Pain, tears and lies.
Wow, thanks so much for those reviews, it's an awesome start off for this story. I thank you all, and hopefully your stay logged on to the story ;) lol. To dutchygirlI did make a mistake in the summary. I meant to put that they are engaged.
So, as promised, here is the next chapter. Sit back, enjoy and don't forget to review :)
Chapter 2: The gathering storm.
Outside of the Bay Mirror, the clouds are beginning to gather and gain some thickness, but the sun continues to shine just behind them. Inside, all the people in the building are running around busy and frustrated. In Phoebe's office, she has piles of letters, and her phone is ringing. Phoebe wears her white blouse and black leather trousers. With her glasses resting on her nose, she has her hair tied in a bun with a few pencils stuck through it. Phoebe hears the phone call and begins moving all the letters and paper work around, until getting to the bottom and reaches the phone. Sighing, she picks it up and places it near her ear. "Hello, Phoebe Halliwell" she answers tired. She smiles when hearing the voice on the other end, "Hey Cole" she giggles like a little girl. In some old toilets where the paintwork is cracked, the tiles have falling to pieces, the floor is dirty and cigarette buds lay everywhere on the floor is Cole in a cubicle sitting on the toilet seat.
"Hey honey, you free tonight? I've got us a lovely night planned, it being Friday and all" says Cole. On the other end, Phoebe bites her lip depressed.
"I'm sorry baby, but I've got piles of letters to go over, and then some. It normally gets busy on Friday's"
"Fine, well when will you finish?" asks Cole hopeful.
"I'm not sure, I have so much today, I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get out by 11" replies Phoebe resting the phone in between her face and shoulder, while she searches through all the letters for something.
"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then maybe" says Cole upset.
"I'm really sorry, but just never expect anything from me on a Friday. It's so hectic and…" says Phoebe trying to explain herself.
"It's alright! You've told me time and time again. It doesn't get less difficult to hear the more you say it" says Cole and Phoebe finally reaches for her blue pen and smiles.
"You know I love you right? You also know that we have got to start wedding
planning as well right? Because I for one do not want to be the sister who gets married last. I'm always last, and I'll tell ya, it's not exactly a walk in the park"
"Ok" laughs Cole, "Well I guess I'll speak to you tomorrow then or whatever"
"Ok honey. I love you so much, just never forget that" says Phoebe grabbing some paper and begins writing on it.
"Yeah I know you do, and I love you as well. Just please tell me you're not sleeping with someone else"
"Oh god no…it crossed my mind" jokes Phoebe laughing and Cole laughs back. "So I better go, busy, busy, busy"
"Alright. I love you. Take care"
"Love you too baby, look after your self" smiles Phoebe and hangs up the phone. Phoebe looks down at the piece of paper which has a heart drawn, an arrow going through it and Phoebe and Cole's names written on it. Phoebe rests the pen and smiles, while back in the cubicle; Cole hangs up on his mobile and stands up then opens the door. Through the door, a man in his mid 20's wearing blue ripped jeans, with the belt undone, a blue half open shirt which is dirty, and brown scruffy hair and green eyes.
"Cole, we're ready for you. You ready for some more?" he asks poking out from the door.
"Not really, I've been talking to my fiancé and if she can't come and see me, then I'll go to her" smiles Cole placing his mobile in his trouser pocket and goes to walk forward.
"Have you told her yet?" asks his mate.
"Told her what?" asks Cole trying to avoid the subject.
"You know damn well what" says his mate sternly.
"Aaron listen…I'm not ready to accept it my self, so until I do, then I'll tell Phoebe. You just got to give me time"
"You say that all the time, but you have been doing this for over 3 months now. What is there not to accept about it?"
"Look, will you shut up? I got to go, and I'll see you tomorrow" says Cole pushing past Aaron who shakes his head.
"If you don't tell her…I will" he says to himself and closes the door.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Back at the Bay Mirror, Phoebe tries to hurry along the letters and takes a glance at the clock and sighs with frustration. "7:34…just great" she sighs frustrated when Elise walks into her office and notices the piles.
