Three days had passed since Rachel's attack, and Eddie was only becoming more concerned. He wanted to help in any way he could, but Rachel kept shutting him out at every turn.

They were talking of course, but Eddie would say it was more small talk, than actual conversation. It was an easy way to fill the silence.

Despite trying to talk to her, making every effort to get a conversation going, Rachel was withdrawing and shutting down emotionally. She didn't want to eat, no matter what Eddie tried. The most she'd done with food was push at some toast around her plate. For the last few days, the most she'd done was lie in bed, not sleeping or resting, but staring at the ceiling blankly for hours on end.

Rachel thought Eddie didn't hear her sob in bed late at night. She thought he was oblivious to the tear stains on her cheeks when he went to check on her. She thought he didn't notice when she flinched at his touch, or jumped at every little noise.

But he noticed it all.

Eddie didn't know what to do or how to help. And he desperately wanted to. Rachel was struggling. He'd be worried if she wasn't after what she'd been through. But, he couldn't read her like he usually could. He didn't know what she was thinking or feeling.

How could he help when she was a closed book?

The Doctor had been to visit. Everything was heading in the right direction toward recovery; physically anyway. But she wasn't in the clear just yet. She was still in a lot of pain, and standing and walking on her own was a challenge.

The Doctor had tried to persuade her to come back to the Hospital so they could monitor her. As Eddie had expected, she'd refused.

This morning, however, they had made a little progress.

With Eddie's help, Rachel had gotten showered and changed into comfortable, loose fitting clothes. Eddie had carried her downstairs to sit in the living room, whilst Eddie fitted the new lock onto her front door. She hadn't been keen on the idea at first, but actually, the small change of scenery made a little difference. The TV helped to drown out her thoughts, keeping the haunting images of Stuart at bay.

Having fitted the lock and tested it out, Eddie went into the kitchen to make a coffee for himself, and a cup of tea for Rachel.

In his many years of Teaching, he'd realised that most Teachers drank as much coffee as he did.

But not Rachel, she hated coffee.

He'd learnt that on the day he met her, after making the both of them a coffee. She'd wrinkled her nose at the smell of the coffee and handed the mug back to him. He'd always made her tea since. It was why they both had a separate coffee and tea tray in Rachel's office.

Once he'd made the drinks, he carried them into the living room. Rachel accepted the tea gratefully, her gaze quickly turning back to the TV.

"Thank you for fitting the new lock on the door" she said, sipping her tea

"No problem" Eddie smiled

He sat down on the sofa beside her. He pretended not to notice Rachel had shuffled as far into the corner of the sofa as she could.

"Why don't you try and eat something? I can make you some toast?" Eddie suggested hopefully

Rachel shook her head

"I'm not hungry, Eddie" she sighed

Eddie nodded, staring into his coffee mug

A loud knock on the front door made them both jump. Eddie felt Rachel trembling next to him, her breath starting to quicken rapidly.

"Stay here, it's alright" Eddie reassured

He stepped out of the living room, walking over to the front door, steadying his nerves as he turned the lock. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he saw DI Wolfe and a female Police Officer on the doorstep.

"Hi, Mr Lawson, can we come in?" DI Wolfe greeted

Eddie nodded, standing aside to the let the two officers in.

"This is DI Thompson, she's working on the investigation with me" DI Wolfe announced

Eddie smiled at the female Police Officer, shaking her hand.

"I take it you want to speak to Rachel?" Eddie asked

"Yes, if we could Eddie" DI Wolfe nodded

Eddie sighed

"I really don't think now is a good time. I'm sorry. I know you have a job to do, but she's not in the right frame of mind to answer anyone's questions, let alone questions from the Police" he explained

"We understand, Eddie. All we want to do for now, is sit down and have a general conversation. We won't proceed if she isn't ready" DI Thompson reasoned

Eddie sighed. He didn't want to put Rachel through this, but he had to give it a try. The Police wouldn't leave her alone until they'd tried and seen for themselves that she wasn't ready.

