It was 6:30AM when Philip came down the stairs. Rachel had already been up for an hour and was completing some work on her laptop. She smiled at Philip when he entered the kitchen.
"Morning, Philip" she greeted
"Hi" he mumbled, smiling politely
"Did you sleep ok?" She asked
He nodded
"Can I make you some toast? Or a drink?" She offered
"No, I'm ok thanks"
Eddie entered the kitchen, fully dressed and yawning. He walked over to Rachel, wrapping his arms around her waist. She giggled.
"Morning, Rach" he smiled, kissing her cheek
"Coffee?" She offered, wriggling out of his embrace and switching the kettle on
"Yes please" he nodded, putting some bread in the toaster
"Philip? Are you sure you don't want anything?" Rachel checked
"No thanks, I've got to leave in a minute to get the bus to school" he confirmed
"Don't be daft! We'll drop you off!" Eddie insisted
"No, really, I don't want to impose" he argued
"Philip you're not imposing. We can drop you off, it's no problem" Rachel reassured
He nodded
"Thanks"
"But you're having some breakfast first" Rachel decided, putting two more slices of bread in the toaster
Philip didn't object this time. He sat at the table, Rachel passing him a glass of water.
"Have you heard anything from your Mum yet, Phil?" Eddie asked, buttering the toast
Philip shook his head. He'd had a blissful, worry free sleep last night, with no contact from his Mother whatsoever. It was the first good night's sleep he'd had in months.
"Don't worry Philip, I've asked her to come by the school this afternoon. We're going to sort this out" Rachel reassured, handing him the toast Eddie had just made
Philip nodded quietly. It wouldn't make a difference. His Mother didn't want him. She was going to go to Spain and leave him behind whether he liked it or not. He was better off without her, he knew that now.
At 7:30AM, Rachel, Eddie and Philip left the house and clambered into Eddie's car, making the 15 minute journey to Forest Mount Secondary School. When they got there, Philip bid them goodbye, walking through the school gates. Rachel couldn't help but notice how miserable he looked.
"He'll be fine, Rach. We'll sort it" Eddie reassured, squeezing her hand gently
Rachel nodded
They pulled out of the school, driving in the direction of Waterloo Road.
...
The morning had flown by in a blur. Before Rachel knew it, it was lunchtime and Eddie was stood in front of her with two lots of sandwiches and a big grin on his face that Rachel couldn't help but smile at.
"I thought we were eating in the canteen?" She questioned
"We were, but if Philip is staying with us again tonight, we won't get much time together. So I thought we could have lunch here" he shrugged, passing her a chicken and bacon sandwich
Rachel was about to respond, when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" She called
The door opened, revealing Bridget. Rachel smiled at her.
"I've got a visitor here to see you, Miss Mason" she explained
"I'm not a visitor, I'm her sister!" Melissa called from behind her
Rachel stood up, stepping out of the office to greet a scowling Melissa.
"Come in" she instructed
Melissa strode in ahead of her, glaring at Eddie. Rachel shut the door behind her.
"Right, sit down. Let's sort this out" Rachel sighed, pushing Melissa into a chair
"Philip has probably told you a huge pack of lies!" Melissa huffed
"Well, I'll be the judge of that" Rachel snapped
Melissa rolled her eyes
"Go on, explain yourself" Rachel instructed, folding her arms
"Why is he here? This is none of his business!" Melissa questioned, glaring at Eddie again
"Yes, it is, Melissa. Eddie lives with me; he's my partner and boyfriend. If I wish to involve him in this, I will!" Rachel responded firmly
Melissa scoffed
"Oh please, Rach! Boyfriend? You haven't even had sex yet!"
"I don't care, Mel! He's staying!" Rachel snapped
Melissa huffed angrily, pouting
Rachel sat down in her desk chair, trying to stay calm.
"What happened between you and Philip last night?" She asked
"Nothing" Melissa mumbled
"Ok... so why did Philip turn up on mine and Eddie's doorstep, telling us you'd kicked him out?"
Melissa sighed
"Look, he was being a brat and I'd had enough of him!" she shrugged
"So you did kick him out?" Eddie cut in
"Stay out of this! It's got nothing to do with you!" Melissa spat, glaring at him
"Answer the question, Melissa!" Rachel snapped
Melissa scoffed
"Fine, yes, I kicked him out! Big deal!" She huffed
Rachel stared at her in disbelief.
"Big deal?! Melissa, he didn't have anywhere to go!"
"Yes he did, that's why he came to you" Melissa argued
"Only because we'd met him a few hours before! Where would he have gone if he hadn't? Anything could have happened to him! Do I have to remind you again? He's FIFTEEN!" Rachel pointed out
"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Melissa mumbled, rolling her eyes
"No, Melissa! This isn't acceptable! We have a right to report you to social services! The only reason I won't is because it will make things worse for Philip! You owe your son an apology!"
"Fine, I'll apologise! I have had a lot on my plate you know? I had to tell Marcus last night that I'm still married, Philip was being impossible and I'd just had enough!" Melissa huffed angrily
"I don't want your excuses Melissa! You're going to apologise to Philip and put it right! And then, you're taking him home! Do you understand me?" Rachel shot back
"Whatever you say, Rachel!" Melissa smiled sarcastically
Rachel rolled her eyes
"So, what now?" Melissa asked impatiently
"You can wait in the staffroom till the end of the day, and then we'll go and get Philip" Rachel told her
"Why can't I stay in here?" Melissa questioned
"Eddie and I have work to do" Rachel explained simply
"Your job always comes before everything else, doesn't it?" Melissa scoffed
"In this case, yes. If you're going to treat your son like second best, I'll treat you the same way"
Melissa rolled her eyes, watching as Rachel stepped outside to talk to Bridget.
"Bridget, could you take Melissa to the staffroom please?" Rachel requested
Bridget nodded, escorting Melissa out of the office.
Rachel sighed in relief, sitting down on the couch.
"That sister of yours is a nightmare!" Eddie commented with a chuckle
"That's an understatement" Rachel huffed
"It'll be ok" he reassured, placing his hand on top of hers
Rachel nodded
The bell rang, signalling the start of afternoon classes. Eddie groaned.
"No rest for the wicked" he sighed, kissing her cheek softly
Rachel giggled
"See you later" he smiled, heading back to his classroom
