~ Chapter 7 ~
Cole tugged at his tuxedo for the a thousandth time; he just couldn't believe that he was going to spend a lifetime with his love, Phoebe. He never knew this day would come until he had met Phoebe, she had brought out the human side out of him, and each day he would feel the sweet and heavenly sensation of love rush through him and now he knew that if he ever lost that feeling, he would become one of those drug addicts without drugs, he wouldn't be able to survive. He put his whole soul and heart into a new life with him and Phoebe, together. Until he had met Phoebe, he had never known what it was like to feel to care, to have someone to care about him or to love him and now, he embraced the whole sensational heavenly and blissful feeling of love that caused him to feel tingles of joy and excitement every time he and Phoebe kissed or touched in any way. He was in love and he knew that if he ever lost this feeling of love, he could never live with himself. Love was the only important thing right now and his life now revolved around his enchanting witch. Cole could feel that his palms were sweaty and that his heart was racing nervously and rapidly in his chest. He had never felt so nervous in his whole life, for 100 or something years he had been a demon, and never experienced any love whatsoever, but now, he thought as he smiled to himself, but now, at last I am.
Piper gently ruffled out Phoebe's dress and helped her curl her beautiful chestnut hair to frame her face and to tumble down past her shoulders a little. Piper smiled, she remembered the day that she and Leo had gotten married and she knew exactly how Phoebe was going through. She paused and walked in front of Phoebe who was staring nervously at her own reflection and fiddling with her long white gloves. Piper gently took one of Phoebe's hands and squeezed it, Phoebe breathed in deeply and let out the air slowly and forced a nervous smile at Piper. Somehow, the comfortable silence around them was calming and comforting for Phoebe, it was the same with Cole; somehow while they walked hand in hand through the park through a corridor of golden autumn trees, or walked just anywhere, she felt as if their comfortable silences were the longest and most wonderful conversations they could ever have. Piper gently hugged her, careful not to squash the beautiful elegant wedding gown Phoebe had on. Piper then walked slowly to the door, flashing one last smile at her sister as a single girl.
Cole stood in front of Leo nervously, biting his lip in concern at why Phoebe was taking so long. She suddenly heard someone coming down the stairs and he braced himself for his beautiful fiancé but it was only Piper. He felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach as he tried to reassure himself that everything was fine. Leo half smiled to himself at the nervous Cole that stood in front of him. They had decided to have a quiet family wedding, just the four of them because they didn't want to invite any more guests and they wanted it to be a cosy family event, after the loss of Prue, this was their big chance to bond with each other even more. Piper stood a little away from Cole, leaving a gap for Phoebe to come down. Suddenly, they all heard the gentle rustling of a dress and they saw a beautiful young woman slowly advancing down the stairs. Her hair was tumbling gently pass her shoulders, swaying gently in smooth elegant curls and although her dress was what some people would call plain, it was still beautiful, it had a smooth and deep neckline and the dress hung itself delicately on the young woman's shoulders on thin-as-thread straps. The dress gently flared out at the hips and flowed onto the floor in beautiful puddles of smooth material. Cole gasped, his face showing pure awe at the beautiful creature that was slowly advancing down the stairs, she looked so beautiful and he felt like he was watching her in slow motion. Suddenly, she stood beside him and smiled at him, he smiled back and reached out to entwine his hand in hers. Leo took a deep breath, smiling and opened his mouth to say the words that would bind the happy couple together forever.
Suddenly there was a crash as there was a scream from the front door, "No! Cole, don't do this! You love me, not that WITCH!" an angry voice shook through the house as Cole and Phoebe both whipped around to find themselves facing an outraged Aridella.
"Aridella, uh, what?" questioned Cole, his face showing pure confusion.
"Cole, listen to me, you can't love her or marry her!" begged the young priestess to Cole, close to tears. Then she smugly said to Phoebe, as she sneered, "He loved me at the beginning, you're only his second choice!"
"What? Why can't he marry me?" snapped Phoebe in a confused and demanding voice.
Aridella glared at her briefly with a killer look as she turned back to Cole, she flinched as a wave of pain throbbed through her from her master's attacks. She gasped and knelt down onto the floor, her weak legs no longer able to hold up the weight of her body.
"Aridella, what are you talking about? Why can't I marry Phoebe?" asked Cole, asked Cole softly as he immediately bent down to support her, a concerned look in his eyes.
