Hey, everyone!
Here's the next chapter! I am absolutely excited for you guys to read this one. As I was plotting the chapter out, I just felt like this was the way to go. Everything felt right. Before this chapter I wasn't completely sure if Four Seasons was heading in the direction I wanted it to go in, but now that I have this written, I'm sure that my plans for the story are going the way they were meant to.
The plot for this chapter basically wrote itself, and my outline for it was filled to the brim with dialogue and banter. This chapter is big on drama but also has some awkward and funny moments - moments that I enjoyed writing so much I can't even begin to explain. Andrew and Chelsea stole my heart; they're minor characters that I feel have the potential to become so much more if given the chance. Andrew is a take off of my own brother, as most of you know, and Chelsea is based on my brother's fiancée, so those characters have a special place in my heart.
Never before have I enjoyed writing a chapter more, and I hope my enthusiasm shows.
Summary: A break from filming scatters the friends across the globe. This temporary change brings about new relationship challenges for Sonny and Chad. And things get personal when somebody from the past returns unexpectedly.
Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you don't recognize probably is mine. Probably.)
Fair Warning: I am trying to keep this story as realistic as possible while still trying to keep it cannon. Therefore, there is mention of alcohol, some language, and a brief discussion about sex. All in all a very PG-13 chapter. So if you find any of this offensive, I apologize in advance. However, I will not apologize for making the characters realistic instead of completely Disney-fied.
Four Seasons
By EmbracingRain
Arc Two
Summer
Chapter Five
July 11th
7:37 a.m.
Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House
Kitchen
Sonny watched on as her brother simultaneously scarfed down a German doughnut from the batch Chelsea had made the night before and holstered his gun. "You're going to work already?" she asked.
"Yep. I'm hoping working double shifts for a while'll encourage Sherriff O' Callahan to promote me to captain sooner," Drew said. He paused briefly before tacking on, "Or at least get him to take me off the night shift so I don't miss time with Tristan. Ain't that right, bud?" He picked the baby boy up out his high chair and planted a kiss on top of his head.
"Des!" Tristan exclaimed affirmatively, offering his parents a bright smile. He patted his dad affectionately on the cheek before reaching out for Chelsea.
"Alright, I'm out," Drew said, kissing his wife goodbye and waving to the baby. "Bye, bud!"
"Hi!"
"No. Say, 'bye,'" Drew corrected.
"Hi!"
"Hey, you teach this kid how to say goodbye today, or else," Drew instructed Sonny mock-threateningly.
"Aye-aye, Captain."
"It's officer. 'Aye-aye, Officer…' Sadly." Shaking his head, Drew said goodbye one last time before leaving the house.
Chelsea strapped Tristan back into his highchair, saying, "He's going to work himself to death," as she did so. "He's working the day and night shifts now, and I think he'd work the graveyard shift, too, if O' Callahan didn't make him come home to sleep. Want some coffee?"
Sonny wrinkled her nose. "No, thanks." She took a pastry from the plate of fastnachts on the counter and smiled. Grandma had done right by passing the recipe on to Chelsea. Childhood memories of Grandma's house came rushing back to the actress as she savored the doughy food. Sonny knew that part of Chelsea's culinary skills had come from being on her own from an early age. She'd developed a talent in the kitchen in her quest to keep from starving.
"Can I ask you a question, Chelsea?"
"Absolutely." Chelsea popped the lid off a jar of baby food and dug a tiny spoon out of the utensil drawer. Tristan squealed with delight.
"Why did you decide to live on your own?"
Chelsea seemed to ponder the question for a minute as she spooned pureed blueberries into Tristan's mouth. "Well," she said finally, "in the end, it turned out to be a lot of stuff. My parents had gotten completely overpowering and my sister Eavan was a self-absorbed nuisance. There was a lot of conflict with all of us, mostly because I'm not like the three of them. I felt like it was time, and it was." She looked up at Sonny with serious, knowing blue eyes, absentmindedly wiping food off of Tristan's chin. "Why do you ask?"
