A few hours later...
It was 10pm. The party at the Kelly's had come to an abrupt end, thanks to Tom Clarkson storming in from next door, unplugging the stereo that had been blasting out the music. Everyone was leaving, despite Rose Kelly's protests.
Philip was in the living room. He couldn't lie, he felt rather unwell. The room was spinning and blurring in and out of focus. It felt like he was floating in mid-air as he continued to stare at the ceiling. He wasn't sure if he liked the feeling.
There was no denying he was drunk, maybe a little high on something too. Philip had lost count of the amount of drinks he'd had. He wasn't sure if he liked the feeling of being completely and utterly intoxicated. His problems seemed a million miles away, which he liked. But the dizziness and everything else, he wasn't so sure about.
He'd had a great night though. He'd made some friends, danced with a few girls that were too drunk to notice he was well out of their league. It was the first time he felt like he belonged somewhere.
"You alright, mate?" Earl asked, standing in front of him
"Yeah" Philip nodded
"Come on, I'll get you in a taxi" Earl decided, helping him up off the sofa
"Great party, mate. Thanks for inviting me" Philip slurred
Earl smirked
"No worries, mate"
Earl put Philip into a taxi, smirking as Philip slurred his Aunt's address to the driver
"See ya mate" Earl grinned, closing the car door
He joined Maxine in the doorway, wrapping his arm around her waist. She giggled, watching the taxi drive away.
"Mason is gonna kill him when he gets home!" She exclaimed
Earl shrugged
"Maybe I should spike her drink too. Might make her... less uptight"
Maxine laughed, pulling him into the house.
...
Back at Eddie and Rachel's, the pizza had been eaten and the movie had been watched. They were lying contentedly in each other's arms on the sofa.
Eddie was massaging the knots out of Rachel's shoulders. To her surprise, he was very good at it! She'd completely melted into his embrace, sighing in relief as she felt each muscle relax and untangle itself. Eddie smiled, relieved that she was enjoying it and wasn't praying for it to be over! He'd wanted to do this for her so many times before, but he hadn't wanted to hurt her or make her feel uncomfortable. Every time he'd absentmindedly placed his hands on her shoulders the last few weeks, he'd felt the large knots, not that he was surprised they were there; she was and had been so stressed. So, when he'd asked tonight to do this for her, and she'd said yes, he'd jumped at the chance.
Suddenly, she moved, shifting carefully. Eddie took his hands away.
"Do you want me to stop?" He asked
"No, but I don't think I have any knots left!" She giggled
It was true. She felt like a soft boiled egg!
"Is that your way of saying you enjoyed it?" he questioned
"Maybe" she shrugged, smiling
"I do feel better, thank you" she added
"My pleasure" he smirked, kissing her cheek gently
She turned to face him, catching her lips with his as they melted into a passionate kiss.
They pulled apart for breath, Rachel smiling at Eddie in a way that made his heart melt. God, he loved her.
His lips slowly moved to her neck, softly kissing the skin. Rachel sighed contentedly as a tingling sensation ran up and down her arms. Eddie continued to place butterfly kisses on her neck.
A knock on the door caused them to spring apart.
Rachel ran to the door, hoping it was Philip returning from wherever he'd been.
Her heart flooded with relief when she saw him standing in the doorway.
"Philip! Where have you been?!" She exclaimed
He stumbled passed her awkwardly, ignoring her question. His lack of balance concerned her. She walked over to him slowly, studying him carefully.
She didn't have to get too close to him to be able to smell the alcohol on his breath. It was overpowering, even from a distance.
Eddie, who was stood in the doorway of the living room, could smell it too. It wasn't just on his breath; it had clung to his clothes too. He stank of it.
Rachel sighed painfully
"How much have you had to drink, Philip?" She asked him
"None of your business!" He slurred, turning away from her
Rachel wasn't giving in. She grabbed his arm, turning him back around to face her.
That was when she noticed his enlarged pupils, the dazed look on his face. His eyes were glazed over.
He wasn't just drunk.
He was high.
"Philip, answer me! How much have you had to drink?" She demanded
"Too much" he mumbled, giggling hysterically
Rachel huffed, looking to Eddie for help.
