Chapter Text
Toni wished she could just hold the redhead and somehow make everything okay again, if only for a moment. However, she was also experienced enough to know that it wasn’t wise to leave the injuries as they were any longer than they already had been. With Cheryl so tense, cold and clearly aching she figured a shower the best idea for right now, relieved it delayed the necessary first aid that the girl would inevitably hate, as would Toni herself.
“Hey,” she said softly, once Cheryl’s breathing had finally evened out, “How does a shower sound? Hopefully, it’ll help warm you up and we need to get those clean.” She gestured towards the raw aggravated skin an inch away from where she held pale trembling hands in her own.
“Okay,” Cheryl muttered as she hiccupped, her watery eyes meeting Toni’s, who could still see the fear behind them.
The vixen didn’t make a move to get up though, so she gave her a moment while she ran over a list of things they’d need: towel, clothes, first aid and perhaps she might get some food in the girl later, but she wouldn’t bet on it. One thing at a time.
A deep breath redirected her attention back to Cheryl who appeared to have composed herself a little more, shifting in her seat. Careful to avoid the injuries, that she knew of, Toni moved to stand next to her, supporting an elbow with each palm to help the redhead to her feet. Cheryl’s legs felt weak, a painful reflection of her own resolve, but they managed to manoeuvre themselves to the bathroom without her knees buckling. That was unanimously taken as a win by both girls, now what next?
Toni could tell the sniffling girl wasn’t up to communicating what she needed, oblivious to Cheryl’s realisation that the serpent somehow always seemed to know anyway. It, of course, wasn’t like Toni to shy away though, so she’d figure it out.
“Ummm, I’ll get towels and stuff out for you? Before you get in…” She asked uncertainly.
“Please.” The redhead mumbled with a nod.
Satisfied with the mutual decision, Toni wrapped an arm around a too narrow waist. She felt the thorax above her hand expand with a shaky inhale before a breath of relief, one that she hoped indicated that their closeness had brought some comfort to the ever-trembling girl, as she settled her onto the toilet lid. One thing at a time.
Not wanting to leave the timid cheerleader any longer than necessary, she grabbed two clean towels as well as a washcloth, draping them over the sink for now.
Toni had noticed that two dark brown eyes had been following her every move so assumed she needn’t point out the towels but explained, “There are a few soaps and stuff in the shower, use whatever you need, I can’t speak for their quality but it’s better than nothing right?” She noted sheepishly.
Cheryl’s throat was scratchy, not to mention the lump that sat at the back of it, the kind you swallow past every few seconds just to keep the tears at bay. But she couldn’t bear the thought that kind, selfless, Toni Topaz thought she was being anything less than hospitable simply because she knew Cheryl was used to ‘the good life’ if you could even call it that. It certainly wasn’t the time to acknowledge it, and she herself was in no state of mind to even notice it, but what a way Cheryl Blossom had come from her nurtured prejudices.
“Of course, TT. You don’t know how grateful I am, truly.” It was all she could manage to stutter out, but it earned a relieved sigh and closed-lipped smile from the darker-skinned girl so she supposed it would do for now. Little did Cheryl know, it was the use of her nickname that had caused the slight smile, Toni could see that her girl was still in there, scared and hiding but there.
Toni moved to turn the shower on, knowing it would need a minute to warm up though she thanked the heavens that Fangs at least had decent water pressure in his trailer, the same couldn’t be said for most. With nothing else to fuss over, she turned back to Cheryl, finding the girl already gazing back at her hesitantly.
“So, it should warm up in a sec, and changing the temperature is easy enough.” She smiled gingerly, whether to reassure herself or her company she wasn’t sure. “Do… do you need any help?” Toni was no stranger to caring for people, when you grow up on the southside, you grow up ten times faster.
Serpent sexism is forgone, and even the boys find themselves playing doctor once in a while, though it’s not playing, not like the kids on the northside, innocently sneaking band-aids to patch up their teddy bears. No, you couldn’t count the number of children who’d dropped out of school to care for a sick relative, though that’s all they were, children. You grow up ten times faster on the southside.
But this felt different, this was Cheryl, fragile at the best of times, whether she’d admit it or not, because more importantly, Cheryl was proud. And Toni could tell, looking into those eyes how desperate the girl was to appear strong as always, and she feared that it might even be in an effort not to disappoint her, ever kind, selfless and strong, Toni Topaz. If only Cheryl had the serpent figured out in the same way, then she’d know that at the mention of the redhead, the word ‘disappointment’ would never cross the mind of Toni Topaz. Sickeningly, the same couldn’t be said for her own mother.
Dutiful to Toni’s assumptions, the word ‘no’ was uttered from full lips. Turning her back, two combat boots moved towards the door before, “I’ll be okay.” Toni knew well enough that she wasn’t only referring to the shower, heard the doubt and questioning behind the words despite their guise.
She turned her head back, regarding the girl who had once again shrunk in on herself and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Cher,” eyelashes weighted with unshed tears fluttered open, “Of course you will, and I’ll be here even when you’re not.” She hoped her sincerity was translated in her eyes, but it was up to Cheryl to believe it.
She closed the door behind her.
