The Boxer And The Blossom (GxG Cheryl Blossom)

Part 22. The Blossom Curse

"Did you sleep with Betty last night?" Cheryl asks as she lays next to me still catching her breath.

"No I fell asleep on the sofa with the bottle of whiskey in my hand. Why?" I take the strap off my waist and turn to face Cheryl.

"I know you kissed those girls at the party, I just wondered if you were angry enough to sleep with one of my friends to spite me." Cheryl doesn't make eye contact any more, she looks off into the distance.

"I can be a bit of a dick, but I'm not that bad. How did you leave things with Toni anyway?" It's the question I've been wanting an answer to all morning but only now did it seem appropriate to ask.

"After about a minute I realised it wasn't what I wanted. I went looking for you but they said you left with Betty, I got a taxi home." Cheryl plays with her own fingers awkwardly.

The creak from the hallway floorboards begins and footsteps get closer to Cheryl's bedroom.

"Cheryl it's time." A solemn and sincere voice comes from the other side of the oak door and I realise what it means.

Cheryl gets out of bed, puts on a t-shirt and some jeans and leaves the room without saying a word.

Half an hour passes and I spend it tidying Cheryl's room, putting away clothes we both left on the floor and making the bed.

Cheryl comes back into the room and I look up at her red eyes, they're slightly puffy and she looks tired.

"My father's dead." She speaks quietly.

I stand up from the bed and walk towards her, she looks so weak and vulnerable standing at the entrance of her bedroom. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly against my body.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you're feeling right now." I stroke my hand up and down her back gently, trying my best to comfort the emotionally unavailable girl.

"He's done awful things, it's what he deserves." She shakes her head, as if she's telling it to herself as a reminder.

"What do you mean, what has he done so bad he deserves to die?" I pull away slightly, so I can look at Cheryl's face as I ask.

She just shakes her head at my question.

"I know about your brother." I tell her and it immediately forces her eyes to meet mine.

"Of course Betty told you." Cheryl's brain works it out within a couple of seconds and she sighs deeply.

"I'm sorry you've had such a hard time, it must have been terrible losing your brother." I hold her close to me and she finally holds me back, resting her hands on my shoulders.

"I didn't lose him, he was taken from me. Taken years before he needed to be, all because he had a heart, and a conscience, and my father wouldn't let him expose the secrets behind his morally corrupt business." Cheryl's eyes begin to water and I feel like I'm finally seeing the side of her she buries deep down and let's no one see.

"Who killed him?" I ask. Cheryl takes a sharp intake of breath as if something punched her in the gut.

"My father hired someone to kill him. He paid a group to make sure he died a painless death and his body was never found. That's not how things played out."

Cheryl looks more in pain than ever as she explains what clearly is the most uncomfortable and horrid situation she's ever been through.

"Toni killed him."

Cheryl speaks the words before she can take them back. I stand before her motionless, speechless and completely mind-blown.

"Toni killed your brother? Your girlfriend killed your brother?" I say the words slowly, ensuring I heard Cheryl correctly.

She nods. I take a moment and my mind runs with all the different ways this could have occurred.

"It was before I was with her, she was in an awful, dangerous gang. They killed people for money. She ended up being the one who killed my brother and the whole gang went to prison. She was the youngest so she got out after a year and transferred to my school. Toni tried to avoid me, she knew my last name and stayed away, until one thing led to another and we hooked up. After a year of dating she told me what my father had paid her to do, I was broken and it changed everything for me, my home life, my school life and my relationship obviously. I loved her, she hated what she had done and she always questioned if she could do it once, would she do it again. I forgave her, but she never forgave herself." A single tear falls from Cheryl's eye and it rolls down her pale cheek.

I wipe it away with my hand and let the words sit in the air for a while before I reply.

"I have no clue how to respond to that, Cheryl. The things you've gone through are awful, you don't deserve any of it." It's not much but it's all I can manage.

"Everyone around me, everyone I love, they all leave. Bad things happen here. Maybe I do deserve it all. It's the Blossom curse. We aren't destined to be happy." Cheryl stops looking sad, she looks hopeless.

She's accepted this false fate that she's bestowed upon herself and she believes it wholeheartedly.

"Don't say that. It's not true. You can be happy with me. I'm going to be whatever you need, I'm going to be there for you. I'm not going to leave you, I'm not going to walk away from this. I want you and I'm here." I place my hand on her chest, I feel the light thuds from her heart beating against the palm of my hand.

"I'm not sure if I'm being delusional to actually believe your words, but they sound like everything I've ever needed to hear." Cheryl places her hand over mine and we have a moment, looking into each other's eyes and so much further.

I finally feel like I see her.

"I can't stay in this house any longer. I can't stay in this town any longer. I'm going to pack my things and we can leave tonight." Cheryl turns on her heel and begins to gather her expensive belongings and fold them into a neat pile next to her bag.

"Won't your mother want you to stay? Don't you need to be here for the funeral?" I'm unsure of Cheryl's impulsive decision, it's unexpected and I'm not sure she's thought it through.

"She won't care, if it's anything like my brother's funeral it will be formal hand shaking, a huge lack of emotions and a lot of solemn nodding. I look at you and I think to myself, I can finally be happy. So why not start that today?" Cheryl stops for a moment and looks up at me.

I smile and nod, accepting her brash decision. I pack my bag also.

Her phone vibrates and she picks it up. Cheryl's face is stern and she appears deep in thought.

"Everything okay?" I ask.

"It's from Toni." Cheryl responds and the colour begins to drain from her face, she passes her mobile to me and I read the text.

-- I know you'll end up taking off again, just let me say goodbye this time. --