Other Worlds - The Wilds

Chapter 27

AN: Sorry for the delay! The good news is I'm back in the zone. I've been writing all day and I've even made a little playlist with songs that I think really fit Shelby and Toni which actually helps me keep on task. Anyway, enjoy! Also feel free to recommend some Shelby/Toni songs for my playlist. 

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  Toni had no idea what Dot gave her but she actually felt better when she woke up on the bathroom floor the next morning. The sharp stomach pains were a little bit muted and the nausea that was constantly swirling in her gut was more intermittent.

  She peeled her sweaty body off the bathroom floor but had to grab onto the sink as she was hit with a sudden bout of lightheadedness. The bathroom was pretty much clean but she grabbed the cleaning products from under the sink just in case, gagging at the overwhelming scents of lemon and bleach.

  It took her about half an hour to clean the bathroom due to the periodic breaks she had to take when smell of cleaning products and the movement became too much.

  She switched the shower on and turned the dial to cold. She was still sweaty and hot so the cold water felt like heaven. She had no idea how long she stayed in the shower, just sitting under the running water and enjoying the feeling of the night being washed off of her.

  She suddenly remembered some of the more hazy details of the night, namely, the phone call with Shelby. She pieced the event back together in her mind, relieved to remember that Shelby had not done anything extreme and didn't threaten to call the cops. In amongst the relief, however, there was a flicker of disappointment. Toni dismissed the feeling as quickly as it came, she wasn't going to give up now. The cops couldn't have done anything anyway. The house was spotless and there would have been no cause for a warrant to search for the drugs that were probably sitting in a drawer somewhere. No, there was nothing anyone could have done. And it was over now anyway, all she needed to think about was the presentation.

  Fuck! School! Toni leapt out of the shower, stumbling as her head swam at the movement. She reached for her phone. 7:30am. Perfect, she still had time to read over her section and get ready. Not much time, but enough.

  Toni dried herself, throughly brushed her teeth, got changed and snuck out of the bathroom, careful not to raise Carol from her substance induced coma.

  When she got to her room she closed the door quietly and put her nearly dead phone on charge. She decided to ring Dot to tell her she was okay to go to school.

  "Hey," Toni said as Dot picked up, her voice was hoarse from the night before.

  "Are you okay?" Dot got straight to the point, not even bothering with greetings.

  Toni cleared her throat so her voice came out a bit smoother. "Yeah, I'm okay. Still sick but not too sick to do the presentation."

  "Are you going to tell Carol that you're okay to go or pretend you're still too sick and have the school catch her in a lie?"

  Toni hadn't even thought of that. Both options were terrible. If she told Carol then she would probably come up with another way to keep her home or fuck it up for her. But if she caught her in a lie that would probably be worse because not only would the school possibly get involved, but she would be humiliated. Toni knew by now that the best way to minimise the abuse was to work with Carol, not against her.

  "I think I have to tell her," she whispered.

  "Okay, well if you need anything, I'm here, okay?"

  Toni thought about that for a minute. Carol was going to be furious when Toni got home and she was not sure she could cope with a beating at whatever else Carol could think up to punish her; especially not while she was still in such a bad way after last night. Toni decided maybe she should ask for help.