"Phoebe…Look, I couldn't help overhearing the phone conversation you just had with Cole, and I felt really guilty"
"Oh, don't be silly Elise. Its give and take, and he knows that"
"Still…I want you to take the night off and be with the man you love"
"Oh my god Elise…are you sure?" asks Phoebe thankful and Elise nods her head smiling.
"Of course, now go before I change my mind" she winks.
"Oh god, thank you so much!" says Phoebe getting up and grabbing her coat from her chair, and walks over to Elise and hugs her. "You won't regret this" smiles Phoebe and Elise laughs and pats her off.
"I think I already have" says Elise to her self quietly, as Phoebe grabs her bag. "You might want to take an umbrella. The weather looks quite bad"
"Thanks Elise. See you tomorrow" says Phoebe running out.
"Why am I so nice?" asks Elise to her self and looks at the piles of letters. "Katie! Bring Bob, Mark and Stephanie…I need this desk clean" orders Elise.
-o-o-o-o-o-
At P3, Piper is slowly walking around and polishing the tables while a few people walk out, and the song 'Since you been gone' by Kelly Clarkson is heard in the background from the radio. "Clive, could I get some help in here please?" asks Piper yawning. A chubby man in mid 30's comes walking in through the back wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. He has blond hair and blue eyes.
"Yes boss?" he asks smiling.
"Hi, could you check out front and see if the orders have come in yet? I hate not knowing, and I would check my self, but if you do it then I get all the cleaning done and that done in one" smiles Piper and Clive nods his head.
"No problem Piper, I'll wait until they come"
"Thanks Clive, you're a big help" smiles Piper. While Clive walks up the stairs, Piper slows down when the titanic song starts playing and Piper stops and listens to it, her bottom lip quivering. Grasping her hand over her mouth, her eyes begin to fill with tears. "Leo…" she says upset.
"Piper, you in here?" comes a voice and Piper quickly shakes it off and dries her eyes and turns around to see Cole walking down the stairs.
"Hey Cole. What's up?" she asks calmly as if nothing happened.
"Hey Piper, um I hope you don't mind but have you got any drink I could borrow please?" asks Cole and Piper raises her eyebrows at him suspicious. "It's just because I'm going to surprise Phoebe at work, and I have no drink at home, and no money to buy some yet, so I was hoping you could give me some and when I get the money I'll pay for them"
"Sure, knock your self out. We haven't got many, I'm still waiting for the orders to come in, but see what you can find" smiles Piper and Cole smiles with relief.
"Thanks allot Piper, you're a saviour!" he says and runs off for some drink.
"I try" she says to her self.
"Hey, what's with the sad depressing music?" asks Cole changing the radio station and the song 'Wake me up when September ends' from Greenday is heard blasting out. "This is what songs are about!" says Cole. Piper turns her back to him and looks into the distance depressed and upset.
'Leo…I hope your alright…I love you so much' thinks Piper starting to cry but holds it back.
"Cheers for that Piper, take care" says Cole running up the stairs with a bag full of drink and Piper gives him a half smile.
"Didn't even ask how I was without Leo…does no one care?" she asks and begins crying. Walking over to a table, she sits down and rests her head on the table and cries her heart out. "What can I believe?" she asks her self through sobs and sniffles. Calming down, Piper rests on the table for a few seconds before drifting off to sleep.
-o-o-o-o-o-
In a restraint named 'The District' are Prue and Andy sitting by a table laughing and giggling to one another. They have strawberry milkshake, and a plate full of chips, eggs and beans. "We better be getting home soon" says Andy signalling to outside at the gathering clouds.
"Yeah I know, but I need to finish this. I've barely had anything to eat all day. Also, me and you rarely ever go out together. It makes a nice change" smiles Prue and the two kiss.
"I know, but those clouds don't exactly looks welcoming"
"Yes ok, I get your picture" says Prue quickly finishing her milkshake and taking a handful of chips and Andy smiles surprised. "Well you said"
"I know what I said" laughs Andy, "But…never mind. Shall we set off?" Prue nods her head with a mouthful of chips and swallows.
