False Images
Disclaimer: The characters are property of Mr Spelling.
The room was filled with several smells. Sauce, soup, steak, fresh cut fruits. Piper Halliwell was doing her work in the middle of the room, the huge kitchen at Quake. She was standing behind a pot of gravy and was about to throw in another pinch of salt in it when she heard the voice of the chef.
"Piper, someone wants you on the phone. It's okay you can go, Luciano can watch the gravy." He said as he pulled the Italian from behind his back and nearly pushed him to the pot.
"Thanks, chef. And I want my gravy the same as I left it, ok, Luciano?" Piper playfully shot him a stern glance.
"Don't worry Piper, just go." He laughed waving with his hand telling her to get out.
Piper walked to the small office where the phone was and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi baby." A deep voice said, making Piper smile.
"Jeremy! Well hi to you too, honey. What's up? How come you're calling here?"
"Hey, am I not allowed to call the sweet little girlfriend of mine?" He heard Piper laugh and continued, "I'm calling cause I wondered if you'd want to spend the rest of the day with me? We could go see a movie and then have a wonderful nice dinner in a gorgeous restaurant."
"Aww Jeremy I'd really love to. But today I promised my sisters that we could go to the park and picnic and have dinner at home." Piper said sadly.
"Well if you don't mind I'd love to join that picnic and dinner. But only if you and your sisters are ok with it." He said nicely.
"Really? I'd love that! I'm sure my sisters don't mind. They like you, you know?" Piper smiled.
"Oh do they? Good to hear that, sweetie. I wouldn't feel good dating you knowing that your family doesn't like me."
"Well now you know they do. Okay honey, I gotta go back to my gravy, can't leave it too long in the hands of a beginner, you know?" Piper said laughing.
"Yeah, that Italian boy..hope your gravy's fine. Anyway, meet you at 2 then?"
"Two's fine, come to the park where we usually are, ok?"
"Alright. I'll see you then. Love you." He kissed into the phone.
"Love you, too. Bye." Piper kissed back and hung up. As she walked back to her pot, she couldn't help but grin. There weren't many guests at Quake today anyway and now that there was a new cook Piper could sometimes go home really early. Like today. And then she'd have the whole day for her boyfriend. Her grin got wider as she thought about him. Jeremy was the sweetest and hottest guy she knew. They were together now for four months, shortly after Paige had moved in he came into Piper's life. Piper felt good to have a relationship again. Seeing Paige with Richard and Prue with Andy all the time, she kinda felt left out. Sure Phoebe didn't have a boyfriend, either but that was different. She wasn't the one to last in a relationship anyway. There were so many different guys Piper sometimes saw within a few weeks on her sister's side that she had already even given up asking their names. Phoebe seemed to be more or less in search of THE one. It didn't really seem to work though. Piper felt a little sorry for her sister. She had everything a guy would want from a girl. She was beautiful, nice, funny, sexy, easy-going but also had her shy and cute sides and so on so forth. She was just lacking in luck.
Piper nearly squealed in delight as the clock showed her time to take off the apron (orwhatever those white things the cooks always wear r called). She quickly made her way to her car and drove off to the park.
"Ah there she is." Prue said as she saw the figure approaching.
"Look at the silly grin she wears. Guess we get company afterwards." Phoebe said laughing. Paige laughed at that, too.
"Well I'm glad Piper finally found her bo. Took her long enough." She said.
"What took me long enough?" Piper said as she finally reached her sisters and sat down on the blanket.
"For you to come, honey. We've been starving." Prue said laying a hand on her empty stomach. Phoebe reached for the basket with the sandwitches and fruits in it but was playfully slapped on the hand by Piper.
"Ah Phoebe! You gotta learn to be a bit more patient, missy." She acted stern.
"Sowwy! No need to hit me!" Phoebe replied faking hurt. "Where's your husband?" She came to her point right away. Piper blushed at the word 'husband' but had a surprised look on her face.
"How did you know he's coming? I was gonna tell you that just now. And he's not my husband yet."
"Wow Piper. You said 'yet'. You must be really serious with him." Phoebe said.
"Aarrgh I didn't mean that!" Piper reached to pull at Phoebe's cheeks.
"Okay kids, stop teasing each other now." Paige pulled her two sisters away from each other, laughing. Then she saw another figure approaching. "Piper, your dessert is just walking towards us." Piper then turned around and hit Paige palyfully in the arm.
There he was. As cute as always. He had short, black hair with incredibly green eyes, his body well-trained not to mention he was tall and he had a perfect teeth smile showing his dimples.
"Ohhh he looks gorgeous again. Got yourself a good man there, big sis." Phoebe said looking towards Jeremy.
"What the..!"
"Piper I was just kidding! Do you honestly think I would be interested in your boyfriend?" Phoebe said but Piper couldn't give her the answer as she was drawn into a long kiss.
"Hi Jeremy. Good to see you." Prue said laughing a bit. Jeremy then broke the kiss.
"Oh hi Prue. And Paige and Phoebe. Sorry I just couldn't resist." He said with a sheepish grin.
"Of course you can't. This is my sister Piper you're kissing." Prue said grinning back. In the beginning of the realtionship between Jeremy and her little sister she was still a bit suspicious but with the time passing she saw that he was actually quite the nice guy and above all she saw how happy Piper seemed to be with him.
"So you'll have dinner with us?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, if I'm invited." He answered sweetly.
"Sure you are. Actually I can call Richard then. And you can call Andy, Prue. A triple date at home, so to say." Paige suggested.
"Good idea. You ok with that, Piper?"
"Sure Prue. I mean what's the difference between cooking for four or for six." Piper answered.
"Ohhh no fair! I'm the only one without a man on my side!" Phoebe pouted a little.
"Aww don't worry, squirt. You'll find him in time." Prue said ruffling Phoebe's hair.
They sat there now for the next two hours eating and talking, playing frisbee and taking walks. Jeremy stood up from his spot behind Piper on the blanket.
"As much as I hate to do this, I have to go now. My work awaits me."
"Aw, do you have to?" Piper whined.
"Sorry baby, but somehow I have to eat and buy clothes, right? Hey, I'll see you tonight, ok?" He pulled her into a passionate kiss again.
Jeremy walked away from the sisters. The girls didn't even see where he was walking to. As he reached the dark small alley, he made sure once again that he was alone and then disappeared into nothing.
He reappeared from nothing in a cave. In front of him, several figures were crowded around one dark figure. He approached it.
"I'm very close to it, master. The third sister is completely on my side now." Jeremy said with an evil grin.
"So the time has come to tell me what exactly your plan is." The figure spoke.
"Yes I will tell you. Frist of all, the sisters share a close bond between each other. This bond is one of love and trust to each other. And that is what makes them dangerous to us. The power of four has to be stopped. My plan is to destroy them with their own weapons."
"Express yourself a bit more clearly."
"Well maybe I should just show you my new power." He then looked down and whispered, "you will see the inside of the Halliwell's kitchen." And snappend his fingers once.
"What.." The figure seemed to be a little confused. He found himself in the middle of the Halliwell kitchen.
"Now ask your servants what they see." The figure did as Jeremy told him.
"We see the cave, Master." The servants answered. Jeremy snapped his fingers again and everything went back to normal.
"I'm impressed. But in what way will you use your power against them?"
"You will see very soon. The only thing I have to do is to destroy the components of their bond. And the Charmed Ones will stop to exist." An evil laughter between Jeremy and the dark figure broke out.
The four sisters stayed there for another hour but then went to see a movie. As they came out again, it was already dark.
"Ohh my God I hope I can sleep tonight. I think that Samantha girl is gonna visit me in my dreams later." Phoebe said shuddering a little.
"Well it was you who dragged us in 'the Ring'. If the coin had showed tails it would have been a nice romantic something and you wuldn't be scared right now." Paige said putting an arm around her baby sister's shoulders.
"Oh come on, Paige. I know you were on my side. You like 'the Ring'." Phoebe said hitting Paige playfully on her stomach.
"Ow, I just ate Pheebs! But you're right actually. I would be asleep now if we'd watched the other movies that were on." She whispered giggling. Phoebe giggled with her as the youngest and oldest walked in front of the middle ones.
When they entered the manor again, Piper went straight to the kitchen to make dinner.
"Want any help, sweetie?" Paige peeked in.
