A/N: Panpipes, although I didn't like hear that this version isn't as good
as the first, thanks for letting me know. The reason why I redid this is
because I didn't know where the plot was going and I thought that I could
have added more detail.
Sunlight streaks through the window, forcing me to squint as I am drawn to alertness. Looking over at my alarm clock, I see it's already eight and I swing my legs off the bed and into my pink fluffy slippers. "Leo? Wake up. It's..." I look over to see his side of the bed empty, the sheets wrinkled and his pillow still slightly indented where his head was. "Leo? Leo! Where are you?" Blue lights surround and release his form in front of my eyes.
"Right here. What's the matter?" He comes around from the other side of the bed and sits down next to me, his forehead wrinkles and his eyebrows knit in concern; his usual expression.
"Nothing. You weren't here when I woke up." I hesitate, hearing the needy words escape my lips, knowing the next words released will be the ones he's heard all too often lately. "I miss you, Leo." He starts to speak in protest but I cut him off. "I know, I know. Your job it your first priority, but you have been gone a lot more that usual, you can't deny that."
"I know, honey... I just thought you'd still be upset with me over the thing I brought up last night." I can't even look at him as the anger from the night before begins to build again. "You haven't been taking care of yourself lately. I don't know what to say anymore. Whenever I bring it up you just brush it off as me being a jerk instead of me trying to protect you."
"Protect me from what?! Myself? I am an adult, Leo! I am responsible enough not to have someone looking out for me day in and day out." I look away again, avoiding his gaze and cross my arms somewhat childlike.
"Piper," he begins, touching my arm.
"Don't touch me..." I say each word slowly as I try to keep control, my teeth clenched. I look back at him. "I can barely even look at you right now. What gives you the right to touch me?" He retracts his hand, a hurt and disappointed look on his face, and orbs away. So, I'm left here, alone again, to think. Thinking seems to be an awful thing right now. It only makes me feel guilty or more upset and sometimes... Sometimes I break down and I feel so hollow and naked inside.
I feel so stupid when I think. My mind trails off and I find myself thinking about something like how blood clots or how dogs smell. Then I backtrack and strive to recall each thing I thought about before it and how they connect. I can sit for hours going forward and backward in thought and somehow, most of the time by someone starting to talk to me, I am pulled back to reality. One time I decided to write my whole train of thought down so I could backtrack more easily. Never have I had a more moronic idea in my life. I ended up filling a whole spiral notebook in one sitting. The abbreviated version of the whole of the notebook is: dogs, hair, pigmentation, skin, flesh wounds, infections, bacteria, the beginning of life on earth, dinosaurs and the list goes on. Yes, that is the condensed version. I don't know if other people go through these thought processes but I'll tell you this much, it can get really irritating; especially when you can't recall what thought led to the next.
My feet fall heavily on the steps as I reluctantly make my way downstairs to the kitchen to acknowledge my sisters. When I enter the kitchen they stop their conversation to look at me as if judging my ability to speak or respond if they were to strike up a new conversation, me included. "Hey, good morning, Sleepy-Head." Paige comes over and I receive a short embrace. I perch myself on a stool across from Phoebe and run my fingers through my tangled hair, unsuccessfully trying to reduce the mass from birds nest to small shrub.
"We didn't want to wake you. You seemed to need the extra rest. You've been a little hard on yourself lately." Of course Phoebe has to be another critic.
I mumble inwardly, "Just trying to improve myself, but what would you guys care?"
"Hmmm? What did you say?" Phoebe has her you'll-tell-me-what's-wrong-even- if-I-have-to-beat-it-out-of-you face on, but it won't work this time. She sets her coffee down and slides off the stool and comes over to stroke my hair.
"Nothing, nothing." I get up so she misses my head and I catch her wrist in my hand. "I'm fine. I just miss Leo. Oh, and yes we did have another dispute. Don't think I didn't notice the 'poor Piper' look exchanged between you two." I gesture towards Paige with her hand and then release her wrist, having made my point. They both just sit there stupidly, not knowing what to say. I both love and hate when this happens. For one thing, they shut up, but they are also thinking about me and of course, exchanging more looks.
