Chapter 10

"Hi!" Phoebe exclaimed and she bustled through the door, her arms loaded full of grocery bags. Her daughter rushed to her side and relieved her of some of the burden and followed her mother into the kitchen silently.

Phoebe didn't look back at her daughter, but she knew something was wrong. She set the bags on the counter, motioned for Pricilla to put away the canned goods and Phoebe started unloading the perishables.

"You know," Phoebe said as she made a face at something she pulled out of the refrigerator, "When you were born I had the hardest time!"

"What?" Pricilla asked, taken off guard.

"Some women get post partum depression after their babies are born, simply because they don't know what's wrong with the little thing. With my being an empath, I knew exactly what was wrong and there was nothing I could do about it. It was so hard knowing that I couldn't explain to this tiny little creature that the world wasn't really that scary."

Pricilla turned from the pantry and looked at her mother. "So, what did you do?"

"Well," Phoebe replied picking up a container of cottage cheese, "I considered putting an empath blocky potion in your bottle."

"Mom!" Pricilla exclaimed.

Phoebe laughed and put a plastic bag into the trash can. "Well, obviously I didn't! Your Aunt Piper made me realize what a blessing it was, and as you got older I realized that I really was lucky. As you got older you learned naturally shield it so that I wasn't overcome by childhood emotion. I was especially thankful for it during puberty."

Pricilla laughed and put a box of lasagna noodles away.

"What are you getting at Mom?" she asked.

"I said you were able to shield it, not block it. Something is eating away at you so why don't you just tell me?" Phoebe said as she closed the refrigerator door.

Pricilla sighed and leaned against the wall. How was she supposed to tell her mother that her favorite cousin was losing her mind? Growing up, Melinda was always kind, and always put everyone before herself. She never lost her temper, always stayed level headed, and took pleasure in being treated like a princess by every male family member in her life.

"I'm worried about Melinda," Pricilla blurted. "She's acting strange."

"I agree," Phoebe said. "But, I think she'll be okay. Billie and I talked to her after the BBQ and she seemed better after that. She's just trying to find her place in the world."

"No, Mom." Pricilla insisted. "It's so much more than that! I can feel it. She is such a wreck right now that I can't even read her. When I'm around her I feel like hitting something, and when we were in the alley behind the movie theatre, I wanted to kill something."

Phoebe nodded, although she didn't sense any rage in her niece, she knew that her daughter's sense of empathy was stronger than her own. Phoebe learned years ago that she needed to trust in her children because not only were they witches, but they were also led by love… literally.

"What do you think is going on?" she asked her daughter.

"I think that she's turning," Pricilla said sadly.

"Turning how?" Phoebe asked, fearing what the answer was.

"Turning from good, Mom." Pricilla said fighting back tears. She couldn't bring herself to say the word evil.

"No," Phoebe said. "I trust in your instincts, but you're wrong! This is Melinda we're talking about Pricilla, not some random witch!"

"I know, Mom. We have to do something before she…."

Phoebe hugged her daughter tightly and they shared a tender moment. Tears were shed on both sides, and the moved into the living room where they could sit comfortably and chat. Even though she didn't want to admit it, Phoebe knew that her daughter had to be right.

The question was now, what could they do about it without alarming Piper? It would truly tear the family apart if they accused Melinda of becoming evil without reason, and Piper would never forgive them if Melinda did turn evil and they didn't do anything to help. They were certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Meanwhile…

Melinda was getting ready for her date with Tony. She danced to the music coming from her radio as she stood in her closet trying to pick the perfect outfit. She had never thought much about a relationship before, but her heart belonged to him. She was driving home from class one day when she had an unexpected blowout. She lost control of her car, but luckily she was able to use her power of telekinesis to guide it safely to the side of the road. She saved her own life, but she had banged her head pretty hard, and the airbag broke her arm. She sat at the side of the road, waiting for the cars to pass so that she could call one of her brothers to come heal her when Tony ran up beside her window.

That first image was forever burned into her memory. He was staring down at her with the most intense black eyes she had ever seen. His tanned face was almost glowing in the California sun that shone down on him. His black hair was matted down by the motorcycle helmet he held in his hand, and his muscular arms were bare under the leather vest that he wore.

He pulled the car door open and examined her, promising her that everything would be okay. He told her that he watched the whole thing happen in slow motion, and he had no clue how she pulled the car off to the shoulder, almost like it was magic. The car had struck the side rail, which inflated the airbags, but it was still drivable. He pulled out his cell phone, called an ambulance, and then Wyatt to come pick up the car. A week later, he called her at home and asked her out on a date. Ever since then they saw each other all of the time, and she frequently caught herself imagining herself in a wedding dress with him at her side.

