C.C. McKenna
Chapter Seventeen
Piper's Doubts
When Piper arrived, she noticed Lexie's absence on the field and immediately went searching for her in the dressing rooms; arriving just in time to see her little sister's unsteady body.
"Lexie!" She ran hastily toward her sister. "My God; what happened? ... Baby, what hurts?" Lexie shut her eyes tightly; the pain in her chest didn't allow her to speak; It was unbearable. Piper noticed the fear and desperation on her sister's face, so she quickly held her and lowered her flaccid body gently on the floor. "I'll be right back baby, I'll go get help" Piper left the room and as soon as she went out, Lexie slowly got up and reached for her locker; she opened it and grabbed her jeans, searching clumsily for the small white bottle she always kept in her pocket. She opened it, quickly took a small pill, and placed it underneath her tongue.
She returned her jeans to her locker and closed it; sliding gently on her back, she sat on the floor leaning against the locker and waited for the pain to subside.
When Piper returned with the doctor, Lexie was already taking a shower. Piper was surprised to see her sister standing on her feet as if nothing ever happened and slowly walked over to her. Lexie turned her body and hid her wounded leg against the wall.
"Lexie... but... how?" Piper stared with incredulity into her sister's green eyes.
"Piper... you're back... hand me that towel please" Lexie smiled at her stunned sister.
"I don't understand... I mean, you were hurting badly... what happened?" Piper slowly grabbed the towel and gave it to her sister.
"It was just a cramp... no bid deal" She wrapped the towel around her body and walked past by her. "I need to change quickly; Phoebe must be bored" she smiled nervously.
"You sure you ok? Doctor Mae Yin asked worriedly.
"Yes... I'm quite sure"
"Ok then, I'll just go, take care, and if your leg still hurts please make sure to stop by the infirmary"
"Thank you Doc; I sure will"
Lexie finished dressing in front of Piper's query eyes and quickly urged her sister to take her home. She wanted to leave before Coach Roberts decided to go check on her.
The ride home was awfully quiet. Piper drove silently, still thinking about what she saw in Lexie's dressing room. And Lexie was having a really hard time hiding the pain she was feeling on her injured leg.
"All right you two... What's going on?" Phoebe started feeling a little worried about her sisters' strange behavior. "Why are both of you not speaking... are you mad at each other?"
"Don't be ridiculous Phoebe, we are just tired, and that's all"
"Riiight... I'm blind, not dumb," Phoebe snapped. "Come on... spill it!"
"She's telling the truth, I'm very tired; in fact, I'm not having any dinner, I'm going straight to bed" Alexia spoke as she stared outside the window
Piper looked back through the rear-view mirror and stared at her baby sister; she new something was not right and she intended to find out what it was.
Piper opened the manor's door and Lexie quickly past by her heading directly to the stairs.
"Good night" she whispered and went up to her room.
Piper shook her head and grabbed Phoebe's arm. "You and I are going to have something to eat" She pulled her sister to the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"
"Piper Halliwell... I'm always hungry" Phoebe smiled. "At least make her a sandwich, please" She softly added.
"Sure... now, seat down while I get you something to drink"
"Whatever it is... make it a double... I'm so thirsty"
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After they had dinner, Piper grabbed a tray and placed Lexie's dinner on it. She asked Phoebe to come to bed but Phoebe decided to wait for Prue. Piper agreed and took her to the living room and turned on the cd player for her. Which cd would you like to listen to?"
"Lets try Norah Jones" Phoebe sat down on the sofa and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"Okie-dokie" Piper smiled. "I like Norah myself... a lot!" She kissed her sister's forehead and headed upstairs to Lexie's room.
Piper knocked gently on her sister's door. "Can I come in sweetie?" She opened it and let herself in without waiting for her sister's permission.
"You're already inside... why bother knocking?" Lexie spoke and turned her back on Piper, she didn't want to look at her sister, much less talk to her, so, she closed her eyes and pretended to be sleepy.
"I brought you your favorite... bacon and cheese sandwich and a glass of strawberry Quick"
"Not hungry"
"Lexie... please"
"I'm really not hungry Piper" She grabbed a cigarette from her purse and lit it.
"I didn't mean that" Piper walked slowly towards the bed and placed the tray on the night table; shrugging her nose when she started smelling her sister's tobacco.
"Then I'm lost here; because I thought we were talking about bacon and cheese" Lexie spoke with her eyes closed, blowing out a mouthful of smoke.
"You can talk to me sweetie... I'm a good listener" Piper sat on the bed and kissed her sister's forehead.
"Piper..."
"Yes baby..."
"I'm really tired... so, if you don't mind, I'd like to have some sleep; I really need the rest because I'm having a game on Saturday, that's a day after tomorrow"
Piper bent down her head; the word disappointment written all over her face. She got up and slowly walked to the door. "You know where to find me" Piper expected to hear a simple yes or an ok in return, but Lexie did not answer; silence filled the room as Piper softly closed the door on her way out.
