Eddie parked in his usual space in the car park of Waterloo Road. It was 7:15AM.

He sat still in his car for a few moments. He was dreading today. Maxine was dead, and it was his job to inform the students and the other staff who didn't know.

How could he?

How could he break such horrible news?

Maybe if Rachel had been by his side, it would have been easier. But she wasn't well enough, and was as grief-stricken as he expected the entire school to be. Even though he was nervous and dreading today, he wasn't going to let Rachel down. It was his job as her Deputy and boyfriend to support her when she needed him. And she needed him more than ever today.

He was ready; he had a plan of action.

First, he planned to contact the LEA to ask them to bring in a school counsellor. That was a priority. The LEA had been informed of the events of last night by the Police. He was sure they would be in touch with Rachel and would be calling a meeting soon.

His next step was to brief the staff. A small handful of them already knew. Tom, Matt and Grantly. The rest, he wasn't sure about. There was Steph of course, but she already knew, and he doubted she would be in today.

Then, at 9AM, he was going to call an assembly and break the news to the students. That was going to be the hardest job of today. He already knew what he was going to say, he didn't need to write a speech. Lessons for today and the rest of the week were cancelled, but the school would remain open for the students who needed someone to talk to. He hoped the LEA would send a counsellor today, but if they didn't, he planned to make sure the staff was there to support.

He was doing the right thing, or he thought so anyway. This is what Rachel would do; this is how she would react. The students and their wellbeing came first, always. Education could come later.

Realising it was now 7:40AM; Eddie grabbed his bag and got out of his car.

He walked into the school building, wandering along the empty corridors and up the stairs to Rachel's office.

When he arrived, Bridget was already up there, typing away on the computer. Her kind smile turned into a frown when she noticed that it was just him on his own.

"No Rachel this morning?" she questioned

Eddie shook his head.

"She's not coming in today. She's not very well, so I'm in charge" he explained

Bridget nodded.

"You might want to deal with this email from the LEA, then. I think they've sent it by mistake" she explained

Eddie read the email carefully, closing his eyes as he sighed. The LEA hadn't made a mistake. Bridget just didn't know about Maxine yet.

"It's not a mistake, Bridget" he told her

Bridget frowned.

"Why do we have counsellor coming in for the next week?" she asked

Eddie sighed.

"Look, I'm briefing the staff at 8AM. If I tell you this now, it goes no further, ok?"

Bridget nodded.

"Maxine Barlow is dead. Earl Kelly shot her yesterday afternoon" Eddie explained

Bridget stared at him, speechless.

"Is that why Rachel isn't,"

"No. No, she is genuinely sick. I'm dealing with everything until she's well enough to come back" he interrupted

Bridget nodded again.

"I'll go and look at this email now" he decided

He walked into Rachel's office, closing the door behind him. He switched on the computer, sitting down to properly read the email that the LEA had sent to Rachel. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that a counsellor was being sent to them this morning, and that they would be with them for the next week or two.

By the time he'd finished reading, it was 7:55AM. Time to brief the staff.

He left the office, slowly making his way toward the staffroom. He was nervous; it felt odd not having Rachel by his side. He never did a morning briefing without her, it felt wrong. But he was doing the right thing. Or he hoped so anyway.

He took a deep breath before stepping into the staffroom. The sad atmosphere hit him hard from the second he opened the door. All of his colleagues were in there, and, from the looks on their faces, word had got round as to the events of yesterday afternoon. How much they knew was unclear.

Eddie cleared his throat, watching nervously as everyone turned to look at him.

"Good morning everyone, thank you for coming"

The staff eyed him wearily.

"I don't know how much any of you know or have heard, but I'm going to tell you all now" he continued

"Where's our glorious leader, Miss Mason, today?" Grantly asked smugly

Eddie groaned silently. He'd been hoping no one would ask. But of course they would. Rachel being absent at work (ill or not), was about as rare as seeing a pig fly.

"Rachel isn't very well, she won't be in today" Eddie explained simply

Eddie fought hard to control his anger when he heard someone scoff loudly. His anger turned into surprise when he saw it was Steph who had made the noise. He didn't think she would be in today. Suddenly, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

"Is that code for 'hangover', Lawson?" Grantly smirked

"No, Grantly, it isn't" Eddie replied calmly

"Code for 'coward', more like" Steph mumbled loudly

"Steph, stop it" Tom scolded gently

Steph rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Grantly. Eddie decided to let her comment slide this time. He was choosing to believe she was just grieving and didn't really mean it.

Eddie swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking again.

"As I was saying, a terrible incident involving Earl Kelly and Maxine Barlow happened yesterday afternoon"

He paused again as Steph stood up, her eyes glazed over with tears. He felt guilty for talking about this in front of her.

"What Eddie is trying to say is, Maxine, my daughter, was shot and killed by Earl Kelly. Even though we all warned Eddie and Rachel about his dangerous behaviour, we were ignored. And that's why Earl Kelly came to my house yesterday and killed Maxine" Steph interrupted

Before she could say anything else, Tom sat her down, placing a hand on her arm. Eddie watched as she shoved him off angrily.

