Rachel stepped into the hallway of her home, closing the door before slipping off her coat and shoes. She didn't remember exactly how she'd got here. She knew she'd driven home, but she hadn't paid any attention to the journey. She was too numb.

Going back to work had been a mistake. It had intensified how trapped, lonely and scared she felt. She was hurting the people she cared about, pushing them away when she needed their help more than ever. She knew Kim and Eddie would do anything to help if she told them the truth, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Not only was it dangerous, she wasn't sure she could re-live it all. She couldn't be a burden to Eddie or Kim, it wasn't fair.

"Where have you been?"

The voice made her blood run cold and her heart fill with dread. She wanted to run and never look back. She hadn't seen his car on the drive, and he'd been absent for the last week. Of course he'd chosen today of all days to come back.

She took a deep, shaky breath before turning to him. He was glaring at her, eyes cold and filled with hatred. She wondered in that moment if he'd ever loved her at all, and why she'd married him.

"I could ask you the same question" she shot back

"ANSWER ME, WOMAN!" he demanded

She sighed.

"I've been at work. Is that ok with you?" she answered simply

"You weren't here when I got home" he grumbled

"I can see that"

"We have no food or drink in the fridge. You need to go shopping" he spat

"I will go later. I need to sit down, I'm tired and I have paperwork to do" she told him

As she walked past him, he grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him. He shoved her against the stair railing, causing pain to shoot up her already bruised back.

"Go and do the food shop, now" he growled

She couldn't stop the fear-filled whimper from escaping her lips. His eyes were drilling into hers, flames of anger flickering through them. Normally she would retaliate with a sarcastic comment as a way of fighting back, but she had no energy to do so today. It would only land her in trouble anyway.

"Adam, please. I'm tired" she whispered

A sickening grin spread across his face.

"You are a lazy cow, aren't you?" he growled

Before she knew what was happening, Adam shoved her hard. She stumbled, just managing to stop herself and her stomach from crashing into the wall of the hallway. He didn't stop there though. She yelped as he grabbed her by her hair, roughly forcing her onto the floor. He straddled her, pinning her down with his weight before throwing a few punches at her face. He held her arms down forcefully as she tried to fight back. She heard him unbuckling his trousers, felt her dress being pushed up and she knew once again that she had lost another fight with him.

...

Eddie paced up and down the office. He had been planning to go home half an hour ago, but he couldn't face it. He was worrying about Rachel, more than he'd expected after their conversation.

He didn't know what to do. He hadn't exactly been expecting her to open up and tell him everything, but he also hadn't expected to make things worse and have a full blown argument either. He had only pushed her away and caused her to shut down. There was no chance of her telling him anything now. He wanted to get her away from him. The thought of her being continuously physically and emotionally hurt by someone who was supposed to love and cherish her made him feel ill. He just wanted her to be safe, even if that wasn't with him.

He'd hoped sending Kim at break time would make her less defensive and more likely to open up. It had done the opposite. He had tried talking to her himself, but that had only added fuel to the fire. He was out of options now.

He offered Kim a weak smile as she stepped into the office.

"Hey" she greeted

"Hi" he replied

"Has Rachel gone home? I was hoping to catch her before she left"

"Yeah, she's gone" he nodded

"I thought you'd have left by now too. Are you ok?"

"I... I really don't know if I'm honest, Kim" he admitted, sighing heavily

"I take it your talk with Rachel was as unsuccessful as mine?" she guessed

He nodded.

"Did you see the bruise and cut on her cheek?" she asked

He nodded again, swallowing painfully as the memory resurfaced.

"She said she banged it on the door at home. I didn't believe her, obviously"

"I wouldn't have either" Kim agreed

"I just made it worse, Kim. I don't know what to do now. The thought of her going home to him everyday knowing what he's doing makes me feel sick"

"I know, me too. It's a delicate situation, Eddie. We have to be careful. She's pushing us away because she doesn't want us to get involved or to get hurt. That's why she's being so defensive. We just have to be there for her when she's ready and, in the meantime, be proactive in subtly supporting her, showing her we're not going anywhere and not asking questions and hopefully she'll come to us when she's ready"

"I hope you're right" he replied, sighing heavily

"I'll try and call her later. I'll let you know if I hear anything, ok?" she told him

He nodded.

"Thanks, Kim"

He watched as she exited the office. As wrong as it felt, not asking questions or trying to protect her, he knew she was right. Giving Rachel space, not asking questions or pushing her, whilst also subtly supporting her seemed like the best option. It was, as she'd said, a delicate situation. Rachel would (hopefully) open up when she was ready. He just hoped that when she did it wasn't too late.

With a heavy sigh, he packed his things away and made his way out to the car park. He didn't really want to go home, he was hoping Rachel might come back having calmed down, but he also knew that she wouldn't. It was no use sitting in the office worrying when he could be at home worrying instead.

As he got into his Land Rover, his phone began to ring. Normally, he'd send whoever it was to voicemail and decide whether or not to call or text them later. But since he was hoping Rachel would reach out, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He was disappointed when the caller ID didn't flash up with Rachel's name, but he was surprised at who was calling. It was another sign that something was wrong with Rachel.

"Philip?"

"Hi, Eddie"

"What can I do for you, mate?"

"I just... uhm- I wouldn't call you unless it was absolutely necessary. I'm worried about Rachel"

Eddie wanted to tell him to 'join the club', that he wasn't the only one. But he wasn't sure what Philip did or didn't know. He knew Rachel wouldn't be overly impressed if he got her nephew involved. He also didn't want it getting back to Melissa, not that she'd care if she did find out.

