AN: Six Reviews for the last chapter! My personal best! I have more than three reviews per chapter! Thanks to all who review, and don't forget to do this one! Oh, and just to let you know, I was listening to upbeat, happy songs while writing this chapter.
JanaRose - I am so happy your head reformed, I would have hated to loose one of my reviewers. No, I haven't seen Garage Days, nor heard of it, but that scene sounds really funny! Also, do you really think I would have killed off Paige? She is my second favorite Charmed One (Piper's first, in case you couldn't tell)! But, you never know, I might kill off someone I like and see how it works out. Bwahahaha!
winter blaze - I know, very creepy, thanks, too
p3charmed4eva - I know, I feel sorry for her two, but everything will work out, and I did read your story, and you DID kill off her parents too.
Jules713 - Thanks!
LeoPiper24/7 - How can I do a happy song? Well, I am putting songs I like for the chapter titles, and I only like one sad song (don't worry, it'll be used) so I decided to do a song that was the complete opposite of what was actually happening in the chapter. The first line of that song is 'All I can say is that my life is pretty plain'!
piperleo4eva - I sooo agree with your pen name! But anyways, part of your review was kind of confusing, but my story is kind of confusing, and so am I, so who cares? And, thanks for your compliments.
AN2: Just in case you didn't notice, the stalker was rhyming while he was threatening Paige.
AN3: Also, keep in mind that Paige has the flashlight the entire time. Also, when Paige is telling the story, I didn't put any shakes in, but I mentioned that is what her voice was doing.
Now, a sorrowful chapter 18...
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Paige only noticed that she was in front of the manor when she noticed a huge pinkish-reddish blur. Her sight was clouded by both the pounding rain and the tears that she was trying her hardest to hold back. She didn't want the sisters to see her in her grief-stricken state. She ran up the steps and reached the front door, she reached up her hand and knocked, trying her hardest not to fall apart where she stood. ;;;;;;;;
Piper was up in the kitchen, baking pastries. She always baked when she was nervous. It was after three in the morning, but she didn't care. Her and her sisters had spent basically all day trying to figure out who Prue's stalker was, but they still had about five hundred names on their list. Also, there was the little encounter with the tarantulas. That had thoroughly freaked Piper out. 'It'll take forever to find the pervert.' Piper thought, taking yet another batch of brownies out of the oven. She looked over her creations. 'I have made enough goods that my family will be well fed for a month.' Piper thought, then giggled. "More like a week, with Phoebe's sweet tooth." she whispered to herself.
Then, Piper heard someone knock on the front door. 'Who would come here at this time of night?' Piper wondered, easing cautiously towards the door. Since there was a psycho stalker on the loose, she didn't want to take her chances. She also was remembering what happened when she had answered the door last time. She unlocked the door, and pulled it back.
Paige was standing there with a disheveled appearance and tear-stained face. Paige couldn't help it. When she smelt the scent of freshly-baked brownies, she was reminded of her adoptive mother. Paige wrapped her arms around Piper, and immediately broke down.
Piper was bewildered. She had no idea what Paige was doing there, nor did she know why she was crying. She noticed that Paige had cuts and bruises on her face, arms, and legs. She was even more surprised when Paige began muttering indecipherably. "Popcorn... power... stairs... flashlight... Mulberry..." Piper, though surprised, immediately went into protective mode. She led Paige over to the couch and let Paige cry on her shoulder. She tried to get up to get disinfectant and band-aids, but Paige wouldn't let go of her hand. She then called out, "Prue, Phoebe, get your sleepy asses down here NOW!"
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Up in her room, Prue woke up when her name was called. She recognized Piper's voice, and then heard sobs from downstairs. She immediately dashed out of her room. She literally ran into Phoebe. "Do you know what's going on down there?" she asked while getting up painfully from the floor "No, but the sooner we get down there, the sooner we will know." Phoebe stated, then they both dashed towards the stairs.
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Paige was now sobbing uncontrollably on Piper's shoulder and holding Piper's left hand tightly. She had not let go since she arrived. Piper was rubbing her back and saying that everything would be okay, even though she didn't know what was wrong. Piper heard a familiar rumbling and turned her head towards the stairs. She saw Prue and Phoebe thundering down the steps. They both stopped in their tracks when they saw the scene. "What happened?!?" Phoebe asked. "I really have no idea." Piper said. "She just showed up at the door and began breaking down and whispering random words." "Oh." Prue said, sitting down on the other side of Paige. Phoebe came over and sat on the floor in front of them. They all just sat and made a futile effort to comfort Paige.
