It's been a while, but seeing more and more Carla/Michelle fics coming back around made me want to write a little something. If there is still interest I may try and write a bit more too.
Closing the door to the cafe behind her, Carla glanced quickly behind her, checking for traffic before beginning to cross. Her heels loud against the cobbled street. As she reached the other side she spotted her best friend walking towards her. Head down, shoulders slightly sunken, her demeanour defeated.
"Hey Chelle" Carla spoke gently as they neared each other in order to gain the attention of the younger brunette, Michelle in a world of her own hadn't even spotted Carla, her bold hazel eyes glistened with un shed tears which were threatening to fall at any moment. She jumped slightly upon hearing her name, having only been focused on getting herself to the safety of her flat as quickly as possible. She didn't need to say a word, she brought her gaze up to meet Carla's and watched as the older woman tilted her head slightly, analysing Michelle, knowing her better than she probably knew herself.
"You okay?" Carla knew the answer the question that she calmly asked, her face lowered closer to that of her best friends as she looked deeper into her eyes and expression. It always alarmed her to see Michelle obviously distressed. She was usually so good at hiding her feelings from the outside world, only those that knew her well could tell something wasn't right; but this was obvious to even a stranger right now. With a shake of her head, no words spoken, Carla's lips forced themselves into a sympathetic smile as an arm gently pulled Michelle closer, tucking her into her side as they walked towards Victoria Court.
Carla busied herself with making a drink, flicking the kettle on and placing coffee into the two mugs in front of her, her attention kept diverting to Michelle who had paced the living area before finally sitting down, placing her head in her hands, remaining there for a few minutes before she slowly dragged her head back up, running her fingers viciously through her chestnut locks, removing the stray strands that kept falling across her face.
"Ali was asking about Dean" her statement came from no where and Carla placed the spoon down on the kitchen unit as she heard her best friends voice break as soon as she mentioned her first loves name. With that one sentence Carla felt like she was watching Michelle's heart break all over again. It was a topic that was strictly off limits to the whole family and always had been, she always shut down or went to pieces as soon as Dean was mentioned and no one had ever dared to push her to talk about him.
Michelle spoke the words but her mind was elsewhere and she jumped as she felt an arm gently glide around her shoulders, before pulling her closer to the other woman. She was pulled into a strong embrace and once both of her best friends arms were secured around her, she could no longer prevent the tears from silently streaming from her hazel orbs and they cascaded down her face leaving the slightest grey marks from her mascara as they did. Unable to control her emotions, Michelle buried her head into Carla, leaning against her shoulder, the soothing feeling the hand that was rubbing gentle circles across her back helped her begin to calm down and regain some sort of composure. She took a deep breath as she pulled away from the embrace, her eyes still subtly glistening as they met those of her best friend. A finger gently wiped the remainder of her tears from her face and she shut her eyes for a moment, the dull ache behind them beginning to spread to her head.
"Do you want to talk about anything?" For a moment Carla thought that Michelle might finally talk about the past, she knew there was so much bottled up about her first love, the whole accident, the effect being left to bring up a child alone at such a young age, the betrayal and the lies told by her own brothers. Carla jumped slightly as Michelle suddenly stood up, rubbing harshly at her eyes before gathering her coat and handbag, before heading towards the door. She felt a force gently pull her back and she turned to look at Carla for a moment, before diverting her gaze back to the floor, pulling her hand away and leaving without saying another word.
Sat in the booth in the rovers, swirling the remaining crimson liquid around her glass whilst looking at the worn wooden tables, she failed to notice the shadow of someone appearing at her side and it was only once their deep voice sounded that she was brought back from her thoughts, she had spent the last hour sat here worried sick about her best friend and wondering just what to do next and how to deal with her. She looked up to see it was Robert who had distracted her from her thoughts, a worried look etched across his face, a deep concerned frown made a sudden feeling of panic form in her stomach.
"Have you seen Chelle? She was meant to be in work an hour ago and she's not at the flat and she's not answering her phone and now I'm starting to get worried, it's not like her not to answer. I was hoping I'd find her with you.." the feeling of panic began to grow as her mind went into over drive, before a thought of the younger woman's wear abouts suddenly popped into her head.
"Give me an hour. I think I know where she is, don't worry!" Carla gathered her coat and handbag quickly, bundling them into the crook of her arm, smiling weakly at the confused looking man before her before quickly leaving the pub and heading in the direction of Street Cars.
Sitting back in the seat of the taxi, the overbearing smell that appeared to be a mixture of smoke and possibly some sort of takeaway filling her senses she prayed that she was right and that this would be where she would find Michelle, hopefully safe and sound.