part 14
She lined the five shot glasses up on the counter top in Piper's apartment; lifting the bottle of scotch she filled all five of them. Then one after the other she downed them slamming each shot glass down after the other. She moved her hand towards the bottle lifted it again and thought about filling the glasses again but decided that after the first six rounds the glasses were pointless. Taking the bottle she stood unsteadily off the stool and walked into the darkened living room. She sat on the sofa and put her feet upon the coffee table. She took a swig of the bottle then looked back at her feet. She was stood in his boots still. Now she was wearing one of Piper's white shirts though because of the blood on the one she was wearing. Her jeans, although blood stained she kept on. Reaching to the back of the sofa she lifted Rich's leather jacket and put it on. She could still smell him from it, his aftershave and his blood.
Paige sat with the once full bottle now practically empty on her lap, as tears tumbled down her face. She'd been crying since they got back from the hospital and it was now early morning and still they feel.
Prue and Phoebe were at the manor right now, Paige couldn't even face looking at Prue and the guilt that Prue was already bearing was weighing her down. Paige couldn't go back to the apartment, so she came to Piper and Leo's apartment. Her hand fell onto her necklace with his ring hanging off it. Over the past few hours her emotions had been on high, one minuet sad, the next angry and like now she felt emptiness. Placing the bottle to her lips she took the last swig and then she put the bottle on the floor. Standing up she stumbled over to the fridge and pulled it open. Taking out a pack of Six bear bottles she slammed it shut then turned back and walked out of the kitchen, this time not stopping in the living room but continuing through to the guest room down the hall from Piper and Leo's.
Paige shut the door and then fell onto
the bed popping open the first bottle she began to drink, wanting to
kill every last bit of emotion she held inside because of her pure
inability to deal with it. As she drank to forget she remembered so
much more…
This made things worse, The memories made it
worse.
---'I'd give you the world if I could' He smiled as her as he ran his hand over her red hair and held her closer into his chest, his other hand running down her shoulder. 'You are my world Rich' She whispered as her own hand fell onto his neck as she turned and kissed him passionately. The two of them stood looking over the sea, the sun shining bright as they lived.---
Paige
remembered that like it was yesterday, the two of them spent it at
the beach. Not long after they had meet but they had instantly known
this was the real thing. This was a love that was to last, the only
one that Paige had ever felt so close to, so complete. He had saved
her, before rich there were those guys, and the drugs. Mostly the
Drugs the guy's just tagged along with them were all. Not that she
minded, even if it wasn't real there was a time in Paige's life
before Rich that she had needed some kind of
love.
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A week later –
"Umm Rich?" Paige mumbled sleepily, as she felt the hand on her face. Turning slightly to the side and into the touch she waited, "Rich…stay…" She mumbled, "Not work today…Stay"
Piper watched as her sister fought, for the sleep that had consumed her, fought to keep Rich alive and to keep him there. It hurt Piper to See Paige like this; she was drinking herself into a death. Into a world out of this one. It had been a week since he had been shot and Paige was yet to go back to the apartment she had sheared with him, yet to step out of this apartment. Piper knew that Paige was awake night after night fighting her way through the nightmares as she re lived that night and also knew that she'd wake up angry and sad after a memories much like the one now.
Paige honey…its Piper" The older said as she stroked Paige's face so to gently wake her up. Paige smiled briefly, something Piper hadn't seen in such a long time. For what felt like forever to her, Piper wanted to cry herself. She would do or give everything she could for Paige to be released from this hell. "Love…you Rich…" Her words were sleepily spoken but the love audible. Piper ran her hand through Paige's hair and as her little sister lay there the older of the two felt a change. Paige became stiff; she lost her smile and thrashed in fear.
When she relived the gun shot in her head
she shout up in the bed breathing rapidly, Piper grabbed hold of her,
"Shush, honey it's me, it's Piper"
Paige was shaking
violently but she accepted Piper's arms as she fell into the
embrace. She couldn't get her breath, she tried but each time was
more unsuccessful than the last. "Your with ME Paige, your With
PIPER" Yes it did in fact feel stupid addressing herself in third
person but she wanted Paige to realise where she was. "Do you know
Paige, where it is you are?" She asked
"My Boyfriends in a morgue somewhere and I'm here dinking…and smoking and trying to forget but they won't let me" Paige closed her eyes and hugged onto Piper tighter, "They won't let me, I see it over and OVER again" She said forcefully with anger as her own head was racing. Tears came and Piper held onto Paige tight. "Honey, take deep breaths" She encouraged as she rubbed Paige's back. "I thought he was here with me, I thought I could be happy again. But… I can't because…he's…gone"
"He's still with you, where
ever you are when ever he's with you in your heart Paige"
"I'd
have given anything for him, my own life but Jack shot him…It's
my fault" Paige cried, "I was the on…who had the problems with
Him…I pulled Rich in…"
"This isn't your fault Paige, you
were not to blame"
There were a few moments of silence as Paige cried softly into Piper, then the younget spoke, "I, I want to go home…back to the apartment! I…will you take me?" She asked weakly, "PLEASE"
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tbc...
thanks again for reading