opera house is surrounded,” she whispered, brown eyes wide with fear. “I should have known…the police must have anticipated you’d return there. I don’t know what we’re going to do now…”

Erik held up a finger. “Café Aria.”

“What?” The girl looked at him like he was insane.

“I know what we’re going to do now,” he said. “Follow me.” He dared to let go of the wall. His legs threatened to give out, but he managed to take a few agonizing steps before Meg took pity on him and let him lean against her.

The Café Aria was just a street away from the opera house, but the way appeared deserted. Just as they were about to cross the street, they heard the hoof beats of a mounted soldiers somewhere, coming closer. Meg pulled him back into the darkness of the alley, and Erik picked up part of the officers’ conversation.

“…think he’s underground? Oh, I couldn’t say, but guarding the opera house is a wise decision.”

“Even if he did make it underground, there’s no way he can survive. There’s all kinds of traps…”

“and there’s no one to take care of him anymore, with all the opera people gone.”

“No matter what, he’s doomed. All this will be over soon.”

Don’t let it be over. Not yet. Please, not yet. He wasn’t ready. The things Madame Giry had said…they’d given him a sense of curiosity, hope. He had something to live for. Though the two Girys would be better off without him, despite what they might say, there was someone out there who wouldn’t. Someone who would miss him. Someone he didn’t want to leave.

“All right, it’s safe to go now,” Meg was saying, and then he was limping as fast as he could without falling. They hurried around to the back of the restaurant, a café that had been open for as long as he’d been there. Madame Giry had often brought him food from this place; when he’d first come to the opera house, she’d begged the head chef and the owners to give her their leftovers. They’d agreed, and that way she was able to keep Erik from starving. In time, he was able to pay for his own meals, but Antoinette needed a quick way to deliver them to him without anyone seeing. Erik stumbled upon the answer himself when he discovered that many of the older buildings in the area, like Café Aria, were connected by countless underground passageways; one night he accidentally found himself in the restaurant‘s storeroom. Antoinette had soon paid the café staff not to tell anyone about the passageway and her later use of it, and from then on she had a safe, easy way to get food to Erik.