"Well, you're fine but don't let Prue or Phoebe in here. I'm too young to die." She said with a serious face making Paige laugh. She went to the table and began to cut vegetables.
"That bad, hey? Pity that I can't remember it yet." Paige said. Some memories were still not back yet. (Read Lost Oldest to understand it)
"Pity? You mean lucky. I think your mind refuses to remember the trauma of eating either Phoebe's or Prue's 'cooking'. Honestly Paige, Prue's soup is plain saltwater and Phoebe can't even cut vegetables without cutting half of her finger off with them." Piper was now giggling.
When the doorbell rang the girls went to open the front door. Paige and Prue's faces lightened up as they saw their men and Jeremy there. After kissing each other, they led the guys to the dining room.
"Piper's coming in one minute, Jeremy." Phoebe said as she sat down across from him.
"Sure Pheebs. So you don't have a boyfriend yet?" He asked looking at her strangely.
"Uh, no. But I'm sure he'll find me soon." Phoebe answered though a little taken aback by the sudden question. She noticed the weird look in Jeremy's eyes.
"So there's no one your heart belongs to?" He showed a little smile.
"No.. Jeremy what…" Phoebe felt awkward for the first time she was with Jeremy. But she was already cut off by her sisters joining the table with the guys.
"Jeremy..mmm..hi to you, too." Piper said as she broke the kiss.
"Piper can we start already? We're starved here." Prue said laughing as she sat next to Andy.
"Prue you said that earlier, too. Is it only me in this family who can be patient?" Piper laughed back as she placed the turkey and the vegetables on the table and took a seat next to her darling. Everyone began to eat and talk and laugh. But the youngest couldn't help but think that Piper's boyfriend was constantly looking at her.
After dinner everyone went to the living room, the three older sisters settling on the laps of their boyfriends, Phoebe on the couch next to Paige and Richard.
"That was gorgeous, Piper. I don't know why you're still not Quake's chef cook." Richard said as he ran his hand through Paige's reddish-blond hair.
"You can say that aloud, honey. But you gotta say something to me, too. I cut the salad!" Paige said pouting playfully.
"Aw sorry baby. The salad was great, too. I could live from only salad if it's one like today." He said smiling and giving his girlfriend a kiss.
"Wow, that's a word. Would you do that, too, Andy?" Prue looked at him, their noses touching.
"Uhh…well…you know…I..um…" Andy looked away earning himself a slap on his chest.
"Oh give it up, Prue! You better hire a maid or something. I don't want you and Andy to starve to death." Piper laughed. But then she got up.
"Hey, where you going?" Jeremy asked holding her wrist.
"Sorry babes, I gotta clean the table first. Our dishwasher can't manage to clean the dried things anymore. And do you know how hard it is to scrape all that stuff of the plates?" She said acting overly exasperated.
"Piper it's okay. I'll go. You stay here with your lover. I don't have anything else to do anyway." Phoebe said as she got up and gently pushed Piper back onto Jeremy's lap.
"Aww Pheebs. Come on, you can sit on my lap if you're lonely." Prue said smiling sympathetically.
"Thanks Prue but I'm fine." She laughed, "Honestly, I just think that I don't help my big sis enough." Phoebe smiled at Piper.
"Oh honey that's really sweet. Thank you." Piper smiled back as she melted into Jeremy's arms again.
Phoebe was now in the kitchen putting all the dishes in the dishwasher. It was true that she wanted to help Piper but the major reason was that she wanted to get away from Jeremy. She just couldn't shrug off the feeling that he was watching her. Letting out a sigh, she continued her work.
"Piper, sorry but could you get off for a second please? I'm kinda thirsty." Jeremy said smiling sweetly.
"Sure hun. But I can get you something if you want." Piper answered.
"No no no. You sit back down. You've already done your work for today. Does anyone else want something to drink?" He asked the room.
"No thanks Jeremy, we're okay." Andy replied for Prue and himself.
"Some water would be nice." Paige said.
Saying ok Jeremy made his way to the kitchen. The sisters couldn't see his evil grin. 'This is gonna be easy.' He thought. As he entered the kitchen, he saw the youngest Halliwell near the dishwasher still putting some plates into it.
"Hi Phoebe." Phoebe jumped as she suddenly heard the deep voice from behind.
"Oh h..hi Jeremy. You scared me." She said with a small smile.
"Sorry didn't mean to do that." He started to close the distance between them. Then, he heard someone's steps coming closer. He began to whisper,
"You will see Phoebe kissing me and me trying to fight her off. She doesn't stop." He looked up again as he snapped his fingers.
"Jeremy? Did..did you say something?" Phoebe asked as she thought he had whispered something. But then she saw him snap his fingers once and storming towards her. She didn't even have time to react as she suddenly felt rough lips being pressed against her own. Her heart stopped for a second but as she bacame aware of what was just happening, she placed her hands against his chest in order to push him away from her. But as he didn't move, she started to panic and started to fight, trying to free herself from the iron grip he had, turning her face as far away from her as possible. She didn't even hear the gasp from the person standing in the doorway. After one more second, the lips were gone again. It was then she realized that a third person was in the room and that this person had saved her from him. But as she was on her way to say something she stopped herself as she saw the person's features, the hurt eyes of….
"Piper…" Phoebe said a little more than a whisper.
When Jeremy was gone to get himself and Paige something to drink, Piper stood up as well.
"Piper, he said you can lean back." Paige said.
"Yeah I know. But see I kinda feel bad thinking of my little sister working in the kitchen alone while we're having fun. I'm sure she'd love some company." Piper smiled.
"You know what, Pipe? You're the nicest person on earth." Prue said.
"I know." Piper let out a laugh and started her way to the kitchen. She had already opened her mouth to say something but when she stepped in, she couldn't do anything else than gasp. She wasn't prepared to see what she saw then. She felt her knees getting weak as she watched for a second how her boyfriend, her new found soul mate, and her sister, her own flesh and blood, her baby she loved more than anything, were kissing each other. But her mind still registered that it wasn't only that. She saw how Jeremy desperately tried to push Phoebe away but Phoebe stepped towards him again and again, forcing kisses on him. It was all in one second that she stood there frozen, her eyes wide, her hand on her mouth, the world crashing around her. But her body acted on it's own as she found herself pulling the two away from each other, actually more or less pulling Phoebe off of him. Her shock stopped her from seeing the fear in her younger sister's brown eyes and not the evil smile of her boyfriend anyway as she didn't even look at his face.
"Piper…" She heard her sister say her name.
"Phoebe….what were you doing…?" She looked at Phoebe, her voice low and shaking.
Phoebe snapped back to reality as she began to explain in a loud voice.
"Piper! Oh God good you're here, he tried to…" A sudden pain and the sound of a hand hitting her left cheek stopped her from saying any more. She slowly put a hand on the stinging half of her face. Her eyes filled with tears as she literally felt the anger and hurt coming from her big sister.
"Get…get out.." Piper looked down and whispered, trembling.
"What..? Piper I.."
"I SAID GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! LEAVE THIS ROOM! NOW!" Piper shouted on top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. She saw the same tears on Phoebe's face but she didn't care. She saw Phoebe covering her mouth and running out of the room but she didn't care. All she felt was the pain and betrayal.
Paige and Prue rushed towards the kitchen as soon as they heard what sounded like a slap and then Piper's screaming. They were shocked to hear their usually soft and peaceful sister's voice in such a harsh tone. When they were about to enter the kitchen, a crying Phoebe bumped into them but Phoebe didn't register them she just continued to storm up the stairs.
"Phoebe!" Paige called after her but then looked towards Piper in the kitchen again. She was shaking uncontrollably. And Jeremy was just standing there, his expression one of shock. Prue quickly approached the two as did Paige.
"Piper! Hey, what the hell happened here? Why are you and Phoebe crying!" Prue asked loudly. But Piper just turned to Jeremy and looked up to his face.
"Jeremy.."
"Piper it was her! She came on to me, she tried to.." He was cut off instantly.
"I know..I've seen it with my own eyes…I can't believe it but what I've seen..it was real.." Piper said quietly. "You should leave now.."She looked down.
"But Piper it.."
"No please…Even if I know it wasn't…wasn't your fault I can't…you..please just leave..I'll call you." She finished.
