Ulterior Motives II

Guilt

2035, Los Angeles, California

'We have just received information about a woman found dead in a lake near Austin, Texas,' the news blared out into our small but cosy blue living room, 'she is believed to be Mrs Antonella Topaz, we will keep you updated if we find out any more information.'

'Cheryl,' Toni cried, through the door that lead to their kitchen, 'Cheryl come here!'

'What is it baby?' Cheryl asked, looking at her girlfriend, who had tears in her eyes.

Toni nodded towards the television. It had cut to the lake that they had spent a lot of their time together at a long time ago. It was now a crime scene, all taped off, and Toni's father was speaking into the microphone.

'If anyone has any information on how my beloved wife died, I'm begging you, please come forward,' his voice broke on the last word.

Toni began to sob, so Cheryl took their baby from her arms and placed her into her bouncer that was in the kitchen doorway of their small apartment.

'It's okay, I'm here,' Cheryl spoke calmly as she embraced her girlfriend in a hug, letting her sob into her shoulder.

'I n-never said g-goodbye,' Toni stuttered,  rethinking every decision she'd ever made, wondering whether she regretted them. 'I treated her s-so badly and p-put her through so m-much.'

Cheryl held her girlfriend until the tears began to subside.

'I'm going to go and put Ivana down for her nap, will you be okay here?' She asked.

Toni gave her a nod, so Cheryl walked up to the yellow bouncer that hung from the doorframe and took her baby out.

As she walked upstairs, she admired the length of Ivana's dark hair. She was two years old, so it was becoming quite long.

When they reached the yellow nursery, Cheryl covered her in a little blanket after placing her into her white crib that was facing the door. She then switched the nightlight that was to the left of the bed on so that the child would feel comfortable in the dark. Finally, she pulled the curtains closed and shut the door, heading back down the short flight of stairs.

She returned to see Toni still sat in the corner of the brown sofa, in the same position she had left her in, so she went and sat next to her, and held her again.

'Cheryl?' Toni rasped, her throat sore from crying.

'What is it baby?' Cheryl asked.

'I want to go,' the brunette replied.

'Go where?' Cheryl questioned, confused.

'To the funeral,' Toni clarified.

Cheryl's heart sank. That would mean facing Toni's father.

'My father wouldn't care that I was there, he would just be upset that my mum had died,' Toni told Cheryl, as if she'd read her mind.

'If that's what you want to do, then we can make it happen,' Cheryl said, sighing, She didn't really want to go back to that time in her life, but she'd do it for Toni.

'I love you,' Toni whispered, nuzzling her head into her girlfriend's chest. She took comfort from the smell of Cheryl's perfume.

~~~

Author's Notes:

Sorry that this chapter is so short, I will post the next one soon to make up for it.
I really hope that this sequel will live up to the first one, everyone seemed to love that one so much and I don't want to let this one fall short.
Thanks for reading!! 💛💛