Chapter 5

It was in the early hours of the morning that Gabi awoke. She expected to be woken by the sound of her baby crying. Waking up naturally was an unusual occurrence.

But Arianna remained asleep. Silently, she slept sprawled out in her crib. Gabi rolled over and stretched out. It was a refreshing change to wake up on her own. She hovered over Ari's crib for a few seconds and admired her daughter. Then, she decided to get some breakfast before Arianna would wake up and demand her attention.

Gabi opened the door to the living room and stopped short. She spotted someone lying on the couch all spread out. Because the sight shocked her, she stood in the doorway for a few seconds not knowing how to react.

Slowly, she tip- toed over to the couch. She saw a blanket covering a sleeping Sonny. What was he doing on the couch? Did he not sleep in his bed last night? Gabi glanced over at the boys' bedroom door. It was shut. Behind it, Gabi guessed she would find a sleeping Will, not wanting to be disturbed.

This scared Gabi. Why would Sonny need to sleep out here? Did he and Will have a fight? If so, could they recover? Gabi thought back. She had never known Will and Sonny to be this divided. Wherever they went, it was always 'Will and Sonny.' You rarely saw one without the other closely behind. They were always united on everything. Even if one was in a tough situation, the other was right by his side, being supportive. What would happen if they were no longer together? Selfishly, Gabi thought: What would happen to her and Arianna?

Gabi decided to find out what was going on. It may be none of her business, and Sonny may not want to talk, but she was desperate for some answers. She leaned down over Sonny's head. He was hugging a large pillow. 'You should be hugging Will in your bed' Gabi thought.

"Sonny," she whispered. He still did not stir. She poked him on his shoulder. "Sonny!" she whispered a little louder and more forcefully.

"What?" Sonny's eyes shot open. He sat up quickly. "Gabi?"

"Shhh!" Gabi hushed him and put her finger to her lips. She glanced over at both bedroom doors indicating that there were still people sleeping.

Rubbing his eyes, Sonny sat upright, still under his blanket. "What's going on?" he whispered.

"That's what I wanna know." Gabi sat down on the other end of the couch and crossed her arms.

"What do you mean?" Sonny shook himself awake.

"Really, Sonny? I come out here and find you sleeping on the couch instead of in your bed with your boyfriend, and you ask me what I mean?"

Sonny took out his phone and looked at the time. "Why are you up this early? Did Ari wake up yet? Is she okay?"

"She's still asleep, and stop avoiding my questions!" she said in a hushed tone so as to not wake Ari or Will. "Did something happen last night?"

"No, no. I just, ah, fell asleep watching TV." He gestured to the television.

"Sonny, the TV's not on."

"Yea…I woke up in the middle of the night and turned it off. But, I was tired so…I stayed here."

"Oh, really? Then, why are you under a blanket?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I was cold."

"It's August."

"I get cold at night…watching TV."

"Sonny, you would've fallen asleep in your clothes. But you are in an undershirt. And if I lifted this blanket I'd probably see you in your boxers, so-"

"Alright!" Sonny said in defeat. He adjusted the blanket so it covered his lower section completely. That boxer comment, though clever, was unsettling. "Look, I slept here because I didn't want to disturb Will."

"If that's all it was, then why lie about it?" Gabi was on to him. She was seriously starting to annoy Sonny. This was really none of her concern. But she was persistent. "You said yesterday that there was an issue, but you took care of it…Did you really take care of it? Or is…whatever it is still a problem?"

Sonny sighed in exasperation. He ran his hand over the length of his face. "Okay. Yes. We…had a little argument last night."

"I heard raised voices. But I assumed you worked it out."

"Well, it didn't end angrily, you know, really bad like that. But it didn't end well either."

"So," Gabi asked slowly, "did Will ask you to sleep out here? Did he ban you from the bedroom?"

"No," Sonny said avoiding looking Gabi in the eyes. He started absent-mindedly turning his phone around in his hands. "We…just had a really…intense argument, and he went in the room to escape…so I thought it would be better if…if I -"

"I get it," Gabi said nodding her head. "But you know, you could avoid getting into bed with him last night. But you can't avoid him much longer."

"Yeah, I know," Sonny said sadly. "I gotta talk to him this morning…or at least today."

"Right," Gabi said hesitantly. "So, do you think this is something that you guys can get through? Or are you gonna be like mad at each other for a while?"

"Nah, it's not that we're mad at each other. It's more like…we both want what's best for each other, and we disagree about what that entails."

Gabi stared at Sonny for a moment without saying anything. Then, she shook her head and let out a small smile. "That is the stupidest reason to fight with someone, I have ever heard!"

"Well, you were kinda right, before," Sonny admitted. "Will didn't like the way I handled the issue…But now I understand why."

"Good. Then you can tell him that you're sorry, and that you get where he's coming from about whatever this is… I don't wanna know, cause it sounds complicated."

"With Will, it's always complicated!"

"You've got that right," Gabi said rolling her eyes.

"But I still love him."

Gabi smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah, I know you do. Just tell him that." She put a supportive hand on his arm. "And you guys will be fine. You've got to be."

"Got to?" he asked confused.

"There's no way you two won't be okay in the end."

Though it was a convoluted statement, Sonny appreciated the sentiment. It made him feel a little more hopeful about what lay ahead for him and Will. As long as they had their love, they would always be okay. All he had to do was prove it.