Eddie woke up at noon that Monday. White walls surrounded him, and so did his family. They all sat on scrawny metal chairs that lined the wall next to him.

"Eddie! You're awake, now!" Mrs. Thomas jumped up from her chair and kissed her sons forehead.

"Are you feeling well?" she asked him.

Eddie was feeling fine, except for his burned skin and his smoked sore throat. Oh, and the deep, bloody gashes on his arm from the shattering glass was a little painful, too. Other than that, though, he was fine.

"I feel horrible, Mom. Am I in the hospital?" Eddie groaned.

"Yes, you are, sonny boy. And your in luck." Mr. Thomas answered, seeming glum as he got up from his chair to come over and sit closer to his son's bed.

"Huh? Why am I in luck, Dad?"

"We're moving back home."

"Home? As in Montana? Or back to where we used to live?"

"Back to where we used to live. You happy? I had a feeling the whole family hated it here in Montana, anyway. So, now that our house is nothing but a bit of charcoal on the side of the road, we might as well move back home."

"Really? Are you serious! Are you sure? I mean, I'm perfectly fine with living here. I like the 'wilderness' feeling of it all." Eddie lied.

"Yeah, he's serious! Don't get him to change his mind, Eddie. We'd all hate you for it." Ellie piped up from the seat next to the door.

Eddie smiled, so relieved to be going home. That's where he wanted to be right now. Back home!

"Can we make a phone call? I have to call Raven and Chelsea!" Eddie said, trying to sit up in the bed, but got pushed back down gently by his mother.

"When you are better, you can use the phone. Until then, you should lay here. Your burns are pretty bad, Eddie. But, you'll be fine." His mother said, running her hand through his hair. "But, we did get a letter in the mail today from them. Your father went to check up on the house, and saw the mailbox made it through the fire. So, he got the mail for us, and their letter was part of it."

"Can I read it?" Eddie asked, feeling excited.

"Don't move a muscle. It's best if you just lay here. I'll read it for you." Mrs. Thomas said. Man, she was acting as if he was dying, or something.

She picked up the purple envelope and unsealed it. Then, she took out the pretty pink paper, and giggled at the cartoon Raven must've drawn of a smiley face on the side. She began reading it:

Dear Eddie,

Don't be nervous for school! It'll be fun! Trust us! I bet the people in Montana are nice, anyway. Just get through the classes, and along the way you'll make tons of friends! I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with you? You are the nicest and funniest person we know! Be yourself, and nothing will go wrong.

So…how are you doing? The two of us are fine! The only thing that is sad for us is that you're gone. If you were here with us, then everything would be perfect! The weather here is nice. Just right! What could possibly be better? It's in the seventies, the sun is shining, there is a slight, very slight breeze that feels good after walking Corey to school, and guess what! Mr. French is giving us less of a hassle because Chelsea and I gave him a 'Sorry for Being Late To Homeroom Again' card! He absolutely loved it!

Corey misses you, too. He thought of you like a big brother, and my dad misses you because you always loved his food. My mom wishes you were here, because she thinks you are the 'sweetest little thing'! And, of course, Chels and I wish you were back, too! Say 'Hi' to your family for us!

Always thinking of you,

Chelsea and Raven

When Mrs. Thomas finished, she looked up from the letter at Eddie. He was smiling wide. She hadn't him seen him so happy since they left for Montana.

"Those girls are so friendly!" She said cheerfully.

"I wish I could call them! I want them to know so bad that I'm coming home." He pleaded, looking at his mother.

"Oh, honey. I don't know. I think you should just - "

"Sure, make a phone call!" Mr. Thomas interrupted. Then he turned to his wife and added, "He's fine. It's not like he's about to peal over and die! He can talk on a phone, if anything!"

"Then let me talk to Lara and Mellie. And while I'm at it, I guess I can tell Julia and Kristina that I'm coming back too! Oh, plus Willie and Jeff should know, also!" Ellie said in a loud and excited voice.

"Woah! No, no. You can pick two people to call, Ellie! That's it! If Eddie can talk to Chelsea and Raven, then you can pick two people too! I don't need my cell phone taken up the whole day!" Mr. Thomas answered his daughter.

She just looked at him. Usually, she'd fight for her phone calls, but she was too lazy and tired right now. She just slumped in the chair and looked angry again.

So, Mr. Thomas took his cell from his pocket and gave it to his son, who snatched it quickly, as if it were going to disappear and he'd never get another chance to talk to his pals again.

"Since we're a few hours in difference to them 'cause of time zones and all, they'd be out of school right now. It's safe to call." Mr. Thomas noted, glancing at the clock and nodding.

Eddie dialed Raven's house first. Usually, Chelsea was over anyway, so he hoped he'd reach both of them at once.

The other end rung…and rung…and rung…

"Hello?" Raven asked into the phone.

"Ray? This is Eddie!"

"Oh my goodness! It's you! It's you! How are you Eddie? Wait…hold on! Chelsea's over and I wanna get her a phone so we can all talk together!"

In a few seconds, all three of them were on the phone together.

"Hey Chelsea! You know, its me, Eddie, right?"

"Well, yeah, silly! I still can't believe you called! We miss you!" Chelsea exclaimed over the phone.

"I miss you guys too! Hey, great news! I'm moving back! Really, really soon! Something huge came up!"

"You're coming back? Oh my gosh! When? What happened? Oh my gosh!" Raven screeched on top of her lungs.

"We had a fire. Our house actually burnt down! I'm in the hospital right now, actually!"

"Oh! Golly! What happened? Are you okay!" Chelsea screeched.

"I'm fine…I'm fine. It's a long story…"

"Well, we've got all day!" Raven said concerned.

"Of course we do! Tell us what happened!" Chelsea added in agreement.

Eddie was so glad to hear their voices again. Their voices were so nice, so concerned, and they made him smile. He could just imagine the two of them; sitting on Raven's bed with two different phones plugged against their ears. He couldn't wait to see them again.