CHAPTER 2: CALLS AND LETTERS
It has been whole two months since Piper moved to san Francisco. She started her night club "P3", jogged every morning and she bought puppy and named him Chuckie.
Her and Leo spent plenty of time together, they were going on swimming pool, to the cinema, and often cooked together at Piper s place. Piper teached him to make some meals and he was sooo proud of it!
One morning Piper and Leo were jogging few blocks away.
"Wanna come to dinner this evening?", asked Piper with smile and added "It is a special occasion."
"Really?", asked Leo "What is it?"
She giggled and replied:
"My birithday."
Leo stopped and looked to her. She was soooo sweet!
"Happy birithday", he whispered, leaned and kissed her on cheek.
"Thanx", she blushed from the kiss "So, will ya come?"
"Of course. Who else is coming/"
"Nobody. My sisters have to work as well as Dad, so they can not travel from New York. You will save me from loneliness."
"I will be there", said Leo with warm smile.
"Great! Come on, lets race!", Piper ran like a wind and came first toward her mailbox. They were both laughing sooo much!
"You are terrible!", Leo teased her.
"Heeeey!", Piper pretended that she is amd and they both laughed. Than Piper noticed envelope in her mailbox. Still smiling, she took it out and opened it.
Smile disappeared from her face and Leo saw it.
"Piper? What is wrong?", he asked with worry.
Piper was lost for a moment in her thoughts and than she put on a false smile.
"Nothing! See ya in the evening!"
She ran to her house, closed the door and leaned on them. She looked again to letter. In it were letters cutted from newspapers, from headlines. Whole letter was one sentence:
"I AM WATCHING YOU"
Piper put a hand on her mouth and sobbed:
"Dear God!", she whispered "How did he found me?"
She went to living room and sat on a couch, staring at letter. She heard knocking at doors, but did not opened.
Leo was worried for her. Something was wrong with that letter.
"Piper", he called her and knocked one more time on doors "Piper, it is me. Open up, please."
Nothing. Leo went to his house and picked up the phone.
Piper jumped on sound of telephone. She was afraid to pick it up. All was coming back, all fear was coming back…
"Calm down, Piper", she picked up the phone "Hello?"
"Piper, are ya there? Why aren t you answering? I was knocking on your doors", said Leo concerned.
"Sorry…I…I was in the bathroom", lied Piper.
"Is everything okay?", he asked with worry.
"Yeah", Piper lied again, trying to stop tears "You are coming this evening, right?"
"Yes, I am", he replied.
"See ya than", she said and hang up the phone.
Her heart was bleeding. She did not wanted to involve Leo in all this. She ran away to San Francisco to start a new life.
"And that is what you are going to do, Piper Halliwell", she told to herself. She sighed deeply and got up to go to take a shower.
Water cleared her mind and she felt so much better. She put CD "In Blue" from "The Corrs" and started to work in the kitchen.
It was around 19:30 when Leo knocked on Piper s doors. She opened up, wearing long brown dress. Leo could not take his eyes of her!
"Happy birithday!", he smiled and kissed her on cheek "You look beautifull, Piper!"
She blushed and said:
"Thank you. Come in."
Leo came inside and handed her bouquet of red and white roses and a present.
"These are for you", he said.
"Thank you, Leo", Piper closed her eyes, enjoying in the beautifull scent of roses. She put them in vase and took a package, asking playfully "What is this?"
"Open it", Leo smiled.
"Okay", she said with smile and unwrapped the paper. First thing she saw was small salt-bowl. Piper laughed, feeling tears of joy in her eyes. Than she took out small black box and opened it. Her breathing stopped.
"Oh, Leo", she whispered as she took out necklace of white gold in shape of thousand little stars.
"Do you like it?", Leo asked.
"I love it", she breathed, eyes full of tears "Thank you."
"Here let me help you to put it on", he took a necklace and put it around piper s neck, than looked back to her "Beautifull."
Their eyes met. They were five milimetres away from each other. Leo caressed her cheek and leaned in to kiss her. Piper closed her eyes…
…But, before his lips touched her lips, huge rock came flying through window, missing Piper for just few milimetres!
Piper screamed from a top of her lungs.
"What a hell!", Leo jumped and rushed to porch to see who did it.
In that moment, phone rang. Piper picked it up:
"Yes?", she said on phone.
"I am watching you, Piper", she heard male s voice.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!", she screamed in phone. In the same moment Leo came back. She screamed one more time 'JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!", she hang up the phone, threw it on floor and fell on the floor crying and trembling all over her body. Leo rushed toward her.
"Piper", he kneelt beside her and hugged her tightly "Sssshhh, calm down, I am here."
She buried her face in his embrace, sobbing loud. In that moment, phone rang again. Piper buried her face even more in Leo s embrace like she wants to run away from everything.
"It is okay, it is okay", he tried to calm her down and added "I will answer", he took the phone and said "Hello? Yes, she is here. Just a minute", he handed phone to Piper "It is your sister Phoebe. Do you want me to go out?"
"No", whispered Piper through tears "Do not leave me", she took phone, nestling herself in Leo s embrace "Phoebe?", she cried.
"Piper? Piper, honey, what happened?", asked Phoebe with worry.
"Phoebe…he is back…Stewart found me", Piper s voice shivered.
"Oh, my God!", panicked Phoebe "Are you alone?"
"No, Leo is here", said pIper through tears.
"Good. Do not stay alone for a minute. Piper, tell everything to Leo. He might help ya. Gee, if only I could be there! Listen to me, Piper, you have to call police!"
"I am afraid that he will hurt me…or Leo if I do that", said Piper through tears.
"Honey, you have no choice. You have to do that!", Phoebe was determined. Piper sighed:
"I know. You are right, Pheebs."
"Okay? I will call you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep. Now, give me Leo on phone. Bye, honey!"
"Bye, thank ya, Phoebe!", said Piper and gave phone to Leo "She wants to to talk to you."
Leo took phone and listened to Phoebe.
"She will explain you everything. Please, just do not leave her alone, Leo", begged Piper.
"Do not worry, Phoebe , I will not", replied Leo.
When he hang up the phone, he looked to Piper.
"Piper…Tell me your secret…Tell me what is going on."Piper sighed deeply and started to talk:
"Stewart is guy who has a crush on me since high school. I told him for million times that I am not interested in him in that way. But, he just does not accept no as an answer", she wiped her tears away "One night I was coming from job and he waited for me in bush and attacked me", her voice shivered "He threatened with gun to me and told me that he will kill me if he ever sees me with other guy. Than he kicked me terribly and ran away. Somehow, I have managed to truckle to nearest house and called for help. He got injuction to come close to me, but that did not stopped him. That s when I have decided to move to san Francisco."
"Did he ever", asked Leo "did he ever hurted you…sexually?"
Piper shooked her head no.
"No, thank God."
Leo hugged her and than got up.
"Come on. You are sleeping at my place this evening."
"Thank you", whispered Piper.
They went to Leo s house. He made bed for her and wanted to go.
"Where are you going?", she asked frightened.
"To other room", he replied.
"Leo, please…", she whispered with eyes full of tears "Stay with me, please, I am so afraid", she bursted to cry and Leo quickly hugged her.
'All right", he quietly said "Calm down, I am here, do not worry", he covered her with blanket and hugged her, kissing her hair "Try to get some sleep."