I'll keep you safe

Chapter 72

"Philip? It's Rachel" she said

"You can come in" he replied

Rachel opened the door slowly, cringing as it creaked.

Philip was sat on the end of the bed. He glanced at her awkwardly, picking at the skin around his nails again. He was shaking with anger.

She sat down beside him carefully

"Do you think I'm a brat too?" He asked

"No, Philip, I don't. I think what you're going through is a huge change. Your Mum is getting married, and you're moving abroad. These are big changes. It's understandable you're upset and overwhelmed" she reassured

"It's not just that. It's the way she went about it. She disappeared for months and then just turned up with this... new guy. She didn't contact me for months" he explained

Rachel frowned

"Didn't she get in touch with your Dad, or whoever was looking after you while she was away?"

Philip scoffed

"You don't understand what I'm saying. She left me on my own in the house. My Dad isn't around. It's just me and her"

Rachel was horrified at what she was hearing. She'd had a feeling that Melissa wasn't the maternal type, but she hadn't expected that. How many times has she done this before now? What kind of mother abandons their child?

"Oh, Philip, I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have had to go through that" she sighed

Philip shrugged

"So... this Marcus, what's he like?" She questioned, changing the subject

"He's great. But she doesn't deserve him" he replied simply

"That's up to Marcus to decide I guess" Rachel shrugged

"She's a liar" Philip mumbled angrily, loud enough for Rachel to hear

She frowned

"What do you mean?"

Philip sighed.

The secret was eating him alive.

"Mum is still married" he admitted

Rachel raised an eyebrow

"To your Dad?"

Philip nodded

"And some other guy" he told her

"And Marcus doesn't know?" Rachel checked

Philip shook his head

"She's not going to tell him either"

Rachel sighed

"I can't watch her go through with this when she knows it's wrong. But I don't know how to stop her. She's not even allowing me to move to Spain with her. She wants me to stay here and get my GCSE's" he explained

"But who will look after you?" Rachel questioned

Philip averted his gaze. He couldn't tell her what he knew.

"Philip?"

"She was going to dump me on your doorstep a few days before the wedding" he admitted

Rachel should have been appalled by that. And yet, she wasn't. Nothing about Melissa surprised her anymore. It made her angry, of course it did. Abandoning your son to go and get married, leaving him with an Aunt he'd known for five minutes. It was wrong.