"Philip? It's Rachel" she said
"You can come in" he replied
Rachel opened the door slowly, cringing as it creaked.
Philip was sat on the end of the bed. He glanced at her awkwardly, picking at the skin around his nails again. He was shaking with anger.
She sat down beside him carefully
"Do you think I'm a brat too?" He asked
"No, Philip, I don't. I think what you're going through is a huge change. Your Mum is getting married, and you're moving abroad. These are big changes. It's understandable you're upset and overwhelmed" she reassured
"It's not just that. It's the way she went about it. She disappeared for months and then just turned up with this... new guy. She didn't contact me for months" he explained
Rachel frowned
"Didn't she get in touch with your Dad, or whoever was looking after you while she was away?"
Philip scoffed
"You don't understand what I'm saying. She left me on my own in the house. My Dad isn't around. It's just me and her"
Rachel was horrified at what she was hearing. She'd had a feeling that Melissa wasn't the maternal type, but she hadn't expected that. How many times has she done this before now? What kind of mother abandons their child?
"Oh, Philip, I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have had to go through that" she sighed
Philip shrugged
"So... this Marcus, what's he like?" She questioned, changing the subject
"He's great. But she doesn't deserve him" he replied simply
"That's up to Marcus to decide I guess" Rachel shrugged
"She's a liar" Philip mumbled angrily, loud enough for Rachel to hear
She frowned
"What do you mean?"
Philip sighed.
The secret was eating him alive.
"Mum is still married" he admitted
Rachel raised an eyebrow
"To your Dad?"
Philip nodded
"And some other guy" he told her
"And Marcus doesn't know?" Rachel checked
Philip shook his head
"She's not going to tell him either"
Rachel sighed
"I can't watch her go through with this when she knows it's wrong. But I don't know how to stop her. She's not even allowing me to move to Spain with her. She wants me to stay here and get my GCSE's" he explained
"But who will look after you?" Rachel questioned
Philip averted his gaze. He couldn't tell her what he knew.
"Philip?"
"She was going to dump me on your doorstep a few days before the wedding" he admitted
Rachel should have been appalled by that. And yet, she wasn't. Nothing about Melissa surprised her anymore. It made her angry, of course it did. Abandoning your son to go and get married, leaving him with an Aunt he'd known for five minutes. It was wrong.
But at the same time she wanted to get Philip away from Melissa. It was better he came to stay with her, than to be on his own at fifteen, potentially with no home. She could see how unhappy Philip was, and it wouldn't change, even if Melissa didn't marry Marcus. There was a definite chance Melissa would abandon him again. Philip needed stability, something Rachel hadn't had and craved at his age. She knew he craved it too. And she and Eddie could give him that.
But she had to talk to Melissa first.
"Alright, Philip, here's what's going to happen. First of all, I'm going to talk to your Mum and see what she has to say. You're right, what she's doing is illegal and she can't go through with it."
She cleared her throat before continuing
"If she decides to tell Marcus before sorting it, that's her choice. If she gets it done discreetly, without a word to him, that's also her choice. But no matter what happens, you have a home here and are welcome to stay with me and Eddie, if you want to"
"You don't have to do that, Auntie Rachel. I don't want to burden you. My Mum wants to, but I don't" Philip insisted
"Philip, listen to me, you're not a burden at all. You're my nephew and I care about you. I know I've only been in your life for less than a few hours and I barely know you, but I want to change that. I'd rather you live here than on the streets, or in a foster home, which is what will happen if Melissa leaves you to move to Spain. You're not on your own with this; I'm going to sort it, ok?" She reassured
"Thanks, Auntie Rachel" he mumbled, smiling awkwardly
"Just Rachel is fine" she said, smiling
Philip nodded
She stood up, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly, heading back downstairs to talk to Melissa.
When she got downstairs, she found her sister sat in the living room, alone. Rachel cleared her throat to announce her present.
Melissa turned her head, glaring at her.
"You know, your boyfriend is a crap host, Rach! You're not much better really. You do know you're supposed to entertain your guests?" She grumbled
Rachel rolled her eyes. Her sister's lack of concern for Philip was evident. It made Rachel incredibly frustrated.
She stepped into the living room, sitting on the sofa next to Melissa.
"We need to have a chat Mel, don't you think?" She sighed, pulling a cushion onto her lap
"About what?" Melissa questioned, staring at the floor
"Philip" Rachel responded with a huff
Melissa rolled her eyes
"Whatever he's told you is lies, Rach! Trust me, the kid hates me!"
"Judging by what he told me, I can understand why he resents you" Rachel shot back
"What am I supposed to have done now?" She asked
Rachel scoffed
"Melissa, you upped and left Philip to go to Spain! You disappeared for months on end, without a word, leaving Philip on his own! He's FIFTEEN, Melissa! He's not an adult! You can't just abandon a child when you feel like it! He needs you, you're his Mum!"
"Oh, please, Rachel! You're making a big deal out of nothing, as usual!" Melissa huffed, shaking her head
Rachel stared at her, dumbfounded
"Melissa, do you have any idea how stupid you've been?! What if Philip had, had an accident while you were away, hmm? What then? If his school had found out, social services would have been called in at the drop of a hat! He would have been taken into care, and you would have been arrested! Did you really want that for Philip?"
"Of course not! But I'm entitled to a break every now and then!" Melissa snapped
"Yes, but you don't just up and leave your child, Melissa! That's not acceptable!" Rachel argued
"Who was I supposed to leave him with? My stupid neighbours? His dead grandparents? His Auntie Rachel who he's never met because she walked out on her family all those years ago? Tell me what I was supposed to do, Rachel!"
Rachel went silent. She was seething with a rage she didn't know she had. If she didn't bite her tongue, she would say something she'd regret.
