After their lunch ended, Toni and Cheryl went to their respective rooms, the redhead was taking her medicine when Veronica entered the redhead's room. "You came," The nurse said as she walking further into the room. "Why didn't you pass by my room and tell me that you guys came?" She asked again with a voice full of annoyance.
Cheryl swallowed the water and began to remove her shoes as she spoke. "I literally just came back, my head is hurting. I was going to call you."
"You had lunch together?" Veronica asked in a low voice.
The redhead sighed and nodded. "Yeah."
The nurse shook her head, "Very nice. You guys go out and leave me here all alone."
"I wasn't going to go," Cheryl said firmly, and it was the truth, if Toni hadn't sent Alex home, she wouldn't have gone with Toni to lunch.
Veronica scoffed and laughed bitterly. "You always say that, but then you change your mind right?!" She asked with rage.
"What do you mean?" Cheryl asked as she got comfortable in the bed.
"I mean that you are going to say that she forced you to go with her!" Veronica yelled as she slammed her hand against the nightstand.
The widow sighed, she knew the nurse wouldn't believe her. "That's what happened!"
"No one can force the other to go out with them Cheryl! Besides, did you come back in the same car?"
"She told Alex to leave," the redhead said rolling her eyes.
Veronica raised an eyebrow at her best friend. "And why did she do it!?"
"I don't know!" The redhead shot back.
"So you can go back with her!"
"Veronica, stop. Don't let your mind go far. You and I are sisters, and I will never hurt or upset you."
"My mind didn't go far, but yours did. I know I fancy her, she also told me last night some sweet things. And when she was about to kiss me but of course I refused. I'm not the type of girl to put myself out."
Cheryl's heart sank, She was about to kiss her? It means things are going to be serious. She said to herself as she placed the cover on herself.
"And how was your day?" Veronica asked again.
"It was fine, nothing new. How's Jacob?"
The nurse sighed. "He's giving me a hard time, every injection takes an hour! I can't stand him anymore. You need to talk to Elissa and tell her to control her son."
The redhead's eyes went wide. "Veronica, what's wrong with you? He's a kid, the shock of him having diabetes is still there. It's not easy living with it. I'll talk to Elissa." She then sighed. "Oh, Sweetpea and Josie are coming over tonight." She informed the nurse. "So we can talk about the house."
Veronica didn't say anything, she just nodded and left the room and made her way to her room. She was going to put a stop an end to whatever is going between Toni and Cheryl and she knows exactly how.
It was almost dinner time when the nurse made her way into Toni's room. "Hey, Toni." She said as she entered her room.
"Hey, Veronica ," Beca replied absentmindedly as she was tying her shoes.
"Can I come in?" Veronica asked sweetly.
Toni lifted her head and saw that Veronica was already in the room. "You are entered, but anyways I am ready so we can go."
"Go where?" The nurse asked confused.
"To the house, Josie and Pea are about to reach."
Veronica shook her head. "They'll call us when they are here."
Toni looked at the girl confused, what difference does it make if we went to the house or not? She asked herself as she nodded. "Okay?" She meant it as a question.
"Tell me Toni, how was work today?" She asked sweetly.
"It was good," The short brunette reply carefully.
"Am sure Cheryl annoyed you, as usual, right?" She said with a laugh. Toni just looked at her, she was trying to understand what is the nurse's approach, why is Veronica trying to ruin Cheryl's image for Toni? Not noticing how the nurse stayed silent, Veronica continued. "You were together last night?"
"Yes," Toni said with a nod, still careful of what she is saying. "For a little bit."
Veronica sighed as she took a seat on one of Toni's chairs. "Cheryl got upset because you followed her, I don't even go there when she wants to sit alone. She gets annoyed Toni."
"And why are you telling me this?"
The nurse was silent for a few moments before she spoke again. "Cheryl told me to give you the message."
Toni scuffed. "She told me to leave her alone more than a thousand times, why did she tell you now?"
"Because she told you a thousand times and you didn't listen so she told me to tell you, maybe I'll get you to listen and by the way how are your aunts?"
"Why are you asking?"
"Because they were here the other day, didn't they go to the factory?"
Toni nodded. "They did."
"Why do they think that Cheryl didn't inherit anything from Larry but the clothes she came with?"
The short brunette's eyes widened. I am going to kill my aunts. She said to herself as cleared her throat. "How did you know?"
"They told me. Although they were with you when the will was opened, so it's clear that they should know that Cheryl inherited everything or am I mistaken?"
"My aunts are old Veronica ," Toni argued back.
