capsize me and douse me in your bay

chapter twelve

The drive was only an hour. But it felt like so much longer. The worry and anticipation made the time just drag. That was something else that Toni noticed about Cheryl. When she was around, the time just seemed to fly. The redhead could probably make a traffic jam fun. But she was more than just a fun person to be around. Cheryl was special. She had a personality that you just don't see in people anymore. Sure, she hadn't been on land long enough to know what the real world was really like, and hadn't been given enough time to let human life drag her down like the rest of the world. But she was just a breath of fresh air to Toni.

Maybe she shouldn't have been trying to get her to stay. She didn't want to see Cheryl's light and innocence get shattered. Especially by life in the city. As it was, Toni was amazed that the worst thing Cheryl witnessed in the week she was staying with her was a squirrel get hit and run over by a cab. And while she shrugged her shoulders and kept walking, Cheryl was nearly distraught to a point that Toni had to stop her from running out into traffic to save the squished animal. But that's what Cheryl was like. She was selfless and caring, and that was a rarity anywhere. Toni didn't want her to lose that, because it was impossible to get back.

She pulled up to Pop's, relieved that she had made it the whole way without a call from Betty saying that Cheryl disappeared. She'd have to do something nice for Betty soon as a thank you for putting up with everything this week.

Leaving her things in the passenger seat, Toni practically jumped out of the car, amazed that she remembered to close the door behind her before she approached the glass door of the cozy little diner. Everyone seemed aware of her presence with the jingling of the bells over the door. Everyone but the redhead curled up in the back corner booth. She was facing away from her, so all she could see was the back of her head and the tops of her shoulders over the booth, and it took everything Toni had in her to not run up and hug her. Instead she approached the table slowly after sending Betty a little wave, biting her bottom lip gently as she walked past Cheryl and slid into the booth across from her, folding her arms on top of the table.

"You gotta stop running away from me," she joked quietly, trying to lighten the already tense mood between them. But the look on Cheryl's face nearly broke her in half. She looked shaken and tired, like she had been crying for hours and got no sleep, which very well could have been the case. She was normally such a chatterbox and now she had nothing to say. And that probably worried Toni more than anything.

"Cher," she sighed, reaching across the table to hold her hand out, willing her to take it with one of her own that were hidden under the table, "Please talk to me. What Veronica said to you about me not wanting you around...it's not true. It took some getting used to, but I love having you around. My life was so boring before you showed up."

Cheryl was quiet, looking down at Toni's outstretched hand on the table as a fresh batch of tears brimmed in her eyes. "You are upset with me. I-I broke a promise. I left because I did not want to upset you anymore."

"I'm not upset with you, Cheryl. Maybe I was at first, but when I walked out, I just needed time to think. I didn't want to talk while I was upset cause...well, I have my uncle's temper apparently," she sighed. Despite her lack of blood relation to F.P., she unfortunately did inherit some of his negative traits. "I didn't want to say anything that would hurt your feelings. That's why I told you to stay in the apartment. So we could talk after I cooled off."

"Cooled off?"

"Yeah...like, after I calmed down." Cheryl was quiet as she stared down at the table after Toni retracted her empty hand. "But...Veronica...she doesn't understand you. And she doesn't understand what you mean to me, Cheryl."

A tear slipped down the redhead's cheek from her nearly blackened eyes. Cheryl's eyes were always a deep shade of brown, but they lost their usual sparkle when she was sad. And Toni hated to see that. "...What promise did you break?" she asked hesitantly.