C.C. McKenna
Inexperienced Love
Chapter One.
"Are you ready?" Prue impatiently knocked on the bathroom's door and waited for her sister's reply.
"I'll be right there" Phoebe replied. "Piper ready yet?"
"Yeah; she's already in the car... hurry up" Prue looked at her wristwatch and knocked again.
"Right, all right, I'm coming" Phoebe opened the door and smiled nervously. "I can't believe it Prue, three months" She sighed. "Three months" She smiled broadly. "Oh, I've missed her, God only knows how much I've missed her"
Prue held out her arms and Phoebe got closer. "I know honey; we've all missed her" She rested her chin on Phoebe's forehead. "And she's finally coming home; now all we have to do is to make sure she feels comfortable and loved"
"Oh, don't you worry about that... 'spoiler' is my middle name" Phoebe pulled from Prue's arms and smiled proudly.
"Actually.... that would be Piper's, but you would do nicely" Prue returned the smile. "Now lets get going, Piper must be desperate"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Piper opened the manor's door and stood next to it. She placed Lexie's suitcase on the floor and waited for her sister to come inside. Phoebe and Prue were right behind her. Lexie slowly scanned the place around before entering and hesitated for a moment, until she finally decided to pull back.
"I don't want to go inside... I want to go back to the clinic" She spoke with fear and tried to run away but Phoebe stopped her.
"Lexie, please sweetie, you don't have to be afraid" Phoebe softly kissed her sister's temples. "Come on, we'll talk about it inside; calmly"
"No!" Lexie shouted. "I want to go back, please, I need my doctor"
"Lex, baby, it's ok, whatever it is that's bothering you...we can fix it; this is your home, we're here and we'll take care of you" Prue softly wrapped her arm around her baby sister's waist. "I know you got real used to Dr. Dietz, but I promise you'll be ok with us; besides, Dr. Helen said you were ready to leave the Ford Clinic" Prue ran her fingers through Lexie's hair; the latter sighed with difficulty and nervously bit her lips.
"Come on sweetie, I promise it'll be ok, there's nothing to be afraid of, everything's over now; remember we all love you" Piper whispered in a soft, still voice; hoping to calm her sister down. Lexie took a long deep breath and slowly sighed with tenseness.
"Ok" Lexie answered; her voice barely whisper. She slowly walked inside, holding on tightly to her sisters' arms.
"Do you want to sit with us in the living room?" Phoebe asked softly. "We'll just talk a little"
"No, I w-want to g-go to m-my room" Lexie stuttered nervously. "If-f it's ok" She glanced at Phoebe. "Jus-st one question, though"
"Shoot!" Phoebe smiled.
"Since w-when can you see?"
"About three months ago" Phoebe brushed her sister's hair back. "The day we went to get you... I mean, before you were admitted to the Clinic"
"H-how?"
"Well... when I jumped into the pool to get you; I guess the fear and the desperation made me recover my sight" Phoebe took a deep breath. "We all knew that it was a psychological problem, not physical" She sighed. "Maybe I needed a real important reason to force myself into wanting to see again, and you, missy, you really gave us a big scare"
"B-but are you ok now?" Lexie swallowed hard. "I m-mean, everything will be ok?"
"Yup" Phoebe nodded. "Everything is cool now, and it's going to remain that way" She leaned over and kissed her sister's cheek.
"G-great; I'm happy for you" Lexie bent down her head and drew a very weak smile.
"Thank you sweetie" Phoebe smiled widely, locking eyes with Prue.
"Can I please go to my room?" Lexie bit her lower lip, avoiding her sisters gazes.
"Sure baby" Prue kissed her again, for the fiftieth time and took her to her room. Piper and Phoebe followed them in silence.
Piper opened the door to her sister's room and watched how her sister nervously walked inside. "Can I get you anything?" Piper asked, staring worriedly at her sister. She wanted to hold her, to make her feel safe, but thought about it twice when she saw Lexie backing away with nervousness.
"No, I j-just want t-to to be l-left alone"
"Ok, but if you need anything...."
