chapter 6

I t was all still so unnerving . Since I'd left Antoinette and the hotel almost a month ago, my room was the only place I felt safe and like there weren't eyes on me all the time.

Everywhere, statues stood, and paintings were hung. There weren't many places I didn't feel as if I wasn't being watched. Some days more than others.

Like now.

Once in a while, it felt like that Like the air shifted and the little hairs on the back of your neck stood up, alerting you that you weren't alone.

Good thing it was almost time to walk through another couple of doorways.

I had lost count of how many thresholds I'd stepped through, hoping it would be the one to send me home. How many times hope had shattered into tinier pieces with each failure.

I had found and tried all the restrooms around the theater but figured that any doorway was worth trying at this point. Even retrying, just in case.

Shit, I hadn't even left this place in the time I'd been here, scared I would miss any chance of getting back to my time. Nevertheless, I started to question whether I would even be going back home.

I looked down both ends of the hallway, absentmindedly fidgeting with the rag I had used for cleaning. Just as devoid of life as when I started. Though, the feeling intensified down the end I hadn't made it to yet.

The weight of loneliness had gotten a bit worse since I've been alone so much. Truly the loneliest I'd ever been.

The tears were eager to escape. I have wanted to cry since I got here. Yet, nothing happened. Just utter disbelief. Maybe I was still in denial or something.

I buried my face in my hands, exhaling in frustration, and muffling the scream that wouldn't come, either. I just needed to get home.

Forgetting about the little cherub statue that I'd been buffing for the past while, I dropped the rag into the bin at my feet. Nervously, I smoothed out the skirt of my dress, looking down the hallway again. Still empty.

God, I hated wearing this thing, especially for work. The wig made it worse. I was hot all the time. At least the itching had finally subsided. Mostly.

Everything in me warned against investigating what was surely just paranoia. Like some dumb horror movie shit. Yet, there I was, creeping towards it.

My heart sped up as I inched down the corridor, scanning nooks between columns and statues.

Just because no one talked to me didn't mean I didn't listen to those speaking around me. There couldn't really be someone running around in the walls. There were way too many people not to have noticed. With all the accidents and things that went on around the theater, there was not one mention of a ghost.

I would know it if they mentioned it, right?

The immense number of lights in this building made it nearly impossible to hide. I was at least 87% sure no one was around. This wasn't an area many traveled through. Not even employees.

My pulse quickened as I neared the entrance to the servant's corridor just before the hallway split off. It was used to get through the building quicker during events. The lights were always on. Except today, it was pitch black.

What if there was someone running around?

My ears burned and my palms clammed up. "You know what, no. Not doing this," I said and turned back.

"Holy shit! Pierre!" I shouted at my boss, who appeared out of nowhere.

His hands flew into the air. "Melody!" he said, just as startled.

"You scared the fuck out of me. You can't just sneak up on people. Jesus Christ," I said, knowing he wouldn't understand.

" Sorry, " he said, and handed me a small piece of paper.

While my heart tried to find a normal pace, my limbs shook as I reached out for the note from the managers. This was the only way Pierre and I had been able to communicate effectively.

Usually, he'd just drag me somewhere. Probably upset that I was in the restroom a lot.

A twinge of excitement overran the anxious knot inside my stomach as I read. I was being moved to the theater!

It had not only been lonely, but unbearably quiet. I had only listened to a few songs on my phone, trying to preserve the battery, which was at 32% the last time I turned it on over a week ago.

After all that had happened, being able to work while they rehearsed seemed like a dream come true.

Pierre started towards the main hall, giving me no acknowledgment whatsoever.

With my heart rate finally at a normal level, I looked over my shoulder into the dark hallway that tried to draw me in.

It was just that, an empty corridor.

" Come with me, strange one ," Pierre said, over his shoulder.

My feet picked up fast behind him and the feeling of eyes disappeared the further away we got.

***

I'd nearly forgotten where I was when we stepped into the brightly lit room.

Private boxes and seats wrapped all the way around from one side of the stage to the other. The overwhelming warmth of red and gold in the room had me smiling for the first time since that night.

One of the biggest tragedies of this whole fucking situation was that I'd been so focused on getting home, that I hadn't allowed myself to take in the beauty around me.

I was surrounded by history and some of the most stunning art I'd ever seen, and it was impossible to appreciate it. But I was appreciating it now. For a moment, I was a tourist.

Pierre had left me standing in the middle of the theater to talk with someone nearby. So, like a child in awe, I stared at the mural on the ceiling. Giddy at the sight of the famous chandelier I'd seen online so many times at the center of it, currently receiving repairs as it hung.

The theater was nothing like how I'd first seen it after the massive fixture fell onto the chairs below.

Last, but not least, performing on the stage, the company reset for another run through of whatever scene they were working on. Actors, and whom I assumed were the directors, chatted very loudly over something while the orchestra practiced runs and tuned their instruments.

" Réinitialiser! " the director yelled.

Everyone fell back into place, readying for the go ahead. It wasn't a dress rehearsal, so it was hard to tell who the characters were supposed to be. Either way, as soon as the music started up, my heart filled with life.

Musicals were my thing. Phantom was technically a musical with operatic aspects, so I'd never heard real opera before. Not live, anyway. This was amazing.

So exciting, in fact, my body moved towards the stage without consent. I couldn't stop myself if I wanted to. The male lead, a very thin man, sang and sang as he paraded around the stage with a book in hand.

" Stop! " the director said. "Lorenzo!"

