Wanted

Chapter 62

{August 21, 1892}

Gustave's first day of school was something Erik and Christine weren't looking forward to. He was growing up so fast and Christine found herself reminiscing back to when she was pregnant with him.

She stood back and watched as Erik straightened their son's vest and bow tie. Erik stood up and lifted Gustave up into his arms. "Are you ready, my treasure?" He asked and Gustave nodded. Erik kissed his son's forehead before setting him down and taking his hand.

"Tell Mama bye." Erik said and Gustave ran over to hug Christine who was crying.

"I'll see you later, sweet boy." She whispered as Gustave took Erik's hand and they walked out of the house. They took the carriage to the school and once they arrived, Erik stalled a little before getting out.

"I'm so proud of you, Gustave. You're going to have a great time at school. I can't wait to hear all about it. Have fun! I love you!" Erik said as he opened the carriage door and watched as Gustave joined the group of children going into the school.

He smiled sadly and got back in the carriage. "Take me to the nearest bar." Erik needed a drink and his father had told him to meet him there after dropping Gustave off. He had promised Christine he wouldn't drink, but a few beers wouldn't hurt.

Erik walked into the bar and his father waved him order. Erik sat on the stool beside him and ordered his first beer. "How are you feeling?" Janes asked and Erik let out a chuckle as his beer was set in front of him.

"Old." Erik said as he sipped at the cold beer. He finished that one off as the two Destler men laughed and talked with each other. Erik only had one more beer before he decided to call it a day and head home.

He opened the door and he walked into the kitchen to see his wife feeding his daughters baby food. "Look, it's Papa! Can you say Papa?" She asked in her little baby voice.

"Baba! Baba!" Melody squealed and Erik smiled and lifted Melody up out of her high chair, kissing her face. He set her back down and then sat next to Christine.

"So where'd you go?"

"I met my father at the bar. I only had two drinks." He said and Christine slid a glass of water over to him. He took a sip as she sighed.

"You couldn't stop yourself from drinking?" She asked and he looked her in the eye, taking her hands. Her eyes found his and she focused in.

"My son just started school. I'm feeling very old." He said as he took his coat off and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. "And my daughter's are almost a year old." Christine smiled and grabbed his hand.

"You're not old at all, my love." She said and he smiled before standing up from the chair. Christine watched as her husband smoothed out his shirt and straightened the mask on his face. His long fingers ran through his hair before grabbing his coat and dropping a kiss to Christine's head.

"I have work to do before rehearsal in an hour. I'm going to have you teach the germam to the ensemble. You're better at it than I am." He said and she nodded.

"I'll see you soon." She said and gave him a quick kiss as he left to head upstairs. Christine could pretend it didn't bother her that he had been drinking again, but she still had memories of that awful night when he came home drunk. Sometimes she thought she was too forgiving. The man had sexually assaulted her. Husband or not. No meant no.

But they were past that now. Erik loved her, she knew that. Christine was pulled put of her thoughts when one of the twins started squealing. She got them out of their high chairs and brought them into the living room. They played on the floor for a while until there was a knock on the door.

Christine had mastered the art of holding two babies at the same time, so she carried them on her hips to the door. Meg stood on the other side, and the blonde dancer immediately took Harmony out of her mother's arms.

"Rehearsal's about to start. Erik told me to come help you bring the twins up." She said and Christine nodded and grabbed her music out of the kitchen before joining Meg upstairs.

Christine let Meg watch the twins while she rushed on stage for rehearsal. Erik looked up from his seat at the piano and motioned her over. Thinking about what he had done to her made her question everything, and now just being around him sent a shiver down her spine. He scared her. More so, his actions scared her.

"The German is tough, could you work with them and then I'll play it for them?" Erik asked as he handed her the libretto. She walked to the front and called the ensemble together to begin rehearsal.

Luckily, everyone picked it up quickly and then they could move onto other scenes and songs. She had tried all day to hide from Erik that something was bothering her, but as they blocked their number and he slid his hands up her sides, something that would usually excite her, made her pull away from him.

That night, Christine let her husband put the children to bed as she prepared herself for the conversation that was to come. She pulled a book from the night stand and began skimming it to give her something to do. Erik came in and got in bed beside her, pulling his mask off.

"Is Gustave doing alright?"

"Better than ever. He won't stop talking about how much he loves school." Erik said with a laugh as he turned toward her. He carefully lifted one of her hands, ready to begin this conversation. "Christine, what's going on?"

She couldn't help the tears that fell as she thought about what had happened. "Do you remember what happened last time you drank?" She asked and he sighed.

"That wasn't me, Christine. I was drunk, I wasn't in my right mind and I regret it everyday. But, I'm not like that. I love you so much, Christine Destler. You make my world go around and I can't do anything without you." His words hit something in her heart and she nodded. The man laying beside her wasn't the one who assaulted her.

Christine nodded and leaned against Erik, taking one of his hands. They held each other through the night. Only waking when the twins cried and Erik got up, kissing his wife's head, whispering in her ear, "I got it, go back to sleep."

Cast:
Erik Destler ~ Ramin Karimloo
Christine Destler ~ Sierra Boggess
Gustave Destler ~ Hadley Karimloo
Nadir Kahn ~ Nadim Naaman
James Destler ~ Michael Crawford
Meg Giry ~ Daisy Maywood

(A/N): ALRIGHTY Y'ALL. It's been almost a year since I've update which is awful. School got super busy and with performances and school work, I didn't have time to update. I'm hoping to start updating frequently again though! Happy New Year!