Your Voice

Chapter 10

Merry Christmas, guys!! And for those who don't celebrate, happy holidays! Keep reading and voting! Enjoy! xx

Christine
2 weeks later

I pull the boxes of Christmas ornaments out of my bag. It's only been a few weeks since we moved into the gorgeous mansion, but everyone's already busying themselves with Christmas preparations: the Giry's were in charge of making the food for Christmas dinner - which is in a few weeks - Gustave and Erik had gone out to buy a Christmas tree and presents for everyone.

There are more people coming to visit us then you think. There's my old ballet friends, little Amelia, the neighbor (Gustave has made a bond with the boy with the unbelievably yellowish hair that lives across the street), the performers, stage manager, a few from the orchestra at Fantasma. I place the decorations where the tree is supposed to go - beside the mantlepiece. A bit tired, a make my way upstairs and slip into a more comfortable yellow dress. The house is silent without Madame Giry or the boys around. Meg lies in her room, and sometimes I hear her talking to her tummy. I knock gently on her door.

"Hey Meg, are you alright?"

She looks up and smiles slightly. "Yeah."

"Any word from James?" I sit next to her on the bed and put my arm around her. She hands me a meticulously folded letter.

My dear love,

I'm on a train home right now. I was held back by a professor for a while to help in a project but now I can tell you that I'll be home for Christmas.
I hope you're doing well with Christine and Mr Y. Tell them I said hello. And Mother Giry as well.

Missing you,
James

"Mr Y?" I ask.

"Only we (including my mother and Raoul) know his name is Erik. Mr Y is what the rest of the world know him as. He couldn't keep the same name, with the police chasing after him." She speaks now with a slight American accent, I notice.

"James," I smirk, "I'm guessing he's a nice bloke."

"You ain't wrong." Meg chuckles and takes the paper back from me, staring distantly out of the window. "Do you ever just, out of nowhere, recall that night? When you left Erik?"

Taken aback from the question, I reply. "All the time. How could I ever forget..."

"Well I'm telling you this now. You see, when he disappeared, he was just in a room deeper under the Opera House. Every night, when I came down to hand him the earnings of the night's show, I could hear him crying over you. His room was covered in pictures of you. He loved you. Yes, he was manipulative, and did wrong things, but he loved you with all of his heart, mind and soul." She touches my shoulder. "I'm just telling you. Promise me you two will be happy once you are married."

"I do love him. We'll be the happiest couple on earth, trust me." I smile, tears brimming my eyes. We embrace and I go downstairs to help Erik with the shopping.

"Where's Gustave?" I inquire after I greet him with a kiss.

"He went to play football with the boy across the street." Erik takes out dresses, earrings, toys, and all sorts of knick-knacks. I assist him in sorting out the gifts, yawning.

"Christine, darling, you're tired. Go to bed, I will be there shortly." Erik gently places his hand on mine and I look up at him. I cup his face in my hand and press my lips onto his. He puts down the thing he's holding and holds my waist. No matter how weary I might feel, his love always fills me with an energy nothing or nobody can.