Chapter 10
It had been almost a week since Phae had her visit from her aunts, and she was more than happy that she hadn't heard from them. She stopped outside her door and rummaged around in her bag for the keys.
"Ugh. Damn," she swore silently. "I left my keys inside."
Rolling her eyes, she glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then raised a hand and held it in front of the door, willing it to open. After a moment or two, she heard a click and, with a triumphant smile, Phae walked into her house….
…and froze instantly. "What the hell!"
Piper and Phoebe were standing in the hallway, a few boxes in front of them, talking. Paige came down the stairs, holding another box. All three of them turned to look at Phae.
"Hi, sweetie! We were wondering when you'd get home," Paige said chirpily.
A thunderous expression on her face, Phae stormed over to where her aunts were standing. Without a word, she waved a hand, and two of the boxes flew up the stairs, coming to a halt at the top as Piper froze it.
"Just what do you think you're doing, young lady?" Piper asked, folding her arms.
Phae mimicked the movement. "I should be asking you the same thing. I mean, I come into my house and see all of my things in boxes and you're asking me what I'm doing?" she asked indignantly.
"You have no idea how long it took us to pack all of these things, and we are not letting it go to waste."
"Well, actually, Piper, since Paige was orbing everything and all," Phoebe started, but Piper accidentally-on-purpose stepped on her foot. "Ow!"
"Sorry, Phoebs," Piper replied, not sounding sorry.
Phae glared at Piper. "If you think that by doing this you will make me change my mind, then you have no idea how mistaken you are."
"Oh, we're not making you change your mind," Piper replied. "We're making you go no matter what you want."
"Uh, Piper, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say," Phoebe informed her older sister as the new Halliwell gave them a death glare before whirling around and storming up the stairs to her room. The two younger sisters winced as they heard the door slam.
Piper sighed and sat down on the stairs, Phoebe sitting down beside her. Piper held her head in her hands, at a loss.
"Piper, I know it's hard for you and all, but maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I mean, it is her life. Shouldn't she be allowed to make her own decisions?" Paige asked, folding her arms. "I know how hard it is for her. I mean, I felt the same way when I found out that I was a witch."
"Paige, Phaedra knows she's a witch. She's known ever since birth!" Piper said, raising her head to look at her younger sister, the lost Halliwell witch.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to go see if I can talk some sense into her," she informed Phoebe.
Phoebe nodded. "I'll see if I can talk some sense into Piper."
"Hey, I heard that," came Piper's reply, sounding a little muffled as her head was in her hands once more.
This time Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Tell me again how many teenagers we have?" she said sarcastically, directing the question at Piper.
Paige gave a little smile and orbed out, reappearing in front of the closed door.
The half-Whitelighter knocked on the door. "Phaedra? Sweetie? It's your aunt Paige. Could I come in? I need to talk to you."
"Go away!" the younger witch screamed through the door.
Paige sighed and tried the doorknob. Locked. Figures, she thought. "Open up or I'm coming in."
"What're you gonna do, blow up my door?"
Closing her eyes, she orbed into the room. "No, I'll orb in."
Phae lifted her head from the pillow, waving a hand and telekinetically throwing another pillow at her aunt.
"Pillow," Paige said simply, directing the object back to the bed.
Phae sat up, glaring at Paige. "What do you want?" she asked scathingly, her voice trembling a little.
"I told you, I just want to talk."
Phae turned her face back to the pillow. "There's nothing to talk about. I don't have anything to say to you anymore."
Paige raised an eyebrow, surprised. Was she giving up already? She walked over and sat down on the girl's bed.
"Honey, believe me when I say that I know how you feel. When Prue die-decided to move to Thailand, I was called. Before that I had been living my life thinking that my adoptive parents were my real mom and dad, and that I was just a normal girl who was once a rebel and now wanted to make a difference in the world. Then I met Piper and Phoebe, and it took me a while to realize that I could make a difference in the world without being a social worker. So I became a full-time witch, part-time babysitter and worked temp jobs. And now we can make a difference again. In your world."
"That's just bull and you know it," Phae shot back weakly. "Get the hell out of my room."
"Not until you hear me out completely. The reason why we want you to move in with us is because we can take care of you. There are demons out there, demons with powers that your friends can't handle, but we can. We can help you, Phaedra, but only if you'll let us. We can look after you like you're our own daughter, which in a way you are. Honey, I promise we'll do all we can to make sure you never feel alone," Paige replied, putting a hand on Phae's back.
To her surprise, the young witch didn't resist. Instead, she sat up and looked at Paige, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't want to leave. I have so many memories here. Like when I was little and me and Nana went to Disneyland and to parks and beaches and we went on holiday and when I met Dawn and the others and when I realized all my powers and…and…" she broke down.
Paige cautiously hugged her, and once again Phaedra didn't fight back. "It's okay, sweetie. We understand if you don't want to move right now, but for how long are you going to continue living alone?"
Phaedra pulled back. "I want to go, but I don't want to seem too enthusiastic about it. God, aunt Paige, you have no idea how much I want to go with you guys. I totally want to meet my cousins and see my mom's old room and what the house is like, and I would have agreed sooner but I couldn't. I didn't want to leave behind my friends. They're like my family, Aunt Paige, and I can't leave them behind."
Paige suppressed a smile, happy that Phae was finally opening up and calling her 'Aunt Paige'. "I know. But if you want to visit you know I can always orb you here. I would be more than happy to and you know it."
Phae nodded. "I know. Thanks. A lot. For everything. Especially helping me pack. I mean I have no idea how I would have done everything myself," she said, giving a little laugh that soon turned into a hiccup.
Paige grinned and orbed in a glass of water, handing it to Phae. "You're welcome. So. Are you ready to go down and tell the others that you're ready to move?"
Phaedra hesitated, then shook her head. "No. Could you tell them for me? I kinda want to tell Dawn and Willow and Buffy and Tara and the others. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is, honey. Come on, I'll orb you there."
Paige waved her hand and a swirl of blue and white light enveloped the young girl, sending her to The Magic Box. When the light cleared, she orbed herself downstairs, feeling happy at her accomplishment.