Hello. Thanks for visiting. After tonight's corrie (28.05.13), as heartbreaking as the carter scene was, I thought it was fantastically written, amazingly directed and of course the acting was OUT OF THE WORLD. This is a follow up of what happened after the scene ended. Just to warn you, it does contain sensitive material, therefore please do not read if you feel this may offend you. I cried writing this. I also haven't proofed read it yet as I wanted to upload it sooner rather than later. I don't think I've misspelt anything, but if I have please tell me. Edits shall be made tomorrow. One last thing, please review and tell me what you think. It really does go a long way, be it good or not so good.
Thank you, ACCRK
Peter hung up his phone and placed it on the kitchen cabinet. "He understands" he said, referring to Simon. He had just called him to explain he wouldn't be picking him up today, but that he had a surprise for him tomorrow instead.
Carla nodded, her eyes slightly red and puffy from the cries, her nose bunged up and her cheeks glowing wet from the tears.
"Carla, we need to talk" Peter said as he walked slowly towards Carla, who was still sat on the couch, playing with the sleeves of her light pink top, biting her lip and sighing deeply.
"Baby, I already told you, I will deal with this my way" She looked down, as if embarrassed to cry in front of her lover. Peter slowly reached his hand to cup her chin, and lifter her face so her green, teary eyes were staring straight at him. She sought comfort in him, and his loving brown eyes and wide smile made her feel a whole lot better, a whole lot safer.
"I know" he whispered, not taking his eyes from hers. "What I meant was, we need to talk about you" Carla looked deep into his eyes, confused and puzzled, her innocence evident. "Carla, you build your walls so high, no one can climb them. Tonight though… now, you have let me climb them, just that little bit. But I want to be on the other side of that wall… You know, you have to let me in"
Carla's head fell, as a lonely tear fell freely on her flawless skin. Peter smiled at her again, this time he gently stroked her jawline with his thumb as he used his other hand to stroke her thigh in reassurance. "Look at me" he whispered. Carla sniffled, and looked up at him once more. "Please let me in" he persuaded.
'I've never…" she began, as she wiped away the now unstoppable tears. "I just don't know how to" her voice breaking between her moments of recomposing. "It's not you" she said, reassuringly. "I've told nobody. Not Paul, not even Liam. I mean, they knew a lot because we grew up together, but not really…" Carla's hands were now shaking, and Peter could slowly see the effect this was having on her. He knew of her slightly vulnerable side of course, but it shocked him to see how hurt she was by Rob's betrayal. Peter knew then that he had to be there for her, every step of the way.
"…but you can tell me, Carla."
"I think you know more about my life than anyone else in the world. My childhood memories have been dead and buried for so many years, but the truth is, you never forget, do you Peter? Not really, do you?" she cried silent tears, tapping her foot on the floor to try and distract herself.
"No love" he stroked her arm with his hand, squeezing it gently, just for additional reassurance. "So what don't you forget, what happened after he stole the money from your bedroom?"
Carla took a deep breath, and bit down hard on her lip so stop herself from crying. "It sounds so petty, Peter"
"Carla, nobody is going to judge you, least of all me. You've got to learn to trust me"
"OK OK" She knew this was going to be difficult, and she was sick to the stomach she was so scared of letting her guard down. "So because I blamed my mam for stealing the money, she got mad at me, like real mad. She'd tell me I was a waste of skin and that I was no daughter of hers. Anyway, she would never really physically hurt me, apart from a couple of times where she was so out of it she had no idea what she was doing… but her friends were different."
"Her friends?"
"Yeah. Because I'd been arguing with her, she'd always complain about me to her boyfriends, lovers, drug dealers, I don't know, whoever she hung out with. Some of them would just dismiss any comment and get on with what they were doing, and I'd just stay in my room…" A thin layer of sweat was now forming on Carla's skin, and her voice seemed to have moved up a pitch, her nervousness evident to Peter.
In a calm and collective voice, Peter look at the woman he loved "What about the others?"
