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Chapter 10: Busted
Even as Rachel's alarm woke her the next morning, a smile which was often rare at this time graced her lips. Images and memories from the night before seemed to flash across her mind. Her and Eddie had talked and shared kisses continuously until it was approaching midnight. At one point, he had discovered several ticklish points on Rachel's body - her hips and rib cage in particular. Of course this had resulted in fits of giggles from both parties, eventually all laughter had subsided and they found themselves once more leaning in for a passionate kiss. Once their bodies had become pressed together on the sofa, they had remained that way for sometime. Rachel would never forget the way Eddie reassured her before taking their encounter any further. It was everything she needed to know to emphasise the fact that although they had only officially admitted their feelings several hours prior, their love had begun well before that. Eddie's caring nature was consistent as they progressed and he removed her clothes. In particular her top; once Rachel's upper body was revealed to Eddie, he had showered her scar with an abundance of kisses before doing anything else. She had to admit that leading up to this, Rachel had been slightly insecure about it. But feeling Eddie's lips brush atop the skin like it was the most precious thing in the world, Rachel found herself beginning to believe his mindset about how it didn't change the way she looks.
Afterwards they had laid together on the sofa for at least half an hour; simply cherishing the way they had found that out of world place you can only go to when you find the one person who completely understands you and the way you work. Rachel had certainly found that in Eddie, and Eddie had discovered that in Rachel.
When hearing the front door open, Rachel had suddenly remembered Philip, and had been very glad that the living room door was shut. She was sure they would have had one rather scarred teenager on their hands if he was to make an entrance to the room at this current moment. Listening to his steps ascend the staircase, Rachel and Eddie had fallen into fits of giggles, unable to hide the undoubtedly funny side to this situation.
Once recovering from their state of laughter, the pair had talked about Eddie staying over, but decided it would be best for him to get going after realising that Eddie sleeping at her house, could have been one too many things for Philip to comprehend.
After Eddie's departure, Rachel went upstairs to talk to Philip and remembered feeling glad that her nephew was looking considerably happier than he was several hours ago. Deep down she knew that Bolton wouldn't let her trust in him falter again.
Thinking of Philip, Rachel realised that she was going to have the challenge of awakening a teenage boy this morning. She swung her legs out of bed swiftly, and intended upon getting ready for work in record time.
As she performed mundane tasks like showering and brushing her teeth, Rachel found that she had an unusual spring in her step. This only seemed to accentuate when she acknowledged that this newfound demeanour was wholeheartedly down to Eddie. No one had ever made her feel like this before.
Rachel crossed the landing to Philip's established bedroom and her grin never once faltered. She felt an abundance of joy upon thinking that her smiles were more than likely to be a regular occurrence with Eddie back in her life continuously.
She knocked on her nephew's door after hearing little movement, "Philip? You're going to have to get up now."
Rachel managed to decipher a grunt in response which she took as a yes. Jokingly, she rolled her eyes - it was better than nothing.
Descending the stairs, Rachel decided to put Phil some toast in and make him a coffee along with her own. By the sounds of things, he was certainly going to need it.
As if on cue to the toast popping up, Philip emerged into the doorway, rubbing his eyes and attempting to adjust his tie. Rachel acknowledged that it was early, but found herself laughing internally when pondering just how dramatic Philip was being. And then something occurred to Rachel as he took a seat opposite her.
"Don't tell me you were drinking last night?"
The boy looked down as he thought about lying. No, Rachel would be able to see right through him without a doubt. All in all, there wasn't much point in skirting around the truth. To be honest, she didn't sound particularly annoyed about it. Infact Philip found himself questioning, not for the first time, how she hadn't noticed the night before.
"Erm… yeh. Just a bit. Surely you noticed last night though?"
Rachel looked thoughtful for a moment and then realised that her thoughts had been focused on Eddie and nothing more, considering he had only just left ten minutes prior to her conversation with Philip.
