Max was shook awake by Imogen the following Monday morning. He hadn't mean to fall asleep, but someone seemed to be having a party on the floor below his flat. He could not seem to understand why people would throw a party on a Sunday, he couldn't remember ever having to himself.

His eyes opened and he groaned, rubbing his eyes and yawning as Imogen continued to shake him.

"I'm awake! What's wrong?"

"Eddie! It's Eddie, He's back! Jessie too!" Her eyes were wide and her breathing erratic as she shook him again, he pushed her hands off him and leant back in his chair.

"That's great, ask them to get me some caffeine tablets will you?" he smiled at her, then put his head back on the table, letting his tired eyes close to the image of her irritated face.

"Max! Come on" she huffed and attempted to pull him to his feet, he sighed and gave in, puling himself up and dragging himself out to reception where in front of the desk a large swarm of people had gathered, amongst them Jay, Adam Jessie, Peter, Marie and Layla. Eddie himself looked rather overwhelmed, never having been a great people person, with a slight stutter and social anxiety he was smiling nervously and nodding, making small sentences and trying desperately to remain polite. It wasn't that Eddie was a bad person, because he wasn't and was really one of the nicest members of the staff and crew, Marie spoke very high of him, always. 

Layla couldn't figure him out though, pale skin, covered in freckles with light auburn hair which was wavy, he was cute from appearances only. He seemed to only reply with short sentences, stumbled over a few and went very red in the face. But who was to judge from where she was standing, she stood on almost the over side of the room, with Peter, she wanted to say something to him and welcome him back and introduce herself but still was not one hundred percent sure on who he is.

Eventually, she got the balls to walk over to him when there was less people around him. Like Jay he seemed to wear primarily sport wear, a simple white shirt with a small Adidas logo and black shorts with some Nike trainers. So maybe he was a personal trainer too? So why did so many of the trophies in the case behind reception?

Layla waited patiently for him to finish the conversation he was having with someone else, which consisted of the other person talking and him maybe nodding or smiling, then, before anyone else could grab him into a conversation, she stepped forward and caught his eye.

"Hi there, Eddie right?" she smiled warmly. He smiled in response and looked down. He couldn't seem to hold eye contact, for a long time anyway.

"Y-yes, that's me" he nodded. It was a shame that he couldn't hold eye contact for too long because he had such lovely blue eyes. "And you must be the new reception and office girl?"

"Yeah I'm Layla, it's great to meet you"

"Likewise" he held out a hand and she shook it. "S-sorry if I seem a bit... awkward" he pinched his lips and blinked carefully worried that if he didn't look her in the eyes then he would seem rude but if he did he was worried if he seemed too intense.
"No, no you're fine. So are you the clubs tennis champion or something? Judging by all the trophies, mostly with your name" she gestured with her hand to the solid wood case with all the newly polished cups, bowls, trophies and plates.

"Well I'm not Champion yet, but I've been training for years and this year harder than ever, I've always been second or third, but this year I'm confident. We've got time trophies too for the Evergreens, but that's a different sort of tennis and I play male solos" for the first time since Eddie had walked into the centre, with bandaged up arms and with all eyes on him. He seemed actually confident, with a passionate spark in his eye it was evident he could talk about tennis for hours on end without getting tired. If there was one way that Eddie could truly express himself it would be through tennis.

It was almost a complete reverse of personality.

"Well that's great, good luck! I'm sure I'll be there to see you play the final match, is it in the semi-finals?"

"Quarter finals, great time to hold a microwave on fire and get buns on my arms huh?" he smiled and laughed, Layla did too. She had time to wish him better and then Peter was back and hugging him and nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Hi" a voice said behind her, she turned to face a girl with curly black hair and tanned skin, she grinned at her. "I'm Jessie, Layla yeah?"

"Yeah, hi, I hope you're okay! I heard that you were in quite a lot of shock"

"Oh yeah I guess, Marie made me take the rest of the week off because of it, I'm just worried about Eddie" Jessie looked over Layla's shoulder at where Eddie stood talking with Peter and Max, she sighed. "Anyway, have you met everyone?"

"Yeah pretty much, I just have to get to know them now...hey have you seen Marie?"

"Yeah she's over by the vending machines...oh hey Max"

As Layla left to find Marie Max came over to give her a hug and welcome her back.

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

"A bit shook up to be honest, every time I'm not occupied I think back to the marks on his arms..."

"It's okay Jess, he's fine, seems better than ever in fact. You have to remember you really helped him yeah?" He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled comfortably.

"Um why are you being so sensitive all of a sudden? I haven't heard one pun from you and it's nearly ten"

"It's awfully crowded in here isn't it?"

"I'm sorry?" She said, confused, narrowing her eyebrows.

"Crowded tennis and fitness centres with occupied machines and crowded receptions are the worst because we're there to lose weight, not gain wait" he said, gesturing to the heavily crowded room with the corners of his mouth turning up at the sides. His eyes sparkled with humour as he giggled.

