Secret's From the Past.

Chapter Three


Whatever went on back then did not end well.
There was nothing more Paige could do. She had just found out something very private about Phoebe's past and wasn't sure what to do about it.
For now she put the letters away and lie back on the bed and tried to think of a happier time.


Phoebe was on her way to work when a large truck cut right in front of her, causing her to slam on the breaks to avoid being hit. The truck just sped off as if nothing had happened.
She wanted to chase it down and knock some sense into the driver but chose to let it go and continued on her way to work.
Moments later another truck cut her off and this time she knew it wasn't just a coincidence.


This time she chased after the truck and followed it down a dirt road into the industrial section of the city and watched as it pulled up on the side of the road and she saw the door of the truck open and who else was there but Cole.
He hopped down and walked towards Phoebe and she put her foot on the gas and drove full speed towards him and just before she was to make contact he orbed away and Phoebe had to slam on her breaks again to stop from crashing into a large metal fence.


She got out of the car and stood staring at Cole with a very pissed off look on her face, "What the hell do you want? If you want to kill me get it over with. Just stop bothering me or my family."
"I always loved your feistiness Phoebe." Cole smiled smugly then walked towards her, "I have no plans to kill you Phoebe. If it's the last thing I do I will get you to love me again. We will have that life we talked about. The more you fight it the more I will hurt the ones you love."


"Your threats don't scare me anymore. You will try and kill them no matter what. Because you know that they have the power to bring me back from your grasp. So do your worst. Living in fear is not something I'll ever do." Phoebe said with a sense of calm she hadn't felt in a long time, then got back into her car.
Cole walked up and stood beside it and motioned for Phoebe to roll her window down.


She rolled in down and waited for his big speech.
"What I've found is that people always talk tougher than they really are. Then when tragedy does strike all that brave facade just crumbles. As will yours when you watch your family die, one by one." Cole said with a cold blank stare, "Never forget you could prevent this. When they die your to blame."


Phoebe rolled up her window and drover back to the highway. Instead of going to the office she had a strong urge to get back home so that's where she headed.


Piper had finished two potions and was half way through another one when she needed a break and looked around for Paige.
After looking around the main floor she walked upstairs and looked into her room and saw her curled up on her bed sound asleep.


She closed the door and walked back into her bedroom and once again grabbed that box Cole left and picked up the key he left for her and put it in her pocket. She then grabbed the address and did the same with it and headed back downstairs.
What she wanted to do was catch the next flight to England find out if this were a big hoax or if, and she knew it was a gigantic IF, but if there was any chance her mom was alive she had to check it out.


Piper's only concern now was how to do this in the middle of a crisis. What would happen if Cole were to die before she had a chance to check this all out. Would he be so diabolical that he would have her killed if something happened to him?
Then she started wondering about what impact those letters about Phoebe and Paige would have on all of them. Were they real. Was it possible for any of that to be true?


She knew there was only one way to find out and that was to confront them and go from there.
now now she was ready to make some more potions and went back into the kitchen.


Phoebe walked into the living room and put her coat on the couch and then headed right upstairs.
She looked in on Paige sleeping like a baby and then went into her bedroom and pulled out that tape and put it in the VCR.


It took her about 5 minutes before she could hit the play button, but felt she had to know what was on it before she could bring it to Paige.
With a click of her thumb the tape began.


It started with the outside of a large college campus and then moved inside and to one of the large gymnasiums where a party was going on.
There were the usual live music and lots of dancing and even more drinking going on, but still no sign of Paige.


As the tape continued it left the gym and moved down the hall and it went into a rather large dorm room.
Inside the room was another mini party going on. About 20 people squeezed into a two bedroom apartment.


There were a great many pretty girls wandering about in the usual skimpy party outfits and then as the camera panned back Phoebe saw Paige for the first time.
She was so young in this video. Her hair was still long and dark and she was dressed to kill in a very short skirt and rather thin little halter top that really showed off her large round breasts.


Paige was dancing with two pretty girls and some guy and there really wasn't much happening besides that.
Phoebe hit the FF button and stopped when she saw some people leaving the room.


When she started it up again she heard someone saying there was some big party at another campus and most of the people left.
Paige stayed with another girl and there was one guy left and he was sitting on the phone talking to someone.


It was clear that Paige was very drunk as was the other girl, but they were still able to have some fun dancing very close together as the guy looked on with a smile.
When the guy hung up the phone he moved over to the girl and put his hands around her waist and then over her breasts and the girl pushed him away but wasn't upset at the time.