"Okay. But always know that I love you.." Jeremy said quietly as he glanced at his girlfriend's sisters quickly and made his way out of the kitchen to the front door.
Paige and Prue were confused but they slowly began to realize what must have been happened here. They looked towards Andy and Richard who were standing behind them, not knowing what to do.
"Um, Andy, Richard. I think it's better if you leave now, too. We'll call you then." Paige said. The guys nodded and giving their girlfriends a quick hug, they headed out the door.
After the last sound of the door closing was heard, Prue and Paige looked at Piper again.
Piper couldn't hold it any longer as she sank to the wooden floor and started to sob uncontrollably.
Jeremy walked down the stairs of the manor. He couldn't stop himself from grinning. He walked on and on until he reached a small alley and disappeared again.
"Master." He reappeared in front of the dark figure.
"You're early." The master in the cave answered.
"Yes. It was easier than I thought. The middle sister trusts me and believes me. She won't believe the youngest. No one will.Very soon the Charmed Ones won't have a bond anymore and they will lose against evil." He said with an evil laugh.
"That is excellent…You will be rewarded afterwards."
"Thank you, master." Jeremy replied.
Phoebe couldn't believe what had just happened. She was totally confused and hurt. It must have been clear to everyone that it was him who forced her to kiss him, not the other way round. She felt sick to her stomach as she ran up the stairs, slammed the door of her room shut and threw herself on the bed. Why would Piper believe it was her fault? Why Piper? Out of everyone she was the sister who had never judged her, unlike Prue. Paige was an exception, she didn't see Phoebe's most rebellious years. But Piper had always been on her side, no matter what happened, no matter how much she screwed up. The tears refused to stop. But when she heard Piper's painful sobs from downstairs, she finally lost it and she began to sob hysterically into her pillow, hoping that one of her sisters wold come and hear her out, console her, but also knowing that that would never happen. She cried harder and harder until she had no energy left as she slowly fell asleep.
Prue and Paige rushed to Piper who was now sitting on the floor crying uncontrollably. They quickly put their arms around her and without saying a word, they let their sister cry in their arms, rocking her back and forth. After nearly fifteen minutes Piper calmed down a little more.
"Shhh honey it's okay. Prue and I are here." Paige said gently stroking her little sister's back as Piper was on her lap.
"Sweetie it's cold down here. Come on, we'll go sit down on the couch, okay?" Prue asked as she sowly pulled Piper up and guided her to the living room. Once they were sitting, Paige dared herself to ask the question that she kept patiently inside.
"Okay Piper. Can you tell us what happened?" Actually she already knew what had happened somehow but she wanted to hear it from Piper's mouth.
"I…I went into the kitchen to help…Phoebe…and then I saw them…oh God I can't believe this happened!" Tears were streaming down her cheeks again.
"Hey, hey it's okay now…come on, calm down….What did you see, honey? I have to hear it from you, Piper. Please." Paige urged on a little. Piper sucked in a deep breath and started to talk.
"Phoebe and Jeremy..they were in the kitchen..kissing. But it's not only that…It's that Phoebe was the one forcing kisses on him…God I can't believe she did that..he..he tried to push her away but she just went on and on and…" She started to cry.
"Shhh sweetie, it's alright… Are you sure it wasn't the other way?" Prue asked as she ran her hand through Piper's long hair.
"Yes I'm sure. Prue, you can believe me, I really wish it was the other way, really. Even if that wouldn't make me happy either but this…this is just..All the times she said he was cute, or she liked him, all the times I thought it was only a joke..why did she do this..?" Piper sighed.
"I thought so, too. I can't understand it either, Piper. I don't know what's gotten into her. She's always been a screw up but this…" Prue felt the anger inside her.
"Wait Prue, we have to hear Phoebe's version first before we can say anything. I just can't imagine her being so cruel to Piper..anyone, maybe but not to Piper..maybe it was a misunderstanding.."
"Paige it wasn't a misunderstanding! I've seen it with my own eyes! I know you can't believe it I can't either. But I've seen it. It was clear."
"Yeah Paige…you were gone already when Phoebe had her peek in being rebellious. She really did everything to piss me off. Just not Piper. And for the past few years she really did have lots of different guys…Paige, what I'm saying is I can't believe she did this to Piper but at the same time I don't believe Piper's lying. And the scene must have been really clear if Piper says it with so much conviction. I know if it was any different Piper would be the first person who would be in doubt about what she had seen. After all that happened when Phoebe was growing up, it's just so much easier to trust Piper than to trust her…" Prue looked down. She didn't want to admit it but this was really true. It was easier to believe Piper.
Paige sighed. She didn't believe that Piper was lying, either. And Prue had a point in what she said. Piper wouldn't accuse Phoebe like this if she wasn't completely sure of what she'd seen. Paige found herself in a predicament.
"Paige. You can ask Phoebe if you want. I don't mind. But I don't think it will help you because I think I already know what she's gonna say." Piper stated. "The only thing I know right now is that I don't wanna talk to her in a while. Gosh I don't even want to look at her.." Piper looked down as if she was ashamed of herself.
"If it helps you Piper, I don't want to either." Prue said, anger in her voice.
"And I still don't know what to think..Sure for me it'll be hard to look at her, too. I don't know what I feel right now. I think mainly I'm confused but somewhere I feel anger, too. Oh I don't know!" Paige put her head in her hands. Prue sighed as she got up.
"I think we should all go to sleep. It won't be any help to think about it right now." She said.
"Yeah you're right. I'm really tired anyway. So good night then." Piper said as she started to walk away.
"Piper." Paige stopped her. "Everything will be alright again. We'll figure it out."
Piper just nodded and walked up the stairs. 'How, Paige, how? How can it ever be alright again?' She thought to herself as she passed Phoebe's door and went to her room.
The next morning Phoebe woke up to a headache. But the lump that formed in her throat made it even worse as she remembered last night's events. With great effort, she forced herself out of bed and into the bathroom to take a shower.
As she was finished, she walked down the hallway towards the stairs. It was then she heard her sisters' voices from the kitchen. 'Shit they're still here.' She thought. Even if she knew exactly that it wasn't her fault, she didn't know how to face either of them. The hurt in Piper's eyes, the anger she saw there was real…Piper did actually believe that she had kissed her boyfriend. She remembered Prue once saying that if they write an article about you that isn't right or if they tell everyone things about you which aren't true and people believe it once, they would keep believing it, even if the truth comes out. She wondered if it was the same with her sisters. Would they ever trust her again? Even if they learned the truth, would they ever stop thinking of the night she 'stole' her own sister's boyfriend? Could they ever fix something that was once broken, even if it was broken by a lie? Tears nearly fell down her cheeks as she thought about her sisters never trusting her again. But with all effort she held them in. Her sisters, especially Piper would get angry right now if she saw her tears. She would surely think she didn't deserve to cry. And now she was already in front of the kitchen doorway. Taking a deep breath, she walked in.
The older sisters were talking about the most unimportant things when they saw their youngest sister entering the kitchen. Upon seeing Phoebe, Piper got up.
"Okay sisters, I gotta go now. Quake awaits me." She said without looking at Phoebe. She went to kiss her sisters good bye. Except for Phoebe.
Phoebe nearly broke down in tears again as she saw how Piper ignored her. Biting her lower lip in order to hold them in, she went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of juice. She didn't want to eat anything. She actually feared it wouldn't stay down. Walking towards the table where Prue and Paige were still sitting, she thought about saying something. Maybe they would listen to her. She took all her courage together as she opened her mouth.
"Paige, Prue, last night I.."
"Okay Paige. I have to go now, too." Phoebe bit her tongue as she was instantly cut off by Prue.
"Yeah it's pretty late already. I'll be outa here in a couple of minutes, too." Paige replied. Prue then hugged Paige and went out of the kitchen. After the door was shut, the manor was quiet again. Phoebe was now a little scared. There was just Paige and her in the room. She never dared herself to speak. Paige was quiet all the time, too. She didn't intend to completely ignore Phoebe like Prue and Piper did. She would give a short answer if the youngest spoke. But as she didn't say anything, she just drank the rest of her coffee and headed out the door.
Phoebe heard the front door close. After a second, a tear trickled down her cheek, the cheek Piper had hit her. She wiped it away but then felt the pain as she touched the spot her sister's hand had made contact to. More tears rolled down her cheeks before she sank to her knees and started to cry freely.