"There it is" Jessie rolled her eyes and pushed her hand through her hair as she surveyed the room. "You're right though, Marie should know what to do though"

***

Marie somehow managed to get Eddie, Jay and Imogen into her office which got rid of the crowd in reception, she sat the three of them down and slumped into her office chair, feeling frazzled and overwhelmed. The wedding cards that had littered her office were now gone being replaced by several framed photographs of either the staff or her and personal friends, in one section there was a delicate china vase with some daffodils stored neatly in it. There was not a picture of her and her husband in sight, the only reminder of their newly formed marriage were the shiny bands on her finger. Eddie surveyed this, but thought it was best not to say anything.

"Is it too early for whisky?" she joked and the three of them smiled. "Right, lets get down to business. Eddie, how are your injuries?"

"Okay, the doctor said to take it easy, he's given me some aloe gel and some painkillers for when it gets a bit much, I have to replace these bandages every few days to stop it getting infected but to also protect it"

"Well that's good. And Jessie, is she...doing okay?"

"She seems to be okay, bit shaken, or at least that's what she told Max" Imogen mentioned, talking with her hands, something that she had done since her school days when she wanted to explain a point. "I think the doctor might have given her some form of prozac or vallium or vanax for it, I'm just worried she's suffering from PDS"

"PDS?" Jay questioned, moving his attention over to her.

"Post dramatic stress, when you witness something distressing and keep playing it over and over in your head, it affects you physically and mentally" She replied, counting of each symptom on the fingers of her right hand.

"God I feel s-so bad" Eddie said, shaking his head. None of them flinched at the stutter that they had all got used to. "I didn't mean for it to happen, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and Marie you know that customer safety is the one main thing we prioritise"

"It's not your fault Eddie, Peter was there too but he seems hardly affected by it, him and I were having a normal conversation watching you go in the ambulance, if anything he's just worried for his sister, I think it's how her brain works...anyway, welcome back, we'll be having a quick physio session today with some PT from Jay and some yoga and mediation with Imogen just until we get you back on your feet, if needs be we'll keep you working on it tomorrow, or if you feel ready you can get straight back into practicing and training".

"Right, sounds good"

"And you're sure your doctor said it was one hundred percent okay for you to get back into training?"

"What? Oh y-yeah of course" Eddie said and plastered a smile onto his face, his look was not convincing and Marie made a mental note to call the hospital or GP when he was not in ear shot. Eddie also had a thing about people worrying about him, he hated the fuss and would really rather just deal with the situation himself. Especially when it came to tennis and he had some sort of injury, he just wanted to play the pain away.

"Don't you worry Boss, I'll keep a close eye on him" Jay grinned and winked at him.

"Oh 'cause you're totally reliable" Imogen rolled her eyes and looked back at Marie.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jay leaned over an uncomfortable looking Eddie and glared at her.

"ENOUGH!" Marie said, "God grief, you're only a few years younger than me but sometimes I feel like I'm running a school, get to work" She was stern and unforgiving with the cold steel look in her eyes, the pair got up and Eddie followed after.

"Actually Imogen, a word quickly"

Jay and Imogen shared an unimpressed look as Jay stared at her and then ushered Eddie out of the office, shutting the door with a loud bang behind him.

Marie sighed and rubbed her forehead as Imogen walked behind the desk, Marie turning in her chair.

"Have you booked an appointment with the doctor yet? About your sleep problem?" she leant foreword and looked at her carefully, her angry and stern demeanour vanishing into thin air.

"No..."

"Look you've got nothing to worry about, I'll come with you, I'm sure they'll just give you some sleeping pills or something"

"I don't want anyone to worry about me, I really don't. It's nothing"

"It's not nothing, when was the last time you got a good nights sleep?"

"Um..." she looked away, staring down at the floor as she slumped her shoulders.

"Exactly" Marie tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at her. "Book it"

"I just... I don't like Doctors"

"I'll be right there with you. Now, are you sure you're okay with helping out Eddie?"

"Yeah no, helping Eddie will be a breeze, just got to find out his weakest points to help stretch successfully but also to relax. I need to fine point the pressure points that he has so I can work with them, hopefully Jay won't be too stubborn and will be able to help me. I'll book the appointment and text you about it"

"Good. I'll come check up on you three later on. If you need anything, call me on my office phone"

"I will, thanks Marie" she smiled and walked out of the office.

Marie relaxed in the silence of her office and closed her eyes to enjoy the moment of peace away from the work and countless emails.

Then her phone rang.

---

A/N Honestly Eddie is me socially and Marie is me with school.

Thanks for the feedback! I hope you're liking it so far! Whilst writing this I've only put up two chapters so....but I'm trying to find a way so that you guys don't get confused with all the characters, I'm hoping it will sink in as the story unfolds :)

Let me know what you think :)

-Lx