1) I was done the chapter
2) I didn't feel like keeping you guys in suspense for too long.
3) It's Winter Break, so I don't have school!
4) I'm really ecstatic about #3.
5) Did I mention that I don't have school?
CHARMEDMILLIE - Yup, halvsies. Thanks!
VERSATILECUTIE - Thanks for the many, many compliments! And they say flattery will get you nowhere.
KK241289 - Don't worry, I'm lazy too. I'm freakin' cold right now, and I'm too lazy to get a jacket, although I feel like my fingers are going to freeze off. Ah well, at least I wouldn't have to get up. Teehee! Thanks for the review! MAGICALPRINCESS - Thanks!
ANDY20 - Thanks!
DARKANGER06 - Oh, don't worry, this isn't really the only climax. There's lots of stuff that they have to get through before becoming a big, happy family. Yups. Thanks for the review!
NAKITA24 - Thanks!
WINTERBLAZE - Thanks!
MYSTERIOUS MIDNIGHT - Yay, all caps! I LOVE all caps! Thanks for jumping! LILLYNILLY - Oh, the apathy is much. Thanks for the review, and I hope that you don't fall off your seat!
CHARMEDALI - Yups! Thanks!
CHAZZA - Tears? Yay! I achieved tears! Oh, and I recommend the Kleenex with lotion for wiping your eyes. All the others make your eyes even more watery and are irratants. :) I know from experience.
Chapter 14:
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Phoebe turned around and stared at the sobbing teenager behind her. It was hard to imagine that the girl in front of her was the same girl that was in her dreams. But, her premonitions had never lied to her before, and she had no evidentiary reason to believe that they were this time.
She walked over to Piper without the latter realizing it. She kneeled right by Piper's shaking form and pulled her into a comforting embrace, though Phoebe was close to tears herself. Piper quickly accepted the comfort, and buried her face into Phoebe's shoulder.
Phoebe took the time to look down Piper's back, and realized that her shirt rode up a bit. In the miniscule space seen by Phoebe's eyes, there were many long, thin marks on her back. Where they weren't the marks, where there should have been peach, her back was bright red. Phoebe now knew that what she had seen in her vision, and her dreams, was true. She knew that she had to do something to help her friend, even though she didn't know quite what to do. All she knew was that she had to get her friend out of that house. For good.
After Phoebe heard Piper's sobs calming down a bit, she decided to make her presence apparent and make Piper realize that she was not alone. "Lex?" she asked calmly, not wanting to alert her. Piper's head snapped up. She immediately recognized the voice.
When Piper looked up, that was when Phoebe could first she her friend's tear-stained face. She looked so devastated, so traumatized. Piper quickly let go of Phoebe, and backed up to the opposite side of the stall, which, in reality, wasn't very far away from where she originally sat. "What are you doing here?" she tried to spit, but it came out as more of a panicked question.
Phoebe was a bit startled by her friend's reaction, but then recalled the little threat that her friend's father had given. "Honey," she began calmly, trying not to scare Piper even further, "Can you show me your back?" Piper's eyes widened for a moment, and then she forced them back to their regular size. "Why?" she asked, lying well. 'Damn, she's good.' Phoebe thought. She would have believed her friend's clueless behavior if she didn't have her most recent premonition. "I know what your father has been doing to you." Phoebe stated simply.
That one caught Piper off guard. Although she had been somewhat expecting suspicion from her friend, she did not expect her to put the pieces together as quickly as she had. Also, she had not idea how Phoebe had figured out her little secret. How would Phoebe know that Piper's back had been hurt the night before, and that someone had done something to it? How could she know that it was her father, Daniel? And, if she had figured all of that out, how could she not have known that knowing the fact would put her life in danger?
"How did you know that?" Piper asked, voicing her thoughts. "That's not important right now. What is important is that you're hurt, and i need to help you." Phoebe said, and reached out her hand for Piper to take. Piper stared at Phoebe's hand, as if terrified by it. "B-but you CAN'T know." she said, her eyes pleading for Phoebe to deny it. Phoebe knew that ser best friend was scared, terrified, but she also knew that she needed help. "Alexa, I DO know whether you like it or not. And, either you can come to my house to take care of those marks on your back and any other injuries you have, or we can just spend the day sitting in this bathroom stall." Phoebe knew t seemed as if she was being a bit demanding of her friend, but she was worried. She wanted her friend to get help as soon as possible. It was also a more efficient alternative to breaking down about it, which was what she was doing on the inside.
"But... I don't want to cut classes." Piper defended weakly. Phoebe had to smile a bit at that. "Lex, just in case you didn't know it, you already are. And, I'm sure that if the school knew why you were skipping, they would allow it. After all, who said they were going to find out?" You're skipping with a pro." she said, trying to reassure pIper and coerce her into coming to the Manor.
Piper glanced at Phoebe's face, her hand, and back again. She slowly nodded, and grabbed onto Phoebe's hand. The two got up, and headed out of the bathroom together.
T:T:T
As the two girls entered the Manor, phoebe was silently gracious that Sam was out doing his whitelighter duty. She knew that he would flip if he found her coming home in the middle of a school day. Although, she knew that he would probably accept the reason that she was coming, she was not in the mood for a shouting match so that she could explain her side of the story. she also doubted that Piper would be in the mood for any aggressive behavior.
