He lay quietly in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had been up since the crack of dawn the day before and yet he still wasn't the least bit tired. His body was begging for a rest but his mind kept him awake. Getting up, he decided to exercise a little and hopefully tire himself out.

Chad started in on push-ups in sets of tens, counting silently to himself as he worked his body harder and harder. He huffed lightly, thinking about the girl he was protecting.

She was something he couldn't describe. Everything about her was hard to explain. She was simple, yet beautiful, complex and elegant at the same time. Her smile was soft, but charming and luminous as well. Her demeanor could be incredibly reserved or surprisingly outgoing. She seemed like a fragile, weak girl, while in fact she could beat up men twice her size. She was pampered but she could still enjoy the simplicities of life. He expected her to be a spoiled brat and instead she was grateful for everything she had as well as being polite, kind, funny and smart.

He remembered earlier that day, when they had been laughing about something he couldn't even remember. She had a certain charm about her that made him want to hug her and keep her as his own. Unfortunately he hadn't been able to, they had been interrupted by a phone call for Sonny. He had seen her joyful expression when she greeted the person on the other end and without realizing it, he was grinning just like her. But then her bright smile fell and her face saddened, only for her to turn away from him. In that moment, he would have done anything to make her happy again.

What was this? He found himself wanting to impress her at times. He liked when he made her smile and laugh. But whatever he was feeling for her was wrong. He was supposed to be her bodyguard - nothing less and nothing more.

Suddenly he stopped, standing up and frowning. He wiped the sweat from his brow and went over to his bed, reaching under his pillow and grabbing his gun. Something was different. He sensed a disturbance, but he wasn't sure what. He pulled on his jacket and hid his gun in the inner pocket of his coat, approaching the door and pulling it open.

He carefully stepped into the hallway. It was dark but his eyes quickly adjusted. Holding his breath, he listened. Snapping his head in the direction of the noise, he tightened his grip on his gun and went forward. The soft noise was coming from her room. Within moments he was in front of her door, one hand positioned on the doorknob and the other on the trigger of his gun. Quietly, he turned the knob and pushed the door open. His eyes immediately scoped the room for Sonny, resting upon a lone figure sitting on the windowsill. He sighed with relief, loosening his hold on his gun and stepping forward.

"Sonny?" he called quietly. "Sonny? Is everything okay?"

She looked up with swollen eyes from her spot at the window, having seemed to be lost in thought. She quickly rubbed her eyes and swallowed, "Chad? What are you doing here?"

"I...felt like something was wrong. I heard something and just wanted to check in on you. Make sure everything is alright. Have you...been crying?" he said, studying her face carefully.

Sonny frowned, biting her lip nervously and re-wiped her eyes. "What, these? No no, just allergies. Pollen, you know."

"Funny," smirked Chad, raising an eyebrow. "Your mom didn't say anything about allergies to pollen when she was listing what you were allergic to." He went over to her nightstand and plucked a tissue from a Kleenex box. "Here you go, madam," he offered teasingly, handing it to her.

"Th-Thanks," she stammered, taking the tissue and blowing her nose. "You can go now."

"Why were you crying?" he questioned, ignoring what she had said. "What's wrong?" He sat down across from her.

"I don't want to talk about it," she answered simply, gazing through the window.

He sighed. "Come on, we've known each other for awhile now. Tell me."

"No. Leave."

Rolling his eyes, he said more firmly, "Tell me now."

She furrowed her brow and he looked at her curiously. "No. You're not my therapist, Chad. I don't need you to baby me. You don't know anything about the complexities of my life. You don't get what it's like to be me. You don't understand the pressure I'm under to be the perfect little daughter my mother needs me to be. You don't get anything. In fact, you're just paid to sit around and 'guard' me when in fact there's no danger whatsoever. I'm capable of defending myself. I don't need you."

He was taken aback by her sudden outburst. Frowning, he stood up. "I'm not your therapist, true. But I was trying to be your friend. Friends tell each other what's on their minds. I was only trying to help. But my apologies, ma'am, I won't overstep my boundaries again. As your bodyguard, whether you like it or not, I will be here to ensure your physical well-being," he stated stonily, a feeling of hot anger swelling in his stomach. What was with this sudden attitude change? She had turned from being this amazing girl to a snot-nosed brat. "Pardon my intrusion," he spat, storming out of her room and back into his.

He heard her door slam and he huffed, throwing himself on his bed and staring at the ceiling once again. He was back where he started but now he was feeling annoyed and bothered by Sonny's little temper tantrum. What was up with her? He had only tried to be friendly. Wasn't that what girls liked? When guys wanted to 'talk' about feelings?

Eventually Chad dozed off, still thinking about the darkened ray of light. But when dawn approached, he was already up and ready to go, having only slept a few hours.

Chad headed downstairs, sitting at the table and nodding in acknowledgement to the other servants. They nodded back politely, bringing him his breakfast. He quickly ate it, finding himself more hungry than he had realized.

After his second coffee, he called over one of the maids. "I'm sorry, I never caught your name?"

The dark-haired maid looked up and smiled, "Portlyn."

"Right, Portlyn. Do me a favor?"

"Yes sir."

"Go up to Ms. Sonny's room and call her down for breakfast. She's late."

Portlyn looked torn for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid Ms. Sonny doesn't feel well and does not want to come down today...I thought someone told you this."

"What? No. No one said a word," grunted Chad, standing up and throwing down his napkin. "She doesn't tell me anything," he muttered, moving swiftly out of the room.

"Sir-"

Chad turned around, glaring. "I'm her bodyguard. I don't care if she doesn't like it, I'm supposed to protect her until my contract is over," he stated, storming out and up the stairs to Sonny's room.

Without a moment's hesitation, he barged through the door and looked around, annoyed. To his surprise, her room was a mess from when he had left it in the early morning hours. Her bed was undone and pillows were on the floor. Her neatly arranged books were now scattered across the floor and her clothes had been tossed aside. Sonny was no where to be seen.

A feeling of worry slowly started to twist up into his chest as he looked around for the missing girl. He picked through the items on the ground and shook his head in disbelief. Where could she have gone? He quickly went over to her 'secret door' and pulled on it, surprised to see it unlocked. So she had left this way without anyone knowing? Why would she do that?

He made his way down the creaky stairs and found himself in the hallway near the games room.

A servant passed by and he grabbed her arm. "You, have you seen Sonny?" he demanded gruffly.

"No sir, I haven't," replied the servant meekly.

Chad let go and moved on, growing more worried.

Where the hell was she?