After what seemed like hours, Phoebe stood up again and went to the bathroom to clean her face. She still had to go to college, no matter how bad she felt.
Once in class, she felt how hard it was to concentrate. But if she didn't, she would think of her sisters again and she certainly didn't want to break down crying in mid class.
"Hey, are you okay Phoebe?" She heard her friend ask.
"Uh, yeah I'm fine Lyssa, thanks. I'm just tired, that's all."
"Oh yeah I believe that. I wonder myself how I can stay awake in this class with that professor." She laughed. Phoebe gave her a forced smile, too since she didn't want anyone to ask her what was wrong.
After the classes were over, she thought about what she would do now. She then walked towards the bus station, got into the bus and got off again. Walking a bit further, she stopped in front of the building. There she was now. Standing in front of South Bay Social Services. She had worked here for four months now, but she had never felt like this before. As cruel as some cases they had seemed to be and as hard it was to get used to them, Phoebe had never hesitated to go to work. But right now she was scared. Scared to face Paige. Scared to face the clients when Paige wasn't there to support her. She stood there a bit longer, then stretched her hand out to push it open. But before she had even touched it, she pulled back and ran off.
Meanwhile Piper was standing in Quake's kitchen doing her work. She picked up a spoon and tried her soup.
"Urrgh. I can't give this to anyone…" She said as she quickly took a sip of water. 'Seems to be true that the cooking of a cook is influeced by the way he feels while cooking…' She thought to herself. "I need a brake." She mumbled and left the kitchen and went to the small office. Just a few minutes after she entered, the phone rang. 'Hm. I guess I'm the only one to pick it up now.' So she reached for the phone and picked it up.
"Hello restaurant Quake Piper Halliwell speaking."
"Piper. It's me." She closed her eyes as she heard the voice. She breathed in and out deeply and found her voice.
"Jeremy. Hi."
"Piper listen. We..we both know what happened last night. And we need to talk about it. We really have to."
"Jeremy I.."
"No Piper, please. Don't throw away our relationship like that. I…I love you. Please..I just want us to have a talk.." Piper could hear his voice cracking.
"Okay…..Okay we will talk. We'd have to do it sometime, anyway. But not today, ok? Can we do that tomorrow?"
"Okay tomorrow then…See you, bye." He hung up. Piper let out a deep sigh as she put the phone back to it's place.
Paige glanced at the clock in her office. 5pm. Phoebe should have been here an hour ago. It rarely occurred that her youngest sister was late to work. She was one of the most motivated workers Paige had ever had. She knew it right from the beginning when Phoebe started working there (A/N:Read Lost Oldest to see.) But now she was already late over an hour. Paige tried to shrug it off as she looked to the computer screen again and tried to read the texts. But now and then she would look at the clock. 5:30. 5:50. 6:25. She sat there and started to worry. 'Oh God what if she was attacked by a demon or something?' She panicked for a second but then remembered her sister had the power of premonitions. 'No. Phoebe would see it in her vision if she was gonna be attacked. And she isn't stupid, she would call me then. No matter what's going on between us, she'd call if her life was in danger.' Paige thought to herself but continued to look at the clock until it showed 8. She decided to go home for today. On the drive to the manor, she caught herself praying that her little sister was okay.
Phoebe had run away from SBSS and had wandered around the city of San Francisco. She always liked walking. It would always clear her head, no matter what situation she was in. But as she felt her whole body getting tired after several hours, she decided to walk back home. It took her another hour but she was still home at 8 o'clock. She wanted to try and watch TV a bit to distract herself, but as she saw one person there she stopped. Prue. She already knew this situation. It wasn't the first time that Prue was mad at her. Really mad. It wasn't the first time she would decide to stay away from her and quietly made her way to her room as she did now. But everytime it happened before, there was always one person standing behind her, supporting her, comforting her, loving her. Piper. But this person was now the one that hated her the most. 'Hate..' Phoebe thought about what words she used to describe her sister's feelings. But it was probably the closest word for now. 'But it's not even my fault…why do I have to get this depressed..? It's not my fault…God why do they believe it was…Why can't they just trust me!' She felt herself getting angry. They were sisters, right? And sisters trust each other! But right now her older sisters seemed to have forgotten it. 'I'll try to talk to them after dinner.' She thought and threw herself on the bed. Soon after she was asleep again.
Prue sat there as she heard her younger sister coming in. But she wouldn't budge. She was used to this. It was really easy for her to keep up a 'I'm not talking to you' fight with Phoebe, she couldn't even count the number of times she had done this in her past. But this time it was somehow different. Before, she knew that she had Piper to convince her to stop fighting. Sometimes Paige was there, too. But right now there was no one to stop her. She was worried about what this would lead to. But then again, she was worried about Piper and thinking of that, she felt the anger rising again.
Prue looked up as she saw Paige and Piper coming through the door.
"Hey you two."
"Hi Prue." Piper greeded as she went over to the couch and sat down next to her. Prue instantly had an arm around her shoulder.
"Prue, hi." Paige came in, too. "Is..is Phoebe already home?"
"Well yeah, she's in her room I think." Prue replied. Paige let out a small sigh of relief but Prue and Piper didn't notice it.
"I'll start dinner." Piper said as she got up and headed to the kitchen.
Phoebe woke up again from her light sleep as she heard the front door. Now all her sisters seemed to be home. After twenty minutes, she smelled Piper's nice cooking and decided to go downstairs. She had to eat sometime and she knew her sisters wouldn't throw her out of the dining room.
Piper set the table in the dining room. She saw as Phoebe came in. For the first time she noticed how bad her sister looked. She was pale, her eyes red from crying, her hair rather messy. But then again, she looked about the same, right? It was her who was betrayed, not Phoebe.
The four sisters sat at the table eating. It wasn't too quiet though. Just one person was. Phoebe.
"So how was your day, Prue?" Piper asked
"It was okay. Actually I'll have a day off tomorrow." She answered.
"Really? Man how I wish to have a day off again.." Paige added.
Phoebe watched and listened to the daily conversation her sisters were having. It was all pretty much like normal, it was just without her. She gripped her empty glass tight as she slowly felt the anger of being ignored. 'You have to try and talk first before you get angry, Phoebe.' The voice in her head said to her. She then looked up.
"Hey, could anyone please listen? I…"
"And what happened then, Prue?" Piper cut her off.
"Piper stop, please.."
"Oh then I went up to him and told him what I think he is." Prue did likewise.
"Prue. Why won't you listen to…"
"Oh my. Really? What did he say?" Piper talked on.
Phoebe couldn't believe it. It was hopeless. All her sisters were turning the back on her. She felt the tears coming. The tears of sorrow, of anger, tears that she didn't want to show anyone. She was getting frustrated as she had never been before. Her grip on the glass cup tightened. She couldn't control it anymore as her arm lifted the glass and then slammed it with full force on the table. She wasn't even aware of the pain in her right hand as the broken glass cut into her palm and fingers. All she wanted was a bit of attention.
The sisters jumped when they heard a loud noise of the glass cup hitting the table and braking. They looked towards the source of the noise. And they saw the youngest, sitting there quietly, not saying a word. The sisters didn't even notice the blood from Phoebe's hand dropping on the table. Piper was a bit scared. She had never seen Phoebe like this. She then saw Phoebe jumping up and running upstairs. Prue was as stunned as Piper. She didn't say a word as she watched Phoebe slam the door to her room. But as stubborn as she was, she refused to admit that she also worried about her sister a bit. 'Why is she angry? It was all her fault, right?' She thought to herself over and over again. Paige was the first to notice the broken glass and the blood around it. She let out a long sigh.
"Piper? Could you clean that, please? I'll be right back." She then headed towards the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit.
Piper now saw the blood. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a towel. Arriving back at the table, she quietly gathered the pieces of glass and cleaned the blood. As she saw the colour of the towel change from white to red, she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't explain why, but as she saw her baby sister's blood, she broke down in tears again. Prue saw this and immediately had Piper in her arms again, rocking her back and forth.
Phoebe threw herself on her bed for the upteenth time. She couldn't stop the tears, she was so hurt inside she didn't really feel the pain in her right hand. It was then she heard her door open and steps approaching her bed.
