Author's Note: Thanks go to the following people who reviewed: cookie monster (anon), Chel08, highfivingjesus, leoshunny1985, (^_^) (anon), zanessarobsten4ever, it rains when you're gone x, Kerropiyvonne, FanFicSam, awesum!! (anon), Gabbie Wabbie, it'sapartyintheUK, Willow Sage Rose, lolz3 (anon), love-cdc, caseybug14, Maiqu, listenWITHyourHEART, LiveLaughLoveMusicAngel, S24 (anon), WowzersImBack, Konnichiwa Minna, and TeddyLuver.

The song featured in this chapter is "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. Warning: tissues might be necessary.

Chapter Ten

Remember all the things we wanted.
Now all our memories, they're haunted.
We were always meant to say goodbye.
Even with our fists held high,
it never would've worked out right.
We were never meant for do or die.
I didn't want us to burn out.
I didn't come here to hurt you,
now I can't stop.

I want you to know that it doesn't matter
where we take this road.
Someone's gotta go.
And I want you to know you couldn't have loved me better.
But I want you to move on,
so I'm already gone.

March 3, 2010

Sonny stepped off the plane, her carry-on bag slung across her shoulder. She didn't have to look very far in order to find Chad; he was right by the terminal, a bright smile on his face and his arms open. Sonny let a smile cross her features as she flung herself at him.

He caught her easily, effortlessly, wrapping his arms around her tightly. After months of filming for her first movie, she missed the feeling of Chad's arms around her, holding her tight and secure against him. She missed his bright smile and the way she felt so comfortable in his arms, but finally—she was home. And she couldn't have felt any better.

"I missed you," she whispered, pulling away slightly to look Chad in the eyes.

"Me too," he replied. "You were gone far too long."

"It was only two months," she teased.

"But two of the longest months of my life," he said.

She laughed. "Same."

Chad held her closer to him. He removed one hand from her waist, tilting Sonny's face up to meet his, and then pressed his lips to hers. Sonny melted into the kiss—it had been too long, far too long—and circled her arms around his neck. She pressed herself closer to him, their lips moving together fluidly, like they had not just spent more than two months apart.

But the kiss could not last forever, and they pulled away. Sonny kept her eyes on Chad's and smiled at him.

"And I've definitely missed that."

Chad agreed. "How about we continue in the limo? Geraldo has already picked up your luggage," he said, the hint in his voice unable to be missed.

"Okay," Sonny said.

She slipped her hand into Chad's as they made their way out of the airport, and her customary smile spread across her face as she headed outside to the limo waiting for her.

She was back home in Hollywood with Chad: the perfect reason to smile.

March 15, 2010

Sonny let herself into her apartment, dragging Chad into the living room with her. The lights were all off, the moonlight bathing the room in a soft glow. When Sonny flipped the lights on, brightness invaded the room, illuminating everything. Chad shut the door behind him and took Sonny in his arms from behind.

"Chad," Sonny laughed, turning around to face him. "You're just lucky my mother isn't home."

"You told me she wouldn't be," Chad said, kissing her quickly. "You said we would be alone for the night."

"Yeah," Sonny said, ducking out of Chad's arms. "I did say that, but just so we could watch a movie. We haven't sat down to just watch a movie in ages."

"But there are so many other things to do," Chad whispered. "So many more fun things to do."

Chad pulled Sonny toward him, crushing their bodies together as his lips met hers. Sonny let herself be taken in by the kiss, let herself just feel the way Chad's lips moved against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands ran gently up and down her sides, then pulled her closer. Chad took a few steps backward, bringing Sonny with him.

"Chad," Sonny said, breaking away for a minute. "Are you—"

"If you are," Chad replied.

Sonny hesitated, staring up into Chad's deep blue eyes, full of want and need and desire and love, and found her answer.

"Okay."