The nurse gave Toni a small smile. "They may be old but they aren't stupid. You know very well that Cheryl m is my friend and I don't like anyone to hurt her."
Toni took a deep breath as she started to feel her anger boil in her body. How could she think that I might hurt Cheryl ? She thought as she walked closer to the nurse. "I am the last person on earth who will ever hurt her! I will never do such a thing!" She said raising her voice slightly.
Veronica scoffed. "After everything, she's done to you?!"
"Can we go back to the mansion?" Toni asked, choosing to ignore her question.
Veronica stood up from her place. "You didn't answer me Toni."
"Answer what Veronica!?"
"Why do you aunts think that Cheryl didn't inherit anything?!"
"I'll ask them tomorrow." She said coldly. "Can we go now?" She spat as she turned her back and walked out of the room.
She walked into the mansion to find that Sweetpea and Josie had already arrived and they were sitting with Cheryl in the living room. "Good evening everyone." She said with a wide smile, then her eyes drifted to Cheryl who was wearing a white skirt with a sleeveless black blouse along with some black heels, she got closer to the redhead as she whispered in her ear. "You look lovely tonight." She then turned to the couple and greeted them, she then saw that Veronica entered the living room, Toni exhaled a breath and plastered a fake smile on her face.
Cheryl blushed at the comment and didn't say anything until Sweetpea spoke. "Shall we step outside to talk?" He asked eyeing how the two were looking at each other, as soon as he received nods from the two, the trio walked to the backyard as Toni sat on one of the sofa's and Cheryl sat on the arm of the sofa, the short brunette smiled as she rested her hand on Cheryl's back. "Cheryl, I had already informed Sweetpea about everything, we only need to talk about the details."
The redhead looked at Toni with a smile. "What kind of details?"
"Your father's name, his address, and how much he wants to sell the house," the man said with a smile.
"His name is Clifford Blossom, and the address is 102 Lake Forest Drive," She replied to Sweetpea's answers as she turned her gaze to him.
"And how much does he want to sell it for?" Toni asked the redhead as she rubbed her back gently.
"I really have no idea and neither does my brother, I also think that even my father doesn't know how much he wants to sell it for." She then turned to the man. "It doesn't matter, pay as much as he asks for."
Sweetpea smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about it."
"The money is no issue, Pea, as long as the building stays within us." The short brunette demanded softly.
"I'll buy it don't you guys worry." The brunette man said in understanding.
"And the most important thing is that the whole operation looks like a coincidence, we don't need to show that you are specifically going to that house," Toni explained more to her best friend.
Sweetpea shook his head with a laugh. "I promise you that I understood."
Toni and Cheryl laughed. "Okay, Shall we go inside? Because Veronica and Josie are alone." Toni asked as she looked at the two.
"Sure," The redhead said nodding. "And I'll talk tomorrow to Liam to arrange everything."
The short brunette shook her head. "You don't need to do anything, I'll talk to him and inform him of the plan."
Wanting to leave the two alone, Sweetpea cleared his throat. "I'll see you guys inside." He said as he started to walk.
"Pea," Cheryl called after him. "Thank you." She said with a soft smile.
The brunette man shrugged. "It's not worth mentioning." He said with a smile as he continued his way to the mansion.
Toni smiled. "Woah, you know how to say thank you?" She asked as she faked shocked.
The redhead giggled. "Of course I do, but not for everyone." She said winking as she stood up from her place.
Toni then grabbed the redhead's hand softly as she pulled her onto her lap. Cheryl yelped in surprise as she placed her arms around Toni's neck. "Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?" Toni asked in a sweet, whispery voice.
Cheryl's breath hitched as their faces inched closer. "You did," She replied as she closed her eyes.
"Then let me tell you again. You look beautiful tonight Cher." Toni said as her lips brushed Cheryl's.
The redhead's heart was beating fast. She can't kiss Beca, "Toni," She whispered. "I-I can't."
"Why not Cher?"
"B-B-Because..." She trailed off as she broke the embrace and ran back to the house. Toni watched her go as she was unable to do anything.
The redhead entered the living room followed by Toni to find Sweetpea and Josie both having a glass and Veronica was nowhere to be found. Toni stood close to Cheryl as she spoke. "Cheryl , what would you like to drink?" She asked sweetly.
The redhead smiled. "Wine?" She asked taking Toni's opinion.
"Wine it is then," Toni said as she grabbed a glass from the table and poured for Cheryl and herself. The redhead grinned as she took the glass from the brunette.
"Toni , the bottle is almost empty, can we go get another?" Sweetpea asked as he received a glare from Josie. "Come on, baby, just one glass."