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Next morning............
"Phoebe... is Lexie coming or not? Prue was her usual self this morning. "I really need to be early today at Buckland's, I have a very important meeting" She folded the newspaper and slid it across the table.
"She overslept a little but she should be here any minute now"
Phoebe didn't see Prue's annoyed face but Piper did, so she quickly sprung out and smiled at Prue. "I'll go get her" she hastily ran up the stairs.
"Lexie" Piper opened the door and saw her sister swallowing something. Lexie nervously sipped some water and hid the small bottle in her jeans' pocket.
"Piper!" Lexie turned to her sister and raised her voice with annoyance. "You should knock before entering"
"What did you just swallow?"
"Nothing"
"Lexie... I'm not kidding, I want to know what you swallowed"
"I said nothing" She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door but Piper blocked her way.
"You're not going anywhere"
"Come on Piper... Prue's waiting for me and I'm already late"
"I don't care missy... I need an answer that satisfies me"
"Well I'm sorry, but you're not getting one" She gently pushed Piper aside and left the room.
"LEXIE!" Piper shouted but her baby sister didn't stop.
"What was that all about?" Prue asked when she heard Lexie running down the stairs and
entering the kitchen.
"Nothing... Lets go, lets go!" Lexie grabbed Phoebe's hand and quickly pulled her outside the kitchen. "We're late, we're bloody late... coming Prue?" Lexie walked fast; again, hiding the sharp pain inside her leg and skillfully covering her limp.
"Yeah... let's go!" Prue was on her feet at no time. "I'll ask questions later... right now I only care about being at Buckland's ASAP" She followed her sisters close behind.
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As son as Phoebe entered her Philosophy class, Alexia went to the infirmary; Dr. Yin was already waiting for her.
"Good morning Alexia; you don't look so good; how did you sleep last night?"
"Awful... I was so tired but I just wasn't able to get any sleep"
"Did you take the tablets I gave you?"
"I did... but still, they didn't help"
"I'm sorry Alexia; those tablets are strong enough; I can't give you anything else; why don't you try staying in bed all day? ... I'm sure that resting will help" Dr. Yin held the girl's arm and gently pulled her up to the gurney. "Let me see that leg of yours"
"Ouch...careful Dr Yin, it bloody hurts"
"I know... it's very swollen" Dr Yin shook her head as she gently made some pressure on the wound. "It is not infected though... but I really suggest some rest young girl"
"Thanks... but I can't" Alexia slowly jumped off the gurney and zipped her jeans up. "I have a soccer game tomorrow... very important game... I might add" She smiled.
"At least you should go home right now, take two tablets, and have the rest of the day off; resting will do you good" Dr. Yin stared intently into the young girl's eyes. "I'm being serious"
"Ok" Lexie finally accepted. "I'm going to follow your indications; I'll just go and find my sister to let her know about it" Alexia smiled again. Her smile had always made her special; no matter what ...she always had a nice grin for everyone.
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"Excuse me" Alexia knocked on Phoebe's classroom and the professor waved to let her in.
"Good morning child... what can we do for you?" Phoebe's professor smiled at the beautiful young girl. All the guys started whistling and shouting all kind of things to the pretty visitor. The ones sitting on the back of the class room stood up to take a closer look at her, and shouted even louder when she blushed. Alexia felt a little uncomfortable but she managed to give them a weak smile anyway. She could mesmerize the entire classroom only by the sheer force of her presence.
"Boys... boys... let's show the young lady some respect" Professor Sinclair straightened his tie and smiled widely; also enjoying the girl's presence.
"Thank you" Alexia whispered; feeling repented for having to go there in the first place.
Phoebe heard her baby sister's voice and quickly sprung up from her chair. "Hey!" She raised her voice. "This is my baby sister, so I kindly suggest all of you to back off!"
"Oh..." Professor Sinclair smiled mortified. "I strongly recommend you go outside to talk to your sister... you know... that might help getting these boys under control"
"Ok... I agree with you" Phoebe unfolded her blind stick and walked slowly to the door. Lexie held her arm and guided her the rest of the way.
"What is it honey?" Phoebe asked worriedly. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, I... I just came to tell you that I'm going home, I am a little wiped out, I couldn't sleep well last night and I need to rest before tomorrow's game" Lexie spoke softly.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Phoebe slowly reached out and found her sister's face; She ran her fingers down her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"No, don't be silly... I'm fine, I'll just grab a cab and go home, that way I won't have to bother Piper"
"I think you should try and call her first... or she'll be so pissed at you if you don't"
"I'll deal with her later, don't worry" Lexie kissed her sister's cheek and opened the classroom's door for her sister. "See you at home"
"Ok sweetie... be careful" Phoebe entered the room and went straight to her seat. The guy sitting behind her gave her a pat on her shoulder and chuckled. "So... Phoebe... you wanna be my sister in law?"
"In your dreams Bud... She's off limits; you hear? She's not into jerks!"
"We'll see about that" He whispered. "No one can resist the charms of Kevin 'Bud' Spencer.
