IN LOVE WITH A VILLAIN | CHONI

-18-

Cheryl, wearing her changed clothes, was sitting on the floor, her sore eyes staring ahead while Toni was kneeling in front, finishing her gauze up on her right wrist. Right after Toni clipped the end, she looked at her feebly and intimately before talking.

"Uhm...I'm gonna let you rest for a minute while I clean the glasses off the floor."

She placed the kit to the side and attempted to stand up, but Cheryl held her hand softly.

"Do you need something?" Toni quietly asked Cheryl who was currently looking at her, flashing her timid, narrowed eyes.

"Stay," she whispered with her raspy voice as her pleading eyes were on.

Toni smiled. "Of course." She held her hand back and moved to sit to her right, leaning her head on the wall.

Cheryl looked at their joined hands before moving them to look at the girl with closed eyes as her face was too splendid to be true to her eyes.

"Why?" Toni asked, now looking at her. "Something wrong?"

Cheryl looked away. "Uhm...why are you doing this?" she asked, removing her hands off her. "You shouldn't be here. I know after you walk out of this room, you're gonna laugh at me."

She attempted to stand up, but Toni placed her left palm on her leg.

"CM," Toni called, so Cheryl leaned back again. "If you were surrounded with ignorant people like that before, don't resemble them to me."

Cheryl moved her eyes on the floor, holding their tears inside.

"I can feel your pain even if you try to bury them in your skin. I can feel it and see it through your treacherous eyes."

"You wouldn't understand, Renzelle. No one does."

"Have you tried confiding in someone? Maybe you're just saying that because you're too scared to be judged, but you can always choose worthy people to let your story be heard by."

Cheryl bit her inner mouth. "So, you're conferring yourself? Are you worthy?" she asked, looking at her.

Toni shrugged. "Maybe, I'm not, but...my intentions are clear. I can swear that with my life...and with my cousins' if you dare."

Cheryl shook her head. "I've been through a lot of pain and I'm not weak. I'm not," she mumbled.

"Clearly you're not," Toni countered. "Pain makes people stronger, higher than the chances of expecting them to be. You've been through a lot, CM. Give yourself a break."

Cheryl bowed her head and exhaled a deep breath from the lowest range of her lungs.

"What are you doing to me?" she husked, and Toni furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Toni asked softly and quietly.

Cheryl wanted to say something, but she just shook her head in response.

After a minute of silence, Cheryl spoke again.

"About...what happened between us that night..." she began, and Toni chilled for a second.

"...we never talked about it and...I just thought, uhm-"

"It's okay," Toni hindered a little upset. "Uhm...you made it clear that what happened that night wasn't meant to happen, really."

Cheryl weakly looked at the girl who was looking at her hands on her crossed legs.

"I understand and...I'm trying to forget about it even though it's hard...not gonna lie," she added, almost whispering.