"Because I love you, Cole." Sobbed Aridella as great big tears rushed down her face like a flowing brook. "Because I love you and you should love me!" suddenly, she let herself sink more onto the ground until she was completely in Cole's arms. She pressed herself against him tightly, still sobbing.
Cole stared down at her shaking shoulders, which shuddered with every sob that escaped from her throat. Phoebe was still standing there and she was staring down at them, shocked.
"He's marrying me, Aridella, not you!" suddenly, a wave a pure and bitter jealousy rushed through Phoebe as she saw Aridella begin to pull Cole towards her more, no longer sobbing.
Cole suddenly fell backwards, as Aridella stood up so abruptly that he lost his balance. He stood up slowly, still trying to take in what was happening, Aridella… in love with him? She couldn't have chosen a better time to tell him, on his WEDDING DAY! His mind immediately began to flash great big red lights warning him that something terrible was about to happen as he looked from the beautiful priestess to his fuming bride. They were both glaring at each other, both of their eyes filled with such fury and hatred for each other that you could almost see the reflection of fire burn in them.
Piper tried to freeze Aridella but it didn't work.
She shrieked a high laugh and cried out, "Did you think that I would come here unprotected against your powers? I'm immune to them, you foolish witch!"
"Piper, watch out!" Cole suddenly cried out as he saw Aridella fire a power ball towards her. Luckily Leo orbed her out just in time, upstairs in Piper's room. Piper was gasping and shaking with shock from her barely-able- to-make it escape as collapsed into Leo's arms, barely able to stand.
Phoebe suddenly filled with anger, how dare this priestess wreck her and Cole's wedding day! "I bet you're not immune to this!" she shouted and suddenly fired a power ball in Aridella's direction. Aridella elevated into the air on reflex, just missing it. She came down onto the ground breathing hard.
"That's enough!" shouted Cole, jumping in between them. But it was no use; once a battle was started no one could stop it.
Aridella screamed and ran towards Phoebe, ready to attack, she ran past Cole and fell onto the floor as Cole reached out and held her tight around her waist and she stumbled.
"No!" Cried Cole as Aridella stood up again. Phoebe shimmered and came up behind her attacking with a powerful air kick that hit her strongly on the back of the head. Aridella spun around as Cole tried to block her and he held her tightly around the waist again.
Phoebe fired a power ball at both of them and Cole shimmered to the other side of the room, still grasping a bleeding Aridella as the power ball just missed them. Phoebe screamed and began firing as many power balls out of her hands as possible. Cole dodged all of them safely, his demonic reflexes on full alert as he shimmered from place to place quickly.
"Phoebe, no!" shouted Cole at an angry Phoebe who's eyes were blazing. "That's enough!"
Aridella suddenly saw that her vision was fading and the last thing she saw was black as she slumped deeper into Cole's strong arms. Cole gasped as the full weight of Aridella weighed down on him and he laid her gently on the floor. He shimmered quickly in front of Phoebe.
"Cole! She tried to kill me!" cried out an exhausted Phoebe whose face was streaked with angry tears, which flowed down her face steadily.
Just then they heard a clatter as Leo and Piper rushed down the stairs, now that Piper had finally recovered from the shock of the sudden attack.
"Come here," whispered Cole, folding his arms around her, "Sh… don't worry, it's over now, it's over, don't cry, Phoebe." Soothed Cole, his voice steady and calm.
"I wanted this to be the perfect wedding day for us, Cole!" Phoebe stuttered in between sobs. "This wasn't meant to happen! How could this happen Cole? Oh god…" whispered Phoebe as she slowly began to sink down onto the ground, dragging Cole down with her until she finally sat down on the floor, Cole's arms still around her shoulders, comforting her with soft words.
Aridella suddenly opened her eyes and saw the revolting scene before her. She narrowed her eyes in jealousy as she saw Cole comfort that witch. She was the one that he was meant to be holding now! Just look at her, her hair wild and no longer beautiful, she was bleeding heavily and she was so weak that she could barely talk. But it had all been worth it, Aridella thought silently, a hint of a smile showing on her face, she had felt Cole rescue her with his amazingly fast shimmering as that witch had attacked her and that was worth it all. With one more glance at Cole, she gathered all her power and shimmered back to her temple, her heart now heavy and cold with jealousy and rage. No one even noticed that she was gone.
