I'll keep you safe

Chapter 126

Eddie stepped into the antechamber of Rachel's office. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes when he saw Steph smirking at him.

"Alright there, Mr Lawson?" she smirked

Eddie sighed, opening Rachel's office door.

"In. Now" he instructed firmly, pointing to the office

Steph stood up, rolling her eyes as she casually and awkwardly walked into the office. The pungent scent of alcohol wafted up Eddie's nose, making him cough.

He followed Steph inside, closing the door behind him. Steph was standing in the middle of the room, swaying dangerously on her feet.

"Sit down" Eddie told her as he sat down in Rachel's chair

Steph huffed, sitting down in the chair opposite.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he blurted angrily

"I could have said the same to you when you started dating Rachel" she shot back with a smirk

Eddie scoffed.

"Charlotte was only trying to offer you some support and you threw it back in her face!"

"And you and Rachel gave Earl Kelly another chance after he'd killed those birds, and he threw it back in your faces by killing Maxine! Looks like we both made mistakes!" she retorted

Eddie sat back in his chair, sighing heavily. He didn't blame Steph for being angry. She had every right. But blaming Rachel wasn't going to fix anything, especially when it wasn't her fault. It was his. He'd been in charge of Earl, the red flags had been staring him in the face, and he'd ignored them. He'd believed Earl when he said he hadn't killed those birds, because it was easier, and because he'd wanted to. Earl was a very convincing liar.

"Steph, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was in charge of handling him and his behaviour. Rachel had nothing to do with it!"

"She let him into Waterloo Road in the first place! Even when his previous school told you his history, she still let him stay!"

"And it was my job to keep an eye on him and to handle his behaviour, not Rachel's. She's not to blame for this, Steph"

"Of course you'd defend her. You're her lapdog"

"Steph,"

"Did you know when Earl was in Nursery, he smacked his key worker in the mouth with a Postman Pat van? He knocked her teeth out and kept them in his pocket all through primary school as a 'trophy'"

Eddie raised an eyebrow.

"And you know how I found that out, Eddie? Rose told me! You and Rachel would have known from the start that he was a hopeless case if you'd looked into it a bit more! Any other school would have turned him away! Maxine would still be here if he'd never been let into this school"

"Yes, Steph, any other school would have turned him away. But we're not just any other school, you know that! We give all of these kids a fair chance; we don't give up on them. We gave Earl the same chances we would have given every other kid"

Steph rolled her eyes.

"So, are you going to suspend me?"

Eddie sighed. If he was honest, he didn't know what to do. It was times like this when he needed Rachel. Making decision like this on his own made him feel uncomfortable. Especially in Steph's circumstances.

Really, he should suspend her. She'd lashed out at another member of staff and had been drinking alcohol on school premises. But, as angry as Eddie was with her regarding her behaviour, he also knew this wasn't Steph. She was grieving and she was heartbroken. He understood, and he knew Rachel would too. He knew if Rachel was here, she wouldn't suspend her. So he wasn't going to.