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Chapter 11: Coalescence

This was all Stuart's Hordley's doing. The chaos, the panicked faces, Rachel's devastation. Eddie was more than certain he wouldn't be able to control himself if he were to come across the man again…

It wasn't? Was it?

No, his eyes weren't deceiving him - the smug look, striding around the school as if he owned the place. Stuart was observing the disorder he'd caused, a thought which sickened Eddie.

With the corridor relatively empty, the deputy head approached Stuart in an instant, catching him off guard with balling his shirt up, shoving him into a nearby wall for good measure.

Eddie couldn't stand how he sneered, chuckling as he glared right in his eyes, "gotten into her knickers now?"

His hand rose to Stuart's throat, lightly pressing down, "how dare you do this."

"Mr Lawson. This isn't very professional, is it?"

"Professional? I'll kick you into next week if you come anywhere near Rachel, or this school again."

"I thought you'd like the fire, Eddie. Something for you and Amanda to take control of, sort out and take credit for."

"You make me sick."

Letting Stuart drop, Eddie swiped a clear punch across his lip, noting how it was just as satisfying as the previous week.

"Get lost Hordley."

Eddie didn't stay around as the man scrambled off of the floor, choosing to put his efforts into more important matters like finding Rachel and getting the hell out of here.

….

Rachel almost believed her eyes were deceiving her upon bumping into Eddie having rounded the corner.

"I thought you'd made your way out," she managed to find her voice, placing a hand on his arm which, in Rachel's mind was more so comfort for her than it was for Eddie.

"I wasn't about to leave without you, Rach."

The world around Eddie seemed to grind to a halt as Rachel remained speechless, both hands on his chest now whilst her eyes never left his. Frankly, Eddie was taken back to their first moment in his classroom; a week ago now. If only he held the ability to turn back time; maybe then the woman he loved wouldn't be in such a precarious position, maybe then their school wouldn't be going up in flames.

"I did… come across Hordley though," Eddie broke the silence, knowing he had no desire to conceal their little encounter from Rachel.

The effect was instant, fury lit up Rachel's frame, anger pulsing through her at the mention of a man who tried to destroy her, who had destroyed her school.

"I hope you told him where to go."

"Absolutely," he paused briefly, sharing a smile before recognising the necessity to get a move on, "look, we should get out of here."

Something amongst Rachel was holding her back, preventing her from doing so as the reluctance set in.

"Not yet. I want to do one final sweep."

Rachel turned on her heel, intending to ensure the safety of her staff and students once more. She had to be sure, the responsibility lay at her door.

Eddie managed to get a grasp of Rachel's arm, panic overtaking his senses at the thought of her in danger.

"Well, let me come with you."

Her brow furrowed, concern embellishing her features at the prospect. Rachel needed Eddie to be safe.

"No, you head to the assembly point. I'll be fine Eddie, really."

"Rachel, I'm not leaving you," they shared a look, her eyes ablaze with such determination and will power. Eddie had to admit defeat, sighing as his mind reached a compromise, "at least let me go this way, you go that way, and I'll meet you at the front."

Rachel only nodded once, body tense as she once again rotated, this time with a purpose to set out their agreement. Yet to Eddie, it felt distorted watching her jog away, and his brain scrambled for an answer. Something was missing, something was left unsaid…

"Rachel!"

Her heart rate accelerated in an instant, head turning to be met with a determined looking Eddie.

The glance she gave him was a whole lot more than a signal to proceed.

"I… I love you."

Joy coursed through Rachel's veins, feelings entirely separate from their current predicament, to the current state of their school. And all of a sudden she wished they weren't here, she wished they were on their date that evening, where she could run straight into Eddie's arms and show him just how much she meant her next words.

"Oh, Eddie. I love you too."

….

In his right mind, Eddie knew that he should be hovering by the assembly point, helping Tom and the other teachers organise the kids. And yet he couldn't, not when his throat was constricting, body freezing up - more to do with having a gut feeling that Rachel was inside than the intensifying smoke. He wasn't about to go back on his promise. There was no way that Eddie was leaving this building without her.

He halted his actions as the corridor forked off, squinting to get a better view at the mound of rubble which had accumulated. Eddie was sure that… no.

He was running before his mind had caught up, by Rachel's side in an instant. Eddie held back the tears at seeing her in such a treacherous place, body evidently lifeless. He could come to terms with his own emotions later, this was about saving Rachel.

Eddie allowed his eyes to flicker upwards as he began the task of clearing the rubble, coughing as a large bout of dust seemed to accumulate. And that was when he saw him. Stuart Hordley. Lying lifeless just like Rachel. The git. If he had just left when Eddie told him to, Rachel would be unharmed, she wouldn't have been trying to save the man who had ruined her.

As much as Eddie longed to scoop Rachel into his arms, run out of that school and bring her to safety himself, he couldn't deny the rush of relief as two firemen came into view.

"Sir, the building isn't safe. If I could ask you to exit through that door up there, we'll take it from here."

He was extremely hesitant, side stepping as he stole one last look at Rachel, chest throbbing as he tried to control his breathing. She's in good hands. That's what he had to continue to tell himself. He wasn't leaving her, Eddie would be right by her side once they emerged from the building.

With a muttered acknowledgment towards the men, Eddie took to jogging out of the building - knowing that he would be there to support Rachel more than ever before. If she made it through, if she was okay.

Eddie swallowed the sickness rising and blinked to clear the images which were haunting him. That was the last train of thought he needed to be going down.

It was more than a blur as Eddie arose from the building, Tom's hand on his shoulder and Steph's words about very few injuries did nothing to quash his overriding distress. There was zero chance of him being okay until Rachel was.

He thought Tom might have been speaking to him, asking about Rachel. Yet there was a constant buzzing in Eddie's ears, his brain was disturbed as he tried to comprehend that he may never talk to Rachel again, kiss her again, hold her again. Eddie couldn't lose her.

He gathered that the staff's queries would have been answered when Rachel emerged, but Eddie didn't hang around to see; magnetising towards the ambulance and not thinking twice before he hopped in it next to her.

Eddie meant what he said. He wasn't about to leave Rachel - ever.