It had been two weeks since Randy's party, and since then, Phoebe hadn't been her usual happy, bubbly self; instead she had become very quiet and withdrawn. This worried Paige a lot. In the six years that she'd known Phoebe, she'd never seen her like this. It wasn't like her at all. At first, she'd thought that maybe Phoebe had had a bad day, or that maybe she'd had a fight with her Grams or one of her sisters, but that only lasts for a day or so - not two weeks. Every time Paige tried talking to her, Phoebe would brush it off and say that nothing was wrong, which Paige knew wasn't true. She'll talk when she's ready, Paige thought to herself. She looked at the clock on the wall. Crap! I'm gonna be late for school!! Paige grabbed her things and rushed out the door.
The day started out pretty normal, just like any other. When Paige got to school, she saw Phoebe at her locker and went over to talk to her. "Hey," Paige said, smiling.
"Hey," Phoebe replied quietly. Her shoulders slumped. She looked like she wanted to crawl into her locker and never come out.
"Is everything..." The bell rang for the first class of the day.
"See you at lunch," said Phoebe as she rushed off. They didn't have a class together until English, second last period. Paige grabbed her books and went to class with Phoebe on her mind.
When the bell went for lunch, Paige went to her locker to wait for Phoebe. She waited for fifteen minutes, but Phoebe was nowhere to be seen. Paige decided to go and look for her. First she tried the gym, incase Phoebe's class had run late; then she tried the lunchroom, and finally the library. The only other place that Phoebe could be was in the bathroom.
When Paige opened the door to the bathroom, the first thing she noticed was the sound of someone crying. She walked over to where the sound was coming from and knocked on the stall door. "Pheebes, is that you?" she asked gently. There was no answer, just sobbing. "Are you okay honey? C'mon open the door. It's me, Paige." Slowly she heard the lock turn and saw the door open. Phoebe stepped out of the stall still crying. The sight of her broke Paige's heart. She looked so small and vulnerable, nothing like the confident and outgoing Phoebe that she knew and loved. She walked over to Paige and practically collapsed into her arms. "I'm going to take you home. There's no way you can stay here like this," Paige said, stroking Phoebe's hair. "Let's get you cleaned up a bit before we go hey?" Paige grabbed some tissues and wiped Phoebe's face and eyes. Her mascara had run, leaving black streaks down her face. Her eyes were all red and puffy from crying. "Do you want to wait here while I quickly grab our stuff?"Asked Paige. Phoebe nodded. "Okay, I'll only be a minute." She left the bathroom wondering what the hell could be wrong with Phoebe. She went to her locker and grabbed her bag, then went to Phoebe's and did the same. She hurried back to the bathroom, to find a disheveled Phoebe had stopped crying. "Thanks," Phoebe whispered. They left the bathroom and headed to the door at the end of the hallway. When they got outside, Paige noticed that Phoebe was shaking, so she took off her coat and draped it around her shoulders. They walked over to Paige's car. It's a good thing I drove today she thought. "Let's go to my place. We'll be alone there." Paige had lived alone ever since her parents died when she was sixteen years old.
The trip home seemed to take forever. Phoebe hadn't said a word the whole way; she just stared out the window. Finally the car stopped. Paige and Phoebe got out and went inside. "Do you want anything?"Asked Paige.
"Mind if I lie down for a while?" Phoebe looked like she was about to start crying again.
"Yeah that's cool. You can rest in my room if you like." Phoebe went upstairs and Paige heard her shut the door. Poor thing looks exhausted thought Paige as she flipped on the TV. After watching for about an hour, she went upstairs to check on Phoebe, and see how she was doing. She climbed the stairs and knocked on her bedroom door. "Pheebes, you okay?" No answer. Quietly, she opened the door and saw that Phoebe had fallen asleep. She shut the door and went downstairs. Paige decided that she'd ring home and let Grams know that Phoebe would be staying for a couple of days. She picked up the phone and dialed Phoebe's number. It answered on the fourth ring. "Hello?"
"Hey Piper, its Paige."
"Hi Paige. How are you?"
"Yeah not bad. Listen, I'm just calling to let you guys know that Phoebe's gonna be staying here for a few days."
"Okay no worries, I'll tell Grams."
"Thanks Piper. Bye" Paige hung up the phone and went into the kitchen to get a drink. No sooner had she opened the cupboard to get a glass, she heard Phoebe cry out. She raced upstairs and into her room, where she realized Phoebe was having a nightmare.
"No don't! Stop!" Phoebe murmured. Paige saw tears streaming down her face. She sat down next to her on the bed. "Pheebes, Pheebes. It's okay honey. It's only a dream," Paige said softly, trying to wake her up. Phoebe jumped awake. "Oh My God. Where am I?"
"Its okay sweetie, you're at my place. You were having a bad dream, but its okay now. You're safe." Paige said, putting her arms around Phoebe trying to comfort her. She could feel here trembling in her arms. "Please don't leave me Paige," whimpered Phoebe. "I'm scared to be alone."
"I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I'll be here when you wake up." Paige felt two small arms wrap around her waist, as Phoebe snuggled into her, falling back to sleep almost instantly. She looks so adorable when she's sleeping thought Paige as she too drifted off to sleep.