Chad nodded. He put his hands on each side of Sonny's face and gave her a searing kiss. Then he took her hand and led her through the living room, down the hall, and into Sonny's darkened bedroom. Sonny pulled Chad into a kiss and led him to the bed, not even bothering to turn on the light.

March 16, 2010

Sonny stretched and rolled over on the bed, looking up at Chad. His eyes slowly fluttered open, a bright smile emerging on his face as he saw her.

"I love you," she whispered.

Chad smiled and pulled Sonny to him. "I love you too."

May 10, 2010

The lights were blinding. Sonny ran her hand through her hair, trying not to pay attention to the lights shining in her eyes, making it hard to see. She leaned against a wall and closed her eyes, wishing that she could just go back to bed.

For a couple of weeks now, she had been tired all the time. She felt like she was coming down with something, but there were times where she felt fine. In the mornings especially, she had been sick, but it hadn't been every day. It would probably go away in a few weeks—or so she hoped.

Sonny placed a hand on her stomach, looking around to see if anyone was around. No one was. Everyone else was on stage, rehearsing for a new sketch, but she told Tawni she needed to take a breath. Which wasn't a lie. She definitely needed a break, but the worst part was that she wasn't sure if it would do any good, if her hunch was correct.

Two months. She was suspicious last month, when she missed her period, but she thought it was nothing. After all, she was under a lot of stress lately, what with the premiere of her new movie and returning to So Random. It wasn't unusual for a woman to miss her period because of stress, but her second period had come and gone.

It couldn't be.

She couldn't be.

But I could, that's the entire problem. I could.

Sonny wrapped her arms around her stomach and turned toward the wall. She blinked back the tears, trying to keep it together. She had to keep it together.

"Sonny?" Marshall asked, tapping her on the shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"Um, I'm fine," Sonny said, forcing a smile onto her face as she turned around. "I just—I forgot that there was something I needed to do for my mother today. Is it all right if I leave for half an hour to get it done? I'll be back as soon as possible."

Marshall smiled. "Of course it's fine, Sonny. Take as long as you need."

Sonny nodded and walked away from the set. Her role on Just Like Her had one incredibly useful perk: after being so successful in the movie, Marshall was more inclined to give her whatever she wanted. She was apparently "the star" of So Random now.

Ha.

And look at her now.

Running through the halls, trying to stop the flood of tears from coming down her cheeks. She ran out of the building—right smack into Chad.

"Sonny!" Chad said, reaching a hand out to steady her. "Sonny? What's the rush?" He took a good long look at her. "Wait, why are you crying? Sonny?"

"I—I'm fine," Sonny said. "I just—need to go do something. I'm sorry."

Sonny pushed her way past Chad. She didn't bother wiping the tears from her eyes, not until she reached her car and put the keys in the ignition. Then she wiped her tears away angrily, turned her car on, and headed for the nearest store.

Ten minutes later, Sonny stood in the bathroom she shared with Tawni, pacing back and forth. She wrung a hat together in her hands (she had used it to disguise her identity; what a scandal it would have been if someone had seen her coming out of a shop with a pregnancy test!) and waited. The clock wound down, seemingly slower and slower each minute.

She paced back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. She dropped the hat on the toilet seat and rubbed her arms, still pacing.

The little timer dinged on the counter.

Oh. God.

She was going to vomit, she knew she was. She turned toward the counter and walked over, unable to look at the pregnancy test until the last possible moment. She looked down, then closed her eyes before she could see the results.

Another thirty seconds passed before her nausea subsided enough for her to look down.

Pregnant, she read.

Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.

No, she had to have read it wrong. Sonny closed her eyes, screwed her eyelids together tightly, counted to ten, and wished with all of her might that she had read it wrong.

"I'm not pregnant," she whispered. "I command myself not to be pregnant."

She opened her eyes.

The word still blared from the test.

Pregnant.

"Oh, God."

Sonny barely had time to wrench open the toilet seat before she threw up.

