capsize me and douse me in your bay

chapter twenty five

"Look, Toni!" Cheryl came bounding into the kitchen where Toni was making tea for each of them to wind down from the day.

She didn't know where Cheryl got this burst of energy from, but the girl had her running around town most of the day. After they had breakfast with Betty at Pop's, Cheryl wanted to get her hair cut. She had brought it up so abruptly that Toni wasn't even sure if she heard her right when she asked the first time.

"It is a human thing to do. I am human now," she had uttered so surely. Though, her confidence dwindled at the salon where Toni ended up holding her hand through most of it. But now Cheryl's long, tangly hair was styled and ended just below her shoulder blades. Her dip in confidence wasn't the only time that her sudden happiness had taken a hit today. At breakfast, Toni kept catching her zoning out, lost in thought. But she was fine the second Pop Tate set a whipped cream and cherries covered waffle in front of her.

After her haircut, Cheryl wanted to see Frozen 2, which she loved, despite not seeing the first one. And after lunch, ice cream, and a grocery shopping trip, they had dinner and watched the first Frozen while Cheryl strung beads onto chains and string with the jewelry making kit Toni had bought for her. And after all this, the pink haired girl was completely worn out, especially after getting no sleep the night before. But she didn't mind. It was nice to see her girlfriend genuinely happy and laughing again. But she couldn't help but still feel the heavy guilt in her chest. She could practically hear the necklace calling for her from the jewelry box like something out of an Edgar Allan Poe story.

"Looks good, babe," Toni smiled at the bracelet covered in pink and red beads of all shapes and sizes in no particular order.

"It is for you. I made one for me too. It is made of our favorite colors," the redhead explained, practically bouncing on her bare feet, "It is to thank you for the fun day we had today."

"It's beautiful, Cher," she thanked her with a warm smile and a kiss, slipping it onto her wrist and admiring it before handing her a mug. "It's hot so be careful," she warned her gently.

Cheryl nodded and carried the mug carefully back to the living room, plopping herself down on the floor behind the coffee table so she could make more jewelry while Frozen played on the TV for the third time tonight. Meanwhile, Toni distractedly stirred more honey into her tea. Her heart was pounding in her chest as the feeling of red hot guilt continued to bubble in the pit of her stomach. She hated lying to Cheryl.

Technically, it's not lying. It's not like she asked what happened. She has no idea.

Toni winced at that thought as it only made her feel worse. She loved Cheryl, she wasn't supposed to keep secrets from her. But if the man at the docks was who she thinks he was, then this secret wasn't something small. It would be huge for Cheryl. If it gave her her tail back, it would be life changing. But the fear of it not working still lingered in the back of her mind.

Cheryl hummed along with "Let It Go", distracted by her mess of beads and string as Toni slowly moved across the room to their bedroom, closing the door behind her. She felt like her vision was tunneling as she approached the jewelry box, picking up the little shell necklace she'd been given earlier today. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to tell herself that everything would be okay. Whatever happened, she would be there for Cheryl. It had to work, though. Who else could the mysterious man be besides the wizard Cheryl had told her about last night? If what Cheryl told her was true, he had magic more powerful than anyone in the ocean. It just had to work.

With a determined breath, Toni walked back out into the living room and sat down beside Cheryl, who just smiled at her and showed her a necklace seemingly inspired by Elsa's new icy blue dress.