Sweet Dreams #CHONI [riverdale girlxgirl]

22

Twenty Two

TONI

As I throw my uncharged phone onto a pillow, I hear the front door slam shut, followed by footsteps trekking up the stairs after me. "I thought I told you to leave," I say impassively, with a cold expression on my face and I avoid her eyes.

"Toni," She begs, hopelessly. I succumb to the urge of looking up at her.

Black streaks of mascara run from her bloodshot, glassy eyes down her cheeks. She reaches forward to grab my hands that were resting by my side, and holds them between our bodies. A line of obvious, purple bruises on her forearm instantly capture my attention, and my eyes trail down to her swollen and red knuckles. She catches me looking and self consciously flips her hands over so her palms are up.

"What happened?" I ask her, still letting her hold onto my hands, and a million thoughts run through my mind.

"I, Uh," She sniffles and quickly wipes her eyes, smudging her makeup even further. "After he... I shoved him away, he grabbed me. He wouldn't let go so I punched him. I'm sorry," She looks down guiltily, "I know you don't like it when I–"

I cut her off by throwing my arms around her. She responds immediately, hugging me back even tighter. I pull away, but take a hold of her arm so I can look at it. The bruises are in the shape of a handprint. "I'm so sorry for not believing you," I tell her.

I play Peter Pan on my laptop, a DVD I bought the day after Cheryl told me it was one of her favourites. I lay back against pillows piled up at the head of my bed, as Cheryl rests with her head on my chest. I can't see her eyes, but I see her cheeks move when she's smiling at all her favourite scenes.

Cheryl's arm is snaked across my stomach, and she traces gentle circles on my bare skin where my shirt has ridden up. I wonder if she even notices she's doing it.

The floorboards in my room creak, and I flash my eyes open, introducing them to the darkness around me. "Cheryl?" I whisper.

"Hey, sorry. I didn't wanna wake you." I follow her soft voice and see her small figure in the light from the moon that manages to creep through the crack in my curtains. "I'm gonna quickly duck home to grab a few things," She tells me.

"What if you parents are home?" I panic for a moment.

"Shh, it's okay. I don't care about that anymore. I'm sick of the constant hiding." She whispers, and tiptoes over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. I relax and allow myself to put my head back on my pillow.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" I ask her with closed eyes.

"I'll be okay." Her fingers play with my hair for a moment. "Get some sleep."

I wake up and immediately feel Cheryl's absence before I even open my eyes. I sit up and feel for my phone to check the time. When I realise it's dead, I plug it in and my phone lights up. 6 missed calls. 13 unread messages. My heart sinks. This has happened way too many times already.

I click Cheryl's name and hold my phone up to my ear, tapping my foot anxiously.

"Toni," Cheryl breathes, answering on the second ring.

"Cheryl, thank god," I let out a sigh of relief, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She says quietly.

"What happened?" I question. No one speaks for a moment. "Cheryl?"

"My Uber crashed. I'm fine, but I'm the hospital."

"What?!" My eyes widen and I feel my heart race in fear. I jump out of bed, sliding on a sweater over my t-shirt. "I'm on my way."

"No, T, it's okay. I'm honestly fine. They'll probably let me out soon. I can come see you later," She explains.

"No way!" I argue. "I'm coming to the hospital now. See you soon."

A young woman sits behind the reception desk. Her slicked back bun suits her and her black framed glasses don't hide her pretty eyes. "Excuse me," I ask her and she looks up at me. "What room is Cheryl Blossom in?"

She types something into her computer. "Room 56B," She replies with a small smile, "It's just down the end of that hallway on the left."

I thank her and rush to follow her directions. I refrain myself from barging into the room, deciding to be respectful to everyone else here and quietly go in without waking up the entire ward.

The first thing I notice is that she is sleeping. Her eyelashes flutter slightly and her breaths are calm and steady. A dark bruise is spread across the side of her face, her cheekbone and near her eye. As I move closer to her I see her bottom lip is slightly swollen.

I reach for her hand. She shifts her body restlessly and slowly opens her eyes. The one with the bruising only half opens. "Can you hug me," She asks, and I instantly oblige, careful not to cause her any pain.

I scan her face, and lightly trace her injuries with my fingers. "Don't be a baby. You look like you're gonna cry," Cheryl says, and tries to chuckle.

I don't laugh at her joke, but instead give her a look. She always makes jokes any time anything serious happens or if she doesn't want to talk about something. "You didn't get in a car accident, did you?" I ask her already knowing the answer. She shakes her head. "Tell me about it later, okay?" I say, sensing she wants to avoid the subject right now.

She nods gratefully, and shuffles over slightly making room for me on the hospital bed. I climb onto it and lay next to Cheryl. I drop my head to rest it on her shoulder, grabbing her hand and we lay in silence for what could have been minutes or hours.

"I love you," I finally whisper, but she's already asleep.

***
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