The Abduction

5. Until We Meet Again

Welcome back, babes <3

This chapter is pretty short at around 2,200 words. Just a little glimpse at what the family has gone through without Toni and vice versa.

Chapter image by marblexcherry

Cheryl

Over the next few months, not much had changed. No one had found Toni or Penny, and the Ghoulies had even gone into hiding. The few ghoulies that were arrested said they didn't know anything and they were currently sitting in jail until someone talked.

Cheryl had started compiling every picture and video she could find of Toni. She put everything onto a DVD and on Sundays everyone came over to watch it, sharing memories with the kids, so they wouldn't forget their mama. They would all have a family dinner and play boards with everyone, as well. Every night, someone would come over and spend the night with Cheryl to help out with getting the kids to school and caring for Charlotte and Nana. Usually it was Alice, Betty or Veronica, sometimes Archie or Kevin.

The Serpents spent every waking moment looking for any sign of Toni or Penny, going in shifts. Each shift was led by FP and Jughead, Fangs and Sweet Pea. At the beginning, Cheryl saw pictures of Toni all over every news station, every newspaper and all over social media, then she only saw those once a week, then once or twice a month, until finally a year had passed and it was as if Toni didn't exist to anyone, except for those in Riverdale.

Cheryl always heard whisperings about the turn of events. Some people thought she was behind everything, others thought it was the Serpents. The redhead was still involved with the Serpents and most decisions weren't made without her approval, she was after all, technically Serpent Queen now. She left Serpent work up to the boys, though, with FP being in charge of the bar and Sweet Pea was second in command.

For the past year, the twins usually slept in Cheryl and Toni's king size bed, along with Charlotte. They all felt that pit of loneliness inside of them. Someone who had been around for so long, had vanished. Nowhere to be found. Three year old Charlotte knew who her mama was and Cheryl made sure of that, as did everyone else. They always talked about her. Cheryl knew that Toni was alive, she had to be. And she would never give up on her wife.

Cheryl had also started recording every big family moment. Every time one of Charlotte's baby teeth came in, or one of the twins lost a tooth. She recorded birthdays and first days of school. She was constantly taking pictures of the kids, as well. She wanted to be able to show Toni everything when they found her. Not if.

The twins 9th birthday was coming up. Cheryl was helping them with their invitations, inviting some classmates, as well as their family. "Do you two know what you want for your birthday?" Cheryl asked them. They were both silent for a moment before Dagwood spoke up, "I want mama to come home." he said sadly. "Me, too. That's all we want." Juniper chimed in.

A tear ran down Cheryl's cheek and she grabbed one of their hands with both of hers, "I want that too, babes and I wish I could make that happen. Sheriff Keller, Papa FP and your uncles are working hard on finding her, okay? I know she'll come back, but I don't know when."

They both nodded, also with tears in their eyes. "Can we watch her movie?" Dagwood asked. "Of course." They all got up from the table and moved to the living room, sitting on the couch. The DVD hadn't come out of the player since Cheryl first put it in, a year ago. Sometimes they would watch it when they were feeling down, or on Toni's birthday, or their wedding anniversary. Cheryl even watched it on Valentine's day after the kids had gone to bed. She grabbed a bottle of wine and set a vase of Toni's favorite flowers on the coffee table.