Maxine stormed back over to Waterloo Road, tears running down her face.

She had been stupid. So, so stupid. And naive too. She really thought Jade was lying. How wrong she'd been.

And to make it worse, the truth was worse than she'd imagined. Jade had wanted money, that much was true. But she wanted the money Earl had made from selling their baby. It made Maxine feel sick. What kind of person sold their child for money?

Maxine had finally woken up. The blissful bubble she'd been in with Earl had popped. She'd been warned about Earl over and over again. He was dangerous, a psycho. The red flags had been staring her in the face, and she'd ignored every single one. Her friends, Steph- they'd all warned her that he was no good, and that she would only end up getting hurt. Why hadn't she listened?

Her heart felt like it was going to break in two. Earl had lied to her, he'd deceived her. She had truly believed he loved her; she'd fallen head over heels in love with him. They'd planned a future together, Earl had, had her wrapped around his little finger. He'd manipulated her, brainwashed her with the love that she'd craved.

And it had all been one big lie.

Seeing what he had done to Jade had scared her. That could've been her in a year's time. Homeless and alone, no family, no friends, and a baby. How could she have been so stupid?

...

Steph approached Earl nervously on the playground. She hated the way he glared at her. If she didn't want to try and keep Maxine in her life, she would have given up and turned away. But she wasn't going to.

"You ok?" she asked

Earl frowned

"Yeah, great. Thanks for asking" he nodded hesitantly

"I just thought we might have a little chat, you know? Seeing as how we're going to be seeing a fair bit of each other, with you and Maxine... well, you know" she explained, forcing a smile

"Do you know what, Steph? I'd love to, but I'm really busy right now. But I'll tell you what, I'm coming round to yours later, so, maybe we can do it then, yeah?" he suggested

Steph nodded tentatively. She really couldn't stand his smug attitude. It made her feel sick.

"What's for tea?" he smirked

Steph rolled her eyes

"Oh, better yet- surprise me! See you later" he added, grinning as he walked away

Steph scoffed angrily, heading back into the school.

...

Maxine walked back through the school gates. She could hear Earl shouting her name, but she refused to turn around and acknowledge him. It was too painful to look at him. He repulsed her.

"Whoa! Max, where have you been? I've been looking for you!" he huffed, catching up with her

"Maybe I didn't want to be found!" she snapped, still refusing to look at him

"What?" Earl frowned, following her

She paused, turning on her heel, locking eyes with him. She felt nothing for him anymore, apart from disgust. Earl Kelly was a liar and a psycho. She wished she'd never met him.

"You and me... we're over. Finished!" she cried

The smile dropped from Earl's face. His eyes flashed with anger. But Maxine didn't care. She turned away.

"You're dumping me?" he questioned

"OH WELL DONE! YOU FIGURED IT OUT!" she screamed sarcastically, angry tears streaming down her face as she turned to face him again

"But... what about tonight?" he asked

Maxine scoffed

"Well, there's Eastenders, followed by..."

"Max! What's going on?" he asked impatiently, closing the distance between them by putting his hands on her arms

She pushed him off aggressively.

"As if you didn't know!" she barked

Earl frowned

"This morning we were..."

"Save it!" she interrupted

"Try it on someone who doesn't think you're scum!" she hissed

She stormed away into the school building, wiping the tears off her face as she walked down the corridor. She owed two people a huge apology. Steph and Janeece. She had to find them and put things right. They'd only been trying to protect her, she saw that now. She'd hurt Steph, she'd damaged their relationship. Was it too late to get her relationships with them back on track?

"MAX! MAX! MAXINE!" Earl called after her desperately

"Max, I don't understand! What's going on?" he asked when he finally caught up with her

She turned, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Why are you doing this?" he questioned breathlessly

"I know" she said simply

"Know what? Whatever anyone has said is a lie!"

Maxine shook her head. She recalled the countless times he'd said that, and she'd believed him every time. The gun, the birds, Jade. How could she have been so stupid?

"Earl, I've spoken to Jade" she told him

"What? That skank?" he huffed

"I've held the baby! I know what you were going to do to it!" she growled

"That's Jade's baby!" he shot back

Maxine stared at him in disbelief.