He stayed away from a minute or two then tried again and then time she was a little more annoyed and told him to get lost.
Paige also got involved and tried to push the guy off her friend and he turned and slapped her in the face knocking her back against the desk and hitting her head.


She fell to the ground unconscious.
Phoebe felt her heart stop for a moment as she saw Paige fall to the ground.
Soon she saw the man trying to take advantage of the girl and it started to get pretty nasty as he threw the girl on the bed and started to take off her clothes.


It was then that P cam came to and saw what was going on and tried to stand up and was still very dizzy from the fall and had rab rab the side of the desk to keep from falling again.
After she steadied herself she walked over to the bed and tried to pull the guy off her friend but he was much bigger than she was and she couldn't budge him.


When he felt her tugging on his arm he pushed her away and then got off the bed and was walking towards her.
The girl on bed bed was so out of it she didn't even move.


Paige was backed into a corner and the guy was moving closer and closer and he was not happy at all.
He grabbed her and pushed her too the ground and got on top of her and ripped off her halter top and started laughing as he tossed it away.


As he began lifting up her skirt Paige was searching around for something to grab to help her and she saw the large paper weight on the desk and knew that would do the trick.
With the man's hands beginning to reach up her thigh and move closer to her panties she just reached out for the paper weight and it was in her hand instantly and she took a big swing of her hand and hit him over the side of the head and he fell beside her and Paige got up and ran over to the other girl who was sleeping now and helped her up and ran out the room and that's when the tape ends.


Phoebe was about to shut it off when Cole appeared on the tape.


"Hello Phoebe. I know this isn't a big bad secret, but it is enough to make all your lives miserable for a very long time. Now this is just one more thing you can avoid if you just do what I ask. Come back to me." Cole paused then walked over to a large room that was filled with video tapes, "See all these Phoebe? There are 1 million copies of this tape that will be sent out to every news station, radio station, TV station and wherever else I want to send it, if you do not stop this nonsense and come back to me where you belong. I'm tired of making threats. So this is the last one you will get. You decide the fate of everyone you know. Make the right choice."


The tape ended and Phoebe hit rewind and she sat back on her bed.
Phoebe tried to convince herself that the tape wasn't that big a problem. It could easily be a fake. Manipulated by Cole to make it look like Paige used magic.
Even if it was real would it really be that bad. She kept thinking that their job might be so much easier if they didn't have to do it in secret.


Then again she knew that if everyone on earth knew they were witches and had powers they'd never have a moments peace and they'd probably be targets for every country's CIA, FBI and any other organization that might want to use them for other things.
What she did know was that this was a problem. How big it might become was the hard part to figure out.


Piper walked into the living room and saw Phoebe's coat and looked around but didn't see her so she went upstairs.
She walked up to Phoebe's room and saw her sitting on the bed, "Hi there. You look like your doing some serious thinking."


Phoebe turned off the TV and walked over to where Piper was standing, "I was. I think it's time we all had a talk. There's some things I need to tell you both.
"Good, because I have to talk to you as well." Piper added quickly.
They both looked at each other as if a light bulb went off and they both said in unison, "Cole."


Paige heard Cole's voice and saw the girls standing outside her room and slowly got up and walked over to them, "What about Cole now?"
They all went downstairs and sat together on the big couch and Piper was the first to stand up and start talking and soon they all shared what Cole had sent them, including the very personal love letters between Prue and Phoebe.


Piper was truly shocked bys ans and also very angry that nobody had ever told her about it, "This is great. I'm just learning to get used to you with Paige and now I find out you've done this before with Prue? How many other secret's do you have Phoebe? Huh?"
Phoebe knew this was not going to be easy, "I'm sorry Piper. It was so long ago. We were both so young. So much has happened since them. Nothing happened between Prue and I after I returned 5 years ago."


"Well then, all is forgiven. Not. I can't believe this. I was just starting to trust you again. Completely. Now I feel I don't even know you." Piper was hurt and just kept walking in circles around the couch.
"Don't say that. You can trust me." Phoebe pleaded as she stood up and stood in front of Piper so she couldn't move anywhere, "I can't say anything that can take this back, but you know you can trust me."


"You know what, I don't know that. I asked you a question to. How many other secret's are you keeping? Here's your chance to come clean. Go ahead." Piper asked bluntly.
"What?" Phoebe asked, sensing Piper was trying to make some point about secrets, "I have no secret's. This wasn't a secret at all. It was something that was private. It was so long ago. It's not a secret though. I didn't think of it like that. You just don't know the whole story. We did not try and hide anything from you. It was just new and we didn't know what to say back then. We were young. Things were so much different. I know this doesn't mean anything, but we did want to tell you. We wanted you to be able to share what we felt. Be happy for us."


