Two updates in one day? :o Well, heck.

I'm glad I've gotten positive feedback so far. :'D Thanks to everyone who reviewed and alerted and such! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. c:

I paced back in forth in front of the couch, then figured pacing wasn't really going to help my situation. So I sat down. But almost instantly I hopped back up again and resumed pacing, just to have something do. I chewed on my bottom lip and stared down at my black and white phone, wondering if I should call Patrick back or not.

It'd been two days since my friends revealed that my boyfriend was cheating on me. I was currently pacing nervously around my apartment, feeling torn over what I was going to do. On the one hand I could return Patrick's calls, and then I could yell at him that we were over. But that seemed sort of cruel. Or I could try to arrange for us to meet somewhere, but what if he broke up with me first? That would be humiliating. If anyone had to end our relationship, it would be me.

But at the same time I didn't want to break up with him. I guess I was half hoping that maybe the guy in the picture was some other guy who just looked exactly like him, and that Patrick really was a nice guy and I could continue having a nice, normal little relationship with him.

Of course, I knew that wasn't true. It's not possible for two people to look that alike. Well, with the exception of Chad and his stunt double, Chaz. But still.

I replayed the voicemail that Patrick had left me and listened as his deep, smooth voice said, "Hey, Sonny, how's it going? I've been calling you all day. Do you want to go see a movie later? So, uh, call me when you get this message. I miss you. Bye."

Oh, yes. I'm sure he missed me very much.

In frustration, I tossed my phone onto the sofa and muttered, "This is stupid." I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. I half wished I could talk to Tawni about all this, but I was sort of scared that she'd start acting all weird and comforting again. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's just... disturbing. I figured I could maybe call Lucy, but I didn't want to bother my happy-go-lucky friend with my problems.

Wait. I lifted my head and stared at my ceiling. Maybe there is someone I can talk to...

I raced to my bedroom, grabbed my guitar, and then rushed back into the living room area. Plopping myself onto the couch, I strummed a few chords to make sure it was in tune, then promptly began to belt out the song I'd written two months ago.

"Tell me what to do, ooh

About you

I already know I can see in your eyes

When you're tellin' the truth."

I hadn't gotten very far into the song when there was a knock on my door. I practically tripped over myself to go answer the door. Just as I'd hoped, Mel was standing outside my door, her arms folded across her chest and an exasperated look on her face. "Gee, Sonny, if you want to talk to me you can just knock on my door instead of making all that racket. You do realize that, right?"

I smiled. Ah, Mel. I've discovered lately that I can always count on her for anything, despite her constant sarcasm. "This way's more fun," I joked. Then I remembered what I wanted to talk about, and my smile slipped off my face. "Come on in, Mel."

Mel stepped inside and made her way over to my couch, saying, "Hey, since you made me come down here, do you think you can bring me some root beer? I'm really thirsty."

I nodded. Mel gave me a thumbs up, then picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. I headed into the kitchen and pulled out a can of root beer from the fridge, then brought it over to her and settled onto the couch beside her.

Mel took the can from me and popped open the lid, took a sip, then glanced over at me. "So what do you want now?"

"What makes you think I want something?" I asked, attempting to be nonchalant. She raised her eyebrow, giving me an 'Are you serious?' look, and I sighed. "I just want to talk about Patrick."

She smiled. "Oh, I like Patrick, he's sweet."

"Yeah, he's sweet, all right," I said, rolling my eyes. "Sweet on another girl."

She looked confused, and then her eyes widened as she understood what I was saying. "No way! He cheated on you?"

I nodded miserably. "Yeah. Nico and Grady saw him kissing another girl out in public. They even took a picture to prove it."

Mel visibly perked up when I mentioned Grady, who she has a huge crush on (which I think is really sweet), and she asked eagerly, "Did Grady mention me?"

I frowned at her, and she held up her hands apologetically. "Sorry, I got distracted." She was quiet for a second, then she scoffed. "Sheesh. I can't believe I thought he was a nice guy."

"Me, too," I sighed.

She smirked. "Well, you're very good at picking out boyfriends, Sonny. First that James guy you told me about, then Chaddy Chad Chad," -that made me smile- ",and now this jerk."

I shrugged. "What can I say? It's a gift."

She laughed and started to flip through the channels on the TV. "So have you broken up with him yet?"

I hesitated. "Um, well... no."

She stopped and stared at me. "No?" She sounded shocked. I couldn't blame her. "Well, what're you waiting for? Dump him now! Give 'im a taste of his own medicine!" Before I could say anything, she snatched up my cell phone and waved it in front of my face. "Here, call him."

"No way!" I yelled, my eyes wide. "I'm not going to break up with him over the phone!"

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't want to sink down to his level. And I don't want to hurt his feelings," I said defensively.

