Bolton sat opposite Rachel nervously. His eyes were glued to the floor. He knew he'd let her down the other day, and he felt guilty for it. She had expected better of him, he knew that. And he should have done better.

"Miss, I'm sorry about Monday with Philip and Sarah-Leanne"

" 'Sorry' isn't good enough, Bolton. You're lucky Sarah-Leanne hasn't pressed charges! Philip could have gotten into serious trouble because of you!" Rachel argued

"I know" Bolton mumbled, eyes darting back to the floor

"Why did you do it?" she asked simply

Bolton shrugged.

"Did you not even think to stop and consider the consequences of your actions?"

"I didn't know that was going to happen, Miss! I didn't think his hands would land... there" he admitted

"It doesn't matter, Bolton, you shouldn't have pushed him! If Sarah-Leanne had pressed charges, you would most likely be charged for assault alongside Philip!"

Bolton sighed, guilt continuing to flood through him.

"I'm really sorry, Miss"

"I'm really disappointed in you, Bolton. I expected much better"

He nodded quietly.

"Look, I know it's not been easy with what happened at the Boxing Match and with Mr Cleaver leaving. But you can't go off the rails again, Bolton. You've come too far and I'm not going to let you. So, I have a proposition"

Bolton finally lifted his head to look at her.

"There's a new PE teacher, Mr Davidson. I spoke to him yesterday and he has agreed to continue your Boxing training" she explained

Bolton's face lit up with a smile.

"Are you serious, Miss?" he checked

"Yes, but there is a catch" she warned

Bolton frowned.

"It will be a Boxing club, not one-to-one sessions. We're opening it up to other students. I think it will be better for you, as it will give you the chance to practice with others. What do you think?"

If he was honest, he was a little relieved. He didn't want to go through what he went through with Mr Cleaver again. Initially, he had been adamant that he was a good coach. But, after having some time to think and process, he had changed his mind.

For Bolton, Boxing hadn't been about the thrill of competing. He hadn't wanted to take Boxing to such a serious level. Mr Cleaver hadn't really given him much choice. He had pushed and pushed and pushed him with the training, throwing physical and verbal abuse at him. He'd manipulated him into taking drugs. He still didn't know what they were. They hadn't done any damage (thankfully). But what if they had done? What then?

Now, Bolton wanted a coach that wouldn't force him into competitions or championships. He wanted a coach he could trust and who would let him treat Boxing for what it was to him, a hobby.

Rachel was struggling to read Bolton's reaction. She could hear his brain ticking, thinking it over.

"Bolton?" Rachel prompted

"It sounds good, Miss" he nodded

"Are you sure?" she checked

"Yeah. I'm not interested in competing, Miss. I never was, Mr Cleaver forced me into it really. I just want to do it as a hobby" he explained

Rachel nodded.

"We'll do that then, Bolton. But if I hear of anymore bad behaviour from anyone about you there will be trouble. Do you understand?"

Bolton nodded.

"Good. Go on, off you go" she told him

Bolton stayed sat down. He had a question he wanted to ask, but he didn't know if he'd get a definitive answer. This had been bugging and eating away at him over the Christmas break, and he just wanted to know what was happening so he could prepare himself.

"Miss?"

"Yes?" she answered, looking up from her paperwork

"Do I still have to talk to them LEA people about Mr Cleaver?" he asked cautiously

"No, Bolton. Mr Cleaver handed in his resignation over the holidays. He won't be able to teach or coach again without an investigation. What he's done will be on his record permanently now" she explained

Bolton nodded.

"I just don't want him to put someone else through what he put me through" he admitted

Rachel smiled sympathetically.

"It'll be ok, Bolton. I promise" she reassured

Bolton nodded, smiling weakly.

"See ya later, Miss"

...

Thirty minutes later...

The bell finally rang out for lunch.

With a relieved sigh, Eddie dismissed his class, ushering them out of the door as quickly as he could. Normally he enjoyed teaching his Year 11 group, but, with Philip's actions causing uproar, they had been extremely unsettled. He was sure he'd never been more relieved for a class to be over. He was furious with Philip and it had put a huge dampener on his mood.

When Philip was the next one to leave, Eddie blocked his path.

"Not you, you're staying here"

Philip huffed angrily, rolling his eyes as he slumped into the nearest chair.

Once the last of the students had gone, Eddie shut the door, a little more firmly than he'd intended.

"Why do I have to stay here? I apologized to Karla when I didn't even do anything wrong!" Philip grumbled

"Apologising doesn't excuse your VILE attitude, Philip! I won't stand for this behaviour! Snap out of it and sort yourself out!" Eddie retorted

Philip rolled his eyes, causing Eddie to sigh angrily. He wanted nothing more than to wash his hands with the boy and walk away. But he couldn't. That was what Philip wanted him to do, and he refused to let it happen.

"Get up" he instructed

"Why?" Philip frowned

"Never mind 'why?'! GET UP!!!"

Philip flinched, jumping out of his chair.

"Let's go and see what Rachel thinks about your behaviour, shall we?"

...

Rachel's heart filled with dread when an angry Eddie and a moody Philip entered her office. Tension engulfed the office as the door closed, making Rachel feel uncomfortable instantly.

