The wind blew through the trees of the Manor. The house was quiet. It was always quiet now. The images in her head would not go away. They haunted her mind for the past few months. They had refused to let her rest. She sat up quietly in bed. There was a time when she wasn't alone in her room, when all of her sisters were home. In the darkness, she quietly crept out of bed. Making her way down the hallway, she opened the large wooden door. She crept into the room. She snuggled next to the only warm body she had left. Her sister did not wake up, but she cuddled closer to her. She felt safer in the bed next to her sister than anywhere else. However, no matter how safe she felt, she couldn't hide from the pain and fear.
A jeep pulled up to the Manor. Within the jeep, two young women sat staring up at the manor. Prue got ready to get out, but Piper remained still.
"Piper, it'll be fine. What are you afraid of?"
Piper didn't respond at first.
"I'm afraid they'll hate at us," Piper finally said.
"What? Piper, why?" Prue looked at her sister.
"We've been gone for three months, Prue. We didn't even call."
Piper looked at her sister for the first time.
"It's was two months, Piper. Honey, there's nothing to be worried about, they might be a little mad, but they love us. Don't worry," Prue said with a smile. She took her sister's hand and they began to walk up the steps, "plus, if they hate us we'll go find a new family."
"Where? at Home Depot."
"No, silly," Prue said as they got to the door. "At K-mart"
Despite her jokes, Prue was scared too. She was afraid of what her family would say. More specifically what her sisters would say. However, though both of them were scared, Prue knew he didn't regret leaving the Manor. She and Piper had left for good reason. Though she hated leaving her sisters, Prue left because she couldn't understand the hypocrisy within her household, mostly with their parents.
"Should we knock?" Piper asked awkwardly.
"I don't know," Piper said. "Let's go in."
Piper walked into the house first. She was bold when she was scared. The girls timed their arrival at dinner time to make sure there were people home. They knew that to be there when their family returned it would awkwardly inconvenient than it would have been if they walked in on them dduring dinner.
The house wasn't spotless, but it wasn't dirty. There were duffels and back packs at the door. The house was quiet. The only time the Manor was quiet at home was when it was empty, or so Prue and Piper remembered it. The house was quiet. Suddenly, a voice rang out from the kitchen.
"Phoebe?"
Prue and Piper lit up. Paige. Their care free baby sister. The sister who they could count on to never hold a grudge. However, as they came into the kitchen immediately they noticed something different about her. She was older. Most of all PaigeÕs arm was in a sling. The girls ran up to her.
"What happened?"
"Are you alright?"
Questions began to toss into the air, but Paige had yet to respond. She was too shocked. She pulled away from her sisters.
"Where did you come from?" Paige asked more surprised than angry.
"We just got back," Prue said quietly.
Paige shook her head, her anger beginning to surface. She forced her anger back down. She gave a weak smile and pulled her sisters into a hug.
"I hate you for leaving, but you have no idea how glad I am that you're back," she whispered through her tears.
As they hugged, Piper noticed the cutting board with celery on it. The stove had some pasta cooking. However, it all looked like only enough for one. Piper pulled away. The Halliwell family always ate together. No excuses. Their father made only three rules: respect your family, never go to bed angry, and never leave your place empty at the dinner table.
"Where is everyone?" Piper asked skeptically.
"Out."
"Are you eating alone?"
"It's no big deal; everyone eats alone now." Paige dished up her plate. "Welcome home."
Paige started to head up the stairs, but Piper called out to her.
"Paige, what's happened around here?"
"Too much. You guys have missed too much."
Prue and Piper watch their sister go upstairs. They left their family without a word two months ago in anger. They never thought they would return to a family they didn't even know.
What the hell is going on?" Prue asked as she paced into the living room. "We weren't gone that long."
"Yes, we were."
"Still, look at this place," Prue said with disgust.
The living room and parlor were messier than usual. They hadn't noticed the jackets and have empty glasses scattered throughout the room. As Piper glanced around the house, she could not help but think that her family was the way it was because she and Prue had left. However, the thought only passed through for only a few seconds. She began to collect the dirty dishes around the movie.
"We've only seen Paige, Piper," Prue said gently as she followed Piper back into the kitchen. "Maybe things really aren't that bad."
"No, there's something wrong, Prue. I mean it's 7:30 and Paige is like the only one home.
"Mom and dad are probably out to dinner, and you know Phoebe she's seventeen, she's entitled to some partying." It was important to Prue to make her sister believe this story, but Piper didn't believe it and neither did she.
"I want to ask Paige what's going on." Piper said, starting up the stairs, but her older sister stopped her.