Phoebe led her friend over to the sitting room, and directed pIper to lie stomach-down on the couch. "Um... you should probably take your shirt off for this." Phoebe said uneasily, still unsure of whether or not Piper would bolt. She knew that her friend still had doubts about coming. Piper nodded her head, faced away from her friend, and took off her shirt, her bra still intact. She then laid down on the couch as directed, wincing ever so slightly from the bruises on her stomach.
It was then that Phoebe got a good look at the wounds on her friend's back. There were countless long, think marks where the whip had obviously broken through her skin. The rest of her back, and her sides, were bright red. There were also big, purple and blue bruises around the middle of her back, where her ribs were, and one that was near the very bottom of her back. The backs of Piper's arms were covered in bruises and scrapes as well, framing the delicate work on her back. Phoebe had to stifle a gasp at the horrible sight in front of her. Piper glanced up at her friend, and gave her a weak smile. "Um.. I guess I have to get some ice and some bandages." phoebe said, and headed off to the kitchen.
When she entered the room, she quickly headed over to the cordless phone. She knew that she had to call Prue, the only Halliwell sister with a cell phone. Prue had it on all the time, even during classes. Then, it was just on vibrate. Phoebe knew that she had to call her sister and let her know what was going on. She knew that she needed help, just incase this all involved magic.
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Prue was drifting off in another boring math class when she felt a slight vibrations on her waist. She inconspicuously glanced down at her side, and found that her cell was vibrating. She immediately grew worried, as her sisters were the only ones who knew that she had her cell during her classes, and they only called for emergencies.
She shot her hand up into the air. "Um... Mrs. Dunaway, may I please go to the nurse's office? I feel sick." she said, hoping her teacher would buy it. Mrs. Dunaway was the most evil math teacher at the school, with horrible mood swings and a voice that sounded like a deranged southern chipmunk's. "Fine." Mrs. Dunaway said, and Prue headed out of the room.
She ran into the nearest ladies room, and looked at the screen on her phone to see who had called her. she was bit startle to find that it was the Manor's number on the ID. "Phoebe." she whispered under her breath, knowing that she was the only sister that would skip school like that. She called the number back, and Phoebe picked up after the first ring.
"Hey, pheebs, why the hell did you call me from the Manor?" Prue asked, immediately annoyed with her younger sister. "Prue, it's important." Phoebe responded. "Pheebs, everything is important with you." Prue siad, rolling her eyes, though she knew that Phoebe couldn't see it. "No! This is REALLY important. I found out the identity of the mystery girl from my dreams." Phoebe responded quickly. THAT caught Prue off guard.
"What? This fast?" Prue asked. "Yeah, I had a premonition this morning, and I brought her to the Manor. I'm going to start treating her wounds after I get off of the phone with you." Phoebe said. "Who is she?" Prue asked. "Just get Paige and Leo, and meet me at the Manor." Phoebe said, and hung up the phone on her older sister.
Prue pulled the phone away from her ear, and stared at it for a moment. sHe was normally the one that hung up on Phoebe, not the other way around. But, she quickly got over the shock, as she needed to get her sister and whitelighter. she was really worried about who the girl was, as she had seen the wounds on Phoebe the previous Friday night for a brief moment. she knew that the wounds probably hurt like hell.
She quickly ran out of the bathroom, and slyly walked down the hall to Paige's recent period. The three sisters had memorized each other's and Leo's schedules, just in case an occasion like this one arose. She stood outside the small window and looked into the classroom, trying to be noticed only by her youngest sister.
Luckily, she spotted Paige in the front of the classroom, in clear sight of the window. She much have really been bored, as she was glancing all over the classroom. Prue was praying that her youngest would her notice her soon, as worried that someone would catch her.
Suddenly, Paige jumped a bit, and stared at the door. Prue was a bit startled, but then realized that Paige must have spotted her. She waved her hand, motioning to the hallway. Paige must have gotten the idea, as she raised her hand and said something to her teacher. He nodded, and she headed out of the door with her backpack.
"Thank God we have a reputation for being sickly." Paige said once the two were safely a little ways down the hallway. "Yeah, but that's mostly due to all the times we've used being sick as an excuse for demon vanquishes." Prue pointed out. "True, too true." Paige agreed. "Why did you ask me out here, anyway?"
"Because," Prue said, " Pheebs called from the Manor. sHe found out the identity of the mystery girl." "The one from her dreams?" Paige asked. Prue nodded. "The one and only. That's why we're calling Leo as soon as we get in my car." "Who is she?" Paige asked, intense curiosity in her tone. "I have no clue." Prue admitted. "She just told me to get down there right away." "Oh, the forever secret-keeping Pheebs." Paige said sarcastically. "Hey, she kept this whole dream thing a secret until last night. And, she's been keeping the girl's identity a secret, for now, at least." Prue defended the 'middle' sister. "Yeah, so that makes two secrets kept." Paige argued. Prue shrugged, and said "I guess you're right. Two it is."
T:T:T:T
AN: Okay, not really much of a cliffy, but lots of stuff will happen in the next chapter, don't you worry! I'll probably update quickly again, but again, I might not. But, the odds are tipped in that favor due to the fact that I don't have school! Please, please review, and sorry for the weird, random letters w/ accents before this little refresher!