We're sorry... really really sorry!
It had been a very long day by the time Rachel had started to pack up her things for the night. Of everything she'd been anticipating, the events of the day hadn't been anywhere on the list. An eco-protest was unique, even for Waterloo Road.
The door behind her opening drew her attention, and she smiled when Eddie slipped inside, closing it firmly behind him and shooting her a tired look. "Well that was fun."
She huffed out a laugh, and reached for the alcohol. "Not what you expected from the day?" she joked.
"Not exactly." Eddie watched as she poured out the glasses, put the bottle down and quick as a flash he snaked his hand out, caught hold of hers and tugged her towards him. She shot him a curious look, but obligingly stepped closer and before she could completely regain her balance from the movement, he pulled sharply on her arm and brought her tumbling onto his lap.
Rachel gasped, clutched at his shoulders to try and remain upright. "Eddie!"
He grinned lopsidedly at her, looping his arms loosely around her to prevent her standing up. "Problem?"
There were several, Rachel thought. They were still at work, after hours or not, and this was completely unprofessional (she skimmed over the two glasses of alcohol sat on the table). Anyone could theoretically walk in, and while they hadn't discussed revealing their relationship to anyone, it seemed to have been with a mutual unspoken agreement that it was best to keep it as quiet as they could, at least for now. Actually, if she was going with that argument, they hadn't discussed their relationship at all, just sort of jumped in and she had no idea what to make of this at all. But perhaps the oddest thing was that she didn't care about any of that.
She swallowed thickly, remembered she hadn't answered Eddie yet and shook her head. "No problem."
She looked like a deer in the headlights, Eddie thought in amusement, and couldn't stop himself from twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. "At least a certain developer didn't make an appearance."
"Thankfully." She reached for her glass, ignored the burn as she swallowed. "If we can just get through this building work, then he'll be gone and it'll be over."
Eddie studied her silently. "Do you really believe that?"
She took a shaky breath, fingers tight around the glass. "I have to."
He didn't believe her, not for a second. Her voice shook at the mere mention of Stuart, and he knew he needed to try and do something to help her fears. But fighting with her now wasn't the way to go about it, knew it would only push her away when he finally had her as close as he'd always wanted. He was stuck between his desire to keep her safe, but also his overwhelming need to keep her with him. So with that in mind, and with him in no way wanting to rock the boat, he smiled to her after taking a drink from his own glass. "Then I'll believe it too." He moved in to kiss her softly then, nothing too heavy as he knew she'd have complaints as they were still at work.
She allowed herself to get carried away in the feel of his lips against hers, before pulling back and swatting at his shoulder softly. "You know I know you, right?" There was laughter laced in her voice, and she felt carefree for the first time in what felt like forever. Stuart hadn't turned up, the day hadn't been a complaint failure and she was ending it with Eddie by her side.
"Huh?"
She rolled her eyes, smiling at him so much her cheeks were beginning to ache. It wasn't something she was used to anymore, having a reason to smile. "The day you actually agree with everything I say, I think hell will freeze over." She toyed with the collar on his shirt, teasing him with her eyes as she fluttered her lashes but faked innocence.
"What's the supposed to mean?" He asked again, then lifting his arms to rub at his shoulder where she'd hit him. He put on an exaggerated pout, and furrowed his brows together. "Plus, you hurt me."
She rolled her eyes at his act, but still leant down to press a kiss to where he was pointing to. "Don't be a baby." She finally leant back to face him head on, her voice now slightly smaller at the intimate setting and the nature of their conversation. "It's just.. you don't have to agree with everything I say."
"So you want an argument do you?" He joked, shaking his head slightly as he tried to work her out. He was scared to put a foot wrong, scared he'd be thrown out on his ear if he said something he shouldn't. Only it seemed that was also not the right thing to do, as she was noticing him try and pacify her moods.
"I definitely didn't say that." She laughed, finally getting up off from where he'd pulled her down and finishing the rest of her drink. She knew his eyes were on her as she put on her coat, and she exaggerated her moves just a tad to get her desired effect. "Come on Lawson, let's go out."
"Am I allowed to take you on a date then?"
"Does a date mean we're dating?"
"English or American?"
"What?"
"Well if it's American, you know, see as many people as you want kind of dating. Then maybe I won't be so excited. But if it's England, exclusive, then I'll take your hand and March you right out the door."
She didn't answer for a moment, too busy processing exactly what he was saying. It was a funny way of saying it, but this was the conversation she knew they needed to have. She moved towards him slowly and held out her hand, hoping he picked up on what she was saying. "England, definitely England. That exclusive one. If that's alright with you?"
He didn't hesitate to take her hand, pulled her against him as they started to walk out of the school. "That's fine with me." He pressed a kiss to her hair as they went, hands laced between them as they started their evening together.
They ended up in a pub on the outskirts of town, enjoying dinner before they ended up in the garden, small heaters chasing away the mild chill of the evening. They were the only ones out there, sat pressed together in their own little bubble away from the rest of the world and neither could have been happier about it. It seemed almost too good to be true, Rachel thought absently, that they had not only somehow wound-up meeting again, but they had ended up here, with her head on Eddie's shoulder and his arm wrapped around her.
