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 59
Days turned into weeks and still there was no improvement. If anything, everyone thought that the situation was worsening. Chris slid further into depression and now averaged only two hours of sleep a night. On some nights, he would not sleep at all. His appetite was worsening and it was clear that he was losing weight fast. His clothes soon looked much too big for him and no one ever saw him smile anymore.
"Aunt Paige," Wyatt said softly as he stood at door to his aunt's room.
"What is it, Wyatt?" Paige smiled as she looked up from the book that she was reading.
"I need to talk to you...about Chris."
At the mention of Chris' name, Paige dropped her book and she turned solemn. "What's wrong? Is something wrong with Chris?"
Wyatt sighed and sat on the chair by the desk. "I think that we've waited long enough. Chris isn't getting any better. I'm afraid that if we don't do something soon..."
Paige nodded in understanding. "I was thinking the same thing too. I know Piper said to give him space, but this is clearly not working."
"I was thinking that we need to call a family meeting. Have everyone there and we're going to sort this out for good."
"That's probably a good idea," Paige acknowledged. "I think it's time that everyone faced the music."
"Okay, we'll meet tonight after dinner. I just wanted to run this by you first," Wyatt answered as he got up from the chair. "Thanks, Aunt Paige."
"Anytime, Wyatt. Let me know if you need anything from me."
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"So we're doing this tonight?" Ryan asked again, his voice betraying his anxiety. When Wyatt first mentioned the idea, he agreed with it wholeheartedly. But somewhere deep down, he had a nagging feeling that this was going to backfire on them. He couldn't pinpoint why he had the feeling but he just felt that something wasn't right. "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"Of course I'm not sure," Wyatt replied. "But we really don't have much of a choice. We can't just sit here and let Chris go on like this."
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Chris stared at the picture of his family sitting on his dresser. Every time he looked at the picture, he wanted to cry. Even though he was in the same house as his family, they seemed so far away to him. The only feelings that he had were ones of guilt, dread, and hopelessness. He didn't want to get out of bed each day. He could no longer find a purpose to live. He just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again. But every time Chris had these thoughts, he found himself scared to death. He knew how dangerous these thoughts could be and deep down, he was horrified that they kept coming up in his mind.
Chris sighed and poured out four pills from the bottle. He quickly downed the pills and felt himself feeling marginally better. But then the knowledge that he only had four more days of supplies gave him a sense of dread again. He would need to find a good reason to ask for another prescription so soon. Since his return home, he had seen his reliance on these pills increase alarmingly. What began as one pill occasionally soon turned into a daily ritual. A few weeks later, he began taking two pills a day and since last week, he found himself taking four or even six a day.
"Hey Chris, what..." Wyatt stopped as he saw Chris staring at a prescription drug bottle. "What is that?" he asked, hoping that it wasn't what he feared.
Chris quickly shoved the bottle into the drawer and his head snapped out to face Wyatt. "What's up, Wy?"
"What was that?" Wyatt asked again, refusing to be distracted by Chris.
"What?" Chris asked, feigning innocence.
"The bottle," Wyatt said seriously. "What was in the bottle?"
"Nothing."
"Let me see it."
"Just leave me alone!"
"LET ME SEE IT!!" Wyatt yelled, causing Ryan to run over to see what was going on.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked as his two older brothers stared each other down.
Wyatt ignored Ryan and made a dash for the drawer. His quick movement caught Chris off guard and he wasn't fast enough to stop Wyatt.
Wyatt grabbed the bottle and stared at the label. "Oh my god...you've got to be kidding me..."
"Give it back, Wyatt," Chris demanded.
"How long have you been on these?"
"Stop making such a big deal out of this, Wyatt! I only use them once in a while, okay?" Chris answered defensively.
Wyatt was freaking out now. "Don't think I'm stupid, Chris. The prescription label was from last week and already half the bottle is gone. How many of these are you taking??"
Ryan began to understand why Wyatt was so livid. He himself found it hard to believe that Chris, the most mature and sensible for the three of them, would be turning to anti-depressants.
All the questioning brought Chris' defenses up. "Just give it back, Wyatt."
"Like hell I will. So you can kill yourself with these?!"
"GIVE IT BACK!!!" Chris yelled as he made a grab for the bottle.
Wyatt backed away at the last minute, causing Chris to knock the bottle to floor and pills to scatter all over the floor.
