Here's an update :) I hope you like it :) Please review. I like reviews. Reviews are nice :)
Review Answers :
X5 - 452 and 494 : Yeah, Wyatt needs to learn to control his anger. Thanks for the review!
Jazzies-Girl - Yes, I am a buttface. Thanks for the review sis!
Crlncyln - Thanks!
Naesse - Thanks!
Adorereading - Well, there's many outbursts in this chapter :). Hope you like. Thanks!
Stina Whatever - He was talking about Leo and the nice mask that he wears while he's with his family, but then he takes it off when he's alone with Chris and when he was beating him. Thanks for the review.
AshleyMarieHalliwell - Glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the review!
Avi Halliwell - *blushes* Thanks. I'm glad you enjoy Chris's statement and I'm glad my writing rendered you speechless. :)
That70sshowlova - Hehe. No, no Bianca in this story. Sorry :). My first one without her. She just doesn't fit in with the story. Thanks for the review!
Stacey - Again, the long review. I love it! :). And yes I could tell you were annoyed with Wyatt...I was too :P I know! I feel so sorry for Chris but yet I understand where his family is coming from too. But, they don't know the whole story. Gah, this story pulls your emotions all over the place :P. Thanks for the review!
Phoenix - Wyatt gets a pretty big clue in this chapter :P. Thanks for the review!
Mein Sternchen - *blushes* I'm glad you're finding everything that you wish in a FanFiction in my story. As for the whole family not finding out about the abuse, it's gets explained more in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the review!
Lizardmomma - Thanks!
Wesdrewlover - Uh...who doesn't hate Leo in this chapter, hehe. :P. As for your last two questions, uh...we'll see where the story goes? I honestly don't know. Most of this chapter wrote itself...most of the story wrote itself. When I first started this story I had no plan of making Chris bisexual or him and Skylar together. Originally Skylar was Bianca and Tyler was another girl. See how much has changed! Thanks for the review!
-Chapter Six : Aperio -
Piper watched with horror as the door swung back and forth. She could feel her heart beating against her chest, urging her to run out into that hallway and grab hold of her baby and tell him to get back in that room. Slowly, she turned and looked at the five males that were in the hospital room. Chris's prophecy like speech echoed in her head. Her eyes, once wide with horror, narrowed in disgust and anger. One of these men were the reason behind her son leaving the comforting arms of his family. One of them were the kick that forced her son at the young age of sixteen see the manor as a jail and made him flee to L.A. and from her. Her hands clenched. And she was going to find out who...and kick their asses.
Wordlessly, Chris opened the car door and slammed it shut. Tyler looked at his friend with fear and nervousness. The redhead could feel Chris's magical power bubbling underneath the Halliwell's skin. He was afraid that the fuming man would lose the weak grasp that he had on it and he would end up twenty yards from where he was sitting. Chris still had Halliwell blood running through his veins, even if he did renounce the name, and anybody with Charmed blood was bound to be powerful. Add in Elder blood and you had Chris, a man who could match with the power of the prophesied Twice-Blessed.
Chris's hand clutched at the steering wheel; his knuckles as white as bone. He couldn't believe it. He just officially left his family for good. He couldn't go back now. He broke his mother's heart when he told her that he was no longer Christopher Halliwell. With a shout, he slammed his right palm on to the wheel.
"Chris," Tyler whispered as he took Chris's hand as the black haired man heaved as anger coursed through his body, "You need to calm down."
"Oh, and how the hell am I suppose to do that Tyler?"
"I don't know but you need to," Tyler growled, "Your powers are tied to emotions. And your emotions are pure anger and you are threatening everyone's lives within a thirty feet radius if you can keep the under control."
Chris glared at the redhead. "I can control my powers Tyler."
"Not when you're pissed beyond belief." Tyler snapped "Now calm down."
Chris continued to look at his friend, his eyes narrowed and a hard sneer was on his lips. Without another word, he sharply turned the key and peeled out of the parking lot. Tyler exhaled heavily as he turned his head to gaze out the window. He knew that as soon as Chris would calm down; he would be all weepy and sulky and as his job as a best friend, Tyler would have to pull the black haired male from his dark abyss and pushed him back into manor and into his family. It would only take a few pushes and nudges to get the man where he was suppose to be. And then, Tyler can go back to trying to get Chris to tell his family about the horror that was his childhood.