–

She knew she had to leave.

She couldn't stay in Hollywood and have a baby. Sure, she loved it. She loved acting. She loved being able to live her dream, but now her dream was shot to hell. The baby—God, it felt so strange to say that—the baby had changed everything.

If she stayed, she would have to quit So Random, because no one wanted a pregnant teen on their show. It would bring down the ratings and, because of her, the show would be canceled. She could not have that on her shoulders. She wouldn't have that on her shoulders. She would have to talk to Marshall tonight and tell him that she quit.

And that wasn't even mentioning Chad.

She couldn't burden Chad with a baby. Chad deserved to have an opportunity to be in the spotlight—more so than he already was. If there was anything she learned at all from those teen pregnancy shows she had watched back in Wisconsin, it was that teenage relationships never last if a baby comes into the picture. No, she knew it was better to break it off now than have them resent each other later.

Sonny walked slowly into the dressing room she shared with Tawni. She felt numb, like all of her tears had been exhausted. She couldn't cry any more if she tried. She couldn't yell, she couldn't scream, she couldn't even say a word.

She had to leave. And she had to leave now.

She couldn't face Tawni or Nico or Grady or Marshall. She certainly couldn't face Chad. If she did—if she faced any of them—she'd tell them the truth. And damn it, she knew that she couldn't do that. She couldn't tell them the truth, because then they'd ask her to stay.

And she couldn't stay.

Sonny walked over to her side of the dressing room and took her bag. She began filling it up with all of her stuff, throwing it all inside haphazardly. She had to be fast. Rehearsal would be ending in a couple minutes, which meant that soon Tawni would be coming back into the dressing room.

She supposed she was lucky that most of her stuff was centered in a small area. She only went into Tawni's side of the room in order to grab a jacket she had left on the couch, along with some makeup Tawni had "borrowed" and not returned. But it only took about fifteen minutes to pack up all of her stuff. She was probably forgetting a couple of things, but they weren't important.

Sonny stood at the threshold of the dressing room. This would be the last time she would see it. The last time she would see Tawni's mirror, covered with pictures of Tawni. The last time she would see Zora's vent, closed at the moment. The last time she would look at the small sink in the corner and remember the time she had tried to comfort Tawni after she had stabbed herself with the fake bee stinger.

"Goodbye," she whispered.

She turned and walked away from the dressing room, that site of so many memories. She headed for the prop house, but she didn't get that far.

"Sonny?"

She closed her eyes and cursed inside her head.

So much for getting away unnoticed.

"Tawni," Sonny said. For the second time that day, Sonny forced a smile on her face as she turned around. "What's up?"

"I could ask you that question," Tawni said, taking a step forward. "What are you doing?"

"I... I don't know how to say this," Sonny said.

"Just say it," Tawni demanded.

"I'm leaving."

"What?" Tawni took another step forward, her face registering her shock. "Why?"

"I just have to," Sonny said. "I can't stay here." Her smile faltered and disappeared. "I'm going back to Wisconsin."

"But why can't you stay?" Tawni asked. "You love it here."

"Yes, I do, but—"

"But what? Just tell me."

"I'm pregnant."

Tawni didn't say anything. She seemed to be examining Sonny's face, to make sure that she was telling the truth. When Sonny blinked back her tears, that was when she knew. Tawni came even closer to her, looking as if she wanted to comfort Sonny but had no idea how to go about doing it.

"Oh," was all she could say. "Is it Chad's?"

"Of course it's Chad's," Sonny snapped. "Who else would it be?"

Tawni shrugged. "I don't know. Are you going to tell him?"

"No, of course not," Sonny said. She spoke over Tawni when she opened her mouth. "No. I can't burden him with something like this. This is all my fault, and I am not going to bring him down with me. I have to leave. I can't... I can't face anyone right now."

"Oh, Sonny," Tawni said softly. "I—can't you stay?"

