Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed. All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at !
&&&&&&&&&&
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 53
Chris sighed as he glanced at the clock once again. He stood up and walked to the bedroom door, only to stop half way and walked back to his bed. His mind was numb and he was driving himself crazy, trying to decide what to do.
He glanced at the clock again. Time was running out. Melanie's funeral service was going to start in an hour and if he wanted to attend, he needed to get moving. The only problem was that he knew he wasn't wanted at the funeral service. Wyatt made that quite clear during their last run-in.
&&&&&&&&&
Three days earlier...
Chris took a deep breath and opened the front door to the manor. He didn't want to be here but felt that he should at least show up for Wyatt's wedding. He laughed bitterly to himself at the thought. "Yeah, like Wyatt would just forget everything that happened last night and just get on with the wedding as if nothing had happened." Regardless, he knew that the wedding had to continue. The invitations had been sent and all the guests were on their way. "Melanie wouldn't just leave Wyatt at the altar, would she?" Chris shuddered at the thought, knowing that all hell would break loose if that happened.
There was an eerie sense of calm in the manor as Chris stepped inside. His eyes moved around but found nothing out of the ordinary. He breathed a sigh of relief, happy that there wasn't anyone around at the moment. He really wasn't in the mood to face his family just yet.
A soft sob caught Chris' attention. Immediately, he felt drawn towards the sound. Chris soon found himself in the parlour, the same parlour where Wyatt caught him and Melanie in their moment of weakness. What he saw caused Chris to freeze in shock. Instead of a manor bustling with pre-wedding activity, Chris found his family huddled around a distraught Wyatt, comforting him. On the floor laid Melanie...cuts evident on her face...lifeless.
Chris couldn't help but let out a soft cry, a sound that immediately caught Wyatt's attention. He turned towards Chris, his eyes glistening with tears. "What are you doing here?" he barked.
The younger Halliwell stood there, still in a daze. "What...what happened?" he whispered, his voice trembling.
Wyatt got up and glared at Chris. Piper and Phoebe were by Wyatt's side, partly comforting him, partly restraining him from doing anything stupid. "What does it look like, Christopher? Melanie's dead...you hear me?? She's DEAD!!!"
Chris knew that Melanie was dead, but hearing Wyatt actually say the words made it seem that much more real. "But...but...how?"
"If it wasn't for you, Melanie would still be alive...we would be getting married...this is all your fault..." Wyatt sobbed. "This is ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!"
Chris' mind reeled from Wyatt's accusations. Sure, he knew that Wyatt was upset but his accusations went far beyond that. He knew his brother well enough to know that those words represented Wyatt's true feelings.
"I...I...am sorry..." Chris weakly managed to muster, not knowing what else to say.
"Get out," Wyatt ordered. "I don't want to see you..."
Chris began to protest, but Paige walked over and pulled Chris out into the hallway.
"I'm so sorry..." Chris whispered, on the verge of tears. "I never thought it would end up like this..."
Paige hugged her nephew, knowing the pain that he was going through. Everyone understood Wyatt's pain, but she also knew that Chris was going through a totally different set of difficulties and pain just the same. "I know, Chris...but right now, it's probably best that you stay out of Wyatt's way..." Chris stared at Paige in shock. Was his aunt asking him to leave his own house? Paige saw the expression in her nephew's face and hugged him again. "I know this is hard for you...and I'm sorry...but we can't deal with both Wyatt and you right now..." she explained to him with pleading eyes.
"Alright..." Chris agreed reluctantly. He knew that his aunts and his parents were in a difficult position, and he didn't want to make it any more difficult for them. All the same, it didn't make it less painful to be asked by your own family to leave...
&&&&&&&&&&
Chris looked up at the darkening sky and smiled sadly. It seemed not so long ago that things were on the upswing. Wyatt had turned good and the whole family was back together. It seemed to Chris that all of his sacrifices were not in vain. But as always, tragedy had to strike the family, tearing them apart.
