Thank you for the support.

Now I do think that this is probably the chapter which was the first idea that I had. I wanted to introduce Andy back into Rachel's life and didn't really know how to do it. I hope that you do understand her reaction... and that it would be believable. I don't know. It is just how I feel like she would react...

Please enjoy.


Andrew Green

1988

"Hello Gorgeous."

Amanda internally cringed. It was the worst part of the job. The drunk punters that thought that they were owed something if they called her something nice. She found that the way to get around that was to try to get them to buy more, that way they would be too drunk to even think about doing anything. They were also easier to dodge that way. After all, she had experience of drunken men. Although, when her father laid his hands on her, it was for a different reason.

"What can I get you?" Amanda said, trying to keep a smile on her face.

"You."

She took a deep breath. "I'm not on offer. Sorry."

"Sure?"

"Positive."

"I'll take a double whiskey then."

Amanda turned, grabbing the right glass before the bottle of whiskey, filling the glass with expert precision. It had taken her a while to do. There had been an awful lot to master being behind the bar. She was just glad that she was a quick learner.

She was also glad that he was already holding out a note for her to take, with her taking it at the same time as she placed the drink in front of him. She hoped that when she handed him back his change, he would leave her alone. There wasn't much more of her shift but it was a particularly dead Tuesday night. She didn't really want to make small talk if she didn't have to.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Amanda. Yours?" She said, knowing that it was probably best to just get it over and done with.

"Andy." He racked his eyes down her body. "I think I might come here a little more often."

"Why?"

"Well… if this is where I will find you."

"I'll cut to the chase, Andy. I'm not interested."

"Sorry?"

"I know what you are doing. I get it every single shift. I'm not interested. So just let me get on with my job."

He seemed to digest her words for a moment before he tapped the bar and stood up, grabbing his drink to take a sip. He gave her one last look up and down and then walked away from her, giving her exactly what she had asked for.

Although, he didn't as she could see him out of the corner of her eye as she got on with her job, making sure that the punters were happy and the bar was clean and any empty glasses went to the kitchen to make sure that they were cleaned up. Part of her did just want to walk over to him and ask him what he actually wanted and the other wondered how he had made his drink last him so long.

And her curiosity almost got the better of her. Mainly because he wasn't a regular and he didn't fit what she would expect from someone who would drink at that pub. Firstly, he looked like he was a lot closer to her age. Secondly, the way he was dressed. It wasn't overly rare to see a punter in a shirt but Andy's looked like it hadn't been bought at the cheapest shop possible. And it was rare for someone to accompany that with a suit jacket and trousers. And a tailor looking suit.

She hated the way that she flinched as the door to the pub opened with such a force that it banged against the wall. She had already turned to her colleague, knowing that she was going to have to go. Her dad didn't know about this job yet and she wondered how he had found out. There was a reason why she took a job half an hour away from where she lived.

"You fucking bitch." He slurred as he saw her.

"I'm so sorry," Amanda said before she made her way around the bar.

Her dad was already making his way to her. If it wasn't clear in the way that he was talking, then it was very clear in his walk that he was drunk. She did have something prepared for if this moment ever came but she didn't really expect her dad to reach out and grab a fist full of her hair to start dragging her back the way he had just come from, muttering about how she should have been at home and why she hadn't done the things that she should have done.

She willed herself not to cry. She couldn't cry in front of so many people. Plus she knew that she would have to face all these people again at some point. She felt like she was going to get some sympathy when it wasn't deserved. She could already feel it coming from the members of staff on shift.

And then, suddenly, the grip in her hair disappeared. And Amanda could have cried at the relief from the pain. Although, she knew that she would never be able to thank whoever had intervened. They weren't going to make things better.

"Leave her alone."

"What the fuck did you say?"

Amanda turned to see the back of a suit jacket and she knew exactly who had intervened.

"An-An-Andy, it's okay," Amanda said as she tried to get to her dad's side before he did anything that he shouldn't do.

"Who the fuck is he?" Her dad shouted.

"No one. Let's go."

Amanda never made it to her dad's side. If she had done, then she would have dragged him out of that pub and all the way home. She would have done whatever she needed to do to keep her job and make up her time. The last thing she needed was for anything stupid to happen.

But that was exactly what happened when Andy caught her arm and there was no stopping her dad's fist from colliding with Andy's face. A couple of the regulars jumped up at that point, rushing to her aid as her dad wrapped his hands around her throat, choking and shaking her.

The next thing she knew, she had been taken out to the back of the pub and sat down on one of the crates. An arm was around her shoulders as a glass was pushed into her hand. Naively, Amanda thought that the clear liquid was water until she took a large gulp, with her having to force herself to swallow it which left her choking on the burning sensation at the back of her throat that it left behind.

"Sorry, my idea," Andy said, causing her to look up at him. "For the shock. Who is he?"