"You know she isn't going to tell you, it isn't even worth trying. We'll just ask mom and dad when they get back." Prue picked up some books that lay on the floor and headed towards the kitchen.
"I guess we should make dinner, it's no use waiting for mom and dad if they're out." Piper said, heating up the stove. "So do you think mom and dad are going to kick us out?" She asked, while pouring some macaroni into a pot.
"No, they may be mad, but they still love us."
"I hope so," Piper closed her eyes and let the scent of macaroni fill around her, "I really do."
Paige had lied when she said no one was home but her, her mom was in her room, taking the longest nap known to man. Patty Halliwell had been in her room for four days straight, crying and sleeping her way through. Paige was worried about her mother's state; it had all started when her father left the house for a while. She still had no clue where he was. Her life was a disaster, ever since the accident, ever since… She couldn't think about it anymore, the best thing for her to do was push it out of her mind and just make it leave. The problem was, she couldn't get rid of it from her self-conscious mind. Her dreams were poisoned with its very existence; she couldn't get away. Paige didn't have time to worry about her older sister, Phoebe. No one did anymore, not even their mom. There were nights when Phoebe came home drunk, barely able to walk and no one cared. Actually, it wasn't that no one cared; it was that they were too preoccupied with healing themselves, trying to get some bills paid. Paige couldn't help but feel angry with them, hadn't they heard? They had to have; it was all over the news. She thought that her two older sisters had betrayed her, left her to fend on her own.
A few hours later, downstairs Prue was cleaning up the kitchen table when she noticed keys dangling from the key hook. She scanned her memory and recalled seeing her mother's car in the drive.
"Hey, Piper. I think Moms home."
"Prue, she's probably out in Dads car," Piper said without looking up.
Prue went over to the recycling and saw the overflowing mail pile. Before she dropped the old papers in her hand in the box, she noticed the handfuls of letters and cards. As Prue pulled them out, she noticed one of the cabinets were open. She tried to shut it; it wouldn't. Setting the pile of letters and cards down on the table, she opened the cabinet. There was a box in the way. Why would anyone keep a box in the butler's closet? She pulled out the box and sat down with it on the table. The letters were all sympathy letters. They were all letters from old women that used to live next door, from people all over the country. They were all saying how sorry they were and how their hearts were with the family and especially Phoebe and Paige. However, they didn't say why.
"What are those?" Piper asked as she handed Prue a glass of water.
"I don't know. Something definitely happened while we gone, Piper. Something to the girls."
Prue took a sip of water and went to the box. Just as she was about to open it, the back door opened. The girls looked up to see Phoebe come in. She wasn't even coming in quietly. She slammed the outside door in the laundry room. She didn't se the point; no matter how loud she was, no one would ever hear her, or so she thought. She didn't notice her sisters sitting at the table. She stopped when she say her sisters.
"What are you doing he-re?" she slurred slightly at the end.
"Are you drunk?" Piper asked bluntly.
"Yo-u didn't answer my que-s-tion," Phoebe asked as she walked over to sisters.
"How much have you had to drink?"
"Seven beers and three shots," Phoebe said clearly.
"You should be out like a light," Prue said.
"Well, if you drink enough and persistently, you learn to hold your liquor," Phoebe shot back calmly and clearly as if she was completely sober. "Good night."
As the girls watched in shock as Phoebe left, they couldn't help see her limp slightly as she walked up the stairs. Prue shook her head. Something was definitely going on. She returned to the box in front of her and opened it. It was newspaper clippings, magazine articles.
"Oh my God," Piper muttered.
"How could we have missed this?" Prue asked.
The newspapers in front of them were from all over the area and all over the country. "Shooting at California High School killed 18 and wounded 4." " Shooting at Baker High School" "Guns Shoot Again" The list went on forever. There were clippings from everywhere. Piper picked up an article and skimmed it. However, two names shot out.
"Listen to this, 'Though most of the students were able to safely exit the school, Phoebe and Paige Halliwell had heaven on their side when they were both critically wounded in the shooting.' Prue, how did we not know?" Piper asked as she put her head in her hands.
Prue's eyes were stilled glued to the page, never taking them off two words. It hardly made sense anymore, nothing did. "I-I can't, believe this. It can't be true." She felt the tears come to her eyes, but did not let them fall.
"What else does it say?" Piper asked in concern.
Prue handed her sister the whole article, unable to speak.