Chris pushed the door open and walked into the funeral home. He had always hated going to places like funeral homes. It reminded him too much of the past. After walking down a corridor that seemed to go on forever, the young Halliwell finally arrived. He hesitated before entering, knowing that he wouldn't exactly get a warm welcome.
He was right. The minute he appeared in the room, Wyatt's hateful glare was on him. The older Halliwell marched towards Chris until they were staring eye to eye. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Wyatt," Chris said softly, "Don't do this. I don't want to lose you..."
"You should have thought of that before you betrayed me, Christopher," Wyatt retorted. "Now get out, you're not welcome here."
Piper and Phoebe tried to reason with Wyatt but they did little to sway his decision. Ryan looked at Chris sympathetically but knew that he was in no position to do anything to help his brother.
Chris tried to remain calm but he felt his own anger rising in him. After all, Melanie was his friend too and he had every right to come pay his last respects. "I'm not leaving until I've paid my last respects, Wyatt."
"You've got some gall to show up here saying that you want to pay your last respects," Wyatt spat bitterly. "You're the reason she's in that casket!"
"Wyatt..." Chris protested, but was quickly cut off by his brother.
"If you really have any respect for Melanie, you wouldn't dare show your face here at all!"
"That's not fair, Wyatt..." Chris argued. His response only served to fuel Wyatt's rage.
"And having my brother steal my wife-to-be from me is fair? If things were fair, I would be a married man today instead of attending my fiancée's funeral. You were the one who betrayed me, so don't talk to me about being fair. Now get out before I ask security to escort you out." With that, Wyatt turned around and walked back to his seat. Before he got there, however, he turned to face Chris once again, his face void of any expression. "I don't ever want to see you again. You hear me? As of today, I only have one brother..."
All three Charmed Ones gasped at Wyatt's words and Ryan just looked appalled. Chris, on the other hand, felt like his brother had stabbed him in his guts. Those words hurt him more than any fist that Wyatt could land on him.
Piper and Paige tried once again to calm Wyatt down while Phoebe came over to Chris. She took his hand and led him out into the corridor.
Chris looked at his aunt with sad eyes, noticing that the Charmed One looked completely exhausted. "I know...you want me to leave, right?" Phoebe looked at the floor, not saying anything. "All I wanted to do was to pay my last respects. Is that so much to ask for?" Chris pleaded.
"Look, Chris. I know you're hurting, but you're only going to provoke Wyatt even more."
"This isn't about Wyatt, Aunt Phoebe. It's about Melanie. She was my friend too," he said as his voice began to choke from his tears.
"Chris...please..."
Chris slammed his fist into the wall. "Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt. Some things never change. Why is everything about Wyatt?!"
"Well, if you hadn't gone behind your brother's back with Melanie, this wouldn't have happened!" Phoebe answered all too quickly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew that she had made a huge mistake. She immediately moved to correct her error, pulling Chris into a hug.
Chris' face paled as he absorbed Phoebe's words, ignoring her attempt to cover up her mistake. "You're right...if I hadn't kissed her...she's dead because of me...Wyatt's right...I killed her...I killed Melanie..." he whispered to no one in particular, his eyes so full of hurt and pain that Phoebe began to get a headache. He stared at his hands as if they were covered in blood, "Oh god...I killed my brother's fiancée...Oh my god!!" Chris continued in a daze, his breathing accelerating dangerously close to hyperventilation. "I'm a killer...I'm a killer..."
"Chris..." Phoebe called out as Chris abruptly turned around and ran for the exit.
"Leave me alone..." Chris yelled angrily before disappearing into the rain, leaving a helpless and distraught Phoebe in the corridor.
&&&&&&&&&&
Ryan sat down on the couch and stared blankly at the wall. His mind was a completely blank and he was exhausted. The tension and stress of the last few days had worn him out and right now, he just wanted to sleep. Judging from the looks on everyone else's faces, they shared the same feeling.
