50Hi, everyone (: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing this. However, seeing as I've had 3,500+ hits on this thing, and only 45 reviews, I think a few more would be brilliant. Let me know what you think, what you like and what you think I could improve on. It makes me happy when I see a review in my e-mail inbox. Aha, how sad does that make me sound? Anyway! Read on and I hope you enjoy.
Word Count: 822
As soon as I got home, I grabbed the phone and called Eddie. I knew he'd be more than willing to help me, so I decided to ask for his advice on what to do next. So, I was now lying on my bed on my back, on the phone to Eddie; I'd have preferred it if he could have come over, but I thought it best to not drag him from his bed if he was ill.
"So, what do you reckon I should do?" I asked, once I'd told my story. There was a moments silence before he replied.
"I'm…I'm not too sure," he said quietly. Wow, he must be really ill, I thought. Eddie always had an answer for everything.
"Come on, surely you've got some kind of idea," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Well," he started slowly, "do you believe this Maxxie guy?"
"Yeah, I do," I replied, without any hesitation. "Why? Do you think I should doubt him?"
"I would, Em. I mean, how do you know he's not in on the act? He could be luring you into a trap for all you know," Eddie pointed out.
This had not occurred to me until now. Maxxie had seemed perfectly genuine when he'd spilled everything to me, but maybe he was just a really good actor? Was it really possible for him to be acting on behalf of his brother and attempting to capture me? I was suddenly immensely confused; I was starting to wish that I hadn't called Eddie.
I groaned. "Eddie, what do I do? If I tell my Dad, I'll have my freedom taken away from me, but if I don't do anything, I'll be made into some power-mad werewolf's bitch."
Eddie sighed. "I don't know, Em. Maybe if you ignore it all, it'll go away?"
I scoffed. "Yeah, right. If I had my way, this would all be just a really bad dream."
"Well, it's your own fault. You shouldn't be so special and magical," Eddie taunted, attempting to lighten the tone of the conversation.
"Seriously, Ed, what do you think I should do?" I asked, giggling slightly.
Eddie paused; he must have been thinking pretty hard, seeing as he took a while to reply. Sighing, he said, "If I were you, I'd carry on the way you're going. Ignore this Maxxie guy, don't tell your Dad, and just see how things go. Nothing else has happened since you saw him in the forest the other night, right?"
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" I asked tentatively. I felt like I had to do something. Sitting around doing nothing seemed like a way to ask for trouble in my eyes…
"Well, those are just my thoughts on the matter," he pointed out. "It's up to you what you do."
He was right. I could ask Eddie for all the help in the World, but I'd still have to make a decision at the end of the day. Groaning, I rolled over onto my stomach, my mind racing; I was just as confused as I had been before I'd called Eddie.
"You still there, Em?" Eddie asked. He sounded concerned; I must have been quiet for quite some time.
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm just thinking…" I muttered.
Eddie laughed lightly. "I'll leave you to it, then. You'll be running up a huge phone bill for yourself if you just sit there, thinking, with the phone in your hand."
"Hmm, good point," I agreed. "I'll call you tomorrow or something, okay?"
"Sure thing," he said. "Hey, Em? Don't get yourself too worked up over all this. It'll be fine, trust me."
I smiled slightly. "Okay, Ed. Thanks," I replied quietly.
After muttering another 'goodbye', I hung up and placed the phone on my bedside table. There was so much to think about; it made my head pound. I was torn between three different paths: I could tell my Dad, call Maxxie, or ignore everything. I knew which option I'd like to take, but I'd been advised against it…
Thoughts of Maxxie were still swirling around my head, and the idea to call him was becoming more and more appealing to me. Very true, Eddie could have been right when he pointed out that Maxxie might have been in on the act with his brother, but he'd seemed so genuine. I felt compelled to believe him and that's what I found myself doing.
Seeing as I had no idea as to what I should do, I decided to do what I wanted to do. So, I planned to relax as much as possible that night, and then call Maxxie in the morning. The next day would be a Saturday, so I assumed I'd be able to reach him easily enough. All I had to do now was overcome my irrational dislike of talking to people I didn't know all that well on the phone…