The belly dancer nodded but said nothing, Toni then placed a hand on Cheryl's shoulder, "Would you mind if we went to the cellar to grab a bottle?"
Cheryl turned her face and looked at the short brunette with a smile. "Not at all, go ahead." She said as she watched the two brunettes walk away. The redhead took a seat on one of the sofa's followed by Josie. "Are things okay with Sweetpea?" Cheryl asked tentatively.
Josie sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sure you think that I am not good as a wife."
The redhead smiled softly as she shook her head. "I don't,"
"I know how much he loves me, but that love isn't enough for me. My life is missing something, and it's dancing. His condition when we got married was to stop dancing, and I did because I was in love with him and I genuinely thought that this love was going to be enough for me but after that and as the days passed I began to feel this hole inside of me, I started to blame him, I am hating him because he stopped me from doing the only thing I love, I want to dance, I want to be free. I want to leave."
"But what if he did have a point? What if you really couldn't live without him?" Cheryl asked after a few moments of silence.
"If it's up to me, I would I'd still have him and dance, but if I have to choose, then I can't stay with him. Living with him is like I am half a human, I hate him for taking away my second half. Also even if I left him, my happiness won't be complete but everytime I dance, I'll remember him. I'll be dreaming of him, I'll dance because I'll miss him. Is there anything better than dancing your way through the tears?"
Before Cheryl could speak, she heard Jacob's voice screaming. "I DON'T WANT TO!" His voice raged through the house. Her heart dropped as she placed the glass on the table and ran to the room. She tried her best to climb up the stairs as fast as she could. She could hear Veronica's voice yelling at him.
"DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL ALEX TO TIE YOU DOWN?" The tall brunette yelled in anger and frustration.
"Jacob, Calm down son please," Elissa begged her son.
"VERONICA!" Cheryl said firmly as she got her best friend's attention.
"Cheryl, this is unbearable!" She yelled again.
"Get out,"
"Oh really? And who will give him the needle!?" She exclaimed.
"I will," She said in a calm and firm voice. "Get out."
Veronica huffed and threw the needle on the bed and she pushed past, Cheryl. "Fine, I'm leaving."
The redhead shook her head as she grabbed the needle. "You too Elissa."
"W-W-What? You want me to leave him?"
"Is you leaving him on the streets for example?"
"No b-b-but-"
"Elissa," She said firmly. "Leave."
The housemaid looked at her son then back at Cheryl. "Ms. Cheryl, what are you going to do with him?"
"Elissa! Now!"
"If I left, can I leave the door open?"
Cheryl rolled her eyes playfully. "Leave it open and stop panicking."
"Ms. Cheryl?" Elissa said as she began to stand up but then she sat again. "If I stayed here and didn't say a word, will that work?"
Cheryl bit a smile as she shook her head. "Leave Elissa." The housemaid nodded and went to stand outside the room. Cheryl smiled as she sat beside Jacob. "You know that your mom is afraid that I would hurt you?" She asked with a smile.
"Why?" Jacob asked confused.
"Because she loves you, Do you wanna bet that she's eavesdropping on us right now?" She said loud enough for Elissa to hear.
"I swear that I am not!" Elissa said peaking through the door.
Jacob and Cheryl giggled. "Your swearing and you are lying Elissa?" The redhead said trying to keep a straight face and a firm voice.
"I-I am not lying Ms. Cheryl, I meant that I swear that I wasn't eavesdropping intentionally, it's just that your voice reached to where I am standing." She mumbled as she disappeared back outside.
Cheryl nodded as she looked at Jacob who was laughing. She leaned and spoke in a whisper. "How about we speak in a low voice so that she doesn't hear us?" She asked with a grin. The boy nodded enthusiastically as he kept on laughing.
Toni and Sweetpea were in the cellar trying to choose a bottle of wine, the short brunette kept telling Sweetpea the difference between dry wine and sweet wine. They kept walking into the huge cellar as per the man's request to get an old bottle of wine. Sweetpea could feel that Toni wasn't alright and that she had something making her worry. He sighed as he grabbed her arm stopping her from walking. "What's wrong Tiny?" He asked worriedly. "Please don't tell me your fine."
"I-I" She sighed. "I have a meeting with the lawyer tomorrow morning, the one who my uncle left papers with."
Sweetpea frowned. "But that's good, isn't it? Maybe you'll finally be able to solve the mystery of this whole story."
"I am scared," Toni said in a low voice.
"Scared of what?" Sweetpea asked confused.
"I'm scared of knowing something I don't want to know, I'm scared of..." She trailed off while shaking her head.
