Warning: Non-explicit, non-graphic, implied violence and arson

AN: This chapter is going to be dark. I warn you. I am very sorry but we need the darkness to appreciate the light. The Noodleheads mistakenly believe that Nana is obligated to leave her estate to biological family. Which is why, to Adelaide, Eddie has become more trouble than he's worth. Please remember, she's a villain.

Part 51

Eddie led Philip through the house first, before taking him outside. This guy seemed too good to be true. But his thoughts kept going to Buster. 'Would Buster have gotten along with this guy?' He wondered. "So umm… this is the pool and that's the pool house. And of course, the beach is that way."

Philip nodded. "It's a very nice estate you have. I wish you could see mine in Canterbury." He went to the pool house. "Mind if I look inside?"

Eddie shrugged. "Why not?" He unlocked it and opened it, flipping on the switch. He led the ram inside. He wasn't ready for the flood of memories. Memories and nightmares. For a brief moment, he imagined he saw Buster on the sofa.

"Um, okay, this is it, let's go back…" he tried to leave but Philip was already inside and pulling him in.

"Come on, what's wrong?" He asked as he pulled Eddie to that couch.

"It's just… When I lived here before, this was where Buster and I always hung out," Eddie tried to pull away.

"Who is Buster?" He asked, looking around. He saw a photo of a gray koala wearing a blue suit and red bow tie. "Your ex?"

Eddie shook his head. "My best friend, almost more. In a fair world, you know." He looked away. Everytime he thought he was okay, he wasn't.

He felt Philip playing with his fleece. "What happened? Breakup? Marriage?" When Eddie looked down, his expression distraught, he nodded. "How?"

"Did you hear about what happened in Redshore City? Back in May?" He asked. The ram shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's still painful to talk about. I didn't even get to say goodbye. We hadn't even talked properly in five years. Occasionally, I could sneak him over or sneak over there on an errand for Nana but my parents banned him from the house." He pulled up his phone and sifted through the internet before handing him the device.

The Duke read the article and shook his head sadly. "That is terrible. You have my condolences." He looked over the sheep. "Don't worry, I can help…"

Eddie was about to protest before stars exploded behind his eyes and darkness fell.

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Something wasn't right. Gunter had lost track of Eddie and Philip. He just couldn't shake this feeling that he wasn't trustworthy. And he could usually trust his gut. He should have trusted it before but he let his passion for the stage get the better of him. He pulled out his phone and researched. "Duke of Canterbury." The results populated and his mouth fell open. He ran to the living room. "Who is he?" He demanded, showing Rosita the search results. "Canterbury doesn't have a Duke!"

Nana gasped. "Damn it! I should have caught that! Adelaide, Frederick, who is he?"

Adelaide shook her head. "He told us he was a Duke, that he was the Duke of Canterbury. He lied to us!"

Gunter looked outside. "Is zat fire?" He ran outside to the pool house. He saw the door was open and saw a towel nearby. He soaked the towel in the pool before wrapping it around himself and running inside. The wet towel protected him from the flames. Eddie was unconscious on the couch. He grabbed Eddie by the arms and flung him over his shoulders. "Come on, Eddie, you must be holding on.

He carried him outside, laying him on one of the lounge chairs. Rosita and Norman were already outside with Nana and Jerry nearby. Nana had her son caught by the ear. The sounds of sirens echoed through the air.

"Oh my gosh! Gunter, is he alright?" Rosita asked.

Gunter assessed his injuries. "He has an injury to the head. But he's alive. Whoever that guy is, he's gone."

Nana glared at her son. "Who is he? Adelaide?"

Adelaide shook her head. "I have no idea. He told us…"

"Shut up, Adelaide!" Frederick shouted. "She's lying! Oh my gosh, what have I let you do! She hired him to… to…." He couldn't put it into words. Mouths fell open in horror. "I was against it but… please say my son is alright."

Nana growled. "We will deal with both of you after we make sure he is."

The paramedics came running in and Gunter had to back off. Norman took his kids back inside while Rosita and Gunter stayed with him. Rosita and Gunter could only comfort each other.

"I knew! I knew something wasn't right!" Gunter said. "I knew it!"

Rosita rubbed his back. "It's okay, he'll be okay. I'm just grateful you realized it, Gunter. I should have been more suspicious."

Eddie moaned as he regained consciousness. "What happened? Why does my head hurt so bad?"

"I'm sure it does. You have a beautiful knot right here," the paramedic pointed out the golf ball growing from his scalp.

Eddie reached back and touched the tender knot and hissed before he saw his pool house ablaze. "What happened? Where is Philip?" He asked, looking at his parents.

Frederick looked down while Adelaide continued to lie, "He fooled us dear. He told us he was a wealthy duke looking for a man to settle down with."

"Adelaide, stop. Eddie, your mother is lying. I'm so sorry I went along with it," Frederick glowered at his money-grubbing wife.

Rosita hugged Eddie as he processed his father's confession. "Oh my gosh! And I fell for it. I fell for it again!" He glared at the sheep who calls herself his mother.

The mother pig shook her head. "I'm pressing those charges this time." She told the ewe while the police came up with Norman. "I was gracious once before. Not again. Now who was he so we can arrest him too." She gave Frederick a look that promised nothing but endless pain if he didn't give it up.

"Adelaide found him. I don't know where or how," he glared at his wife. "I'm sorry, Eddie. All your mother cares about is your Nana's money." He looked at his son. "I know it doesn't come close but I am so sorry. For the way I've acted. For how I treated you and more importantly, how we treated Mr. Moon."