Amanda looked between him and Beth (her colleague who was behind the bar with her), unknowing what she should say. Her home life had been a secret her whole life. Her mum telling her that no one should know about what happened at home. The fear that filled her when the police were called. The horrible way that she even wanted to keep her mother's passing a secret because she thought that would expose the secret.

"Amanda. A mate of mine owns the pub. He has asked me to look after it while he is away. He will not be very happy to find out that one of his members of staff has been treated in that way. I just feel glad that I was here to see it. But I am going to have to tell him that it has happened. And he will want an explanation. Or for me to know that I've called the police on him."

"No. Don't do that," Amanda said quickly before she sighed. "He's my dad. He… didn't know about this job."

"This job?"

"Days in a local supermarket. Nights here."

Andy looked over at Beth and gestured for her to go. There was a look in Beth's eye that Amanda couldn't place but Amanda did find herself alone with Andy.

"It's just you and me now." He said as he crouched down in front of her. "What's going on, Amanda?"

"The rent has gone up." She said, unable to explain why she was spilling all of her problems to him. "Dad's never had enough to cover it. We are so behind that… I swear we are going to get evicted. I've managed to help catch up on some of the arrears in the last year but with the increase. Rent, electric. And once I even think about trying to get some food in the house…" She sighed. "I was keeping this money from him. To try and get everything paid. My wages at the shop. It all goes to him. Says that it's my keep."

His hand felt hot against her cheek but there was a softness to it that she didn't expect. And she relaxed into his touch gradually. The way his thumb stroked her cheek was calming in a way.

"I could give you a job," Andy said after a long silence. "It would be… certainly would pay higher than your job here and at the shop combined. And there would be board. You would only have to go home when you wanted to. You'll have your own room, shared bathroom and kitchen area. You could even come and have a look after your shift. I could explain more then."

As Amanda would come to realise, the offer did seem too good to be true. But that didn't stop her from almost biting his hand off in accepting the job. Because it seemed like the perfect job that she needed at that time. It felt like Andy was her knight in shining armour. If only she knew that she was getting herself into another nightmare rather than a fairytale.


1990

She didn't quite know why Andy had summoned her.

Especially when he said that he would meet her in her room.

Her gut was telling her that something wasn't right. That she should leave and never return. That she should disappear to never be heard of again.

She would wish that she did listen to her gut. It wasn't like she didn't have any warning. Tess had warned her what was going to happen. Tess had shown her what she started to get before they realised that it wasn't her.

Amanda still waited.

She just couldn't believe that Andy would do that.

When he arrived, he looked uncomfortable.

He didn't say much before his hand went under her chin, pinning her by her neck to the wall behind her.

He spoke calmly as he told her that they knew what she had been doing.

But there was nothing calm about his actions as he slapped her across the face before he pressed tighter on her windpipe.

And she was only reminded of what she had told him on her birthday.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

And she had been fooled for a second time.


2013

Rachel saw that someone was hanging around her office door. Bearing in mind the time of day, she suspected that it was Eddie. It couldn't really be anyone else. With school finishing hours ago. And both of them found it easier to finish some tasks at school and some tasks at home. Although, they were equally bad at coming up with distractions when the paperwork or marking had bored them enough. Hence why they had to stay late to get anything done.

"You don't have to stand at the door, Eddie. I've just gotta finish this before we go home. I can not put this off any longer." She said without looking up.

"I'm not Eddie."

The voice stopped her and she was sure that she forgot how to breathe for a few moments. Her head slowly raised to see who was actually standing at her door, with her gulping at the person standing there.

"Hello Gorgeous."

"No." She said as she stood up. "No, get out!"

"Is that how you greet all your old friends, Amanda?" He said as he stepped into her office.

"It's Rachel and get out."

"Rachel? Huh. I always liked the name Amanda."

"Well, I don't anymore."

"I see you haven't lost that fight."

"Andy, I am not going to tell you again. Get out!"

"What's going on here?"

Rachel expected to turn to Eddie and to find herself calming down slightly. After all, he was her calming influence. The only person who could make all of her irrational thoughts rational. But things were different this time. Tess was one thing but Andy was another. She had such contrasting memories of Andy that it made all her thoughts and feelings towards him seem really weird and it was something that she thought she would never have to ever face. It didn't matter that she hadn't worked it out. Because she thought that she would never see him again.

"Andy Green," Andy said as he held his hand out to Eddie.

Eddie flicked between the hand and her until he must have realised that he didn't necessarily want to be rude, taking Andy's hand and giving it a quick shake.

"Eddie Lawson."

"Lawson, hey?" Andy said.

"Andy, I think you should leave." Rachel said.

"Why? Or is the big man meant to be a secret?" He paused before he huffed, placing a hand on his chest. "Am I the secret?"

"No, I've just got nothing else to say to you. I said it all when I last saw you."

"And look at you now. Headteacher. Impressive. I must say, I am impressed. How are the twins?"