History Repeats itself; Highschool shooting in San FranciscoThe students at Baker Highschool started what was thought of as a normal day, but tragedy would soon strike. At 12:34 am, Mr. Jack Allester's class heard bangs throughout the hallways and screaming. Allester left his classroom to address the commotion that was being caused. Instead of a minor brawl, he found five masked students with guns held up to several students' heads. Allester tried to calmly get the students to put down the gun, but he was shot in the chest. In the hallway were sisters, Phoebe and Paige Halliwell with their classmates, Lena Savorian, Alexander Banker, Tyler Aryoll, Daniel Xo, and Tessa Martins. Two students had already been shot dead when they tried to run and tell principal, Matt J Wayner. Sophomore, Myra Rodriquez, and junior, Zachary Renolds were the first students to be pronounced dead. The seven students in the hall were being held hostage in the hallway by the shooters, when they saw another four students, Seniors André Tennis, Anthony Robinson, Freshman Kayla Josephs, and Junior Dalton Thomas killed. In addition to the six, twelve more students were shot in the savage chaos including, freshman Daniel Xo, Alyssa Benson, Skyler Jensen, Kelly Wayner, Seniors Lena Savorian, Daniel Matts, Rachel Muscovitz, Sophomores Wagner Wilson, May Li Anson, Alison Kayes, Juniors Yvonne Sarovich, and Timothy Levine. Most of the other students and teachers safely got out of the school, but the Halliwells, Alexander Banker, Tyler Aryoll, and Tessa Martins, still were trapped with the killers. Those students were maimed, and beat several times. Phoebe Halliwell was shot in the left leg, her sister; Paige Halliwell was shot in her right shoulder, and Tessa Martins was shot in the arm. Luckily, these students had heaven on their side, and none of them were killed. The paramedics and police arrived at 1:45 pm. One teacher, and fourteen students were pronounced dead. Four students died in the hospital. The police brought students, juniors Karey Jerickson, Michelle Calliro, freshman Damien Markson, and senior Lester Westward into custody. Lester Westward was believed to be the ringleader of the five students who had formed an alliance against the school. The four students who had been seriously injured were rushed to the Bay Area Hospital in critical condition. Miraculously all four survived, but none wished to comment on the subject. Principal Wayner whose daughter, Kelly died in the tragic event had some thoughts about the deaths and the killer's punishments.
Cont pg 4a
Piper could not begin to react to what they had just read. And that had only been a small part of the whole event. Her sisters had gone through so much when they were gone; she instantly hated herself for leaving. After a long period of silence, Prue spoke up.
"I think we need to go see mom."
Piper looked at her sister quizzically, her heart breaking for her baby sisters, but she would be strong like Prue, she had to. "I-I thought mom was out."
"Her car is in the driveway." Prue said simply and lead Piper up the stairs. Prue didn't even try to knock on her mother's closed door; she turned the knob quickly, it was locked. Piper handed Prue a bobby pin and watched her sister pick the lock the way Phoebe had taught her. Piper was afraid to go in, she was afraid of what she would find. Never the less, she tiptoed in behind Prue.
The first thing Piper saw was darkness, and once her eye's adjusted to the darkness, she saw closed shades with some slits of light that hadn't been covered, and a small figure curled up in their parent's large bed.
"Mom?" Piper choked, trying her best not to cry.
Prue ran up to the bed, and uncovered the figure. "Mom?" She asked her voice cracked in the darkness.
Patty moved farther into her bed, but opened her eyes. In the light of the slats, Prue saw her mother's pale face and tear stricken eyes.
"Mommy," Piper reverted to using her childish ways. Prue turned on the lights, and Patty shielded her eyes.
"No one said you could come back here. Or leave for that matter." There was Patty's voice, scratchy and exhausted, it seemed to dim the entire room.
"Mom, we're so sorry, but we need to know what's going on." Prue said, a tear streaming down her cheek. She hugged their mother who surprisingly let her hug back.
Patty was hysterical now, "It-it would've been so much easier with you." Prue rocked her mother back and forth, something she thought she would never have to do. Piper stood there crying.
"Why the hell did you leave?" She was angry now, but not angry enough to let go of her daughters.
Paige looked in the mirror of the bathroom. The light of it reflected around her face, but the rest of the room was dark. She had always been the palest Halliwell, but now she looked ghostly. Sometimes other people thought she was a ghost. They would look at her as if she wasn't really there; she was a shell of a girl. School used to be a social time for her, joking with her friends and carelessly falling asleep in class. But now she went through school everyday as if in a trance, did papers and homework without using her mind, and failed every class. She didn't care anymore, and all of her friends that had left the school in time, they were afraid to talk to her, afraid that she would breakdown in front of them and they wouldn't know what to do.
Paige lay on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor, looking at the white ceiling. She closed her eyes and imagined herself falling, falling in an endless pit. She fell and fell until she couldn't breathe anymore.
