weak | choni

16: "Maybe In a Perfect World"

"Will you let the nurse put the IV in if I stay with you while she does it?" Toni asked cautiously. They'd been sitting in silence for a few minutes while Cheryl clung to Toni's shirt, letting the tears flow freely. Cheryl looked up at Toni and brought her hands to wipe her eyes.

"Do I have to?"

Toni sighed softly. "You had a seizure, Cheryl," she bit her lip and used the hand that wasn't holding Cheryl to smooth out the girl's messy hair. "They need to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," Cheryl sighed and studied Toni's face for a moment. She shivered when she saw just how distraught the other girl seemed to appear. Was Toni really that worried about her? "You'll ... you'll stay here?" She asked timidly.

"Of course," Toni laughed softly. She didn't understand how Cheryl wasn't terrified by what had just happened to her. It made her worry, actually. If having a seizure wasn't enough of a reality check for her, what would be? "I'm sorry about the other girls ... I just, I needed to call someone ... and I didn't k—"

"It's okay," Cheryl shrugged slightly. She didn't make a move to uncurl herself from Toni's arms, though. She gained an odd sense of comfort from being this close to the girl. "They just get ... overwhelming, sometimes."

Before Toni could answer, the nurse poked her head back in the room. Cheryl quickly slid out of Toni's arms when she saw an anxious Josie trying to peer in though the crack in the door. The loss of contact bothered her more than she thought it would have.

Toni reached over and squeezed Cheryl's hand before giving a knowing nod to the nurse.

"Ms. Blossom, this IV will not come out unless I take it out myself, do you understand?" the nurse shot an unreadable look at the smaller girl and she nodded slowly. Her grip on Toni's hand tightened and she shivered when she felt the brown-eyed girl begin to run her thumb over the ridges of her knuckles. She found it amazing how the smallest of touches between them were able to calm her down.

The nurse didn't say anything else, she just flicked the IV a few times before sliding the needle into Cheryl's vein. Cheryl didn't flinch. It wasn't the pain of the needle that she was afraid of. It was what the needle would be pumping into her that terrified her. But maybe, just maybe, whatever it was wasn't actually that bad for her. Maybe she should trust Toni.

Toni waited until the nurse left the room to speak again. "How do you feel?" she asked, running her fingertips up and down Cheryl's arm. The moment they'd shared before had been so intimate that she'd practically forgotten the tension that had been present between them for the past few days.

"None of this feels real," Cheryl confessed. She lifted her arm that held the pink cast, studying it intently. "I swear I told them I wanted purple."

Slowly, Toni reached over and ran her fingers across the surface of the cast. "Does it hurt?"

Cheryl shook her head. "I think they're lying. I don't think I broke it."

Biting her lip, Toni immediately remembered the way Cheryl's arm had been bent. "I, uh, no ... it was definitely broken," she said softly, clasping her own hands back in her lap. "Trust me."

Cheryl was suddenly aware of the fact that Toni had been the one to find her. Toni had been the one to call for help. In some ways, she was eternally grateful. But at the same time, she felt extremely embarrassed for letting someone see her that way.

"I'm sorry," Cheryl mumbled. She didn't understand why Toni would continue to try and help her when it seems as if Cheryl wasn't making any progress. "I-I didn't mean to h—"

"It's not your fault," Toni said quickly. She placed her hand on Cheryl's knee absentmindedly. "I'm sorry I can't be there for you in the way you need it ..." she half-whispered, not even aware that she'd spoken aloud.