He stepped forward, putting an arm around Philip.
"Come on, mate. Let's get you up to bed"
"No, get off me!" Philip snapped, pushing Eddie off him
"Philip!" Rachel scolded
"What?" Philip snarled
Before she could even react, Philip vomited all over her. She groaned, wrinkling her nose at the smell. Eddie pulled him away.
"Are you ok?" He asked her
She nodded
"I'll take him upstairs to bed, you clean yourself up. We'll deal with consequences in the morning" Eddie told her
Rachel nodded again, dashing into the kitchen as Eddie took Philip upstairs.
She grabbed a wash cloth, wiping the vomit off her top until there was only a stain left. She then grabbed a clean, freshly ironed t-shirt from the basket, putting it on before throwing the dirty one in the wash.
It wasn't the first time a drunken teenager had vomited all over her. On her first day at Waterloo Road, Mika Grainger had consumed a full bottle of vodka and sicked it back up on her. But Philip was 15, not 18 like Mika. And Rachel was Philip's Aunt and Guardian, meaning that she was in charge of Philip's punishment for this. She wanted to know where he'd got the alcohol from in the first place!
Ten minutes later, Eddie came back downstairs.
"Are you alright?" He asked
Rachel nodded
"I'm fine. Is Philip ok?"
"He's in bed. I've put a bin next to his bed in case he's sick again" he explained
"I'll go and see him" she decided
She climbed the stairs to the attic room, opening Philip's bedroom door.
As Eddie had said, he was in bed. He stared at Rachel inquisitively, his pupils still heavily dilated. The room now stank of alcohol.
She sat on the bed beside him, resisting the urge to gag at the smell of the alcohol on Philip's breath.
"Are you going to tell me where you went?" She asked calmly
"A party" Philip shrugged
"What party?" she questioned
"Does it matter?" He snapped, rolling his eyes
"Yes, Philip! It does matter! You shouldn't have been drinking and taking drugs! You're fifteen!" Rachel exclaimed angrily
"Don't tell me you didn't drink when you were my age!" He huffed
She paused. Of course she had.
"That's not the point, Philip! You shouldn't be drinking, let alone taking drugs! It's illegal, Philip!" She argued
"You would know. You've done plenty of illegal things in your time!" He shot back
Eddie walked in at that moment
"Oi! That's enough!" He scolded
Rachel sighed. She was used to snarky comments like that now.
She stood up with a heavy sigh
"I think you should go to sleep. We'll discuss consequences in the morning" she huffed
"So it's one rule for me, and another for you is it?" Philip spat
"I'm trying to keep you SAFE, Philip! It's my job!" Rachel retorted
"Yeah? Well, find yourself another job and stop smothering me!" Philip grumbled
Eddie pulled Rachel out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"He'll be alright in the morning, Rach. Just let him sleep now" he reassured
"Whatever" she mumbled, storming down the stairs
Eddie sighed, giving her a minute before following her downstairs and into the kitchen.
She started to wash the dishes, furiously scrubbing at them. Eddie took the plate out of her hand and turned the tap off. She wasn't supposed to get the cast on her wrist wet. She knew that, but it didn't stop her glaring at him. He placed a hand on the small of her back.
"Do you think I'm smothering him?" She asked
"Not really. You have to let him make his own mistakes. But there has to be consequences for some actions, Rach" he shrugged, rubbing his hands up and down her arms
She sighed
"We have to nip this in the bud with him, Eddie. Now. I wouldn't have minded so much if he'd just had alcohol. But drugs? No, that's not happening"
"I know, and I agree with you... why don't you let me talk to him in the morning, yeah?" He suggested
She nodded
"Come on, let's go to bed" he decided, offering her his hand
She took it, following him upstairs to their bedroom.
"I need to have a shower. I feel gross after Philip was sick on me" she huffed, closing the bedroom door behind them
"Well, it's good practice for the future I guess" he chuckled
Rachel giggled. He wasn't wrong.
"Baby sick is different to vomit from a drunk teenager" she pointed out
"Both are equally as gross though, Rach" he argued
Rachel smiled, heading into the ensuite.