Piper was getting tired of being trapped and pushed her way past Phoebe and stood behind the couch, "None of that means anything now. Once again you've kept something from me that you shouldn't have. It's almost sickeningly ironic that Cole is the one to bring this to my attention. Makes me ill."


"Stop it Piper. Please. I can't say anything but sorry. I know you won't believe me but this has haunted me for years. But how do you tell your sister something like this? It's not that easy. Maybe I did chicken out. Maybe I did want things to remain good between us and maybe I am guilty of avoiding a big fight, but I only did it because I didn't want to hurt you. After Prue died I felt it was best to leave it in the past."


"I just bet you did." Piper shot back with pure sarcasm., "That's fine Phoebe. You got your way for years. Now it's out. Now I have to deal with this what, 5-10 years after it happened? I keep finding things out about you that you should be telling me first. I don't like that."
"Okay, you keep talking like I have all these secrets and I don't. If you have something more to say go ahead. Get it out." Phoebe asked, this time she was on the offensive.


"Sure, that way if I miss a few you can keep them secret's. But sure, let's start with your criminal record? Anything I should know about that?" Piper asked as her voice stayed at a very loud pitch.
Phoebe's face went white as she knew exactly what Piper was talking about. Her past was finally starting to haunt her the way she'd always feared it would, "Oh god. Don't you see this is what Cole wants. Us to be against each other. Stop trusting each other. Stop caring. Don't let him."


Paige stood up and walked up beside Piper and looked over at Phoebe, "I'd like to know about this criminal record of yours to. I don't see why you don't just tell us about it so we all know the same things here."


"Now your all ganging up on me? Fine." Phoebe snapped then sat down on the couch and took a couple deep breaths to calm down then she continued, "It happened after I left and was on my own for a few years. I was not in a very good place in my life and I made some bad choices. I got mixed up with this guy who seemed normal enough at the time. Sure he was a little shady, but I had no idea he was a big time criminal."


Piper and Paige sat down across from Phoebe and Paige was shaking her head at how this story was going so far.
"I don't need those dirty looks right now Paige." Phoebe said staring right at Paige. She then stood up and continued, "I just didn't care at that point. I wanted to forget the hurt and I really was just in it for the thrill. I got involved in a couple small little car thefts and I figured it was harmless fun. Then one night things got out of hand. Someone saw us and they tried to stop us and the guy I was with, Jimmy Flynn, he just starting beating the guy up. But he didn't stop. He just went crazy and he would've killed the guy if I wasn't there. The cops showed up and he was taken away and at the time that is all that happened."


Piper was feeling a little less angry as she heard the story unfold, "So, how did you get an attempted murder rap on your record?"
"Well after he got booked his lawyer tried to use me as a way to get him off. He tried to convince the police that I was the one who attacked the guy. He ended up getting the witness to agree to this, with a little incentive of course and that's when I found out I would be charged with attempted murder. The lawyer I had said it should be easy to prove I didn't do it. Jimmy's hands were really badly bloodied and bruised from his attack and along with his record it should've been a piece of cake. Unfortunately for me, Jimmy was also very rich and powerful and even got to my lawyer. I just got scared and ran back home to escape this situation for as long as I could.."


Paige and Piper were both relieved at this and moved over and sat down beside Phoebe and gave her a couple big hugs that had everyone back in a slightly better mood again.
Piper then told them about her letter and the key and the mansion in England and they all agreed they needed to get there soon.


Paige was going to make reservations when Piper pointed out they could just use her orbing powers to get there, which got a chuckle from her as she hung up the phone.
"Let's just get going. Cole won't know what were doing so let's go and find out what's in this place. I have to believe it's just a scam, but we have to be sure." Piper then left Leo a note and the three girls held hands and Paige orbed them just outside the mansion in England.


It was in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but grass and hills and miles of forest for miles and miles.
The mansion was made of that old style brick and looked to be about 4 stories tall and the length of a football stadium.


What was even more medieval about it was the long drawbridge they had to cross just to get into the main courtyard.
Under the bridge was a river that ran both east and west along the hills.
As they came into the courtyard they noticed an elderly man standing outside the entrance and walked over him.


"Hi. I'm Piper Halliwell and these are my sisters Paige and Phoebe. Were here to check out where this key might fit? Would you happen to know the answer?"
The man had a look at the key closely and was a bit surprised by who was holding it but as were his orders he opened the main doors and showed the girls inside.