Shortly, Chris pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and quickly turned off the car and then, just sat. His eyes were looking at the dirty white wall of the cheap hotel. Anything to avoid attention was what Chris said when the booked the room, much to Tyler's chagrin. Soon, Chris opened the door and slammed it shut; still paying no attention to the bassist. However, Tyler quickly followed his angered friend. He watched as Chris chuckled the keys onto the small table before secluding himself in the bathroom. Tyler growled when he saw the isolation attempt that the singer was attempting to achieve. Shutting the front door behind him, Tyler marched over to the door and banged on it. "Chris, get your ass out here."
"Ty...go away,"
Tyler exhaled heavily as he leaned his forehead on the soft oak door, "Please Chris."
"I'm not in the mood to talk,"
"I just want to make sure you won't do anything stupid,"
Tyler heard Chris sigh, "I won't Ty."
"Just open the door."
He heard a rustle come from behind the door and soon he heard the click of the lock unlatching. Quickly, he opened the door and saw the deflated form of Chris. "Why the hell can't I tell them," he heard Chris whisper.
Tyler frowned, "Chris. Stop beating yourself up."
"How the hell can't I?" snapped Chris, "Why the hell can't I tell them that Leo was an abuser. That he would come in, drag me out of bed, beat the shit out of me, then heal all the obvious signs. Plus, threaten everything that close to me to secure that I wouldn't tell anyone."
Tyler gently placed his hands on Chris's arms, "Calm down Chris. You're going to give yourself a heart attack."
"Why can't I get him out of my damn head!" Chris exclaimed, "Its been five years! I've been through therapy. How come I can tell you and Sky, but not my own flesh and blood?"
"Because we're not your family Chris," Tyler said softly, "You're afraid of breaking their sense of reality. Their sense of safety. They view Leo as a safe person, you don't want to whip the rug from underneath them. You don't want to question everything they believe is good by telling that an Elder – the highest source of Good in the world – would beat his youngest son nearly every night."
"I have to tell them," Chris murmured, "I have to tell. I can't have him...turning on them."
"Then go back to them Chris."
Chris looked at Tyler with wide eyes, tears making the beautiful orbs shine with fear and horror. "I can't Ty. Not after that."
"Wyatt is probably beating himself up about it." Tyler reassured.
"It doesn't matter Ty. He told me I wasn't part of the family anymore." A dry chuckle left Chris's throat, "Looks like I'm going to have to get a tattoo removed, huh?"
" Stop it Chris, he said it out of anger," Tyler said as he lightly squeezed the distressed witch's arms, "He didn't mean it. Put yourself in his shoes. His brother, his best friend left one day and then returns perfectly fine and a famous singer. Wouldn't you be pissed?"
Chris rolled his eyes, "Yes. You don't have to speak to me as if I was five Ty."
Tyler smirked. His Chris was coming back to who is was. "With the way you were acting yes I did."
Chris sent the redhead a small glare, the usual feeling behind it not reaching the still sorrowful eyes. Tyler just smiled at his best friend. "You are infuriating at times,"
"Yep," quipped Tyler, "And as your infuriating best friend I am sending your ass back to the manor to make up with your brother and family and to tell them the dark shadows of your past."
Chris narrowed his eyes, "Make up, yes. Past, no,"
"Make up yes, past yes," Tyler rebuked.
"Tyler,"
"Chris."
"I am not having this discussion," groaned Chris as he made his way out of the bathroom and into the living room of the hotel.
"Yes you are," Tyler snapped, "I'm sick and tired of you dancing around the damn bush. Again, grow some balls and tell them."
"I can't Ty!"
Tyler crossed his arms as he leveled his gaze with that of the slightly shorter man before him, "And why not?"
"Because...I just can't!"
'Yes you can!" Tyler growled, his hazel eyes flashing a dark red before shimmering back to their normal color, "Or I will."
Chris glared at Tyler, "You will not. This is my past."
"And it's destroying you!" Tyler yelled, "I refuse to see my friend being eaten alive by a damn secret that he refuses to tell his family! You need to get it in the damn open! And if you don't do it tomorrow, by the time I return from the cemetery, I will tell your family."
"I never said I was returning to the manor Ty."
Tyler smirked, "Oh, yes you are. Oh, yes...you are."