"The others weren't so nice." her voice cold, angry, almost bitter. She paused for a second, not knowing if she could go on. "I was a girl who had nothing, Peter, who wanted everything"
Peter admired his girlfriend's bravery.
"I would be in my bedroom alone, either sewing, doing homework or just working out how much money I had and when I could just run away from home. Anyway, this one particular time," Carla stopped talking and swallowed her spit. Her eyes stared towards a fixed point on the floor, widened and focused.
"Please no?"
She shook her head. "Not quite" she answered. "That came when I met Frank" Peter felt a dagger to his heart at that statement. He still wasn't and would never be rid of the guilt he felt for what Frank had done to her.
"So this particular time?" Peter asked, willing her on, but not at all forcefully.
"One of mam's boyfriends came storming into my room. I remember I was sewing my dress together after mum had ripped it when she grabbed me before. All of my sewing stuff was on my lap on like a dinner tray, you know? So he made a B line for me, came running for me, he just raised his hand and flipped the tray. All the things flew everywhere and the edge of the tray clipped my eye"
"Black eye?"
"Oh yeah. Didn't stop there though. His face now red with rage, I think he was high too, he saw my sewing needles on the floor…" Carla wiped away her tears as she opened up to Peter. She lowered the tone of her voice, speaking slower, angrier and evidently upset. "He grabbed a needle from the floor, pinned me up against the wall and held it only centimeters from my eye. I was raging now, swearing at him, begging him to do it if he was man enough"
"Did he?"
"No. Instead, he ripped my top off and tugged at my bra until it buckled at the back, by which he threw it on the floor so I was stood topless in front of him." Carla drew her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes, "I'm sorry" she said "This is really difficult for me" This was so difficult for her, she couldn't' bare to think about it let alone tell someone.
Peter just looked at her, wondering how he didn't know half of the pain and struggle the woman that he loved had gone through. He wished he would have been there for her, and knew he would be there for her from now on.
"And so, needle still in his hand, he drew is closer and closer to the left side of my chest, repeating something like 'A bitter, bitter heart, Carla. You are worth nothing' or something along those lines anyway. So this needle he was playing with, he said he was going to use it to stab me in my heart. He couldn't have done that with that small a needle I don't think, but this guy was crazy, I thought the next step would be the kitchen knife." Her hands were now shaking viciously, and Peter could sense how uncomfortable she was talking about this.
"Are you OK?"
Carla nodded. "He touched just to the right of my left boob with the end of the needle."
"Did you try to fight him away?"
"I did to begin with, by this point I was numb, and my body was unresponsive. I think I was just in complete and utter shock. So then he applied pressure to the needle, and I felt this excruciating pain. He put more and more force on it, and then I saw blood. It didn't stop him though, he pulled the needle out and did it again, and was moving the needle around, trying to carve the letter B in me."
"B?"
"For bitch. I was a bitch, apparently."
"What happened then?"
"I woke up, in a pool of blood, on my bedroom floor. I think it was a couple of hours later, he had just left me. My chest was covered in blood and I was feeling really week. Paramedics surrounded me… I realized later that it was my mum who had called them. She found me after her dickhead of a boyfriend had left."
"Oh Carla" Peter's eyes was now filled with tears, he felt helpless.
"Peter, god knows what happened after I passed out, because I was covered in cuts and bruises, chunks of my hair had been pulled out, I had a fat lip. I was literally battered… But you know, nobody apart from him will ever know."
"So he could've…?"
"There's still a possibility, but evidence suggested he didn't go that far"
"Is that where your scar is from then… on your chest?" Peter held Carla's face in his hands, and stared lovingly into her eyes. He was a picture of trust, a tower of strength.
Carla nodded. She closed her eyes and this time didn't fight back the tears. She let them flow freely down her cheeks, crashing onto Peter's hands as he stroked her face to wipe them away.
"I've never told anyone about this" she whispered
Silence fell on the room, where Peter just took Carla in. He kissed the top of her head lovingly before letting her collapse her head into his embrace. He stroked her hair and let her cry into his chest.
"Carla" he whispered, ensuring his voice was soft and loving, it being such a sensitive moment. "Carla, does Rob know this?"
