Rachel and Eddie were now at the Bowling Alley, waiting for Philip. Eddie had gone to the bar and got himself and Rachel a drink, as well as a pair of Bowling shoes each.
Rachel couldn't deny it; she was looking forward to this. She hadn't been before, but now that she was here and she could put her all into it, she was ready. She hadn't been Bowling for years. It was one of the very few 'sports' that she was good at, if you could class Bowling as a sport!
Eddie had noticed the shift in her mood as soon as they'd left Waterloo Road. She seemed relaxed and at ease now, the stress temporarily lifted from her shoulders. He hated seeing her so upset and defeated. He hoped this evening would help her to have a break so she could come back fighting tomorrow. She was doing a great job at Waterloo Road, and he wanted to remind her of that, whilst giving her a break at the same time.
Thirty minutes had gone by, and there was no sign of Philip. But it was ok. In fact, Eddie and Rachel had barely noticed how long they'd been waiting, too engrossed in conversation.
Suddenly, Rachel's phone pinged in her pocket. She frowned, fishing it out. There was a message from Philip.
"Sorry Rach, I can't come bowling. Going to a music gig with friends. See you at home"
Rachel scoffed
"What's wrong?" Eddie asked
"It's Philip! He's not coming!" she exclaimed
"Why not?" he frowned
"He's had a better offer, some gig or something" she shrugged, putting her phone away
Eddie sighed. He'd only arranged to go bowling because Philip was coming. If he'd known he was going to change his mind at the last minute, he would have just taken Rachel straight to dinner.
"The bloody cheek! So much for our night of 'quality time'!" he huffed
Rachel smiled. She was a little disappointed that Philip wasn't coming. She'd been looking forward to spending some time with him. But at the same time, she was glad he was socialising and making friends.
"Shall we get out of here and go for dinner then?" Eddie asked
"Absolutely not! We'll just play one on one!" she insisted, standing up
"I'm going to whip your butt!" she added with a soft giggle and a cheeky, radiant smile
Eddie smiled, his heart fluttering when he saw the sparkle in her eyes. He'd forgotten how competitive she could be.
"Ooooh, I forgot how competitive you are! I thought it was the taking part that counts?" he chuckled
Rachel smirked, picking up her bag and a bowling ball as they headed over to one of the bowling alleys.
"I'll leave that one for the kids, Mr Lawson! Tonight, victory will be mine!" she joked, holding up the bowling ball triumphantly
Eddie laughed. He quite liked this side of her.
"We'll see about that!" Eddie huffed, following her to one of the lanes
After a couple of rounds, it was clear that Rachel was the better bowler out of the two of them, even with a cast on her arm. Eddie managed to aim his ball everywhere but at the Bowling Pins! Rachel was winning by a mile.
She couldn't help but be amused by how hard Eddie was trying. Bowling clearly wasn't his thing!
It was Eddie's turn. He groaned as, once again, the ball rolled out of the lane and down the side, missing all of the pins completely.
Defeated, he turned back to Rachel, who was laughing her head off. He was glad she found it funny, at least someone did! He'd been aiming to impress her with his bowling skills, and he had done so, but in completely the wrong way.
He scoffed as Rachel continued to laugh.
"I just wanted to take you out for dinner! But no, no, Philip says 'let's go bowling, I like bowling!', well, where's he now?!" he huffed sarcastically
Rachel giggled. Eddie Lawson was a sore loser!
"Philip is out having a great time with his mates while I THRASH you! You're rubbish!" she teased, smacking his chest playfully
Eddie chuckled. He had to admit, she was quite good at bowling. Better than he'd expected. That wasn't so surprising, considering she was a natural at nearly everything.
"Come on, let me at it!" she smiled, grabbing another ball
Eddie huffed
"I don't believe you!" he whined
"Aww, chill, watch!" she soothed, walking over to the bowling lane
"Go on then" he encouraged
He watched as Rachel bowled, spotting something immediately.
"FOUL!" he shouted
Rachel spun around, frowning at him
"My foot was behind that line!" she argued
"No way!" Eddie scoffed
Rachel chuckled
"Ok, it was on the line!" she insisted
"Alright, McEnroe! If that's the way you want to beat me!" he exclaimed playfully, walking away
Rachel giggled, chasing after him and turning him around to face her.
"Excuse me? Are you calling me a liar?" she huffed, still giggling a little
Eddie smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Oh, I'm far too much of a gentleman to say that!"
She stared at him lovingly, completely lost in his soft brown eyes. She really did love him so much. What had she done to deserve a man like Eddie Lawson? He'd turned her life upside down, but in the best way. She was so glad he'd organised this, she'd needed it more than she'd realised.
She leaned into him, catching his lips with her own. They shared a passionate kiss. Rachel blushed as they pulled apart, smiling at him.
"Let's go to dinner, yeah?" Eddie whispered
She nodded, sitting down on a chair to take her shoes off.
She looked at the final scores on the board above them. She smiled. She had beaten Eddie three times over!
"Looks like I really did whip your butt!" she smirked, nodding at the board
Eddie rolled his eyes playfully
"I never had you down as a cheater, Mason" he teased
"My foot was on the line!" she insisted, giggling
"If you say so" he shrugged
Rachel chuckled. He was never going to let that go.
...
Tom was raging after the events of the afternoon. Earl Kelly had gone too far this time. The dead birds were bad enough, but this? His car being smashed? Earl had it in for him. And he'd had enough.
He'd tried calling Rachel, but her phone was switched off. It wouldn't have made a difference if she'd answered. He had no proof that it was Earl. The CCTV camera had been pointing at the porch, not the street. Rachel would dismiss it immediately, as would Eddie. No one saw Earl for what he really was. One day, they would. Rachel would realise he'd been right all along. The question was, what would it take to get her to realise? How many people would get hurt before she finally woke up?
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I'll keep you safe
FanfictionWhen Rachel goes through a horrific trauma at the end of the school term, will Eddie be there for her? (Set at the end of series three of Waterloo Road)
