Chapter Two. I don't own SWAC. Please review and hope you like it! :)
Three months went by, and not one day passed where I didn't miss Chad. My friends noticed the change in my mood and tried their best to cheer me up. They made me feel a little better, but no one could quite fill the void that Chad had left. Tawni had changed quite a bit since three years ago—she was still dating Braden, for one thing, and she used to never date someone for longer than two weeks—and often stopped by to check on me. I was glad for it; the Cooper mansion was rather large and noticeably empty when I was the only one in it.
One morning in September, I woke up sick for the fifth time in a month. I groaned and closed my eyes to keep the room from spinning, but that didn't stop the churning in my stomach. For the fifth time that month I ended up on my knees in front of the toilet.
"Sonny? Are you okay?" Tawni asked worriedly.
Rats. She had walked right up behind me without me noticing. I hated throwing up in people; it was too gross to be witnessed by anyone else.
"I'm fine." Oh yeah, that was convincing. My voice croaked when I spoke, and I'm sure I didn't look so swell either.
"Sonny, this is like the fourth time this month."
"Fifth, actually."
"Okay, that's it. You're coming with me."
"Where?"
"To the doctor's. We're going to find out what's going on with you."
"Tawni!" I curled up on the bathroom floor, knowing I was acting very much like a little kid. "I hate doctors."
"It's either that or throwing up 24/7. Your choice."
I sighed in defeat. "Fine. But no needles."
When we came back from the doctor's office, I was in shock. Tawni made me lay down on the bed so I wouldn't pass out.
"How did this happen, Tawni? How can I be pregnant?" I asked, resting my hand on my stomach. Now that I was paying attention it wasn't quite as flat as it used to be.
"Sonny, do you really want me to explain it to you? Because I thought you already knew all about the birds and the bees," Tawni said. "Really, if you didn't want a baby so early then you should have been more careful."
"Who said I didn't want it?" I asked, slightly hurt. This was my baby, mine and Chad's, not some object. I wasn't going to let anyone take it away from me.
"Oookay, I see the mood swings are setting in. Listen, just get some rest and don't stress yourself out. You can always call me if you need me," Tawni told me, picking up her purse and heading for the door. "Do you want me to bring over pizza tonight or something?"
The thought of pizza threatened to make my stomach start churning again. "Ew, no. But I could really go for some Cajun food. Preferably something blackened."
"And where exactly am I supposed to find that?"
"I don't know. But I really want it."
"Fine, I'll see what I can do." With that Tawni left, muttering something about ridiculous cravings. I knew she didn't mind though. Tawni had helped me through a lot already, and I was positive she was too stubborn to abandon me now.
Of course Chad was going to have to find out. He was the father, after all. I had the phone in my hand and was about to call him when something occurred to me. If I told him I was pregnant, he would no doubt forget about the movie and rush home. As much as I wanted him here, I knew how important this movie contract was to his career. It would be better to wait until he finished filming and surprise him when he came back. I'd only be six months along then; I'm sure I could handle it for that long.
But I wasn't sure what I was going to tell Marshall and the rest of the So Random! gang. Marshall was the best producer anyone could ask for, but my unexpected pregnancy was going to interfere considerably with filming. I was pretty sure Nico and Grady would go into protective big brother mode and kill Chad the moment he got back from England. No telling what Zora would do; the girl was pretty unpredictable. She could very well go on the war rampage with Nico and Grady, but then again she might think it was sweet somehow. I wasn't exactly sure I wanted to find out which path she decided to take.
I still had some time, though. I wasn't even showing yet, and even when I did I knew I could find ways to conceal it. Right now I was content with lying on the bed, my hands clasped over my stomach, and thinking how wonderful it was to share something so special with my Chad.
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"You're what?"
I flinched. Breaking the news to Marshall had been even more difficult than I thought it would be.
"It was an accident, Marshall," Tawni explained. She had come along to Marshall's office for support.
"Yes, I realize that, but what am I supposed to do? We're in the middle of filming, and we have a deadline coming up," Marshall said. He was holding onto the edge of his desk as if he was keeping himself from falling over.
"I can still act, at least until I start showing too much. And after that—we do have a million costumes, I'm sure I could hide it," I said.
"You're taking a risk there, Sonny. This secret's going to be a hard one to keep. What if the public figures it out?" Marshall asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," I said optimistically. Truthfully, I didn't want anyone else to know before Chad did. I wanted it to be a surprise, after all.
Marshall sat down in his chair and rubbed his forehead. "I don't think it'll work, but we'll try anyway. And Sonny, you've got to promise me you're going to take care of yourself. We can't have you passing out or something. And if you get sick you have to tell someone so we can take a break. We film in front of a live audience, remember, and we can't take any chances."
"I know. Thanks for everything, Marshall," I said, relieved.
"You know I care about you kids. Maybe a little too much, I might add," Marshall said with a wan smile. I didn't bother with pointing out that we weren't really kids anymore.