Paige saw her sister on the bed, face down on a pillow, crying. She sighed again and stepped towards the girl. She sat down on the bed next to Phoebe and softly laid her hand on her back.
Phoebe was surprised as she felt the gentle touch. She didn't expect this at all. She dared herself to look up. And there she saw it. She saw concern in the brown eyes of her oldest sister.
"You need to show me your hand, Phoebe." Paige said. Phoebe couldn't say anything as she just cried on. She was so relieved to hear Paige talking to her. She never really stopped crying but she reached with her injured hand towards her big sister. Paige took Phoebe's hand and started to examine it.
"Well the cuts don't look deep. We don't need to go to a hospital. Alright, this is gonna hurt a bit but I have to clean this, okay?" With that, she began to treat Phoebe's hand. Paige sighed. She was surprised at her sister's behaviour downstairs. She saw that she was desperately crying out for attention. But the question was: did she deserve it? She was confused anyway. Her head told her that she was guilty. The facts just told this and nothing else. But her heart refused to believe it. As she was finished with Phoebe's hand, she saw her little sister's tear-filled eyes looking at her.
Phoebe couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks. She somehow knew that Paige was only here because she was injured. She knew that she wasn't on her side. But as she felt the gentle touch and the concerned eyes, she couldn't do anything else than throw herself into Paige's arms. Paige slowly put her arms around Phoebe's shaking body.
"Paige…I.."
"Phoebe don't expect me to say anything now. I still don't know what to believe." Paige said but still left her arms around Phoebe. Even if she couldn't tell her it was okay and that everything would be alright again, she still knew that Phoebe needed this touch badly to not fall apart completely. And she wouldn't risk that. No matter what was going on, she was still her sister. A sister she took care of nearly her whole life. So she let Phoebe let her tears out in her arms until she quieted down and fell asleep.
"Are you okay now?" Prue asked Piper as they sat on the couch next to each other, Prue having an arm around the still sniffing Piper's shoulder.
"Yeah...thanks Prue." Piper looked up to her big sister. "She was bleeding."
"Yeah she was…But Paige is with her now. She'll be fine." Prue replied.
"Prue…how did you..I mean when Phoebe and you were fighting..what made you forgive her?" Prue sighed at this.
"Piper…This is not the same. This isn't just a normal fight. She got me to the point where I don't trust her anymore…Can you trust her?"
"I…No…" Piper's voice was almost inaudiable.
Next morning all the sisters sat at the kitchen table. This time no one was talking. They quietly ate their breakfast, Phoebe with a bandage on her hand. She was glad her older sisters weren't acting as if she was invisible anymore. But the coldness and tension never left the room. They still didn't look at her when they left the room let alone talk to her. She thought that she would feel a lot better after she had cried in her oldest sister's arms but she didn't. She just felt that her sister wasn't supporting her with all her might. She didn't love her the same way she used to do before.
Prue sat in her car in the parking lot of 415 magazine. She had her head resting on the wheel. She was a woman who could handle everything. Nothing scared her. But this situation now was totally new to her. It never happened before that she lost her trust towards one of her sisters. Sure Phoebe had been hard to trust anyway, but never to such extent. Suddenly her cell rang. Looking at the number, her mood lightened up a bit.
"Hi Andy."
"Hey honey. How are you?" His soft voice was heard.
"Oh don't ask me..I don't know. Torn maybe? But I don't wanna talk about it right now, ok?"
"You sure?"
"Yes I am."
"Okay then. Actually I was gonna ask you if you'd want to go out with me today. We could start with a movie or something. Prue it would do you good to just distract yourself a little."
"Andy I…Okay why not. But don't expect me to be in the best mood."
"Prue it's completely fine. And maybe I can lighten it up a little."
"Hope so… Okay I'll meet you at your house at about 6?"
"Yeah 6 is okay. See you then. I love you."
"I love you, too." She hung up.
This time Phoebe went to work. She had told herself that she had to separate work and her private life. So there she was, sitting at her desk. But in her mind she was already in the next room. Paige was sitting there, quietly doing her work. It was already 5:30 and Phoebe had thought the whole day about going over to Paige and try one more time to talk about what her version of the event was. Finally making up her mind, she walked out of her office and into Paige's.
"Paige…Can I please talk to you now?" She approached the oldest. Paige sighed but then quietly nodded her head.
"Okay Paige. Why do you believe I would do such a thing to Piper?" She already felt the anger coming back.
"Phoebe stop it. Stop defending yourself, it will change nothing in me. I heard Piper myself and I know she wasn't lying." Paige stated but didn't look at Phoebe.
"And I'm not lying either! Why do you trust her more than me! Why are you on her side! I don't know why Piper would even think of me that way I can't explain it but you didn't even see it! Why are you picking her side!" Phoebe was shouting now.
"Phoebe stop yelling! I've never said I'm on her side. I'm on none of you's side. But the facts don't leave me any choice. I can't support you, Phoebe."
"What facts, Paige! Oh God I can't believe you're doing this to me! I'm your sister for crying out loud! ….Paige, don't you love me anymore?"
"That's a totally different thing it has nothing to do with why I…" Her loud voice quieted down again as she saw that Phoebe was already out of the room.
Phoebe ran and ran. She was so furious but at the same time so hurt. She didn't know where she was going she just wanted to get away from her sister as she feared what she was capable of doing of saying if she continued the argument. After she couldn't run anymore, she looked up and saw where her legs had carried her. She was standing in front of Andy's house.
Andy heard the doorbell. It was 5:50. 'That must be Prue.' He thought as he went to open the door. What he saw wasn't his girlfriend though. He saw her sister. Her baby sister was standing there, tears streaming down her cheeks, totally out of breath.
"Phoebe! What..what are you doing here? Are you okay?" He saw that she couldn't answer him. She fell into his arms right there in the doorway.
"Hey, hey calm down. It's okay little one, shhh." He kept whispering to her, gently rubbing her back. "Look Pheebs I know what Piper told Prue." At this, Phoebe looked up and thought he was going to push her away now, so she stepped back herself before he would hurt her more with it. But Andy's strong arms, the arms of a big brother stopped her.
"No no, don't go. Don't get this wrong Phoebe. I'm not gonna judge you. I didn't see it and I didn't even hear it directly. So I'm not angry or disappointed or anything." He said softly, wiping away some of his 'little sister's' tears.
"Oh God Andy…I don't know what to do..help me…" She said her voice barely above a whisper.
"Shhh it's okay, everything will be fine again…You have to believe that, okay?" He then took in a deep breath. "Look Phoebe. Obviously Piper saw you…well you know..and she really believes what she saw. So Prue believes her, too. And Paige doesn't know what to think at all. You can't go on like this. It's up to you now. If you really tell the truth, and I'm sure you believe yourself, you have to go to Jeremy. Face him. Somehow you have to get him to tell the truth. It's hard, I know. But it's the only way to get your sisters back right now." He told her as she quietly nodded, sniffing.
Over Phoebe's shoulder Andy saw Prue's car pulling up. He saw her get out but he was taken aback as her expression turned to one of fury. He then looked down and upon realizing what the cause of that was, he quickly drew back his arms he had around Phoebe.
Prue was so glad her work was over. Now she could spent time with her Andy. She really needed the distraction badly. As she stopped the car in front of his house, she realized that the front door was open. And she saw Andy standing there with another person in his arms. She instantly noticed that this person was Phoebe. Before, she would have never thought about getting angry about that. He was practically her brother. But so was Jeremy, right? Prue couldn't help it as she felt something in her, something that felt like anger. Any other time she would have thought it was ridiculous, but now she klept remembering Piper's tears, her painful sobs as she fell to her knees that day in the kitchen. Prue rushed to the front door and grabbing her sister roughly by her upper arm, she pulled her away from Andy.
"Prue! Phoebe was only…" Andy couldn't finish as Prue wasn't even listening to him.
"Phoebe! What the hell are you doing? Was Piper's boyfriend not enough? Do you want mine now, too! I….I never, ever in my life thought you were such a slut!" Prue yelled at the shocked Phoebe who wasn't saying one word. But she suddenly sucked in a breath as she realized what she had just said to her little sister. But the only turned away from her.
Phoebe felt something inside her brake. It felt like her heart. She thought it was already broken enough but this broke it even more. How could Prue say such things? How could she seriously believe she would…touch Andy? She couldn't stay there, she felt her legs carry her away again.
