The Phantom's Daughter (Book 2)

Love

As Elise walked around Phantasma, she began to realise how much she was really going to miss it, once she was gone.
She wanted to spend the whole day wandering around Coney Island, but she knew that she couldn't.
Elise had promised to perform that evening, so she had to dedicate an hour that afternoon to rehearsing.
After making sure that her silks were correctly tied, Elise began to warm herself up on them.
Since she had not performed for many months, she was a little out of practice.
But by the end of the hour, she was confident that she would be able to perform well that evening.

After disentangling herself from the silks, and placing her feet onto the stage, she suddenly heard clapping coming from the wings.
Elise spun around and saw Jeff the barman standing there.
She frowned, "This is a closed practice".
"Miss Giry let me in" admitted Jeff as he made his way towards her.
"Of course she did" sighed Elise.
"I thought you were amazing. Where did you learn all that?"
"Nowhere. I'm self taught"
"Really?"
"Really. I was with a circus a few years ago, before Phantasma, but I could already do all this, I didn't learn it there"
"Wow, you really are incredible then. To have taught yourself to do all that"
"I wish my father thought like you".

Jeff lowered his head, "Miss Giry also said that you're leaving".
"Yes, I am" revealed Elise.
Jeff looked up awkwardly, not meeting her eye, "Is there anything I could say that would convince you to change your mind?".
"I'm afraid not. It's time for me to move on, and no one is going to convince me to stay" replied Elise.
"That's a shame... I wanted to do this more naturally, but it seems like I'm out of time... I like you Elise. I really like you" admitted Jeff as his cheeks began to turn red.
Elise's heart stopped, as Meg's suspicions turned out to be true.
This was the first time anyone had  confessed to having feelings for her, and she had no idea how to react.

Elise looked around to see if anyone was watching them, but the wings were empty, and those in the pit band were busy discussing scores for the show that evening.
She couldn't feel her father's presence either, but that didn't mean that he wasn't lurking around.
Erik had killed the last man who had gotten too close to Elise, and she didn't want any harm to come to Jeff.
"Come with me" insisted Elise, as she began to lead the way out of the theatre, and back up onto the roof where she had sat with Meg that morning.

"Wow. It's incredible up here" commented Jeff.
"Yeah, I guess it is" agreed Elise.
"Are we even allowed to be up here?" Asked Jeff.
"Probably not, but no one is going to tell me that I can't go somewhere, are they?"
"No. You and your father can do anything you like, and go wherever you please. Which is why I can't understand why you'd want to give up that power, and leave Coney Island"
"It's complicated... Back in the theatre, you said something about how you felt about me"
"I did. And if I'm being honest, they're not new feelings, I've liked you for some time. But if you don't feel the same way, then that's fine".

"Jeff, you're a nice guy. A really nice guy. But you don't like me, not really. You might think that you do, but you're wrong" informed Elise.
"No, you're wrong. I really like. Why is that so hard to accept?" Questioned Jeff.
"You don't like me. You like the illusion, the persona of Miss Y, the daughter of the mysterious Mr Y. But that isn't the real me" admitted Elise.
"I know. I know that the confident character you portray, isn't the real you. When you come to the bar, I can tell that you let go of that persona, and allow yourself to relax. It's the one place you can be yourself"
"Jeff, you don't know anything about me"
"I do"
"No you don't"
"Well, I want the opportunity to learn more about you".

"I'm afraid that's not possible" admitted Elise.
"Why not?" Questioned Jeff.
"Because I've done bad things in the past, and allowed bad things to happen, making no attempt to stop them. The person I was before I came here, was not a good person" revealed Elise.
"We all have pasts that we're not proud of. No one is perfect, and we have all done things that we regret"
"I've done more bad things than most. And if you knew who me and my father really were, you'd turn and run"
"Try me"
"I can't, because it's not just my life on the line. It's my father's too, and Meg's and Madame Giry's. My father is the one who would suffer the most, if the truth about me and him came out"
"Then don't tell me his secret. Just tell me something about you, that I don't already know".

Elise sighed and looked out at Phantasma, "I wasn't born here in America. I was born in Paris".
"Really? You don't sound French" admitted Jeff.
"We came here when I was 13. I've lost my accent since then. It was necessary for me to hide my French side, so that no one would discover who we really were. So I became good at speaking without an accent. Madame Giry kept hers, but the rest of us moved on" revealed Elise.
"So you came to America 10 years ago, with your father, Madame Giry and Meg"
"Yes"
"What about your mother?"
"I never met her. She died in childbirth"
"Oh, I'm sorry. It must've been hard growing up without a mother".

Elise shrugged, "I never knew any different. Besides, I had Madame Giry. She was my substitute parent, since my father didn't want anything to do with me back then".
"I guess that losing your mother must have had a big impact on your father, since he's such a recluse now. No one ever sees him" replied Jeff.
"I don't think my mother's death impacted him at all, apart from leaving him with a daughter he didn't want" admitted Elise.
"Don't say that"
"It's true. He's told me on several occasions that he never wanted me... You see, my mother and father were not in love. She was a whore, who worked in the local brothel. He paid her well, to ensure that she only laid with him, when they were together for a few weeks. When she found out she was pregnant, he promised to support her financially. But when she died, he was stuck with me".

Jeff took hold of one of Elise's hands, and squeezed it tight.
"I'm sorry. You can't have had an easy upbringing" he said softly.
"It was a little strange. I never got to experience what it was like to have a family. And I never felt what it was like to be loved" admitted Elise, as she removed her hand from Jeff's grasp.
"You don't have to have a proper family to know what love is" replied Jeff.
"I guess that's true. I love Meg, for she is like a sister to me, since we grew up together. I care for my father as well, but we have a complicated relationship. One that has become even more complicated these past few days, and will get even worse tomorrow"
"So, he's the reason you're leaving?"
"In a way, yes... I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. Everything I own is his, and I don't have a penny to my name. I'm hoping he'll give me some money when I leave, so that I can support myself for a while, but I don't know if he will".

"Please don't go" begged Jeff.
"I'm sorry Jeff, but I've made up my mind" informed Elise.
"At least give me some time to change your mind" replied Jeff.
"If Meg couldn't convince me to stay, then I don't know how you will"
"I can offer something that Meg can't. Please, give me the chance to show you the kind of love that you have never experienced. I want to go out with you, and I can tell that you have feelings for me too, but you just don't want to act on them. You want someone to love you, for you, and I can be that person, if you just gave me the chance".

Elise shook her head and stepped away from Jeff.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't. I'm not what you think you want. I'm not pretty, or rich, or funny, or as exciting as my persona suggests. I'm just boring, ugly, old me, and you deserve someone good and beautiful. I don't want you to get to know me, because I don't want to break your heart when I leave in a few days time... I have to go now, as I need to have my costume fitted for tonight's performance. Goodbye Jeff" said Elise, before turning and making her way down the roof hatch and heading to her bedroom, leaving a broken Jeff alone on the roof.