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After a while, Paige had finally drifted off into a fitful sleep, and the other three drifted to sleep, too. When Paige woke up, she was in Piper's arms, holding tightly to one of her hands. She wondered why she was there for a few seconds, then the night's events come tumbling down on her. She began crying silently, yet not silently enough. Her trembles had woken Piper and Prue up, which in turn woke up Phoebe. Piper, noticing that Paige was crying again, began rubbing her back again. Even though they hadn't gotten anything out of Paige during the night, she still wanted her to feel better. "Paige, sweetie, can you please tell us what happened?" Prue asked soothingly. She figured that they could help her a lot better if they knew what was wrong. "But, you don't have to if you don't want to." Piper added. Paige hesitated, then nodded her head.
Paige began, voice shaking. "I was home alone, you know, and I was up late watching movies. Then my power went out. I went up to my room to get my flashlight. I was looking for it, talking to myself, when I heard a voice behind me. I looked, and it was a man with a ski mask on, voice scrambler, and a gun. He told me he was going to kill me, and I kicked the gun out of his hand, so threw me into my desk. He was rhyming the entire time. He then told me it was no use, and that he had killed my parents." Paige stopped right there, she couldn't continue. She began sobbing uncontrollably again.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe looked at each other. They all knew the horrors of loosing their parents, so they had an idea of what Paige was going through. But, their father wasn't actually dead, and even though their mother was, she hadn't been murdered. (a/n: that shows how much they know)
"Don't you think we should call the police?" Prue asked Paige. Paige shook her head. "I don't think she wants to tell the story again. I mean, it took a lot out of her just to tell us, imagine telling a complete stranger." Piper said. "But, we have too." Phoebe said. "And besides, are you entirely sure that what he said is the truth? I mean, they are out of town. He could have been lying to psych you out." Phoebe added, trying to reassure Paige. "You're right. And, by the sound of it, whoever attacked you is my stalker. We have to tell the police because of that, and then they can tack on breaking and entering, assault, attempted murder, and MAYBE two murders onto the charges." Prue said, beginning to feel guilty. The stalker WAS after her, after all. She couldn't help but think that this was all her fault.
"Well, then we should probably go to the phone and call the police." Phoebe said. "You're right. I'll call them." Piper said, getting up. Suddenly, she was yanked back down by Paige, who hadn't let go of her hand. "Okay, then. I won't call." Piper said. "I'll call." Prue said. She had dealt with the police more than the other three.
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"Hello? Police Department." a voice said. Prue was in the kitchen, on the phone with the police. "Hello, this is Prue Halliwell." "Oh, hello Prue. What did the stalker do?" Prue realized that she was talking to Officer Sunshine, one of the cops that was working on her case. His name wasn't really Sunshine, but he was always so happy and peppy that she gave him that name. "Um, he took it to the next level. He attacked my friend, Paige." Prue responded. "Oh, dear. I will be there in a few minutes, and I will be bringing a few fellow cops so we can question your friend." he then hung up the phone.
Prue took a different route back to where the others were. When she entered one of the rooms, she saw the floor had a bunch of dead tarantulas. "Oh, yeah" Prue said to herself. She had just remembered what had happened at their house last night. "Wait a minute." Prue whispered to herself, then she ran into where the other three were.
"You guys, remember what happened last night, with the spiders and roses?" Prue asked hurriedly. "Yeah. How could I not?" Piper asked, giving a little shudder. "Well, there were seven live roses and one dead one, correct?" Prue asked. "Yes, that was creepy, wasn't it? Why did you bring it up?" Phoebe asked. "Well, I think they are connected. The seven live roses must have represented you two, the boys, and me. The dead one must have represented Paige, since he thought that he would kill her last night." Prue finished. Both Piper and Phoebe gasped. "Oh my God." Phoebe said. "I am so glad that he was wrong." Piper said, looking at Paige, who had gone to sleep yet again. "So am I, Piper, so am I." Prue said.
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When the officers got there, they began to question the girls. Prue showed them the room with the tarantulas and the flowers, and told them what had happened. One of the officers called someone to remove all the spiders. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were sitting on the couch during this.