"Sure, come on then" she says getting up. Andy gets up too and grabs his coat as the two walk towards the door only for the rain to start pelting down onto the streets. The wind then picks up and the lighting starts to get some of the action too. "Oh you have got to be kidding me"
"Here, take my coat, it isn't far from the car. Lets go" says Andy and Prue grabs his coat and holds it over her head while her and Andy sprint towards Prue's car and quickly get in. "It's really coming down…where do you want to go?"
"My house, hopefully with Piper at P3 and Phoebe at work, there should be no one home" says Prue praying inside that it will be true. While Andy nods, Prue starts up the car and they drive off.
-o-o-o-o-o-
In the busy streets of San Francisco, the clouds are getting thicker and thicker. Leo is walking on the pavement with his suitcase wheeling behind him. Leo turns around and notices a taxi driving up. Leo quickly runs to the side and pulls out his hand. "Taxi!" he yells and the taxi pulls up to Leo. "Thank god you arrived, the clouds don't look too nice" says Leo when the taxi man steps out. In his mid 40's he has green squared jeans and a black vest on. Grey hair and green eyes.
"No problem buddy" he says, and helps Leo lift his suitcase into the boot of the taxi. "Whoa, have you packed for a lifetime or what? Where you heading?"
"Airport" replies Leo slamming the boot shut, and gets into the back of the taxi while the driver gets in the driving seat.
"To where?" he asks starting up the engine.
"England"
"Anything nice?"
"Kind of" laughs Leo, "It's my business. There for a week"
"What you do?" asks the driver starting off down the road.
"I'm a doctor, I am one of the most experienced and well known doctors in San Francisco" beams Leo.
"I've never heard of you" says the driver.
"Really? That's a surprise. But yeah, most of the doctors and my boss are going to London. Something bad happened there and they need experienced doctors who are willing to go down there and I was asked" says Leo.
"Well that's mighty brave and heroic of you sir"
"Thanks" smiles Leo looking out the window as the rain starts to fall. The driver looks at his mirror and notices a depressed and lonely face on Leo.
"You seem down" he says.
"Yeah…I had to leave my wife, and I'm normally busy 24/7 so a whole week away is rough"
"Aye it is. I'm sure she knows that you love her and visa versa. She'll be fine" says the driver and Leo lets off a heavy sigh.
"I hope so…"
-o-o-o-o-o-
At the Bay Mirror, Cole walks into it with a basket full of drink and food smiling and heads over to Elise who's near by. "Hey Elise, is Phoebe about?" he asks her.
"Oh…No I said she could have the rest of the night off, she left a few minutes ago. You might be able to catch her, she probably went to yours" smiles Elise and Cole nods his head and walks out. A scream is heard from Phoebe's office and Elise runs over to it and opens the door to find her workers on the floor with letters everywhere. "What in the world happened here?" asks Elise looking at Katie, Bob, Mark and Stephanie.
"We had a little problem" laughs Katie awkwardly and Elise rolls her eyes.
-o-o-o-o-o-
At Cole's penthouse, Phoebe arrives as the rain begins to fall. Sighing with frustration, she quickly runs up and into the building, running into an opening lift where a family walk out. Phoebe gets in quickly and presses a button level and waits as the lift rises up. A 'ding' sounds and Phoebe walks out the elevator and up to Cole's door and knocks on it and waits for a few seconds. "Cole? Hello are you in there?" calls out Phoebe when a small woman with long brown hair and blue eyes steps out from the building down the hall not so far.
"Hey, are you Phoebe?" she asks and Phoebe nods her head. "Well Cole left a few hours ago, about 5. He hasn't been back since I don't think" says the woman.
"Alright…Thanks allot" smiles Phoebe and the woman smiles back and closes the door. Phoebe, sighing, gets back into the elevator. "Typical" she says and the doors close…
To be continued…
What did you guys think? Now to make sure you're all not confused, this chapter takes place before the first one so you can see their "journey" up to the first chapter. Thoughts and comments are welcome, I hope to have the next chapter up very soon.