This is the timeline for my story. Paige is born in 1977. Her parents die when she's fifteen (1992). The prologue is about three months afterwards. She becomes a charmed one at the age of 25 (I didn't see 'charmed again', so I'm just guessing here). Phoebe is 28. Piper is 29. This is set in series four (2002).
1992
I sat in science class, completely bored out of my brain. I mean, who cares about the theory of relativity? Only physics people care about that. But whatever. It doesn't matter. It's only science. My diary lay open on my desk. It had a picture of me and my mother and father. Foster mother and father. I still got a painful feeling in my heart when I saw it. It had only been three months. No one knew how I survived. I didn't know how I survived. And I had been so awful to them just before...
I sighed and turned to the next page. Here was the graffiti page. You know, the usual. "Michelle 4 Rob" (Rob was this guy in a rock band Michelle's currently nuts about. Personally I think he's a Neanderthal, but hey, everyone's got different tastes), "U suck", "Paige for Mr. Wentworth" (Oh, really Hilarious. He's the guy that's out the front drooling about Einstein's amazing theory. Boring as.), "When's the math's assignment due?" (Michelle can't remember anything) and "Paige 4 Ben". That I can understand. He's a hot eighteen year old that came to our school a month ago. He has these amazing blue eyes and spiky blond hair. He's also in the rugby team. What's even better is that we're going out tonight.
I went home to my apartment, ditching Michelle at her house. After my parents died in the crash, the Gov. Thought I was 'responsible' enough to live on my own, with a family friend checking in now and then, though the Mrs. Florentine rarely did. Probably has dementia or something like that. The Government was paying for the apartment 'til I was eighteen. The best thing about the apartment was that there was no one to boss me around, apart from the dork next door who was always complaining that my music distracted his 'spiritual flow'.
I had chosen my outfit that morning. It was this crimson singlet top that went really well with my new jeans. Very fortunately I had my braces taken off six weeks ago, so I didn't look like a freak. I still find myself running my tongue over my gums, marveling at how much better it feels. I dressed in my outfit, and sat down to watch TV. He would pick me up at seven.
He took me to this really exclusive club. He passed me of for eighteen. Don't ask me how. We got inside and danced for a while. He really had the moves. Then I split of and danced with a couple of other guys. I sat down on a chair near the edge of the floor after a while, really puffed. The last guy really knew how to rock'n'roll.
Ben came over with a drink for me "Thirsty?" he said with a grin. He had a really nice smile. I sniffed the drink suspiciously. I didn't want to be caught underage drinking. It was apple juice. I drank it down, watching him out of the corner of my eye. He was waiting for me, smiling that divine smile of his. "Wanna dance some more?" he invited, holding out a hand to me. I grasped it and he raised me up and we danced some more.
I sought of lost track of things then. I could remember dancing, then Ben leading me out. I recall being in his car, driving somewhere. Then I was back in my flat. He was caring me inside. He dumped me on the bed and we on top of me, his tongue in my mouth. I squealed and tried to push him away, but he was too strong, being a rugby player. He growled and slapped me on the side of the face. I lay temporarily stunned as he ripped my clothes of. I fought him, and screamed as loud as I could. But no one heard. He had pinned me down. I was struggling, fighting him as hard as I could. His strength seemed superhuman. I screamed again, but he muffled it by kissing me again. I hoped as hard as I could that someone would have heard and would come to save me. No one did.
Half an awful hour later, I lay on my side, facing the way Ben wasn't. He lay beside me, arm around my waist. He was breathing deeply, but I knew he wasn't asleep. I realized I was trembling but I was to shell-shocked to stop them, or even move. The arm tightened. I buried my head into the pillow. "Now, now Paige. Don't be like that." He pressed himself against me. I recoiled at the touch, but he just pulled me even closer. "Let's just forget that it ever happened, okay?" I whimpered into the pillow. He tucked my hair behind my ear. "That's good. And if you do tell, anyone at all" he whispered to me "I'll come back and you'll regret that you ever told." He gave me a squeeze and got up. I didn't move. I heard him rummaging around for his clothes. He came around and kissed me on the cheek. I waited until I was sure he was gone before I wept into my pillow, crying myself into a sleep filled with nightmares.
When I woke up, there were a few blessed moments of not remembering what happened. Then it came back to me. Tears ran down my cheeks and I gulped down the sobs. I couldn't go to school. That was obvious. I wouldn't last a class before bursting into tears. I got up and reached for a pair of clothes. When I straightened, fully dressed, my stomach gave an unpleasant flip-flop. I rushed to the toilet and threw up, hurling up last nights pizza. I flushed the toilet and wiped my mouth with a shuddering hand. I felt so sick.
I spent the day mopping around the flat, throwing up an empty stomach. The same thought kept flicking through my head. Why? Why had he done this to me? I worked out that he must have spiked my drink. That's why everything was so blurry afterwards.
At 3 o'clock I stopped dead. A different, horrible thought had merged from the frozen state of my mind. What if I was pregnant? I grabbed my handbag and rushed out to the shop. The chemist guy gave me a weird look, but I was When I came back, I tested immediately. Pacing back and forth, I waited impatiently for the results. They came. It was a deep, unmistakable red. I stared at it, panic filling every fiber of my body. I was pregnant. What could I do? I had no money. I couldn't raise this child. I couldn't keep it. I couldn't have an abortion. They cost money that I didn't have, and it was immoral anyway. I sat on my bed and stared into space, the terrible truth filling me. I was trapped.