Mel shook her head in disbelief. "Allison Munroe, you are too damn nice for your own good." I opened my mouth to protest the use of the cuss word, but she wagged a finger at me to stop me from talking. "Look, if you don't want to do it, then I'll call him and do the breakup for you. How about that?"

"I appreciate that, Mel, but I think I probably have to handle it myself. I don't really know how to do that, though," I admitted. "I mean, before I found out that he was a cheating cheater, he was really good to me. What he did really hurt, yeah, but I don't want to be harsh on him or anything."

"Oh, please," Mel said, rolling her eyes and returning her attention to the TV. "He deserves to be dumped in the harshest way possible. Trust me, Sonny, I've been there before. I know."

I sighed again. Well, that wasn't exactly the answer to my problem that I'd been hoping for. "Oh, well. I guess I'll just wait until the time's right."

"The time is right now," Mel argued.

"Your argument is invalid," I said in a monotone, and she cracked an amused smile. "Yeah, ok. Whatever. I'm still right, though. Ooh, I wonder what's on the news?"

I laughed at her abrupt change of subject, then got up and headed back into the kitchen to go get a snack. "Hey, Mel, do you wanna watch a movie or something? I rented The Proposal a few days ago, so..."

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Mel interrupted me. "I've always wanted to see that movie."

"It's really funny, you'll like it," I said distractedly, pulling out Mom's not-so-secret stash of chocolate chip cookies from behind the bags of flour in the cabinet.

Suddenly Mel called, "Hey, Sonny, check out this chick on TV! Talk about a bad hair day!" She started to giggle.

I shoved a cookie into my mouth, then headed back into the living room, sat down, and looked at the TV, which was on the local news station. "What chick?"

"They'll probably show her picture again," Mel said, grinning broadly.

I turned my attention to the news guy on the TV, who was just saying in a serious voice, "Marta Balatico, certifiably insane former actress, broke out of prison just this morning. Police suspect that she managed to somehow grab ahold of a guard's keys, freed herself, and then knocked out the guard on duty at the time."

Mel whistled. "Well, heck. This Marta girl sounds really tough."

I frowned. "She's a former actress? I've never heard of her before."

Mel shrugged. "Her picture looked kind of familiar, but I don't remember where I've seen her."

I listened intently to the guy on the news, just catching his next words, " - appears to have vanished. Police are searching high and low for Balatico, who was arrested six months ago for attempted murder."

Marta Balatico's picture appeared beside the newscaster. She sure looked insane. And Mel was right, she appeared awfully familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd seen her before. She looked about my age, with incredibly curly, mussed up brown hair and a pale face. She might've been pretty, except it was obvious that she hadn't taken care of herself in a long while. And the glare on her face was terrifying. Frightening, even. It gave me the shivers.

I racked my brain, trying to remember who this person was. Had I met her before at a Hollywood party? Had she been in a movie I'd watched?

"If any have information of Balatico's whereabouts, please contact your local police station," the newscaster went on in a grim voice.

Mel nudged me with her shoulder and laughed loudly. "Hah, you saw her hair, right? Sheesh, prison must really change a person. I'd hate to bump into her on the street, or else she'd probably - " Then she quit talking and peered at me. "Hey, Sonny, are you ok?"

I barely heard her. I just stared at the TV, where Marta's picture had been seconds ago. My stomach felt like someone had suddenly tied all my insides together in a ginormous knot, and my mouth had opened slightly in shock. Because I'd managed to piece two and two together, and I now knew exactly where I'd seen Marta before. I felt sick.

"Sonny?" Mel asked again, now sounding concerned.

Along with the feeling of wanting to throw up, I felt numb again, like I had when I found out that Patrick was a cheating cheater. Except this was worse. Much, much worse. "Oh my God," I murmured. My face felt completely drained of color. "It's her."

"What're you yapping about?" Mel asked in bemusement.

I turned my head to stare at her. My voice sounded unnaturally high when I spoke next, "She's back. She's out and now she's back."

"Sonny, you're starting to scare me."

I got to my feet so fast that Mel jumped in surprise. Shaken, I snatched up my phone, I rushed into my bedroom, grabbed my car keys and my coat, and then ran to the door. "I'm sorry, Mel, I have to go," I said breathlessly. "I'll call you later. I'm so sorry."

Before Mel could say anything, I barged out of the room. The echo of the loud slam the door made behind me gave me the chills. I have to get to the studio. This can't be real. Someone's pranking me. Probably Chad. She can't have really broken out, it's just not possible, I reassured myself over and over as I hurriedly descended the stairs.

Because I knew why Marta Balatico looked so familar. Six months ago, Marta Balatico had tried to frame me, and then she tried to blow me to cheesy bits at my old high school.

Yeah, I knew her very well.

It was Penelope.

Oooh.

Of course, I'm sure everyone saw that coming, but still. :D The chapters will eventually get longer, by the way.

Review please? :'3 I'd be incredibly happy if you did.

Well, bye for now!

~Ginger