All My Days

angsty moments with cheryl and toni

A/N: tw for mentions of attempted rape, suicide, and death

xxx

Toni awoke the morning of July 4th, exhausted from the night before. Their entire group of friends had gotten together for a pre-4th of July party with plenty of firecrackers and alcohol, which didn't make a good combo. But it was a fun night with good music and great people. Toni loved when they all got together like that. Cheryl had fun too and Toni got plenty of photographic evidence of the fact that her girl was all smiles last night.
But now where was she?

"Cher?" she got up, pulling a big t-shirt over her head, going on a search for her favorite redhead.
She searched the whole house, even going up to the attic alone to get to the roof. After finding Big Red gone from the garage, she ran upstairs for her phone, typing as fast as her fingers could manage.

[TT]: Babe, are you okay? Where are you?

She gave her a few minutes to respond while she got dressed, ready to go out and find her, wherever she was. Maybe she was too busy driving to text back. But five minutes passed. Then ten. Still no response. Toni sat on the bed and stared at her phone, wondering where Cheryl could have gone and why.

July 4, she read on her phone's lock screen before realization dawned on her. Of course, how did she not realize it before? Getting up again, she grabbed her keys and her serpent jacket and took off on her motorcycle, knowing exactly where she was headed. And she was almost positive that Cheryl would be there too.

She revved her motorcycle as fast as she could take it, ending up at Sweetwater River in a matter of minutes. Sure enough, Cheryl's car was parked just by the beach, and her girl was standing by the water dressed in all white. The same outfit she'd worn the last time she'd seen Jason alive, exactly a year ago. She always lovingly mocked Cheryl for always being so extra, but she knew that now was not the time for that.

Turning off the engine, Toni took off her helmet and stepped quietly onto the beach. It was early in the morning and the little space was bound to be packed with people within the next few hours. But for now, it was just them.

"Cher?" she asked quietly, not getting too close. The redhead was unmoving, except for her hair that swayed in the wind. Toni stood a bit behind her, wanting to give her the space she needed while also making sure she was all right.

"You know when we were kids, Jason used to let me sleep with him in his bed when I had a bad dream or couldn't sleep," Cheryl spoke quietly, almost so eerily that it sent a chill down Toni's spine. "It always made Mommy and Daddy so mad. But he would always take the hit for me. He'd say that it was him who had a nightmare and asked me to keep him company."

Toni stayed quiet and watched the back of Cheryl's head as she spoke.

"He was always there for me. He was my protector," she could hear the weepiness in Cheryl's voice as she watched her sink to the ground, sitting in the sand with her knees up to her chest, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.

Toni finally stepped forward, sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She let Cheryl lean into her and rubbed an arm up and down her shoulder. They hadn't been dating long. Only about three months, but Toni was wrapped so tightly around Cheryl's little finger already. She was in so deep that it scared her a little. She'd never been one to fall so far so fast for someone.

"He would have loved you, you know," Cheryl wiped under her eyes, not caring that she stained her single lace white glove with mascara, "If he could see how amazing you are, and how well you treat me..."

Toni just smiled a little, kissing her temple gently as she kept rubbing her arm.

"Do you ever talk to him?" she asked, ending her own silence.