"In what way, mate?"

"I just... well, I haven't really heard from her for a while"

"How long is 'a while'?"

"Nearly a year now. I've tried calling and texting and there's been no answer. Obviously I'd try going round and knocking on her door, but I'm in Bristol for University and she's away travelling I think"

"I see. Did you try ringing her husband?"

"Yeah, a couple of months ago, it was weird. He said she didn't want to talk to me, that she was too busy or something. But I don't believe that"

Eddie sighed. He wanted to be surprised, but he really wasn't. It was another red flag to add to his list regarding Adam. It was odd to him that Philip was so out of the loop with Rachel. He didn't even know she was back in Rochdale, let alone working at Waterloo Road again. Did he know about the baby? It just wasn't like Rachel to be like this, to not keep Philip updated with her news. She was close to him, they had a good relationship that she had worked hard to make work after having him practically thrown into her life.

"I... I don't know what to do, Eddie. That's why I called you. Mum couldn't care less and she keeps telling me not to worry about it. I can't help but worry. This isn't like her. If I'd done something wrong she would have told me, she's honest like that. I just... it's a stupid question and I know what your answer will be, but... have you heard from her?"

"I have, actually"

He could practically feel Philip's eyes widening in surprise on the other end of the phone.

"You have? When?"

"I think you're quite out of the loop with things, mate. Rachel is back in Rochdale. We're both back at Waterloo Road. I didn't actually know she was the Head Teacher until last week when I walked into the office on my first day, she hadn't been told about me being the deputy head, so it was a shock for both of us"

"Ok... that is a perfect example of fate! How does she seem to you?"

"She's ok... I guess. I... I don't really know to be honest, mate. We haven't talked that much"

"But you're both working together again?"

"Yes... well we're meant to be anyway"

"What does that mean?"

"Well, after the first day, she was off sick for a week. She only came back today"

"It's odd for her to take a week off. Did she seem ok today?"

Eddie paused, unsure of how much he could share with Philip without causing him to worry more. He wanted to tell him about the bruises, as well as Rachel's tearfulness and defensive behaviour. He wanted to ask Philip more about Adam and what he thought of him and if he could do what Eddie was thinking he'd done. But was it his place to tell him? Did he have enough information to form the full truth? Philip hadn't even been aware that Rachel was back in Rochdale, what else didn't he know? Did he know about the baby? If Rachel hadn't been in touch with him for at least a year, he doubted it.

"Eddie?" Philip prompted

"No... no she didn't seem ok"

"In what way?"

"She-uhm- she was jumpy and tearful and she..."

He paused to swallow the painful lump in his throat.

"What?" Philip pressed

"She... had bruises"

He heard Philip's breathing suddenly change in pace on the other end of the line. Eddie knew he had been vague in his explanation, but it was enough for Philip to understand what he was saying.

"B-bruises where?"

"One on her cheek, with a cut next to it. She'd tried to hide it with make-up but I saw it, Kim did too. And there were two on her wrist. It looked like someone had been gripping them tightly"

"D-did you confront her?"

"She was really quiet and tearful when she came in this morning, but she wouldn't talk to me. I was worried, so I sent Kim to talk to her. It backfired, she got defensive and accused me of interfering in her private life when I had no right to, which she isn't wrong about, and then she stormed off"

Philip sighed.

"Philip, I'm sorry, I have to ask you. How much do you know about this Adam guy she's married to?"

"Not much really. I met him a few times before they got married and he was always round the house but we never really spoke. He kind of kept himself to himself unless he was with Rachel"

"It's funny, Kim said exactly the same when I asked her"

"I'm not going to lie, Eddie, I-I was never a huge fan of him. Maybe it was because I didn't know him well enough, but he seemed a little... controlling and manipulative. He accused Rachel of not caring about him enough on multiple occasions, that she prioritised the school over him. He always had to know where she was, why she was going wherever she was going, who she was going with and when she'd be back. When I was staying with them, he would often pick out her outfits, or criticise what she wore and things like that. Sometimes nothing she did was good enough. To be honest, I think he is the main reason she left Waterloo Road, just to make him happy. I really don't believe she wanted to go, she wouldn't just hand in her resignation on a whim like she did. I feel like he guilt-tripped and manipulated her into it. I... didn't think much of it at the time, I just wanted Rachel to be happy. But looking back..."

Hearing what Philip had to say filled Eddie with dread. He'd really wanted to be wrong about Adam and to, for once, be rightly accused of being the jealous ex-boyfriend. But the more he heard about Rachel's husband, the more red flags were building up in his evidence pile. Philip had just given him a huge list of evidence.

"Eddie, do you think I should come home? I'm really worried about her"

"No, mate, not yet. Let me talk to her, ok? She's quite defensive right now and needs some breathing space. I don't think you going in guns blazing will help anything. I'll talk to her and I'll call you, ok?"

"Ok"

"I'll call you as soon as I can, alright?"

"Ok, thanks, Eddie"

Eddie ended the call with a heavy sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, unsure if he'd reassured Philip or had made him feel worse. He knew that Rachel wouldn't want him to come home from University to look after her, but knowing Philip, he would come home regardless. He wasn't sure how she would react to his presence if he showed up on her doorstep, but he knew she wouldn't slam the door in his face. Maybe he could talk some sense into her.