Carla stormed out of the flat, but the bookies into the deserted street. Peter's harsh words were echoing through her head and her eyes began to well up with tears. They were not tears of sadness, well, not entirely. Carla was angry Peter. How could he have said those awful things to her, the woman he supposedly loves? She hadn't caused this mess. She had tried her best with Simon, despite her not being particularly maternal.
When Peter gave Leanne custody of Simon, Carla thought things might be a little easier, not having a constant battle with the boy. But now Leanne has threatened to take Simon away from good, Peter's temper has erupted and Carla is getting tired of him taking everything out in her. So she decided to extricate herself from the situation before she said something in retaliation that she might later regret. Most women would have walked how long before this, but Carla has always been a glutton for punishment. After all she's been through you would think she'd have learned by now. Although her relationship with Peter had been one of the few things keeping her going over the past few months, so she has been clinging on with both hands, trying to convince herself that she is happy.
Now, as Carla sits on the bench outside the medical centre, tears streaming down her face. She keeps going over and over it in her head as she ponders what to do. Should she stay with Peter and try and make it work, or should she leave him and try to find happiness elsewhere. Carla doesn't do alone well. Sure, she very rarely let her guard down, but being in a relationship, being wanted and needed always offered her comfort and a sense of security. Was she ready to lose that again?
It had started to rain heavily, but Carla had barely noticed until now. Her long raven locks had begun to curl, but her tears were masked by the rain. She suddenly remembered a bottle of whiskey she had stashed at the factory, in the bottom drawer of her desk. She scrambled to her feet and headed towards Underworld. She flung open the door, put on lights, entered the security code and hastened towards the office.
As she took that first set of booze she felt a warm current surge through her body. She didn't regard herself as an alcoholic; drink just takes the edge off when she is feeling sad or stressed. She was in such an emotional state, that before she knew it she was sat on the floor in the corner of her office with half the bottle gone. It wasn't long before the effects of the whiskey and the emotional exhaustion caused her to drift off to sleep.
Meanwhile, outside, it was closing time at the Rovers and Stella was ready for locking up. "Okay everyone, it's time to leave. You don't 'ave to go 'ome but you can't stay 'ere" she chimed.
Michelle was one among the crowd leaving the pub. She had been having a few drinks with Maria and Sean. As they walked along the street go home, Sean said, "Ey look, the factory light's still on. Is Carla working late tonight Michelle?"
Michelle turned to Sean with a puzzled look on her face, "I don't know, she didn't say anything to me about it." Then Maria chimed in, "I hope there's not been a break-in or anything."
They all looked each other with concern, knowing the history of the place, it wasn't a far-fetched notion. "I'll call Carla." Michelle said clawing in her bag to find her phone. The other two waited in anticipation. "Voicemail! Right I'm going to check it out." Michelle declared. She began to march over the road with Sean and Maria close behind.
"Hello?" Sean squeaked. Maria elbowed him. "Shhh, what if they're still 'ere?" She whispered. Sean let out a loud gulp.
"Knock it off you two. It doesn't look like anyone's taken anything, and the alarm was disabled. I don't think it was a break-in. I'm gonna to check the office though. Wait 'ere." Michelle said as she pushed her way past the two, towards the office.
When she entered the office she was alarmed to see her best friend slumped in the corner, seemingly unconscious. She prodded Carla's arm to see if she would move. As she did this, Carla stirred and Michelle noticed the half empty bottle of whiskey lying next to Carla's leg.
"Is everythin' all right Michelle?" A nervous Sean queried. Michelle panicked. She knew Carla would be horrified for them to see her like this. She had to think quickly in order to protect her best friend's already bruised reputation.
"Erm, yeah Sean, everything's fine. I found Carla," she paused in order to think, "it looks like she fell asleep at her desk, she's been working so hard lately."
"So she's all right then?" Maria asked in a concerned tone.
"Yeah, shall be fine. I'll wake her up and make sure she gets 'ome all right. You two get off. It's all good." Michelle assured them.
As Sean and Maria left, Michelle returned to the office. She gently shook her sleeping friend from her slumber. When Carla awoke she was disorientated and it took her a while to remember what was going on and why she was there in the first place. She looked up at Michelle's concerned face with an expression of guilt written upon her own. She could tell that Michelle disapproved and was worried about her. Michelle never was very good at hiding her feelings. Carla let out a big sigh and then began to sob uncontrollably.
"What's wrong babe? What's happened?" Michelle asked apprehensively. Michelle put her arm around Carla, cradling her and rubbing her arms to comfort her. They sat there for a while, on the floor of the office. The only sounds were the rustling of Carla's jacket as Michelle continued to comfort her friend and Carla's sobs that had now become a whisper. Michelle didn't know what to say to her friend to make her feel better. How could she? She didn't know why she was in this state in the first place. Carla had seemed more together lately than she had been in a long time, and suddenly she's a wreck again.
"Do you want me to call Peter?" Michelle said, making an attempt to break the silence and get some form of response from Carla. Surely the mention of her beloved would snap her out of it.
"NO!" Carla exclaimed. She spoke so abruptly that Michelle was taken aback. "I can't see 'im right now 'Chelle. We've 'ad a bust up. He's blaming me for this whole thing with Simon and Leanne."
"Yer what? He's got a flamin' nerve. Do you want me to have a word?" Michelle said in an angry, yet supportive tone. Carla let out a flicker of a smile as she replied, "No, you're alright. Thanks though Love. I just don't want to see 'im right now."
Carla had stopped crying and managed to pull herself together. She could always count on Michelle to be on her side when she needed her. They've been through so much together. Losing Paul and Liam, and all the other stuff along the way. Michelle is the one person who knows Carla the best. The person she had let her guard down with the most. When she was at her most vulnerable, having Michelle there beside her always made her feel more at ease.
"Right then, you're comin' back to mine." Michelle said, "Stay with me as long as you need." Carla gave Michelle a hug, then they both grabbed their bags and left Underworld for Michelle's flat.