"Paige!" Piper kneeled down next to her sister, "Paige honey."
She sat up abruptly and gave Piper an empty look that sent shivers up her spine. Her voice had no particular tone to it, "I knew you would come here and try to make us all happy again, but it won't work. We'll never be your beloved family again."
Piper looked down at Paige's shoulder and noticed a sling on it for the first time.
"Paige, talk to me."
"No one in this family has expressed their feelings for a month. Why do you think I would express mine to a complete and total stranger?" Paige's words made Piper's heart break in half.
"Paige, we were only gone for three months."
"A lifetime can happen in three months, Piper." Paige says, patting Piper on the back with her good arm.
"Paige, why don't you tell me what's going on?" Piper sat across from Paige, looking the youngest straight in the eyes.
"Piper, why don't you tell me why you guys left?" Paige said mockingly.
"I can't." Piper said, sadly, she didn't want Paige to be any more depressed than she already was.
"Then I can't tell you what's going on with me. It goes both ways Piper." It seemed to Piper that Paige had lost all of her innocence because of the shooting.
"We know about the shooting." Prue stood by the edge of the door, leaning on the wooden frame.
Paige laughed bitterly, "I was beginning to think you had dropped off the face of the earth or something."
"Paige, stop, we're worried!"
"Well if you were so worried why didn't you come back?" Piper heard Paige's voice crack a tiny bit, but she held on. "You didn't think about what would happen to us if you left."
"But you have mom and dad!" Prue argued.
"Not anymore."
Prue looked at her sister. She knelt down in front of her. Her eyes were fierce and determined. She was going to fix this. She looked at her little sister, her fifteen-year-old sister. Her eyes were lost. But no matter how lost, she could see that her sisters were still trying to play some sort of game. She wasn't going to open up to them; she wasn't going to tell her anything. Paige never had any trouble standing her ground, but it seemed that she was not going to tell her sisters anything until she had someone on her side.
"What do you mean, Paige?" Prue asked gently.
"She means that everyone is too wrapped up in their own pain help us each other," Phoebe said from behind her three sisters.
She looked at her sister leaning against the bathtub. Piper sat on the edge of the tube next to her and Prue knelt in front of her. Phoebe just shook her head.
"Look around you, Mom's been in her room for weeks. I've given in on her."
"Where's Dad?" Piper asked,
"He doesn't live here anymore," Paige said bluntly and sadly.
"He lives in the city with his girlfriend, Kate. He and mom are fighting for custody," Phoebe said as she sat against the doorframe. "He moved out . . . a few days after you guys left. He and Mom tried calling Grams at her Boston camp, being that that's where you guys said you were . . . but she wasn't there."
"That's no exactly true. Is it?" Paige asked. " You were there its just Grams and you guys didn't want to talk to us."
"We had no idea you called," Piper said. "Grams never told us."
"But there's a reason why Grams didn't want to talk to us," Phoebe said. "And you left us out in the dark. We're still in the dark."
Phoebe got up and walked away. They watched her leave. Phoebe hadn't shed a tear. Her face remained unreadable. Prue couldn't even read her. After she left there was an uncomfortable silence.
"I'm glad you're home," Paige said suddenly. "Phoebe is too. She just has her own stuff to deal with."
"How about you?" Piper asked.
"I'm fine," Paige said.
"We had no idea you called," Piper said. "Grams never told us."
She stood up and left the room.
The night breathed gently around the Manor. Prue tossed in her bed. She was looked over at Phoebe. She and Piper had to share rooms with their sisters. Phoebe had been quiet and had refused to talk about it. Why?
Voices floated in her head, voices from that day. Phoebe tossed in her bed. The images began to appear more real. Kayla's face stared at her in horror on last time. Then a shot rang out. Blood spread over the floor and Kayla's dead body lie motionlessly with her eyes staring up at Phoebe. Her eyes were the same as they were when she was alive, they were pleading. Those eyes wouldn't go away.
Phoebe shot up in the darkness in horror. She was scared. Prue could see that in the moonlight. She could feel it. Prue didn't know what to do, but she sat up to comfort. However, as she did, Phoebe immediately remembered she had company in her bed. She lay back down and turned against her sister. Prue reached out and gently touched her back, but only to have her pull away.
The next morning the house was quiet. Prue woke up to an empty bed. Saturday, she thought. She listened. There was no sound. Prue glanced at the clock. It was eight o'clock in the morning. Where was everyone? She crept down the hallway to Paige and Piper's room. Piper was still in bed, but Paige wasn't there.
As she crept down stairs there was no noise, no life. The house remained silent for two hours. Prue cleaned and organized in the meantime. Finally, the front door creaked open. Piper and Prue rounded the corner to see Paige coming through the door.