"I wish I had never set eyes on you!" she cried

She stormed away, dashing down the corridor. When she saw Janeece, she ran to her, throwing her arms around her best friend.

"Max? What's happened?"

"It's Earl" Maxine sobbed

Janeece didn't need to hear anymore for the time being. She ushered Maxine into the Girl's toilets, grabbing some toilet tissue for Maxine to wipe her eyes with. She had seen this coming. It didn't matter what Maxine had said or done, Janeece was going to be there for her.

"What happened, Max? Tell me" she asked once Maxine had calmed down

Maxine had told her everything. Jade and the newborn baby boy, which was Earl's. His plan to sell the baby. Janeece was disgusted, but she wasn't completely surprised. This had Earl written all over it. But this wasn't the time to say 'I told you so'.

"It's just sick! It's disgusting!" Janeece exclaimed

Maxine nodded

"I just feel so stupid. I really thought he was changing, that I'd seen a side to him no one else had... and then I find out about this"

"He's just a dog, Max. He's not worth it!" Janeece reassured

"I've been going round telling everyone how serious he was about me, how they were wrong about him. Then... this" Maxine whispered tearfully

"Do you reckon he was going to sell your baby as well?" Janeece asked aloud

"I don't know... well, it doesn't matter. Who wants to be with someone like that? Someone who could do that?"

"Wait till everyone finds out why you dumped him! They'll soon realise what a scumbag he is!"

Maxine stood up abruptly.

"You can't tell anyone, ok? How stupid would I look then? Or worse, they'll think I was part of it!"

"No, they won't" Janeece promised

"That poor little baby" Maxine sobbed

Janeece sighed, putting a hand on Maxine's arm to comfort her.

"It's never done anything to anyone, but it's got them two for parents!" she added

"Not for long, not if Earl has anything to do with it" Janeece pointed out

"There's no way I'm letting them sell it, Janeece!"

"Anyone's better than them two, Max! The baby will go to someone who wants it!" Janeece reasoned

"Yeah, but who? Some freak over the internet? Earl's not going to care, as long as he gets his money" Maxine argued

"If you grass them up, everyone's going to know!"

"Yeah, but I'm not having that baby on my conscience... no way!" Maxine whispered tearfully

"If Steph and everyone says 'I told you so', then fair enough, they were right" she added

"Earl is not going to be happy" Janeece sighed

"So? He's never cared about anyone else's feelings in the whole of his life. Sod him!" Maxine huffed

Janeece nodded. She was proud of Maxine for going through with this.

"Well you know what to do then- it's just a phone call and it's over"

Maxine nodded tearfully. She was ready to do this. Having Janeece backing her was a comfort. But before she made the phone call, she had to put things right with Steph.

...

Rachel was in the toilet next to her office. She'd been sick again.

It had started the minute she had tried to look at her computer screen. The room had started to spin again, and the nausea had returned. Before she knew it, she was running for the bathroom as she felt the bile rising in her throat. She'd only just made it.

Fifteen minutes had gone by, and the vomiting had finally stopped. Rachel was curled up against the wall, taking deep breaths. She really hated feeling like this. She hated feeling so weak and so tired. She hated feeling so out of her depth, no knowing what was wrong. She just wanted it to stop.

If she was honest, she wished she'd taken up Eddie's offer to let him take her home at lunchtime. If Linda wasn't still here, she would be calling him right now and asking him to take her. Currently, she wanted nothing more than to sink into his embrace. Thankfully, it was nearly the end of the day, meaning that she could go home soon. If she could, she'd leave as soon as the bell went. But, depending on what Linda had to say, she'd be leaving a little later.

Now she was feeling a little less dizzy, she got herself to her feet, exiting the bathroom.

As she headed back into her office, she remembered that Eddie was currently on a free lesson. She hated dragging him away from his non-contact time, but she needed him.

"Bridget? Could you send for Eddie, please?" she requested

Bridget nodded

Rachel smiled gratefully before retreating to her office. She settled down on the sofa, groaning as the nausea and dizziness returned.

A/N: I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope you're all enjoying this fanfic so far, I'm really enjoying writing it. Thank you for all your lovely comments so far, it means a lot! What do you think is wrong with Rachel? Let me know what you think! :)