Pen a Pal (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Christine had been sleeping so soundly.. but that was before she felt somebody shaking her and calling her name. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know who it was- her mother. Perhaps this 'waking her up' business was becoming a trend, since the same thing had happened the previous morning. This time, however, Christine wouldn't be so nice. "What?" she asked groggily with hostility in her tone.

"I just.." her mother began hesitantly. "What do you think of him?"

"Of Jeremy," she stated before sighing. She woke me up for this? For a second, Christine didn't say anything. Just as she had thought before and just as Erik had typed in his email to her, she wouldn't forgive her mother so easily. "You want the truth?" Without waiting for a reply, she sat up and said, "I don't like him. He's basically sucking up to Brian and I so that he can be with you without feeling guilty. And you were all over him at dinner. It was gross. I mean, seriously, why would you be that way in front of your own kids?" Christine frowned in a disapproving way with her arms crossed.

Her mother obviously hadn't been expecting an answer like that. "Wait just a minute," she said angrily. "You're not even giving him a chance. You just met him. How can you judge him so quickly?"

Christine wouldn't back down. "Yeah, well, I could say the same thing to you about 'just meeting him'. One second you're single and missing Dad, and the next you're getting married! This isn't even about that, though. It's the way you introduced him to us that has made me dislike him! You bring him over, he makes a poor attempt to try to gain our approval, and then both of you are too busy wrapped up in your disgusting relationship to care about Brian and I for the rest of the time. It's just plain rude! How can anyone like somebody who barely makes an attempt to get to know a person after just being introduced?" Christine was fuming but also proud of herself. She knew that what she'd just said was clear and to the point. Her mother wouldn't be able to come up with a decent argument against it.

"Well," she said slowly. "It looks like your mind is made up. But what's going to happen when he becomes your stepfather? Are you just going to ignore him?"

'Stepfather'… Christine could almost laugh at the word. "I will never consider that man to be my stepfather. It's obvious he doesn't know how to be a father figure. So yeah, I guess I will just ignore him." Perhaps she was talking too quickly without really thinking things through. She slightly wondered if she was acting irrationally about the whole mess. The thought was distant, though, so she shrugged it off.

Her mother began walking towards the door. "And here I thought you were nicer than this, Christine. I'm disappointed in you."

Ouch. That kind of hurts. She wouldn't let her get away with it. "No Mom, you would actually have to care to be disappointed. When it comes to this marriage, you don't care about me or Brian. And I don't see any reason to be nice. I don't even know who you are anymore." She decided to make a cold remark, just like her mother had. "You don't even act like a mom to us. You're never around, you're always with him. Maybe I should just start calling you by your first name, Carrie." That caused her mother to stop walking, but her back was still towards her. "Just go. You've already made your half-hearted attempt of getting me to be on your side. It didn't work."

Carrie winced and walked away, closing the door on her way out.

Christine gritted her teeth and felt like crying over it all. She needed a mother.. but all she had was a woman who only cared about one person, Jeremy. It was so depressing. Not only had she lost her father at an early age, but she'd now lost her mother.