Sonny sighed and sat down at the table, furrowing her brow as she thought about what she wanted to say. "My mom and I have been fighting a lot recently. Almost on a weekly basis."
"I find that a little hard to believe," Chelsea responded skeptically. "You and Connie have always gotten along great."
"We were. I don't know what happened, though. It's like all of a sudden everything causes conflict between us. And things got really bad when she found Chad's shirt in my laundry."
"Why was-?"
"It's a comfort thing," Sonny interrupted. "Because he's so far away and we won't see each other again 'til the end of August."
"I get that. I took a pair of your brother's jeans one time when I was pregnant and he was out of town with his friend Masterson one week."
"His jeans?"
"It was a weird pregnancy," Chelsea said, dismissing the issue with a wave of her hand. "Back to you not getting along with Connie."
Sonny watched her nephew ooze half of his spoonful of food out of his mouth as she spoke her next words. "I don't feel like I have the freedom I need anymore."
"Adulthood," Chelsea said sagely with a smile.
"Sometimes I feel like things would be better between my mom and me if I moved out," Sonny mumbled. She felt somewhat ashamed for thinking that, but it was the truth.
"Exactly how far have you thought this through?"
"What do you mean?"
"Where are you going to live? Obviously the money thing isn't an issue now that you're over eighteen and have full access to everything you've earned working on the show. I mean, your mom can't legally keep it from you. But where are you going to live? On your own? With roommates?"
Sonny blinked, dumbfounded, as reality smacked her right between the eyes. "I…don't know."
"Then let's think about it. Obviously roommates make rent cheaper, so why not go through your options there? What about Chad?"
Sonny snorted indelicately. "I don't think so."
"Why not? He is your boyfriend. You've been together, what, six months and you've known each other even longer than that."
"I'll tell you why not. He's secretly messy, we've only been dating six months, and we don't even say we love each other! I can't move in with Chad. Right now."
"So don't."
"But you just told me to."
"And you said you're not ready. Next option: ask Tawni."
Sonny's only response for a moment was nothing but hysterical laughter. "Good one," she finally got out.
"Okay… You could move in with Zora."
"Zora's a minor still. Not to mention, I think she spends a lot of nights sleeping in the studio vents. Or in the sarcophagus in the prop house…"
"Then what about Grady? Or Nico?"
"It'd be a good idea if they weren't already living together. They mentioned something about looking for a roommate one time, but I don't know if we could live together. It might be weird."
"Why?"
"They're not very good with girls."
"Then maybe living with you would help them out a bit," Chelsea said pragmatically.
Sonny shrugged. "I'll consider it, but I don't know if it'd work out."
"It seems to me that your best bet if you do decide to move out is getting your own place or asking Nico and Grady if you can live with them. Just make sure you think it through and that you make the best choice fore you. Don't let anyone else make it for you."
"Thanks, Chels," Sonny said, hugging her sister-in-law.
"No problem." Chelsea returned Sonny's hug with a gentle squeeze. "But…why'd you ask me and not your brother? He seems like the more logical choice."
Sonny chuckled. "Drew's advice is never rational and rarely good. Plus, he didn't move out 'til Mom and I left for California. You're basically the complete opposite."
Chelsea smiled, but it quickly faded away when she glanced at the clock on the stove and leapt out of her chair. "Oh, shoot!" She ditched the spoon and now-empty jar in the sink. "I'm gonna be late for work if I don't leave now! You know the drill with the baby, right? Okay. Any problems, just call me or your brother. I'll see you when I get home tonight, alright? Bye!"
Sonny turned to her nephew as the door slammed shut. "Well, bud, looks like it's just you and me, doesn't it?"
Tristan giggled, slapping his hands on the plastic tray attached to his chair. "Des!"
"Are we gonna have some fun today?"
"Des!"
"You're only saying that 'cuz you don't know how to say the word no yet."
July 11th
1:53 p.m.
Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House
Family Room
Sonny was passed out on the couch in the middle of what she felt was a well deserved nap, the baby monitor threatening to fall out of her lax grip, when the doorbell rang. She promptly fell off the couch, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Groaning and rubbing the arm she'd landed on, Sonny shuffled over to the front door and opened it.
"Drew and Chelsea aren't home," she said with a yawn. "If you come back later, they'll…be…" Sonny trailed off, staring blankly at the blonde haired, blue eyed actor standing on the doorstep.
"Hey there, sunshine."
And, just like that, ire flooded Sonny's veins. She launched herself at Chad, not to hug or kiss him, but to pummel every part of him she could reach.
"You bastard! I haven't heard from you in over a month! What the hell makes you think you can show up here unannounced and unexpected?"
"Ow!" Chad said loudly, grabbing her hands to restrain her when she accidentally clocked him upside the head with the baby monitor.
"Sorry," Sonny said, not feeling very sorry at all. She glowered at him, waiting for an explanation.
"I lost my phone at the beach," Chad told her. She could feel his eyes searching hers and deliberately looked away, wanting to stay mad at him as long as possible. "I sent you emails… I tried every line of internet communication possible and you never answered. So don't try to give me this pissed off princess act, Sonny."
"I don't have my laptop with me. What are you even doing here?" she bit out, finally meeting his gaze. His eyes burned into hers.
"I've got a week off before we head to Italy to film the last few scenes. Most of everyone else is heading over there early, but I figured I'd come see you. We didn't exactly have the happiest goodbye."
Sonny sighed inwardly. She hated being the immature one in their relationship when they had an argument. That was usually Chad's job. And he was damn good at it, too.
"You were supposed to call me when you got off the plane in Florida," she told him, a twinge of bitterness still in her voice. She could feel it fading though.
"I know. I'm sorry, sunshine. We got to Florida and it was nothing but business the second the plane touched down. I meant to call you after the first read through, but the entire cast went to the beach to see where we'd be filming and I lost my phone in the ocean."
Sonny raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Honest!" Chad exclaimed. "I was standing on the pier and Jonah and Adam were screwing around. They bumped into me and my phone fell out of my hands into the water. Call me if you don't think it's true."
A soft cry sounded from the baby monitor, preventing Sonny from coming up with a retort. She stepped aside and motioned for Chad to enter the house. She held up the monitor, saying, "I've got baby duties." She ascended the stairs, Chad hot on her heels.
Tristan was standing up in his crib, red-faced and grumpy, apparently done with his afternoon nap. He reached an arm out to Sonny as she entered the room, the other hand clinging desperately to the bars of his crib.
"Hey, bud," Sonny cooed softly, plucking him from the bed. She balanced him on her hip, wiping the tears off his chubby cheeks. He stared at Chad with wide eyes and an open mouth, wonder apparent on his face. "That's Uncle Chad," Sonny explained quietly. "Can you say hi?"
"Bye," Tristan said solemnly.
Both Sonny and Chad blinked at him, confused.
"Hi?" Chad said uncertainly.
"Bye," Tristan repeated.
"I think he's backwards," Sonny said. "Earlier, Drew said goodbye to him and he said, 'Hi.'" She shrugged one shoulder then placed the baby on the changing table, rummaging around for a fresh diaper.
Chad watched as Sonny changed the baby, impressed. "You're really good at this," he complimented her. "It's like your calling."
"Wow, Chad. Only you would know how to insult me and compliment me at the same time…" Sonny scowled.
"There was nothing insulting about that!"
Sonny scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna go to the park with me and Tristan?"
"When? Now?"
"No, Chad. In five million years. Yes, now!"
"You're mad," Chad stated, following Sonny out of the nursery and down the stairs. He stared around the halls and staircase. He'd never been upstairs in Andrew and Chelsea's house before, so he was curious. Family pictures had been hung on the buttery yellow walls. Pictures of Sonny and one of Chelsea's sister (Chad didn't remember her name) had been thrown in there, too. "Why are you mad?"