Then, the officers came over and sat in chairs near the couch and Prue joined her sisters and Paige on the couch. But then, one of the officers had to take an urgent call and went into the kitchen. One of the two remaining officers asked, "May you please move to the other room? We would like to question Ms. Matthews alone." and he motioned towards another room. They all got up, but Paige pulled Piper down yet again. "Well, officers, I think she doesn't want me to leave." Piper stated simply. Then, Paige whispered "Prue, Phoebe." "Nor does she want my sisters to go." Piper said, a little loudly. They both had already left the room, but she knew that they were eavesdropping. She was right, and Prue and Phoebe came back in and took their spots on the couch. "Well, I guess you will have to be here." one of the officers said. "But, don't interrupt, because we know that it will be easier for Ms. Matthews to tell the story all at once. All three nodded their heads in agreement.
;;;;;;;
"... and then I broke down in Piper's arms." Paige finished. To her surprise, it was easier to get it all out. "Well, we will have to check to see if he was telling the truth." an officer stated. Then the officer who didn't take part in the questioning came in. "We have to go, boys. Two charred skeletons were found near Ernie's gas station, right near a..." "Burgundy mini van." Paige finished sorrowfully. "Yes. How did you know that, young lady?" "Because," Paige said, with tears falling down her face, "That's my parents' car." Then she burst into tears yet again, and began squeezing Piper's hand harder. All three of the Halliwells present knew that now that her parents were definitely dead, she would be having a harder time dealing with it.
"Well, I guess we'll be going. We might have more clues to who the stalker is after this, and there will be more officers working on the case. We will try to stop him before he attacks again." the new officer stated, and all three of them left.
;;;;;;;
After the officers left, the sisters tried their best to comfort Paige. "You know, Paige, we lost our parents too." Prue said. "Yeah. I mean, I didn't even get to know them." Phoebe said, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "And I barely knew them. I was only five when mom died." Piper said, tears threatening to fall. "And I knew them better than either of them. I was seven when mom died, an six when dad left." Prue said, tears slipping sneakily down her face. "I guess I'm lucky, then." Paige said, looking at her friends' tearful faces. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you guys cry." Paige said, crying a bit more. "It's okay, Paige. Just keep in mind that your not alone." Prue said comfortingly.
AN: Now, everyone: AAAAAWWWWWW! That was sooo fun to write. Remember, I am totally making up the police procedure and everything that has to do with law enforcement. Now, please don't forget to review! This chapter is after a song by Nora Jones.
JanaRose - I am so happy your head reformed, I would have hated to loose one of my reviewers. No, I haven't seen Garage Days, nor heard of it, but that scene sounds really funny! Also, do you really think I would have killed off Paige? She is my second favorite Charmed One (Piper's first, in case you couldn't tell)! But, you never know, I might kill off someone I like and see how it works out. Bwahahaha!
winter blaze - I know, very creepy, thanks, too
p3charmed4eva - I know, I feel sorry for her two, but everything will work out, and I did read your story, and you DID kill off her parents too.
Jules713 - Thanks!
LeoPiper24/7 - How can I do a happy song? Well, I am putting songs I like for the chapter titles, and I only like one sad song (don't worry, it'll be used) so I decided to do a song that was the complete opposite of what was actually happening in the chapter. The first line of that song is 'All I can say is that my life is pretty plain'!
piperleo4eva - I sooo agree with your pen name! But anyways, part of your review was kind of confusing, but my story is kind of confusing, and so am I, so who cares? And, thanks for your compliments.
AN2: Just in case you didn't notice, the stalker was rhyming while he was threatening Paige.
AN3: Also, keep in mind that Paige has the flashlight the entire time. Also, when Paige is telling the story, I didn't put any shakes in, but I mentioned that is what her voice was doing.
Now, a sorrowful chapter 18...
:::::::::
Paige only noticed that she was in front of the manor when she noticed a huge pinkish-reddish blur. Her sight was clouded by both the pounding rain and the tears that she was trying her hardest to hold back. She didn't want the sisters to see her in her grief-stricken state. She ran up the steps and reached the front door, she reached up her hand and knocked, trying her hardest not to fall apart where she stood. ;;;;;;;;
Piper was up in the kitchen, baking pastries. She always baked when she was nervous. It was after three in the morning, but she didn't care. Her and her sisters had spent basically all day trying to figure out who Prue's stalker was, but they still had about five hundred names on their list. Also, there was the little encounter with the tarantulas. That had thoroughly freaked Piper out. 'It'll take forever to find the pervert.' Piper thought, taking yet another batch of brownies out of the oven. She looked over her creations. 'I have made enough goods that my family will be well fed for a month.' Piper thought, then giggled. "More like a week, with Phoebe's sweet tooth." she whispered to herself.
