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Chapter 10: Call it Even

Five days following on from the loss of Stuart's contracts, Rachel was still finding herself chewing on the fact that his lack of contact was bound to be too good to be true. In terms of Melissa, she had ended up taking a leap - swallowing down feelings that had been built up over fifteen years - and ringing her sister. All three calls had gone straight to voicemail, and Rachel found herself wondering if Melissa had simply used a longing to reconcile with her as a route of persuasion. A way of getting her and Eddie to keep schtum. Well that had failed.

Yet, on the surface of all that, there was a spring in her step, one that wouldn't tend to be there with such worries on her shoulders.

Rachel found it was strikingly similar to the feeling that had graced her in the days following confiding in Eddie, allowing him to be witness to a corner of her life that she would have liked to keep concealed forever.

Rachel was sure that her happy, full of the joys mood, had everything to do with the evening she and her deputy had planned for end of term celebrations.

One thing Rachel wouldn't have predicted after her first year at Waterloo Road, was - albeit early days - a relationship. Especially not one with her deputy.

And there he was, stood at her office door with an identical grin to hers gracing his lips.

"Good morning."

If at all possible, Rachel's smile grew even wider as she rounded the desk, coming to stand in front of her deputy. Eddie himself wanted nothing more than to bring Rachel into his arms - to kiss her good morning as well as speak it - yet with the door being open, he fought against that urge.

She tilted her head, "now I know from experience that you're only saying it's good because it's a Friday."

"Oh, I can't think why else," he humoured her, laughing as he did so.

Rachel shuffled some papers in her hands, enjoying this playful exchange they were partaking in, enjoying the teasing, "end of term perhaps?"

Eddie didn't think he could take it any more, discarding the curious look from Rachel as he turned on his heel, shutting the door when he reached it.

Within an instant she was in his arms, giggles filling the air as their lips met. It was Eddie who pulled back after a moment, breathless as their foreheads pressed together.

"I'll take that as a greeting over good morning any day of the week."

"You know, I might have to hold you to that."

Rachel grinned at Eddie's comment, feeling absolutely no hardship with the prospect of sharing one of those kisses with him every morning.

"You look happy."

"That's because I am. It's the end of term, as we've mentioned. We're going to thrash Forest Mount in the spelling bee, and hopefully the football."

"Not to mention this evening."

Rachel tilted her head, enjoying Eddie's exasperated expression as she put up a pretence up, looking curious as she mocked someone who didn't have a clue what her deputy was talking about, "this evening?"

Eddie scoffed, tipping his head back to laugh as it registered with him exactly what Rachel was playing at. He had learnt in the past week that this woman was rather an expert at teasing him or pulling his leg. Eddie wasn't about to complain, if anything, he loved it.

He stepped into close quarters with Rachel once more, took in the shine upon her eyes, her dazzling smile and didn't hold back from sneaking a hand up to her ribs, beginning to tickle her through the material of her top with an undoubtedly mischievous expression. Rachel wriggled under his fingers, managing to swat a hand across his arm.

"Eddie!"

"What?" he queried, tone full of joy as they burst into giggles once more, "you know exactly what I'm talking about Mason."

"Something to do with… end of year celebrations? I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Me taking you out. Or as you put it, you taking me out. Since you want to pay the bill this time."

Eddie's allusion to their first date, as Rachel liked to call it, had her heart racing, mind turning to mush as she concluded to give in with the teasing.

"Ah, that must have slipped my mind. I'd been rather looking forward to it as well."

Eddie placed a hand on her arm, intending to pull Rachel closer once more, cherishing these few moments they spent on a morning together before the madness of a day in the life of Waterloo road commenced.

Yet it was that moment when Bridget knocked on the door, poking her head through the window with a reminder that Forest Mount would soon be arriving.

"Shall we go meet and greet?" Rachel turned back to Eddie swiftly, a grin still apparent across her expression, causing sparks to fly in Eddie's stomach, his insides to do funny things.

He gave his customary answer, all the while longing for just a few more instances of privacy with Rachel. Instead Eddie gave himself a mental shake, re-accompanying his mind with the summer holidays on the horizon as they walked side by side through the school. The dynamic duo.

….