"Prue what were you thinking! Did you honestly think she was…making a move on me? Oh God Prue I can't believe it! What about me? Don't you trust me? Do you think I would be capable of touching my own little sister!" Andy said in a loud voice. Prue just put her hand to her mouth.
"I…I don't know what came over me…Andy of course I trust you..with all my life…I just…when I saw her I just felt so…"
"You've got to apologize to her, Prue. No matter what's going on with Piper and her, you have to." Andy said firmly. Prue just looked down.
She would lose 20 pounds in a week if she went on like that. Phoebe was running again. But this time her mind wasn't messed up like the other times, this time she was thinking. She had to go to Jeremy. As Andy had said, he was the only one who could make the truth come out. So she stopped and called a cab, making her way to Quake where she knew he would certainly be. She didn't mind that Piper was there. She had nothing to lose anyway.
Piper was looking to the ground. She had promised Jeremy that they would have a talk. And now she was there with him, sitting at a table. She didn't know what to say to him though. She couldn't think straight anymore, she was hurting way too much for that. She didn't know if she would ever be able to look directly into Phoebe's eyes again. She already missed the deep and innocent eyes so much. But she was so scared that if she looked into them again, she would see something different in them, something like the eyes of a traitor, the cause of her pain.
"Piper. I understand if you want some distance between us for a while. No matter who to blame, it's hard to see such a scene." Jeremy said with understanding, his voice soft.
"What..? Oh, distance..sure.." Piper was only half listening. "Jeremy I'm really sorry but that seems to be the best idea."
"Okay Piper. But always know that I'll wait for you and that I lo…." Jeremy stopped in mid sentence as he saw the person standing behind Piper. Piper wondered why Jeremy had suddenly stopped talking and followed his gaze, turning around. To her surprise, she saw her sister standing there, her little sister, eyes red and face pale. She seemed to be shaking a little.
"Phoebe. What do you want?" Piper said in a low voice. Both sisters didn't see the evil grin on Jeremy's face as he began to whisper so quietly that nobody heard him,
"You will see hatred in Piper's eyes. You will hear the words of hatred. You will hear her scream at you to get out of her life. You will feel only hatred coming from her." He then snapped his fingers under the table.
"Piper I didn't come to talk to you…" Piper heard Phoebe say quietly.
"Good. Because I don't think I can do it for long..Please Phoebe, just say what you want and leave the room…I really don't want to yell but I can't imagine not to do so if you keep standing there…" She said looking down. She never looked into Phoebe's brown eyes. But then she looked up to see Phoebe's hands and knees shaking, all her colour was gone from her face. For a moment Piper even thought she was going to pass out there. Her lip was trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks. And as soon as she was there, she was gone again as she ran off. Piper frowned. She had spoken to Phoebe the first time since the incident. And she kept her voice quiet. Sure she told her to leave the restaurant and it surely was said really directly, but wasn't her reaction a little exaggerated? 'Weird.' She tought as she slowly turned to Jeremy again who had an innocent look on his face.
"Piper I didn't come to talk to you…" She said to her sister in a quiet voice. But then she saw Piper getting up and standing right in front of her, meeting the eyes. What came out of Piper's mouth couldn't be expected as she suddenly started yelling on top of her lungs.
"NO! WELL THAT'S GOOD CAUSE I DON'T WANNA TALK TO YOU EITHER! AND YOU KNOW WHAT! I'LL NEVER, EVER DO IT AGAIN! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU EVER AGAIN, HEAR THAT, YOU SLUT! GET OUT OF HERE! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE! I HATE YOU!"
Phoebe stopped breathing until she felt dizzy. She had never, EVER in her life heard anyone talk like this, let alone Piper. She had never in her life felt so much..hatred…concentrated in only one person. And it was all against her. She couldn't look away from Piper's eyes as she saw hatred again. Pure hatred. She thought she even felt it on her skin. She didn't know what to do. She just stood there, wanting nothing else than be dead. 'I hate you.' It repeated itself over and over again in her head. She felt her knees getting weaker and weaker. Prue's comment about her seemed to be so small right now. If Piper crushed her heart now with a hammer, Prue had kissed it then. She felt as if she was going to pass out.
"WHAT ARE YOU STANDING HERE LIKE THAT, HUH! GET OUT, RIGHT NOW! DIDN'T YOU HEAR IT, PHOEBE…OH GOD IT MAKES ME SICK TO EVEN SAY YOUR NAME! YOU MAKE ME SICK!"
That was the last push for Phoebe as she found herself running out. She didn't notice that the other guests weren't looking towards the screaming woman. She was so oblivious to what was happening around her, she wouldn't even have noticed it if aliens were attacking planet earth right now. The only thing she did was run.
She actually made it to the manor. She stepped in. Walked up the stairs. Went to her room. There she was standing now. In the house what used to be her home, what was now taken away from her. Phoebe's body made it's way to the bathroom. She looked at the razor. She held it to her wrist. But suddenly, she didn't know what it was but suddenly something held her back. The razor fell to the white floor. Phoebe ran back into her room. Well, what used to be her room now. She gathered all the things that she could pack right now. Again her body moved on it's own as she made her way to the phone. Getting off it again, she saw papers and pens lying next to it. After standing there for another few seconds, she picked up one pen and a sheet and began to write.
"Piper, would you excuse me for a second? I have to call someone." Jeremy said.
"Sure. My break is over now anyway. I gotta go back to work." Piper answered half-heartedly. She was somehow worried about Phoebe's behaviour or more about what she looked like. The shock in her eyes, the pale face…It was all too exaggerated as a reaction to what she had said to her. She entered the kitchen again.
"Oh Piper, there you are. Before you start on the dish, would you get the trash out, please?" The chef asked.
"Sure." Piper answered shortly, grabbed the trash bag and walked out.
Jeremy couldn't stop grinning triumphantly. He wanted to get to his master asap to tell him about the final step he took and the success of it. He carefully looked around him and then made his way out the back door. He stopped right next to a large garbage container as a figure appeared right in front of him.
"Jeremy. The master is impatiently waiting for you. What is taking you so long?" A man dressed in black asked.
"I'm done now. My last step was made. It was easier than I thought…" He then began to tell his 'colleague' about the 'work' he had done.
Piper was about to go outside to the garbage but stopped in her tracks as she heard a familiar voice. 'Jeremy?' She carefully listened to what he was saying.
"First it took me really long because I had to get close to the Charmed Ones somehow. Humans are so easy to influence. The middle sister was just the thing I needed. She still trusts me. All I had to do now was make her see how the youngest kisses me." He started to laugh. "And she will never know that it was actually me who kissed the youngest. Humans are so weak. They can be destroyed by such little things." His evil laugh continued. "Once the bond between the sisters is destroyed, the Charmed Ones are as good as dead…Hahaha"
"You're one lucky demon with your power. I wish I could make anyone of my choice see what I want him to see only by words and snapping fingers." The other man laughed.
"Listen, the best is the last step. Just right now inside there I made the youngest see how her sister hates her, wants her out of her life. The youngest will never come back again…never." He finished with an evil grin as he and the other 'man' disappeared into nothing.
Piper dropped the trash bag she had been holding. She let the words of her boyfriend, no, the demon sink in. Her eyes welled up. Her knees started to shake. She felt as if her heart would jump out of her mouth as she felt the fast beating. She suddenly remembered the image of Phoebe run out of the restaurant. 'Oh my God.' Was the only thing she could think of. But then she also remebered her own actions she took in front of Phoebe, her beloved baby sister. The blood on the dinner table. The shattered glass. She remembered now how Phoebe had tried to talk to them. And just now she bacame aware of what she would have seen if she had looked into Phoebe's eyes as she stood there behind her at the table, before she ran off. She would have seen hurt. Plain hurt. Piper put a shaking hand to her mouth.
"Oh my God….…What have I done…?" Her words came out almost inaudiable.
Piper wanted to just pass out there and think about nothing. But she couldn't. Not after seeing Phoebe run out of Quake, knowing that her baby sister had heard words she was never in her life supposed to hear. With her blurry vision caused by the tears trickling down her cheeks, she made it to her car. She had no time to tell anyone that she was leaving. She started the car and at the same time took her cellphone and dialed a number. She heard someone pick up.
"Prue! Oh God Prue!"