"Because that had to be the most sexist comment I've ever heard come out of your mouth. If that's what you really believe, Chad, then you and I are going to have some problems," Sonny hissed, whirling around to face him once they reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked a lot less intimidating than usual with Tristan in her arms, but Chad still took a step back.
"What are you talking about?"
"Babies are my calling?" Sonny countered furiously.
"All I meant is you'd be a good mom one day! Christ!"
"Oh," Sonny murmured. "You could've phrased it better."
"Yeah, and you could've not exploded, but here we are."
The pair of actors stood there, glowering darkly at each other for a few moments until Sonny sighed and shook her head. "What's wrong with us lately?" she asked.
"I'd say it's either miscommunication or a lack of regular communication," Chad said.
"Both probably."
"Yeah, maybe a bit."
"We should work on that. Can you hold Tristan while I get the stroller from the hall closet?"
Chad took Tristan from her apprehensively, holding the baby away from himself. Tristan's face began to contort and Chad could sense the tantrum coming on. "No! No, no, no! Don't cry!" he pled, still holding the baby an arm's length away.
"Chad."
"Huh?" he turned to see Sonny chuckling at him, a soft smile on her lips.
"You can't hold him like that. He's a baby. Hold him like one." She stepped forward and rearranged Chad's arms and hands so he was holding Tristan against his torso. Tristan automatically relaxed. "See? He's not gonna burst into flames if you touch him." Sonny stepped back and studied the unlikely pair for a second. "You look cute with a baby," she decided aloud before vanishing around the corner. She reappeared a few moments later with a stroller.
After a brief instant of confusion during which Chad didn't know how to pass Tristan back to Sonny so she could strap him into the stroller, they were headed to the park which, according to Sonny, was "just around the corner." In reality, Chad soon found out, it was around the corner, up a very steep hill and across a busy street. But who was keeping track, right?
The first comment came as they were walking slowly down the shady sidewalk. Sonny had noticed a tiny, old woman was about to pass them going the opposite way, so she smiled brightly and put her hand up to wave. The woman took one look at Sonny, Chad, and the baby and muttered, "Whore," at the precise moment she and the brunette passed. Sonny stopped walking and stared over her shoulder at the old lady, shock reverberating through her body.
"What's wrong?" Chad asked, breaking off in the middle of his story about his first day of filming.
"I think that old lady just called me a whore," Sonny replied, still staring at said lady's retreating figure.
"Why?"
"Because she called me a whore!"
"No, I mean why'd she call you a… Ohhh."
The couple looked from each other to the baby-occupied stroller. Tristan was happily waving to a bird a few feet away, innocent to the conversation taking place above him.
"That explains it," Sonny said bitterly. "But it's still rude."
"Don't pay any attention to her, sunshine," Chad responded, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. "She's one old lady. What else can this kid do, other than get his greetings mixed up?"
"He can walk…kinda."
"Show me," Chad said, navigating both Sonny and the stroller toward the grassy area in the center of the park.
"He just started walking," Sonny explained as she unloaded Tristan from the buggy, "so he can't go very far and he gets tired pretty fast." She sat down in the grass and Chad followed suit a few feet away. Tristan clung to his aunt for a moment, blinking uncertainly at Chad. "It's okay," Sonny encouraged him.
Chad watched in amazement as Tristan took a few tottering steps forward. In a minute or so, he had made his way across the short distance from Sonny to Chad and was clinging to the actor's shirt, looking as though he'd just surprised himself by walking. Which he actually might have.
"Good job, bud!" Sonny cheered, clapping her hands. Tristan giggled and hid his face in Chad's shirt. "I think he likes you."
"Aww! He's adorable!" a woman's voice said.
The pair looked up to see that a middle-aged couple had paused next to them. The woman was smiling from ear to ear, though her husband seemed less than pleased by the presence of the baby.
"Is he yours?" the woman asked Sonny.
"He's my nephew," Sonny replied.
"I thought you two looked too young to have a baby. I thought to myself, 'It's a shame I see so many teen moms at this park,' but look at you breaking the mold!"
"Um…thanks."