"Yeah, yeah, just leave, I want to be alone!" She snapped and immediately headed to her bed.
Prue walked inside her sister's room, with the sole idea of staying with her sister that night, but Piper quickly pulled her out of the room.
Phoebe glanced at Lexie and offered her a weak smile before leaving, but Lexie remained unbreakable.
"We have to be patient with her Prue, she needs some time to think; God only knows the things she had to go through while she was in that horrible place"
"Things that she will have to talk about, sooner or later" Prue added.
"Yes, you're right" Piper lowered her head. "But not now...let's just give her some breathing space, ok?"
"Ok" Prue nodded. "We'll play it by your rules"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"I'm hearing music" Prue walked into the kitchen, newspaper in one hand, eyeglasses in the other. "It means Lexie is up... is she?" Prue kissed the middle Halliwell on the forehead.
Piper smiled, placing a cup on the table and filling it with hot steaming black coffee. "And she's already taken a shower" She nodded.
"Thanks Pipe" Prue pulled out a chair and sat at the table beside Phoebe, after giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head. "So... Phoebe, how did Lex sleep last night?" She folded the newspaper and put it on the table, her eyeglasses on top of it.
"Not so good; She tossed and turned almost all night, crying in her sleep... sweating"
Phoebe softly pushed away her plate and stared at her cup of coffee. "It still breaks my heart when I think about it"
"Didn't you try to wake her up? To pull her out of her bad dream?" Prue asked concerned.
"Of course I did; I even went to her bed, to sleep by her side" Phoebe shook her head and sighed. "At first she was puzzled when I wanted to hold her in my arms while she slept...but then she snuggled up to me and slept peacefully, with a wonderful smile on her face..." Phoebe closed her eyes, reliving that sweet moment again. ..."it felt so good to just lie there beside her, looking at that smile again"
"Morning" Lexie mumbled while she entered the kitchen. "Any coffee left?" She was dressed in a very tight form-fitting black top and a khaki miniskirt.
"Sure baby" Piper dropped the oven glove on the counter and hugged her little sister. "It's so good to have you back" She playfully covered her little sister's face with kisses.
"Thanks" Lexie frowned, followed by a wrinkle of her nose. "It's good to be back... I guess"
"Wow, Lexie, You look stunningly beautiful" Phoebe stared at her baby sister. "Going someplace in particular?"
"No" Lexie's answer was quick and filled with fear. She walked slowly to the table and sat down as far away as she could from her sisters. She was still feeling ashamed and somehow guilty about the whole drug situation in school.
"Well you should; how about if we go to the mall and hang out all day...just for fun" Phoebe smiled at her sister. "What do you say?" She winked an eye.
"No way!"
"Yes way!" Phoebe smiled.
"No...I don't want to go anywhere...please Prue" Lexie turned to the eldest. "Tell her I don't want to...please, don't make me!" Lexie started shaking a little and spilled her sister's coffee on the table. Phoebe felt bad about her sister's reaction and decided to keep herself quiet.
"Shh" Prue hastily got up and walked to her baby sister. Lexie quickly recoiled and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for some sort of punishment. Prue's gaze quickly searched for Piper's eyes, they immediately connected and silently shared the same thoughts. "You don't have to go anywhere" Prue kissed her sister's forehead. "You're free to decide what you want to do...don't cry baby...please, don't cry; Phoebe was just kidding" Prue held her tighter. "Shh"
¨Uhm...Prue" Piper reluctantly interrupted the special moment between her sisters. "Kevin is outside; he's here to see Lexie"
"Tell him she can't see him right now" Prue turned to Phoebe and narrowed her eyes. "Tell him She's a little upset" Then Prue turned her gaze back to Lexie, "Unless you want to..."
"Who is Kevin? I don't know him" Lexie slowly pulled herself away from Prue's arms and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.
"He's one of Phoebe's friends; he helped us get you out of..."
"Ok, I get your point" Lexie slowly walked to the entrance door. "I want to see him, and thank him personally, you just can't imagine how grateful I am to him and to you all." Prue nodded and walked close behind her.