He didn't. Chris never sat foot in the manor, much to Tyler's disappointment. He could see that Chris desperately wanted to see his family again but Chris knew that the altercation between him and Wyatt was the last straw for his brother and for his father. He was sure that Leo had killed his name within the Halliwell manor, disgracing him even farther than his actions already did.
Now, he sat in the cheap chair in the hotel; his gaze on the thin black Blackberry in his hand. Ten numbers filled the screen. Ten numbers that we so familiar that his fingers did the dialing without him realizing it. But now, his finger was hovering over one button : Call.
Faintly, he could hear Tyler whisper in his mind "Do it." But that was impossible since Tyler was at the cemetery visiting his parents' graves. Even as powerful as Tyler was the redhead's telepathy could extend over miles of area.
He had to do it. It was time to stop being a little child and own up to the past that had shaped him to be who he was today. With a shaking hand, he pressed the button and held the phone up to his ear.
"Hello?"
Chris took a deep breath. "Mom...can you and Wyatt meet me somewhere, please?"
A soft breeze blew around him; making him clutch his knee length wool coat closer to his body. Jefferson Park was a place that was close to his heart. It was the place where he and Tyler first intentionally met, on the playground that was on the other side of the park from where he was sitting. He would come to this place nearly every day to just sit on this bench and just gaze at the happy families that were playing. Especially the sons and the fathers. He would sit and wonder why they got together but he and Leo couldn't. He couldn't understand, even to this day, why the friction between him and his father existed. It just did.
"Chris,"
Glancing away from the playground, Chris turned to see him mother and brother trotting down the dark clay path. Chris smiled as he stood and embraced his mother. The woman clutched at him as if he was gone another five years and not two days. "Hi mom."
Piper withdrew herself from her son's embrace and sat down gingerly on the bench. Her small hands still held onto Chris's, as if that gentle grasp was to keep him where he was. Piper's chocolate brown eyes shifted to her eldest son, telling him with a simple glance to sit down as well. Wyatt did as he was told and sat behind his brother, the black haired male still sitting towards his mother.
"What is it you want to talk about Peanut?" Piper inquired.
Chris weakly smiled at his mother, "Well, you wanted to know why I left one day didn't you?"
"Oh, you're finally going to tell us?" Wyatt muttered.
"Wyatt," Piper said tensely, "What is it honey?"
Chris's gaze shifted to the ground and his hands began to squirm in Piper's grasp. "Peanut, please," begged Piper, her hands tightening around Chris's.
Chris squeezed his eyes shut, "You probably won't believe me."
"Honey, please, I just want to know why my son left one day without warning." Piper pleaded.
Chris gulped. "Mom-"
His attention was diverted from his mother's pleading face to the man behind him. Wyatt's hand was on his shoulder and the same pleading look was in his brother's icy blue eyes. Shaking slightly, Chris's head bowed. Gently, Piper pulled her youngest son towards her; his head on his mother's shoulder. Piper slowly ran her hand through Chris's hair. It always calmed her baby down, no matter what his age was.
"Peanut. Tell us, so we can help you."
Piper felt Chris turn his head so he could hide his face in his mother's dark blue sweater. "Mom...I don't know if I can."
"You can. I know you can Chris. Just tell us. That's what we're here for."
Chris exhaled deeply before he sat up fully. He refused to look at his brother or mother; his gaze on the oak in front of him.
"It started when I was three," He started, "It was shortly after Wyatt got his own room. Maybe a week or two."
"What started?" Wyatt asked, looking at his mother briefly. The Halliwell matriarch just shook her head to let her eldest son that she had no idea of what Chris was talking about.
Chris took a deep breath. "He would come late at night. Pull me by my hair out of my bed. I would hit the ground and then he would kick, punch, and slap me. Sometimes he would use things like my toys and other stuff to add to the pain."
Faintly, he could hear Wyatt growling. It almost brought a smile to his face that his brother still held such feelings for him even though he betrayed him. "Who?" he heard his mother hiss.