She flushed red slightly, hoping her nephew wouldn't recognise her skin's change in colour, "no, not really," Rachel commented, shaking her head.
"Well yeh, I was. Sorry Rach."
"Look, Philip. I don't really see a problem with you drinking as long as it's happening in moderation, and you are drinking in a safe place, not just some field or back alley," the boy rolled his eyes slightly and she glared back at him, "I'm serious Philip. And that doesn't mean I think it's acceptable to be drinking when you've got school the next day."
Rachel attempted to add an edge of annoyance to her tone, but with Philip's seemingly vibrant mood and her current joyous state of mind, she couldn't keep it up for long. She doubted how genuine her supposed telling off sounded.
"Thanks Rach. And I'm sorry about that, doing it on a school night."
She sighed and smiled at him, "go on, go and get your shoes on or we are going to be late."
"Late?!" Philip announced as he stood, "it's literally 7:15."
"Yes, and I'm the headmistress in case you forgot. Unless you fancy walking to school in the rain."
The boy groaned but shared a smile with his aunt as he left the kitchen. He might not have shown it too much yet, but Philip was more than appreciative of Rachel's willingness to look after him and put a roof over his head. It was something he would forever be thankful for and he found himself questioning how on earth she and Melissa were related.
….
Settled at her desk seeming as though she was drowning in paperwork, Rachel felt her eyes slowly drawing to the clock much like they had done yesterday afternoon. She had only been in school for ten minutes and was already counting down the minutes until Eddie's arrival. Rachel was always the earliest in school, often arriving just after 7:30am. She found it beneficial to have at least a bit of time in the morning to gather her thoughts, and make a start on her seemingly never ending pile of forms to sign. Eddie usually came in slightly later than that, and always offered to make Rachel a coffee upon entering her office. That was something which had never faltered during his relationship with Melissa, and Rachel found herself feeling a slight bit of warmth at that fact. She had always cherished her and Eddie's half an hour together in the mornings, whether that be professional conversation or just light banter. It was certainly a refreshing way to begin her days and left Rachel positively glowing for a significant amount of time afterwards.
Speaking of the devil, Rachel was brought out of her reverie as the door swung open. Only one person ever entered her office without knocking. So this had to be Eddie.
She was delighted to see that his current expression matched her feelings perfectly. Etched within Eddie's features was pure joy and contentment, something which had come in abundance for Rachel ever since his revelation. Or more specifically, ever since the previous evening spent together.
"Hi," Eddie greeted through a smile, taking a step closer to where Rachel sat.
"Hey," Rachel reciprocated, seemingly powerless to fight the not so subtle grin which spread across her lips, "you're in earlier today?"
Eddie glanced down at the floor as a way of hiding his newfound blush. Busted. He had been sitting at home eating his breakfast, planning on setting off for work at his normal time. But Eddie's thoughts were completely centered around Rachel. He missed her... and what? It had only been 7 hours or so. Instantly making a move for his hallway, Eddie hadn't been able to wait any longer to be in Rachel's presence. So knowing that she would be in school early - Rachel always was - Eddie set off to arrive in school at a record time. Seemingly his current ambition was to spend as much time with her as possible. In fact, it was more of a natural instinct than an enforced one.
"I wanted to see you," Eddie confessed, seeing no point in diverting from the truth. His love for her was now common knowledge, and he intended to portray that every single day, "cringe alert, but I missed you already."
Rachel hadn't thought this a possibility, but her beam widened and happiness grew. What had she done to deserve a man like Eddie? He was everything she had ever wanted and more.
"Well I'm glad you're here," she responded, succumbing to the urge of standing up and walking round the desk to meet him, "I don't know how you managed it Lawson, but I missed you already too."