Coffee. Coffee would be a good thing. I zoom in on the coffee maker and start towards it, but apparently my sisters think that I am also unable to make my own coffee. "I have one made for you already, Piper. Piper?" I turn around after taking a deep breath to control my annoyance.
"Why thank you," I say, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice but to no avail. Phoebe picks it up right away and pounces.
"Piper, what is your problem? We try to find out what's wrong but all you give us are wise cracks and vague answers. Why do you keep pushing us away? First Leo and now us!" I just stare at her, my anger building ever higher, my fists clenched so hard that my nails are digging into my palms leaving red, crescent indentations. She notices this and backs off a bit, sympathy rising in her voice again. "Piper, I didn't mean it... You aren't pushing him away... I don't know what I was saying." She approaches me again but I don't 'push her away' this time. I welcome her hand on the back of my head as she pulls me into a hug. Paige joins and I sink into them.
"I could never push you guys away; no matter how hard I try," I half whisper, resting my chin between their shoulders. They both give breathy, short laughs as I hold them closer. I hadn't had a real hug in a while. How our little argument could turn into a hug situation, I don't know. Maybe our words have a higher meaning, I may never learn. I'm just content to be in their warm embrace. I close my eyes and sigh, that soft satisfying feeling filling the previously empty void that is my body.
These moments are what hold us together. If ever a small argument arises, it almost always ends in a hug and sometimes, thankful tears. Hugs can be like condensed love and emotion, transferred from one person to another in one simple motion or maybe even topped off with a gentle kiss on the head. Hugs can also be a simple greeting or a sorrowful goodbye. Such an effortless action can have so many meanings that can never be fully unlocked or known. I'll save that for another day. For now I am content in my sisters' arms.
A/N: Even thought I hate getting bad reviews, I do appreciate getting them so don't hold back! More to come soon!!
A/N: Don't you hate it when you select the wrong thing to delete? I do. I had two reviews on this story and I went and accidentally deleted it cause it started with a 'c' like the thing I was gonna delete. Rrrrggggg... Just needed to do some complaining. I'm done now.
Sunlight streaks through the window, forcing me to squint as I am drawn to alertness. Looking over at my alarm clock, I see it's already eight and I swing my legs off the bed and into my pink fluffy slippers. "Leo? Wake up. It's..." I look over to see his side of the bed empty, the sheets wrinkled and his pillow still slightly indented where his head was. "Leo? Leo! Where are you?" Blue lights surround and release his form in front of my eyes.
"Right here. What's the matter?" He comes around from the other side of the bed and sits down next to me, his forehead wrinkles and his eyebrows knit in concern; his usual expression.
"Nothing. You weren't here when I woke up." I hesitate, hearing the needy words escape my lips, knowing the next words released will be the ones he's heard all too often lately. "I miss you, Leo." He starts to speak in protest but I cut him off. "I know, I know. Your job it your first priority, but you have been gone a lot more that usual, you can't deny that."
"I know, honey... I just thought you'd still be upset with me over the thing I brought up last night." I can't even look at him as the anger from the night before begins to build again. "You haven't been taking care of yourself lately. I don't know what to say anymore. Whenever I bring it up you just brush it off as me being a jerk instead of me trying to protect you."
"Protect me from what?! Myself? I am an adult, Leo! I am responsible enough not to have someone looking out for me day in and day out." I look away again, avoiding his gaze and cross my arms somewhat childlike.
"Piper," he begins, touching my arm.
"Don't touch me..." I say each word slowly as I try to keep control, my teeth clenched. I look back at him. "I can barely even look at you right now. What gives you the right to touch me?" He retracts his hand, a hurt and disappointed look on his face, and orbs away. So, I'm left here, alone again, to think. Thinking seems to be an awful thing right now. It only makes me feel guilty or more upset and sometimes... Sometimes I break down and I feel so hollow and naked inside.
