"You're not going to do ANYTHING dangerous, unless I'm there to protect you."

That statement was ringing through my head all through that night.

I couldnt' sleep. So I laid there and stared at the ceiling, every once in awhile looking over at Charlie.

~You love him.~

*I do.*

Thinking about Charlie protecting me made me happy... for some weird reason. I was willing to AGREE with my conscience about loving him! Either I'm insane, or I'm in love.

I think it's a bit of both.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Lily, wake up." I heard Charlie whispering.

"I'm already awake." I whispered back.

"And why weren't YOU asleep?" he asked.

"You weren't either?" I asked.

"Nope." he said, "I couldn't stop thinking about what happened in the woods."

"Me either." I confided.

"Well, I was staying awake to make sure nothing happened to you." he said.

"What were those voices in the woods?" I asked.

"I"m not really sure, but I remember them." he said, "I got lost in the woods once, when I was very young. One of the voices was kind, and let me leave, while she kept the others from attacking me. She said 'Run, Charlie, run quickly. I'll protect you.' And I've never been back in those woods until today."

"So, she's what makes you so lucky?" I asked.

"Huh?" he seemed confused.

"The kind woman's voice." I said, "She said 'I'll protect you.'. Did that mean ALWAYS or just right then?"

"Now that I think about it, I'm really not sure." he said. "I never really thought about that."

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Lets go back and find out!" I said.

"Huh?" Charlie woke up. "Go where?"

"Go back into the woods!" I said, "We HAVE to find out if she's the reason you're lucky!"

"Who?" he asked.

"Ugh. Do you not remember ANYTHING we said last night!?!"

"Oh, yeah." he said, "I'm not letting you go back in there."

"Not at night." I said, "Today, after breakfast! I have a theory."

"Well this ought to be fun." he said sarcastically, "What's your theory?"

"I think the kind voice was one of the ones you would hear during the day." I said, "Maybe during the day, the kind voices answer if you're walking and talking alone in the woods. And she woke up that night, hearing the mean voices being... well, MEAN to you, and she wanted to help."

"That's a good thought." he said, "But, right now, we need food."

"Right." I said, "Let's go get some."