Her gaze flickered between her fiancé and her Nephew, searching for answers. Philip's expression was blank, providing her with no context as to what was going on. Eddie on the other hand, looked furious. Rachel thought if he were a cartoon character, there would have been steam coming out of his ears.

"Sit down" Eddie barked at Philip, pointing to the chair opposite Rachel's desk

Philip sighed, slamming himself down.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, shooting Eddie a puzzled look

Eddie sat down in the chair next to Philip. He glared at him, only increasing Rachel's confusion.

"Do you want to tell her, or shall I?" Eddie asked him, his tone harsh and cold

Philip shrugged.

Rachel frowned, eyes darting between Philip and Eddie. Her confusion was quickly growing into annoyance and impatience.

"Tell me what?" she demanded

Eddie finally made eye contact with Rachel.

"Philip wreaked havoc in my class. Karla was doing a drawing and he called a 'brain-dead freak', screwed up the drawing and threw it at her"

"Oh, yeah, sure, make me look like the bad guy! Leave out the fact that the drawing was of ME and she didn't have my permission to do it! And the fact that Aleesha and Danielle were making fun of me!" Philip snapped defensively

"It doesn't justify your actions, Philip! You didn't need to retaliate in the way that you did!" Eddie argued

Philip rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief.

Rachel sighed heavily. Like Eddie, she had really hoped that Philip would stop this appalling behaviour. She had thought that arranging the counselling, getting in touch with his Dad (or attempting to) would have made a difference. Evidently not. If she was honest, she didn't know what else to do.

She looked over to Philip, whose expression was, once again, blank. She couldn't help but wonder where she had gone wrong with him. What had happened to the teenager that was kind and supportive? What had she done wrong?

"Eddie is right, Philip. You shouldn't have retaliated in the way that you did. This behaviour has to stop"

Philip rolled his eyes again. Rachel wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. It wasn't like him to be acting like this, so why was he?

"I don't think you realise how serious this is, Philip. I'm really disappointed in you! I thought we were getting you back on the right track and making some progress, and now you go and do this!"

Philip shrugged, his eyes remaining glued to the floor.

Having counselling sessions and writing a poxy letter to his Dad wasn't going to magically fix everything for Philip. Rachel knew that.

She also knew that, right now, she wasn't going to be able to get through to him. It wasn't the right time or place to be discussing this either. There was only forty-five minutes left before the interviews for the Healthy Eating Co-ordinator started. In that time, she needed to have something to eat and prepare for what the afternoon held. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. There just weren't enough hours in the day.

"Fine, Philip. We will discuss it again at home"

Philip glared at her.

"You're not my Mum" he snarled

Rachel involuntarily flinched. No, she wasn't his Mother. But his actual Mother was nowhere to be found and also couldn't care less about her son or his wellbeing! Someone had to do the job that Melissa had failed at. Whether Philip liked it or not, it was Rachel's job, as his Auntie, to step up and look after him. She wasn't going to walk away, no matter what he did or said.

"Believe me, Philip, I'm not trying to be" she replied, managing to keep her voice steady and calm

Her response was greeted with yet another eye roll.

"Go on, go on your break" she told him

Philip stood up, swinging his bag onto his shoulder.

"And Philip? I don't want to hear any more reports from any other teacher's about your behaviour today, ok?" she called after him

Philip nodded sarcastically. Without a second glance, he swung the office door open, stepping through it before slamming it behind him.

Rachel sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"Sorry, Rach. I just... I thought you needed to be involved" Eddie cut in

She nodded. She didn't blame him. None of this was his fault. If it was anyone's fault, it was Melissa's.

"I just don't know what more we can do, Eddie. I really thought we'd sorted it" she admitted

"There isn't a lot we can do, we've already done a lot to try and help him, Rach. All we can do is show him that his actions have consequences"

Rachel nodded.

"He's just testing us to see how far he can push us" he added

"What? Before we walk away?" she questioned, biting back tears

Eddie stood up, walking over to her. He slid his hands into hers, pulling her up out of her chair and into a hug. She melted into his embrace immediately, sighing contentedly.

"Look, Rach, this is what we'll do. Tonight, when we get back from the hospital, we'll all sit down for dinner and talk things through, yeah?" he suggested, pulling away from her

Rachel shook her head, causing Eddie to frown.

"I feel like that's what we did the other day. And look where we are, back at square one again with bad behaviour!" she explained

"I know. But we need to keep trying. Eventually it will sink in for him that we're not going anywhere" he reassured

Rachel nodded.

"I've got to go and prep for my next class. Have you had something to eat?" Eddie asked

"No, I'll go and get something in a minute" she replied

"Make sure you do. I know what you're like when you're stressed"

"I will, I promise" she reassured

Eddie smiled, placing a kiss in her hair.

"Good luck with the interviews as well" he added

Rachel smiled at him softly, watching him go. She wished he could stay with her all afternoon to sit through the interviews with her, but he couldn't. She smiled to herself as she remembered a time, during the first few weeks of them working together, when she wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Now, she couldn't bear to be apart from him!