She wanted to give Cheryl privacy, but flashes of the bruises and scrapes littered her mind, so she allowed herself to sit, slumped back against the door, listening. Toni told herself that the fact that all she’d heard in the last few minutes was running water, but the white noise became ironically torturous.
Inside, Cheryl wasn’t having much better luck.
Whist painful, removing her cardigan had been relatively easy, the dress, however. She scoffed, realising that she was sickeningly grateful for the ghastly decision to clothe the girls in button-front dresses, meaning she wouldn’t need to raise her arms above her head. What it did mean was the frustrating task of unbuttoning at least 6 of the white disks with trembling, aching fingers, before the dress finally fell from her feeble frame, pooling at her muddied feet. Feet clad in off-white (though who could tell at this point) plimsolls, true to herself the Blossom rolled her eyes, never had she thought in her turmoiled life that undressing could rear itself one of her greatest challenges. The angry, crescent shaped indents that adorned her shoulders burned in anticipation, before she’d even made a move. Slowly bending, reaching towards the floor, the crescents felt they were being ripped open into full moons. Her left side screamed in agony as bruised flesh rippled against her ribcage with the movement, willing herself not to flashback to when she’d acquired the injury.
Conscious of running out of hot water though, the redhead painstakingly managed to undress in just a few minutes.
Ten minutes. She’d give her ten minutes, then she’d check, that seemed reasonable right? Glancing at the clock, “Six more minutes,” she sighed. The last four had felt like an eternity, she needed to stop fretting, get things ready for when Cheryl was finished, to keep herself busy if anything.
The kitchen counter was bare, aside for a toaster and the microwave, Fangs must have cleaned, bless that boy’s heart. Figuring it not the worst idea, she slid two slices of bread into the toaster for later before grabbing the first aid box from the cupboard above it. There was no need to mention the stool she’d had to step on to do so, of course.
Back in the direction of the bathroom, the serpent stopped at the coffee table, laying out the supplies she’d need: wound dressing, bandages and antiseptic. She then crossed past the bathroom door, not denying herself a pause to listen and a glance at the clock, three more minutes. As promised the bedroom was made up already, Toni only grabbed two more blankets pre-emptively as Cheryl had felt abnormally cold, and, well, to keep herself busy. Little did she know that before those three minutes were up, a guttural sob would interrupt the droning downpour of the shower.
Toni had to stop herself from barging into the room like she had into that god-awful excuse of a cinema, knocking twice, “Cher?” She called. All she got in response was more choked sobs, making the decision for her. Tentatively turning the stiff handle, she pushed the door open coming face to face with a fog of steam. Like the rest of the trailer, the bathroom’s layout was just as familiar to the serpent, so she rushed to the source without hesitation, despite the visibility.
Her heart broke at what she saw but ever level-headed, she didn’t forget her current priority – there was no way a comfortably hot shower could produce that much steam. Reaching over the crumpled redhead, she hissed as the scolding waterfall ricocheted off her forearm as she deftly turned the shower off.
Toni’s gaze flickered down then, following strands of darkened red hair that clung to the hunched back, spine worryingly prominent. Cheryl’s face was buried in her knees as Toni’s eyes raked over the expanse of exposed skin, every pale inch now blotched and inflamed – she had been right about the shower. Oh, Cheryl.
Cheryl had been silent ever since she’d entered the bathroom, so it startled the serpent when the redhead spoke without prompting. Her voice was muffled, chin still tucked to her chest, and shaken but the desperation was unmistakable. “I just wanted it to go away, Toni, but I couldn’t get rid of it, I can’t… I ca-,” she started to hyperventilate.
Already having anticipated this, Toni sprang into action. Crouching in front of the trembling girl, “Cher, Cheryl, look at me, please.” Her voice was firm as she tried to keep the urgency out of her tone. Thankfully her plea worked after a beat, forehead lifting from bony knees, Toni knew the loss-of-control feeling all too well and hoped the eye contact would give the girl something to latch onto. Bloodshot eyes bore into her own expectantly as the mouth below them sucked in short ragged breaths. Toni wouldn’t deny that she was also panicking slightly but she acted on an empathetic instinct, what would she need to hear?
“Cheryl, you’re safe, you’re out of there and I’ll help… I’ll help you get rid of whatever it is, okay?”
The girl looked at her disbelievingly, still spluttering, her erratic breathing worsened. Shit, Toni, think.
“Cheryl, can I touch you, I won’t hurt you, I promise.” Cheryl was shaking so violently now that the nod was barely perceptible, but Toni saw it. As if approaching an unfamiliar animal, Toni made sure her actions were slow and obvious, reaching to rest her palms on her shoulders for now. The comforting weight steadied the redhead somewhat, enough for her to take in Toni’s next words.
“It feels like you can’t breathe doesn’t it?” Rhetorical, “I know, but Cheryl, you have to trust me on this, you can, there’s nothing stopping you. We can make the feeling go away, we'll make it go away.”
Toni was doing the best she could, what she didn’t know was that the breathlessness for Cheryl wasn’t just that. It triggered a flashback to that day, last winter, Sweetwater River, when there really was something stopping her, when she really couldn’t breathe. And now… she was reliving it.