"Well, he is precious," the woman said before towing her unpleasant husband away.
"That was weird," Chad said as Tristan began walking back to Sonny.
"It wasn't weird, it was obnoxious," Sonny corrected him, annoyed. "What's so wrong with having a baby at nineteen? I mean, you're legally an adult. Better yet, why don't people ever ask if I'm the sitter? It's obvious I am."
Chad frowned slightly. "Not really."
"What?"
"He does look like you a little bit. But that's probably because you and Andrew look so much alike. He's a cute kid, babe. I don't know why you're so offended."
Sonny sighed. "I don't know either. Maybe because of the fight I had with my mom."
"Maybe."
Tristan tottered between them one more time before tiring out and quickly falling asleep in Sonny's arms. Leaning against the tree she was sitting under and adjusting her nephew's position in her arms, Sonny studied Chad through half-lidded eyes.
"I haven't been treating you right, Chad," she said quietly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, moving to sit next to her under the tree.
Sonny worried her lower lip as she took a second to decide how to phrase what she wanted to say. Being frank seemed the way to go. "When I said no sex until we're in love," she stated bluntly as possible, "I was just looking for a way to make sure you wouldn't leave me."
"Sunshine-"
"Just hear me out," Sonny insisted, holding up a hand to silence him. "I felt that, if you got what you wanted right away, then you'd leave me like you left all those other girls and I couldn't stand the thought of that. It was stupid and insecure, and I take it back."
"No," Chad said resolutely.
"What? Chad-"
"You listen to me now," Chad told her earnestly. "I wanted a relationship with you and I got a relationship with you. Yeah, sex would be great, but you're not ready and I'm not gonna pressure you into making a decision."
"I'm not a virgin, Chad."
Chad froze, his mind going blank. "What? Who?" he choked out, hardly daring to believe what Sonny had just blurted out.
"You don't know him. He's not famous."
"That doesn't matter," Chad said loudly. "What's his name?"
"What are you gonna do? Goggle him?" Sonny chuckled.
"Maybe, maybe not."
Rolling her eyes, Sonny caved. "His name is Peter and he's dating Lucy now, actually. Not that it matters."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"It's a small town, Chad. The dating pool isn't exactly the largest."
"How long were you with him?" Chad was beginning to wonder why Sonny hadn't volunteered this information before. It wasn't like the topic of each other's pasts was completely absent from their relationship. Sonny knew of his slightly whorish past, and Chad had thought he'd known hers. 'Thought' being the key word.
"Almost a year. I dated him right before I moved out to Hollywood."
"Okay… So… Neither of us has made a relationship last an entire year and both of us have slept with other people," Chad said slowly. He was still struggling with trying to wrap his mind around Sonny and another guy. He didn't want to wrap his mind around that! "Good to know."
"You're upset."
"What makes you say that?"
"Chad, I'm not an idiot." Sonny scrutinized Chad. His red face, the fact that he refused to meet her eyes… What he was wondering suddenly dawned on her. "You want to know if I thought he was good!" she exclaimed. She stood up and placed the sleeping baby in his stroller, preparing to leave the park.
"I didn't say that!" Chad said quickly.
"Oh, come on!"
"Fine! But only because I have a right to know if I'm better than him before we do it! It's only fair!"
"I guess you'll find out when the time comes, then. Won't you?" Sonny smirked and then set off down the sidewalk.
"Not cool, Sonny!"
As Chad and Sonny left the park with Tristan, a teenage boy turned to his girlfriend, triumph clear in his hazel eyes. "Do you see?" he said hotly. "That's what we're going to look like in a few months if we go through with this celibacy thing!"
"Dean, they have a baby. They're obviously not abstaining from sexual relations," his girlfriend countered, her voice nasty.
"They were babysitting him. Open up your ears, woman!"
"What's your point?"
"My point is that I don't want to end up as whipped as that guy, Chastity!"
"That guy looked an awful lot like Chad Dylan Cooper. Chad Dylan Cooper isn't whipped. And we are not consummating this relationship. Do you want to know why? Because you love me."