"Piper? Honey what is it? Are you ok?" Prue was concerned on hearing her little sister seemingly completely distraught.
"Prue! Phoebe, it wasn't her! It was him! The demon!" Piper shouted, her voice carrying panic.
"Whoa Piper, slow down. What demon? And what did you just say about Phoebe?" Prue was confused.
"Jeremy was no is a demon! He…with his power he made me see Phoebe kissing him! It was actually the other way round! Phoebe was telling the truth all along!"
"WHAT! Okay Piper where are you now?"
"I'm on my way home. Prue, Phoebe was here and…I can't explain it now just get to the manor, ASAP!"
"Okay honey I'm on my way. I'll call Paige, too. Hang on, ok?" The click told Piper that Prue hung up. She stepped on the gas heven harder. She had no time now. God knows what Phoebe would do after experiencing that. She just hoped she wouldn't do what she herself would do in such a situation. She hoped to find Phoebe alive.
Prue was more than just shocked. All the time Phoebe was telling the truth. 'What have we just done to her…? All the things I said….oh God….How could I even think that she would do such a thing? Why didn't I realize it wasn't natural?' The thoughts kept spinning in her mind over and over again. She found herself crying. Crying for her baby she had lost… 'Wait we can't lose her. We can't let this happen!' She gathered all her strength. She wasn't about to give up yet. Pulling out her cell, she dialed Paige's number.
"Hello?"
"Paige? Listen, get to the manor right now, okay? I've no time to explain now. Just get home, quick!" With that, she hung up again.
"Prue?..Hello?..." She put her cell back into her purse. She had never been this concerned before. She had already been concerned about Phoebe as she left her office, but Prue's voice really sounded bad. This was definitely an emergency. A big one. She left her office without even turning off the computer and without even closing the wide open door and made her way to her car.
In front of the Halliwell Manor three cars stopped at about the same time. All drivers jumped out and almost ran into each other at the steps.
"Paige, Prue! Good you're here. We have to find Phoebe!" Piper shouted.
"Okay Piper we have to calm down first. That's the best way to find her as quickly as possible." Prue said laying her hands on Piper's shoulders.
"Hey wait, what happened? Could anyone explain this to me?" Paige asked in a loud voice. On the way inside, Piper told them everything she had heard and what Jeremy had done to Phoebe. Now all three sisters had tears streaming down their faces. But they didn't say anything. They knew they had to find Phoebe first.
"PHOEBE?" Piper called, her voice echoing through the old house.
"Phoebe are you here? We know the truth now." Prue called.
"Okay Prue you go to the basement and downstairs, Piper you go upstairs and I'll get the attic." Paige took charge of the situation as the three split up.
Prue looked everywhere downstairs and in the basement but she couldn't find anything. No trace of Phoebe. So she decided to go upstairs to Piper.
It was the same with Paige. She found an empty attic. She made her way downstairs to Piper.
Piper ran across the hallway and opened Phoebe's door. What she saw made her heart stop for a second. Phoebe's clothes were on the ground but it looked like most of them were missing. She also noticed that the box which Phoebe kept her money in was empty. It was then she saw a letter on the bed. She heard Prue and Paige come in as the three went to pick up the envelope. Piper pulled the piece of paper out and held it in her still shaking hand as she began to read aloud.
Paige, Prue, Piper.
I can't believe that this day has really come to tell you this. I will leave now. I still can't imagine why you couldn't trust me and believe me that it wasn't my fault. But still it's true that the cause of your pain is me. And I can't stand that. I wanted to end my life first, but somehow I couldn't. So I will just leave the house. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave the country. Oh I forgot, you don't worry about me anymore. I'll go to New York and see what else awaits me in the world. I hope your lives will be better now without me. So this is my good bye, I can't imagine that I won't see you all ever again. But that's life, right? I'll try hard to live without you. I'll fight. You can try and forget me but I won't. Know that I keep you in my memory, my heart forever.
Piper, I'm sorry that I am the reason for your tears. And no matter how much you hurt me, no matter how much you hate me, I do and will always, always love you from the bottom of my heart. I love you all and it's not only because you raised me that you three will always be a part of me. For eternity.
Farewell my sisters, I wish you just the best for the rest of your lives.
Love, Phoebe.
Piper sank to her knees. As much as she knew they had no time to break down, she started to cry uncontrollably.
Phoebe sat in the bus on the way to the airport. She couldn't hold in the tears as she leaned heavily against the window and watched the city pass by, the city she grew up in, the city she would never see again.
"Hey are you ok Lady?" The old man next to her asked, concernd in his voice.
"Please just leave me alone sir." Phoebe said her voice a whisper in order to hide the cracking of it. Phoebe didn't have the strength so speak right now. She had used all her remained strength to call the travel agency and reserve a last minute ticket to New York, one way. And all she wanted to do now was shut the world out and cry for herself.
Prue and Paige rushed to Piper's side and put their arms around her.
"Oh God this…this is all my fault…how could I possibly believe that Phoebe would betray me…" She managed between sobs.
"No Piper this is not your fault, hear me? This is not your fault. It's Jeremy's, the demon's fault. He trapped you both, you're his victim, too. We all were." Paige said firmly as she stroked Piper's hair.
"Paige is right Piper. You couldn't do anything else than believe it. I mean you saw it with your own eyes." Prue added, holding her little sister.
"I know but why didn't I just realize that it was all set up by a demon? I'm such a horrible sister…"
"Don't say that, Piper, cause you aren't. You were hurt then, you were mad, confused. You weren't thinking straight. Because you've seen it. Unlike me." Prue looked down. In contrast to that, Piper looked up at her big sister.
"What do you mean?"
"I…I accused her, too. And not just about Jeremy. I…I saw her together with Andy earlier. I just couldn't keep me from feeling it but I felt anger in me. I felt as if Phoebe was…betraying me, too. Afterwards I noticed what nonsense that was but it was already too late. I had already told her to go away. Hell I even said she was a slut!" Prue put her head in her hands as new tears trickled down her face.
"You what!" Paige was shocked but this wasn't the time so she lowered her voice. "Okay Prue let's talk about this later. I know it hurts and I know we all feel only guilt inside right now, and we have to talk about it, too but this is just not the right time. Our baby sister is on her way to New York! We gotta stop her. As much as I hate to say this but we can break down later. First we have to find Phoebe." Paige made both her sisters look into her eyes. "Okay we have to call the travel agency and find out when her flight is scheduled. I'll try to call her on the cell." Paige said though she didn't believe Phoebe would pick up.
Everyone did what Paige had told to do. Prue got off the phone and went back to her sisters who were now in the living room.
"Okay her plane takes off in about fifty minutes. We have to hurry! Paige could you reach her?"
"No she left her cell here. I heard it ring upstairs when I tried to call. But anyway, let's get going." She answered and the three sisters jumped into Paige's car and made their way to the airport with full speed.
Phoebe sat on a chair in front of her gate, waiting for boarding time to come. She could have already let herself be checked up by the security and gone into her waiting area but something held her back. 'You're being stupid Phoebe. As if anyone would come and pick you up.' She thought.
Paige, Prue and Piper came running into the airport and to a woman who was responsible for the check in.
"Excuse me which gate is the departure of flight No. 0167 to New York!" Piper asked quickly.
"It's gate 2."
"Thank you." Piper replied leaving behind the woman a little surprised and storming off towards gate 2. The time was running. They had only 5 minutes left.
Phoebe heard the announcer tell the passengers to get in. She didn't know why she still sat there but now she realized that she would be about to miss the plane if she didn't get up now. So she stood up and let her body and hand baggage be checked and started to walk on. It was then she heard someone calling her name. 'This can't be, you're hearing things.' She told herself as she went on. But then she heard it again. Slowly, she dared herself to turn around. That's where she saw them.
The three older Halliwells finally arrived at gate 2. they looked around but they didn't find what they were looking for.
"Oh my God we're too late…" Prue said.
"No, we're not, look!" Piper pointed to another direction. There was Phoebe walking away with her hand baggage. The three immediately started to shout, not just once since Phoebe wasn't stopping right away.
"PHOEBE!" Paige called.
"PHOEBE!" Prue joined in.
"PLEASE COME BACK HERE! COME BACK TO US PHOEBE!" Piper added as she shouted with tears falling down her cheeks.
