"Come on, Cher, pick up the phone!"
Toni was growing more and more worried as the night progressed. Cheryl had promised she'd be home by 11.30 pm at the latest, and here she was, ten minutes past midnight with no sign of her girlfriend and no messages either.
Toni was scared, so petrified that something had happened, and she was working herself into a fit of worry as each minute ticked by with no sign from her redheaded girlfriend. "Pick up, pick up..." Once again, the ring went straight to voicemail and Toni let out a choked swear.
She was already prone to anxiety, already scared that one day when Cheryl left she'd never come back... and now this?
Cheryl lost track of time, her phone battery had died hours before. She had meant to charge it before she went, but she and Toni had got a little too carried away with their rendezvous and it had completely slipped her mind.
...
"Thanks for making sure I got home safe Ronnie" Cheryl waved at the raven-haired girl, letting herself quietly in through the door. She looked at the time. It was almost 12.30 in the morning. "L
"shit, sorry my love" she knew Toni wouldn't hear her, she guessed Toni would have been fast asleep by now. She'd have to make it up to her tomorrow.
Toni was up like a flash, running downstairs as soon as she heard the door open. She practically jumped the last few steps, stumbling into the living area and throwing herself at Cheryl, finding all of her anger suddenly dissipated and replaced with overwhelming relief.
"Toni? I thought you'd have been asleep hours ago" Cheryl wrapped Toni up in her arms, unsure as to why she was getting such a strong reaction.
"My phone died and I lost track of time, but Ronnie made sure I got home safe. Has everything been okay here? Are you okay?"
Toni shook her head, burying her swollen cheeks in Cheryl's top and breathing her in. "Y-You said you'd b-be home an hour a-ago," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I was so w-worried, Cher." She clung tight to the redhead, shaking in her arms.
"Hey..hey." Cheryl comforted her girlfriend, a little concerned about why she was so het up about this. "Why don't we go up to bed and we can snuggle huh?"
Toni nodded, her face all crumpled up. "C-Carry me," she whimpered. "P-please, Cher, don't let go."
This wasn't like Toni at all. "Of course my love.." Cheryl got them both safely up to their room and into bed, quickly pulling on her pajamas and brushing her teeth. She slid into the bed beside Toni and immediately pulled her into her arms.
Toni trembled against her, pressing her lips to Cheryl's shoulders, face and neck over and over to try and assure herself that her girlfriend was there... safe... with her.
Her tears rolled down her cheeks and fell onto Cheryl's skin, little droplets of salty water on pale alabaster.
"Hey..hey..what's all this?" she asked softly, wiping Toni's tears with her thumb.
Toni hiccupped, trying and failing to stop crying as she propped herself up over Cheryl and looked down at her. "I th-thought I l-lost you," she whispered.
If it had gotten to 1 am she would've been out on her motorbike searching herself. "God, Cheryl, I thought maybe your mom had done something... or someone had h-hurt you..."
"You're never going to lose me T.." she tried to reassure. "My mom hasn't been seen for months..." she reminded her. "I'm fine babe."
I'm fine. A sentence that Toni would always associate with the exact opposite. A sentence, spoken by Cheryl herself way too many times before she broke down in tears, a sentence Toni Topaz had used herself to hide what she truly felt. A sentence that now, in the present moment, had Toni reduced to long cries again, throwing a leg over Cheryl's waist as she struggled to get closer with a soft whine.
