capsize me and douse me in your bay

chapter fourteen

Toni watched, helpless, as tears streamed relentlessly down Cheryl's cheeks. What would have been a five minute story to anyone fluent in the English language, turned into nearly an hour of frustrated storytelling for the redhead. Toni helped her out as best she could, assisting her with words or trying to help coax sentences out, even going as far as googling images of things that Cheryl couldn't quite describe so she had a visual aid. She even surprised herself with how patient she was being with her. And each time Cheryl squeezed her eyes shut, trying with all her might to explain something, Toni's heart broke a little more. The redhead was trying so hard to be honest with her and answer her questions. She had apologized for her inability to explain so many times during her story, to which Toni just 'shh'ed her calmly and told her to take her time.

"And that's when you found me," the pink haired girl rubbed Cheryl's back soothingly, watching as she nodded and wiped her eyes for the hundredth time.

"I found Toni," Cheryl whispered, her voice hoarse from crying.

"Hey, I know I didn't really...show it at first, but..." Toni trailed off, flicking her tongue over her dry lips as she thought of what to say, "I've really liked having you around. Even though it's been a crazy whirlwind, it's been the most fun I've had in a long time."

"I am fun?" the younger girl gave her a watery smile, wiping her eyes with a sniffle.

Toni just smiled and rubbed her back again, hugging her a bit to her as they sat up towards the headboard of her bed, "Yeah, you're a lot of fun." She watched as Cheryl wiped under her eyes once more before her shiny brown eyes were locked on hers again. She didn't know what it was, but every time she caught Cheryl's eyes like this, she couldn't just look away. It took effort, it took time. Like pulling two magnets apart, it took strength. She wasn't sure why, but what she was sure of was that her body instantly filled with warmth whenever she caught sight of the deep brown irises. She had grown used to seeing them so full of innocence and curiosity, but lately she'd seen them filled with sadness too many times.

"So, um..." she managed to tear her eyes away, awkwardly tucking loose pink hair from her bun behind her ear, "How come you're not allowed to come to the surface? Was it just you or is it...all of them?"

"We are not allowed to come to the surface until we turn sixteen. But...my mother and father...they did not want me to ever come to the surface," Cheryl pulled her legs up to her chest wrapping her arms around her knees as she rested her chin on them.

"Why not?"

The redhead turned so she was facing Toni, her cheek rested on the tops of her pale knees. "My...I do not know the word. The other child of my mother and father..."

"You have a sister? Or a brother?"

"He was a boy. Brother," Cheryl tried the word out quietly before continuing, "My brother got hurt going to the surface when he was eight years old. He would always show me the things he would find and tell me about what he saw. I was four years old. He was going to sneak up to the surface again. And...someone brought him home because he had been..."

Toni's heart clenched as her quivering voice trailed off. Pale legs extended across the mattress as she held her stomach through her t-shirt, looking back up into Toni's eyes.

"There was a big...sharp stick," she gestured to her stomach, drawing a repetitive circle around her midriff with the tip of her finger, "Here."

"A harpoon," the pinkette muttered as she swallowed thickly, "He was killed by a fisherman."

Cheryl nodded and brought her knees up again, hugging them tightly to her chest. "And after that, my mother and father told me I was not allowed to go to the surface. Ever. But...my brother always told me about the humans. He loved everything about them and could not wait until he turned eighteen so he could go on land. I wanted to learn about humans too. My father always said that humans were evil..."