I'll keep you safe

Chapter 139

The tension lingering in the air in Rachel's office was suffocating.

Marley and Rose sat on the left side of Rachel's desk, whilst Bolton and Candeece sat on the right. Rachel had deliberately placed the two sets of chairs as far away as possible from one another. The last thing she needed was Bolton lashing out at Marley again

Marley's face was a mess. Rachel had been expecting it to be bad, but she hadn't expected it to be that bad. His nose was swollen, there was a large cut on his lip, and a black eye was forming around his left eye. It was her fault this had happened. Letting the Kelly's come back had been a mistake. She should have known something like this would happen. Her faith and trust in her students not to do something like this had blinded her. She'd been naive, again. Just like with Earl Kelly. That was why Maxine was dead.

Bolton was quietly stewing in his chair, staring at the floor as he bounced his knee up and down.

"Right, I won't pretend that I don't know what this is about. But I need the facts," Rachel started

She turned to Marley.

"Marley, did you do anything to provoke Bolton?"

Rose scoffed.

"Oh, so he gets beaten up and it's his fault, is it?" she huffed, glaring at Rachel

Marley put a hand up to silence her.

"I was breathing. That was enough" he mumbled

"Miss Mason asked you a question, Marley" Eddie cut in

Marley sighed as he shook his head.

"No, I did nothing"

"Is that right, Bolton?" Rachel asked, turning to look at him

Bolton shrugged, staring blankly at the wall.

"You're in trouble, lad, don't make it worse" Eddie warned

"Well, what's the point? You all saw what I did. He's a skank, they all are" Bolton grumbled

"Bolton!" Candeece hissed, shooting an apologetic glance around the room

Rachel sighed.

"Ok, Marley, thank you. It's obvious you're not to blame. You can go. Rose, I'll speak with you later, ok?"

Rose nodded. Marley smiled weakly as he stood up from his chair, both of them leaving the office.

Once the door had closed, Rachel leaned forwards slightly in her chair. She was determined to get through to Bolton. He was hiding something and she needed to know what Paul meant.

"Ok, Bolton. What did Paul mean by 'keeping it quiet'?"

"Nothing" Bolton answered immediately

"Bolton, I'm not stupid. Is there unfinished business there?" she shot back

"Earl is out of reach, so you have a go at his brother?" Eddie chimed in

"Or maybe attacking Marley was just for starters? I mean, you've been going on about no-one wanting his family here. Maybe you're driving them out to impress your mates?" Rachel added

"I don't need to impress anyone" Bolton answered plainly

Rachel raised an eyebrow. She was hoping throwing some accusations at him would get him to crack and for him to get defensive and tell her the truth. Not on this occasion.

"Fine. Will you wait outside please, Bolton?" she requested

Bolton rolled his eyes as he grabbed his bag, stomping out of the office. Rachel sighed, putting her head in her hands.