Someone knocked on her door, pulling her out of her daydream.

"Come in," she called.

"Hey," she heard Billie say. "Going out?"

"Yeah," Melinda replied smiling. "Tony is taking me out sailing to watch the sunset."

"How romantic," Billie cooed.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Melinda giggled.

Billie crossed the room to Melinda's closet and inspected the contents.

"Well," she said. "If you're going sailing for a romantic sunset date, then you should definitely wear this!"

Billie pulled out a butter colored sweater with a dangerously low V neck and a sea green linen wrap skirt. She rummaged around the bottom of the closet and found a pair of strapless sandals that completed the outfit. Melinda's eyes were wide with enthusiasm and she squealed with delight.

"Don't forget this," Billie said as she reached down and unfastened an ankle bracelet from her own leg. "This will make everything perfect!"

"Thank you!" Melinda exclaimed hugging Billie. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you need something?"

"Oh," Billie answered. "I was just wondering if you could come over next weekend to help me. I was going through my storage shed and found a box that I haven't seen in 20 years. It's full of old pictures of my parents, and I thought maybe I could get your and your creativity to come help me scrapbook them."

"Sure!" Melinda replied as she fussed with her hair in front of her vanity. "Just let me know."

"Okay, it's a date then." Billie answered smiling. "I'll leave you to get dressed, have fun tonight!"

Billie left the room and cut down the hall to the bathroom. She rummaged through her purse and found her cell phone. Hitting a speed dial, she was instantly connected to Phoebe.

"Did you give her the charm?" Phoebe asked.

"Easy as pie," Billie whispered.

"Good, at least we'll know she'll be safe. I don't want to send her over the edge." Phoebe replied thoughtfully.

"Is this really necessary, Phoebe? She's a smart girl."

"I have to trust my daughter, and I can't let Melinda slip away so I'm not taking any chances. Thank you, Billie."

Melinda finished getting ready and went downstairs to wait for Tony to arrive. She felt good, she felt sexy and at ease. She thought about Pearl, and how much in love she was with Anton in the beginning and couldn't help but to think that she truly understood. It must have been so hard to send him away.

"DAMN! You look HOT!" Wyatt exclaimed as he caught sight of his kid sister in the sitting room.

"Thanks," Melinda laughed.

"Dude, that's your sister!" Chris exclaimed. "Whoa… you do look hot!"

Melinda threw her head back and laughed heartily. She knew that her brothers were full aware that she was going out with Tony, and that they were making an effort to make nice with her. She winked at them both and headed to the kitchen to get a drink.

"Shake it, don't break it," she heard Wyatt yell at her. Then she heard a thump, and Wyatt muttered something to Chris. She smiled to herself.

Billie was sitting at the table playing cards with Piper. They looked up as she walked in and Piper raised an eyebrow.

"You look nice," Piper said.

"Yeah she does," Billie added. "I picked that outfit out and she doesn't look half bad if I do say so myself!"

Melinda smiled and turned the sink on to fill her glass. Suddenly, she got a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. The water poured out of the faucet and overflowed the sink. There was an inch of water at her feet and she couldn't move. Terror racked through her body, she squeezed the glass so hard that it shattered in her hand. She watched her blood gush down, mixing with the water and turning pink as it swirled at her feet. She unleashed a scream.

Piper was in front of her, both hands firmly rooted on Melinda's shoulders. Billie stood off to the side staring at her. Melinda came to and looked around. The water at her feet was gone, the faucet water going down the drain as intended, and the glass was still in her hand.

"What's wrong?" Piper asked her, panicked.

"The water… it was flooding… I cut my hand… I couldn't move.. there was blood…. Everywhere!" she stammered.

Piper looked to Billie, and Billie shrugged in confusion. Wyatt and Chris came running in to find out what had happened. Piper explained to the boys what had happened, and they all sat down trying to figure out what had happened. The doorbell rang and Billie led Tony into the kitchen.

"Hey," Melinda said softly as he walked in and kissed her on the cheek. "I think I'm going to have to cancel."

"Why!" he asked as everyone else started to clear the room. Wyatt took Chris by the elbow and ushered him out.

"I'm just not feeling well," she said. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to go."

"It's your brothers isn't it?" he accused. "They talked you out of going out with me tonight!"

"No it's not my brothers, my family, or anybody else. I'm fully capable of making my own decisions!" she yelled.

"Then come on, lets go." He pleaded.

"No, Tony. I told you, I don't feel good! I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Fine," he said although everything was not fine. He had big plans for that night, and now her family was ruining it. "Call me when you feel better."