Hey guys! Thanks for reading! Please review! Please! I need some advice! And please tell me if you want me to check out any of your own stories! I hope you like the chapter, and as you can see I've started updating once a day. It may go up or down, depending on how much h/w I get, but I've got to start focusing at school since I've got my GCSE's next year, and I've already started them in a couple subjects, so school is going to be no.1 priority at the moment. But don't worry, I'll keep writing; it's the only thing keeping me sane! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot line!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dinner that night was awkward. Every time mom looked at me, I blushed, and every time I looked at Chad, I blushed. I was so worried that mom would somehow figure it out. She'd kill me, and I would be so embarrassed. Maybe that meant I wasn't ready. But surely I would have known at the time if I wasn't?

Knowing about what Chad had gotten into, with those guys, I began to worry about our future together. What if he got into trouble? What if he ended up in prison? I knew it was wrong of him to do this, but I also knew that he really, truly believed that he owed it to his brother. That kinda made it better. But not much.

"Sonny? Are you going to eat that?" asked my mom, staring at my plate. I realised I had been so busy thinking that I hadn't even been eating. Smiling, I nodded.

"Yeah, sorry mom. It's really good, by the way!"

"How would you know? You haven't tasted it yet."

"It…smells good. Yeah, it smells really good. I'm just distracted."

"Well, are you sick? You look kind of pale, dear." She looked concerned, and I realised I wasn't feeling too good. Probably because of all the stress.

"I'm alright. Just a little tired. And, now that you mention it, I do feel a little sick. Probably just a cold or something, though. No need to worry." I grinned widely, trying to look perfectly happy when inside I was screaming.

"Do you want to go to bed, Sonny?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Chad's here, anyway."

"Actually, I've got to go home in a minute. My au-mom's expecting me." I was confused for a second, then realised-not everyone knew about his parents, and he told most people that his aunt was his mom, to prevent all the questions.

"Oh. Okay, then, I guess I'll go to bed then. You done, Chad?" I said, standing up and picking up my still mostly full plate, and reaching for his empty one when he nodded.

I piled them on the worktop in the kitchen, then went back to grab my mom's plate. I piled them into the dishwasher, then went into the hall to say goodbye to Chad, who ws putting on his jacket.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" it wasn't supposed to, but it came out as a question.

"Probably. But if the, erm, job, takes too long, I might not go to work."

"What if they get angry?"

"If they get angry, the worst they could do is fire me. If Teddy and the guys get angry, the worst they could do is kill everyone I love, then me. I'd rather be fired than watch the people I love die."

"Sorry. I forgot. But I still don't think this is a good idea. You should go to the police, Chad."

"I know I should, Sonny. But I owe them, and-"

"Stop it, Chad! You don't owe them anything! You don't owe your brother anything! Why can't you see that?" I cried, finally losing my temper.

"You don't get it Sonny! And you probably never will! This is my battle, Sonshine, not yours. Please, don't try to get involved."

"If you didn't want me involved, why did you take me with you today?"

"I don't know! I guess I'm just scared of them, and I figured they'd be less likely to hurt me if I brought you. They would never beat me up in front of a girl. I guess I didn't really consider how dangerous it was for you. I was being selfish; I'm sorry." He hung his head, and suddenly I felt guilty again. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"I'm gonna go, Sonny. I'll text you, okay? Even if I don't make it to work."

"Sure, Chad," I smiled softly as he walked out the door, "bye."

Walking back into the lounge, I froze when I saw my mom sat on the couch with a 'we need to talk' look on her face.

"Erm, I think I'm gonna go to bed now…" I figured it was worth a try.

"No, you're not. Sonny, tell me, what happened last night?"

"Nothing. Well, there was a storm, but you know about that. And I asked Chad to come over. You know about that too. Oh, and he stayed the night. He was tired. But you know about that too." I tried to keep my voice steady, but it was slightly higher than usual, like it always is when I lie. I hoped mom wouldn't notice, but unfortunately, she did.

