I'll keep you safe

Chapter 125

It was 1pm.

Steph was in her classroom, marking the last of her Year 9 books. Usually, she hated marking. But, on this occasion, she was grateful she'd let it all pile up. At this rate, she had more than enough marking to get her through till next week! Plenty of distraction.

The day so far had been quiet. Steph was choosing to lock herself away in her classroom. She couldn't stand the whispering in the corridors, or the sympathetic glances being thrown at her from students and staff. She didn't want to be pitied. She just wanted Maxine back. No amount of pity would do that.

She was also hiding from Eddie Lawson. She couldn't stand him trying to defend Rachel. This was her fault, nothing could change her mind. In Eddie's eyes, Rachel Mason was a saint who could do no wrong. He would back her up no matter what. He was besotted with her. It made her feel sick.

She was avoiding Janeece too. Maxine's best friend was the last person she wanted to see or be around right now. Steph wanted to forget about the fact that she was now a grieving Mother, that she had lost a child and that Maxine was never going to come home. She just wanted to ignore it all.

It wasn't the marking that was getting her through today. It was the full bottle of gin she'd found stashed away in her desk drawer. She wasn't sure when she'd bought it, or how it had got there. She'd probably bought it for her and Grantly to share on a Friday afternoon. Either that or she'd confiscated it from a student. It didn't matter really. The alcohol was dulling the pain that was pulsating in her heart. It was drowning her racing thoughts. It was keeping her focussed.

There was a knock at the door. Steph jumped, her head shooting over to the door. She groaned when she saw the silhouette of someone on the other side of the glass. It had to be Eddie; he was the only one who knew she was still here. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Come in" she huffed, hastily shoving the gin bottle into her desk drawer

Steph watched as a young woman entered her classroom. She had curly brown hair, soft brown eyes and a kind smile. Steph didn't recognise her. She figured maybe she was from Social Services, but she had no lanyard around her neck so it was hard to tell. Whatever she was here for, Steph didn't want her in her classroom.

"Are you Steph Haydock by any chance?" the woman asked

"Yes. How can I help you?" Steph nodded

"My name is Charlotte, I'm a counsellor"

Of course she was a counsellor. She was the counsellor the LEA had sent in to tidy up the aftermath of Maxine's death. She was the counsellor Eddie had told the staff about.

"Let me guess, Eddie Lawson sent you to 'check on me'" Steph huffed, rolling her eyes

"No. He did mention you, but I've come to see you off my own back" Charlotte explained

"How very noble of you" Steph mumbled sarcastically

"Well... I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I think you're wasting your time... and mine for that matter" she added

"I understand you're Maxine's guardian?" Charlotte inquired, brushing off the Steph's sarcasm

Steph hated that word right now. Legally, she was Maxine's guardian. But personally, and in reality, she didn't deserve that title. A guardian's job is to protect and keep someone safe. Maxine was the one she was supposed to protect and keep safe. And she was dead.

To avoid being psycho-analyzed, Steph nodded politely.

"I just wanted to introduce myself to you. And to let you know that I'm here for the staff as well as the students" Charlotte explained