Eddie pulled up on the drive, grabbing his bag and getting out of the car. He slid the key into the lock, stepping into the house.
"Rach? It's only me" he called
"Up here!" Rachel shouted weakly from upstairs
Eddie climbed the stairs opening the door to Rachel's bedroom carefully.
He found her lying on the bed, her face pale and tired. The bruising around her face seemed to look worse. It was obvious she was in pain, her body was shaking.
"Are you alright?" He asked gently, kneeling on the bed beside her
Rachel shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears.
Eddie knew the fact she was admitting she was in pain wasn't a good sign. Rachel was the kind of person who would never admit she was in pain unless it was really bad.
Eddie took her hand gently, resting it in his own.
"What do you need?" He asked, desperate to comfort her or help in some way
Rachel shook her head
"Nothing, I'm ok" she whispered
"Rachel, I'm here to help. Tell me what you need" Eddie persisted
Rachel sighed
"Look, I can't stand up and I... need the toilet" she admitted, immediately blushing in embarrassment
"Ok, let me help you up then" he decided, unfazed
Rachel nodded
He walked around to the other side of the bed. Carefully, he wrapped his arm around Rachel's waist, helping her to sit up slowly. The whimper that escaped her lips made him stop.
"Are you ok?" He asked, slightly panicked
Rachel nodded tiredly
"Just help me stand up, please?" she pleaded
Eddie nodded, putting her arms around his neck so she'd be able to lean on him. He slowly began to help her to stand.
Rachel screamed, crying out in pain as she let go of Eddie, sitting back down on the bed. She put her head in her hands, sobbing.
She closed her eyes, wish it would all go away. The pain, Stuart, everything that had led up to this moment.
Once again, she was back at Waterloo Road, back in her office, Stuart kicking and punching her relentlessly, pinning her to the floor. She saw his sickening grin as she begged him to stop.
Eddie sat down beside her
"Rach, its ok" he soothed
He placed his hand on her shoulder
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Rachel screamed, flinching away from him
Eddie quickly withdrew his hand, tears welling up in his eyes. He hated seeing her like this, especially when there was nothing he could do to comfort or help her.
He stood up from the bed
"I'll leave you for a minute Rach, ok? I'll just be downstairs" he told her
Rachel looked up at him, her eyes filled with guilt.
"No, Eddie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you" she whimpered
"It's ok" Eddie soothed, sitting back down beside her gently
"No, Eddie it isn't! None of it is! I'll never be ok again!" She cried
She burst into tears, her body shaking with sobs. Eddie couldn't help it; he wrapped her in his arms, resting his chin on her head. To his relief, she didn't pull away.
He held her as she sobbed, allowing her to let it all out. It was what she needed. It took everything in him to hold back his own tears. Every sob she let out tore at his heart. If he could take away her pain, he would, in an instant. But the world didn't work that way. It was cruel and often caused pain and suffering to the most innocent people, Rachel being one of them.
After a whole, Rachel's breathing slowed to an even pace again. The tears had stopped rolling down her cheeks, and her body wasn't trembling as violently against Eddie's. She pulled away from him, wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks. Eddie gave her a weak but reassuring smile, which she returned. Eddie could tell her smile was forced and not genuine. He could by the way it didn't reach her dark brown eyes, like it normally did.
"Come on, I'll carry you to the bathroom" Eddie decided
He lifted her into his arms gently and carried her over to the en-suite. Once he'd set her down on the toilet, he left, waiting outside the door so she could have some privacy.
"Eddie?" She called out after a few minutes
He knocked on the door gently
"You can come in, I'm dressed" she answered
Eddie opened the door, finding her sat on the toilet, fully dressed.
"I'm sorry. Please can you get my toothbrush and toothpaste?" She requested, nodding over to the sink on the other side of the en-suite
"Of course" Eddie nodded
He grabbed the two items off the sink, passing them to Rachel.
Once she was finished, Eddie carried her back to bed, helping her to lie back against the pillows. She winced as she lay back, groaning.
