Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed. All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
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The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 50
Wyatt took the silence as an invitation into the room. Ryan, knowing that his two older brothers had issues that needed to be worked out, quietly left the room. A thick silence threatened to suffocate the occupants, but neither Chris nor Wyatt seemed to notice.
Wyatt sighed when Chris did not acknowledge him. He ran his hand through his hair and nervously paced the room. Finally, he took a deep breath and sat on Chris' bed. "Chris..." he stopped when he noticed that his younger brother wasn't even listening to him. It was like Chris was in a world of his own.
The older Halliwell debated whether he should continue or not. This whole experience was nerve wracking enough. Not only did he find out that he had been in love with some demonic creature, but the whole idea of apologizing was something that was foreign to the old Wyatt. Of course, he's had some practice since he was converted back to good again, but it still didn't seem a natural thing for him to do.
"Chris, listen to me..." he half-pleaded, half-ordered.
Chris briefly made eye contact with Wyatt before shifting himself on his bed so that he was facing the wall and his back was facing his older brother.
"Okay, fine," Wyatt conceded. "You were right, okay? I was stupid not to listen to you. You happy now?" he asked, hoping that Chris was satisfied with the admission.
Instead, Chris got up from the bed and glared at his brother. "No, I'm not happy," he hollered. "Did you think I did everything just to prove myself right? I didn't want to be right! I kept praying and hoping that I was wrong."
"I didn't mean it like that," Wyatt said softly, somewhat unsettled by Chris' outburst. "I'm just sorry I didn't listen to you..."
Chris took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. "Don't worry about it," the younger Halliwell finally replied as he laid back down on the bed. He had to close his eyes to keep the room from spinning.
"You almost died because of me..."
"Not like it's the first time," Chris half-chuckled as he looked at Wyatt. Noticing his brother's face, he laughed, "I'm just teasing, Wy!" His smile faded when he realized that Wyatt wasn't sharing his humour. "Sorry...I guess that was a stupid thing to say..." he muttered.
Wyatt seemed shaken by Chris' comment and it took him a few moments before he shook himself from his thoughts. "It was true, wasn't it? You did almost die...many times in fact...because of me..." he continued, a distant look in his eyes.
"Don't do this, Wyatt," Chris pleaded. "You can't keep going back to that. It's over and done with, okay? I'm sorry I brought it up, I shouldn't even have mentioned it."
Wyatt looked at Chris with disbelief. "You're seriously telling me that you can pretend it never happened? That you can look into my eyes and not see the monster that I once was?"
Chris faltered but recovered quickly. "No, that's not what I'm saying. All I'm saying is that it's part of my past, but I want to focus on my present and my future," he answered, casting a sympathetic look at Wyatt. "You can't change the past, Wyatt. But you can still change the present and the future."
The words seemed to have gotten through to Wyatt as a small smile appeared on his face. "You know what? I'm going to stop chatting with you so much...because you're getting into a habit of making me look like a dunce."
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There was a knock on his door just as Chris finished buttoning up his shirt. "I'm coming, I'm coming!!" he laughed as he turned around, only to find himself face to face with Melanie. "Melanie...sorry, I thought it was Wyatt or Ryan..."
"Wyatt and Ryan went out to get groceries with Phoebe and Paige," Melanie answered, still standing at the door.
"Oh," Chris replied, not quite knowing what else to say. "Uh, is there something that you needed from me?" Melanie looked nervous as she tried to find the words to say. "Why don't you take a seat?" Chris offered, pointing to a chair in the by the bed.
Melanie smiled gratefully as she sat down. Now that he paid attention, Chris noticed that she did indeed look different from when they had first met. Without the demon possessing her, Chris noticed how innocent and even vulnerable she looked.
"I just wanted to say thank you for what you did," Melanie began.
Chris looked puzzled, not quite understanding what she meant. "But I didn't do anything..." Chris answered.
"You saved me," she clarified. "Otherwise, I think your family would probably have destroyed me by now."
"Don't worry about it," Chris answered. "You shouldn't be punished for something that you had no control over."
Melanie nodded as she kept her eyes on the floor. She reminded herself to refrain from looking at Chris' green eyes, knowing that if she did, she would lose herself in them. "I'm sorry for what I did..." she said softly. "I never meant to hurt you..."
Chris smiled understandingly. "No worries. Like I said, you had no control over what you did. I'll just give Wyatt a hard time instead..." He stopped as he noticed Melanie tense up. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked hesitantly.
"I don't think I can face him..."
"Wyatt doesn't blame you," Chris reassured Melanie. "He loves you."
"He loved me," she corrected. "How can anyone love a person who turned out to be demonic and who almost killed his brother?"
"That wasn't you, Melanie. Wyatt knows that."
"Maybe...but the more important question is that I love..."
"Melanie!" Wyatt called out, relief written all over his face. "Thank god...I couldn't find you downstairs and you weren't in your room. You scared me to death!!"