"There's going to be an assembly at 9AM for the whole school. Lessons are cancelled for the next week, but the school will remain open for anyone who needs support. We have a counsellor coming in to support both staff and students. They will be available all week." Eddie added

The bell rang out for registration. Everyone looked to Eddie.

"Go to registration. Any problems, I'll be in Rachel's office" he told them

The staff filtered out of the room and down the corridor, all except for Steph. She remained glued to her chair, staring at the floor. Eddie sighed, sitting on the chair next to her.

"What are you doing here, Steph?" he asked gently

"It's my job" she shrugged

"Ok... let me re-phrase that. You shouldn't be here, and you don't have to be. So why are you?" he questioned

Steph glared at him.

"You try staying in a house that's now a crime scene!" she snapped, her eyes brimming with tears

Eddie sighed. He hadn't thought about that. The pain and grief Steph was currently experiencing, Eddie couldn't imagine. It was bad enough losing Maxine, but having to live in the place where she was murdered? That was something else. He suddenly understood why she'd come in.

"Steph, I'm sorry" Eddie sighed

Steph nodded curtly as she stood up.

"Saying sorry won't bring back Maxine, Eddie" she huffed

"And neither will blaming Rachel" he pointed out

Steph rolled her eyes, swinging her bag onto her shoulder.

"I've got work to do. I'll be in my classroom" she huffed, walking away

Eddie groaned. Steph had every right to be angry. But it was wrong to blame Rachel. This wasn't her fault.

He stood up from his chair, leaving the staffroom to go back to Rachel's office.

When he got there, a young woman was sat waiting on one of the chairs. She stood up when she saw Eddie, greeting him with a warm smile. Eddie was a little confused, but he awkwardly smiled back.

"Can I help you?" he asked

"I'm here to see Rachel Mason" she explained

"Rachel isn't in today. I'm Mr Lawson, Deputy Head" he told her

"I'm Charlotte, the LEA sent me. I'm a counsellor" she informed him, showing him her ID badge

Eddie smiled politely as he shook her hand.

"Come through" he instructed, guiding her through to the office

"I'm assuming you're aware of the circumstances?" he checked once they'd sat down

Charlotte nodded.

"It must have been a terrible shock for you and the rest of your staff. I must say, it's very rare I'm sent to a school because of something like this"

"Shock is one word for it" Eddie replied, sighing heavily

"Well, usually I stay at a school for a week and then I move on. But, given the circumstances, I am prepared to stay for longer"

Eddie nodded.

"How do you usually do this? How do you approach the pupils?" he asked

"Well, usually I let all the students know in an assembly that my door is always open. I tell them where they can find me if they need support. I work closely with the friends of the student who has died, and leave it up to everyone else to reach out" she explained

Eddie nodded.

"We've got a room for you to work in, and I'm holding an assembly for the whole school in just a few minutes" he told her

"Great"

"I assume Maxine had a lot of friends who have been affected by her death?" she added

"The only person who comes to mind is Janeece. She was Maxine's best friend. She was also there when she was shot" Eddie answered

Charlotte sighed heavily.

"I doubt she'll be in today, but I'll introduce you to her ASAP"

Charlotte nodded.

"What about Maxine's Mother? I was told she works here too?" Charlotte inquired

"She does, Steph Haydock. She's not Maxine's biological Mother, Steph became her legal guardian when she was 16" he explained

"I see. Do you have a contact number for her so I can give her a call? I'm here for both staff and students and would like to offer my support in whatever way I can"

"She's actually come in today. I think she's in her classroom. I don't really understand why she came in, she's grief-stricken" Eddie told her

"People react to loss in different ways. Some hide, and others throw themselves into work" Charlotte pointed out

Eddie nodded.

"I'll introduce myself to her later" she added

"Thank you" Eddie responded

The bell rang out to signal the end of registration. Eddie took a deep breath, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. He stood up, straightening his shirt and jacket the way Rachel always did for him in a morning. He was missing her. As much as he was prepared to do this, he did feel lost without her by his side. Every decision they made at Waterloo Road, they made together. Every assembly they held, they led together. It was hard not having her by his side.

Charlotte was studying Eddie carefully. She could tell he was nervous. It was understandable.

"I'm guessing... or hoping that you've never done anything like this before?" she asked him

"I haven't. I've never addressed the entire school in assembly without Rach-the Head Teacher" he explained

"Ah, and she isn't in today?" she questioned

"She's not very well" he answered

"I see. Does she usually do the assembly's?"

"We always do them together. We're sort of a team"

"As a Head Teacher and Deputy should be" Charlotte smiled

Eddie nodded. She wasn't really helping him.

"It'll be fine. I'll be standing at the front with you the whole time" she reassured

"I know... I just... I'm worried about Rachel too" he admitted

"Are you two... romantically involved?" Charlotte asked

Eddie nodded.

"Yeah. It's just not like her to be this sick. Rachel doesn't get sick. And with Maxine, I think it's just made her worse" he sighed

Before Charlotte could reply, the bell rang again to inform them it was 9:05AM. Eddie was glad they'd been interrupted. Discussing his worries and concerns regarding Rachel really wasn't his strong point. He wasn't sure if Rachel would appreciate him discussing her with a stranger either.

"We should get going" he decided, making his way out of the office