The newest punishment they've concocted involves Cheryl on her knees before an image of Jesus Christ on the cross for an hour or more, reciting prayers that sound mostly like gibberish after five or six rounds. If she doesn't repeat them properly she gets a smack on the back of her hand and if she does, in fact, recite them properly she gets a gruff again and off she goes. It's not terrible as far as punishments go, but it's not exactly how she wants to spend her day, either.
By the end of the day on Friday, she's exhausted and she doesn't feel like talking to anyone at all, just feels like curling up in bed and crying and crying and crying because it's been five whole days and there's been no one. Surely, by now, someone must be worried.
It takes a very cold shower for Cheryl to finally admit to herself that no one is coming. Not Toni, not Kevin, not Josie, not Veronica. Maybe they've given up on their search by now. Cheryl understands. She'd give up on herself, too.
"It's movie night." Someone shouts through her door, knuckles hitting the metal door several times before Cheryl's engulfed in silence again. She takes her sweet time dressing up, dread filling her stomach at the thought of this being her life now. Hauling shit around in the basement, eating old food, praying, eating old food again — this is it. This is how it's going to be from now on.
The movie is a particularly terrible one, featuring cheerleaders and locker room showers and a cynical voice telling them to avoid temptation and pray when you have unnatural thoughts and and and and.
Cheryl's crying halfway through because that was her life. That's her, on the screen, waving pom-poms around and smiling big as she looks back at her River Vixens squad, smiling big at Toni. That's them, too, in the locker rooms after practice, stealing glances at each other and smiling secret smiles meant only for each other. She can practically hear Toni, hear her calling her name loud and clear and she's crying again.
"Cheryl?"
The door bursts open and Cheryl's eyes widen when —
"Toni?" She stands up, wiping away the tears on her face because maybe she's imagining this, imagining her, but no. No, because the tears are gone and her vision isn't blurry. Toni's there, breathing heavy, cheeks red and eyes wide.
"We came to rescue you."
"You did?" Cheryl says, chest heaving and heart racing.
Toni only nods, eyes fixed on Cheryl like she can't believe she's right there, in front of her, like Toni's been looking for her her whole life and finally found her, finally has her.
It sort of is like that, Cheryl supposes.
Their hug is so fucking tight that Cheryl can't breathe but she doesn't let go because she feels safe again. She feels safe in Toni's arms, knows damn well nothing like this will ever happen to her again because Toni won't let it.
"I've got you," Toni murmurs into her neck, "I've got you."
They kiss.
They kiss and Cheryl feels the blinding lights of the projector on her face and for a second she forgets there's a whole room of kids looking at them but she's just concentrating on Toni and Toni's lips and Toni's hands cupping her face and Toni's body flush against hers.
Cheryl's safe, finally. She's home.
It took her a while — a whole lifetime, some might say — but she's finally home.
ESTÁS LEYENDO
Sick of losing soulmates (Cheryl Blossom & Toni Topaz)
Fanfic"Toni looks at her - like, really looks at her - long and hard and then she nods as if she understands, as if all of Cheryl's secrets are written all over her face and it just took someone to look closer than usual to discover them all." Or; you hav...