It was really hard to go back to school. I kept seeing him in the hallways. I tried to avoid eye contact. If I did make eye contact he'd give me this little wink, as if to remind me of what happened. I kept feeling painful twinges in my stomach. I told everyone that I thought I was a bit too young for him. He backed me up, I think. They thought I was insane to dump him. I just shrugged and tried to change the subject. I didn't show until six months. It was summer break by then. I was suspicious that he had planned it like this. I told Michelle I was going to stay with some relatives of my step-parents (and conveniently forgot to tell her the number). I stayed in hiding at my flat, living of canned soup. I went into labor two weeks before the nine-month period was up. I called an ambulance on the phone. They drove me to the hospital. I don't remember much, except that it really hurt. I made up a name, and left before they could check who I really was. I went to see my child before I ran. She lay asleep. I left with her my bracelet and a name. Sophie. Then I ran, and left her alone there. Just like my mother had left me, at the church. Like mother like daughter, I suppose...
2002
The dream had haunted me for ten years. I was fifteen once more and laying on my old bed. Ben was on top of me again. I could barely move, let alone fight. He was ripping my clothes off. I screamed-
- and woke up in the manor. Phoebe was shaking me. "Are you alright?" she asked. She looked very worried. "You were screaming. Who's Ben?" Uh-oh. This wasn't good. "He was just a guy" I said vaguely, hoping to make her lose interest.
"Didn't sound like just a guy." said a voice from the doorway. I turned and saw Piper and Leo standing there. Leo had an expression similar to Phoebes. Pipers face was unreadable. She continued "You were yelling at him to stay away." Okay, this situation just went from not good to very bad. I shrugged, trying to buy some time. "What were you dreaming about?" said Piper, eyes narrowed. "Can't remember." I said frowning as if I was trying to remember what had happened. They seemed to buy it. "Well... If you're feeling better, we'll go back to bed." Piper disappeared. Leo sighed and followed her. Phoebe got up, but still looked worried. "If you remember the dream, you can always tell me." She walked out of my room. I lay down and looked out the window. I wondered where Sophie was...
I sat at my desk at work, trying to shake of the hurt feeling I had after the dream. I sighed and opened the folder, hoping it would distract me. It didn't. Staring out of a picture was a girl of about ten years old, with an annoyed look on her face. She had dirty blond hair and blue eyes. And her name was Sophie. I scanned the file. Her mother had been a fifteen or sixteen year old, and left her at the hospital. She had given a fake name to the hospital and disappeared. The ambulance people could not find where she lived. The people who had delivered her had not been part of the ambulance service. I frowned at this. What did they mean not part of the service? They seemed to know what I was doing. I had called 911. They should have been a member. I continued on. She had been through three foster homes, being thrown out of the first two because of strange things happening. I stared at the picture. There was some of me in her. She had my chin, for one thing. And my nose. But the hair and eyes were Bens. My shoulder sagged. Why now? For ten years I had pretended it had never happened. And now I had a potential daughter in a file right in front of me. I scanned the file again, then got up. I took the folder and hurried out to my car. There had been an address written at the bottom of the file.
I stood outside the foster home. I was nervous, to put it mildly. I didn't know how to do this. I mean, how do you go up to a ten year old and tell them they're your kid, and that their father was a rapist? The door opened before I could continue that thought. A plumb middle age women holding a baby stood there. "Hello? What do you want." She sounded sharp. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Oh well, too late now. "Hello, I'm Paige Matthews, from South Bay Social Services," I showed her my ID "I'm here to visit Sophie?" The lady gave a 'humph' and disappeared inside. I shifted nervously, waiting. A little girl with blond hair came out, looking puzzled. "Oh...hi." she said, looking up at me. "Are you the new social worker?" She wasn't like I expected. I thought she'd be a problem child. But she seemed like any normal ten year old. "Yes. I'm Paige Matthews." She blinked up at me, then a yell came from inside. Her eyes widened. "Let's go for a walk!" She said hurriedly, and quickly walked down the front path. I had to hurry to catch up. "Any reason for the rush?" I asked. She stopped and looked down. "I did it again." She muttered.
"Huh?" I was confused.
"I...uh...well..." she trailed off. We had reached a park by then. She sat down on a bench. I sat beside her. She had a very odd look on her face. "Well?" I persisted. She looked into the duck pond. "I was angry at Jan, the foster manager. She said I had to be nicer towards Karl." She pulled a face. "Huh. She never sees when he hits me, only when I hit back. Anyway, he was yelling at me then everything-" She was interrupted when the chair underneath us exploded in a blast of razor sharp splinters. We were flung through the air. A splinter buried itself in my arm and one slashed across my cheek. I landed on my back, all of the wind completely knocked out of me. I struggled up, gasping for breath and looking for whatever blew up the chair. A navy demon with horns like a merino ram leapt over the wreckage of the bench, growling. He snarled and flung a ball of yellow acid at me. I orbed. When I orbed back in he had a knife in his hand and there was a large hole in the ground behind me. He flung the knife at the unconscious Sophie. "Knife!" I cried. It faded in a swirl of blue lights and reappeared in my hand. I flung it at the demon. He grabbed it out of midair, hissing. I opened my mouth to yell for it again and he flicked his hand at me. I went flying into a tree. I bounced off and landed very painfully on my ankle. I lay stunned as he charged at me, howling. I orbed once again, managing to move a few metres from the tree. I came in on my ankle. I fell onto my knees, biting my lip to stop crying out. He was about to stab Sophie. I opened my mouth to cry out for the knife, and she orbed. The demon plunged his knife into the ground, the looked around, in a surprised sort of way. Sophie reappeared next to me as I called out for the knife. It reappeared in my hand and I threw it at the demon. It hit him point first in the chest. He vanished in a flume of fire, screaming. I crawled over to Sophie. She was on the ground, hands over her face. "Is the demon gone?" she asked, her voice muffled by her hands.