Piper and Leo stood awkwardly to the side, exchanging looks to each other; Leo slowly nodded, knowing that this was a problem that Cole and Phoebe needed to sort out by themselves. They walked silently out of the room, and headed upstairs to wait until they could come down again when everything had calmed down.
Phoebe slowly pushed herself away from Cole and faced him fully. She could see that his face wore a mask of hurt and shock and his eyes showed doubt and confusion.
"Why did you defend her Cole?" asked Phoebe quietly, she could feel the irritating sensation of jealousy brewing inside her.
"I, uh, um, I couldn't let you kill her Phoebe." Mumbled Cole, suddenly realising how hurt Phoebe would be feeling right now that he hadn't helped her even though it wasn't right. He wondered if Phoebe felt somehow… betrayed by him, if doubts were starting to form involuntarily in her head. Cole sighed and looked away, there could even be a chance that she was jealous, his mind quickly worked out as it furiously tried to think of how Phoebe would be feeling right now.
Phoebe quickly turned her head away so that she wouldn't have to look at Cole's face anymore. With a flick of her hand, she immediately wiped away a tear as it slithered its way down her face. I'm not going to cry, she said to herself fiercely.
"Phoebe, let me explain, please!" begged Cole, his voice growing louder as he tried to attract Phoebe's attention back to him. He finally relocated himself so that he was in front of Phoebe. "Just listen to me, look at me, Phoebe." He whispered to her, bending down slightly to look into her eyes. Slowly, Phoebe raised her head, waiting for an explanation.
"That was my old friend, Aridella, who I met a hundred years ago. She and I never had anything going on. Although for some time, we felt attracted to each other, we never actually acted on it and then I met you Phoebe, I never thought of her since or my demonic life because it's in the past and that life is over for me. I just want you to know that I want to wake up each day and look forward to a future with you." Cole finished, silently praying that Phoebe would understand his situation.
"You just basically told me that that was your ex-girlfriend!" cried out Phoebe, walking away and turning around. "Since when was she invited to our wedding?"
Cole followed Phoebe and slowly brushed away her curls and kissed her softly at the base of her beck. "I'm sorry Phoebe, she was a dear friend to me, and I just wanted all the fighting to stop between you two."
Phoebe closed her eyes, indulging herself in Cole's sweet kisses as he made his way up to her face. Suddenly she thought back to the scene of when Cole and Aridella were in each other's arms on the floor. Her eyes snapped open, "No, Cole, a dear friend?"
"Yes Phoebe, from the past!" explained Cole.
"Well she came today to ruin our wedding, now why would she miraculously show up like that? According to what you've told me, you probably havn't seen her for years!" Phoebe's voice was full of accusation and doubt.
"I don't know Phoebe! What are you trying to say?" demanded Cole, stepping away from her.
"I'm trying to say that I don't believe that you guys were just friends, you defended her Cole! A dear friend, huh? You know, I may be known as a slut but I do have a brain!" shouted Phoebe, her voice growing louder and louder with every word.
Phoebe's every word stabbed into Cole's soul like a dagger and he felt the hurt inside him growing. "No, Phoebe, we were just friends, why don't you believe me? Why is there doubt in your eyes, huh? I would never cheat on you and you're not a slut! What are you talking about?" Cole's eyes were so full of hurt that for a moment, Phoebe just wanted to reach out and comfort him but she shook her head. Snap out of it Phoebe! She told herself angrily, this man was going to let his so-called friend kill you!
"She threatened me Cole! Why didn't you defend me?" yelled Phoebe.
"Maybe it's because I knew that she was weak." Said Cole quietly.
"She sure didn't look weak when she broke down the door." Snapped Phoebe.
"Couldn't you see that she was weak? The minute she stepped into the room, I felt her demonic weakness like she had been abused or something and you saw her collapse onto the ground!" He replied, trying to defend Aridella.
"Oh God Cole!" screamed Phoebe, rolling her eyes. "Can't you see that it was all an act and don't give me that 'I sensed her weakness' crap! All she wanted to do was to make you pity her and it sure as hell worked! How can you be so god damn blind?"
Cole closed his eyes for a second, he didn't want to defend his old friend anymore and he didn't want to argue. This was a nightmare and he wanted to wake up from it so much.
