I Belong to You (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Erik

I was absolutely floored. I couldn't have heard John Daae right... But then, the three of them were standing. Christine was holding her precious hand out towards me, offering it towards me, as if doing so were natural.

I merely sat there with a horrified look on my masked face. The thought, the very idea of doing such a thing... To offer a kidnapper his freedom?

And finally it began to sink in. They were serious. They were offering me, no they were giving me my freedom. Were they insane?

"What in the world are you thinking?" Erik asked, feeling more and more that they were the confused ones and that he was in his right mind. "I can't simply leave. First of all, that guard over there would likely tase me. And secondly, I am a criminal. I haven't even served my sentence!"

"You don't have to now," Christine began calmly, still holding her hand out to him.

Erik blinked at her once before turning to her parents. Surely they were still sane? "I'm sorry if Christine has led you to believe otherwise, but the reality remains that I kidnapped your daughter and deserve to pay dearly for it."

John sat back down for a moment in order to look Erik square in the eye. "The fact that you are talking this way only proves that you understand what you did was wrong. Look, Erik, Norah and I came here today in order to see if Christine was right about you. She's spoken pretty highly of you ever since she got home. We had to know the truth."

"And you've given us the evidence we need," Norah continued, sitting back down herself. "We believe Christine, and we believe you."

Christine didn't sit down, but she did ask the soft question- "Isn't this what you should be wanting? To be away from all of this and be with me?"

Erik's mind was reeling. They certainly sounded 'with it'. He looked up at the love of his life. "Yes, but dreams cannot always become reality, Christine. I cannot be selfish."

And that was all Christine needed to hear. He did still love her, and he did still want to be with her. She'd been beginning to wonder... But now, with every ounce of love she had, she would get him out of this mess. They would finally be together. "Well, your dreams have just become reality. I love you. I want to be with you. You're free."

Her parents stood up again, and Christine reoffered her hand to Erik. This time, slowly and hesitantly, he took it.

I don't deserve this, Erik knew. But, to touch her soft hand again... To feel its warmth when all he usually felt was so cold... He couldn't resist her.

They would play by her rules now. Whatever she wished, whatever she demanded, he would abide. Always.

Erik's eyes shifted towards the guard as they all began to walk towards the visitation entrance. He almost expected him to intervene, but he did nothing of the sort.

As her parents walked in front of them, not able to hear, Christine leaned over towards Erik and whispered in his ear, "I belong to you."

He shivered at her words, remembering all the times he actually thought they were true.

But they weren't. He'd been mistaken all along.

With finality in his tone, Erik leaned towards Christine and whispered in her lovely ear, "You're wrong, Christine. We belong to each other."

She looked into his eyes, smiled, and nodded. And they walked hand-in-hand out of the building.

The End

Well, I wasn't really expecting this to be the last chapter. But, then again, it seemed like a good place to end it. I'll leave the rest up to your imaginations :-)

I hope you enjoyed this story! Thanks for reading.

-Lauren