weak | choni

15: "Its Okay To Be Scared"

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Toni had woken up the next morning to find Cheryl gone from the bed. She tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't sleep not knowing what the other girl was up to. Just as she was about to get up, she heard a crash from downstairs. Toni quickly got to her feet.

"What was that?" she called, wiping her eyes and hurrying down the stairs. No answer. "Cheryl!?" she yelled even louder, jogging into the kitchen. Her heart stopped when she saw the small girl's figure on the ground.

"Cheryl!" she gasped, dropping to her knees next to the shaking girl. "Cheryl, oh my god," Toni breathed. What was she supposed to do? Her eyes landed on Cheryl's phone a few feet away from them and she quickly grabbed it. Out of instinct, she slid one hand under the convulsing girl's head to keep her from hurting herself. Toni gasped when she realized Cheryl's arm was bent underneath her back, in a way that didn't look natural. She moved her arm slightly, not wanting to hurt her even more.

Then she dialed 911, breathing heavily.

"911, what's your emergency?"

Toni glanced at the girl on the ground and fought back tears. "I-I need an ambulance, I think my friend's having a seizure," Toni bit her lip.

"You're on Nottingham Way, correct?" the operator asked, and Toni confirmed. "Does she have any existing medical conditions?"

"I—uh, yeah," Toni took a deep breath. "She's anorexic."

"Can you get her on her side?" the woman typed something down.

"I-I think so, but her arm looks ... I don't know, broken," Toni's voice cracked.

"Sweetie, try and calm down, okay? Take a deep breath and roll her on her side so there's not any weight on her bad arm, can you do that for me?" the operator asked, trying to calm Toni.

"Y-yeah," Toni inhaled slowly and put the phone on speaker. She crawled around Cheryl, carefully sliding one arm under her torso and gently rolling her over on her side. "She's—uh, she's not shaking anymore, is that a bad thing?" Toni asked worriedly, smoothing out Cheryl's hair so she could see her face.

"No, honey, just keep her on her side until the ambulance gets there, okay? And stay on the line with me," the operator said. Toni just nodded and looked down at Cheryl, whose eyes were half opened.

"C-Cher...?" Toni swallowed hard and felt tears brimming her eyes. She should've gotten up earlier, she could've been with Cheryl. Shaking her head, Toni took a deep breath and tried not to cry.

"Wh-what?"

Toni's eyed widened when Cheryl spoke. "Cheryl? A-are you okay?" she asked, ignoring the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What?" Cheryl's voice was slurred, and she was staring blankly in front of them. "W-what?"

"She's talking," Toni grabbed the phone and pressed it to her ear. "She's talking, she keeps saying the same word over and over," Toni's voice cracked and she held her breath to hold in her tears.

"That's normal after a seizure, honey, just try and make sure she's comfortable, th—"

Toni was interrupted by the doorbell. "It's open!" she yelled. Moments later, two men appeared in the kitchen and Toni was immediately shoved out of the way. She stood a few steps back, cupping her hands over her mouth and wiping her eyes.

"H-her arm," Toni said quickly when they lifted her onto a stretcher. "I think she hurt it," Toni took a step forward to help them but she was pulled back by another one of the paramedics.

"They've got her," he reassured Toni, but she shook out of his grip and followed them as they carried Cheryl outside on the stretcher.

"Can I go in the ambulance?" Toni pleaded, biting her lip. She was shaking. Seeing Cheryl like that had traumatized her. Why was her best friend doing this to herself? Toni felt the hot tears streaming down her face but she ignored them. The only thing she was thinking about in the moment was Cheryl.