"I mean it, Kevin. She's just eighteen, and you're ... what?... 30?" She smirked.
"Come on Phoebe, I'm only 26... and I like her a lot!"
"Well... hands off dude!, like I told you... she's off limits"
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She hastily ran upstairs and quietly opened Lexie's room door. She walked slowly inside and saw her baby sister sleeping. She wanted to wake her up to find out if she was ill or something, but she decided it was best to let her sleep. Piper walked out of the room and softly closed the door behind.
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Dinner was ready. Piper had gone to Lexie's room several times while preparing dinner, still finding her sleeping. She was a little worried but she didn't have the heart to wake her up. Piper went to her room and sat on the bed; she picked up a gourmet's magazine and started flipping pages, trying to concentrate on her reading but Lexie just kept showing up in her thoughts. She tossed the magazine over her bed and went back to her sister's room, she bent down to closely check up on her, she sighed and smiled, feeling extremely relieved when she noticed her sister was breathing normally. "God... I need a hobby!" She thought and quietly left the room.
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Phoebe finally arrived home. She had called Piper earlier to let her know that Karen was going to give her a ride to the manor; but first she was going to take her to the mall because she wanted to get the latest CD from The Corrs, "Borrowed Heaven", for Prue.
"Phoebe!... thank God you're here!" Piper went to her sister's side and quickly guided her to the living room. "I need to talk to you"
"What is it?... is it Lexie?... is she ok?" Phoebe reached out and carefully dropped her bags on the sofa.
"I don't know... she's been sleeping since I got home; I was hoping you knew something; did she say anything"
Phoebe folded her cane and tossed it on the sofa. "She just said she needed to rest before tomorrow's game" She took off her sunglasses and softly wiped her eyes.
Piper shook her head shrugging her eyebrow. "I am not sure, but I think I've seen her taking some kind of pills... I guess she hides them in her jeans' pocket"
"WHAT!?... Why didn't you say something before!?" Phoebe snapped; obviously upset about piper's little secret.
"Because I wasn't sure of what I saw; in fact, I am not even sure right now; and I want to be very certain before letting Prue know about it"
"That's a wise decision" Phoebe mumbled while she warily sat down on the sofa. "I don't even want to think about what Prue's reaction is going to be" Phoebe's body slightly shivered.
"I know, I guess I'll have to keep a closer eye on her" Piper tried to calm her sister. "Don't worry"
"Don't worry?!... DON'T WORRY!?" Phoebe snapped. "Lets just hope it's only your imagination"
"I hope so Phoebes, 'cause God knows I wouldn't like confirm that my baby sister is an addict"
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Alexia's leg injury woke her up at 4:00 AM. She muffled her cry to avoid waking Phoebe up, and slowly got up, heading quietly to the bathroom. She took with her the white box containing the painkillers Dr. Yin had prescribed for her, still unaware that Leslie had switched them for methamphetamines, and swallowed two. She splashed some cold water on her face and returned to bed before either of her sisters noticed she was awake. Covering her face completely with the pillow, she tried to go back to sleep but the pain just wouldn't let her. Thirty minutes later, she got up and went downstairs to the kitchen. She opened the fridge's door and grabbed the orange juice carton. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she sat on the backyard and waited patiently for the sun to come out, greatly enjoying her cold orange juice.
At 6:00 AM, the pain was gone; at least that's what she thought; the methamphetamines had worked their way through her system and she was now ready to spin. She took a shower, changed into her soccer uniform, and eagerly waited in the kitchen for her sisters to show up. She prepared a huge coffee pot and started drinking some before Prue came down. It was stronger than usual, but she didn't mind, in fact, she loved it.
Prue was the first one to arrive at the kitchen, as she always did.
"Uhm, someone fell out of bed early this morning" Prue smiled as she poured herself some coffee.
"Good morning big sister!" Lexie cheerfully raised her voice to welcome her sister.
"And landed on the right foot as well" Prue bent down and kissed her sister on the top of her head. "How are you this morning sweetie?"
"Great!... never better"
Piper and Phoebe arrived a few minutes later and found the eldest and the youngest drowned in a deep hilarious conversation. Piper helped Phoebe sit at the table and they had breakfast together, sharing some laughs. Piper silently glimpsed at Lexie a couple of times but didn't say a word to avoid worrying the eldest sister, who was in a very happy mood, teasing and joking with the youngest one.
"Hey... this coffee is really good!" Prue smiled as she sipped the last drop.
"Thank you!" Alexia smiled proudly. "I learned that from my Mom"
"Allow me to differ on this one; but I think it tastes like crude oil!" Phoebe shivered and stuck out her tongue. "You two drink the strongest coffee in San Francisco... it could easily wake up the death"
"Come on... you're exaggerating" Prue and Lexie replied at the same time, causing the five sisters to burst into laughter.
After a few minutes, they all finished breakfast and left in Piper's Jeep to Alexia's Soccer game
Tbc