Eddie couldn't even look at either of them. "You still helped her. You still went along with it. You still deceived me and made me think you really cared about me. I feel like such an idiot!"

Adelaide laughed almost maniacally. "You really should. You think you're good enough for a duke? You're sad and pathetic, Edmond. These theater people don't care about you, they feel sorry for you. You're a worthless burden on everyone you encounter."

"Shut up!" Gunter shouted. "He is not! He's brave, creative, loyal and very smart! We love Eddie!"

Eddie smiled gratefully at Gunter. "I love you guys too." His lip wobbled.

Nana jabbed her fan at Adelaide. "Now, I'm done with you both!" She looked at the cops. "Take them. Please."

Rosita hugged Eddie. "You're safe now. You're safe. You don't need them anymore."

He nodded, letting himself cry into her arms. "I just… I didn't think they hated me enough to… I mean, I had an idea but I always thought they loved me on some level."

Gunter rubbed Eddie's back. "They are fools. You are the greatest guy I know." He told him.

"I don't know why I believed them. All I ever wanted was someone to love me! Why can't I get that?" He asked.

"Eddie, you do have someone who loves you. We all love you so much," Rosita reassured him.

Gunter nodded. "Ja! Not everyone is lucky enough to be born into a loving family like Rosita's or Mr. Moon. But you can choose your own family." He put his arm around Eddie and his other around Rosita. "We love you."

Eddie accepted Gunter's comforting hug while Rosita pulled out her phone. "Hello, Marcus, yes. I'm sorry to bother you on your special day but we just had an incident with the Noodleheads. They've been arrested again but there's a violent ram on the loose. Yes, he tried to kill Eddie on orders from Mrs. Noodlehead."

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Marcus had been about to take Suki to bed for the night when the call came through. "Good evening, Rosita. Oh, it's no bother at all." Suki jumped when Marcus slammed his fist on the table. "They did what!" He stood up. "What does the bastard look like?" He began notating the description on the notepad by the phone. "Don't worry, Rosita. I'll have my boys on this right away. And I'll come play bodyguard until he's found and dealt with."

Suki sat up. "What happened? What's wrong?" He had that same look he had that night.

"The guy the Noodleheads brought to meet Eddie was a trap. He was hired to kill him," he said angrily. "He got away so I have to go protect him until he's caught. I'm sorry, I know it's our wedding night but…"

The saluki nodded. "Go on, he needs you more. And let me put in a call. Crystal's bodyguards haven't had a real job in months." She kissed him. "It's okay. I understand."

Marcus grabbed his coat and called Barry and Stan. He was about ready to deal with the Noodleheads himself too. They'd been given way too many chances to hurt their own son.

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One more phone call from Gunter had the entire troupe at Rosita's home. She happily served them dinner while they took turns reassuring themselves that Eddie was alright.

"I'm fine, guys, really. Just a little smoke inhalation and a knot on the back of my head. See?" He turned to show them the lump. "Oh and my pool house and all the photos I had of Buster are all gone." He was still hurt by what his parents did but he didn't want to go back to being depressed about it. Why was he so concerned with what they thought when he had so many friends and a real family who really loved him? One thing was clear to him though. He wanted to live. He wanted his life back.

Ash shook her head in disbelief. "That's just… How can people like this exist? All over money! Pure and simple greed."

Alphonso groaned. "Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver." He reminded them. While not a perfect comparison, it was close enough.

Rosita frowned. "Well, they've wasted any goodwill I had left. They're going to jail for a very long time."

Marcus nodded. "I got Barry and Stan hunting the area for him. If you can get any more information, please let us know." He looked at Eddie. "I don't think you should stay here though. It's too big of an area for me to guard on my own."

Eddie nodded. "But I can't leave my family unprotected. This estate is huge. He could be hiding in this mansion. Who knows what they hired him to do. He could be after them too."

Nana nodded. "I think until this monster can be caught, you should find other accommodations. Hmm…"

"The apartments above the dance studio!" Ryan exclaimed. "Eddie could have his own apartment. And there are a few family apartments on the very top floor, Rosita."

Rosita sighed. She hated the idea of another move but Eddie and Nana were right. "Norman, they're right. But I don't think Eddie should be alone yet."

Eddie shook his head. "It's okay, Mama. I'm okay now. Really." He felt like he could see a future for himself again.

"Eddie, I trust you. Especially after tonight. But they hired him to hurt you. I don't want you alone," she explained. "Marcus can't be around all the time."

Eddie snapped his fingers. "Gunter! Gunter, would you like to get out of that trailer and into an apartment?"

The hog perked up at the obvious invitation. "Ja! Ja! We could be like roommates. And it's across the street from the theater."

"Or… we could share the apartment above the theater," he suggested. "You said you practically live there anyway. I think Buster would like it if we shared it."

Gunter smiled. "Ja! And we can work on the shows late into the night! Oh it'll be so much fun." He loved his tiny trailer but living in the theater was certainly a dream of his. And he could take care of Eddie. Buster would want that.

"Okay, then it's settled. When the guys get back, we'll pack up some belongings and the kids and we'll leave," Norman accepted what had to be done. The Noodleheads had left them vulnerable to some psychopath.

AN: So yeah, Gunter has decided to care for Eddie in the same way he cared for Buster. Marcus and his boys have a new task interfering with Marcus' wedding night. Opinion: Should Philip remain a danger for a while or do you think he should be a one-off?