"Gee thanks, Wyatt. Now I have to go get another prescription!!" Chris hollered angrily as he pushed past his brothers and ran down the stairs.
Wyatt and Ryan chased after Chris and caught up to him as just as he got to the sidewalk. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"None of your damn business!"
"It's my business if you're trying to kill yourself!"
Chris' eyes flared in anger and he pushed Wyatt hard. "Get away from me. You don't own my life! Just leave me alone!!" Turning around, Chris ran towards the street as the rain poured down on him. He didn't know what happened next, but he remembered hearing a lot of yelling behind him.
"CHRIS!!! WATCH OUT!!!!"
Chris felt an immense pain as he felt himself flying through the air...
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The operation ward door opened as the young doctor stepped out. Everyone rushed towards the doctor, hoping for good news. "How is my son?" Piper asked anxiously.
"He lost a lot of blood but he's not in any danger right now," the doctor informed the relieved family.
"Thank you so much, doctor," Paige answered, managing to smile for the first time in hours.
"But..."
"But?" Piper asked, not liking the sound of that word.
"Your son damaged his legs irreparably in the accident. We tried but we couldn't repair them..."
"What does that mean?" Wyatt asked.
"It means that he is paralyzed from the waist down. He actually can't feel anything in his legs right now."
"When will he be okay?" Phoebe asked.
"In 95 of cases, this paralysis will be permanent."
There were no tears, no gasps, no screams. Everyone took the news very calmly, which the doctor found rather odd. However, he shrugged it off, attributing the reaction to shock.
"Can we go see him?" Ryan asked.
"Sure," the doctor answered. "Just remember that he needs lots of rest."
"So he can be discharged?"
"Yes," the doctor answered. "But he should be resting in bed as much as possible for the next few weeks at least. Then we can see if we can put him in a rehabilitation program."
Everyone nodded and the doctor went on his way. Once they were alone again, they called for Leo and he orbed in. "Okay, we'll take Chris home first and then you can heal him," Piper stated.
And so everyone went through the paperwork to get Chris discharged and they wheeled Chris home in the wheelchair that the hospital provided. While everyone was just happy that Chris was okay and that he would be healed once they got home, Chris remained awfully silent, staring out the window the whole trip home while tears streamed down his face non-stop.
Once home, Leo got to work healing his son while everyone just looked on. Wyatt had a few choice words for Chris but he decided that they could wait until Leo finished his healing.
Everyone's heart dropped when Leo looked up at them in confusion. "It's not healing..."
"What do you mean it's not healing?" Piper asked, her voice becoming tense as her breathing sped up.
"It won't heal!" Leo said, his voice becoming desperate.
"That's impossible! You must be working on the wrong spot..."
"It's the right spot. But his legs aren't healing!!"
Chris just stared out the window as he sat in the wheelchair. "Don't bother, Dad. It won't heal."
Everyone's head snapped to attention at the statement. "What are you talking about?" Wyatt asked.
"It won't heal," Chris stated again. "When I stripped myself of my powers, I also shielded myself from any magical healing. So your healing won't work..."
Piper let out a cry of anguish. "Chris...oh my god...what did you do that??"
"Reverse the spell..." Ryan pleaded.
Chris eyes filled with tears as he shook his head. "It was a non-reversible spell...I'm sorry..."
The room looked on in stunned silence.
"No...this has to be a mistake. There has to be a way..." Wyatt repeated over and over again, refusing to believe Chris' words.
Chris broke down in tears as he realized that he will indeed never walk again. He will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. "This is my punishment...this is my punishment..." he whispered to himself.
"Shut up, Chris...we'll fix this..." Wyatt cried.
"Don't you get it, Wyatt? Melanie got hit by a car and died because of me...this is my punishment. This is what I deserve!!" he yelled before wheeling himself into the library and slamming the door hard behind him, locking himself away from his family.
The entire family refused to accept the cards that they had been dealt. This was too unfair. Chris did not deserve this, they thought. But as has been the case all his life, Chris was dealt the worst possible hand.
Meanwhile, Chris buried his face in his hands and sobbed. For someone who was used to being independent and in control, being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life was indeed the cruellest punishment possible. "This is my punishment...I deserve this..." he kept whispering to himself through his tears...
- to be continued -