Feelings of pride as she gazed out over the sea of students were something that Rachel had never experienced to this extent.

She had known it before, of course. Yet in that moment, as Rachel dragged her eyes from the majority and honed in on her smiling deputy, she knew that Waterloo Road was the place for her to be. It felt like home here.

Rachel put it down to being overwhelmed by that sense of belonging, as to why she didn't initially notice Stuart burst through the doors, all heads focussed on the source of the entrance, the man with the overly smug look on his face.

It was impossible to clamp down on her emotions as the man who held all the power to destroy her began to speak. Even as Eddie stood, shoving Stuart backwards out of the hall, Rachel's heart plummeted. This man was here for one job and one job only - to ruin Rachel. And he wasn't going to stop until he had done just that.

"So go on then, Amanda. Reveal your saudid past to your precious student body. Or you really won't know what's hit you."

Rachel's ears rang, sickness clawed at her throat. Voices were muffled as she struggled to make out what Eddie was saying. All she knew was that Stuart was standing his ground.

Yet above all that, Rachel had no choice but to do this, she realised. With or without Hordley's vicious threats, Rachel had no desire to lie to the people who had trusted her.

Eddie himself felt utterly powerless as Stuart fought against him. Or you really won't know what's hit you. And Eddie feared that. He feared that this was only phase one of Stuart's plans to bring Rachel down. So with great difficulty, Eddie relaxed his grip, allowing Stuart to stay where he was for the time being; when, in reality, all Eddie longed to do was give the man a taste of his own medicine.

The anger only intensified as he stole a glance at Rachel, his heart shattering as he drank in the look upon her face. This was her worst nightmare coming to life - hundreds of people witness to everything she had gone through as a teenager. Rachel didn't deserve this, Eddie knew. The thought caused his stomach to churn uncomfortably, going as far as shoving his hands in his pockets to fight off the urge to run to Rachel, to engulf her in his arms and shield her from this imploding mess.

The happiness which had radiated from her only that morning, was a far cry from Rachel's current stance.

Her hand shook violently as she brought the microphone closer, legs jellified as she prepared to reveal her darkest secret. Something which proved to be an impossible task.

This was it, Rachel thought, this was where the life she had built up over the past twenty years was torn to shreds, her future at this school gone in the blink of an eye.

"What that man just said. What happened, my past… it was a long time ago. Over twenty years in fact. But I… I was a prostitute. It's a part of my life that I'm certainly not proud of. And if… I thought for one second that my past would affect the pupils of this school, then I would leave. But that's not for me to decide."

Rachel couldn't stomach it anymore, couldn't witness the furtive glances, the mass of expressions and the inevitable whispers. So with one look towards Eddie, she ran, ran with the knowledge that Waterloo Road was no longer her righteous place.

….

Eddie's frustration escalated dramatically along with the continuance of Stuart's presence. There was only one place he longed to be, and that was with Rachel. Eddie wasn't about to let her down now, not when she would undoubtedly need him more than ever.

So maybe that was one reason why it proved to be extremely satisfying as Tom assured with booting Hordley out of the hall. Eddie found himself once again longing for this to be the business man's last appearance. Whenever Rachel built herself back up again, Stuart showed his face with a vengeance. Eddie couldn't, wouldn't, allow that to happen again.

The claps and cheers erupting from the students caught his attention, emotion swelling inside of him as he gathered the gesture for what it was. One thing Eddie wished for was Rachel's presence, for her to have heard every cheer, every clap. The enthusiasm and drive with which the kids ensued would have no doubt proved worthy of persuading Rachel that she belonged. Pupils at Waterloo Road continued to respect her, to look up to her. All of that was a mark of the fantastic impact Rachel had emanated across the school. Eddie longed more than anything for her to see their reaction in that sense too.

Students under control, Eddie slipped away from the staff, picking up speed as he found himself almost running towards Rachel's office - where he could only hope she would be.

Bridget collared him, muttering something about her crying, which caused Eddie's expression to drop, his limbs turning to led as he came face to face with the true impact of the entire ordeal.

If he had thought Rachel looked broken following on from Stuart's voicemails, this particular demeanour was on a whole other level. Her face wasn't visible, body curled within itself as she evidently tried to hide away from the world on the safety of the sofas.