"I'm so sorry Phoebe, please forgive me! I love you." He said softly, his frown turning into a serious expression. He almost expected her to fall in his arms as she had always done before, but when he reached out to touch her she flinched away.
"No, Cole, you knew that she was trying to kill me, then why didn't you defend me?" shouted Phoebe, moving away from him slowly.
"I couldn't Phoebe! I couldn't let you kill my ex-lover."
Phoebe stared at him in shock, "I thought that, she…"
" Well I lied!" snapped Cole. "I'm sorry, Phoebe, look, let's just forget about this, I love you and that's all that matters."
"Don't touch me!" cried Phoebe, fear in her eyes as she slowly backed away from him, she shook her head violently, trying to move as quickly as possible as he moved closer to her.
"Let's just forget about it, Phoebe, I need you, please!" begged Cole, his eyes now darting around showing his nervousness and his desperation.
"No, not until you cut off this Aridella from your life!" cried out Phoebe, saying the first excuse she could think of. She shuddered; somehow, Cole had turned into a lying and deceiving monster before her eyes.
Cole looked down, "I can't Phoebe, look, let's just get married and forget about this, ok?" He flashed her a smile and started to take her hand but Phoebe continued to move away from him.
"No Cole! Just get away from me, you monster!" screamed Phoebe as she shimmered herself upstairs to her room; gasping, half expecting Cole to shimmer into her room behind her but nothing happened. She stood there for a minute, waiting, even half hoping that he would shimmer in any minute but nothing happened. Her heart was frozen and suddenly, she had to gulp down mouthfuls of air as if she couldn't breathe anymore. Where was the Cole she had known all along? Why did she see that cold look in his eyes, why had he changed so suddenly? Phoebe's mind raced with questions, her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Slowly, she collapsed onto her bed, the feeling of her heart breaking engulfing her completely as she sobbed violently, gripping pillow for comfort, her tears saturating it.
Downstairs, Cole stood there, shocked, how could this happen? He was only trying to get Aridella to stop fighting with Phoebe before she could hurt her. Cole's shoulders slumpt as he frowned thinking hard about what Phoebe had said. His heart felt heavy and all his dreams were shattered. Suddenly, he felt someone behind him and the last thing he was the carpet looming up towards him before everything went black.
TBC….
Cole tugged at his tuxedo for the a thousandth time; he just couldn't believe that he was going to spend a lifetime with his love, Phoebe. He never knew this day would come until he had met Phoebe, she had brought out the human side out of him, and each day he would feel the sweet and heavenly sensation of love rush through him and now he knew that if he ever lost that feeling, he would become one of those drug addicts without drugs, he wouldn't be able to survive. He put his whole soul and heart into a new life with him and Phoebe, together. Until he had met Phoebe, he had never known what it was like to feel to care, to have someone to care about him or to love him and now, he embraced the whole sensational heavenly and blissful feeling of love that caused him to feel tingles of joy and excitement every time he and Phoebe kissed or touched in any way. He was in love and he knew that if he ever lost this feeling of love, he could never live with himself. Love was the only important thing right now and his life now revolved around his enchanting witch. Cole could feel that his palms were sweaty and that his heart was racing nervously and rapidly in his chest. He had never felt so nervous in his whole life, for 100 or something years he had been a demon, and never experienced any love whatsoever, but now, he thought as he smiled to himself, but now, at last I am.
Piper gently ruffled out Phoebe's dress and helped her curl her beautiful chestnut hair to frame her face and to tumble down past her shoulders a little. Piper smiled, she remembered the day that she and Leo had gotten married and she knew exactly how Phoebe was going through. She paused and walked in front of Phoebe who was staring nervously at her own reflection and fiddling with her long white gloves. Piper gently took one of Phoebe's hands and squeezed it, Phoebe breathed in deeply and let out the air slowly and forced a nervous smile at Piper. Somehow, the comfortable silence around them was calming and comforting for Phoebe, it was the same with Cole; somehow while they walked hand in hand through the park through a corridor of golden autumn trees, or walked just anywhere, she felt as if their comfortable silences were the longest and most wonderful conversations they could ever have. Piper gently hugged her, careful not to squash the beautiful elegant wedding gown Phoebe had on. Piper then walked slowly to the door, flashing one last smile at her sister as a single girl.