Piper walked into the parlour, having swapped her funeral clothes for more comfortable clothing. "Wyatt, why don't you go rest for a while? I'll call you when dinner is ready."
Wyatt nodded and silently went to his room, emotionally drained and not really wanting to speak to anyone.
After Wyatt had gone, Piper turned to Ryan. "Can you go get Chris? We need to talk..." None of them noticed the pained and anguished look on Phoebe's face.
A minute later, Ryan returned to the parlour – alone, looking panic-stricken. "Chris isn't there...neither are his things..."
"WHAT?" Piper yelled, quickly going into hysterics. Everyone went to Chris' room and sure enough, everything was gone.
They tried sensing for him, scrying for him, calling for him. Nothing worked. Chris had blocked them all out, not wanting to see them.
Phoebe and Paige did their best to calm Piper down, but they themselves were worried to death. It was hard enough trying to comfort Wyatt. Things would be much more difficult if something were to happen to Chris too.
&&&&&&&&&&&
"Two weeks, Paige," Piper cried. "It's been two weeks!! There's not a trace of him. Chris is out there all alone...this is not fair!"
"We haven't exactly been all that supportive of him," Ryan lamented, thinking back to how he remained silent when Chris needed his support the most. "I know Wyatt was hurting, but so was Chris. We never even got his side of the story..."
Wyatt walked into the kitchen and poured himself a class of juice. In the past two weeks, his condition had greatly improved and he was slowly resuming a normal life, although he would still have bouts of depression. He still refused to mention Chris' name and he didn't really seem all that concerned that his brother had been missing for two weeks. "What's there to tell, Ryan? It was pretty clear what he was trying to do," Wyatt said, bitterness still evident in his voice.
"Wyatt, your brother is missing. There is not a trace of him anywhere. The least you can do is show some concern," Piper chastised her son, angry at his uncaring attitude.
"It's probably better that he doesn't show his sorry face around here. It'll save my fist from having to go to work again," he said, getting agitated once again.
"Your brother made a mistake, okay?" Piper yelled at him. "He doesn't deserve to be condemned for life!"
"That's what he gets for betraying me. He is the one in the wrong, not me!"
Ryan got up and stared at his oldest brother. "Funny how Chris still tried to save you despite your numerous attempts to kill him. Or how he chose to forgive you the instant you turned good, wiping out all of your wrongs against him. Even funnier is how he vouched for you in defiance of the Elders so that you would get some of your powers back. And you have the nerve to say that you can't forgive him?!" the youngest Halliwell glared at Wyatt with disbelief.
Wyatt had no comeback to that comment. Deep down, he knew Ryan was right. Who was he to condemn Chris? He still remembered his conversation at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge with Chris. He promised his younger brother that whatever Chris asked, Wyatt would give to him. "How could he have forgotten his promise so soon?" he asked himself as he realized how harsh he had been to Chris.
He didn't want to answer that question, so he decided to go into the parlour to calm himself down. That's when he saw it. An envelope. Addressed to him. Melanie's handwriting was clearly on the front of the envelope.
His hands shakily opened the envelope and he unfolded the letter inside. He hands began to shake even more as he read the letter.
Wyatt,
I know that no matter what I say or do, I can never right the wrong that I have committed against you. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but I'm asking for your understanding.
I should have been truthful with you from the beginning. You have always been so thoughtful and kind to me and I loved you for that. But I also knew that my love for you was not the kind of love that could sustain a marriage. I loved you as a good friend...as a brother.
I know I shouldn't have led you to believe that there was something more that I felt. I regret it so much now but I can't change the past. I'm so sorry, Wyatt.
As for Chris, none of this was his fault. I knew that I loved him from the day that I met him and I knew that he felt the same about me. But not once did he ever betray you. Despite my advances on him, he always maintained that I had to be faithful to you and that he had to be loyal to you. For the past few months, as you and I prepared for our wedding, your brother had been living through hell. He had to witness someone that he loved being married to another man – his own brother. Not once did he try to sabotage my relationship with you. He was supportive of you throughout and even to the very last moment, insisted that his loyalty to you was more important than his own needs or wants.