"You don't have to come with me Prue" Lexie looked back over her shoulder and smiled at her. "I think I can do this by myself"
"Ok" Prue stopped on her tracks and sighed deeply. "But we will be in the kitchen in case uhm... if you..."
"All right, thanks..." Lexie sounded nervous. "I'm going out...and...I...how do I..."
"Beautiful" Piper was quick to respond.
"Thank you" Lexie smiled as she opened the door.
"Hi" She smiled looking at the perfect image of the guy in front of her; he was so handsome; with a wonderful masculine smile and those beautiful dimples on each side of his face.
"Well hello" Kevin smiled back. "You are more beautiful than what I remembered" He added.
Lexie blushed and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you for coming" She spoke shyly. "And for helping my sisters to get me out of... of that place"
"Don't mention it; I heard you were home yesterday and I wanted to see you personally" Kevin stretched out his arm and waited for Lexie to seize it. "Come on, lets go for a walk¸ I really think we need to know each other better" Lexie held his hand and they walked away, smiling, enjoying each others company.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Three weeks had slowly gone by; Lexie remained home during all that time, not wanting to talk to anybody, not wanting to see anybody; except for her sisters and Kevin, whom, by the way, had been visiting Lexie every single day since she was back from the Clinic. He had somehow convinced her to go out and enjoy long walks in the park and nice soothing chats. Prue and Piper were very grateful to Kevin for being there for their sister; everything Kevin wanted to do was fine, as long as it made her sister happy; everything was ok, just to see her smile. Phoebe was also thankful, but she was a little distrustful about him; somehow unsure of what his real intentions were. She knew him too well; maybe well enough to know that eventually he was going to end up hurting her sister. She'd seen him run his willpower over Lexie. Sometimes she wasn't feeling well enough to go for a walk, or even to share a relaxing moment; but he always managed to convince her into doing what he pleased.
Lexie wasn't even remotely ready to go to court and testify against Rose and her accomplices; but, following Prue's instructions, Kevin convinced Lexie and she naively ended up doing what he asked.
Kevin's presence was starting to be a very important issue in Lexie's life. Her mood had dramatically changed from sad to happy; from irritated to cheerful; and her sisters were extremely happy.
The trial against the Warden, Rose Vasques, and the other guards, Karla Reed and Dorothy Harris, had successfully come to an end; they were sentenced to Life in Prison, 10 years/no bail respectively. Lexie's testimony was crucial for their indictment; although, Dorothy's sentence was revaluated and resettled to one year, because of Lexie's statement. She had told the Judge about the many times Dorothy's judicious and well-timed interventions might have saved her life. Lexie was grateful, and so were her sisters.
Dorothy never mentioned a word about Sophia being alive; otherwise, they would have taken her back to the Juvenile Center and then sent to an adult facility for 30 more years.
Sophia had remained in Dorothy's house; she had no intentions to be jailed again; and besides, she had no other place to go anyway; so, she decided to wait for Dorothy. Sometimes she went outside the little apartment only at nights, to get some air, but she never stayed out for more than two hours. She had plenty of time to do some thinking, and to look for her friend's address. She missed Lexie, and she was planning to go look for her and maybe... maybe ask for some help, but she was still waiting for the right moment.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Are you sure you want to do this Prue?" Phoebe cocked an eyebrow and glanced at her big sister.
"Yes, I'm very sure" Prue grinned. "I'm convinced it will do her good" She grabbed her purse and walked to the door. "Are you coming with me?" She asked while keeping the door open.
"Oh, yes, I want to be a part of it too you know" Phoebe grabbed her purse and ran outside. Prue closed the door and locked it before leaving. They were helplessly acting like a couple of teenagers.
"Can't wait to see her face when she sees it" Phoebe smiled mischievously.
"Yeah, me too" Prue drew a wide smile on her face; I hope she likes it"
"Are you kidding? She's gonna love it!; you know she loves them, and she's been asking you to get her one for quite a long time"
"You're right" Prue nodded. "Where is she right now?"
"In her room, as always" Phoebe sighed.