Eddie pressed a kiss to her hair and took a few breath. "Can I ask you something?"
She hummed. "Of course."
"Will you tell me about London?"
Instantly, he knew she hadn't taken the request well. She stiffened, almost jerking upright out of his hold and looked at him with an appalled expression. "What?"
He held up a hand in surrender. "I just want to understand everything."
"Did you ever think that maybe I don't want you to?" Rachel was pale, ice pooled in her stomach, her voice rising hysterically as Eddie scrambled to calm her.
"Amy, I'm not asking for details or anything, of course I'm not. I just... want to know you. The parts I don't already."
Her gaze was hidden away from him, pointedly ignoring the beseeching look he was giving her. He'd just about given up, resigned himself to this being one thing she wouldn't give up on when abruptly she spoke, knuckles white where she clutched at the bench and eyes fixed in the distance. "What to do you want to know?"
He dared to slide his hand over hers, not taking it personally when she didn't even react. "Whatever you want to tell me."
Which was nothing, she thought. For a long moment, silence hung between them. "It's not like in films," she said abruptly. "At least it wasn't for me. The parties, the drinking- I didn't enjoy any of it. It was all an act."
Eddie rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, remaining silent. She took a deep breath, didn't dare look at him. "I didn't have control over any of it. I was told where and when to turn up and there would have been hell to pay if I hadn't. Sometimes it was private, sometimes a party. Usually in nice hotels, but occasionally a house or an apartment. At the end of the night we made contact with... and then we got paid." On the surface, her tone was bland and empty, but Eddie could hear the undertone in it, knew she was fighting to keep her voice steady. All of a sudden, he regretted asking this question but there was no going back now, and all he could do was listen. "The police raids were a wakeup call for me. They weren't interested in us girls; they wanted the people in charge. Unless we could give them information they couldn't care less. There was this girl, in the booking area. Dead eyes, shaking uncontrollably because she hadn't had a fix.
"She tried to be kind to me, she knew it was my first time. If I kept my mouth shut and didn't kick off, they'd release me in a few hours and that'd be the end of it." She swallowed thickly, tried to steady her breathing. "Only it wouldn't have been, because it would happen again and again and I realised unless I did something, that would be my life. She would be my life, what my future would look like." Finally, she turned her head to look at him, eyes red and suspiciously wet. "That was when I threw myself into doing my exams. It was the only way out I could see, getting into uni and qualifying. And becoming someone else."
She searched his gaze for any hint that he would finally react as she expected, that this would be the thing to turn him away from her, to wake him up and realise how he really felt. But there was no condemnation in his gaze, only acceptance and even as she held her breath, he raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the backs of her fingers. "Thank you for telling me."
She looked right into his eyes then, noticing how honest he was being in his words. He really meant it. Even after everything he had just heard, he was focused on that face that she told him. He hadn't run a mile, hadn't told her she was disgusting and that he wanted nothing more to do with her. He'd simply thanked her, and kissed her all the same. "You're incredible you know." Her voice was a whisper, too scared to break the spell they were under as she looked around. She was aware this probably wasn't the place for such a private conversation but had never trusted him more in that moment.
"I did know that, but what makes you say it now?"
She hit his shoulder softly, grumbling words that he couldn't make out before she rested back against him. "Also incredibly modest." She returned the joke, before looking back to him with her eyes open and honest. "You haven't run away." She was amazed, honestly blown away by the fact that he was still beside her.
"Why would I?"
"Because I'm disgusting, what I did was disgusting." She admitted, biting her lip as the tears formed in her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she always got emotional when talking about her past which was one main reason that she didn't ever want to discuss it. But with Eddie it was so easy, it was easy to let him in and share her secrets with him. Especially with his reactions, when she knew he wasn't going to run for the hills despite her own feelings on what she did.
"I'm not holding anything against you Amy, it was all to survive." He shifted their positions then, so that he was facing her. He cupped her face, gently stroking his thumb across her cheek with hopes that she could see that he meant every word he said. "I love you." There it was, those three words finally out in the open again after all their years apart. "I loved you as Amanda, and I love you as Rachel. I love any version of you that ends up being mine."
She couldn't breathe, could barely see him as her vision was so clouded with her own tears. But she was so happy, hadn't heard those three words from anyone since he said them to her back when she was seventeen. He'd been the only man she'd ever shared a part of he life with, she'd simply never let anyone else get as close. "How did I ever get so lucky?"
He shook his head, not even answering that as he wanted this moment to be about her. She was insecure, had shared her deepest secrets with him and expected the worst reaction. He couldn't blame her, not after all she'd been through. That all needed to change now though, this was a new start for the two of them. "Let's figure out how to get Stuart Hordley out of our lives. And then we can finally have that life together always wanted." In order to get that new start, they needed to work out how exactly to get rid of the one person Eddie hoped to never lay eyes on again. The more Rachel told him, the more protective he became of her, the more Eddie would want to take matters into his own hands and truly ring Stuart's neck.
"I'd really like that."
"Good, we can do it. We can do it together."
"I love you too, by the way." Rachel added suddenly aware that she hadn't said those words back. It was like her saying them snapped a cord between them, as their lips fused together and they both stood up on cue. It was time for them to leave, and quickly.