Enlightened

Chapter Eighteen: Family Reunion

After the horrific events of the night, Toni went home crying, cried in the shower and cried while laying in bed. She had no hopes of sleeping that night, so she just laid in her bed and cried. After an hour of crying in bed, there was a knock at the front door.

The Sheriff got up, puzzled as to who would be at her house at one in the morning and trudged downstairs to answer the door. She swung the front door open, tears still in and saw the one person she did and didn't want to see standing at her doorstep. "Cheryl?" The redhead was standing on her doorstep. There was a black Rolls Royce on the street in front of her house and she wondered who it belonged to. She turned her attention back to the lone Blossom twin. Her eyes were puffy and red, all her makeup had been removed and her features practically screamed an apology. "What do you want?"

Toni's tone was cold and firm. It killed the redhead to hear her sweet, gentle Toni become that jaded. It killed her more to know that she had caused that jadedness. "I'm sorry Toni," Cheryl started. Before she could continue, the Sheriff rolled her eyes and went to shut the door but the redhead placed her palm firmly in the middle of the red wooden door and stared her love in the eyes aggressively. "Hear me out, please." The redhead removed her hand from the door, but couldn't get a word in.

"No, Cheryl. I don't want to. Just like you didn't listen to me, I won't listen to you." With that, she promptly slammed the door in the redhead's faced and stomped upstairs. She laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling, fighting the urge to run down those stairs and be in the arms of the love of her life again.

Outside, Cheryl stared at the door in shock but didn't accept defeat. "Time for Plan B," She said quietly, walking back to Hiram's car. He rolled down his window and leaned over the seat, looking up at the redhead. Cheryl motioned for her clutch which was sitting on the dashboard.

"So now what?" He asked as he handed her the small red bag. She took out her cassette tape as well as a note she'd written and closed the bag, handing it back to him. She shook the tape triumphantly and smiled. Hiram looked at her with a puzzled expression but didn't question it. He popped the trunk of the car when she smacked the back twice and took out her grandmother's boombox.

Cheryl walked part way up Toni's front walkway and put the cassette into the boombox, switching to the ninth track on the tape. "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" by Barry White. She turned the volume up all the way and held the boombox above her head outside Toni's bedroom window. It sure was a sight to see, straight out of a cheesy romance movie.

Up in her bedroom, Toni could hear the sound of her favourite R&B singer of all time, Barry White, being played. She got out of bed, thoroughly confused, and walked over to the window to see Cheryl dancing on her front lawn to the soul tune. She couldn't help but chuckle at the barefaced redhead dancing around in her pajamas.

When Cheryl noticed that Toni was watching her she turned the music down. "I was wrong! Please, Toni, let me explain myself! I never wanted to hurt you, I just got so jealous because you're perfect and could have anyone you want! I love you and only you and I hope you love me too! I'm sorry for doing such a stupid thing and I regret every second of it! Please, baby, come and talk to me!" The redhead waited a long, dreadful minute as Toni thought through her reply. She didn't end up replying though, she just shut her bedroom window. Cheryl hung her head in shame and turned up the song, hoping Toni would hear it as the redhead left.

That was it. She was gone. The one thing in this dreadful world that brought Cheryl pure joy, was gone. The redhead began to trudge back to the car, tears threatening to spill over when she heard the front door of Toni's house open. She turned to face the love of her life and they just stared at each other as Barry sang happily in the background. They stood at opposite ends of the walkway and smiled at each other.