Two weeks later...
It was 6AM. Rachel was rushing around, making toast and coffee whilst trying to finish off some emails.
Eddie was watching her race up and down the kitchen frantically. She'd been like this since he'd got up and come into the kitchen thirty minutes ago. She was making him dizzy. He'd offered to help, but she'd refused, continuing to pace up and down, moving things and mumbling to herself.
He couldn't take it anymore, it was driving him mad!
"Rach, stop!" He ordered, sitting her down at the kitchen table
She eyed him nervously, her body twitching and desperate to move.
Eddie knew she was only like this when she was worried or stressed about something. And it was stressing him out, not knowing what she was stressed about.
She was breathing erratically now, which only made Eddie more concerned. He crouched down beside her calmly, tilting her chin with one hand. She stared at him tearfully.
"Hey, breathe" Eddie instructed
She nodded, breathing deeply in and out until her breathing returned to a normal rhythm again. Eddie sighed in relief.
He took her hands into his own, squeezing them gently.
"Now, tell me what's stressing you out so much" he requested
Rachel sighed shakily
"DI Wolfe left a voicemail on my phone last night. I didn't check my phone until this morning. He wants us... me... to come into the station this afternoon" she explained
Eddie frowned
"What for?" He asked
Rachel shrugged
"He didn't say"
"Ok, well, we'll go together after school and see what he has to say, ok?" Eddie suggested
"What if they're letting Stuart out? What if there isn't enough evidence to charge him?" She panicked, her breathing becoming erratic again
Eddie sighed painfully. They hadn't heard much at all from the Police since Stuart had been arrested. Both he and Rachel had been starting to worry. But now they were calling Rachel in, Eddie wished they wouldn't be so mysterious about it, because he didn't know whether it was good news or bad news. And he couldn't reassure Rachel it would be ok.
"I don't know what they're going to say, Rach. But I do know one thing; they have more than enough to charge him"
Rachel shook her head
"He probably has a lawyer, Eddie. He won't go down without a fight"
"I know he won't, but the Police will fight harder" he reminded her
"I hope so... if he gets out, Eddie... I don't know what I'd do" she whispered tearfully
Eddie wrapped her tightly in his arms.
"Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together, ok?" He reassured, wiping her tears with his thumb
She nodded weakly
"I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous" she sighed
"I know love, I know. But I'm here for you, yeah?"
She nodded
"It's not helping with it being Philip's first day either" she admitted
Eddie nodded. Even though she'd secured a place for Philip at Waterloo Road easily, she'd been stressing about it. She wanted him to be settled as much as possible.
A few days after the fight between Rachel and Melissa, Eddie and Rachel had taken Philip to Melissa's, to pack up his bedroom.
From the second they'd stepped into the house, it appeared that Melissa had upped and left. All of her things had gone, including her passport.
Philip's bedroom had been left untouched. But it didn't seem like Melissa was coming back. Eddie and Rachel weren't surprised one bit.
Philip, on the other hand, had taken it hard. He'd shut down completely, keeping out of Rachel and Eddie's way.
When he wasn't at school, he'd lock himself away in his room. Rachel and Eddie had been unsuccessful in coaxing him out, apart from at dinner time. But even then, the silence around the table was stifling.
Of course Rachel hadn't expected any of this to be easy. This was a huge change for Philip. A good one, but a difficult one all the same.
Rachel was adjusting too. She was used to working with and being around teenagers. But having one living under your own roof was challenging. Thankfully, Eddie was the calm one out of the two of them and took over when it got too much. It was hard to know when to just be an Aunt to Philip, and when to play a motherly role.
"He'll be alright, Rach. We just have to let him find his feet" Eddie reassured, pulling her from her thoughts
"I know" she nodded
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs told them that Philip was awake. He looked incredibly smart in his new uniform when he walked into the kitchen.
"Morning" he mumbled
"Morning, mate. Are you ready?" Eddie greeted
"Just about" Philip nodded nervously
"You'll be fine. Remember, any problems, come straight to me, ok?" Rachel reminded
Philip nodded
"Right, come on, let's get going" Rachel decided, grabbing her bag
They all headed outside and into Eddie's car, driving to Waterloo Road.
...
It was already 8AM when Eddie pulled into the car park, meaning the kids were starting to pile in.
Philip got out of the car nervously. He really didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be at Forest Mount either. If he had the choice, he'd not be at school at all. He hated being the new boy.
Rachel spotted Bolton as he walked passed her. An idea popped into her head.
"Bolton?" She called after him
He turned around slowly, wondering what he was in trouble for now.
"Bolton can you do me a favour?" She requested
"I guess" he shrugged
Rachel pulled Philip forwards so he was stood next to her.
"This is Philip. He's my nephew. It's his first day. You're in all of his classes, so can you show him around for the day and keep an eye on him for me?"
Bolton nodded hesitantly. He didn't want to, but if it kept Miss Mason off his back, he was all for it.
Rachel sighed silently in relief
"Great, I'll leave you two to it" she decided
"Bye" Philip mumbled, walking off with Bolton
"Now it's just us" Rachel smiled, turning to Eddie
He took her hand into his own as they climbed the steps into the school building.
...
Bolton, who had now been joined by Paul, walked along the corridor. Philip trailed along slowly behind them.