"And what? Be the pregnant girl on So Random?" Sonny asked. "No, I can't stay. I have to leave before the tabloids find out."

"But Chad—"

"—doesn't need to know."

Sonny threw her arms around Tawni's neck. After a second of stiffness, Tawni relaxed and hugged Sonny back tightly.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Then I can't change your mind," Tawni said. "You'll write?"

"I'll try," Sonny whispered. She took a step back. "But don't tell Chad, okay? He can't know."

Tawni nodded.

"Thank you. You're a good friend," Sonny said.

Sonny started to make her way down the hall, going back the way she came. She couldn't go to the prop house now, because Nico and Grady would be there. It was hard enough, looking at Tawni's disappointed and shocked face, but Nico, Grady, Zora...

She couldn't.

"Wait!" Tawni called.

Sonny turned. "What?"

"I'll miss you."

A watery smile spread across Sonny's face. "Me too, Tawni."

–

"You've reached Connie Munroe. I can't answer the phone right now, but if you leave a message, I'll respond as soon as possible. If you're Sonny, I'll be back in Hollywood by Friday."

"Hey, Mom." Sonny's voice broke. "I know that you're busy with Lily and Dad, but I need to tell you this. I'm pregnant." Sonny paused for a moment, unable to speak. Her voice, when she returned to the message, was wavery. "I'm so, so sorry, Mom. But I'm leaving Hollywood tonight. I should be back in Wisconsin by Thursday at the latest. Probably even tomorrow. We can figure out what we're doing then."

She almost ended the message, but then stopped her finger from pressing the "end" button.

"I love you," Sonny breathed. "I hope you'll forgive me. Bye, Mom."

Click.

Sonny let the phone fall from her hands.

May 23, 2010

She stared at her phone.

25 MISSED CALLS.

Sonny pressed a few buttons, then put the phone to her ear.

"Sonny," Chad's voice issued from the speakers. "Sonny. What's going on? Why haven't you answered any of my calls? The last time I saw you... you were in tears, and now you're gone. Why? Where are you? Sonny, please answer me. You've been gone for almost two weeks, and no one's heard from you. Marshall... told me you quit. Why?" His voice broke. "I love you, Sonny. Please answer me."

The line went dead. Sonny almost clicked on the next message, but her tears obscured her vision. She put her phone on the end table and curled up in a ball in her favorite comfortable chair, but even that chair did not bring any comfort.

Her eyes were drawn to the ultrasound photos tapped to the bulletin board in her room. Sonny rubbed her hand over her stomach as she stared at them. She closed her eyes as her mother came up behind her, settling a hand on her shoulder.

"Sonny, are you all right?"

"No," Sonny whispered and looked up at her mother. "Mom, I can't stay here."

Connie sat down on the arm of Sonny's chair and ran a hand through Sonny's hair. "Why not?"

"Because this will be the first place Chad will look," Sonny said. "This will be the first place anyone would look. The tabloids, the paparazzi, Marshall, everyone." She looked up at her mother. "I can't subject anyone to this. I have to go."

"Sonny, honey—"

"Don't try to stop me," Sonny whispered. "I'm going whether you like it or not. But I don't know where to go, so it would be helpful if you'd tell me where I could stay."

Connie closed her eyes and opened them. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," Sonny said. She stood up and walked over to the other side of the room, then met her mother's eyes. "Mom, I'm not your little girl anymore. I'm pregnant. I'm going to be a mother myself, and I have to do what I feel is best."

"Is there anything I can say to make you stay?"

"No."

"Then..." Connie stopped. "Then you can stay with my cousin in London until the baby is born. If this is what you feel you have to do as a mother, I can't stop you. And I'd rather I know exactly where you are and what you're doing."

"Thank you, Mom."

Sonny launched herself into her mother's arms. She wished more than anything else in the entire world that she could just stay here, wrapped up in her mother's arms, forever, letting the whole world pass her by.

