Nick opened the door to the flat as he was still reeling after losing his temper at the girls who were bullying Bethany. He was disappointed in himself at the fact he had got so angry. That wasn't him. He needed Carla to return from the factory. She always managed to calm him.
As he shut the door, his eyes were drawn towards an envelope on the floor. Nick picked it up and saw it was addressed to him so he opened it.
"Carla slept with Robert on New Years Day."
Nick dropped the letter at his feet and put his head into his hands. He could feel the anger he felt earlier building up inside him. His head began to throb and he wondered if all this was having an effect on his brain injury. He shook his head. It couldn't be true...
Carla put her hand on the door handle and arrived into the flat. She smiled at Nick when she saw him sitting at the table but he didn't smile back. She took off her jacket and began to walk over to him.
"Nick.. What's.." she asked, concerned, before he interrupted her.
"Don't speak. Care to explain this to me?" He threw the letter at her.
Carla's face fell when she saw it. Tracy had told him in the worst possible way.
"Nick.."
"I thought it maybe wouldn't be true.. But it obviously is by your face.. Explain it then. Everything." Nick demanded.
"I.." Carla was speechless. "I'm sorry.." she said in barely a whisper as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"I don't care if you're sorry!" Nick raised his voice and threw his hand down on the table, making Carla jump. "I want to know what happened!"
"It was a mistake.. It meant nothing. I was in a bad way and was drunk.. Nick, I love you." Carla tried to explain as she cried.
"So you say you love me but you jump into bed with my chef? My chef, Carla!" Nick shouted as he stood up.
"I'm sorry.." she sobbed.
"So, who's this from then?!"
Carla sighed. "Tracy"
"And how the hell does she know?!"
"Nick, she's been blackmailing me for weeks about it.. She made me pay her ten grand and she's been on my back the whole time over it." Carla blurted out, without even realising what she said.
"So that ten grand you gave her is the ten grand she gave Robert to buy me out?" Nick realised as Carla realised what she had said.
There was a silence in the room.
"So not only did you sleep with my chef but you also forced me out of my own business?!" Nick shouted again, throwing his hands about as he moved closer towards Carla. "Did you not think that sleeping with the guy would hurt me enough?!" his voice bellowed through the flat and there was a painful buzz rushing through his brain.
"Nick, stop it please.. you're scaring me.." Carla had never seen this side to him before.
"Why would you do this to me?!" He shouted again but this time standing right in front of Carla, his face right in hers. "Especially after what Peter did to you!"
Carla started to cry even more. She really was going to lose him. "Nick, stop it.." she said.
"Well you should've thought about this before you slept with my bloody chef, Carla!"
Is was then that Nick's brain injury for a second time that day made him loose control of himself.
He raised his hand and before he knew what he was doing, it was slapped right across Carla's cheek. She took a sudden breath in as his hand collided with her face and her hand went to grip her throbbing face as more tears began to fall.
Nick was still standing centimetres away from Carla, but he was staring at his hand before he stared at her standing in front of him.
Carla attempted to move past him but he put out his arm to stop her. "I'm sorry.." was all he could say as he looked at her still holding her face. "I.. I don't know what happened."
Carla moved her hand away from her face and it revealed a bright red mark on her cheek that was likely to turn into a bruise. She moved away from Nick and stood at the opposite end of the room.
Nick's head felt a bit calmer now. It didn't feel as full of emotions as it did before. The shock of what he had done finally was beginning to sink in.
"Carla, I'm sorry.." he tried to explain as she turned to face him again.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked in utter shock.
Nick got the buzzing feeling through his head again and he knelt down and clutched both his hands on his head hoping it would stop.
He kept on saying sorry over and over again.
"I felt safe with you, Nick... Even after everything and everyone.." Carla trailed off.
Even though they never spoke about it, Nick realised who she was referring to by saying "everyone" and this made him feel a hundred times worse.
It also made his head and brain hurt a hundred times worse.
"I'm.. I'm sorry. Carla, my head hurts so much.." He said, sitting down in the nearest seat.
"That doesn't excuse what you did."
Silence.
Nick keeled over again with his hands covering his head again.
"Nick.. What's happening?" Carla was concerned.
"My brain. It's.. coming back. The damage. I think." Nick tried to explain and Carla began to realise why she just witnessed that completely different side to Nick.
She walked over to where he was sitting and knelt down at his feet. She looked at him for a minute before gently putting her hand on top of his hand on his head.
"Do you need a hospital?" she asked as Nick looked up.
He then broke down at the sight of her red cheek. He had done that and he would never forgive himself. He put his hand on it and Carla flinched slightly as it was still sore. "Sorry.." Nick cried which made Carla begin to cry too.
"Nick, you need to see someone about your brain. I'm worried.." Carla cried as he nodded in agreement.
"Listen, I know I hurt you and I'm so, so sorry for that. But I swear he was a drunken mistake.." Carla began. "And you hurt me but.."
"I didn't mean it, Carla. It was my brain. I don't know what's happening. I can't control it." Nick said, sadly as he calmed a little. "I lashed out at girls who were giving Bethany a hard time earlier too. I grabbed one of their bags and launched it across the street.." He revealed to Carla who sighed sadly.
"Nick, I love you and I know you love me and.. we're going to work through this and we're going to get your head better together."