"You are scared of changing your mind about Cheryl." He continued knowingly.
Toni sighed. "I'm afraid of getting shocked with anything she has to do. I don't want to lose her."
Wanting to change Tomi's mood, he smiled. "Let's choose a bottle of wine shall we?" Seeing Toni nod, he looked around and choose a bottle of wine that was thirty-one years old. They picked up the bottle and made their way to the house to find Josie and Veronica sitting in the living room. "I found an antic bottle, thirty-one-year-old vintage wine."
Josie gasped. "And do you have the heart to open it?!" She exclaimed.
Toni laughed as she grabbed a tissue and cleaned the bottle from the dust. "I have a heart of stone, of course, I'll open it." She then glanced around the living room and noticed that Cheryl isn't here. "Where's Cheryl?" She asked the blond and the nurse.
Veronica rolled her eyes. "She's committing a crime." She said in annoyance.
Toni's eyes went wide. "What?"
"Jacob was giving me a hard time, he didn't want to take the insulin, so Cheryl entered the room and I don't know what's happening." She said as she waved off the brunette.
Toni sighed as she handed the bottle to Jesse. "Open it up while I go check on them." She said as she ran upstairs and found Elissa outside the room, she wanted to ask how are things were going but Elissa shushed her and told her to get closer, she smiled at the sight that was in front of her.
Cheryl and Jacob were sitting Indian style on the bed as the redhead's back was to the door and she was having a conversation with the boy. "You do have a point of being scared from Veronica's injections. I was once sick and I had to let her give me an injection, can you believe that I screamed louder than you did ten times?" She said as they giggled. "And since that time, I didn't let her inject me again." She stated with a soft smile, she was silent for a few moments before she spoke again. "Do you want me to show you how to inject yourself all alone?"
Jacob's eyes widened. "ME?" He asked in shock.
"Yeah you, you are a big guy, not a little one, which means you can do your own injections. Imagin how your friends will be jealous of you when they find out that you know how to do it all alone, what would they say?"
Toni was standing by the door, she can't believe how Cheryl was treating Jacob, how she was tricking him to get the injection. She couldn't understand why Veronica was saying all these mean stuff about Cheryl.
"They won't believe me!" He said excitedly.
Cheryl nodded, "Of course they won't! And you know what? It hurts way less when you do it alone."
"How did you know?" The ten-year-old asked intrigued.
"I tried it!" Cheryl said convincingly. "I had too, there was also this one time I was sick but Veronica wasn't here, so I had to do it myself." She said to the boy.
"Teach me!" Jacob said excitedly.
Toni who was still watching the scene unfold, looked at Elissa and nodded with a soft smile and turned to leave. She knew Cheryl wasn't that cold-hearted woman that she portray's herself to be.
The redhead smiled, she knew how to get to the boy. "Get the pillow from behind you." She said pointing at it. When Jacob got it, he looked at her confused. "We need it to practice Jay," She said with a wink. "First step, you need to know how to open it, look at how I am doing it." She said as she removed the plastic cover of the needle. "Here you go, practice on the pillow."
Jacob took the injection with a wide grin as he started to inject the empty syringe on the pillow, he did it about twenty times as Cheryl watched him with a smile. "Okay, enough big guy." She said with a laugh.
"How was I?" He asked hopefully.
Cheryl winked and gave him a thumbs up. "You were great, how about we give it a try?"
"YES! YES!" He said excitedly.
"Okay, let's call mommy in shall we?" She asked as she turned towards the door to find Elissa already standing there. "Eissa, come and see how Jacob is going to do the injection alone."
Elissa ran further into the room. "Alone?" She asked in a panic voice.
Cheryl shrugged with a smile as she looked at Jacob. "He's a big guy, aren't you buddy?" When she saw Jacob nod, "Alright, lift your shirt up." When she saw the little boy do as he was told, she spoke again. "Now, I know that you are a strong boy." She said with a wink. "But, if at any step you felt afraid, just tell me."
"I'm a strong guy! Let's do it." Jacob said as he sat up on his knees and caught a part of his belly where he is supposed to inject himself, Cheryl held the needle for him and placed it in its position, she turned the injection knob and looked at the boy with a smile. "Press right here," She said as she pointed at the injection button.
Jacob took a deep breath as he pushed the needle into his stomach and pressed the insulin.
"Okay, that's it, big guy. We are done." Cheryl said with a wide smile as she removed the needle. "Did it hurt?"
"Not at all! Can you always do it for me?" He asked with hopeful eyes.
