paladin- a knight renowned for heroism and chivalry.
i hope you enjoy this!
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It's a week after Cheryl's key party and the guilt she had built up was an earth-sized weight on her heart. Not only did she have the guilt of damaging the couples who had attended, but she also felt guilt about what had happened with Toni. Being in the room that she'd been naive enough to set up, with the hope that it'd reunite the two women, sent her to a state of depression. She would occasionally deliberate on the scene of the two women, the scene that left her nothing but heartless.
She had been trying to build up the courage to talk to anyone she'd invited to the key party. That mission in itself was nearly impossible since they'd all worked at the same job. There was no corner she could turn where she didn't run into anyone. And with her mind set on avoidance, she didn't speak, just simply walked with her head hung low. Although she couldn't get the courage to speak to the people she had considered her friends, she knew the only thing right at this moment was apologizing for the -further- damage she had done to the couples.
With this solidified realization, she made a plan to apologize to each one of her friends, and possibly their lovers.
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Cheryl had pulled into the lot of the Pembrook where Veronica was located. She decided to knock them out first to last. That was the only way she'd be able to apologize to them all, being that it would work her up to the 3 people she had needed to make extremely sincere apologies to.
She walked into the building, seeing the familiar older man she had remembered from her younger days. With a smile, she greeted the man. "Hi, Mr. Smithers," Cheryl greeted, her hands slightly clammy while holding onto the straps of her purse.
"Hi, Ms. Blossom," Smithers responded while smiling. "How may I help you?" he asked, sitting behind his desk.
"Do you know if Veronica is here?" Cheryl asked, looking down the shallow hall that led to elevators.
"Actually, yes, you're right on time. She arrived not too long ago," Smithers informed. "Would you like me to let her know that you're coming up?" Smithers asked, pushing his papers to the side to press the buzzer.
"Oh, no. It's okay," Cheryl said. She had to stall as long as she could, and she couldn't let Veronica know she had shown up unless she knocked on the door for herself.
"Okay. Click the 4th button. Her door is number 17," Smithers instructed.
"Thank you so much, Smithers," Cheryl thanked gracefully.
"It's within my pleasure, Ms. Blossom," Smithers received. She gave a smile and began her journey.
She made her way to the elevators, clicking the button. When the door opened, she entered, clicking the 4th button as Smithers had instructed. As the elevator doors closed and started their way up, she started to get cold feet. She couldn't deal with any more rejection of her actions and it began to mess with her head. She started to tap her feet, her fingers prancing over the leather of her bag.
The doors opened and she walked into the hallway. She walked down the halls, looking at each door and its number. When she finally got to the 17th door, she stood outside of it, contemplating whether she should have knocked on the door or not. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door softly. She heard as heels clacked towards the door. Her heartbeat had accelerated, making her breath, which was caught in her throat, become irregular.
Before she could back out and leave, Veronica opened the door, being surprised by Cheryl on the other side. "Oh, hi Cheryl. I didn't know you were coming," Veronica said, smiling at her.
