The Phantom's Admirer By: K.C.M

Chapter 19: Currently Engaged

I closed the letter and set it down beside me. "You are never alone." The words kept lingering in my thoughts. "What have you seen already?" I asked to no one. A knock at my door made me jump. "Coming." I yelled out. "Please be Alexandre." I kept begging in my mind.

Before I even got to the door, it quietly opened and my heart stopped. "Erik..." He shut the door and came towards me. I instinctively took a small step back and he stopped and frowned. "Valentina," He said. He didn't have a mask, just a large hat that shadowed his face. Erik took the hat off and cocked his head to the side, confused. "What are you doing?" He asked. "Erik, why did you come back?"

"Did you not read my letter?" I nodded my head. "Then you should know why I have made my return, Valentina." He frowned even more and my heart started racing. "Erik-" Before I could say anything else, he scooped me up and twirled me around. Then he looked at me expectantly, trying to see the joy that wasn't there. "You're upset. What's troubling you?"

"I... I'm... It's... Nothing. It's nothing."

"You're lying, but I don't care. I'm just happy I am able to see you." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the lips. Just like in the dream, there was nothing. "No, Erik-" I tried to say, before he kissed me again. "I missed you so much." He smiled at me, and then his eyes widened. "I have an idea." He said, and then pushed me back and I fell on the couch. "No!" I said as he came and tried to kiss me again. "What's wrong? Didn't you miss me?" He gave a charming smile and forced me to kiss him. "Stop it!"

"Why? I've waited so long to see you! I love you, Valentina." It was just like the first time he told me, him on top of me, looking wild. The difference was that I wasn't bound, and he wasn't drunk. "Erik, no!" I shouted. He put his hand over my mouth and frowned. "Someone's going to hear you!" I looked at him pleading. I was screaming in my head, "Help! Someone help me, please!" He finally took his hand off, just so he could kiss me again. I tried pushing him off, but he only held my hands in one of his own. "Stop! STOP IT!" I just kept screaming. Nothing seemed to phase him. "Valentina, please stop screaming."

Finally the door slammed open. Erik had forgotten to lock it. I managed to see a glimpse of Alexandre and my heart started beating harder, if that is even possible. "Get off her!" He screamed and ran over to us. Erik jumped up and pulled me up with him. He seemed to tower over Alexandre. "Well if it isn't lover boy. The little puppy who tried so hard for Valentina to love him."

"Let her go, Phantom!"

"I'll kill you first!"

I unintentionally let out a heart wrenching "No!" and lunged in between them. "No! Don't hurt him, Erik!"

"What?" There was a look of utter pain as he looked from him to me. "Don't hurt him, Erik." I said again, trying to be calm. "No, Valentina, you can't." He tried to say. I just shook my head and his eyes began to water. However, he then looked at Alexandre with fury in his eyes. "You!" He screamed, and then lunged at him, pinning him against the wall. "Erik!" I screamed and tried to pull him off. With one shove I was down on the ground, and he put his attention back on Alexandre. "You did this!"

"I must have tried too hard to make her fall in love with me, huh, Erik." That was absolutely the worst thing to say. He began to choke Alexandre and I panicked. I grabbed a lamp that was beside the couch and hit him, hard, on the head. Erik crumbled on the floor and Alexandre began gasping for breath. "You're a complete idiot, do you know that?!?" I said, dropping the lamp and rushing over to him. I was completely furious with him for being such a moron. "You could have died!"

"Well, what would have happened if I hadn't heard you screaming?" I didn't say anything. "Exactly. We have to go." He grabbed my hand and pulled me all the way to the buggy. "We're going to the police, now." Alexandre said as we drove off. I looked back at the building that was disappearing behind us and said quietly to myself, "He's not going to be there."