Melissa misjudged her silence
"My point exactly. You can't, can you? You don't have kids of your own; you don't know what it's like! So don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do!"
Rachel sighed angrily
"I might not be a Mother, Melissa, but I am a Head Teacher. 600 children come into my school every day, most with horrendous home lives. It is parents like you that I deal with on a regular basis! Selfish parents, who don't give a damn about their child or what happens to them! And it's those children who are miserable, who lash out, who come to school and don't want to leave at the end of the day because they don't want to go home to parents who resent them! I know what Philip is going through, I don't have to be a Mother to understand your actions are selfish!"
Eddie had heard the commotion from the kitchen. Rachel very rarely raised her voice, so he knew instantly that Melissa had done or said something to upset her.
He stepped into the living room quietly. He saw the fury flashing in Rachel's eyes as she glared at Melissa.
"You can think what you like, Rachel, I don't care. Are we done here?" Melissa grumbled
"No, we aren't. Let's talk about the fact that you're still married to two different men, whilst being engaged to someone else, with a wedding imminent!" Rachel shot back
Melissa stared at her sister, internally cursing Philip.
Eddie stared at Melissa in disbelief. It didn't surprise him of course, not one bit. But it was still a shock.
"Rach, I can explain" Melissa mumbled
"You'd better! What were you going to do, Mel? Never tell Marcus? Never get divorced and just hope the police wouldn't find out? Make it make sense, Melissa!" Rachel replied abruptly
Melissa sighed
"Look, I just... I didn't mean for things between Marcus and I to progress so fast! I didn't know he was going to propose! It's not like I did it on purpose!"
Rachel rolled her eyes. So many excuses.
"I rushed into my first marriage, and it was a huge mistake. I was embarrassed that it had gone so wrong. I didn't want anyone to find out, so I didn't do anything. Then, I met Philip's Dad and we were really happy, until he walked out on us when Philip was two. He hasn't been in contact since; I don't know where he is! How can I divorce him when I don't know how to get in touch with him?"
She burst into tears in an attempt to make Rachel feel sorry for her. Crocodile tears didn't work on Rachel anymore, especially Melissa's.
When they were growing up, Melissa always managed to get herself out of trouble with their parents, by crying. And her tears often got Rachel in trouble. Especially with their Dad.
"Crying isn't going to fix this, Melissa. You know that! You have to sort this. And you have to tell Marcus" Rachel scolded
"But that'll delay the wedding by months, Rachel! Do you know how long it takes for divorce papers to go through?" Melissa whined
"So what? If you don't fix this, you'll be spending your honeymoon in prison!" Rachel argued
Melissa rolled her eyes
"Listen to me, if you love Marcus, and he loves you, you'll do this. You have to, Mel. You can't run from this" Rachel reasoned
Melissa sighed in defeat
"Fine, I'll do it" she mumbled
"Promise me?" Rachel asked
"I promise" Melissa nodded
"Good. If I hear or find out that you haven't, I will tell Marcus myself. Do you understand me?" Rachel warned
Melissa nodded
"And you are not to abandon Philip like that again. You can't walk out on him whenever you feel like it! You're his Mother, Mel, he needs you. You need to step up and take some responsibility"
"How am I supposed to do that? He won't move to Spain with me, Rachel!" Melissa questioned
"Well, now you're putting the wedding on hold, you won't be moving abroad just yet. You have time to put things right and make an effort with him. In six months, or a year, things could look very different for you both. He'll be almost 17 then and can decide what he wants to do. If he wants to go with you to Spain, that's great. If he wants to stay in England, that's ok too. But make the effort with him now. Make amends, and if you move to Spain alone, you're less likely to have a damaged relationship with him" Rachel advised
"And who's going to look after him if he doesn't come with me?" Melissa questioned
"I will. But you need to make the effort with him now, while you can" Rachel replied
Melissa nodded
"Thanks, Rachel" she smiled
"Don't thank me. Just step up and sort it out. Yeah?"
"I could say the same to you about Eddie and your 'no sex rule' " Melissa retorted with a smirk
Rachel glared at her
"I think it's time you went home, Melissa" Eddie cut in
"Fine, whatever" Melissa shrugged, rolling her eyes
The three of them headed into the hallway. Melissa shouted Philip, who came down just before the taxi arrived.
Melissa refused to hug Rachel, or Eddie. In fact, she dragged Philip out onto the doorstep.
Philip turned to Rachel
"Thanks, for uhm- you know" he mumbled
Rachel nodded at him
She grabbed a post it note and pen off the side, scribbling down her phone number. She passed it to Philip.
"If you need anything, call me, ok?" She said, smiling
Philip nodded
"Come on, Philip! I haven't got all night!" Melissa grumbled
Philip said goodbye, following his Mum out to the taxi.
"Bye, you two! Don't get into too much trouble... oh wait, you won't with 'Little Miss Perfect' over there!" Melissa shouted
Rachel scoffed as the taxi drove away
They headed inside, Eddie closing the front door behind them.
Rachel groaned, leaning her head against the wall.
"Well... that was eventful" Eddie chuckled
"Understatement of the year" Rachel sighed
Eddie could tell she was upset, even though she was trying to hide it.
He pulled her into his embrace, catching her lips with his own. That action alone was a small comfort to her. But it wasn't enough to make her feel better, to calm her racing mind.
"I'm going for a bath, and then I'm going to bed" she told him, wriggling out of his embrace
"Ok. I'll be up in a bit" he nodded, kissing her forehead
She walked up the stairs, leaving Eddie to clean up the kitchen and living room. Eddie hoped Rachel would talk to him once she'd had some space and time on her own to process the evening.