"Alright, but stay behind me. And be gentle with the questions" he ordered

The two officers nodded, following Eddie. He took a deep breath, opening the living room door. Rachel looked up at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation. Her eyes widened in panic when she saw the two Police Officers stood beside him.

"It's alright Rach; this is DI Wolfe and DI Thompson. They've just come for a chat" Eddie explained, sitting down beside her in an attempt to reassure her and keep her calm

Rachel smiled at the two officers weakly, wringing her hands together nervously. Eddie watched as she retracted further into the sofa.

"Hello, Miss Mason. We're sorry to disturb you like this. May we sit down?" DI Thompson asked politely and calmly

Rachel nodded quietly. Not making eye contact with either officer.

The two officers sat down on the opposite sofa.

"As Eddie already said, I'm DI Thompson, and this is my colleague, DI Wolfe. How are you doing?"

"I'm ok, thanks" Rachel mumbled, unconvincingly

"We understand that this is an extremely distressing time for you at the moment, Rachel. But we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about what happened?" DI Thompson asked gently

Rachel shook her head frantically

"Rachel, we know this is hard. But the sooner we can get a statement from you, the sooner we can track down Stuart Hordley and arrest him" DI Wolfe reasoned

Rachel continued to shake her head, her lip trembling uncontrollably as tears welled up in her eyes. Eddie closed his eyes, sighing quietly; he knew it was too soon.

Still, the two officers weren't giving in.

"Why don't we start from the beginning, Rachel? What can you tell us about Stuart Hordley?" DI Thompson questioned

Just the mention of his name made Rachel feel sick. His evil grin pulled itself to the forefront of her mind.

"Rachel? How did you meet Stuart Hordley?" DI Wolfe asked

Her head began to swim. She felt like she was being held underwater, desperately gasping for air.

"I don't want to talk about this" she mumbled shakily

"Rachel, we understand how hard this is," DI Thompson began

Rachel glared at her

"Do you? Really? If you had even the faintest idea of how this felt you wouldn't be pushing me to answer your stupid questions!!" She snapped

Eddie put his hand gently on her arm to try and calm her. She flinched, pulling away from him.

"I know it may feel really insensitive of us to come barging in like this so soon Rachel. But if you help us, we can get the man who did this to you" DI Thompson reasoned softly

"I can't" Rachel whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks

She looked to Eddie desperately, pleading with him to get rid of them.

"Rachel, we just want to help" DI Wolfe added

Eddie saw something change in Rachel at DI Wolfe's words. She was angry.

"No! No you don't! This is just your job! It's what you're paid to do! You don't give a damn about me!" She screamed, her voice shaking with tears

"Eddie please get them out, I don't want to do this!" She added

"Miss Mason, please just talk to us," DI Thompson reasoned again

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She cried

Eddie had seen and heard enough.

"I think that's enough now. You need to leave" Eddie said, trying to keep his anger contained

Defeated, DI Wolfe and DI Thompson stood up, moving toward the living room door.

DI Thompson turned around, looking at the broken woman on the sofa. She had seen so many women go through this exact trauma, and it never got easier.

"This is my phone number, Rachel. You can call me on it anytime if you change your mind, or want to talk" she explained, leaving her card on the coffee table before following her colleague out of the living room

Eddie followed them, shutting the door behind them.

As soon as the door closed, Rachel drew her knees to her chest, resting her head in her arms, her body shaking with sobs.

Eddie walked the officers over to the front door. He was furious with them for putting Rachel through this when he'd told them time and time again that she wasn't ready.

"We're sorry about that, Mr Lawson" DI Wolfe apologised

"I told you she wasn't ready to talk" Eddie responded through gritted teeth

"We know. We just want to help as much as we can" DI Thompson sighed

"And you think pestering her like that, was the best way to handle it, do you?" Eddie snapped

DI Wolfe sighed. He understood Eddie's anger and frustration at the situation.