Cole stood in front of Leo nervously, biting his lip in concern at why Phoebe was taking so long. She suddenly heard someone coming down the stairs and he braced himself for his beautiful fiancé but it was only Piper. He felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach as he tried to reassure himself that everything was fine. Leo half smiled to himself at the nervous Cole that stood in front of him. They had decided to have a quiet family wedding, just the four of them because they didn't want to invite any more guests and they wanted it to be a cosy family event, after the loss of Prue, this was their big chance to bond with each other even more. Piper stood a little away from Cole, leaving a gap for Phoebe to come down. Suddenly, they all heard the gentle rustling of a dress and they saw a beautiful young woman slowly advancing down the stairs. Her hair was tumbling gently pass her shoulders, swaying gently in smooth elegant curls and although her dress was what some people would call plain, it was still beautiful, it had a smooth and deep neckline and the dress hung itself delicately on the young woman's shoulders on thin-as-thread straps. The dress gently flared out at the hips and flowed onto the floor in beautiful puddles of smooth material. Cole gasped, his face showing pure awe at the beautiful creature that was slowly advancing down the stairs, she looked so beautiful and he felt like he was watching her in slow motion. Suddenly, she stood beside him and smiled at him, he smiled back and reached out to entwine his hand in hers. Leo took a deep breath, smiling and opened his mouth to say the words that would bind the happy couple together forever.
Suddenly there was a crash as there was a scream from the front door, "No! Cole, don't do this! You love me, not that WITCH!" an angry voice shook through the house as Cole and Phoebe both whipped around to find themselves facing an outraged Aridella.
"Aridella, uh, what?" questioned Cole, his face showing pure confusion.
"Cole, listen to me, you can't love her or marry her!" begged the young priestess to Cole, close to tears. Then she smugly said to Phoebe, as she sneered, "He loved me at the beginning, you're only his second choice!"
"What? Why can't he marry me?" snapped Phoebe in a confused and demanding voice.
Aridella glared at her briefly with a killer look as she turned back to Cole, she flinched as a wave of pain throbbed through her from her master's attacks. She gasped and knelt down onto the floor, her weak legs no longer able to hold up the weight of her body.
"Aridella, what are you talking about? Why can't I marry Phoebe?" asked Cole, asked Cole softly as he immediately bent down to support her, a concerned look in his eyes.
"Because I love you, Cole." Sobbed Aridella as great big tears rushed down her face like a flowing brook. "Because I love you and you should love me!" suddenly, she let herself sink more onto the ground until she was completely in Cole's arms. She pressed herself against him tightly, still sobbing.
Cole stared down at her shaking shoulders, which shuddered with every sob that escaped from her throat. Phoebe was still standing there and she was staring down at them, shocked.
"He's marrying me, Aridella, not you!" suddenly, a wave a pure and bitter jealousy rushed through Phoebe as she saw Aridella begin to pull Cole towards her more, no longer sobbing.
Cole suddenly fell backwards, as Aridella stood up so abruptly that he lost his balance. He stood up slowly, still trying to take in what was happening, Aridella… in love with him? She couldn't have chosen a better time to tell him, on his WEDDING DAY! His mind immediately began to flash great big red lights warning him that something terrible was about to happen as he looked from the beautiful priestess to his fuming bride. They were both glaring at each other, both of their eyes filled with such fury and hatred for each other that you could almost see the reflection of fire burn in them.
Piper tried to freeze Aridella but it didn't work.
She shrieked a high laugh and cried out, "Did you think that I would come here unprotected against your powers? I'm immune to them, you foolish witch!"
"Piper, watch out!" Cole suddenly cried out as he saw Aridella fire a power ball towards her. Luckily Leo orbed her out just in time, upstairs in Piper's room. Piper was gasping and shaking with shock from her barely-able- to-make it escape as collapsed into Leo's arms, barely able to stand.
Phoebe suddenly filled with anger, how dare this priestess wreck her and Cole's wedding day! "I bet you're not immune to this!" she shouted and suddenly fired a power ball in Aridella's direction. Aridella elevated into the air on reflex, just missing it. She came down onto the ground breathing hard.
"That's enough!" shouted Cole, jumping in between them. But it was no use; once a battle was started no one could stop it.
Aridella screamed and ran towards Phoebe, ready to attack, she ran past Cole and fell onto the floor as Cole reached out and held her tight around her waist and she stumbled.
