Stay With Me

Part 4

"No!" The sound of my scream echoes through the halls of The Sisters of Quiet Mercy. "You can't have her! Get your hands off her!" I can't lose her, not again! But I'm helpless, trapped in place as huge figures dressed in white drag Cheryl's lifeless body away from me around the corner.

I jerk awake. My eyes search frantically around the room, until I find Cheryl lying beside me peacefully. It was just a bad dream, I tell myself. She's safe.

After I've calmed down, I look over at Cheryl again. I have never seen something so beautiful. She looks so peaceful in sleep, I'm glad that she can escape the horrors of Riverdale, if only for a few hours.

"I miss you," I whisper to her. Before I can stop myself, I lean over to kiss her. Just as my lips are about to touch her cheek, she stirs in her sleep and I leap out of bed before she can catch me. I practically sprint to the bathroom, and shut the door carefully behind me.

A single tear escapes my eye and trails down my cheek. I'm so confused. I thought that rescuing Cheryl would fix everything, I had it all planned out. We would live together at my trailer. I would wake her up every morning with a kiss, and fall asleep every night with her in my arms. But no, Cheryl's mother took all of that away from us.

———

I stand under the hot water in the shower. I wish that it could wash away everything that's happened in the last few days. I should never have let Cheryl walk through that door. If only I had stopped her. I had a feeling that something was wrong the second Penelope called. She told Cheryl some bizarre story about Nana Rose being rushed to the hospital after an accident. I tried to stop Cheryl from leaving, but she wouldn't listen to me.

Flashback:

"Toni let go of me!" Cheryl yells.

"Please Cheryl! Something just doesn't feel right about this," I begged. Don't get in the car with your mother, I'll drive you myself! Just let me grab my keys-"

"No!" Said Cheryl, "She could be dying Toni! I need to leave now. How can you be this selfish?!"

Before I can respond Cheryl shoves me away from her and my back slams into the wall. She dashes out the door slamming it behind her.

That's when I lost her. This is all my fault I think, and salty tears start flowing down my cheeks uncontrollably.

———

All of a sudden, I hear a scream pierce through the thin walls of the trailer. Not even bothering to turn off the water, I grab a towel and fling the bathroom door open, bursting into the bedroom. Cheryl's tossing and turning on the bed.

"Toni! Please, please help me! Where are you?!" She screams.

Wait— what? Before I have time to process what she said, I run to the bed and shake her furiously. "Cheryl! Wake up it's just a bad dream!" I yell.

Cheryl's eyes open wide with fear, and to my surprise she wraps her arms around me and buries her face in my damp hair. My breath catches in my throat, as I hold her in my arms. I cautiously reach up a shaky hand and stroke her hair. "It's ok, Cheryl; you're here with me," I say. "It was just a bad dream."

But suddenly she stiffens in my arms. She pulls away and looks down, embarrassed. "I'm fine Toni," she says in a cold voice.

"But...I thought that—"

"I'm fine, and if you wouldn't mind I'd like to get dressed now." She says.

I'm speechless. What just happened? One minute she was in my arms, and the next she's treating me like a complete stranger.

"Please— um, just help yourself to anything in the closet," I manage to say.

Cheryl's POV:

I stand up abruptly and brush past her on my way to the closet. I open the closet door and start searching through her clothes, looking for something to wear. I sense her stand up behind me and slowly walk to the door.

"I'm sorry," she says in a fragile voice.

I want to turn and tell her that it's ok, that she doesn't need to apologize. But I can't bear to see the pain in her eyes.

The door shuts softly behind her, and I instantly crumple onto the floor in a heap sobbing.

AN:
This story is going to be mostly from Toni's POV, but sometimes I think it's important to write from Cheryl's. Also,  trust me it really does get happier eventually.