A/N: Wow, three chapters in three days. Anyways, I'm going out of town for a week, so this might be the last post for a while. Unless I end up posting something before I leave town.
Chad awoke in a cold sweat. His nostrils flared as he realized his heart was racing. His head swiveled as he frantically looked around his dark room. Then he saw it: the bright red numbers that read 2:41 AM. He reached over and fumbled for his phone on the nightstand, knocking other things over in the process. Finally, he managed to grab it.
Frantically, Chad hit speed dial and put the phone to his ear. It rung once. He sighed with relief; her phone was on. He closed his eyes as the phone run. Images flicked by: her cold, lifeless body; the growing pool of dark blood; the absence of life in those brown eyes he loved so much . . .
The line picked up.
". . . Chad?" A weary, quiet voice spoke into the other end.
"Sonny." Air rushed out of his lungs with relief. "Oh, thank God."
"Chad, it's . . . like, three in the morning," she complained. "What are you doing up? And . . . why're you calling?"
"Sorry, I just had to make sure you were alive." As he spoke, Chad realized just what he was saying and became increasingly embarrassed. "I, uh, had this nightmare. You were dead. In it. In the nightmare."
"Uh-huh," she yawned. "Sounds great, Chad."
"I mean, there was like, blood everywhere." He was backpedaling, trying to justify himself. "And this really creepy guy did it and . . ." He shook his head. "I guess I was just afraid it was real."
"Well, it wasn't." Sonny sounded a little more conscious now. "I'm right here, Chad. I'm not going anywhere."
"Yeah. Well." He cleared his throat. "Well, goodnight Sonny."
"'Night, Chad."
She hung up, but Chad stayed on the line.
". . . I love you," he muttered.
Wow, that was short. I wrote it during my lunch break. And . . . yeah, this sort of ended up sad. Sad-ish. Oh well.