Disclaimer: I do not own any of the charmed characters, or the shows or anything like that… I just write the fic… well some of them.
Inner Demons
Breakfast
Piper lay in her bed at the manor, the duvet cover pulled up to her neck. Leo's heavy arm lay across her chest, like a burden, she would normally have welcomed his embrace but she knew that the only reason he was holding her close is because her felt guilty. No not guilty she thought he doesn't want me to leave is all. She looked over at the alarm clock and watched as the hands spelt out the time 6:30 am. She pushed the duvet covers off her small frame and placed her pillow under Leo's arm, so as not to wake him. Then she fled from the room.
She walked through the gloomy manor and into the bathroom; Piper turned and looked in the mirror. Her cheek was no longer bruised, just slightly red; some foundation would cover it up no problem. She reached into the shower and turned it on then stripped out of her pyjama's her body aching as she moved. This was the worst she had been hurt in a long time, but she knew things would improve… they always did. She stepped under the steady flow of warm water and ran her hands through her long dark brown hair. She grabbed the shampoo and lathered up her hair. She showed for about half and hour and then dried her hair and dressed. Then she went down to the kitchen to make Leo his breakfast, she turned on the gas and began to think about what she would make. She walked over to the fridge and lifted out some eggs and some milk, she would cook him French toast, she hadn't made that in a while. She began to cook and was done within twenty minutes, and then she quickly scoffed down a bowl of bran flakes before hearing Leo come down stairs. She lifted the plate of toast out of the microwave where it was keeping warm, and placed it on the table along with a glass of fresh orange juice. Then she awaited him entering the kitchen, he did as usual and Piper froze. Oh God I hope I didn't forget anything, Leo gets rather cranky in the morning… best not to upset him… Leo joined her at the table and she handed him the morning paper.
"Good morning Leo," she said without looking at him, he was sitting at the table, his paper open though obviously not reading. He had not picked up his cutlery and was not eating. "Something wrong?" she enquired, again avoiding eye contact. Leo sighed and his eyes bored into the plate,
'What's this?' he asked, his voice staying at one level and in the same tone. Piper looked up at him for the first time that morning,
"French Toast, I thought you might like a change, but if you'd prefer something different I can…" she began but the look in Leo's eyes made her stop talking,
"You thought?" he questioned, then he gave a short, evil laugh, he looked at Piper, "You thought!" he yelled this time picking up the plate and placing it down in front of her, Piper immediately lifted the plate and walked over to the sink,
"I'm sorry, what would you like…?" she began but stopped talking when she felt Leo breathing down the back of her neck, his figure shadowing her. She put the plate on the surface and turned to face him, "For breakfast," she finished, hoping he wasn't too angry and would give her an answer.
"That's right, that's just bloody brilliant! You ask me what I want after you've cooked that disgusting mess! Have you no consideration for other people? Do you know how that makes me feel, its makes me unhappy in the morning and you know I don't like to be grumpy in the morning, dear," he yelled slamming his hand down on the surface. "I explained to you last night that I wanted pancakes for breakfast… I didn't think that was to hard for you to understand." He said, Piper quickly rushed over to the fridge and lifted more milk and some eggs. She rushed past him but tripped over her feet and fell to the ground, spilling the milk and cracking various eggs. Leo held out a hand to her, she reluctantly took his hand and stood up, But before she was over the fall Leo lashed out at her. His hand came towards her face rapidly and smacked her down. Piper fell to the ground and cupped her hands round her face where he had hit her. Tears began to gather in her eyes, Leo suddenly looked shocked. He bent down beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders pulling her in close to him. She let herself be pulled by him, and kept her whimpering to a minimum. "Don't cry, I'm sorry… I just… you shouldn't get me mad, you know what happens when I get mad," he said, after a couple of minutes of cuddling her let her go and helped her to her feet. He looked at his wrist watch,
"Dammit, I'm going to be late!" he exclaimed, "I'll be in for lunch, how about a turkey sandwich…" he said as he went to orb out, "that shouldn't be too complicated," he added then in a shimmer of blue lights he was gone.
Piper methodically walked over to the work surface and lifted a dish cloth; she bent down and began to wipe up the mess. She wiped up the milk and gathered up as much of the egg as she could, holding back tears she continued to clean up. She lifted an egg shell and placed it in the bin, then suddenly she broke down into tears. She moved her body into a foetal position and lay in the kitchen, crying.