"Ok, let's go find her; her present will be here shortly, and I want her to be ready to receive it"
"Great; I'm right behind you"
They ran up the stairs and got to Lexie's room. Phoebe knocked several times because she knew that Lexie couldn't hear; her CD player was always on and very, very loud. When they didn't get any response from their baby sister, they decided it was ok to barge in.
"Hey!" Lexie jumped out of bed and glared at her sisters. "What's wrong with the knocking thing?" 'Broken' by Seether and Amy Lee was playing louder than ever.
"What?!" Prue squinted her eyes. "I can't hear you!"
"Lexie shook her head. "Never mind" She waved her hand and walked to her CD player to turn it off.
"What?" Lexie stared at her sisters. "I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?"
"No sweetie, of course not, we have a surprise for you" Phoebe grinned.
"You do?... what is it?... a couple of sessions with a shrink? Lexie smirked.
"Drop the tone missy" Prue pointed her finger to her sister's face. "We're trying our best here to make things work, and you are not making it any easier for us"
"Sorry" Lexie lowered her head. "It seems the only thing I can contribute to this family is trouble"
"Don't say that honey, you're a wonderful person, we all love you very much...you just need time to readjust; to go back to your old self again"
"Easy for you to say" Lexie sat on the bed and fixed her eyes on the floor. "You're not the one that screwed big time" She smiled weakly. "I can't go back being who I was before; I can't go back to college; can't face them...I just couldn't...I'm just not the same anymore"
"But we've seen you happy lately" Prue stated with surprise.
"Kevin helps a lot; he makes me smile and I feel euphoric sometimes but when he leaves, everything seems to be worse...I feel bad, sometimes physically and sometimes emotionally"
Prue walked to Lexie and lifted her chin. "Listen to me" She fixed her eyes in her sister's soggy ones. "You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of" Prue took a deep breath. "You were framed, you were drugged against your will, and you were viciously battered".
She sighed and sat beside her sister. "I need you to realize that you are still a beautiful girl, inside and out, with wonderful feelings, and that's never going to change"
"There's no use Prue; I wouldn't know what to do, how to act, or where to go to from now"
"Just let love lead the way" Prue smiled and Lexie snuggled herself in her sister's arms. Phoebe swallowed the lump in her throat and wrapped her arms around them.
"I wished it was that easy" Lexie sighed. "I'm afraid of going back; I don't know what will I do when I finally come face to face with Leslie again"
"But honey... we have mentioned to you before that Leslie is already in jail" Prue bit her lower lip. "Or haven't we?" Prue looked for Phoebe's support.
"She is?" Lexie's eyes popped open.
"Yeah, Kevin was able to set her up and he somehow got her confession taped; that's how we were able to send Leslie and Susan to prison" Phoebe stated.
"He did?" Lexie asked with amazement. "But...how?"
"Well, he...uhm...he took her to bed and he... he taped the whole thing" Prue swallowed nervously; it was awkward to talk about sex with her youngest sister. "Leslie cynically described how she planted the drugs and the money in your lockers and she also mentioned Susie Romano as her accomplice" Prue sighed. "Then, when they were in court Susie admitted she was responsible for replacing your prescribed pain medications for methamphetamines; we were in that courtroom with Kevin, and he was great as a witness"
"Well that's really good news" Lexie let out a small laugh. "That sure changes things around"
"Uhu; so you don't have to worry about them any more...well, at least not for six more years"
"Maybe going back to school isn't such a bad idea after all" Lexie smiled with joy. "Is Kevin still there? I mean, in college?"
"Yeah" Prue involuntarily smiled. "Hasn't he tell you about it?"
"No, we never talk about school or Detention Centers" Lexie rolled her eyes.
"Well, he's kind of special asset for the SFU" Phoebe had to laugh at her sister's comment. "He's been there for ages, and I don't think he's going to be graduating any time soon"
"Good" Lexie sighed. "I think he's cute"
"Come on you two...let's go downstairs...remember the surprise!" Phoebe grabbed her sister's hands and dragged them both down the stairs.
"Have I told you I like surprises?" Lexie spoke sweetly.
TBC.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-