Twisted Every Way(Phantom Of The Opera Fic)

Chapter 52: Left Behind

Gustave dragged Luke onto the boat and away from the birds he had been feeding.

Luke frowned, he had never seen Gustave so stressed in his entire life.

"Father? What's wrong with Eli?" Luke questioned.

Gustave felt a bit sick to his stomach, he was a father, and he hadn't even had 9 months notice.

He suddenly realized what taking care of Luke meant, it meant him and Autumn would never newlyweds, never be alone. But he reminded himself it was worth it, Luke was worth it.

Gustave felt his voice choke out an answer, "There was an accident, he got hurt."

Autumn rushed the bags over, breathing heavily, "That's everything."

"I've never left New York," Luke whispered with a quiver.

"You'll love it," Autumn said with a smile, she had taken upon herself to make sure that Gustave would smile at least once a day. She had never seen Erik in him more than she had these past three days. They had enjoyed their dinner with friends in peace until Gustave had discovered the second somber letter underneath the first.

The boat ride was long and tedious, and not even Lukes sea sickness was amusing enough to keep the burden off Gustave's mind.

"What if he's dead," Gustave whispered one night turning to Autumn.

"Gustave!"Autumn scolded, "Don't you dare even think it."

"I'd never forgiven myself. I'm supposed to watch him, I'm supposed to be there for him."

Autumn placed a warm comforting hand on his cheek, "Gustave, no brother travels halfway across the world for someone they don't care about."

"He's so young," Gustave sighed, "Too young Autumn I can't- Who would shoot a Child?!"

"The same people who hunt your father, who plague Ilios because they don't know where she's from. The world is cruel Gustave, but we can't hide him from it."

Gustave shook his head, "Fathers never going to let him out now. Never again. I can only imagine, when my mother was shot, he lost all control he-"

Autumn watched in silent grief as Gustave's voice broke.

"I'm sorry," he laughed through a sniffle, "I just-"

"I know," Autumn said with a nod. "I know."

--------

"Hurts," Eli whimpered, his eyes searching his Doctors.

"I know," Fred nodded, "But it needs to be done if you want to get better."

Eli nodded and bit hard on his blanket as Fred poured the alcohol on the wound to sterilize it.

"When is your brother getting here?" Fred asked curiously.

"Morrow," Eli muttered.

"That's a shame, two more days and you would have been able to tackle him with a lasso of your own."

Eli gave a small smile.

"There!" Fred exclaimed, "I knew you had some humor in there somewhere."

Elis smile quickly vanished and his brazen humor returned, his skin growing paler and his mind weaker.

"Listen, kid," Fred sighed, "I'm not your family, I won't give you some sugar-coated lie. Your sick, you might die, you might not. These next few days are crucial. You understand?"