"That was a slip of my tongue. I should never have…"

"What? Told me that your two aren't going to want for nothing? So how are they? Boys, girls, one of each? If there is a girl, does she look exactly like you? Is she her mother's daughter? Come on Gorgeous, you never used to be this quiet."

"I want you to leave. I think I've made myself very clear on that."

Rachel felt lightheaded at all the thoughts that spun around in her mind. It probably didn't help that she did feel like she was about to go into a panic attack, with her starting to struggle to catch her breath. She hoped that Eddie knew without knowing and she only caught part of the conversation as Eddie started to demand to know who he was and why he wasn't leaving. Her eye caught the mug on her desk. She hadn't really been one to head straight for violence but she knew that Andy wasn't getting the message. It was off her desk and across the room before she could really think more about it, with both Andy and Eddie looking at her in shock.

"Get out!" She screamed. "You don't get to do this! You don't just get to walk back into my life and act like nothing happened. Like we were old friends. Maybe… maybe if… you know that I always knew that you were doing your job. Maybe I knew all along. Maybe." She screwed her eyes closed. "I was… I liked you. And then." She opened her eyes again. "Just go."

Rachel wasn't sure that he was going to. He wasn't one to back down easily. She had seen him work, the way that he would prey on some of the girls. She had always been an easy shot.

When he did leave, she felt the tears. And then Eddie's arms as he wrapped them around her. She knew that she was safe once more, but that didn't stop the wave of memories from hitting her properly.


"He was the main recruiter."

Eddie wasn't sure whether he had heard her or whether he had just made it up. Rachel had been silent since after she had shouted at Andy to leave. And once she had stopped crying, she had been in this trans-like state, obviously replaying memories that Eddie wished that he could take away from her.

"Right," Eddie said.

"He picked the right night to come into the pub I was working in. Life at home. It was always this big secret. Mum… Mum trained me from an early age to never say anything about what happened at home. I just." She paused. "I desensitise myself to it. Probably why it did happen to me. With Robert."

He didn't dare to say a word. Just in case she stopped talking and he would be none the wiser to what her outburst was all about. After all, the mug that she threw only narrowly missed Andy, smashing against the wall, sending shards of china everywhere. He had apologised to the cleaner before they left, with him thinking that the best thing for him to do would be to get Rachel home.

"Dad tried to pull me out of the pub by my hair." She continued. "Andy stopped him and then offered me the prostitution job. Told me basically everything I wanted to hear. More money than I was earning at both the pub and the shop, board. I knew it was too good to be true but… I need the money. Dad went ballistic at me that night when I got home. Grabbed me by the neck and held me up against the wall, called me a bitch again. I know what I've said in the past. That I was waiting for Dad to treat me like he did Mum. Well, that was the first night he hit me, properly. I think I was more in shock that it had happened than in pain.

"I remember calling Andy the next day, asking how soon I could start this other job. He met me in a bar and we ended up talking all night. He took me back to his place and… I suppose he was working out how much… experience I had. How good I was. He told me I was good even though I didn't believe him. A couple of days later, he introduced me to a friend and it started from there. There were certain clients that we had on the books and others that we had to go out and entice back.

"My 19th birthday... I asked him for our night on my 19th birthday. If I'm being honest, it was good sex. Better than I had been getting with the clients but obviously not as good as the night that I was going to end up having with you. I told him that night that he wasn't going to fool me again. I've told you, haven't I? That on the night that we had, I was meant to meet up with someone else and given a beating?"

Eddie nodded, feeling really unsure about where the conversation was heading.

"If the twins weren't yours, which thank god they are, they would have been Andy's. He was asked to teach me the lesson. The stupid idiot didn't realise how unhidden his feelings were for me. Maybe I could have fallen for him as well. I did like him. Like I was fond of him. I let him get away with things that I don't think I would have let anyone else get away with. But that night. The night that he taught me that lesson. The night he beat me and… raped me. It changed everything between us. That's why I reacted the way that I did. I can't… he can't get close enough to hurt me again." She blinked quite a few times before she turned to him properly. "He didn't make me. He never made me. He made sure that I crashed and burnt. And I decided that I could rise up to be stronger than I was before."

"I think he got that message when you almost hit him with the mug." He said.

"I hope you are right."

Eddie rested one arm along the back of the sofa. "Do you want to come here?"

The invite of comfort was there and as much as Eddie did want to just scoop her up in his arms, he wasn't sure that it would be that welcomed. But the speed at which she moved up the sofa and tucked herself into his side shocked him. He wrapped his arms around her, with the plan that he wasn't going to let her go until she wanted him to. Because her past seemed to always come back to hurt her. The woman who didn't need anymore hurt in her life. The only problem was that he couldn't protect her from the memories that she held. So he just had to trust that she was getting the comfort that she needed. And he knew that he would spend quite a while doting on her in the way that she should have always been doted on.