"Are you due some more painkillers?" Eddie asked
"I don't know. They've given me so much, I don't know what I'm supposed to take when" she sighed
"I'll sort it, don't worry" Eddie reassured
He grabbed the two bags of medication, reading everything carefully like he'd done earlier in the day. Eventually, he'd figured it out and made a note of what tablets were needed when and how often, as well as giving Rachel the ones she could take now with a glass of water. He sat with her whilst she took them; reading through everything the doctor had given her.
"It says here we need to clean and change the dressing on your wrist once or twice a day, the same with the incision near your rib cage, and the two on your stomach" Eddie told her, reading the leaflet
"Can we do it now and get it out the way for today?" Rachel requested
Eddie nodded, getting the dressings and bandages he'd bought from the Pharmacy, along with some cloths and lukewarm soapy water. After washing his hands thoroughly, he sat down beside Rachel again, who was looking at him nervously.
"Let's start with your wrist" Eddie suggested
With Rachel's permission, he carefully unwrapped the dressing, avoiding the splint that was holding the broken bone in place. The wound had been stitched neatly, but the area around it was heavily bruised, swollen and red. Eddie tried to push the image of the metal protruding out of it yesterday from his mind. He hadn't asked Rachel how it had happened; he didn't think he could bear it. Of course he knew it was the work of Stuart, just like all of the other injuries he'd inflicted upon her, that was enough.
He dipped the cloth in the lukewarm water, wringing it out so it didn't drip all over the bed sheets.
"This might sting a bit" Eddie warned
Rachel nodded, bracing herself
Eddie wiped the wound and the area around it gently, feeling guilty as Rachel cringed in pain. She'd expected it to be sore, but she hadn't expected it to burn quite as much as it currently was. She breathed a sigh of relief when Eddie put the cloth down and gently patted her wrist dry, putting a fresh dressing and bandage over the top.
"Only three more to go" Rachel sighed
"We can do the others tomorrow once you've had some sleep" Eddie suggested, not wanting to cause her anymore pain
"No, just do them now, its ok" she reassured him
"Alright" Eddie nodded
It was an agonising 10 minutes of Rachel groaning and whimpering in pain and Eddie feeling guilty for putting her through it. Both were relieved when the dressings had all been changed and the wounds cleaned. Rachel was grateful. Despite the stinging and discomfort, Eddie had been so gentle and patient.
Eddie put the bandages and dressings away before helping Rachel wrap the covers around herself. Even though it was July, the temperature had been dropping significantly at night time recently. The sun very rarely reflected on the side of the house where Rachel's bedroom was located, so it was always a little chilly at night.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Rachel was quickly becoming drowsy, her body begging for sleep. She didn't know if it was the side effects of the medication, or if she was genuinely tired.
Eddie noticed her eyes kept drifting shut, her head lolling to one side. She was struggling to stay awake.
"Get some sleep Rach" Eddie whispered to her gently
Rachel suddenly woke up when he said this.
"You can sleep in the spare room, but I haven't made the bed up" she admitted
'There she goes again, worrying about others rather than herself' Eddie said to himself
"Stop worrying about me. I'll be more than comfortable on the sofa" Eddie insisted
"No, you can't sleep on the sofa! There are fresh sheets in the cupboard on the landing" she argued
Rachel seemed to be pleading with him on this; he could hear it in her voice. And she wasn't doing it to be nice, well maybe that was part of it. She didn't want Eddie to be far from her. The spare room was next door to Rachel's, meaning he'd be closer to her if she needed him. That obviously brought her some comfort.
"Alright, I'll sleep in the spare room" he agreed
"But you need to go to sleep now" he added
Rachel nodded, closing her eyes. Eddie sat with her whilst she dozed off, before going into the spare room and making up the single bed. He carried his bag up from downstairs, changing into his pyjamas and brushing his teeth. Overcome with exhaustion, he lay down on the bed, sleep enveloping him.