Like Father, Like Son | Phantom of the Opera

xxxv. Accidental Unveiling (Part II)

"Because it's not going to fix anything!" I felt my voice crack as I spoke those words, but they needed to be said. I could not bear witness to him drowning his sorrows in a bottle.

He must have heard how troubled I was by everything, as he glanced over his shoulder at me, though we had somehow returned to the part where he didn't look me in the eyes. "I'm going to give you that only because of the pounding in my head. Talking isn't making it any better," he sighed.

"Papa, did you sleep last night?" I asked him.

He gestured to himself and it felt like he was mocking the question itself. "Look at me and draw a conclusion."

"Papa, I'm not going to deal with you if you're going to act like this. Now if you could be serious for a moment and look me in the eyes as you speak, I'd appreciate it."

"Gustave, I told you I didn't want to see anyone and you came anyway," he pointed out. "You really expect me to cooperate and carry out a conversation?"

"I'd like to think I can expect that from my father," I snapped back. He had to realize how similar we truly were; he was not going to simply be rid of me because he wanted to be difficult.

He gave me an overly-exaggerated sigh and turned back around to face me. "There. Now you can see just how much of a mess I am. What else do you want?"

I cautiously took a step towards him, wanting to be as gentle as possible with him. "I want to know that you are okay, but I believe that question can be answered without having to speak. Now we need to get you dressed into something that doesn't make it look like you just got dragged through the street," I explained as I gestured upstairs.

"Why? It's not like I'm going anywhere or seeing anyone besides you."

I remembered that I had yet to fill in my lie and thought quickly: "Lara wants to see you. She's at home because Christine had a hard time sleeping through the night. Now come on, or do I need to help you up the stairs?"

"I should be able to get up there myself, but that doesn't mean I'm going to. I'm in no state to see your wife or my granddaughter."

"It doesn't matter. We've both seen you in worse situations and Christine is too young to remember it." I knew that he was worried about having Christine see him in such a state so I crafted my cover-up carefully. "Lara wants to see you; she is worried about you. It took me promising to come to get you in order for her to even agree to stay home and try to get some sleep with Christine."

"Gustave, really, I...I just want to be by myself."

"Do you really want Lara to come here and see this? Because if I go back alone, she'll come here," I shot back with an attempted guilt trip that he had used a thousand times before.

"No, I don't want her to see me like this. I didn't want you to see this, never mind her."

"Good. Now get changed."

I had thought that my plan was working until he continued to try and get me to leave: "Gustave, can I not just phone Lara and talk to her? I'm a mess, my head is absolutely pounding, I'm mad at myself and upset about what happened last night. I don't want to make her have to put up with that."

"Papa, I'm not giving you the option and you know Lara is more terrifying than both of us combined. I don't think you want to be on the receiving end of whatever happens if you don't come with me."

"I don't, no, but that doesn't mean I want to leave the house." His tone was getting softer and I thought for a moment that I might have actually gotten to him.

I had been saving this line until it was absolutely necessary and it seems that it was. "It's not about what you want to do. It's about what you're going to do."