I Remember (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter Three- Followed

(Erik still isn't mine, Valerie is Monique's and the idea for this chapter is inspired by a scene from Susan Kay's novel.)

I ran and ran, barely hearing Erik's foot-falls in the distance. I soon started to fear that I would never catch up to him and I would just end up lost in the forest. Peering into the distance, I could see tiny pin-pricks of light ahead of me. My feet soon found a cobblestone street, and my eyes fell on a very dark, gloomy looking town. There were few people on the streets; they were dressed in glum-colored clothes, and I got the impression that Erik's existence was kept a secret. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, near the far side of the house I saw Erik climbing up a tree and leaping into the opened window. I snuck closer to the house and peered inside one of its windows. I only needed to wait a few seconds before I heard screams and saw a woman drag Erik by the hand down the stairs. Another slightly younger looking woman followed them saying, "Madeline please!" 

The woman, Madeline, shook Erik by the shoulders and yelled, "You aren't allowed to leave this house! What if someone saw you?!" 

"No one sees me unless I want them to." Erik said. "I'm not an animal Mother; you can't keep me locked up!" 

That's Erik's mom?! 

The woman reeled back and slapped him hard. I watched in horror as Madeline beat her son, the other woman said, "Madeline, stop!" 

"Why do I need the mask?!" Erik cried. "No one else has to wear one!" 

"Oh Marie..." his mother said sickly sweet. "He wants to know the reason for the mask..." she dragged Erik over to the mirror and yanked the mask off his face yelling, "Look, look and see!"  

I saw his face after a few minutes and I realized why Erik was so protective of the mask. The entire right side of his face was red and the skin morphed in odd ways. There were bumps in his skin near his ear and the right side of his nose was disfigured. His lower eyelid was drooped and there was part of his scalp where no hair grew. He stared wide-eyed at his reflection in the mirror and then took his fists and smashed it. Shards of glass flew everywhere and soon Erik's hands were bleeding, but he did not stop. My hands covered my mouth to keep from crying out to him and Marie tried to pull him away from it but his mother did nothing to stop him. I wanted to storm inside the house and slap her for her unconcern.

I looked away; I knew I wasn't supposed to see this. He would get mad at me for following him! I thought to myself, and he wouldn't want to be my friend anymore! I kept on trying to ignore the urge to look back at Erik while I was starting to panic at the thought of losing my only friend. Then I heard an angry shout coming from him, my curiosity got the best of me, and I looked back. I saw him drop to his knees on the floor, bloody shattered glass surrounding him, he was crying. Then after a while of silence, with all eyes on him, he let out an angry shout and started to scratch his face so hard that it started bleeding. His bloodied hands shook as he did. I couldn't stop the tears rimming in my eyes from falling. Poor Erik, I thought to myself. Marie told him to stop but it ended up making him scratch harder and harder. Marie then grabbed his wrists and said, "Erik! Stop this, you're hurting yourself!" He tried to wiggle his wrists free from her tight hold but failed and instead looked down, defeated, as his body grew limp. I didn't want to -- wait -- I couldn't watch anymore so I turned around to leave, trying my best not to make any noises. But to my dismay, I stepped on a pile of dried leaves, making loud crunching sounds that made Erik look up. I think he saw me, but it's hard to tell. The fact that I bolted up and ran as fast as my feet could carry me made it impossible to know since I was concentrating at the small path that lead to my village and not what Erik did after he looked up.

When I finally got home I noticed that the moon was half-way across the dark star-less night. I must've been gone for a long time! Maman would be so worried! I thought. So I hurriedly ran to the front door and was greeted by a big hug from my mother. "Where have you been, darling? I thought we agreed that you would come home before dark!" She scolded lightly, stroking my wavy brown hair.

"Sorry, maman. It won't happen again." I said, hugging her tighter as I started to cry again.

"What happened, ma cherie?" She asked me holding me by the shoulders as she gently pushed me off of her, her eyes filled with worry.

"Don't worry, maman" I said. I didn't want her to know about what happened. She was sick, it would worry her, and stress her, and she didn't believe that Erik existed, so what was the point? She smiled at me probably not noticing that I had just lied to her, and hugged me again then said, "I'm so happy you're back, safe and unharmed." Maman then carried me to my room and the familiar feeling of the soft, warm bed welcomed me. Mother then tucked me in, "Goodnight, ma cherie." She whispered to me as she stood up. "Sweet dreams."

Impossible.