Chad
I woke up sprawled out on a bean-bad chair. Actually, it was more like my right arm and leg were on the chair and the rest of me was on the floor. I tried to get up but my hand hurt. It wasn't like I broke it or anything, but it hurt enough to make me plop back down on the ground.
Last night's events came rushing back to me. I couldn't believe that I'd taken out a serial killer. In all reality, it scared the crap out of me. Considering the fact that if I hadn't been there Sonny would be…well, let's not go there.
The cops took Sonny and I into the living room and asked us what happened. We told them about the breaking sound and how I went to check it out. They told me that was stupid, but I wasn't just gonna sit there and let someone break into my house. They told me that I should've called the cops right away, but what if it wasn't anything? The paparazzi would say that I pulled a prank phone call to 911. Not good.
We told them about the fact that he was trying to kill Sonny. That part was a little hard to choke out. Sonny told them that she thought he was starting to drown her when he threw her in the pool. It was a good thing that the water was so cold, because it kept Sonny from freaking out. I may have knocked the guy out, but I wanted to hit him again.
After the cops left we headed to the living room and Sonny couldn't sleep. She was still afraid. We put another movie in and she fell asleep on my shoulder, again. We were on the bean-bag chair, and I'd fallen asleep soon afterward. It was surprisingly comfortable. I wasn't surprised that I was all over the place when I woke up.
I tried to get up again, this time using my left hand as much as I could. I sat on the couch and yawned. We'd gone to bed late, and it looked pretty early. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 8:30. We'd only gotten 6 hours of sleep. I was hungry so I was going to go to the kitchen, until I notice that Sonny wasn't in the room.
"Sonny?" I said. No answer. I looked around in the living room just in case she'd gotten up in the middle of the night and was still asleep. She wasn't in here. I went to the next logical place; my room. She did get in it last night, and it would be a comfortable place to sleep. I went upstairs, and saw that the door was closed. That didn't mean that she wasn't in there.
"Sonshine?" I asked. I hoped she wasn't in there. I forgot that she never heard me call her that before, and it would probably be hung over my head for the rest of my life if she did hear. She wasn't in my room. I checked the closet again. You never knew with Sonny.
When she wasn't there I went to the next place I thought she would be; the kitchen. She might be hungry, too. I went down to the kitchen, but it was empty. Where could that girl be? Was there anyway that that guy got out and came back here? That made my heart start racing. It would explain why I was all over the place in the living room. But wouldn't I hear something like that? Even if I am asleep?
I ran out to the pool, thinking that that would be where he would take her. The pool was light blue with the morning Sun shining on it. I could see straight through it. There was nothing in it that I could see…at first.
I ran over to the opposite side of the pool. In the right corner there was a dark spot. I couldn't tell what it was, and it freaked me out. I was about to jump in, when I heard running water. I looked up to my house, and there was steam rising in the bathroom. She must be taking a shower. I breathed a sigh of relief and then looked back at the pool. What was that?
I grabbed the net we used to clear the leaves out of the pool and caught whatever it was in it. It was no human, I could tell that. It slowly started coming up and I could see that it was blue. It got heavier as I pulled it up and it took me a minute to figure out what it was. Someone must have taken the pool cover off and it got in the pool.
I went back into the house and into the kitchen. I could tell that our cook had been here because there were pancakes made with blueberries and strawberries. There were also assorted muffins and little boxes of cereal. He set out orange, grape, and apple juices for us. I put everything on a tray and brought it upstairs. I helped myself to one of the blueberry muffins while I waited for Sonny.
I heard her turn off the water and gave her a minute to get dressed. It occurred to me that this time she used my bathroom. I don't know how she found it, but it definitely was better and bigger than the other bathroom. She'd been using the guest bathroom. I waited until I figured she was dressed and knocked on the door.
"Sonny?" I asked.
The door opened. "Yes?"
I think my jaw dropped off of my face. I turned around quick and shut my eyes. She was holding a towel around herself, and it was just too close to seeing everything on her.
"What?" she asked.
"You…I thought you were dressed." I answered, still turned around.
"Chad, I'm covered up. I was putting on some lotion when you knocked on the door. I'm actually glad you knocked. Can you bring me my clothes?" she asked.
Oh. No. I don't think we dried her clothes. "Um…Sonny, I don't they're dry yet."
"What!? Chad, I need to get home. My mom is probably worried sick about me!" she yelled.
"Sonny, don't worry. I'll explain to her everything when we get there. Grab something of my to wear until they dry and it will be fine." I told her.
"You see, there's a problem with that. My mom text me an hour ago. She wants me home in an hour. Will they be ready by then?" she asked.
"I don't think so." I replied. I really didn't. The last time I checked, her clothes were still in the washer, completely soaked. There was no way they would be done in an hour. Sonny looked down to the floor and sighed. By this time, I'd turned back around, but was making eye contact the whole time. When she sat down, I lost her eyes, and couldn't help looking at her.