"Tell me the truth, Allison. Although, I think I already know. I can't think of any other reason you would lie to me, but I really don't want to believe it."

"Believe it mom. You're right. I'm so sorry."

"How could you be so irresponsible, Sonny? And in my house! When you move out, and you live alone, then it's fine with me. But I can't believe you would do that under my roof!"

"Sorry, mom, really. I know you're disappointed, but I'm old enough now, and we weren't breaking any laws…"

"What? Your age has nothing to do with it! And I understand that you weren't breaking any laws, unless you had alcohol, of course, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt on that. But that's not the point! You were breaking my rules! You betrayed my trust!"

"Well, technically, you never specifically said I couldn't…"

"I figured it was implied! You did a good job of tidying up, I admit, but how could you have thought I wouldn't find out?"

"Wait, what?" I asked. Tidying up? Did she really think it was like that?

"Don't try to play innocent with me, Allison Munroe! I saw the garbage bags out front! I know you have more friends now that you're on the Falls, but that does not mean you have to be irresponsible and stupid and have a party!"

"What? I never had a party! That's not what I thought you were talking about me and Chad ha-you know what? Never mind. But I swear, mom, I didn't have a party!"

"Then what are those bags outside the house?"

"What? Oh, you mean those big black ones? Those are my old clothes; I'm taking them down to the charity stores tomorrow." I sighed in relief, thinking I was off the hook. But apparently not.

"Oh. So what did you think I was talking about?" she looked even more suspicious.

"Oh, nothing."

"Sonny."

"Really, it's not important."

"Sonny, if you don't tell me, I won't let you go to work until you do."

"What? But they'll fire me!"

"Well, then I guess you'll just have to tell me. Funny how that worked out, eh?"

"Well, look, I know you're going to be disappointed in me, but hear me out."

"Oh, Sonny, you're not doing drugs are you?"

"No! Look, this is going to be really awkward to tell you. Let's just say, as of last night, I'm not 'innocent little Sonny Munroe' anymore."

"What? Sonny, what did you steal?" she looked at me angrily, but I could see a faint spark of humour in her eyes.

"I didn't steal anything mom! How can I say this? Me and Chad, we…slept together." I winced at the phrase. It made it sound so…dirty.

"Well, I know that."

"You do?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you told me. He came over because you were scared, and you fell asleep." It was when I noticed her trying to hold back a grin that I realised she was messing with me. But I decided to play along.

"Oh, yeah. I did tell you, didn't I?" I said, feigning innocence, "well, I guess I can go to bed now. Night!"

Stretching my arms, I began to walk towards my bedroom.

"Sonny, wait!"

"What?"

"Tell me the full story, Allison."

"But, I thought you understood."

"Sonny, quit fooling around. Okay, you got me; I know what you were trying to tell me. But I want to hear you say it."

"Okay mom. Me and Chad, we…we had sex, mom. I'm sorry, I know I've let you down, and you have every right to be disappointed in me, but-"

"Sonny! Stop babbling! Look, answer me one question; were you, you know, safe?"

Blushing, I nodded. That part was probably the most awkward moment of the whole thing. I did not want to think about it…

"Okay then. Its fine, Sonny. I'm not disappointed. In fact, I'm proud you waited till now. Most girls lose their virginity much younger that seventeen. And I know you love this guy, Sonny. It's obvious from the way you talk about him, and act around him. As long as you were ready, and he didn't pressure you into it. He didn't, right?"

"No, mom. I wanted it just as much as he did." She cringed, and I clapped my hand over my mouth.

"Too much information, honey."

"Sorry mom. So, you really don't care?"

"Nah. I can't say anything, really. I was a lot younger than seventeen when I did it the first time…"

"Mom!" I gasped. Talk about too much information!

"Sorry honey. You going to bed now?"

"Yeah," I yawned, "see you in the morning!"

She smiled at me and I went back into my room. Curling up into a ball, I sighed in content. One worry down. One to go. Unfortunately, it would be a lot more difficult to fix this problem than it was for the fist one.