Champagne bottle in hand, Eddie and Rachel arrived at the house, stepping into the warm hallway. Rachel turned on the lights before taking off her shoes.

The house was oddly quiet.

Was Philip still in his room?

"So, champagne, Miss Mason?" Eddie suggested, waving the bottle around with a cheeky grin

Rachel smiled

"In a minute, I'm just going to check on Philip" she told him

Eddie sighed

"Rach, he's fine! We need to give him some breathing space" he reasoned

"I know, and we have. We've been gone over an hour. That's more than enough time, don't you think?" She argued, walking up the stairs

Eddie huffed. Even though he didn't agree, there was no point arguing with her. She was going to check on him anyway.

She climbed the final few stairs to the attic room, knocking gently on the door. When there was no answer, she knocked again.

"Philip? It's only me. Look, I know you've had a rough day, but... can we talk?"

There was no response

She sighed heavily.

"Alright Philip, I understand. You need some space. Just... come down to the living room when you're ready to talk, ok?"

She headed back down the stairs, completely unaware that she had just been reasoning with an empty room.

She went into the kitchen where Eddie was pouring out the champagne into two glasses. He looked up at her with a smile, handing her a glass.

"Any luck?" He asked

"No. He didn't even shout at me to go away" she sighed

"Wow, that's..., interesting behaviour for a teenager! Are you sure he was in there?" he joked

"Of course he was... he can't have gone anywhere. He doesn't know this area like we do. And besides, we left the front door unlocked when we left, and it was unlocked when we came back" she pointed out

Eddie nodded. She knew she was trying to reassure herself, rather than him.

"Now, Mr Lawson, are we going to sit here and talk about Philip all night? Or are we actually going to drink our champagne?" She added, smiling

Eddie chuckled, clearing his throat.

"To Stuart Hordley's arrest, may he never be released!" Eddie toasted, holding his glass up

They clinked their glasses together

"And to you, Rach" he added

"Me?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow sceptically

Eddie nodded

"Yes, you! You're the bravest woman I know, and I love you"

Rachel blushed, a smile lighting up her face as he clinked his glass against hers.

"Well, if we're making a toast to me, then we have to make a toast to you as well!" She giggled

She cleared her throat, raising her glass again.

"To Eddie Lawson, the kindest and most handsome man I know"

"Handsome, eh?" He whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist

"Mhm" she hummed, leaning up to kiss him

Their lips met briefly and, oh, it felt so perfect.

"I love you" she whispered

Eddie grinned sheepishly

"I love you too"

"Now... how about I order pizza for dinner?" He suggested

Rachel nodded

"I'll go and see if Philip wants anything" he decided

He headed up to the attic room, knocking on the door loudly. There was no response, again.

"Philip? Come on mate; let's sort this out, yeah? We're ordering pizza, why don't you come and choose what you want?" He reasoned

Eddie sighed. This wasn't even typical teenage boy behaviour. It was just petty and immature. Eddie had expected better of him.

Instead of walking away and giving up, he opened the door, stepping into the room.

"Philip, enough now! Let's talk about,"

He paused, his eyes scanning the room. It was empty, no sign of Philip anywhere. Eddie groaned, closing the door and heading back downstairs.

"Everything ok?" Rachel asked as he arrived in the hallway

"Uhm... Rach? I don't want you to panic, but,"

Rachel groaned at that. She hated when he started a sentence like that, because all it did was make her panic!

"Philip isn't in his room" he explained

Rachel frowned. Had the champagne gone to his head?

"No, he must be. Where else would he be?" She questioned

"I don't know, Rach. But he's not in his room" he shrugged

Rachel immediately started to panic. Eddie's lack of panic irritated her.

She pulled out her phone, dialling Philip's number.

"What are you doing?" He asked

"Calling him! We can't just stand here, Eddie, we need to find him!" Rachel huffed

The call went straight to voicemail. She groaned in frustration, putting a hand to her head as she paced up and down nervously. Where was he? Why hadn't he told her he was going out? Even if he'd just texted her to let her know, she wouldn't have minded.

Eddie knew she was jumping to conclusions, thinking the worst. He was a little concerned of course. But the rational side of his brain was telling him there was a sensible explanation. It was unlikely he'd run away. He'd probably just gone for a walk, wanting some breathing space. Eddie used to do it when he was a teenager. Sure, it scared his parents when he just went AWOL without a word, and he often got grounded when he returned. But it was worth it to clear his head. Eddie had a feeling Philip would be grounded for life when he got back here.

"It'll be ok, Rach" he reassured

Rachel glared at him, dialling Philip's number again.

"Hi, this is Philip. Leave a message"

Rachel sighed, pacing even faster

"He'll turn up, Rach, it's alright" Eddie sighed, grabbing her arms to stop her from moving

She pushed him off.

"No, it's not, Eddie! We're his legal guardians now! It's our responsibility to know where he is at all times! It's our duty to keep him safe!" She snapped

She rested her head in her hands.

"Rach, come on. He's probably just gone for a walk to get some air and to clear his head. Don't tell me you never stormed out of your house and disappeared for hours on end and scared the life out of your parents?" He argued

Rachel shot him a glare. He immediately realised he'd been insensitive.

"Of course I did! The difference was, my Dad didn't care if I lived or died!" She retorted, tears filling up in her eyes

Eddie sighed, automatically feeling guilty.

"Rach, I'm sorry. I didn't think"

"It's fine" she mumbled

"No, it's not. Come here"

He pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She melted into him, her heart rate instantly calming to a steady pace. She felt so out of her depth with all of this. She was used to the pupils at school and looking after them. But having a teenage nephew of your own to look after was completely different.

Were they doing the right thing, looking after Philip in Melissa's absence?

The alternative was to hand him over to social services, and they would put him in a foster home. And she refused to do that. It was cruel. But he wasn't happy here either. So what were they supposed to do?

Eddie kissed her forehead softly, pulling her from her thoughts. The gesture made her doubts melt away.

"Look, let's give it a few hours, yeah? If he's not back by eleven o'clock, then we can panic, ok?"

Rachel nodded reluctantly

"Come on, I'll order us some pizza, and we'll put a movie on, ok?" He suggested

"Ok" Rachel agreed

He guided her into the living room, sitting her down on the sofa. She glanced at the clock. It was only 6:45pm.

It was going to be a long night...