I may be trying to be a gentleman, but I'm not immune. "There's the breakfast. I'll be right back." With that, I scurried away. I was trying to erase all images of Sonny in that towel. Wow, Sonny was beautiful, and when her hair was wet, she was even prettier. But in that towel…I wasn't thinking about beauty, I'll tell you that.
I started thinking about what we were going to get Sonny to wear. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I pulled out my phone. "Hey, Tamara?" I asked.
"Why, Chad. Hello, there. What do you need?" she replied.
"I need to give someone a makeover right now. It has to be done in forty minutes that way I can get her home." I explained. There was a pause.
"I'll be right over." The line went dead.
It didn't take long for Sonny to come downstairs. Damn that towel.
"So…what are we going to do?" she asked.
"I have it covered. Go back upstairs and go in my room. You can bring your breakfast in there. I'll go up there in…fifteen minutes? Maybe less." I replied. She looked down again. I took her shoulders. "Look, you-whoa. You did use my lotion didn't you?" She laughed.
"I like your lotion. What kind is it? There was no label." she said.
"Jergens. Awesome stuff. Now, go upstairs. I have everything covered. It won't be long now."
"Will you tell me what's going on?" she asked. She turned on the puppy dog eyes. She was really playing it up. She knew I couldn't resist those eyes. So, I decided to turn Mackenzie on. She could talk to him.
"Sonny, Sonny, Sonny. We both know that if I tell you what I did, it would ruin everything between us. Do you really want that?" I asked.
"Chad? Are you okay?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Just go upstairs. I promise nothing bad is going to happen." She scurried away. I couldn't help but notice that her toes had stars painted on them. It was weird how she's called Sonny, and yet she has stars on her toes. Well, stars shine, and so does the sun. I guess there was something right about that. I couldn't help but feel there was something else to that though.
I grabbed an orange juice. That was something Sonny and I had in common: we both liked orange juice. Even more, we both liked orange juice with the pulp. Most people my age hated pulp. I really didn't get it, there was nothing wrong with pulp. In fact, there was a lot of nutrients in pulp. That's why my face is always flawless.
I gulped down my glass and heard the doorbell ring. Well, that was quick. That's why I liked Tamara. She did her best, because that was her job. She'd wanted to do makeovers her entire life, and she made sure the customer was happy. If they weren't, she would try again. She wouldn't even make them pay for the first try. She was nice like that.
"Hey, she's upstairs. I'll take you." I told her when I answered the door. She nodded and we went to my room. Sonny was sitting on the bed eating a muffin. "Sonny, this is Tamara. She's going to fix our problem. Just do whatever she says, okay?"
"Um…sure. Hello. I'm Sonny." she said to Tamara. They got to business.
"Get out." Tamara said. I put my hands up like I was innocent and went back downstairs. It was time to clean up. I put the chairs back where they were supposed to be and I put the DVDs up. All the junk food needed to be put away, but I was going to collect everything first before taking it to the kitchen.
Once everything looked like it was before, I grabbed all the junk food and headed to the kitchen. I put the stuff that belonged in the cabinet up first. It didn't take too long. Soon, all I had to do was put the breakfast stuff up. I opened the refrigerator and put the juices in, but when I closed the door, I was in for a shock.
"I never did like orange juice."
I screamed. There was a man sitting on my table. He was holding the glass of orange juice that I made for Sonny. This man could've been a vampire if he wanted. He had black hair and emerald green eyes. His hair was a little long. He wore black from head to toe, consisting of a shirt, jacket, tight pants, and boots.
"What are you doing in my house?" I asked. I seriously doubted that I could punch this guy like I did the other one.
"Just wanted to make you an offer. My name is Ben. I've been helping people, for a small price." he said.
"What are you talking about? I don't need help with anything." I replied.
"Are you sure? Have you been suffering symptoms of bad luck? Are you running around like a crazy person trying to find people to help you figure it out?" he asked.
"How do you know this?" I asked.
"I know everything. I even know the answer to all of this. I can tell you…but you have to give me something."
"You mean you know what we have to do to get rid of all this bad luck? How?" I asked.
He shook a finger at me and got off the table. "I said it comes with a price. I want your most prized possession."
I thought about that for a long time. What was my most prized possession? Was it my awards? Was it my baseball collection from when I was five? I kept thinking and it finally appeared. It was the necklace my mom and dad gave me the last time I saw them. I kept it hidden away where no one could find it. It had our picture in it.
"How long do I have to think about this?" I asked.
"I'll come back tonight. You'll find me, don't worry. This could be worth your while." His eyes narrowed on me and then he was gone.
I was really starting to get tired of these games. Who were these people? Fate. That's right. Fate was doing this to us to "guide us on our right path". Whatever. Shouldn't I get to decide what my right path is? Isn't that guaranteed to me?
My thoughts were interrupted by Tamara coming into the room. "It wasn't easy, but you said you needed it done quickly, and it's done."
Sonny came into the room. She was beautiful. She was wearing a white undershirt with a black and white striped over-shirt. She had on a black rock necklace to go with it, and a white jacket with giant black buttons. She had a skirt that went just above her knees that was black and black leather pirate boots. It really shouldn't have worked…but it did.
