Chapter nine: Bars.

The next day Prue took Paige and Piper to their schools before than my friends and I had the chance to get up; she is still pissed and doesn't want us to be close to them...well, she lets me because she knows that she can't do anything about it but now is lunch time and also Friday, so they all have to be home early. Whether they liked it the idea or not.

"Hi," I greeted my grandma when I saw her crossing the door of the manor with her purse in her hands, hugging her sweetly.

"Hi," she smiled at me, kissing my cheek, "How are the things going?"

"As you left them," I replied, walking with her to the dinning room.

"Are you cooking?," she asked me with a curious face, I shook my head.

"Gisselle, she wanted to; she says that she is going to cook from now if you let her because she wants to help and say thank you," I replied proud of her and I saw grams smiling.

"Good afternoon Missis Halliwell," said Helena when she saw us standing next to the table, a little nervous, checking for the third time if all was well set.

"Call me Penny, Missis Halliwell sounds like if I was old people," she laughed.

Helena blushed and nodded shyly. Some steps were heard from the stairs and hallway, bringing Piper, Prue and Paige from the bathroom with their hands washed.

"Hi grams," said the girls as the kissed her, Prue still a little mad at her.

"Hello my angels, how was the day?," she asked them as Helena took her hand to ask her to sit down and wait for the lunch, "Thank you sweetheart, I guess that I'm started to get used to this," she said giggling a bit.

Prue smirked at that and took the seat next to her right hand.

"Do the girls need help?," asked Piper, talking to Helena.

"No, we are ok!," replied Ruby from the kitchen, "Just sit, we fix the rest".

Paige smiled, happy for not having to move a finger and sat next to grams, to her left. Piper had to resist her instincts of going helping them, knowing that they were trying to do the things right and that was important for me, and took a seat next Paige; all indicated that I had to sit next Prue.

Scary.

"I talked to my friend," said Grams, taking the control again, "he said that the girls can finish their school with no problems but you need to study a lot and it's going to take a while for them to recover all the lost years. It's going to be your job, Phoebe, to teach them and make sure that they learn: you and them need to finish your high school, you mostly with only one year ahead".

"But school starts on September," said Paige, "This year is a few weekends to finish".

"I know," said Grams, "But they have lost a lot of years and Phoebe needs good grades, for a change".

"So you want us to start now?," I asked her, making a face of sorrow.

"After lunch," she smiled.

"Are you serious?," asked Helena, really excited about the topic, "Can we? I mean, really?"

"Sure you can, you must," insisted Grams, "You're here because you want a future and if you work along with us, I promise you're going to get it".

"I don't...know how to...," babbled Helena, really emotional, "Thank you".

I smiled and the others too, even Prue changed her hard expression to a neutral expression, what in her language meant a smile. Helena bit her lip to avoid crying, I guess that no one had given her a chance or made her believe that she could do anything she wanted since she was a kid. Since she was forgotten and abandoned by her father.

"If you have any questions or need help, I'm here," said Piper talking to me and Helena, well, to the whole table in fact: she was the official library of the house.

"Lunch is ready!", sang Gisselle from the kitchen, carrying a big pot in her hands being followed by Ruby, who was carrying another one.

"Ok, you tell me how much is too much," said Helena serving Grams from Gisselle's pot and I did the same with Ruby's.

"That's fine for me, thank you," said Paige when she was served, really happy, "It looks really yummy!"

"Thank you, I really hope you like it," replied Gisselle excited about the commentary.

"Whose is that plate?," asked Gramms, noticing that one of them had a very little portion of food.

"Ruby's," answered Gisselle.

"Great, my bulimic sister and her anorexic friend, now I know why you get along so well," said Prue bitterly, ironical as only she could be when she wanted to.

"Prudence," warned Grams with a really serious face.

"What?," she asked pissed.

"If your sister has a problem we are here to support her, not to condemn her, and if her friend has issues, we're going to help her too. I forbid you to make those kind of critics that don't help to their situations. We have talked about this before. They're behaving".

"We are always helping Phoebe and she is always screwing all, I wouldn't say that I'm condemning her, she condemns herself and you help her letting her do anything she wants," complained Prue hitting the table.

"I won't accept this behavior in my house nor in my table, Prudence: behave yourself and respect my decisions or stand and go until you learn to respect me".

"I can't believe that being me the one that's always with you, supporting you, taking care of you and my sisters have to listen this. You had never said that to Phoebe, ever, and she...whatever," she said standing up, leaving the kitchen and slamming the door.

