"Lover's tiff, Lawson?" Steph teased as he walked over to the staff's table
"Shut it, Steph! Haven't you and Grantly done enough damage tonight?" Eddie snapped
"Ey! It wasn't me insulting the Headmistress! That was all him! Tom was just as bad too!" She argued, pointing and Grantly
"I don't care! You're both as bad as each other! Do you really think Rachel deserved that after everything she's been through recently?" Eddie shot back, looking at Steph more than Grantly
Steph immediately looked guilty. They had just been having a laugh, but she knew they'd taken it too far. Of course Rachel didn't deserve to be treated or spoken to like that.
"You're right I'm sorry Eddie, Grantly is too" she replied
Eddie sighed, looking at Grantly who didn't look the least bit remorseful.
"It's not me you need to apologize to. Grantly, I expect you to give a full apology to Rachel in the morning, or we'll have to re-consider your position at Waterloo Road, do you understand me? I don't tolerate verbal abuse toward other members of staff"
Grantly nodded silently
Satisfied, Eddie went up to the bar and ordered himself a beer. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. As he looked around the pub, it seemed his colleagues were oblivious that Rachel had left completely and wasn't coming back. They seemed to have forgotten about the day's events too, their attention now on Grantly and Steph, who were getting ready to perform their version of "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" on the karaoke. He was annoyed with all of them for how they had treated Rachel. He wasn't sitting with them tonight. He planned to have his beer in a quiet corner of the pub, before going home to Rachel.
Even though he felt reassured by Rachel's kiss that they were ok, he couldn't help but worry about her. He didn't know how she was feeling, or what she was thinking. Even though he'd tried, he couldn't read her.
He was sure of his own feelings about the day.
The second he'd seen Rachel running back into the school, his heart had plummeted. It was a torturous 20 minutes of waiting, hoping for her to re-emerge unscathed.
She could've easily been killed, and Eddie would've lost her, for real this time. The relief he felt when he saw her step out of the front doors with a shaken Denzil next to her, had nearly brought him to his knees.
All he'd ever wanted to do was protect Rachel, to shield her from any further harm after everything she had been through. He wished she'd let him. He should have been the one to go back into the school, not her.
Beer in hand, he turned away from the bar, looking for a free table.
That's when he spotted Melissa, Rachel's sister. She was sat in the corner of the pub, alone, sipping a glass of wine.
A lot of things had happened today that had shocked him. Finding out Rachel had a sister was the biggest revelation. He didn't have the highest opinion of her either, she seemed spiteful. And besides, he despised anyone who had hurt Rachel, or had attempted to.
Even so, he owed her a thank you. Had it not been for her, the gun note wouldn't have been found.
With a sigh, he took his beer and walked over to her table. She looked up at him disapprovingly.
"Have you come to tell me to sod off as well?" She snapped
"No. But it would be nice if you could stop stalking your sister" Eddie shot back
Melissa rolled her eyes
"What do you want? I just came here to have a quiet drink; I didn't know Rachel was coming!" She whined
"She's gone home anyway. I came over to say thank you...For handing the note in" he explained, sitting down in the chair opposite her
"It seemed like the right thing to do" she shrugged, taking a sip of her wine
"What's going to happen to that kid?" She asked
"He's been arrested and taken into custody. He won't be back for a long time."
"I still can't believe, Rachel just went after him like that! She didn't even think!" Melissa blurted, almost angrily
"You were there?" Eddie asked, frowning
She nodded
"The Police wouldn't let me leave" she explained
Eddie nodded, that was one of the few things that made sense.
"I just can't believe she'd be so careless!" Melissa huffed
"She really cares about the kids" Eddie shrugged
"And I wouldn't understand, because I'm not a teacher, right?" She questioned
"Right" Eddie nodded
Melissa slumped back in her chair, arms folded like a child would when having a tantrum.
Eddie sighed
"Look, what did you even come here for today? You haven't spoken for 19 years, and suddenly you just turn up out of the blue like nothing happened? What the hell were you thinking?"
"I got a call from the hospital a couple of months ago. They told me she'd been attacked" she explained, sighing heavily
"So why leave it till now? When you got the call in July?" Eddie questioned sceptically
"I was abroad! I only got back last week! A doctor had left a message on my answer machine. If I could have been there, I would have, in an instant!" Melissa snapped defensively
Eddie rolled his eyes. He wasn't buying the 'Sympathetic Sister' act.
"You're going to have to be a lot more convincing than that" he huffed
Mel sighed
"Look, I feel guilty that I wasn't there for her when she needed me. I really do. To be honest, after everything, I never expected to see or hear from her again. And I was ok with that. But now..."
She paused, averting her gaze. Eddie frowned at her.
"But, what?" He questioned impatiently
"I'm getting married, to this amazing man. And it's put into perspective for me how important family is. I want to make up with my sister, I want her to be at my wedding and I want to put things right with her. I know it won't be easy, but I want to try" she admitted
"To be honest, I'm surprised she hasn't told you what happened between us already" she added with a heavy sigh
"Rachel's not the kind to throw someone under the bus. But whatever you did, you really hurt her. I don't want to hear the details from you; Rachel will tell me when she's ready. But I do know that you really hurt her"
"I know I hurt her, I'm not stupid. But how do I put it right?" She questioned
"Give her time" Eddie replied simply
Mel nodded
"I just can't get it out of my head, her being attacked like that and having no one to be there for her" she sighed sadly
"She wasn't on her own, I was with her the whole time" Eddie told her
"You were?"
Eddie nodded
Melissa breathed a sigh of relief
"So you know what happened?" She asked
Eddie nodded tentatively
"What happened? Please, I need to know" she pleaded
Eddie sighed.
He told her most of the story, skirting around some of the details he knew Rachel wouldn't want Melissa to know, like the miscarriage.
Melissa listened, her heart threatening to break as Eddie told her what her sister had been through. It was worse than she expected.
"My god" she breathed once Eddie had finished talking
Eddie sipped his beer quietly, holding back tears.
"So, this Stuart Hordley, where is he now?" She asked after a while
"Rotting in jail and awaiting trial" Eddie said simply, his voice devoid of emotion
Melissa burst into tears. Eddie immediately felt uncomfortable.
"I should have been there for her!" She sobbed
"You're here now" Eddie pointed out
"Yes, and it's too late! She wants nothing to do with me, and I don't blame her at all! The damage is done. I never should have come to see her" she rambled
Eddie sighed. He couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for Melissa. She'd come here after all these years, wanting to put things right, and it had blown up in her face. He didn't condone whatever it was she'd done to hurt Rachel, but it seemed that she really did want to make things right.
"Look, I can't say I approve of the way you've treated Rachel in the past, or how you showed up here today. But I'll talk to her and see what I can do, ok?"
Melissa stared at him hopefully
"Thank you!" She smiled
"I'm not making any promises, but I'll do my best. But if she wants nothing to do with you, you back off. Do you understand?"
She nodded
"I really appreciate this, Eddie. I'm glad she has you. You seem to really care about her. She hasn't had someone like that in her life before. She's lucky"
Eddie nodded, not really knowing what to say.
He looked at his watch, an hour had gone by. Rachel would be home by now. He needed to be with her.
"I'll be going now" he announced, placing his empty glass on the table
"Of course. Will you give this to Rachel?" She requested, handing him a piece of paper
"It's my phone number. In case she does change her mind" she explained
Eddie took it from her with a nod, walking away.
He left the pub, getting into his car, driving toward home where Rachel was waiting.