Then, Piper heard someone knock on the front door. 'Who would come here at this time of night?' Piper wondered, easing cautiously towards the door. Since there was a psycho stalker on the loose, she didn't want to take her chances. She also was remembering what happened when she had answered the door last time. She unlocked the door, and pulled it back.
Paige was standing there with a disheveled appearance and tear-stained face. Paige couldn't help it. When she smelt the scent of freshly-baked brownies, she was reminded of her adoptive mother. Paige wrapped her arms around Piper, and immediately broke down.
Piper was bewildered. She had no idea what Paige was doing there, nor did she know why she was crying. She noticed that Paige had cuts and bruises on her face, arms, and legs. She was even more surprised when Paige began muttering indecipherably. "Popcorn... power... stairs... flashlight... Mulberry..." Piper, though surprised, immediately went into protective mode. She led Paige over to the couch and let Paige cry on her shoulder. She tried to get up to get disinfectant and band-aids, but Paige wouldn't let go of her hand. She then called out, "Prue, Phoebe, get your sleepy asses down here NOW!"
;;;;;;;;
Up in her room, Prue woke up when her name was called. She recognized Piper's voice, and then heard sobs from downstairs. She immediately dashed out of her room. She literally ran into Phoebe. "Do you know what's going on down there?" she asked while getting up painfully from the floor "No, but the sooner we get down there, the sooner we will know." Phoebe stated, then they both dashed towards the stairs.
;;;;;;;;
Paige was now sobbing uncontrollably on Piper's shoulder and holding Piper's left hand tightly. She had not let go since she arrived. Piper was rubbing her back and saying that everything would be okay, even though she didn't know what was wrong. Piper heard a familiar rumbling and turned her head towards the stairs. She saw Prue and Phoebe thundering down the steps. They both stopped in their tracks when they saw the scene. "What happened?!?" Phoebe asked. "I really have no idea." Piper said. "She just showed up at the door and began breaking down and whispering random words." "Oh." Prue said, sitting down on the other side of Paige. Phoebe came over and sat on the floor in front of them. They all just sat and made a futile effort to comfort Paige.
;;;;;;;;
After a while, Paige had finally drifted off into a fitful sleep, and the other three drifted to sleep, too. When Paige woke up, she was in Piper's arms, holding tightly to one of her hands. She wondered why she was there for a few seconds, then the night's events come tumbling down on her. She began crying silently, yet not silently enough. Her trembles had woken Piper and Prue up, which in turn woke up Phoebe. Piper, noticing that Paige was crying again, began rubbing her back again. Even though they hadn't gotten anything out of Paige during the night, she still wanted her to feel better. "Paige, sweetie, can you please tell us what happened?" Prue asked soothingly. She figured that they could help her a lot better if they knew what was wrong. "But, you don't have to if you don't want to." Piper added. Paige hesitated, then nodded her head.
Paige began, voice shaking. "I was home alone, you know, and I was up late watching movies. Then my power went out. I went up to my room to get my flashlight. I was looking for it, talking to myself, when I heard a voice behind me. I looked, and it was a man with a ski mask on, voice scrambler, and a gun. He told me he was going to kill me, and I kicked the gun out of his hand, so threw me into my desk. He was rhyming the entire time. He then told me it was no use, and that he had killed my parents." Paige stopped right there, she couldn't continue. She began sobbing uncontrollably again.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe looked at each other. They all knew the horrors of loosing their parents, so they had an idea of what Paige was going through. But, their father wasn't actually dead, and even though their mother was, she hadn't been murdered. (a/n: that shows how much they know)
"Don't you think we should call the police?" Prue asked Paige. Paige shook her head. "I don't think she wants to tell the story again. I mean, it took a lot out of her just to tell us, imagine telling a complete stranger." Piper said. "But, we have too." Phoebe said. "And besides, are you entirely sure that what he said is the truth? I mean, they are out of town. He could have been lying to psych you out." Phoebe added, trying to reassure Paige. "You're right. And, by the sound of it, whoever attacked you is my stalker. We have to tell the police because of that, and then they can tack on breaking and entering, assault, attempted murder, and MAYBE two murders onto the charges." Prue said, beginning to feel guilty. The stalker WAS after her, after all. She couldn't help but think that this was all her fault.