"I'm sorry Mr Lawson. We pushed her before she was ready. Please give our apologies to Rachel. We'll be in touch with any updates. If Rachel changes her mind about making a statement, you have our contact information"

Eddie nodded, closing the front door after them, locking the bolt into place. He let out a groan of frustration, resting his head against the front door. He wished he hadn't opened the door and let them inside. He regretted not putting his foot down and doubting his own judgment. Rachel hadn't been ready, he'd known that, and he'd still let them in. How was Rachel going to trust him now after that?

As he continued to internally beat himself up, he could hear Rachel sobbing on the other side of the wall. He'd pushed her too far this time.

He walked over to the living room door, knocking gently.

"GO AWAY!" Rachel yelled

"Rach, it's only me" Eddie sighed

When there was no answer, he opened the door, finding her on the sofa, knees drawn up to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. She turned away from him, staring blankly out of the window. He sat at the on the other end of the sofa, watching her.

"I'm so sorry Rach. I shouldn't have let them in" he said eventually

"It's fine" Rachel mumbled, wiping her tears with her hand

"Don't you think talking to someone about this would help?" Eddie questioned

Rachel shook her head

"They don't give a damn, Eddie. It's just their job" she sighed

"They do care Rachel, they want to help" Eddie argued gently

"Why are you so insistent on me talking to the Police, Eddie? I've told you so many times that I don't want to, and you keep bringing it up!" She questioned

Eddie was taken aback by the sudden anger in her voice.

"Because I want to help you!" he exclaimed

Rachel shook her head

"No, no, I don't think that's the reason" she scowled

"What are you talking about Rachel?" he questioned, frowning

"I'm a burden to you Eddie, admit it!" She cried

Eddie stared at her in disbelief

"What? Rachel, have you lost your mind?! I care about you! Why else would I be here?" He argued

"Because you feel sorry for me? I don't know, Eddie! You don't want to be here, so go! I can look after myself, you don't need to force the Police onto me" she spat

"Rachel, no! That's far from what this is about! This is you, trying to shut me out and push me away!" Eddie protested

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!!" She screamed

The words stung. Eddie wanted to believe she didn't mean it. He couldn't help feeling that she did though.

He sighed.

"Look, Rach, if you want me to leave, I will. I'm sorry"

He turned to leave. Rachel felt the guilt rushing over her. This wasn't his fault.

"No, Eddie, wait. I'm sorry. Please stay" she pleaded

Eddie nodded, turning back around. He sat down on the sofa beside her, placing his hand gently on top of hers. He sighed in relief when she didn't flinch or pull away.

"I'm sorry Rach, about all of this. I just can't stand what Stuart has done to you. The thought of him... putting his hands on you, it makes me sick! He doesn't deserve to get away with this" he spoke gently

"I just don't understand how talking about what Stuart did is going to help them to arrest him. It isn't! Eddie, it's his word against mine! He's not stupid, he won't go down for this" Rachel sighed

"He will Rachel, they have forensic evidence. If you just talked about what happened, told the Police everything about the blackmail, they can start building the case against him and he won't stand a chance" Eddie reasoned

"I can't talk about it" she mumbled, her bottom lip trembling again

"Not even to me?"

Rachel shook her head, more tears flowing down her cheeks. Eddie sighed, stroking her hand with his thumb gently.

"Just think about talking to the Police, eh? I know you don't think it, but they want to help, and they will. No one will force you to talk though. I'll support you whatever you decide, Police or no Police" Eddie promised

Rachel nodded, desperate to change the subject

"Can you help me upstairs please? I need to rest"

Eddie nodded, pulling her into his arms. He carried her up the stairs, placing her carefully in bed. She lay back against the pillows, her eyes closing instantly. Eddie took that as a sign that she didn't want to talk anymore.

"I'll be downstairs" he told her, leaving

When she heard the bedroom door close, she opened her eyes, bursting into a fit of sobs. The sounds were muffled by her pillow. The last thing she wanted was Eddie worrying about her. She wanted space, just a few hours to be alone.