Chris shook his head. "After a...beating, he would tell me that if I told anyone he would get rid of me forever. And if he got rid of me, I wouldn't be able to continue with Wy's and my destiny of becoming the Charmed Ones. Thus, he would probably be killed. He would also tell me that if I did tell him, he would start beating Wyatt, or you Mom. It was stupid for me to believe this, I don't even know why I did," Chris exhaled as he shook his head, "This continued until I was sixteen," He heard his mother gasp, "Yes, thirteen years I dealt with this. For some reason, on the day that I left...I was looking in the mirror. Usually, the...attacker would...get rid of the obvious wounds but that night he didn't for some reason. I was looking at a black eye that I got and I was just wondering why. Why did I put up with this for thirteen years? Why haven't I told anyone what I was going through night after night," Chris gulped as tears threatened to bubble over, "Why didn't I tell you that my own father was beating the shit out of me nearly every night while everyone slept soundly?"
Everything froze for a moment. He felt his mother and brother tense at the mentioning of Leo. "No," breathed Piper, "No."
Chris nodded when he opened his eyes. He let the tears flow freely from his eyes, "Mom, you have to believe me."
Piper shook her head, "He would never. It's Leo. He's an Elder!"
Chris turned his head towards his brother, "Wy, please."
"Chris, how could you accuse Dad of...of abusing you?" Wyatt growled, furious.
Chris clenched his eyes, "Because he did!"
"Why would he do it?" Piper asked, "There's no reason-"
Chris stood suddenly, "This is why I didn't want to tell you guys! I knew you wouldn't believe me!"
"How can we?" Wyatt snapped, "Why the hell would Dad beat you? It makes no sense!"
Chris took in a shuddering breath, "Goodbye. I'm sorry that my truth falls on deaf ears," he said, and after a quick glance around, orbed out of the park.
Tyler pulled up to the hotel and instantly the feeling dread filled his soul. He just knew that the meeting between Chris and his family didn't go well. Quickly, he got of the car and headed to the hotel room. Unlocking it, he saw Chris furiously packing his bag. "Whoa, whoa, what's going on?" Tyler asked.
"They didn't believe me," Chris spat.
Tyler blinked, "Didn't you know that? They have to wrap their mind around his Chris,"
"There should be no mind wrapping Tyler," Chris growled as he threw a t-shirt into the haphazardly packed bag, "They should've believed me. I'm her son! I'm his brother!"
Tyler cautiously approached the witch. "Chris, deep breaths."
"They just threw it out the window Ty! They didn't even think about it!" Chris spat, "They act as if I imagined all the damn bruises."
Tyler gently placed his hands on his friend's shoulder and guided the raging man to the bed and made him sit down. Kneeling in front of him, Tyler put his hands on Chris's knees. "Chris, deep breaths. I can hear your heart racing from here."
Chris continued to take heaving breaths. "Damn it."
Tyler tightened his grasp on Chris's knees. "In. Out." he instructed, attempting to get the witch's breath under control, "In. Out. There you go. In. Out."
Soon enough, Chris was breathing normally. The man groaned and leaned forward so he could rest his head on his hands; his elbows on his knees. Tyler smiled and maneuvered to sit on the bed. He threw an arm around his tired friend's shoulder and made the man lean against him.
"Did you visit your family," Chris mumbled as he rested his head on Tyler's shoulder, his eyes easing shut.
Tyler smiled as he smoothed back Chris's bangs from his forehead, the skin slightly sweaty from the recent panic attack. "Yeah. They say hi,"
Chris smiled; a soft chuckle leaving his lips, "Hope they're having fun in the afterlife,"
Tyler nodded as he continued to smooth back Chris's hair. Glancing down, he saw his friend's hands twitching. Tyler frowned, Chris was still agitated. Gently, Tyler gathered his friend's right hand and interlaced the fingers – their matching sliver rings clinking together almost silently.
"Calm down Chris before you have another one," Tyler murmured quietly.
Chris sighed, "I'm trying. I just...can't."
"You can try again," Tyler whispered, "At the funeral."
Chris shook his head, "I really can't show my face now. I just can't."
"There are other ways,"
"How?"
Tyler smiled as he continued to comfort the distressed man, "We'll figure that out later. Right now, you need to calm your heart down. Focus on your breathing."
Chris yawned, "I'm more focused on not falling asleep on your shoulder."
Tyler chuckled before guided the man to lay on the bed, "It wouldn't be the first time,"
"I was seven," Chris rebuked, "and we were in the car. I didn't exactly have a lot of choice where my head goes when I'm asleep."
"I meant when we were poor and we had no money," Tyler replied softly as he maneuvered the two of them so they could lay comfortably, "Those Youth Hostels were horrible."