But that was impossible now.

July 11, 2010

Sonny walked down the streets of London, setting a hand over her stomach. She rubbed small circles on the small bump there as she made her way back to her small apartment. It would be nice to be back at home, she thought as her head ached.

It was strange to be living on her own, but it felt so much better. Her mother's cousin, Mavis, was kind enough to take her in, but it had not been very comfortable. Especially when her cousin was expecting a baby herself. That added a third child to their family, as her cousin had two-year-old twin boys who couldn't help running around and otherwise being loud.

Sonny had just been in the way, so she had taken some money and gotten an apartment on her own. It wasn't ideal—it was rather cramped—but it fit her.

And it was her own.

Sonny reached her apartment building. As she walked inside, the doorman flagged her down.

"Hey, Martin," Sonny said. "What's up?"

"Hey, Sonny," Martin said. He put an arm over her shoulder as she headed to the elevator. "Someone came by to see you today."

Sonny didn't even stop. "Let me guess. Mavis?"

"No," Martin said. "It was someone I didn't recognize, but he talked with an American accent."

"An American accent?" Sonny stopped in her tracks and looked at Martin. Her heart started to pound inside her chest. "Who was it?"

"I didn't catch his name," Martin said, "but he seemed really worried about you. Looked like he was about to bite my head off when I didn't immediately tell him where you were. I ended up feeling so bad for him that I let him go up to your apartment."

"What did he look like?" Sonny asked. She almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"Handsome," Martin said. "With blonde hair and blue eyes."

That was all Sonny had to hear. Sonny put both hands on her stomach and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Martin was looking at her, concern written all over his face. He reached out to comfort her, but Sonny took a step back.

"Thank you, Martin," Sonny said, voice wavering. "That's all."

She ran for the elevator and slid inside. She immediately pressed the button for floor 5, leaning against the side of the elevator as the doors closed.

There was no question.

Chad was here, in London, and he was looking for her.

Sonny looked down at her stomach that protruded slightly. If he looked at her straight on, she could pass it off as just gaining a bit of extra weight, but if he saw her from the side... there would be denying it. She would have to tell him that she was pregnant.

The door of the elevator slid open on the fifth floor. Sonny took a deep breath and then stepped out of the elevator, a hand rubbing her stomach gently. She reached her door—third one on the left, emblazoned with the number 19—and hesitated.

Suck it up, Munroe. You have to face him.

Sonny twisted the doorknob and opened the door. She didn't see Chad immediately, which further increased her nervousness. Sonny wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans—the only pair that still fit her—and walked into the apartment, shutting the door behind her quietly. She took a few steps into the small, cramped living room, trying not to make a sound.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to her bedroom door, standing ajar.

"Oh, this isn't good," Sonny whispered.

She walked over to the bedroom and peeked her head inside. Chad was standing in front of her bulletin board, where she had posted all of her ultrasound pictures. He didn't even turn around when Sonny walked inside and shut the door behind her with a gentle snick.

"Chad," Sonny said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chad said without looking at her.

Sonny came up behind him. "Because I didn't want you to have to deal with this."

Chad whirled on her. "Damn it, Sonny, that was my choice!" Chad snapped. "You had no right to just leave, just uproot your life, and—and not even say a goodbye! Not even tell me that you were pregnant!" His eyes were hard as he took a step forward. "Sonny, do you know how terrified I was?"

"No, but—" Sonny's voice broke. "You—don't need to deal with any of this."

"But maybe I want to," Chad said. "Maybe I want to know my child!"

"You might want to," Sonny said, "but you have... so much more to offer. I didn't want to drag you down with me."

"So you'd rather be a single mother than be with me?" Chad said. "You don't even want us to try to make this work?" Chad took a step closer to her. "We both got ourselves into this situation. This isn't just your issue to deal with."

"But you can choose to walk away," Sonny whispered. "I wanted to give you that choice."

