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Post by Erik on Jun 16, 2008 12:54:51 GMT -5
"Erik will do as he wishes," he grumbled, but all the same he was touched that she was caring for him. He vaguely remembered apologizing to her for something, but couldn't remember what he'd done at the moment. He was fidgeting, though, because the burns on his back were starting to bother him. Though the squirming only exacerbated the pain.
"No one will look at Erik again," he said with hollow certainty, his voice strangely soft and detached.
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 13:00:19 GMT -5
"Not necessarily-"
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Post by Erik on Jun 16, 2008 13:33:04 GMT -5
"It doesn't matter," Erik said. "Still... at least Pina... Will Pina look at Erik, do you think?"
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 13:36:40 GMT -5
"She's our daughter." Megan said softly. "She will."
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Post by Erik on Jun 16, 2008 14:48:10 GMT -5
It was all over. He knew that. He felt it. Everything hurt, except the parts too burned to retain nerve endings. He'd never taken physical limitations well, and he strained against them now, to no avail.
"It hurts, Megan."
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 15:00:16 GMT -5
"I know it does..."
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 15:03:10 GMT -5
She left for a moment and returned with a cloth and a bowl of water. She set the bowl at his bedside, dipped the cloth in the water, and gently began dabbing at his face, trying very hard not to hurt him.
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 15:05:57 GMT -5
"Tell me if I'm too rough."
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Post by Erik on Jun 16, 2008 16:10:27 GMT -5
Erik winced, but even that hurt. He restricted himself to the hiss of breath as she touched the cloth to his raw flesh. He knew she was trying to help, and it recalled to his mind all the other ways she'd tried to help him that hadn't been good enough. She'd never be Christine, or Christian, or even Nadir. There was something missing, some spark, or history. And he thought, fleetingly, that he'd been foolish to push her away when she'd been so sickeningly good to him.
Then again, he hadn't had much choice, he reminded himself. Somehow, she'd grown faster than he, and he'd lost track until he hardly knew her or Pina anymore. Even before the... (his mind shied away from the asylum)... even before, her and Pina's sudden aging had driven a wedge between them.
Not that changing that would have helped, probably.
"Thank you," he whispered, his eyes seeking hers. "I should like some water, I think. To drink."
It felt like his throat was burning, too.
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 16:19:04 GMT -5
She left again for a moment, and returned with a glass of water. Without saying a word, she slid her arm under his pillow and propped him up a few inches, holding the glass to his lips and tilting it enough that the water began trickling into his mouth.
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Post by Erik on Jun 16, 2008 16:31:41 GMT -5
He hated feeling so helpless. Hated hurting. Hated the fog that seemed to settle in his lungs and around his limbs in in his brain. Or was it smoke? He couldn't remember. He drank some water dutifully, but even that was uncomfortable. Still, it eased the parched feeling of his tongue. But finally his body rebelled, and he choked a little and spluttered.
"Thank you," he said quietly when he could speak again. The reality of his situation was beginning to dawn on him. Pain and more pain, and that was if he lived at all. Recovery, and then what?
A half life, more bitter still than the one he'd led before for the loss of what came before.
"You must kill Erik, Megan," he said decisively. It was the only way. "Before the doctor gets here. Before they try to save me. Yes, it should be quite easy."
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 16:40:33 GMT -5
She started in shock, sloshing the remains of the water over him.
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 16:43:31 GMT -5
"I can't- no, Erik, think of Pina..."
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Post by Erik on Jun 16, 2008 16:49:51 GMT -5
Erik jerked as the water hit him. But he was not deterred.
"Pina... doesn't need me. Never did--you saw to that. Perhaps you were right. Only Julian will mourn... But Erik cannot--will not--live like this."
His voice cracked in the end, but whether from pain or emotion it was unclear.
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Post by Lady Norrington on Jun 16, 2008 17:10:23 GMT -5
"...I would mourn you," she said very quietly.
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