Things Move On

Part 10

Rachel, with a leather bag in one arm and over spilling files under the other, awkwardly closed the front door. A vast, empty hallway stood before her. The friendless silence that had been greeting her for weeks embraced her once again.

Philip had lived with his aunt for over five months; she missed his elephant like footsteps clumping around, his abandoned school possessions left every day, without fail, by the front door. At the time, she had nagged him incessantly about the need to pick up after himself, the need to make less of a racket. However, none of his constant desire to create disorder and chaos in what had previously been a well ordered house seemed to matter now. He was back with his mother, where he ought to be. Meanwhile, Rachel was living alone in pristine isolation, longing company.

She walked in to the kitchen and carelessly dumped her belongings on the worktop. Filling up the kettle, she busied herself organising a much needed cup of tea. Glancing up at the clock she sighed; Rachel had exactly one hour until she was due to meet Adam at a local pub.

The day had been hectic; new staff to guide, missing pupils to locate and inquisitive colleagues to deal with regarding recent events. Although she had only just returned to work after a summer break, Rachel already felt washed out. The 'holiday' should have been the relaxing escape she had been hoping for, the one she and Eddie had planned together...

Eddie and Rachel were curled up on the sofa, a half empty bottle of merlot and two full wine glasses lay on the small table in front of them. Philip was upstairs in his room, grounded following his successful scheme to poison the school choir. Rachel was still somewhat shaken by the afternoon's revelation that her nephew had orchestrated such a heinous act. Her embarrassment was compounded by the fact that she had helped make the chocolate brownies that had resulted in such disarray. However, the biggest cause of her grief was that her nephew, the teenager in her care, had not for one second considered the dire consequences his actions would have, not just on the students but on her and Eddie.

Lying outstretched, her head resting on Eddie's gently rising and falling chest, Rachel's mind was still raging.

"What the bloody hell am I going to do with him Eddie? Honestly, what more can I do?" She toyed slowly with the buttons on his shirt as she spoke. Eddie, his arm wrapped securely around her, looked down and softly began to massage her shoulder in a futile effort to get her to relax. "I know some kids have been treating him like crap but Christ, if all the pupils used that as an excuse to get revenge, we'd have no one left by the end of the week." Despite Eddie's best efforts to soothe the tension from Rachel's taut limbs, he could sense her increasing frustration. "Why didn't he talk to me about it, about what he was going through? I could have done something. Sodding hell, I'm a head teacher and I can't even talk to my own nephew! " Exasperated, she looked up at Eddie longing for support, some words of encouragement that would wipe away the sense of complete and utter humiliation she was feeling.

Eddie disengaged himself from Rachel, leaned forward and retrieved the glasses of wine. Rachel sat up. Gratefully accepting the drink, she took a large sip. Eddie sank back on the sofa and looked at her sympathetically.

"Look Rach, I meant what I said earlier; this is in no way your fault. I know he's got issues but he needs to accept responsibility for his actions. You aren't to blame." He took a swig of merlot. She stared at him, still evidently unconvinced by his attempts at reassurance. "I don't know how you'll feel about this..." He paused and looked deeply in to her agonized eyes. "But this is what I think." Eddie replaced his wine glass on the table and shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat. "What I think is; we give Melissa another ring, assuming she is actually arsed to speak to us this time..." Rachel made an effort to interject but got no further than inhaling a sharp intake of breath. "We tell her what her son's been up to; tell her he needs her and that she has to get her backside back here to take care of him." Without looking to see Rachel's reaction, he leaned to pick up his glass once more and took another sip. "Then perhaps, if she does come for him, we can have some time to ourselves." His voice had become sharp and was tinged with bitterness.

It was the first time Rachel had seen Eddie like this. They had been together four months, and in all that time he had been nothing but supportive of her and Philip. He had done everything in his power to ensure her nephew had been included and not made to feel an imposition. Even as their relationship had developed into something passionate and serious, Philip had always been a priority. Rachel suddenly realised that in letting her anxiety for her nephew rule her life, she was pushing Eddie aside; he was the one who was feeling excluded. That was something she desperately wanted to avoid.

Rachel waited for him to finish drinking, took his empty glass gently in her hands and placed it on the table alongside hers. Smiling weakly over at Eddie, she inched closer to him and soothingly caressed the side of his cheek.

"I'm sorry." Her regretful tones instantly pacified Eddie's irritation. "We've not had much time together have we? Not just us. There's always been work, Philip, Melissa or something getting in our way. Sorry." Rachel affectionately turned Eddie's face towards her and he lowered his forehead to meet hers. "I'll try contacting Melissa again first thing tomorrow. In the meantime, your job Mr Lawson is to book a romantic week away for two, starting the day after the end of term." She beamed lovingly up at him, her warm eyes yearning for him to accept her offer of reconciliation. Overjoyed at hearing Rachel's plan, he broke in to a wide grin. Edging their faces closer together, they kissed, slowly, sensually, tenderly...

The eerie quiet possessing the house made Rachel feel increasingly forlorn. She wanted a friend to talk to, a companion to share her inner most thoughts and desires with. A conversation she had had with Eddie, soon after Melissa had disappeared from their lives, had been playing constantly on her mind.

Eddie got together with Melissa because he didn't want to be alone anymore. I know exactly what he means. I don't want to be alone anymore either.

Taking the steaming cup of tea in her hands, Rachel looked up again at the clock on the wall; she had fifty five minutes to go.

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