As they walked, Earl passed them. He smirked as Bolton froze. He still had complete power over him, Paul too.
"Hey lads" he grinned smugly
"Sorry Earl, we're in a rush" Paul mumbled
"Oh yeah, I understand. You need to shoot off to registration, right?" Earl taunted
Bolton glared at him
"Don't worry, I get it. My teacher would go off with a bang if I was late" Earl shrugged
"Whatever man" Bolton snapped, dragging Paul away
Philip followed quietly behind them
"That kid is crazy" Paul whispered
"You're telling me!" Bolton huffed
Bolton turned around, finding Philip trailing slowly behind them. He was getting fed up of having a shadow.
"Come on, man! We're supposed to show you to your form room!" He snapped
Philip continued to walk slowly behind them.
"This guy is on something, I'm telling you!" Bolton whispered to Paul
"Hurry up, you div!" Paul growled
Philip stopped, snorting quietly. He'd been called much worse than that before.
" 'Div', I'll look that up in the dictionary!" He retorted
Paul and Bolton turned around angrily
"Look, we ain't got to be your buddies, alright? You can find your form room yourself!" Bolton huffed
"You're supposed to show me around all day" Philip argued as the two boys turned their backs
"Were you born annoying?" Paul snapped, turning on his heel
Philip moved to pull out his phone. Bolton snatched it out of his hand.
"No phones in school, mate"
"Oi! Give it back!" Philip demanded
Bolton smirked
"I'll Box you for it" he challenged, throwing mock punches into the air
"Give it back! I'm warning you!" Philip huffed
Bolton and Paul sniggered
"You're warning me? As if, mate!" Bolton smirked
"I ain't scared of you! Give it here!" Philip demanded, grabbing his phone from Bolton
Bolton stopped, glaring at Philip
"Ah yeah, looks like you fit all the stereotypes of a boxer, don't you? All you need now is a flat nose!" Philip taunted
Bolton lunged at Philip, pushing him into the boy's toilets. Paul's cackles echoed through the hall as Bolton pushed Philip into the cubicle.
"Get off me!" Philip cried as Bolton pushed him into the toilet
Bolton sniggered, ripping off Philip's tie, using it to tie his arms to the pipes. He then grabbed his boxing gloves and helmet, shoving them onto Philip before leaving. Philip could hear them laughing all the way down the corridor.
...
Meanwhile, in Rachel's office, Rachel, Eddie and Tom had sat down together for a quick debrief.
As Head of Pastoral Care, it was Tom's job to inform Eddie and Rachel of any problems or concerns. And it was Rachel and Eddie's job to inform Tom of the same thing. Today they were meeting to discuss Philip, as it was his first day.
Tom Clarkson was usually a punctual, neat and optimistic colleague. He always showed up raring to go. Rachel had always admired his 'Get up and go' attitude. He was great with the kids and his role as Head of Pastoral Care suited him perfectly.
Today, however, Tom was the opposite of his usual self.
He entered Rachel's office a few minutes late (which Rachel and Eddie weren't bothered by), with a scowl on his face. His suit and tie were crumpled, and his hair was dishevelled and messy. Dark circles shadowed his eyes. Both Eddie and Rachel thought he looked exhausted.
"Sorry I'm late, we got stuck in traffic" he grumbled, joining Eddie and Rachel at the table
"That's ok" Rachel responded, smiling reassuringly
"Coffee, Tom?" Eddie offered, standing up
"Please" Tom nodded
Once Eddie had made Tom, Rachel and himself another drink, they all sat down at the table again. The room suddenly filled with silence. Tom was massaging his temples and rubbing his eyes.
"Alright, well, we've got my nephew, Philip, joining us today. He's used to being the new kid, so he should be ok. But if you could keep an eye out for him that would be great, Tom" Rachel announced, breaking the silence
Tom nodded
"We've put him in a nice form and made sure he's away from bad influences, like Earl Kelly" Eddie continued
Tom scoffed at that
"I wish I could keep away from all the flamin Kelly's" he grumbled
Rachel sighed
"Well, just continue to keep them under close scrutiny and flag up any problems" she suggested, ignoring Tom's evident anger and frustration
"Are they getting special treatment now?" Tom snapped
Rachel heard the venom and disgust in his tone that time. She glanced at Eddie, who was frowning. This wasn't like Tom at all.
"Tom? Are you ok?" Eddie asked
"Nothing that a good night's kip wouldn't put right! You try living next to these people!" Tom huffed
Rachel sighed. She'd completely forgotten that the Kelly Family were Tom's new neighbours. They couldn't be that bad though, surely?
"The Kelly's are hard work, Tom. But we have a duty of care. This is what we do, mate, you know the drill" Eddie reasoned
Tom rolled his eyes, sipping his coffee. Describing the Kelly's as 'hard work' was an understatement. They were a nightmare!
"Are we done?" He grumbled
Rachel nodded
Tom stormed out, causing Rachel to sigh heavily.
"He'll be fine. It'll all calm down with the Kelly Family eventually" Eddie reassured
"It depends on how long 'eventually' is" Rachel sighed
Eddie nodded
"I've got to go, I'm in charge of the cooler for the morning" he told her
He kissed her cheek softly. She blushed, a small smile spreading across her face as he walked away.