I'll keep you safe

Chapter 20

Half an hour had passed by. Rachel hadn't been sick again. She'd stopped shivering, but the colour hadn't come back to her cheeks. All she wanted to do was sleep; her body was sore and aching. But after her nightmare earlier, she was reluctant to close her eyes, even though her body was screaming for sleep. The pain was keeping her awake too.

She felt bad for Eddie feeling like he had to stay. He looked just as tired as she felt, and he'd had even less sleep than she had.

"You don't need to stay, Eddie. You can go home and get some sleep" Rachel said to him

Eddie shook his head

"I'm not going anywhere Rachel" he replied firmly

"You need to rest too! You haven't slept for over 24 hours, I can tell! Go back to your flat and sleep!" She argued

"I'm not leaving you on your own Rachel, no way!" Eddie protested

"Eddie, all I'm going to do is sleep! You don't need to be here 24/7. It's not like I can go far is it? I can barely walk!" She pointed out

"I don't care! I'm not going Rachel, end of!" He insisted

Rachel sighed; he was just as stubborn as she was.

She didn't want him to go, she really didn't. But she could see how exhausted he was, even though he wouldn't admit it. She didn't want to be a burden. He wouldn't sleep if he was here with her.

"Look, if you won't do it for yourself, do it for me? I want you to go home and rest for a few hours. I'll be ok, I promise" she reassured, softening her tone of voice

The thought of leaving Rachel made him feel sick. He didn't want to, but he knew he wasn't going to win against Rachel. As much as he wanted to stay, he wanted to respect her boundaries and not suffocate her. She'd been through enough. But he didn't want her to push him away or shut him out either. And whilst he didn't want to admit it, he was tired and thought a few hours of sleep would help. And he wanted to change clothes.

He came up with a proposal

"Fine, I'll go. But, you call me if you change your mind, or if you need anything, ok?"

"I will" Rachel nodded

"I mean it, Rach" Eddie said firmly

"I know. I'll call you if I need anything, I promise" she reassured him

Eddie sighed, giving in

"Alright, I'll be back in a couple of hours. I'll lock the front door and take your spare key" he told her

Rachel nodded quietly, sipping her water

"Don't forget to take your painkillers and antibiotics" he reminded her, placing the bags on her bedside table as well as her mobile phone so she could reach them easily

"I won't" Rachel promised

Eddie sighed deeply. He really didn't want to leave her. But he was going to. It was only a couple of hours.

"Right, I'll see you soon" he said, giving her a weak smile

"Ok" Rachel nodded

Eddie turned away to exit Rachel's room.

"Eddie?" Rachel called after him

He turned around, hoping she'd changed her mind and wanted him to stay.

"Thank you, for... you know... looking after me" she said, with a gentle smile

Eddie smiled back at her

"I'll see you later, Rach" he replied, stepping out of the room to leave Rachel to rest

He closed the bedroom door behind him, heading downstairs. After checking a few times he'd locked the front door, he got into his car, driving away back to his own flat. The uneasy feeling followed him all the way back to the flat.