~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The hint of these new tears are sharp
I try to choke them back
But it's useless
I'm useless against them
They're beating me with use
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prue stayed at the office until late that night. When she did finally come home, she slipped past Phoebe's door and into her own room, where she locked the door and lay down on the bed.
She kept thinking back to the night she broke off her engagement with Roger. She'd caught him in his apartment, trying to seduce Phoebe. She didn't know why she'd gotten so angry at her sister. She knew, she'd always known, that it was completely and totally Roger's fault. So then why did she still blame Phoebe? Prue rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling to ponder this.
She closed her eyes. 'Maybe I should go talk to her.' As soon as the thought entered her mind, Prue knew she couldn't do it. She'd figured out that she was only using the thing with Roger as a front, but a front for what?
For as long as Prue could remember, she'd been at odds with her youngest sister. They'd never really gotten along, not since they were very little, but she'd always attributed that to normal sibling rivalry. When did it get this bad?
Down the hall, Phoebe was mulling over the same unaswered questions. She knew she should be used to it by now, but the gap between her and her sister hurt more than ever. She'd always wanted them to be close, but Prue had been more like a mother than a sister growing up.
'I don't need her to be my mother anymore,' Phoebe thought, sighing.She knew she should feel grateful to Prue, and she did, but what she needed now was a big sister.
Phoebe got up and peeked down the hall at Prue's closed door. The hallway had never seemed longer. Like Prue, Phoebe desperately wanted to work things out, but didn't know where to begin. So, instead of talking things out, they both turned out the lights in their respective bedrooms, and went to sleep.
It was still dark out when Prue woke up. She tried to go back to sleep, but it was too late. She was already awake. Yawning, she stumbled into the shower. When she got out, the sun had risen, but her sisters were still asleep.
She went into the kitchen and made coffee, then went outside to get the paper. She lingered a bit on the porch. Prue could already tell it was going to be a beautiful day, not at all like the rainy, miserable weather they'd been having. Somehow, this didn't lift her mood as much as it usually would.
Frowning, she went back inside. She read the newspaper and drank her coffee, not particularly rushing but not taking her time, either. Still, by the time she finished it was time to leave for work. Prue folded the paper, noticing for the first time how quiet it was. She shrugged it off. She was used to being the first one up, it would have been more unusual to see one of her sisters awake at this hour.
Dismissing her own unease, Prue grabbed her purse and left for work. By the time she got to the museum, she'd completely forgotten about it.
"Lana, where's Roger?" she asked her assistant.
Lana, who was cradling the telephone between her ear and shoulder, pointed to a semi-closed office door. Prue went in without bothering to knock. Roger was also on the phone, and Prue couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Of course, Prue Halliwell helped quite a bit, but we all know I was really the one doing most of the work... Well, you know I don't like to brag, but I was the one who actually secured the collection..."
Prue was fuming. She knew what collection he was talking about, it had been Prue's pet project for the past month. And now that jackass was taking credit for it!
Prue cleared her throat, and Roger turned around. She smiled, deriving satisfaction from the many shades of red his face turned as he saw her. "I'll have to call you back." he said calmly to whoever was on the other end of the phoneline. He hung up, and looked at Prue, panicking. "Prue... hi. What are you doing in so early?"
"Quitting." Prue said coolly. "I'll have my resignation in by tomorrow."
Roger gained control of himself. "Ms. Halliwell, you can't make decisions like this so rashly, especially based on a small snippet of a private phone call. Really, I was helping you with-"
"Save it, Roger." Prue snapped. "I should have done this a long time ago. Don't worry, as you said, you're the one who really does most of the work. You should have no problem with the thousands of pages of files in my office."
"Ms. Halliwell, please..." Roger stammered.
"Good-bye, Roger." Prue said, purposely addressing him by his first name. She turned and stalked out, leaving him calling after her, sputtering empty promises to get her to stay on. Prue left the building without once looking back.
****************
A/N: Boring chapter, but I swear this is going somewhere. Trust me, and review, damnit.