You are truly blessed to have such a wonderful and loyal brother who is willing to sacrifice himself for you. Please don't let this relationship be destroyed because of what happened between you and I. If you want to find fault, I am the one who should be blamed. As for what you saw in the parlour that day, it was I who initiated the kiss. Chris and I had decided that there was no future for us and Chris insisted that I needed to try to be a faithful wife to you. My only request to him was for one goodbye kiss. Unfortunately, you saw us at that moment, but it was nothing more than a goodbye kiss, Wyatt.
I can't emphasize this enough. Chris did not betray you. In fact, he is your biggest supporter and despite his own powers and accomplishments, he still looks up to you. He loves you more than he loves his own life, Wyatt. Please cherish him.
Again, I'm so sorry for the hurt that I've caused you. If I had a chance to do it again, I would not have lied to you. I thought what I was doing was the right thing to do because I didn't want to hurt you. But I guess I ended up hurting you even more. I'm so sorry.
You are a good guy with a good heart. I know very soon, you'll find the girl who can truly be your soul mate and will give you the love that you deserve. You'll always have a special place in my heart, as will Chris and all of your family.
Take good care of yourself, Wyatt.
Melanie
Wyatt sobbed uncontrollably as he read Melanie's letter over and over again. His head began to hurt as he realized that he had made a huge mistake. How could he have been so blind to think that Chris would betray him? And even if Chris did betray him, it was nothing compared to what his brother had already sacrificed for him.
"Chris..." he called out, desperately wanting his brother to come back so that he could undo his wrongs. "Chris..." he called out louder.
His cries brought the rest of the family into the room. Piper knelt down to hug Wyatt while Paige and Ryan read Melanie's letter. Everyone was soon in tears after reading the letter.
Piper kept telling Wyatt that everything would be okay, but the Twice Blessed One knew that things would not be so simple. He had crossed so many lines and pushed much too far this time. He was appalled at the harsh words that he said to Chris, not to mention the brutal assault that he handed out. All this time, Chris never fought back, never defended himself. He knew that he hurt Chris horribly and things can't be corrected with just a simple sorry. Wyatt Halliwell knew he had really screwed up big time.
Suddenly he felt an indescribable pain in his head. Wyatt felt like he was being torn apart. His primal yell frightened the Charmed Ones, thinking that some demonic power was at work. Their fears intensified as they realized that Ryan was feeling the same pain. The two younger Halliwells fell to their knees, feeling such immense pain. For the next minute, the two boys writhed in pain on the ground while Leo tried in vain to heal them. After what seemed like eternity, the pain gradually subsided and both Ryan and Wyatt managed to get back to their feet, albeit shakily.
Wyatt and Ryan looked pale. Their faces were so white that Piper was afraid they would pass out. "Are you two okay? You two need to head off to bed right now," Paige said after seeing the frightened expression on their faces.
Ryan shook his head in silence, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face. Wyatt was trembling, his body in shock. Instinctively, Wyatt pulled Ryan to him and the two brothers cried with an anguish that sent chills down the Charmed Ones' spines.
"What is wrong?" asked a panicked Piper. "Tell me!!!"
"The link...the link...its....its broken..." Ryan whispered, his voice choking.
"What link???" Paige asked, thoroughly confused.
"Chris...the link between us three..." Wyatt sobbed. "The link that joined the three of us...is gone...I can't feel Chris' presence at all..."
"Neither can I..." Ryan whispered, before grief overwhelmed him.
Paige and Phoebe stared in shock. "The link...the link can't be broken unless..."
"No..." Piper cried as she realized what Wyatt and Ryan were saying. Her vision blurred and the room spun uncontrollably before she finally succumbed to her grief and passed out.
- to be continued -