Enlightened

Chapter Twenty: Change Is Coming

After an uneventful night of furniture shopping and decorating Sage's room, the couple went to work the next morning ecstatic and content. The day was uneventful and they went home at their regular time to get ready for their adoption at the animal shelter at eight. They'd purposely booked it as late as possible to make sure there were no little kids or annoyed parents around. Toni had just finished changing out of her uniform and into a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt when there was a knock at the door.

She walked downstairs and opened the door to see a young brunette with a container of something in her hands. She had a bright smile and piercing blue eyes that sent a shiver down Toni's spine. "Hi! I'm Evelyn Evernever, your new neighbor. My brother and I just moved here from outside of town for his new job," She said cheerily. Despite the eerie vibe Toni was getting from the intensity of her gaze, she smiled back happily and greeted her new neighbor.

"Evernever? Is your brother Edgar by chance?" Toni asked. She nodded happily, her grin not leaving her face. "I'm the sheriff he voted for the other day. Thank him for me please, he's the reason I got to keep my job," The Sheriff chuckled happily.

"Oh, I will for sure. So, do you live alone?" She asked. Her question was totally innocent, no flirty undertones or ulterior motives. As she asked the question Toni felt a slight pressure on her shoulder as Cheryl set her hand on her shoulder.

"As you can see, no I don't," Toni said chuckling and gesturing to the redhead standing behind her. "This is my girlfriend Cheryl and my brother Sage lives with us too." Cheryl smiled happily and waved at Evelyn before looking at Toni, slightly confused. "Oh, this is Evelyn Evernever, our new neighbor. Her brother is the reason I still have my job"

"Oh! Well, thank you to him! We should have dinner to celebrate tomorrow. As a thank you and a welcome to Riverdale present." Evelyn accepted happily and handed the container of chocolate chip cookies before walking down the walkway back to her house. Toni shut the door and began walking with Cheryl over to the kitchen, setting them on the counter. The redhead hopped up on the counter and swung her feet like a little kid. "She seemed nice. Maybe we'll finally have friends that don't want to kill us." Cheryl realized her comment was a little too soon when she saw the hurt in Toni's eyes. "Oh shit sorry, too soon."

"Nah, it's okay. Fangs was like a brother to me, but I'm getting over it," The Sheriff said walking over to her girlfriend and standing in between her legs. The redhead wrapped her arms around the shorter girl's neck and began placing soft kisses on her lips. Toni dropped her hands to Cheryl's thighs and began to caress them lightly when Sage came up from his room in the basement.

"Ew, I'm glad you two are happy and all, but keep your tongues to yourselves please," Sage said sarcastically as he walked into the kitchen. Toni turned to face him, Cheryl's arms hanging down onto her chest.

"Don't forget that this is my house still, Sage." He rolled his eyes and made a face, earning a chuckle out of Cheryl and an over-exaggerated eye roll from Toni. "Have you found a job yet? Oh, and there's cookies over here."

"Ooh, cookies!" He exclaimed grabbing a handful out of the container. "I'm going to start working part-time at the Bijou until I can find something more lasting," He said walking off back to his bedroom.

"Cool, we're going to try and find a cat, see ya!" Toni called moving back and letting Cheryl hop off the counter. He just flashed a peace sign before disappearing down the stairs and back into his room where some loud rock music was playing.

The couple walked outside and got into Cheryl's Chevy and drove off to the animal shelter on the other side of town. They'd ended up selling Toni's car and Thistlehouse earlier that week, so there was an extra bit of money in their bank accounts.