"I don't want that choice."

"But your fame—"

"—doesn't mean as much to me as you do," Chad said.

Sonny shook her head. She looked away from Chad and crossed her arms across her chest. Closing her eyes, she wished, more than anything, that this wasn't happening. That she would just wake up and she would be back in her bed in Hollywood, a text message from Chad on her phone. That she would go into work and everything would be fine.

But when she opened her eyes, there Chad was, still standing there.

"You don't mean that," Sonny murmured. "Fame means everything to you. Remember, Chad Dylan Cooper, the greatest actor of our generation?" She tried to smile, but it broke off. "You can't be happy here."

Chad came closer to her and took her hands in his own. He pulled her close to him, their eyes meeting. Sonny almost wanted to look away, but she couldn't.

"Let me decide that," Chad said. "Sonny, we're having a baby."

"Exactly." Sonny broke away from Chad's grip and took a step back. "Are you really willing to give everything up? Just for me?" She glanced down for a minute—could she do this? Push him away again?—and then continued. "Are you willing to leave all the fame? The girls? The special treatment?"

"The fame will still be there when—if—we return," Chad said. "And the only girl I care about is you, Sonny."

Sonny looked up. "Really?"

"Really," Chad said.

"But—"

"But nothing," Chad said. "We can find a way to make this work. I promise."

Chad didn't give Sonny a chance to respond. He just took Sonny in his arms and held her tightly, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. One of Chad's hands ran down her side and rested lightly on Sonny's gently protruding stomach.

"I hope you're right," Sonny whispered into Chad's shirt.

"I am right," Chad said.

If only Sonny could be so sure.

August 20, 2010

Sonny squeezed Chad's hand tightly. Chad returned the pressure equally as they both looked up to stare at the doctor.

"Is everything okay?" Sonny immediately asked.

Her doctor looked down. "I'm afraid we have some bad news," he said. "There's been a complication."

December 6, 2010

Beautiful.

That was the only word she could use to describe her daughter with her bright blue eyes and dark hair lying flat to her skull, covered by a pink hat. Beautiful was the only word she could use to describe her daughter—beautiful, beautiful, beautiful—as she looked down at her, a smile across her face.

Chad reaches across to gently touch her daughter's small hand.

"Would you like to hold her?" Sonny asked.

"Of course."

February 10, 2011

She thought it could work.

With Jackie, everything was easy. Perfect. Chad was the perfect father. He was kind and gentle. He wanted to take care of his daughter, and he did such a wonderful job of it.

But there was something missing.

She could see the emptiness in Chad's eyes as he looked down at the crib. The blue blanket was crumpled in a corner of the crib, away from the one they used to cover up Jackie for her nap, and Chad's eyes never left it. She noticed that he seemed to look into the distance more often. He wasn't as snarky or as playful as he used to be, but he tried. He tried because he knew that Sonny had a harder time of it than he did.

Motherhood was not easy. Especially not when she considered her doctor's words: There's been a complication. We're not sure if things will work. Maybe they will, but—

Sonny closed her eyes.

Don't think about it, Sonny, don't think—

Sonny stared up at the ceiling, pressing herself closer to Chad. Two months had passed since her daughter's birth. Some moments were easy, but others were hard. She couldn't count how many fights she had gotten into with Chad over the past month. She couldn't count how many tears had been shed, how many sleepless nights she had spent holding Jackie as she wailed.

Nothing we could've done would have changed anything, Chad said. It's not your fault, he whispered in her ear as they moved together. We can do this. I love you.

I love you.

Sonny wiped a tear from her eye.

That was exactly the problem. They couldn't do this.

She knew that Chad didn't want to deal with any of this. She knew that he needed to be free, and she was holding him back.

Sonny sat up in the bed, holding a sheet to her chest. The answer finally came to her, shooting across her brain in a second. Of course, why hadn't she come up with it sooner? It would hurt at the beginning—hurt like hell—but after a while...