~from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" by Dashboard Confessional
The hint of these new tears are sharp
I try to choke them back
But it's useless
I'm useless against them
They're beating me with use
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prue stayed at the office until late that night. When she did finally come home, she slipped past Phoebe's door and into her own room, where she locked the door and lay down on the bed.
She kept thinking back to the night she broke off her engagement with Roger. She'd caught him in his apartment, trying to seduce Phoebe. She didn't know why she'd gotten so angry at her sister. She knew, she'd always known, that it was completely and totally Roger's fault. So then why did she still blame Phoebe? Prue rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling to ponder this.
She closed her eyes. 'Maybe I should go talk to her.' As soon as the thought entered her mind, Prue knew she couldn't do it. She'd figured out that she was only using the thing with Roger as a front, but a front for what?
For as long as Prue could remember, she'd been at odds with her youngest sister. They'd never really gotten along, not since they were very little, but she'd always attributed that to normal sibling rivalry. When did it get this bad?
Down the hall, Phoebe was mulling over the same unaswered questions. She knew she should be used to it by now, but the gap between her and her sister hurt more than ever. She'd always wanted them to be close, but Prue had been more like a mother than a sister growing up.
'I don't need her to be my mother anymore,' Phoebe thought, sighing.She knew she should feel grateful to Prue, and she did, but what she needed now was a big sister.
Phoebe got up and peeked down the hall at Prue's closed door. The hallway had never seemed longer. Like Prue, Phoebe desperately wanted to work things out, but didn't know where to begin. So, instead of talking things out, they both turned out the lights in their respective bedrooms, and went to sleep.
It was still dark out when Prue woke up. She tried to go back to sleep, but it was too late. She was already awake. Yawning, she stumbled into the shower. When she got out, the sun had risen, but her sisters were still asleep.
She went into the kitchen and made coffee, then went outside to get the paper. She lingered a bit on the porch. Prue could already tell it was going to be a beautiful day, not at all like the rainy, miserable weather they'd been having. Somehow, this didn't lift her mood as much as it usually would.
Frowning, she went back inside. She read the newspaper and drank her coffee, not particularly rushing but not taking her time, either. Still, by the time she finished it was time to leave for work. Prue folded the paper, noticing for the first time how quiet it was. She shrugged it off. She was used to being the first one up, it would have been more unusual to see one of her sisters awake at this hour.
Dismissing her own unease, Prue grabbed her purse and left for work. By the time she got to the museum, she'd completely forgotten about it.
"Lana, where's Roger?" she asked her assistant.
Lana, who was cradling the telephone between her ear and shoulder, pointed to a semi-closed office door. Prue went in without bothering to knock. Roger was also on the phone, and Prue couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Of course, Prue Halliwell helped quite a bit, but we all know I was really the one doing most of the work... Well, you know I don't like to brag, but I was the one who actually secured the collection..."
Prue was fuming. She knew what collection he was talking about, it had been Prue's pet project for the past month. And now that jackass was taking credit for it!
Prue cleared her throat, and Roger turned around. She smiled, deriving satisfaction from the many shades of red his face turned as he saw her. "I'll have to call you back." he said calmly to whoever was on the other end of the phoneline. He hung up, and looked at Prue, panicking. "Prue... hi. What are you doing in so early?"
"Quitting." Prue said coolly. "I'll have my resignation in by tomorrow."
Roger gained control of himself. "Ms. Halliwell, you can't make decisions like this so rashly, especially based on a small snippet of a private phone call. Really, I was helping you with-"
"Save it, Roger." Prue snapped. "I should have done this a long time ago. Don't worry, as you said, you're the one who really does most of the work. You should have no problem with the thousands of pages of files in my office."
"Ms. Halliwell, please..." Roger stammered.
"Good-bye, Roger." Prue said, purposely addressing him by his first name. She turned and stalked out, leaving him calling after her, sputtering empty promises to get her to stay on. Prue left the building without once looking back.
****************
A/N: Boring chapter, but I swear this is going somewhere. Trust me, and review, damnit.
~from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" by Dashboard Confessional