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TONI'S POV

"...It's worse than we thought."

The phrase knocked the wind out of me like a punch to the gut.

"W-w-what do you mean?" I blubbered. She gestured to the tiny peephole window on the door. I peered in and saw my girlfriend hooked up to a network of tubes.

"She's got a few broken ribs," the nurse said as calmly as she could, "They're pushing down on her lungs."

"Oh my god!"

"Miss Lodge said you observed some abnormal breathing patterns, correct?"

I nodded while stifling cries. I silenced my tears by cupping my hand over my mouth to cover the screams.

"She's lucky that you were so careful. If you hadn't been, her lung could've collapsed all together." She folded her arms with the clipboard underneath. "She's going to need immediate surgery, and since you're the only one on her contact list, I have to ask you if you want us to operate."

"Yes! Of course!"

She grinned, the smile lines etched on her face stretching. "Thank you Miss Topaz."

I stopped her from walking away, yelling, "Wait! Where do you want me to go?"

"Oh you can go home deary, and we'll call you when she's ready for visitors."

"You want me to just go home? I can't even see her?"

"She'll be in a very fragile condition for a while," the nurse replied, furrowing her brow.

"Well then," I said, sitting down on the cold tile right beside Cheryl's door, "I'll just have to wait here until she's strong again."

Even though the nurse looked weary, and it certainly wasn't her fault that Cheryl was injured, there was absolutely no way I was going to leave her even for a second. Not now, not ever. The lean woman just gave a knowing nod and clicked away.

I sunk down. My face buried in my folded arms, I took scuttling breaths. Around 2 hours later, Sabrina stopped by to try to convince me to go home. Instead, she gave me a folded fleece blanket that felt like a puffy, soft cloud. I bundled myself up in it and shivered in the hallway. I should have been cold or scared, but all I could think about was how glad I was that Cheryl turned up alive.

It was a long night. At the first light of dawn, as the first soft baby pink rays shone through the netted windows, the kindly nurse tapped me gently on the shoulder.

"Good morning miss Topaz."

I grumbled some sort of response. I was a little disgruntled, given the fact that even after chugging all the coffee they had, I had still fallen sleep. I gave a small yawn and straightened myself out.

The bony woman continued, "Last night we managed to fix her rib. Of course, she'll need to stay with us for a few days so we can monitor her and make sure she doesn't come down with pneumonia. After that, it'll take maybe 2 months for her to completely heal up-"

Before she had even finished her sentence, I flung myself onto her.

"Thank you thank you thank you," I snivelled. She seemed stunned at first, but consoled me anyway. "Thank you miss..."

"Eloise," she offered, "Eloise Blanchette."

Eloise gave me her hand and pulled me to my sore feet. I mewled, "Thank you, Eloise. Please, call me Toni."

"Alright then, Toni," she smiled, "She's right in there."

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OH MY GOD YOU GUYS WE ARE ALMOST AT 3K READS!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! Please message me or comment below with any suggestions you have for the book!!! I absolutely love reading your feedback 😍😍😍😍

QOTD: Who should the Black Hood be?

Should I do a time skip (in a few chapters) to when Cheryl is healed?

Bughead or Beronica?

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