capsize me and douse me in your bay

chapter ten

"Good luck, Betty," Cheryl waved, less animatedly than she would normally. She had been uncharacteristically quiet all morning. Toni knew it had to have something to do with the conversation she had overheard between the two a few hours ago. As much as she wanted Cheryl to be honest with her, she didn't want to push her. She just wished she knew why Cheryl was being so secretive.

After the door was closed and locked again, Toni cleared her throat and looked at the younger girl, nothing but tense and awkward silence between them.

"I'm, uh...gonna go shower. I don't really have anything planned for today, so you can go back to bed if you're still tired," she muttered quietly. But Cheryl just nodded, keeping her eyes glued to the floor as she fiddled with the gold pendant around her neck nervously.

Toni wanted to ask if she was okay. She wanted to tell her that she heard her and Betty talking last night and that Cheryl had nothing to be afraid of. But every time she opened her mouth to say just that, the words got caught in her throat, and nothing but silence came from her lips. So with a defeated sigh, Toni brushed past her and closed herself into the bathroom. She could try again later. But she wished that Cheryl would make it easy on her and come to her first.

She had always done some of her best thinking in the shower. So as the water cascaded down her back and through her long pink hair, Toni waited for an idea to come to her. At this point, she would take anything. Any kind of guidance on how to talk to Cheryl. She didn't want the girl to be afraid to talk to her.

Admittedly, at first, she was just looking to send Cheryl away, needing to know where she was from so she could do just that. And now, she just wanted answers to get to know her better. It was strange, feeling herself fall so hard and so fast for a person like Cheryl. A person who didn't seem to understand anything without it being explained to her first. Cheryl was a fully grown woman, but acted as if she was just seeing the world for the first time. Toni could understand a person never having ice cream. She could even somehow understand how a person would have never worn shoes or watched TV before. But the first time she saw Cheryl cry, the redhead acted as if she had never cried before in her life. How was that possible?

She was an puzzle that Toni was determined to solve.

She hoped Cheryl wasn't in some kind of danger. She'd seen enough crime shows to know what some sick fucks in this world do. God forbid Cheryl was some brainwashed hostage who ran away from her kidnapper. Even if she was, how did Toni become involved? Why was she looking for her?

Maybe she was her long lost half-sister from her dad's side. Biologically, she doubted her tan-skinned mother would have given brith to a pale redhead. But her parents had been together and madly in love since high school. Chances were thin that her dad had cheated on her mom. Even if that was the case, it didn't explain why Cheryl was the way she was.

Toni ran through a million possibilities in her head as she rinsed the conditioner from her hair. Brain damage, mental illness, nothing seemed to add up one hundred percent. And her head was starting to hurt from thinking so hard. Maybe it was better if she just let Cheryl come to her first.

The water started to run cold, making her realize just how long she'd been in the shower. And after turning the knobs on the wall, Toni stepped out, drying herself off as she tried to come up with a plan. Or at least something to say to Cheryl so they didn't spend the day in awkward silence.

She tied her damp hair up into a lazy bun after combing it out and put on the black leggings and long t-shirt she had laid out for herself on the counter beside the sink.

You can do this. It's just Cheryl. What's the worst that could happen?

She stared at herself in the foggy mirror, taking a few deep breaths before opening the door and making a beeline for the living room. Normally, she would expect to see Cheryl splayed out comfortably on the couch, eating cherries off her fingertips with her eyes glued to the TV. But the living room was just the same as she'd last seen it.