July 11th
5:16 p.m.
Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House
Front Steps
"Now what?" Chad asked as he and Sonny watched Tristan (now awake from his post-afternoon nap and trip to the park snooze) dig around in the flowerbeds next to the front steps.
"Now we wait for Andrew to come home for dinner between shifts at the station. Chelsea's picking up a party pizza from Benny's," Sonny replied. "I told her you're here so she figured she may as well spend the extra money. She's seen you and Andrew eat so she knows she and I won't stand a chance unless she brings home the biggest pizza she can find." She cast a teasing smile at her boyfriend.
"I don't eat that much."
"It's cute that you think that."
Chad scoffed and looked back at Sonny's nephew, reaching out to stop Tristan from putting a chubby fistful of soil in his mouth. "Hey, little dude. Whatcha got there?" he asked, reaching out a hand. In response, Tristan emptied the contents of his hand into Chad's much larger one, a proud smile on his face. "Want a worm, sunshine?" Chad asked, sticking said annelid under Sonny's nose.
"That's disgusting, Chad."
"Tell that to your nephew. He was about to eat it."
"Get it away from me!" Sonny squealed as Chad brought it closer to her face. "I hate worms! They're slimy and cold and…ew." She shuddered.
"Hear that, kid?" Chad said to Tristan. "Your auntie says worms are 'ew.' Isn't she sophisticated?" He tossed the worm back into the dirt. It burrowed its way back underground.
"Des," Tristan said, reaching out to hug Sonny's leg. She picked him up and placed him in her lap, tsking when she saw the state of his hands.
"Your mommy isn't going to be happy when she sees you've been digging in the dirt, bud."
Chad elbowed Sonny gently in the side to catch her attention. He gestured toward a silver car that had just pulled up along the curb when she glanced over at him. "You know whose car that is?" he asked quietly.
"No idea," she responded, equally as quiet. Together, they watched as a dark-haired man stepped out of the car. He checked the house number with a piece of paper and began to walk up the front path.
"Excuse me, is Andrew here?" the man asked. He was dressed simply in jeans and a polo shirt. Sonny felt there was something familiar and welcoming about his appearance (only later would she realize that he looked like and older version of Drew), but at the same time something made her wary. She stood up, thankful when Chad followed suit and stepped in front of her the slightest bit.
"He's not here right now," Sonny told the man.
"I recognize you," he said, removing his sunglasses as though that would afford him a better look at her. "You're Sonny Munroe! My daughter Sophie is a huge fan of your show. So Weird, right?"
"So Random! Not weird," Sonny corrected him flatly.
He laughed and a chill swept over the comedienne's heart. "Of course! How could I forget?"
"Andrew's not home," Sonny repeated. "Is there something you need?"
"You don't recognize me? I suppose you wouldn't. You were only a few months old when I left… My name is Rick. Rick Munroe. I'm your dad."
Sonny swayed on the spot, tightening her grip on Tristan so she wouldn't drop him. Chad was next to her in an instant, gripping her by the waist to steady her. Suddenly, she didn't feel so well. An intense sensation of vertigo came over her and every sound on the street seemed to be amplified. She was saved a response when Andrew's car pulled into the driveway and he stepped out, still in uniform.
"Thank God," Chad muttered.
"Excuse me, sir!" Drew called out as he hurried toward the group, fueled by the sick look on his baby sister's face. "This is private property. You're trespassing." The man turned to face Drew and he scowled, hatred taking over his mind followed by the instinct to protect Sonny and Tristan.
"Andy? Andy Munroe?"
"It's Officer Munroe now, actually. I'm going to have to ask you to step off my property, sir," Drew told him through gritted teeth.
"You don't remember me?"
"How could I forget? You abandoned me, my kid sister, and my mom for some slut and your bastard kids," Drew spat, seeing fear flash in his father's eyes. "You think I'd forget that? I'm going to tell you one more time to get your ass off my property. And while you're at it, you leave my sister and my son alone."