"Well, then we should probably go to the phone and call the police." Phoebe said. "You're right. I'll call them." Piper said, getting up. Suddenly, she was yanked back down by Paige, who hadn't let go of her hand. "Okay, then. I won't call." Piper said. "I'll call." Prue said. She had dealt with the police more than the other three.
;;;;;;;
"Hello? Police Department." a voice said. Prue was in the kitchen, on the phone with the police. "Hello, this is Prue Halliwell." "Oh, hello Prue. What did the stalker do?" Prue realized that she was talking to Officer Sunshine, one of the cops that was working on her case. His name wasn't really Sunshine, but he was always so happy and peppy that she gave him that name. "Um, he took it to the next level. He attacked my friend, Paige." Prue responded. "Oh, dear. I will be there in a few minutes, and I will be bringing a few fellow cops so we can question your friend." he then hung up the phone.
Prue took a different route back to where the others were. When she entered one of the rooms, she saw the floor had a bunch of dead tarantulas. "Oh, yeah" Prue said to herself. She had just remembered what had happened at their house last night. "Wait a minute." Prue whispered to herself, then she ran into where the other three were.
"You guys, remember what happened last night, with the spiders and roses?" Prue asked hurriedly. "Yeah. How could I not?" Piper asked, giving a little shudder. "Well, there were seven live roses and one dead one, correct?" Prue asked. "Yes, that was creepy, wasn't it? Why did you bring it up?" Phoebe asked. "Well, I think they are connected. The seven live roses must have represented you two, the boys, and me. The dead one must have represented Paige, since he thought that he would kill her last night." Prue finished. Both Piper and Phoebe gasped. "Oh my God." Phoebe said. "I am so glad that he was wrong." Piper said, looking at Paige, who had gone to sleep yet again. "So am I, Piper, so am I." Prue said.
;;;;;;
When the officers got there, they began to question the girls. Prue showed them the room with the tarantulas and the flowers, and told them what had happened. One of the officers called someone to remove all the spiders. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were sitting on the couch during this.
Then, the officers came over and sat in chairs near the couch and Prue joined her sisters and Paige on the couch. But then, one of the officers had to take an urgent call and went into the kitchen. One of the two remaining officers asked, "May you please move to the other room? We would like to question Ms. Matthews alone." and he motioned towards another room. They all got up, but Paige pulled Piper down yet again. "Well, officers, I think she doesn't want me to leave." Piper stated simply. Then, Paige whispered "Prue, Phoebe." "Nor does she want my sisters to go." Piper said, a little loudly. They both had already left the room, but she knew that they were eavesdropping. She was right, and Prue and Phoebe came back in and took their spots on the couch. "Well, I guess you will have to be here." one of the officers said. "But, don't interrupt, because we know that it will be easier for Ms. Matthews to tell the story all at once. All three nodded their heads in agreement.
;;;;;;;
"... and then I broke down in Piper's arms." Paige finished. To her surprise, it was easier to get it all out. "Well, we will have to check to see if he was telling the truth." an officer stated. Then the officer who didn't take part in the questioning came in. "We have to go, boys. Two charred skeletons were found near Ernie's gas station, right near a..." "Burgundy mini van." Paige finished sorrowfully. "Yes. How did you know that, young lady?" "Because," Paige said, with tears falling down her face, "That's my parents' car." Then she burst into tears yet again, and began squeezing Piper's hand harder. All three of the Halliwells present knew that now that her parents were definitely dead, she would be having a harder time dealing with it.
"Well, I guess we'll be going. We might have more clues to who the stalker is after this, and there will be more officers working on the case. We will try to stop him before he attacks again." the new officer stated, and all three of them left.
;;;;;;;
After the officers left, the sisters tried their best to comfort Paige. "You know, Paige, we lost our parents too." Prue said. "Yeah. I mean, I didn't even get to know them." Phoebe said, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "And I barely knew them. I was only five when mom died." Piper said, tears threatening to fall. "And I knew them better than either of them. I was seven when mom died, an six when dad left." Prue said, tears slipping sneakily down her face. "I guess I'm lucky, then." Paige said, looking at her friends' tearful faces. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you guys cry." Paige said, crying a bit more. "It's okay, Paige. Just keep in mind that your not alone." Prue said comfortingly.
AN: Now, everyone: AAAAAWWWWWW! That was sooo fun to write. Remember, I am totally making up the police procedure and everything that has to do with law enforcement. Now, please don't forget to review! This chapter is after a song by Nora Jones.