Cheryl smiled. "If I was at home yes, now you need to get ready for bed." She said as she pinched his cheek. "Goodnight buddy." The redhead said softly as she left the room and made her way back to the living room. Noticing how quiet it was, she frowned as she walked further to find that Josie and Sweetpea had already left and she also noticed that Toni and Vee were sitting queitly. "They left?" She asked getting the attention from both girls.
Toni smiled as soon as she noticed Cheryl. "Yes, you were taking longer than expected and Sweetpea was getting a bit drunk." She said as she stood up, "Would you like to a glass of wine Cheryl?"
"Uh, no thank you Toni, I'm heading to bed." She then looked at her best friend in annoyance. "Veronica , a word aside please?"
The nurse rolled her eyes as she sighed. "Toni isn't a stranger, you can talk in front of her."
Cheryl exhaled a breath and looked at Stacie, "What's going on with you? Do you think it's acceptable to yell at a boy?"
"Didn't you see how spoiled he is?!" The nurse said in anger. "I suffer every day from this problem! The injection takes at least an hour! It should take less than a minute!"
"He's a kid and he's scared! You're a nurse Vee , you should know how to handle sick people!" Cheryl shot back.
"Oh, and you do know how to handle people? You? The woman who didn't even continue her education is telling me how to handle people!? The woman who treats everyone around this house like shit!" Veronica yelled in anger.
And in that moment, Toni's eyes went wide. She could see how Cheryl's eyes well up in tears. "Veronica..." Toni said in a firm voice. "That was uncalled for."
"It's fine," Cheryl said in a quiet voice, she then looked at Veronica and shook her head and running out the door and into the forest.
Toni exhaled a breath. "Did you have to throw it in her face?" She said in a voice that she wasn't messing up. "What has gotten into you!? Are you her so-called best friend? A best friend doesn't throw shit at her friend's face!" Toni stated in anger, she shook her head and left the living room as she sprinted her way to the forest, determined to follow the redhead.
"Cheryl!" She said as she spotted the redhead leaning against the tree.
The widow wiped her tears quickly. "Go away Toni, please."
Toni got closer to the redhead and placed her hands on Cheryl's shoulder. "Cher..." She trailed off. "She doesn't mean it."
The redhead just nodded, as she wiped more tears and turned her gaze to the sky. The short brunette's heart broke at the sight of the redhead , she slowly turned her and cupped her cheeks. "Everything will be alright."
"No, it won't!" Cheryl cried harder. "This isn't her! I don't know what has gotten into her."
Toni wrapped her arms around Cheryl's waist as she brought her tighter. "Shh, Cheryl please stop crying." When the sobs didn't quiet down, Toni pulled away from the hug and looked at Cheryl. "Don't make me do something annoying to you." She said with a smirk.
Cheryl giggled through the tears as the short brunette used her thumb to wipe away the tears.
"Those beautiful eyes don't deserve to cry," Toni said in a whisper. "You don't deserve whatever happened to you." She said as she leaned in closer and noticed how Cheryl closed her eyes. "I'll make sure that no one ever hurts you." She said queitly.
"Toni." The redhead said pleadingly as she wanted to break the embrace.
The short brunette shook her head. "No Cheryl, let us have this moment."
"B-But I can't Toni." The redhead said as she felt more tears were falling, all she could see in her mind was images of Veronica.
"Why are you pulling away from a good thing?" Toni asked in a low voice.
Cheryl sighed as she shook her head. "We can't," She said in a sad voice.
Toni just looked at her with sad eyes and nodded. "Okay, I'm going back to my room." She said in a sad voice as she dropped her arms and turned her back to Cheryl.
A couple of steps later, Toni felt a hand intertwined with hers, she turned to look at Cheryl but didn't have time to react because she suddenly felt Cheryl's lips against hers. She moaned, Cheryl wrapped her arms around Toni's neck as Toni tightened her arms around Cheryl's waist.
Their lips worked in sync as they were savoring the moment, butterflies erupting in both their stomachs, all that could be heard was the sound of the crickets. Cheryl felt the gentle pushing of Toni's tongue into her mouth seeking out the entrance. The kiss was long, soft and sensual.
As soon as Cheryl kissed her and Toni felt that the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. Toni's hand rested below her ear, her thumb caressing the redhead's cheek as their breaths blended. Cheryl ran her fingers down the short brunette's spine, pulling Toni closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of Cheryl's heart against her chest.
All the couple could feel was sparks flying in every direction, and the world was slowly disappearing around them, along with all of their worries, their troubles, and problems. The kiss made them both feel like none of that mattered.