Both instantly and instinctively, Eddie's hands found a convenient hold over her hips, and she couldn't stop the shiver which went through her body at the contact. After the previous night, maybe Rachel should have become accustomed to Eddie's touch. Yet she wasn't. It was a sensation that Rachel would never tire of enduring, she reckoned that if she could feel Eddie's touch and presence for the rest of her life she would be more than content. Suddenly not caring about the environment they were currently in, Rachel captured Eddie's lips with her own. Similar thoughts to that of the previous night flashed through her mind: in those couple of seconds as they kissed, Rachel couldn't bring herself to think about anything else other than the feel of Eddie's lips on her own. The majority of these exchanges had so far been extremely passionate, something which neither parties were complaining about. They guessed that it was majorly down to the significant amount of time they had waited for these special and intimate moments. Undoubtedly, they had been on Eddie and Rachel's minds since their working relationship and friendship had been built up.
Upon pulling away, Eddie brushed a strand of hair back from Rachel's face before commenting on making the coffee. She smiled her thanks and made her way over to the sofas, awaiting Eddie's return.
"How did last night go for Philip?" Eddie pondered upon sitting down and passing Rachel her drink.
"He seemed fairly chirpy when he came in last night," Eddie nodded and then Rachel remembered that morning's realisation, "although, he did seem rather hungover this morning."
Eddie almost spluttered on his drink and found himself laughing, "hungover?"
Rachel couldn't help but smirk at Eddie's antics. She cursed herself quickly though, deciding that it wasn't necessarily a laughing matter.
"Eddie really, it's not funny, we shouldn't laugh," she commented, yet the humorous tone was still somewhat evident, "and yes… he was."
"I take it you went full on Miss Mason mode on him?"
Rachel's grin came out into full play now as Eddie joked, unable to suppress her genuine joy any longer.
"You'd be surprised actually. I was rather… calm."
Eddie quirked an eyebrow before responding with jest, "are you feeling alright?"
"Oh shut it you," Rachel swatted his arm, "well, I just said to Philip that I didn't see a problem with it as long as it was happening in moderation and in a safe place. Although I did make it clear that I wasn't best pleased about the whole school night thing."
"Sounds like you handled it well then."
"Hmm," Rachel pondered, "I hope so. I do think I was slightly distracted though."
"Distracted?" Eddie queried, allowing his mind to believe that Rachel was about to say what he was thinking she was going down the route of.
"My mind was somewhat preoccupied."
Eddie laughed now, pleased to know that he had got what she was thinking spot on.
"Ditto," he responded as they shared a knowing glance. Eddie leant forwards now so that his mouth was centimetres away from Rachel's ear, "and just as a thought, I personally find full on Miss Mason mode rather attractive."
Instantly a newly formed deep red flushed across Rachel's face and her lips adjusted to that pout that Eddie found so very mind tingling.
Conversation continued between the pair, and they eventually got on to more school based topics after much flirtation. Not long after the bell for registration went, there was a knock at the door, and the two senior members of staff moved apart slightly - hoping to maintain that professional distance. They were under no illusion, the most perceptive members of staff such as Steph Haydock and Grantley Budgen would certainly read a lot into a close proximity. Something which Rachel and Eddie weren't willing to hand them on a plate.
"Come in," Rachel raised her voice slightly, subsequently whispering to Eddie that he should look busy.
Funnily enough, behind the office door stood Steph Haydock. Rachel sighed internally as she unconsciously thought that it was way too early to have any consultations with the French teacher.
"Steph, what can we do for you?"
"It's your Philip," the woman said, stepping closer into the room.
Rachel and Eddie's subconscious states immediately jumped to the worst case scenario. What had gone on with Philip? And why was Steph being so vague?
With no further explanation from Steph, Rachel decided to press the matter further.
"Sorry Steph, what is it about Philip?"
"Well he's not turned up to the cooler," she stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Rachel's heart sank. She had watched him walk in the direction of the cooler just thirty minutes ago. What had changed since then? Instantly Rachel felt her mind slipping into overdrive, and she found herself wracking her brains for a plausible explanation as opposed to an irrational one.