It would get easier.

Sonny glanced at Chad.

If you love something, set it free.

Those words rang through her mind as she slipped silently out of bed, pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a gray T-shirt, and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen from the bedside table. Her hand shook as she put pen to paper and started to write.

Dear Chad, she began, my love...

November 3, 2026

Sonny scanned the rows of clothes at Calvin Klein. She needed to find a perfect outfit to wear for the mother-daughter brunch at the school in a few weeks, something that would go with Jackie's outfit. She also needed to pick something up at Bergdorf's in preparation for her daughter's sweet sixteen party.

She had just decided to try on a printed blue and white dress that looked particularly suitable when she heard a voice call her name. She glanced around, saw no one, and returned to her shopping. She picked up the dress, only to squeak quite loudly when someone came up behind her and poked her on the shoulder. She whirled around about to complain, when she saw who it was.

"Brigette!" Sonny squealed. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

Sonny wrapped Brigette Alto in a huge hug. Brigette returned the gesture and then broke away.

"Sonny!" Brigette said. "I could say the same for you! Gosh, you're just getting more and more beautiful and fashionable by the day."

"Thank you," Sonny said, smiling. "You too. Where have you been?"

"Milan," Brigette said. "Oh, it's beautiful there."

Sonny nodded. "I went there to shoot a movie," she responded. "It certainly is beautiful, although I never wanted to leave. What brings you back here?"

"Oh, Marlon just signed an important deal with a London company," Brigette said, perusing the racks of dresses behind Sonny. "A world-famous actor came to New York to sign the deal, can you believe that? Marlon and I certainly couldn't."

"Wow," Sonny said. "Who was he?"

Brigette smiled. "You'll never guess," she said. "Although I'd imagine you'd be itching for a chance to meet him again when I tell you."

"So I've met him before," Sonny said. She grinned. "Don't tease me, Brig. Who is he?"

"Chad Dylan Cooper," Brigette said.

"No," Sonny breathed.

Sonny's hands slackened on the dress she was holding. She only just barely managed to catch it in time.

"That was my reaction," Brigette said, not noticing the stricken expression on Sonny's face. "I was so shocked. I mean, he's been gone for sixteen years. What made him return now? And why did he leave in the first place?" She laughed. "Who knows? You were the closest one to him, and even you don't know why he left."

But I do.

Sonny returned the dress to the rack. She put one hand on the rack, trying to regulate her fierce breathing, trying to stop the dizziness from getting even worse. Her heart pounded in her ears, her mind whirling with a thousand different thoughts.

Chad Dylan Cooper is here. In New York. With me. And Jackie.

She had to get out of this store.

"I don't know," Sonny managed to reply with a rather fake laugh. She tried to come up with an excuse. "I'd love to talk more, Brigette, but I have to go. I have to—do something."

Brigette nodded. "All right."

Sonny didn't give Brigette a chance to say anything else. She nearly ran out of the store, digging in her purse for her cell phone. She finally found it, flipped through the contacts, and pressed the "send" button.

The phone only rang three times before someone answered.

"You've reached Isobel Montez, agent to Sonny Munroe and other Hollywood stars," Isobel's voice issued from the speakers. "I can't answer the phone right now, but if you tell me what you called for, I will respond as soon as I can."

Beep.

"Hi, Izzie," Sonny said. "It's Sonny." She took a deep breath. "I was just wondering if that lead role was still open. If it is, I can be in Hollywood for an audition by Monday. Thank you so much, Isobel. Bye."

Sonny closed her phone and thrust her hand out to call a cab.

I can't see Chad. I just can't.

Which meant she had to get out of New York. Now.

There's no moving on.
So I'm already gone.

Author's Note: Okay, so are you guys ready to kill me now? (ducks)

This is the longest chapter yet: a whooping 5,783 words. I hope you liked it. Please review?