"Where the hell were you?"
"At the gym," Paige said casually.
"Hi, tell anyone much?" Prue asked in frustration.
"Do you see anyone around here who would miss me?"
"What about us?" Piper asked somewhat hurt.
"You've only been here a few days."
Paige pushed past her sisters with her duffle on her shoulder and went into the kitchen.
"Paige!" Piper called after her now irritated. She was done being sorry and sad. "Where is Phoebe?"
"How should I know?" Paige mumbled.
"This is going to stop!" Piper finally screamed out in frustration causing her sister to stop in shock. "You aren't going to go anywhere without telling us where you're going. Got it? Good. How did you get to the gym? You don't have a license. Oh, and this is gong to stop. You have to respect us."
"Fuck you and your respect," Paige said quietly.
"What did you say?' Prue asked now also angry.
Before Prue could get her answer, the door opened. Victor walked in with ease. He was surprised to see his elder girls, but didn't say anything. He went to hug them, but Prue pulled away. He shook his head, embarrassed that he even tried.
"Paige, you ready to go?"
"Go where?" Piper asked.
"I have to tell them where I go now," Paige said annoyed, she turned to Piper. "It's Saturday. I have time with Dad."
"How dare you let this happen to our family!" Prue said to her father. "How could you just leave?"
"If I recall, Prudence that's what you wanted me to do," Victor said casually. "You ready to go, Paige?"
"What about Phoebe?" Prue asked.
"Phoebe and I do mornings at Denny's." Victor softened his voice. "She's holding on, okay. I'm not going to push her, just like I never pushed you girls. You're welcome to join us."
"Thanks, we'll pass," Prue said.
"Suit yourself," Victor shrugged and chauffeured Paige out the door.
As soon as the door closed, Prue made her disgust apparent. "It's embarrassing to be his daughter." She said, walking into the kitchen.
"Yeah. It's funny, just when you thought you knew someone…" Piper said slowly.
"Well I think that applies to our whole family. It's like I don't know them you know?"
"Yeah, we grew up here too. We lived with them for our whole lives, and then we leave for three months and everything changes." Piper sighed, taking out a pot and a pan. "I'm going to try to make dinner for the whole family."
"Well, good luck with trying to get everyone to eat with you." Prue said, and began to walk toward the door, "I need to catch up on some sleep. I'll see ya later, Pipe."
Piper watched her older sister walk out the door. She could see something in her sister's eyes, wounded pride. Prue had always been like the third parent to everyone in the family. She had always been more mature than the rest, and eager to help. She knew it hurt, she felt the pain herself, but Prue no longer had control or power, or even a comfort factor with her younger sisters. They seemed to be more and less mature, it was scary. Piper felt like she was getting to know them all over again. She took out a piece of chicken from the microwave that had been defrosted. She wiped a stray brown hair out of her face, as she cut the salad and thought about everything. Everything wouldn't get out of her head, the shooting, and the horrible things that her sisters had gone through. There were eighteen kids that died; they must have been Phoebe and Paige's friends, acquaintances, and enemies. She thought back to the article, all those names on one sheet of paper, their significance fading in.
When Piper was a lot younger, she would sit on Victor's lap every night and watch the news. The first time father and daughter had started this ritual; there had been a car bombing in Israel. The anchorwoman read each name of the people off the list like it wasn't big, like, she didn't even care. Piper remembered her young eyes going wide in fear, the pain of all those people mixed in with her own. She remembered running out of the room when they showed pictures of the bomb going off in the night sky; she cried all night. Victor was reluctant to let Piper watch the news with him again, but for some reason, Piper pleaded. That time, she and Prue watched it. Piper remembered Prue and her father watching tragedies go by, and they didn't sniffle, not even a tear. She didn't know how they could be so numb to the pain, fear, and hatred of other people. But she herself had learned to become numb, as did Paige and Phoebe. But now, the whole ordeal was different.
Piper wiped a tear away from her cheek. It was different when you knew someone in the tragedy, different when it affected you personally.
"Hey." Piper jumped in the air, her hear beating quickly.
"Phoebe, you scared me."
"Seems like I scare everyone these days." Phoebe said, giving Piper a half-hearted smile.
"Not like that, you know." Piper said.
"Yeah." Phoebe suddenly clutched her head, and moaned; Piper rushed over to her.
"Phoebe, what's wrong?"
Phoebe stopped moaning and shrugged her shoulders, "Piper, it's alright. Since, well, you know what, the doctor said I would get these headaches. You can't do anything about them, Piper, they're not curable."