"Andy, c'mon. You can't honestly-"
As his estranged father placed a hand on his arm, Drew grabbed the handcuffs that sat in his back pocket, moving so fast the man didn't have time to react. In seconds, he was cuffed and Drew had an unrelenting and ferocious grip on his arms.
"Rick Munroe, I'm placing you under arrest for trespassing on private property and assaulting an officer," he hissed, taking note of the cold happiness in Sonny's eyes and feeling proud of himself for the first time since Tristan was born. He had just finished reading his father the Miranda warning when there was a shocked female cry from behind him.
"Oh, my God! Andrew, what the hell is going on?" Chelsea hollered, slamming the door to her Jeep and running up.
"Alison, you're not really going to let him arrest me, are you?" Rick called to his daughter. "I'm your dad! That has to mean something to you!"
"As far as I'm concerned," Sonny said coldly, "I don't have a father. And as far as you're concerned, Sophie's your daughter. Why don't you ask her for help?"
"Family problems," Drew grunted to Chelsea, shoving his loudly protesting father in the back of the cruiser and taking off.
July 11th
10:04 p.m.
Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House
Guest Bedroom
Sonny snuggled closer to Chad's side, trying to block the day's most recent dramatic event from her mind. It was proving difficult though. She was being plagued by conflicting emotions and struggling to bring relaxation to the forefront.
"Feeling any better?" Chad asked in a hushed voice.
"Not really. I can't block it out, and I've never felt so emotionally drained in my life."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"I don't know how," Sonny confessed. "I think I need more time to process before I can even think about talking it over. I just never actually expected him to show up."
"I remember you told me he left when you were a baby."
"Yep."
Sonny could feel herself dozing off as Chad ran his fingers through her hair, lulling her to sleep. She was on the fringes of dreamland when there was a soft knock at the door and Chelsea entered the room. "Your mom's on the phone," she told her sister-in-law quietly, holding out the house phone. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No, that's okay," Sonny said, forcing a smile and taking the phone. "Hi, Mom."
"How are you, sweetie?"
"I feel dandy," she replied sarcastically.
"Sonny…"
"Right. Sorry."
"Drew told me your dad showed up at the house today."
"He's not my dad," Sonny snapped.
"Like it or not, he is your father."
"Just because he shares some of the same DNA as me doesn't make him my dad. Drew clearly doesn't want him around either."
"Your brother has his own way of doing things."
"That doesn't make him wrong," Sonny came to her brother's defense.
"And it doesn't make it right either," Connie countered.
Sonny scowled, feeling another serious argument coming on. God, I need to move out, she thought tiredly.
"Sonny, when your father and I divorced after he left, the judge granted me sole custody of you and your brother. You've known that your whole life."
"You only got sole custody because he wanted nothing to do with us!" Sonny exclaimed, peeved.
"That as may be," Connie said, sounding as though her patience with her daughter's outbursts was almost gone, "but the judge ruled that he could try to contact you when you turned eighteen. Same with Andrew. You've known he could show up for over a year now. What Andrew did was rash-"
"No! What Drew did was right! That man has no right to try to talk to us."
"Alison Munroe, he has every right. He is your father, young lady."
"I don't have a father!" Sonny spat, angry tears spilling from her eyes. She vaguely felt Chelsea tug the phone from her hand and tell Connie to call back tomorrow, then launched herself into the older girl's arms once the phone was safely hung up.
"It's alright," Chelsea said soothingly, patting Sonny on the back as she rocked her. Upon hearing the door slam downstairs, though, she turned Sonny over to Chad and hurried down the stairs to find her husband uncapping a bottle of beer.
"O' Callahan booked him a flight back to Oregon and sent his rental car back to where it came from. Then he sent me home early," Drew intoned darkly. He took a deep drink from the bottle in his hand. "The charges didn't stick."
"I wish saying I'm sorry was enough," Chelsea replied, taking his hand.
"That bastard deserves life in prison for leaving my baby sister fatherless her whole life," Drew said, his voice cracking. He drank from the bottle again, trying to hide his watery eyes.