Like I had any right to do so, I clapped, shouting, "Bravo. Bravo," with the dumbest smile on my face. "That was amazing."

Lorenzo's brows raised and gestured at me while he and the director argued. "Dah!" as if to prove a point.

Some actors snickered in my direction, others stared at me, confused. And I was suddenly aware of my surroundings again.

Startled by the sound of clapping that wasn't mine, I glanced to find Raoul de Chagny standing beside me. Raoul… Thee fucking Raoul de Chagny. The golden retriever without ears for listening. Christine's childhood boyfriend.

I wondered if that was the case here too?

He looked as he did when I first saw him in the manager's office. A kindness and sincerity in his eyes.

"That was really wonderful, wasn't it?" he said.

The sound of English words danced in my ears as the heat of embarrassment graced my face for staring too long.

"Yeah. Yes," I replied.

"We have met before, haven't we?" he asked.

"Well, not officially. Melody Reilly," I said.

"Raoul de Chagny," he replied, and dipped his head. "That pleasant looking man over my shoulder is my brother, Philippe."

Philippe looked so "delighted" to be there. He eyed me up and down as if I'd stolen something from him, then cleared his throat with intention.

"Excuse me. Comte de Chagny," Raoul corrected.

"Pleasure to meet you both, officially." What in the strangeness is this?

"Well, Miss Reilly. Have you seen the ghost yet?" Raoul asked with a soft sarcasm in his tone.

"Oh. Not yet, Monsieur," I said, mirroring his playfulness. "Have you? I mean, it's just a metaphor, right? Because things happen during production all the time."

"Ah, no, but I have only recently started my visits to this wonderful place. My brother, however, frequents this lovely establishment. Still, no sight of floating skulls with fire for eyes. So, I think you might be right. A metaphor."

"Floating skulls and fire eyes?" I laughed. In the book version of Phantom, there was something like that. It was just tricks and people just making up stories as they went on.

The director yelled and the cast reset differently this time.

Raoul and I turned our attention back to Lorenzo, who was floating to a woman walking into view off stage as he sang to her.

Oh…

The moment the woman opened her wide mouth to sing, I suddenly wished I didn't have ears. I may not be able to carry a tune, but I knew what tone was, and this woman didn't have it. In fact, she murdered it and didn't bother trying to hide it.

Raoul and I grimaced at the sound assaulting the space.

" Stop ," the director yelled again. "Carlotta, please, beautiful prima donna… "

I heard no more as the world began spinning again.

Carlotta? The lead soprano in all the stories. The one who couldn't sing but somehow held her title and place in the spotlight, was real too?

That had to mean Christine was somewhere, right?

Maybe even…

"Are you alright?" Raoul asked, grasping my arm, trying to keep me upright.

"I'm so sorry. I just suddenly felt a little dizzy," I laughed.

"No apologies necessary, miss. She is awful, isn't she?"

A hand gripped my other arm roughly. " Que fais-tu? " Pierre growled and yanked me beside him like I was a child as he spoke with Raoul. I think he was apologizing?

I yanked my arm back and rubbed the sore spot. "Asshole," I muttered.

While I attempted to keep the war in my stomach at bay, I stared in shock at the small woman with dark hair and ego that suffocated the room.

"He's anxious, isn't he?" Raoul said, referring to Pierre.

"Every day."

"I must be going. Good day to you, miss. And watch out for the ghosts," he said, winking at me.

Sweet boy. I hoped he was the listening version.

Pierre spewed a very long line of what I'd assume were insults as he jabbed a finger into my shoulder, until someone called out to him from the stage, cutting him off. The man said a few things and pointed to the back of the stage.

The low groan in his throat and clenched jaw told me he didn't have the availability to chastise me anymore as he urged me along with him.

There were even more people behind the giant curtains. Dancers stretched in groups. Stagehands moved unfinished set pieces around. There was even a prop master off to the side working on pieces.

" Rester ," he said, pointing to the ground where we stood.

If I worked back here, I would be closer to the restroom that brought me here. I could slip out and no one would know.

As he walked away, my eyes wandered around a little, landing on the set of stairs we'd stopped next to.

Maybe just a minor detour. Just in case I get home this time … Who's square now, Sarah?

With my lip between my teeth, I climbed the stairs with haste. To my surprise, the unexpected exhilaration kept me going to the top without wheezing.

Though I questioned my courage as soon as I stepped onto the catwalk and it moved. Heights weren't an issue for me, but the swinging of the fucking catwalk was. The fact the railings were just ropes bolted into bigger ropes, which were knotted into the boards under my feet, made this super sketchy.

I made it about halfway over the stage until I felt comfortable enough to sit and watch the world pass by below.

As my legs dangled over the wooden edge, Carlotta yelled at some poor random ensemble member while the director begged her for something. Maybe if she stopped yelling at people, her voice wouldn't sound so bad. It's like someone opened up a blender and dropped a vibrator inside. Then put both things on full speed.

Fuck. I missed my vibrator. Not that the urge had come up at all, but it would be nice to take the edge off.

Just another reason to get home. And to get out of this freakin' wig.

Carlotta's voice pulled me out of any daydreaming I was about to do. Even though she was terrible. I couldn't turn away from all of this. It was Phantom in real time. Minus the Phantom.

Mom and Sarah would have loved this. Even though no one was going to believe it, I still didn't.

Ok. Just a few minutes more then I'll go.

A creaking from the catwalk above cut through the glass-shattering vocals and my busy mind. If it were possible to snap my own neck just with a turn, it would have happened as I tried to see into the darkness above.