Eternal Flame

Chapter Eleven

Raoul had been more than willing to find her and the triplets a place to live. He had offered to let them move in with him, but Christine had surprised both of them by how quickly she had denied that idea.

But she didn't care. She didn't want to live with him and give him the wrong idea. She was waiting on her stubborn man to come to his senses. 

She wasn't sure how long that would take. But she had all the time in the world. She'd wait forever if she had to. They'd gone through too much for her to just give up on them. 

Suddenly Jeanne and Emilie began sobbing their little heads off, essentially breaking her out of her thoughts.

This was something that was both an annoyance and a relief in equal measures.  While she wasn't truly annoyed by her little girls, her thoughts were the only place she could have Erik lately. Having them ruined wasn't something she appreciated.

Sometimes if she was lucky, thinking about him long enough caused her to dream about him. The dreams were usually all good and that was why she enjoyed them so much. Though it was hard, waking up from them.

Especially when she expected to see Erik when entering a kitchen. The harsh reality always hurt more when she was hopeful.  

She pulled herself out of bed and padded into the nursery. She picked up the little stuffed animal that had fallen out of the crib. She handed it to Emilie before scooping up Jeanne. 

Her nightdress was pulled downwards and she positioned the other girl at her breast. Fortunately Gustave still seemed to be sleeping deeply. How? She wasn't even remotely sure. But she was hardly going to complain. 

Emilie gummed at the teddy bear, seeming to wait patiently enough.  This was something she considered another relief as it was rather difficult to feed two babies at once. 

Impossible was perhaps a better description when she really thought about it. As soon as Jeanne pushed away, she burped the little girl and laid her back down. She scooped up Emilie and took the bear away from her. 

    Emilie's bottom lip began to wobble before she guided her to the same spot. The baby latched on and immediately began drinking. She sighed in relief, stroking her hair. 

This would be much easier if Erik were here. He could distract the others while she fed them. But he wasn't here. So she'd just have to deal.   

    Emilie drank for longer than Jeanne had, but she didn't care. As long as her baby got her fill, it was fine. She burped her as well and laid her back down carefully. 

Gustave was still asleep so she wandered over to check on him as well. He seemed to be fine so she left them alone, heading back to her room. She immediately flopped back down and covered herself up. 

She saw no reason to do anything else. She'd eat when she absolutely had to. Nothing else held her attention without him.

There had been a couple visitors aside from Raoul, but she didn't want to talk to the Giry's either. So she tended to ignore  them until they  gave up completely.   

She nuzzled her face against her  pillow and tried to convince herself to go to sleep again. She didn't give a fuck that it was the middle of the day. 

Babies slept a lot, so why shouldn't she? It wasn't like there was anyone else here that she was neglecting. 

Sleep was preferable to being awake anyway. Especially since her dreams were much better than her real life at the current moment. 

Maybe he'd actually be here when she woke up this time.  It was a foolish thought, but one she stupidly allowed herself to indulge in. It would hurt when reality crashed in on her again, but for now she was content to dwell on it. 

   
»»————-　☠　————-««

 
Erik would very much love to be doing anything else than what he was right now. Having Madame Giry of all people sitting across from him was not something he appreciated. Especially not when she had come down here uninvited. 

      He refused to speak, simply staring her down. If she wanted to talk, it would have to be on her to start the conversation. It was really as simple as that.  If he had it this way, he'd be wallowing in his own misery. 

Christine had taken the children and left him like everyone else. She hadn't even tried to understand his situation. But god, as angry as he was he still adored her. He couldn't bring himself to hate her. 

Erik was pretty sure that he just couldn't, not even if he really, really pushed himself to do so. She was just that important to him. If she were anyone else, it would be different. But she was his angel, his Christine.  

"Suck it up. Go to her. You know you want to and you know she wants you to." The older woman suddenly ordered, breaking the silence. 

He blinked at her, surprised by her blunt attitude. He knew she was blunt with the ballet rats but he hadn't dared to think that she'd be that blunt with him.   Perhaps the old woman had a stupid streak that he wasn't aware of before. 

"No, I don't think I will.  If she misses me she can come find me." Erik uttered firmly, but not even he quite believed his claims. 

If he knew where she was, he might just give in despite himself. He didn't wish to give in. He wanted her to be the one to give in for once. 

But somehow he doubted that she would. She was always rather stubborn about things when she truly believed that she had the right idea. 

Madame Giry rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. She stood and grabbed a piece of his parchment and his pen. He watched as she scribbled something down before shoving it into his chest. It was an address. 

"You might be able to fool yourself, but you can't fool me. Even Nadir knows that you crave a normal life. Don't blow your chances to have one." She snapped before turning and storming away. 

Erik could only state blankly at the address, puffy lower lip caught between his teeth.

Surely one visit couldn't hurt anything, right? He'd leave before they ever noticed him.