Take Me Home | CHONI

chapter four - refugee of the past

Cheryl was seated on a stool near the shelves of the other division stall; elbows on her laps, hands on her head. She was infuriated. She tried so hard to calm down, but it seemed like her anger issues had gotten worse over time.

"Cheryl," Betty called, her right hand holding a bottle of water.

Cheryl leaned back, her blank eyes pointed ahead.

Sighing, Betty dragged another stool to sit beside her. "Here." She passed the bottle of water, which Cheryl received tiredly. "What happened? I heard you yelling. Was it at Toni?"

Cheryl didn't reply right away. She twisted the lid to open the bottle and drank half its load. "I was mad... I'm still mad," she replied with a low tone. "She's so pretentious, Betty. She's acting like she's innocent. I hate it."

"I get that you still feel this way, okay? I'm mad at her too. I'm on your side," Betty replied.

"Hmm." Cheryl exhaled. "All my life, I've acted tame and demure." She looked at her cousin with firm and teary eyes. "I've been raised that way and then got treated like an underdog for being too kind. This is me now. And I don't wanna change it because this way, I live more than what I did feeling at least free and not restricted."

Betty nodded and caressed Cheryl's arm twice. "I understand... Have some rest. Is your leg okay?"

"Yeah," Cheryl muttered. "It'll be fine. Thanks."

...

"So... we're stuck in here." Veronica sighed, leaning her head back against the wall. "These kids are gonna live with trauma because of this."

"Aren't we all?" Toni replied.

"Can I ask, Toni?"

Toni hummed. "About?"

"A lot of things." Veronica faintly chuckled. "What happened to us? Honestly, you felt like a stranger to me earlier. I don't understand why. Probably of your look."

"Look? I still have the same stupid pastel pink highlights. What's new with that?"

"Exactly. You have the same features, but what I was referring to were your eyes, your body language. What happened to you? We barely talked and I wanted to visit you, but you kept on declining. Why?"

Toni glanced at Veronica. "I can't answer your question right now, V. Surviving is a lot more important than that."

Veronica exhaled through her nose. "Okay. I respect that... What about Cheryl?"

Toni looked down. "What about her?"

"Have you guys talked?" Veronica sympathized. She knew their story from day one. She was there every single step of the way until the saddest part of their relationship. "I hate seeing you two like this."

Toni scoffed, sarcastic. "It's been almost 7 years, V. Haven't you been used to it by now?"

Veronica shook her head. "I'm still hoping for the best, Toni. You guys spent years together—I got used to seeing you walk together, like everyday until we graduated high school. You shouldn't have left her."

"I said that to her, too. That I'll never leave her. 6 years straight, can you imagine? She believed that until I fucked up." Toni dropped a tear from her left eye. "If I didn't, we would still be together up till now. I guess."

"Hey, guys." Archie came over, together with Fangs and Jughead. "Sorry, did we interrupt?"

"No, it's fine," Toni replied and sniffled.

The men squatted on the floor, positioned facing the ladies.

"How have you been Toni?" Archie asked. "I've heard you recently assisted a pregnant lady giving birth in a store."