I feel so stupid when I think. My mind trails off and I find myself thinking about something like how blood clots or how dogs smell. Then I backtrack and strive to recall each thing I thought about before it and how they connect. I can sit for hours going forward and backward in thought and somehow, most of the time by someone starting to talk to me, I am pulled back to reality. One time I decided to write my whole train of thought down so I could backtrack more easily. Never have I had a more moronic idea in my life. I ended up filling a whole spiral notebook in one sitting. The abbreviated version of the whole of the notebook is: dogs, hair, pigmentation, skin, flesh wounds, infections, bacteria, the beginning of life on earth, dinosaurs and the list goes on. Yes, that is the condensed version. I don't know if other people go through these thought processes but I'll tell you this much, it can get really irritating; especially when you can't recall what thought led to the next.
My feet fall heavily on the steps as I reluctantly make my way downstairs to the kitchen to acknowledge my sisters. When I enter the kitchen they stop their conversation to look at me as if judging my ability to speak or respond if they were to strike up a new conversation, me included. "Hey, good morning, Sleepy-Head." Paige comes over and I receive a short embrace. I perch myself on a stool across from Phoebe and run my fingers through my tangled hair, unsuccessfully trying to reduce the mass from birds nest to small shrub.
"We didn't want to wake you. You seemed to need the extra rest. You've been a little hard on yourself lately." Of course Phoebe has to be another critic.
I mumble inwardly, "Just trying to improve myself, but what would you guys care?"
"Hmmm? What did you say?" Phoebe has her you'll-tell-me-what's-wrong-even- if-I-have-to-beat-it-out-of-you face on, but it won't work this time. She sets her coffee down and slides off the stool and comes over to stroke my hair.
"Nothing, nothing." I get up so she misses my head and I catch her wrist in my hand. "I'm fine. I just miss Leo. Oh, and yes we did have another dispute. Don't think I didn't notice the 'poor Piper' look exchanged between you two." I gesture towards Paige with her hand and then release her wrist, having made my point. They both just sit there stupidly, not knowing what to say. I both love and hate when this happens. For one thing, they shut up, but they are also thinking about me and of course, exchanging more looks.
Coffee. Coffee would be a good thing. I zoom in on the coffee maker and start towards it, but apparently my sisters think that I am also unable to make my own coffee. "I have one made for you already, Piper. Piper?" I turn around after taking a deep breath to control my annoyance.
"Why thank you," I say, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice but to no avail. Phoebe picks it up right away and pounces.
"Piper, what is your problem? We try to find out what's wrong but all you give us are wise cracks and vague answers. Why do you keep pushing us away? First Leo and now us!" I just stare at her, my anger building ever higher, my fists clenched so hard that my nails are digging into my palms leaving red, crescent indentations. She notices this and backs off a bit, sympathy rising in her voice again. "Piper, I didn't mean it... You aren't pushing him away... I don't know what I was saying." She approaches me again but I don't 'push her away' this time. I welcome her hand on the back of my head as she pulls me into a hug. Paige joins and I sink into them.
"I could never push you guys away; no matter how hard I try," I half whisper, resting my chin between their shoulders. They both give breathy, short laughs as I hold them closer. I hadn't had a real hug in a while. How our little argument could turn into a hug situation, I don't know. Maybe our words have a higher meaning, I may never learn. I'm just content to be in their warm embrace. I close my eyes and sigh, that soft satisfying feeling filling the previously empty void that is my body.
These moments are what hold us together. If ever a small argument arises, it almost always ends in a hug and sometimes, thankful tears. Hugs can be like condensed love and emotion, transferred from one person to another in one simple motion or maybe even topped off with a gentle kiss on the head. Hugs can also be a simple greeting or a sorrowful goodbye. Such an effortless action can have so many meanings that can never be fully unlocked or known. I'll save that for another day. For now I am content in my sisters' arms.
A/N: Even thought I hate getting bad reviews, I do appreciate getting them so don't hold back! More to come soon!!
A/N: Don't you hate it when you select the wrong thing to delete? I do. I had two reviews on this story and I went and accidentally deleted it cause it started with a 'c' like the thing I was gonna delete. Rrrrggggg... Just needed to do some complaining. I'm done now.