"No!" Cried Cole as Aridella stood up again. Phoebe shimmered and came up behind her attacking with a powerful air kick that hit her strongly on the back of the head. Aridella spun around as Cole tried to block her and he held her tightly around the waist again.
Phoebe fired a power ball at both of them and Cole shimmered to the other side of the room, still grasping a bleeding Aridella as the power ball just missed them. Phoebe screamed and began firing as many power balls out of her hands as possible. Cole dodged all of them safely, his demonic reflexes on full alert as he shimmered from place to place quickly.
"Phoebe, no!" shouted Cole at an angry Phoebe who's eyes were blazing. "That's enough!"
Aridella suddenly saw that her vision was fading and the last thing she saw was black as she slumped deeper into Cole's strong arms. Cole gasped as the full weight of Aridella weighed down on him and he laid her gently on the floor. He shimmered quickly in front of Phoebe.
"Cole! She tried to kill me!" cried out an exhausted Phoebe whose face was streaked with angry tears, which flowed down her face steadily.
Just then they heard a clatter as Leo and Piper rushed down the stairs, now that Piper had finally recovered from the shock of the sudden attack.
"Come here," whispered Cole, folding his arms around her, "Sh… don't worry, it's over now, it's over, don't cry, Phoebe." Soothed Cole, his voice steady and calm.
"I wanted this to be the perfect wedding day for us, Cole!" Phoebe stuttered in between sobs. "This wasn't meant to happen! How could this happen Cole? Oh god…" whispered Phoebe as she slowly began to sink down onto the ground, dragging Cole down with her until she finally sat down on the floor, Cole's arms still around her shoulders, comforting her with soft words.
Aridella suddenly opened her eyes and saw the revolting scene before her. She narrowed her eyes in jealousy as she saw Cole comfort that witch. She was the one that he was meant to be holding now! Just look at her, her hair wild and no longer beautiful, she was bleeding heavily and she was so weak that she could barely talk. But it had all been worth it, Aridella thought silently, a hint of a smile showing on her face, she had felt Cole rescue her with his amazingly fast shimmering as that witch had attacked her and that was worth it all. With one more glance at Cole, she gathered all her power and shimmered back to her temple, her heart now heavy and cold with jealousy and rage. No one even noticed that she was gone.
Piper and Leo stood awkwardly to the side, exchanging looks to each other; Leo slowly nodded, knowing that this was a problem that Cole and Phoebe needed to sort out by themselves. They walked silently out of the room, and headed upstairs to wait until they could come down again when everything had calmed down.
Phoebe slowly pushed herself away from Cole and faced him fully. She could see that his face wore a mask of hurt and shock and his eyes showed doubt and confusion.
"Why did you defend her Cole?" asked Phoebe quietly, she could feel the irritating sensation of jealousy brewing inside her.
"I, uh, um, I couldn't let you kill her Phoebe." Mumbled Cole, suddenly realising how hurt Phoebe would be feeling right now that he hadn't helped her even though it wasn't right. He wondered if Phoebe felt somehow… betrayed by him, if doubts were starting to form involuntarily in her head. Cole sighed and looked away, there could even be a chance that she was jealous, his mind quickly worked out as it furiously tried to think of how Phoebe would be feeling right now.
Phoebe quickly turned her head away so that she wouldn't have to look at Cole's face anymore. With a flick of her hand, she immediately wiped away a tear as it slithered its way down her face. I'm not going to cry, she said to herself fiercely.
"Phoebe, let me explain, please!" begged Cole, his voice growing louder as he tried to attract Phoebe's attention back to him. He finally relocated himself so that he was in front of Phoebe. "Just listen to me, look at me, Phoebe." He whispered to her, bending down slightly to look into her eyes. Slowly, Phoebe raised her head, waiting for an explanation.
"That was my old friend, Aridella, who I met a hundred years ago. She and I never had anything going on. Although for some time, we felt attracted to each other, we never actually acted on it and then I met you Phoebe, I never thought of her since or my demonic life because it's in the past and that life is over for me. I just want you to know that I want to wake up each day and look forward to a future with you." Cole finished, silently praying that Phoebe would understand his situation.
"You just basically told me that that was your ex-girlfriend!" cried out Phoebe, walking away and turning around. "Since when was she invited to our wedding?"
Cole followed Phoebe and slowly brushed away her curls and kissed her softly at the base of her beck. "I'm sorry Phoebe, she was a dear friend to me, and I just wanted all the fighting to stop between you two."
