I'll keep you safe

Chapter 129

Four hours later...

Eddie finished plating up the small bowl of chicken, peppers and rice for Rachel. He wasn't sure if she was awake or not, as he had left her to sleep. It had been a few hours, so he did feel less guilty about potentially having to wake her up. He just hoped she'd be able to stomach the food he'd cooked for her.

He placed the bowl and a glass of water onto a tray, carrying it carefully into the living room.

As he suspected, Rachel was still asleep. He paused. He could tell how tired she was by the fact that she hadn't even stirred when he'd opened the living room door. Usually, she was a light sleeper. On this occasion, she was flat out. He didn't want to wake her when she looked so relaxed and peaceful. But, he also knew she wouldn't sleep later on tonight if he left her. And even if she just had a little something to eat now, it might help.

He put the tray down on the coffee table before sitting down on the edge of the sofa in front of Rachel. He brushed her cheek gently with his thumb, watching as her eyes fluttered open slowly. He smiled softly at her as she stared at him, her eyes coming in to focus on him.

"Hey" he whispered gently

"Hi" she whispered back, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes

"How are you feeling?" he asked

Rachel paused for a moment, internally assessing herself.

"Not great" she mumbled eventually, rubbing her forehead as she pulled herself up into a sitting position

Eddie smiled sympathetically.

"I've made you something to eat. Hopefully it'll settle your stomach" he told her, nodding to the tray on the coffee table

She nodded weakly, unconvinced. Whilst the smell of the food on the coffee table wasn't making her gag, it didn't mean anything. The toast she'd made at lunchtime had, had no initial effect on her, until she'd put it into her mouth and had started to chew. She hoped this time she would be able to keep down whatever Eddie had made for her. She'd like to be able to eat something without being sick for once.

Eddie carefully placed the tray on her lap, leaving the glass of water on the coffee table.

"I've made it as bland as possible" he told her with a hesitant chuckle

"Thank you" she smiled gratefully, picking up her fork

"And there's ginger tea in the cupboard if you feel sick again" he added

"When did you get ginger tea?" she frowned

"I went shopping yesterday when you were... at the Police Station. There's some ginger biscuits too" he explained, hesitant to bring up the events of yesterday again

Rachel nodded. For a moment she had forgotten about her current reality. A student was dead because of her. That would haunt her for the rest of her life, she was sure of it.

"You eat that. I'll go and finish the dishes, and then we'll talk, ok?" Eddie suggested

Rachel paled at the word 'talk'. Talking was the last thing she wanted to do. Especially when she knew exactly what Eddie wanted to talk about. The baby. The fact that she was pregnant. She wanted to do everything but talk about it. She wanted to ignore it completely.

Still, she nodded quietly.

Eddie stood up, heading back into the kitchen. He turned on the tap, collecting up the various pots and pans around the kitchen that needed washing as the sink filled with water and the washing up liquid frothed. He thought it was a good sign that, so far, he hadn't heard any gagging or retching coming from the living room.