Her hair was half up and half down, making the look casual. Her makeup was done well. I liked Sonny without makeup, but makeup sometimes highlights her features. She basically left everything untouched except for her eyes. She had on black eyeliner on the bottom of her eyes and black eye shadow. Tamara had done her eyebrows, but you could barely tell.
"Wow, Sonny. You look…amazing." I said.
"Thank you, Chad. Now, we have to go." she replied.
"Of course. Follow me. Thanks Tamara. I'll stop by at 2 with the money, okay?"
Tamara nodded and went to the front door. I led Sonny to the garage door. We got in my Mitsubishi Eclipse. Sonny looked like she was enjoying every minute of this. She turned on the radio and "TiK ToK" by Ke$ha came on. Sonny started dancing in her seat, making me laugh. She was doing impressions of Ke$ha. It was hilarious.
When the slow part came on, Sonny was putting her arms in the air and twisting back and forth. When the beat started up she started bobbing. It was actually really pretty. She looked like she was actually in the song. Sonny stunned me more and more each day. When all the music stopped and there were just claps, she clapped to her right, then her left, and then did jazz hands.
The song ended and she laughed. "He said She said" by Ashley Tisdale came on. Sonny squealed and did her normal goofy dancing. She was laughing the entire time and I joined in, keeping my eyes on the road. We pulled up to her house while the song was still on, so we parked and listened to the rest of the song.
I turned toward her and we danced some more. We had a little battle in the car, taking turns doing dance moves. We were pretty evenly matched. Then, Sonny took it outside. She opened the car door and started dancing on the pavement.
"Oh, it's on." I said, and got out. We took turns at first, but soon wound up just doing random moves. We were moving in a circle when the song ended. We started laughing until the "Fireflies" remix came on. I took Sonny's hand and twirled her in a circle. We would up going up and back down stairs and running around like crazy people.
We didn't care that people were starting to watch because it was fun. I tapped a little, and Sonny mimicked me, but couldn't do it and laughed. She took my hands and we started spinning. "Sonny, stop! No! I'm getting dizzy!" I yelled, laughing.
"Then don't go near the pool!" she yelled back, just as hysterical as I was. We slowed down and stopped. When I could see straight again I took her hand and pulled her to me. I dipped her just as the song ended.
We were smiling at each other when Sonny's mom came over to us. She stopped and put her hands on her hips. I quickly put Sonny back on her feet and cleared my throat.
"You," she pointed at me, "are staying here with us until they get back from the tour. Do you know how worried I was about the two of you!? The cops came here telling me that my Sonny was attacked my a serial killer and that Chad saved her, and I was freaking out."
Then she did something that surprised me. She took me into a hug. At first I didn't know what to do, then Sonny motioned for me to hug her back. I wrapped my arms around her, too, and I felt happy that someone was actually worried about me. It wasn't like my parents didn't worry about me, it was just that they weren't around to worry about me.
She pulled away. "Also, I heard about your little fight yesterday."
"Oh, we fixed it. We're good now." Sonny said.
"No, I meant with the mud. Mrs. Everson was devastated. You two are going to be working in her garden with her to repay her." she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." Sonny said.
Connie looked at me. "Uh…yes, ma'am?" She nodded and then hugged Sonny.
"Where did this outfit come from?" she asked.
"Chad. My other clothes were all muddy." Sonny replied.
"Did you just have these around? And they all happened to be my daughter's size?" Connie was glaring at me now.
"No, I had one of my friends help. I have to pay her later. She's a makeover artist, and if Sonny needed something to wear, she was going to look good." I replied.
We told Connie all about the attack while we were going upstairs. It took us a while because every few steps she would stop to hug us. When we finally got to the room, she told us to sit while she got ready. We were going somewhere, apparently.
"Wow. Your mom is very…affectionate." I said to Sonny.
"Yeah, that's why I love her. She's always be-" Sonny was interrupted by her phone. "Hello?" Pause. "What are you talking about?" Pause. "Where?" Pause. "Oh no. Uh, no it's a mistake." Pause. "No, not like that. That's not the mistake. It's not what it looks like." Pause. "Ok, bye."
"What was that?" I asked. If I heard the other side of that conversation I probably still wouldn't understand what just happened.
"Tawni. She said there's a picture of you holding me and we're smiling at each other in a restaurant on the cover of Tween Weekly."
"What?" I asked.
"That's what I said!" she replied.
Connie came back into the room then. She was dressed in a white T-shirt and some slacks. "We're gonna go to a museum today. I know it's not very exciting, but I haven't really gotten to spend any time with you guys."
"Sounds good to me." Sonny said.
"I've never been. I'm game." I added. They both looked at me with wide eyes. That was the wrong thing to say. They started jumping up and down and getting excited that they get to take me to my first museum.
What Sonny and I didn't know, is that this was a traveling museum that Connie read about. It was thirty minutes away right then and it wasn't your typical museum. It was a trivial museum. It had themes at every stop, and this stops theme was…*gulp* love.