Phoebe closed her eyes, indulging herself in Cole's sweet kisses as he made his way up to her face. Suddenly she thought back to the scene of when Cole and Aridella were in each other's arms on the floor. Her eyes snapped open, "No, Cole, a dear friend?"
"Yes Phoebe, from the past!" explained Cole.
"Well she came today to ruin our wedding, now why would she miraculously show up like that? According to what you've told me, you probably havn't seen her for years!" Phoebe's voice was full of accusation and doubt.
"I don't know Phoebe! What are you trying to say?" demanded Cole, stepping away from her.
"I'm trying to say that I don't believe that you guys were just friends, you defended her Cole! A dear friend, huh? You know, I may be known as a slut but I do have a brain!" shouted Phoebe, her voice growing louder and louder with every word.
Phoebe's every word stabbed into Cole's soul like a dagger and he felt the hurt inside him growing. "No, Phoebe, we were just friends, why don't you believe me? Why is there doubt in your eyes, huh? I would never cheat on you and you're not a slut! What are you talking about?" Cole's eyes were so full of hurt that for a moment, Phoebe just wanted to reach out and comfort him but she shook her head. Snap out of it Phoebe! She told herself angrily, this man was going to let his so-called friend kill you!
"She threatened me Cole! Why didn't you defend me?" yelled Phoebe.
"Maybe it's because I knew that she was weak." Said Cole quietly.
"She sure didn't look weak when she broke down the door." Snapped Phoebe.
"Couldn't you see that she was weak? The minute she stepped into the room, I felt her demonic weakness like she had been abused or something and you saw her collapse onto the ground!" He replied, trying to defend Aridella.
"Oh God Cole!" screamed Phoebe, rolling her eyes. "Can't you see that it was all an act and don't give me that 'I sensed her weakness' crap! All she wanted to do was to make you pity her and it sure as hell worked! How can you be so god damn blind?"
Cole closed his eyes for a second, he didn't want to defend his old friend anymore and he didn't want to argue. This was a nightmare and he wanted to wake up from it so much.
"I'm so sorry Phoebe, please forgive me! I love you." He said softly, his frown turning into a serious expression. He almost expected her to fall in his arms as she had always done before, but when he reached out to touch her she flinched away.
"No, Cole, you knew that she was trying to kill me, then why didn't you defend me?" shouted Phoebe, moving away from him slowly.
"I couldn't Phoebe! I couldn't let you kill my ex-lover."
Phoebe stared at him in shock, "I thought that, she…"
" Well I lied!" snapped Cole. "I'm sorry, Phoebe, look, let's just forget about this, I love you and that's all that matters."
"Don't touch me!" cried Phoebe, fear in her eyes as she slowly backed away from him, she shook her head violently, trying to move as quickly as possible as he moved closer to her.
"Let's just forget about it, Phoebe, I need you, please!" begged Cole, his eyes now darting around showing his nervousness and his desperation.
"No, not until you cut off this Aridella from your life!" cried out Phoebe, saying the first excuse she could think of. She shuddered; somehow, Cole had turned into a lying and deceiving monster before her eyes.
Cole looked down, "I can't Phoebe, look, let's just get married and forget about this, ok?" He flashed her a smile and started to take her hand but Phoebe continued to move away from him.
"No Cole! Just get away from me, you monster!" screamed Phoebe as she shimmered herself upstairs to her room; gasping, half expecting Cole to shimmer into her room behind her but nothing happened. She stood there for a minute, waiting, even half hoping that he would shimmer in any minute but nothing happened. Her heart was frozen and suddenly, she had to gulp down mouthfuls of air as if she couldn't breathe anymore. Where was the Cole she had known all along? Why did she see that cold look in his eyes, why had he changed so suddenly? Phoebe's mind raced with questions, her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Slowly, she collapsed onto her bed, the feeling of her heart breaking engulfing her completely as she sobbed violently, gripping pillow for comfort, her tears saturating it.
Downstairs, Cole stood there, shocked, how could this happen? He was only trying to get Aridella to stop fighting with Phoebe before she could hurt her. Cole's shoulders slumpt as he frowned thinking hard about what Phoebe had said. His heart felt heavy and all his dreams were shattered. Suddenly, he felt someone behind him and the last thing he was the carpet looming up towards him before everything went black.
TBC….