Chris nodded, "And those damn hotels where the other bed was filled with questionable fluids. God, I don't miss those days," the twenty year old yawned again, "There's no point in us staying here any longer. Might as well leave tomorrow or the next day,"
"We'll talk about it after we take a nap,"
Chris chuckled, "You have your own bed to take a nap in mister,"
"But, it's all the way over there," whined Tyler, "are you going to make me get up and walk over there and get comfortable again."
"Ty, we're not doing this again," Chris sighed.
Tyler smiled softly as he continued to push his hand through the black strands, "I didn't say we were Chris. Just go to sleep."
"I should kick you out."
"But you won't."
Chris smirked, "Its just because I don't have the strength to."
Tyler chuckled, "Sure, lets go with that."
Piper looked at herself in the mirror. Today was the day that she would bid Derek goodbye for good. She wore a knee length black skirt and a black blouse. A small amount of lace decorated the cuffs of her sleeves and collar. Diamond earrings that Leo gave to her on their fifteenth wedding anniversary sparkled in the sunlight that came from her bedroom window. She glanced at the closed bathroom door behind her, the sound of the shower coming from behind it. Leo. Her eyes grew troubled as she continued to gaze in the mirror. Could the comforting man that has held her heart for so long really beat her youngest son into running away? But why would Chris lie about something like that? She knew that she held Leo close to her heart, and that Wyatt and Leo were close. Chris would never form those lies out of thin air. But why did her heart and soul scream at her to believe her child while her mind refuse to believe it?
"Mom?"
Blinking, Piper came back to reality. Walking out of her bedroom, she headed to he son's. "Yeah?"
Wyatt held a plain envelope in his fingers. "This just appeared."
Piper raised an eyebrow as she eased the door shut, "Is it from-"
The blond man nodded, "it appeared in orbs, only one person I know could do that, well, besides Aunt Paige,but why would she send me a letter?"
"Did you open it yet?"
Wyatt shook his head, "I thought you should."
Piper took the envelope from her son's hand and gently opened it. Slowly, she unfolded a handwritten letter written on notebook paper.
Mom and Wyatt,
I know you probably don't want to hear from me, but I thought I should try to plea my case one last time. I know you refused to believe that Leo, your husband mom, and your perfect father Wyatt, would come into my room at night and beat me. He abused me Mom. I know in your heart you know I wouldn't lie about this. What I ask is why won't your mind believe me?
Wyatt, you're probably standing there, pissed beyond belief. I don't blame you. I hate that I had to do this. To ruin the image that Leo had portrayed to you. I hate that I'm taking your father away from you. But, do you honestly believe that I would leave my family for a stupid reason like to be famous?
I had no want to be famous. I had to do it out of need. Yes, now, I love it. It's fun. It's exciting. I get to do what I loved doing everyday, and I work hard to keep Pariah on top. However, when I ran away when I was sixteen, I didn't assume that I would make my living by music. I just had to get out. I knew that I had to get out of that house before I was killed by my own father's hand.
On that night Mom, he stepped over a line that I never thought he would cross over.
He used his Electrokensis on me.
I never felt pain like that before. It was as if he was burning me alive from the inside out. I screamed, and pleaded that he would stop. I wished that one of you would come in and stop this torture. Finally, he stopped and stomped out. I laid there for a few hours until I could finally move without pain. I walked over to the bathroom, saw my face, and left. I couldn't take it anymore. I refused to be beaten anymore.
Mom. I love you. Wyatt, I love you too. And I know deep down you know I'm speaking the truth. You know I wouldn't make these kind of lies up. Please believe me.
In these five years, I've missed you two so much. I missed everyone. But I knew that if I came back I would only bring chaos. So, I stayed away. I lived my life while you lived yours. And...I will continue to live mine.
By time you read this, I'm already on the road to L.A and in two short days I will be leaving for the U.K. When I land in London and settle for the night, I'll give you a call. If you don't wish to speak to me anymore, don't answer, and you'll never hear from me again. Until then.
Much love.
Christopher Halliwell
Or, Damon Payne.
-Two Days Later-
Click. "Mom?"
Sniffle. "Is it true?"
Sigh. "...Yes."
Sob.
"Mom?"
"Consider him gone."
Heavy exhale. "Not yet."