"She wasn't fatherless, hon. She had you there."
"Shit," he said quietly.
"Really," Chelsea told him earnestly. "She just fought with Connie again, and I think a lot of it had to do with what you did today. Sonny really loves you."
"I don't deserve half the credit that kid gives me. You know how fucked up I used to be."
"Maybe a long time ago," she admitted, "but you're the best person I know now, and that's all that counts."
Drew merely shook his head and remained silent, finishing off his beer.
"Chad Dylan Cooper is here. Did you notice that earlier?"
He snorted. "No, but I'm not surprised."
"I think he loves her."
"Don't say that!"
"It's true. You should see the way he looks at her. And he's so sweet."
"He's bad news is what he is," Drew replied.
"You know Sonny would love you forever if you actually gave Chad a chance. Besides, you think every guy your sister knows is bad news."
"And I'm right. What sort of idiots wear cheese patterned pants?"
"Andrew, she works on a comedy show with other comedians. What'd you expect out of boys like Nico and Grady?" Chelsea said, amused.
"Not cheese pants," Drew mumbled.
July 13th
Nico's Voicemail
"Hey, Nico, this is Sonny. I was calling to see if I could talk to you and Grady at some point. Some stuff has been going on and I was wondering if you guys were still looking for a roommate to live in the third room of your apartment. I'm looking for a place and I thought I'd see if you guys would be open to letting me live with you for a while. I understand that you'll wanna talk to Grady about this, so get back to me whenever you want. I'll talk to you later."
July 13th
Grady's Voicemail
"Hey, dude. It's Nico. Where are ya? I've been callin' ya almost all day! I got a message from Sonny-girl. She wants to live with us. Lemme know what ya think."
I. LOVE. THIS. CHAPTER.
It's not because of anything special. Just that I now officially know that the story is going how I want it to. Hooray! Also, it was the longest chapter yet: over seven-thousand words.
I've already started work on the next chapter, and I have to say that I'm loving it, too. Grady and Nico are kind of coming to the forefront next chapter, and they're so much fun to write! I can also tell you that this wasn't the last you saw of Rick Munroe, either. -cue suspenseful music-
Mad props go out to DrowningxInxSapphire and youveforgotten for coming in first and second place respectively. DrowningxInxSapphire wrote me the line, "'Wow, Chad. Only you would know how to insult me and compliment me at the same time…' Sonny scowled." I have to admit, that line was a challenge for me at first because I had to come up with something that was both insulting and complimentary. In the end, I found that I could use it to tie into their miscommunications. Meanwhile, youveforgotten gave Sonny's dad a first name for me.
If any of you were wondering, here are the answers to the challenge:
Movie: Mommie Dearest
Band: Plain White T's
Book: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Contrary to popular belief, Twilight was definitely not mentioned. What was mentioned was a book titled Nightlight, a Twilight parody. It's real and I recommend checking it out if you're a Twilight hater. While I don't hate Twilight, per se, I do happen to find the writing terrible, the plot on the ridiculous and extremely flawed side, and the main character to be vapid and Mary Sue-ish. I appreciate the books for their entertainment value though, and also like to try finding grammatical errors and spelling mistakes (two things which Nightlight mocks). Nightlight is brilliant parody, and I urge you to check it out.
Also, don't bash me for my attitude toward the Twilight series. The only reason I presented it in the first place was so I don't get yelled at for hating the books.
You guys are the greatest reviewers ever! I swear! We've officially reached one-hundred reviews and I would absolutely adore if you guys hit anywhere from one-ten to one-fifteen next chapter. You all know for a fact I don't hold chapters hostage, so even if you don't hit either of those numbers, I'll still be posting. Plus, how could I not finish a story I love?
Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated beyond a doubt. C:
Love,
EmbracingRain
P.S. There's a possibility there will be a third installment in this series… The plot bunnies got rabid and bit me (also, I've got an incredible human muse. Let's call him…Gabe. I owe Gabe quite a lot), so I'm going over the idea of introducing a third story.
