i just want you to know who i am

Chapter 11

Sunlight peeked through the tattered blinds and curtains of the mobile home window, stirring Cheryl awake from her curled up position in the unfamiliar bed. Everything about yesterday was real. The library, her parents, Toni coming to her rescue, it all really happened. And now here she was, alone in Toni's bed.

Alone?

She furrowed her eyebrows and reached for her glasses, looking around for the girl she had fallen asleep beside last night. She was nowhere to be seen, and there was no noise from around the small house that told her that she was still here. Sitting up, she looked around, finding a little piece of paper with Toni's scratchy handwriting on it.

Went to Pop's to grab breakfast. Back soon x

Cheryl just smiled a little and laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. Despite the events, she slept better than she had in ages. She still had her doubts about Toni, and she had a feeling that she always would. Years of bullying had destroyed her sense of trust. But Toni had been so kind to her last night that it felt like the last five years of torment had never even happened. She was like a completely different person than the one Cheryl was used to. She was gentle and nonjudgmental, making her feel safe and comforted for the first time since Jason was alive. Though they were barely ten years old when he died, Cheryl didn't believe there would ever be another person that she trusted and loved more than her brother.

The front door opened, making her flinch a bit in surprise before she sat up, listening in on Toni singing the remainder of whatever song must have been on the radio on her way back. Her feet touched the shaggy brown carpet as she pulled herself out of bed, running her fingers through her long red hair to make herself look at least a little presentable. Toni's voice got a little louder as she stepped out of the room, going down the hallway. She peeked around the corner and saw her emptying out the paper bag from Pop's, setting to-go containers down onto the counter as she sang "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to herself, oblivious to Cheryl's presence until the redhead cleared her throat quietly.

"Oh, hey," Toni smiled a little, "I wasn't sure what you like for breakfast, so I just kinda got you some basic stuff. Oh, and a strawberry milkshake, cause whenever I see you at Pop's, you get one."

"Thanks," Cheryl blushed, stepping further into the small kitchen, wringing her fingers nervously.

"How's your cheek feel?"

"Oh," she brought a hand up to her face. She had been so distracted that she had momentarily forgotten the reason she was here in the first place. "It's a little sore, but only when you touch it. Does it look bad?"

"Just a little purple, but not too bad. The swelling went down at least. It might be back to normal by Monday," the brunette came over with the styrofoam cup and a to-go box, setting it on the small round table in the corner. "Do you have concealer or anything to cover it up at school?"

Cheryl just shook her head a little and sat down at the table. "I'm not allowed to wear makeup. Even if I was, I don't know anything about it," she mumbled shyly, as her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since lunch at school yesterday.

Toni just nodded and sat down across from her at the table with her own to-go box and a chocolate shake. "I would teach you, but I don't have anything your shade," she gave her a half smile, "But there's a little convenience store up the street where I get a lot of my makeup...if you wanna go later."

"Oh, uh...I don't know..." she looked up at her a little worried.

"You afraid that because this is the south side, you're gonna get mugged or something?" the older girl smirked, poking her waffle with her fork.