'I'm not hearing things. I'm not seeing things. It's really them.' Phoebe thought as she turned around completely and started to walk back. But something stopped her. 'Wait, why am I walking back? I made my decision. They didn't believe me and it hurt. They…Piper's hate can't be gone. Why should I really walk back and risk getting hurt again?' Her one voice said in her head. But soon the other voice countered. 'But if I don't walk back now, if I leave now I really never see them again. And that would hurt me more than anything could. And it's worth the risk.'
Phoebe had two ways for a choice. But she took the one she would hopefully never regret.
She dropped her hand baggage and started to run. Of all the runs she took recently, this was a run she knew where she was going. She pushed herself past the security. Right into the place she had always felt best. Right into the waiting arms of her sisters.
Paige, Prue and Piper held their arms around the youngest, nearly crushing her in their embrace. It was as if they thought that if the tighter they held on, the easier it would get for them to make it all good again. Each sister cried loudly, not even caring the slightest bit about the starring of the crowd around them. It was Piper who started to form a sentence.
"Phoebe! Phoebe oh God I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry! I heard everything from Jeremy. I don't know how I can ever make this up to you baby! All along you were telling the truth and I didn't believe, didn't trust you! I don't know if you can ever forgive me but please don't leave us Phoebe, we need you, we love you!"
"Yeah Phoebe I'm so so sorry about what I said about Andy and you, I'm so sorry about what I did to you the past few days! God I hurt you so much!" Prue added, squeezing her baby sister tight.
"Phoebe I would never, ever stop loving you! No one of us would. I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry that you had to go through this baby!" Paige said, hugging all her sisters.
Phoebe couldn't really say a lot. She was only crying. Finally the truth was out. Finally she was released from the pain, the torture she had to go through the past few days. She cired and cried in her sisters' arms, her sobs muffled by Piper's chest. She felt the gentle motion of one of her sisters' hand on her back, she felt Piper's chin on her head as everyone apologized. She cried for all the tears she shed alone in the dark, she got rid of the fear, sorrow and anger she had bottled up in just a few days.
They still sat there on the floor as everything quieted down a bit more.
"Phoebe I know how I must have hurt you, but can you ever forgive me? I don't know how I can fix this again." Piper said looking down.
"You just did, Piper…Of course I forgive you….I couldn't live without you." Phoebe replied between sniffes. "The only thing that counts is that you don't hate me anymore."
"Oh God Phoebe the Quake thing! No honey that wasn't me who said that. It wasn't me who you saw. Jeremy's a demon and he set this all up. He made you see all the hate. Just as much as he made me see you kissing him." Piper said firmly.
"Really? So the hate in your eyes I saw when our eyes met…that wasn't real?"
"No! Phoebe I could never, ever hate you! No matter what. And besides, do you honestly think I would have looked into your eyes then?" Piper regretted it the moment she said it, but her little sister just let out a small laugh.
"It's okay Piper. You're right, you weren't even looking at me then… but it's okay, you were under the demon's influence. So it's so not your fault. I love you so much." Phoebe hugged Piper tighter.
"I love you too Phoebe." Piper whispered. It was then Prue spoke up.
"Phoebe what I said about Andy…that was me. I said it myself…I'm so sorry I hurt you so much baby. As soon as you were gone I regretted it."
"It's fine Prue. Really, if I were you I would have done the same thing probably. I couldn't bear it if anyone hurt Piper. Or any of you. And Paige, I'm sorry I said you don't love me anymore. That wasn't fair. And no matter what the situation was, you came and helped me when I was injured. You held me so that I wouldn't break down. I thank you so much for that." Phoebe said, her cheeks still wet, looking up at Paige.
"Hey you're so so welcome, sweetie. And you've got nothing to be sorry for. We were all under a demon's spell, or power..whatever. Nobody's to blame except Jeremy." Paige said softly but as she said Jeremy's name there was anger evident in her voice.
"Guys, we should get up now. I think we're blocking everyone's way." Prue said with a still teary smile as she looked around her and remembered where they were. Arm in arm, the sisters got up and started their way to the car.
"Okay before we can do anything else, we should get rid of that Jeremy demon." Prue said as they were going into the manor again. Phoebe hadn't expected to see this place so soon again but she was really really happy for it. But right now they really had to focus on the demon.
"I suggest we look in the BOS first and find a vanquishing spell or recipe for a potion." Phoebe said.
"Yeah that would be the only thing we can do right now. Let's go." Piper said and the four sisters ran up to the attic.
After looking in the book for about fifteen minutes, they found a page that had Jeremy's picture in it.
"Wow this really looks like him. I thought demons have another body, their real ones like." Paige said surprised as she looked at the picture.
"Well maybe nobody's ever seen him in his real body. I wonder if how that works. I mean there are surely some old people who remember him exactly the same as he looks like now. Don't they get suspicious?" Phoebe said.
"Well I think he just goes to kill them. Somehow, with his dirty power." Piper said in disgust.
"Guys there is a recipe for a vanquishing potion in here. Let's do it." Prue looked up from the book and the sisters went down to the kitchen.
"Okay Piper, be really really careful. I don't know if he knows we've found out about everything." Prue said as she handed Piper the green liquid in a small bottle.
"I know. But this is the easiest way to kill him. Don't worry, you'll be watching me and if anything's wrong, you can help me." Piper answered, trusting her sisters fully. "And you be careful that he doesn't see you together with Pheebs." She then made her way to one of Quake's tables.
"Hi Jeremy." Piper greeded, a smile on her face. It wasn't too hard to do that knowing that he was going to die soon.
"Oh hey Piper. Finally got your break, hey? I was trying to call you because all of a sudden you were gone earlier." He kept an innocent smile on his face.
"I had a family emergency. I know we said we should stay away from each other a bit but now I have something really important to tell you. But I think it's better to do that without all these people around so…follow me?"
"Okay. Whatever you want." Jeremy got up and followed Piper to the back of the restaurant, not suspecting anything. Once outside, Piper stopped.
"So what is it you want to talk about?" Jeremy asked.
"Well…I just wanted to say how much I hate you. And that I wish you could feel the pain Phoebe and I felt cause this is gonna be nothing compared to that. But feel it anyway." Piper said in her coldest voice and then threw the bottle at Jeremy.
When he realized what his 'girlfriend' was about to do, it was already too late as he felt the heat of the flames piercing through his body. With a loud scream of utter pain, he vanished into ashes. Piper smiled.
The sisters were now sitting in the living room. Paige with Prue and Piper with Phoebe on her lap.
"These were some of the days I never want to remember again." Prue let out a sigh.
"No? I think it's good to remember them. They remind us to be really careful in the future, and that no matter what, we always have to trust each other." Paige said, absent-mindedly running her hand through Prue's hair.
Piper was playing with Phoebe's hair too as she noticed how quiet her baby sister seemed to be. She kissed her on the forehead.
"Are you ok honey?" She asked softly.
"I…I was wondering…do you really trust me again? Will you really be able to trust me again?" Phoebe asked quietly as she looked at each of her sisters.
"Sweetie of course we trust you. We love you Phoebe. That was all Jeremy's fault, remember?" Paige replied.
"But…Prue, you said that once people believe in something about you that is not true, they wouldn't care anymore even if they learn the truth. And that what was broken once can never be repaired again. Even if everything was a lie." Phoebe looked down again.
"Oh baby, we can't compare that with us now. This is different because firstly, those people wouldn't be under the influence of a demon and secondly, because….because we're sisters. We aren't just some crowd reading an article about you. We've known you for your whole life, our bond isn't unrepairable. Okay?" Prue said looking into Phoebe's eyes.
"Prue's right Pheebs. We all love you so much, there's nothing we can't handle, we just have to stick together. And that's what we learned with this. No matter what happens, no matter what we see or hear, we have to trust each other first. Before we say things we might regret." Piper said as she gave her sister another kiss on her head.
"Guys, you don't know how much I love you." Phoebe said as she leaned into Piper.
"We love you more, Phoebe!" All three answered.
So once more the Halliwell sisters had gone through something terrible and really hard. But that only made their bond even stronger. It just worked like that with the bond of the Charmed Ones, the bond of sisters.
End.
Thanks 4 reading, hope you enjoyed.
I got one more and I'm writing on the next one. Oh and there's two shorts.