The whole table was now in silence. Paige and Piper were worried and my friends trying to find somewhere to hide. I myself was really angry, why was so hard for Prue being nice and supportive?

"She is so!," I tried to say.

"Worried. With reasons," corrected me Grams, stopping me before I had the chance of saying something I'd regret later, then she addressed the girls, "I'm sorry for that, I really am, but you have to understand her position".

"Please, don't apologize, we do," said Helena, "We know that this is huge, and that you're doing a lot for us...she's in her right to be mad and scared, we're not the kind of person I'd let my kids to hang out with, I know, but we promise that we will do anything and everything to get her confidence or at least make her see that we won't harm anyone, least you and your family".

"I know," said grams, "Now finish your meal, you need to eat. All of you".

"Just to clear up...I'm allergic to fish, that's why I didn't get some," explained Ruby a little embarrassed.

"I talked with my father," added Helena, "He said that he is going to send me some money this week".

"That's good news," commented Grams.

Three days later things were still hard between us and Prue. I would like to talk to her and explain her...but she wouldn't listen to me and I don't feel like listening to all the insults she has to say...I can't say that I don't understand because I do, and sadly if I was her, I would be in the same position. I had betrayed her so many times and she has been always in the right path, doing the best for everyone and now must to be feeling like lasting, as if anybody listened to her or counted her opinion. I wish I could make her see that she's worrying about nothing, I wish that I hadn't destroyed all her confidence in me.

I was full asleep when I felt someone pocking on me.

"What?," I asked to Giselle when I saw her in front of me, "Did you finish your homework?"

"Come, you want to see this," she replied ignoring my question, taking my hand and making me go to the first floor.

"Come on, I'm sleepy," I complained yawning, dragging my feet to the living room.

"You sure?," asked Ruby sitting on the edge of the sofa, pointing to another seat.

"Of course I'm sure," I replied yawning exaggeratedly, closing my eyes and stretching a bit, "To be creating a new life isn't that easy," I said rubbing my eyes to see better and take care of whatever they wanted me to do, when I froze.

I froze.

Totally.

One hundred percent.

Cold as ice.

Still.

Almost in zombie state.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

It couldn't be real.

He couldn't be here...no, it was a dream, a dream, a nice dream or a cruel dream but a dream! Cole wasn't here, I was still sleeping: Cole wasn't sitting on my sofa with his hands on his lap and his head down, glancing at me.

No.

It wasn't him...he wasn't.

It couldn't be him.

Was him?

"Time to leave them alone," said Helena clapping to make the others stand, "I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you both: talk".

I used the sofa as support to avoid falling down: it was shocking having him in my living room, at home...I hadn't seen him in weeks and now he was here, from nowhere...one day after I had decided forgetting about him and moving on to a brand new life by my own.

Destiny loves making me fight against what's reasonable.

"Careful," asked me Cole standing quickly at seeing me so weak, taking my arm to help me, but I pushed him away.

"What are you doing here?," I growled, turning my back to him literally.

"I came for you," he said clearly, not leaving me alone, but not touching me.

I swallowed and shook my head before taking a seat, hiding my face in my hands sighing hard. I couldn't believe anything of this, for me? He came for me? Was he serious? Wasn't I dreaming?

"Why?," I asked him, sharply, too confused and irritated.

He said nothing. Not a single world came to my ears. I thought that if he was there just for playing, I wasn't going to let him...I wasn't going to play with him neither...if we had hurt each other and now he was here to make us suffer again, I wasn't joining his game: I had someone to take care of, a little life to respect and give stability and peace...if he couldn't take that he had to hit the road. I knew that I couldn't do it alone but I also knew that with him in the map making me go up and down any time he appeared, it would stop being hard and turn into impossible.

"Leave me alone," I ordered him, looking at the floor and not at the door: I couldn't stand the scene of seeing the love of my life and father of my child slamming the door to say good bye forever...I don't know how my mother could do it and she didn't die after...maybe that was what killed her...or maybe he wasn't her real love...or maybe she was just stronger, smarter and better than me.

I waited him to move, but he didn't. The needles of the clock were the only thing alive in the living room. When I opened my mouth to ask him to leave again, he spoke:

"I can't".

I felt anguish and pain in his voice: yes, he was hurt, as hurt as I was, but I didn't want to open a door that I was trying to close so hard, only to have to close it again.

