A/N: I apologise for the delay, my child has the dreaded bug. A big thank you to hannah5240, Mrs Carmichael, LittleH12, FaeMelody, RachelMasonFan39, fayeftvanity, Amelia0204 and Lynny for the reviews. Also to everyone who is still reading.
Please enjoy.

Burning under your control

Chapter nine.

Controlling someone is having the ability to influence and dominate a vulnerable human being.

Ashamed.

A flickering woke her from a light slumber. She tiptoed across the landing cautious not to wake him. Running her hands along the banister to provide extra support, she began to take the stairs leading her down to the bottom floor. On arrival at the kitchen, she grabbed for a glass and gently ran the tap. It took all of fifteen seconds before a voice startled her from her thoughts.

'You okay?', Eddie asked. From her reaction however, he quickly realised that creeping down after her had only made her more frightened.

'Sorry Rach, I didn't mean to make you jump', he apologised. The colour had drained from her face, and he had never seen her look so terrified.

'What is it?', concern etched in his voice. He took a few steps crossing over to her side of the kitchen. Her body had closed up, almost as though she were ready to defend every conversation that might be approached.

'Nothing', she whispered, as she tore her eyes away from him. Her body shuddered as she felt his presence near her closer, and she closed her eyes on his approach.

'Rachel?', he questioned once more.

'There was a car .. outside, I- .. sorry', she mumbled quietly. It was at that very moment that he understood. Her panic had struck him, and he knew the consequences.

'It's okay, come on, it's okay', he tenderly spoke as he brought her closer into him. Rachel hadn't fought against him, and she wouldn't. He was her safety. Naturally she felt her body relax against his warmth. Still, a few tears escaped her, and finally let go in front of him. He gently stroked her back, and protectively tightened his grip afraid that she'd pull away. He felt his actions were to blame, and he was quickly realising that he had made the wrong choice in not telling her. He had been exposing her vulnerability unintentionally and he felt awful.

It had been seven hours exactly since they'd shared that moment in her kitchen. Her tears a constant reminder of the tragic events that she had been victim to. He briskly walked to the staff room to show his face before the staff would talk about his whereabouts. Within a few seconds of him entering, the room found a sudden silence, and he found multiple eyes staring at him. Raising his eyebrow, he wondered what they had been gossiping about this time.

'Hey Eddie, have you heard?!', Steph exclaimed whilst eagerly awaiting his answer. Have you heard? He wondered what on earth she could have been talking about but by everyone's face, it must have been something important.

'Heard what, Steph?', he asked rather irritated.

'About Stuart Hordley!', he felt his whole body stiffen and his stomach sank. A sudden guilt thriving inside him. All he could think about was his wrongdoings. He should have told her. The staff should have never known before her, and he'd never be able to forgive himself.

'He's dead!', Steph explained as she watched his silence. She didn't give him the chance to ask before she told him of the latest news.

'Dead? How do you know that?', his question had been genuine, and he was more than eager to know how they were all so quick to find out.

'Haven't you seen the papers? It's all over!', Steph said as she almost pushed the paper in his face. His eyes scanned over the front page and it had been almost like déjà vu from the other day.

'Wonder how Miss Mason will deal with this one', Grantley muttered to Steph, although he fully knew that Eddie was in distance to hear. Confirming that he had heard, Eddie glared at the pair of them and marched out of the staff room letting the door slam behind him.

'Me thinks someone is a little touchy this morning.'

Startled by the ring of her doorbell, Rachel pondered on who it could have been. Anticipation thundering over her, and she almost didn't answer it. On walking closer to the door, she could see a slight outline of two bodies waiting outside. Alarm bells rang, and she instantly knew that it was the moment that she had been dreading. They were finally coming to question her. Wrapping her fingertips around the lock, she took a deep breath and pulled the door open ever so slightly.

'Rachel Mason?', one of the police officers addressed. They were almost intimidating with they way approached her. She knew what this would be about, and she felt vulnerable without Eddie for support.

'Yes?', she answered, keeping the door with only a few inches for them to see in. She was careful not to expose too much to them in fear they'd discover things they shouldn't.

'This is PC Smith and I'm PC Evans, can we come in for a few minutes?', he was polite, but it was obvious he wanted answers. She nodded hesitantly before slowing guiding them in and leading them to sit down in her living room.

'Now, I understand that you're still recovering but it's important for us to understand what's happened-', PC Evans began, before Rachel began to shake her head.

'I- ..', she so badly wanted to run from it all. She waited a while before deciding not to continue with her words.

'There was a crash the same night, involving a Stuart Hordley. I believe you know him?', one of the police officers said as he noted a few words down onto a pad. Rachel cleared her throat and suddenly felt nervous.

'Yes.'

'Had you been with him that night?', PC Evans was quick with his question.

'I- .. he er, we .. I..', Rachel stuttered as she was unsure whether they'd believe her lies.

'He asked me to go for dinner, to discuss the build. I said no, but he insisted. We were in the car, and I knew it was wrong and so I asked him to drop me home instead-', she continued, however by their expressions, she knew they didn't believe her. She took a sip of her water that had been resting on her table from earlier, she hoped it would mask her furthering nerves.

'Miss Mason, your injuries show that you could have possibly been in a car crash. Please, we need your full cooperation. We're already investigating'. Her stomach was in knots, and she could not digest everything that she was being told.

'Investigating? Why would you be looking into it? I don't under-', Rachel suddenly stopped and the world around her crashed abruptly. A harsh silence dictated the room. The sudden realisation had tightened her chest, and she felt a wave of nausea hit her. This was not happening. On standing, her legs had almost given way on her and she grabbed the side unit for extra support.

'He's dead, isn't he?'