What was apparent as Eddie neared, was Rachel's sobbing - her frame shook every so often, hands scrunched around her mouth as she struggled to rein in these emotions.

He was on his knees within an instant, taking a hold of Rachel's upper arms whilst she accustomed herself with his presence. One look was all it took for her to melt forwards, falling into his arms as if he were her last lifeline.

Rachel's arms wound around his neck as Eddie's went to her waist, holding her tightly with hopes of showing that he wasn't going anywhere. She buried her face in his chest, tears drenching his shirt as she continued to cry gutturally.

Eddie smoothed a hand up and down Rachel's back, all the while his mind racing, wondering where they would go from here.

He didn't anticipate it as Rachel emerged, salty residue adorning her cheeks as she remained very much in Eddie's embrace.

"Has he… has he gone?"

Eddie could only assume she was referring to Hordley, nodding his head a beat before he began to speak, "he should be off the premises by now."

Rachel swallowed the significant lump in her throat, torn between her heart and mind. Rationally, she couldn't stay at Waterloo Road - first it would be the governors, then the press, not to mention the parents. Rachel adored the place too much to tarnish its being in such a way. But her heart… her heart was telling her to stay. To stay and fight this, because she wasn't about to simply allow Stuart Hordley to reduce her to the teenager she had been twenty plus years ago.

The question was, which would it be, her head or her heart?

"I can't… I can't stay here Eddie," Rachel shook her head decidedly, "not after everything."

Even as her deputy predicted those words, devastation coursed through his body, knowing that Stuart was responsible for this, that he had driven Rachel out of the school she had grown to love.

"Rachel, you can," he paused and sighed, replaying the students' reaction in his mind, "I wish you'd have been there. Just then, the students were clapping. And that was for you. Rachel, they respect you, on a whole other level."

A fresh wave of tears pooled in Rachel's eyes, surprise no doubt colouring her expression. Yet then, a realisation hit - she cared for and respected those students just as much; Rachel couldn't risk throwing their credibility down the drain.

"And you know how much they mean to me, Eddie. They are the reason I'm going."

He was entirely baffled, frown forming on his face automatically, "I don't understand…"

"I'm not going to associate this school with… I can't stay, Eddie. Because they don't deserve that."

Eddie's mind was racing, searching for words and actions that would make Rachel stay. He needed her to stay. Raising a hand to her cheek, Eddie brushed away the remaining tears tracks, allowing his tender touch to remain as he began to speak.

"I know what they do deserve, Rachel. I meant what I said when you were telling me about your past. You are remarkable. A wonderful headteacher. This hasn't changed that, hasn't changed the way you inspire those kids."

He was tugging on her heartstrings considerably, Rachel had to admit, "they don't deserve someone who is going to ruin their school's reputation as a headteacher."

She couldn't handle it anymore - the tender way with which Eddie was gazing at her, the love and care so obvious in his eyes, sincerity colouring his tone. Rachel knew he meant every word.

It was only as she turned her head to Eddie's palm, placing a kiss there and allowing her mouth to linger that Rachel began to think about the repercussions for them, for their relationship. How would she cope, day in, day out, working without Eddie by her side?

Almost sensing the turn Rachel's thoughts had taken, Eddie leant forward to project a kiss to her forehead, leaning back as he studied her expression.

"And what about us? It's not just the pupils who need you Rach. I… I need you too."

Rachel's mind exploded, feelings entirely separate to the whole debacle with Stuart crashing through her. She loved Eddie, wholeheartedly. Like she had never loved someone before.

The words were on the tip of Rachel's tongue, heart racing as Eddie threaded a hand through her hair.

Yet she didn't get the opportunity. A piercing noise reverberated around the office, sending shockwaves through both the head and deputy's bodies.

It sounded like an explosion of some sort, Rachel realised. Bile rose in her throat at the possibilities. The students… the staff…

"What was that?" she found herself whispering.

The buzz of Rachel's phone was just about heard over the sound of Eddie's voice as he began to speak. She recognised, as she pulled the device out of her pocket to be welcomed with a text from Stuart, that this was the worst possible scenario.

You shouldn't mess with me, Rachel.