"You ignored me pretty well last time, I'm sure you can do it now too, easily," I replied.

I felt his steps and closed my eyes thinking that now everything was lost and that our story had ended definitely, but instead of listening the sound of the door opening or slamming, I felt his hands over mine and I saw him kneeling to face me.

"I'm sorry," he told me with all his honesty and deep from his heart, expecting my response.

I looked into his eyes, surprised at finding tears on them. He moved his hands slowly, taking my face in his hands, caressing my cheek lovingly. I felt melting, I only wanted to close my eyes and never stop feeling like this. My knees went weak, my breath turned heavy and my eyes blurred. I wanted to trust him, I really wanted to do it.

It was up to me.

I believed him.

But that didn't mean that I was forgiving him so easily...I promised that I didn't want to suffer again, I didn't want him to break my heart twice.

I felt his fingers moving to my lips and I closed my eyes, leaning over a bit, trying to catch his lips in my imagination but not in the real life: I had to go slower.

"Why you did that to me?," I asked him in a whisper, feeling his lips closer, so tempting.

"I'm scared," he said, stroking his cheek with mine, with his hands on my head. His warm breath made me feel strange, happy, confused.

"Me too," I replied feeling a little groggy, like in trance...like the sweet bizarre beginning of those kind of erotic dreams you don't share.

I let him touch my lips with his carefully, slowly...he was asking them if he could kiss me, and they said yes in a language that only we could understand. I wanted to take him right there; call me impulsive, but I didn't want to let him go again and I missed him so much...and the moment, oh this moment was so perfect and dreamy: I always expected him to be tender and soft.

"I thought it was better," he said kissing my lips again, "for you and...," he stopped to kiss me another time and didn't finish the line about the baby, not daring to mention it and not touching it neither, "To live without me. In a nice family, with no drugs without..."

"The love of my life?," I asked him when he separated his mouth from mine, taking his face with my hands now, kissing him again, "You really thought that I'd be able to live without you?"

"I do," he replied, as we started to feel the heat of the room, or maybe our.

"You're so wrong," I whispered to his ear now that he was hugging me, kissing my head while I nailed my fingers on his back as if that would make him stay with me forever, "I haven't stop crying since the day we made apart. I thought you hated me".

As soon as I said that, he released me and put my forehead against his to look in my eyes. He was a little sharp in his movement; I was starting to wonder when and how he had turned from the cold apathetic Cole into this sweet, crying and loving man...or where his cold, brute side had gone.

"I would never hate you," he whispered, cleaning with his thumb a tear falling down my cheek, softening again; now I could notice that he was doing a great effort trying to be as emphatic as he could.

"Prove it and stay," I begged him, almost muttering my request.

Cole closed his eyes, not separating from me.

"What are they going to say?"

"It doesn't matter".

"It does to me," he insisted, opening his eyes slowly, "They can...if they don't want us together..."

"Are you afraid of jail?"

"I'm afraid of the bars making us apart forever".

"I'm afraid of our own bars making us apart forever".

Cole kissed me again, this time longer and I joined the game definitely, defeated: he was so irresistible, so charming. We got more passionated with the seconds, each one a little more. He made me lie on the sofa carefully, about to sit over me until he recalled about a certain someone. I smiled childish and he smiled back, excited, pulling up my shirt to my breasts. He kissed my belly shyly, making me shiver a bit. I sighed when he did it again, giggling when he started spreading the kisses around: the moment was magical, unique, unforgettable.

"I love you," he told our bump, surrounding it with his hands and I allowed myself crying; after believing that our baby was going to grow up without a father, now he was talking to him in the sweetest voice ever, "I love you and I will never leave you...I hope that I can get to be the father you deserve, and the man your mother does," he promised it with emotion and hope in his eyes.

He kissed my belly for the last time with a lot of tenderness and then he kissed me again.

"I missed you so much," I confessed, biting my lip.

"I love you Phoebe".

"I love you too".

I stopped talking and just let him spread kisses down my neck. I felt in heaven, after so many years in hell.

I suck at romance. I hope you don't hate me.

Review(s) response(s) :

ButterflyEyes24: Hello stranger! you back in town charming and kicking? Please say yes! Thank you for the rr haha I just imagined Phoebe doing something stupid and immature and bang! Hey, Cole's back! PS: Don't leave again or he's going to leave Phoebe! lol *blackmail* !

Leonie1988: Thank you! hope you liked this one too :)