"Who's the over-protective, over-dramatic one now?" Chris remarked with a smirk.
"Oh shut up," Wyatt answered with mock annoyance. "Come on, Mel, dinner's ready. Don't want to keep Mom and the aunts waiting." Melanie nodded and headed downstairs, but not before casting one final longing glance towards Chris.
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A few weeks had passed since Chris was attacked by the demon-possessed Melanie. Things appeared to return to normal at the manor but to the observant eye, trouble was brewing beneath the surface. For one, Melanie was carrying on two lives at a time. When she was with Wyatt or with the family, she put on the smile and tried to convince everyone that she was the happiest woman in the world. She played the role of Wyatt's lovestruck girlfriend to perfection, knowing exactly when to laugh, when to smile, and what to say at what time. The family quickly warmed to her, allowing the demonic incident to fade into memory.
When she was alone, however, Melanie reverted to her real self – lonely, miserable, and longing for someone who was so close and yet so far away. She spent her nights staring at a photo of Chris, wondering what might have been if she had been brave enough to tell Wyatt the truth about her feelings at the onset. She loved Wyatt – as a friend, but there was no passion in that love. On the other hand, she felt immeasurable love for Chris. She knew that he was the person that she would want to spend the rest of her life with.
She knew that Chris felt the same way, but the younger Halliwell also felt a strong sense of loyalty to his older brother. As a result, Chris had kept a safe distance from her, not wanting to put her into a difficult situation. Little did he know that by doing so, he inadvertently made it even more painful for Melanie.
Melanie knew that she had no hope with Chris. There was no way that Chris would betray his brother, no matter how much it hurt him. That much, she was sure. Just as important, she felt a sense of duty to play her part in order to keep everyone in this family happy. It was the least that she could do after they had saved her life numerous times.
By the time several more months had passed, Melanie had become so good at playing her role that she was beginning to believe that she loved Wyatt. Perhaps her love for Wyatt did grow over the past few months – he was, after all, caring and sensitive – but it was more because of pure conditioning. She had managed to condition herself into "loving" her boyfriend.
The other trouble spot for the family was Chris. Like Melanie, he felt that it was his duty to play the role of the supportive younger brother to Wyatt. He had long accepted the fact that his wants and his needs were always to be subservient to those of his family. He knew that he needed to put them first and if everyone was happy with Melanie being Wyatt's girlfriend, then he would have to bear the pain and be supportive. At first, he was convinced that Melanie felt the same way, but as time passed, it became clear to Chris that she had really grown to love Wyatt. Although it hurt to see the woman he loved in the arms of his brother, deep down, he knew that this arrangement was for the best. Despite that knowledge, Chris found himself in perpetual depression. As everyone around him was filled with joy and happiness, Chris found himself to be the odd man out. He tried to feel happy for Wyatt, but it was just too much to ask of him. He began to withdraw from the family, slowly such that no one really noticed. When his family was there, he relied on his skills at masking emotions to pretend that he was happy, even when he was feeling completely miserable. He found himself laying awake at night, questioning at times why life was so unfair to him. But most of the time, he just drowned himself in work.
Work. That was the other worry on Chris' mind. The warnings of the two strange men still resounded in his head. To this date, despite all of his research, he had no idea who or what the Great Evil was. If he didn't know the source of this evil, how could he save his family from the fate in his vision? This frustration drove Chris to push himself ever harder in an attempt to find the unseen enemy. It was his mission to save his family, and in his mission, he found the much needed respite from the heartbreak and anguish that would otherwise overwhelm him.
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"Chris, have you been staying up late demon hunting again?" Piper asked as she passed the vegetables to Ryan.
Chris was staring at his food, his eyes half shut, when Piper posed the question. "Huh?"
"Are you feeling alright?" Phoebe asked, placing her hand on her nephew's forehead.
"I'm fine," he answered. "Just tired...maybe coming down with something, that's all."
"You're going to bed right after dinner. No chores, no research, and definitely no demon hunting," Piper ordered.
Before Chris could respond or protest, the front door opened as Wyatt and Melanie walked in, bags in hand.
"What were you two doing? Buying up the whole store?" Ryan remarked with a smirk. "Come back tomorrow, why don't you?"
"Hey, there was a huge lineup at the cashier, okay?" Wyatt answered with a smile. "You did save some food for us, right?" he added.
"Of course," Paige answered, rolling her eyes. "Like Piper would really let us eat all of the food."
"Anyway," Wyatt said excitedly. "We've got big news..."
"What interesting gadget did you buy this time?" Phoebe joked.
"Or what amazing deal did you get at the store?" Ryan asked with a bored expression.
"Very funny," Wyatt remarked. "It's nothing of the sort."
"Well, get on with it," Piper interrupted. "What exactly is the big news?"
Wyatt grinned widely, taking Melanie's hand as he prepared to bring his family up to date on the news. "Mom...meet your soon-to-be daughter-in-law."
- to be continued -