Chapter 1
Paige stood by the coffee pot with two freshly poured cups of coffee in her hands. She moved to the kitchen table and sat down next to Phoebe, her older sister. She passed one of the mugs to her sister as she yawned a bit. "Thanks", Phoebe told her smiling as brightly as she could at 7a.m. "No Problem", Paige said as she took a sip of her coffee. Phoebe was reading the paper quietly as she did every morning.
"Are you working today?" Paige asked her curiously.
"Yea but not to long. I just need to finish this weeks article and give it to Elise. Then I can come home to some much needed rest and relaxation", Phoebe told her smiling. Paige nodded and looked up as Piper stepped into the room. "Good morning", she told her eldest sister pleasantly. Piper only glanced at Paige and gave her a bit of a nod. Paige sighed growing quiet as her gaze shifted to her coffee. Piper had yet to accept her into the family. She was always short tempered and irritable around her. Paige understood that her sister was still grieving but she didn't have to be so grouchy. After all it wasn't her fault that Prue had died.
Phoebe turned her gaze to her half sister and gently patted her shoulder for comfort. Paige glanced at her and smiled gently. Phoebe had accepted her immediately when she found out and always strived to get to know her better. Piper, however, wasn't even trying, it was as if she had hardened her heart to everyone she didn't already know. "Well I have to go. If I'm late again my boss will kill me", Paige said as she stood up. She worked at Social Services for Mr. Cowen. She loved to help people, so she loved her job. The only problem though was she was usually late which irritated her boss horribly. "Bye," she called as she walked out. One day Piper would accept her. Atleast she hoped Piper would.
Phoebe watched Paige go before facing Piper. She watched her sister busy herself with making more coffee and breakfast. She knew her sister well enough to know she was trying to keep herself occupied so she wouldn't think about what was missing in their lives. Morning's were what seemed like the most difficult for both sisters. Prue was usually at work during the day and most of the night, so neither sister usually saw her. Prue had always made an effort though to see them in the mornings or at P3 at night. Phoebe turned her gaze to the seat across from her where her sister used to sit, reading the paper and drinking her coffee. Prue had always been the first one up and the last one down in the manor. Now though it was either Phoebe or Piper who were first up something that hurt more then anything. Even though Phoebe hated the fact that her eldest sister would always get up and drain the hot water leaving only the cold water for her to shower in. She found herself missing the cold showers. She even missed the arguments that on occasion she would have with her big sister. The manor seemed so quiet now, and so lonely. But no matter how much losing Prue had hurt it wasn't right for them to shut Paige out. She turned her gaze to Piper again, watching her a moment before speaking.
"Do you want to talk Sweetie?" she asked gently.
"No," Piper replied after a moment.
"It would help to talk", Phoebe tried again.
"It hurts to talk Phoebe, it hurts to Breathe, it hurts to be alive knowing she is gone. So no I don't want to talk", Piper said her voice shaking slightly.
"Honey its never going to stop hurting, the pain will just lessen", Phoebe said as she stood up. Piper rested her hands on the counter quietly.
"Prue wouldn't want you to be so sad", she whispered.
"No, Prue wouldn't want to be dead, Phoebe. She would have wanted to live and to save that doctor's life", Piper barked turning to face her sister. "It's not fair Phoebe. We did so much good together and none of that seems to matter now. She's gone and theirs not a dang thing we can do about it", she said as tears found their way to her cheeks.
"I know Piper, but there is nothing more we can do. We just have to grieve and then move on", she whispered as she wrapped her arms around her.
Piper shook her head as she cried. "Why do we have to lose Prue though? Why couldn't we have saved her", she whimpered.
Phoebe held her sister tightly as tears of her own began to slide down her cheeks. She turned her gaze to Leo as he orbed into the room. She let him take Piper from her as she wipped the tears from her face. She watched Piper grip Leo's shirt tightly as her body quacked from the sorrow inside of her. She walked out of the manor with the heavy heart.
Phoebe had been at work for two hours and still didn't know how to answer the question that a reader had written to her. "How's it coming Phoebe", her boss, Elise, asked as she stepped into the room.
"Not good," Phoebe said taking her glasses off and rubbing her temples.
"Well, what's the question?" she asked as she shut the door and leaned against it.
Phoebe sighed as she picked the letter up. "Dear Phoebe, I recently lost someone who was really close to me, and I'm having trouble moving on. How do I move on, knowing that I will never see this person again?" she read aloud.
"And you don't know how to answer it because the question hits to close to home right?" she asked gently.
Phoebe thought for a moment before nodding. "I don't know how to answer this because I haven't figured out how to move on yet. Prue was such a big part of my life and now she's just gone. I just don't know how to deal with this", she answered as she out her hands over her eyes.
"Phoebe take my advice, go home and relax. Take some time to heal and then come back to answer the question", Elise told her. Phoebe looked at her for a moment before nodding. She watched Elise leave the room before turning her computer off. She stood and grabbed her purse. She moved to the door and shut the lights off quietly. Phoebe left the Bay Mirror wondering silently within herself if she would ever find the answer to that question.