She knew she couldn't stay sat on the floor forever and no doubt Sean would be coming along to bother her about something trivial very soon, he always did! he didn't even sew the goods properly so she often sat and thought why she still actually employed him. She pulled herself up from her crouched position and wiped her eyes very ungracefully on the back of her sleeve. Thank god it was black, she thought. These days she found herself losing more of the tough businesswoman like qualities she had worked hard to acquire over the years. Her facade was failing and fast.
She decided to have a look at who was actually trying to "brighten her day" by calling her. She fumbled with the phone and scrolled to her missed calls. "Peter" Her perfectly waxed eyebrow raised in surprise. Peter hadn't tried to contact her in just over a week, She had figured out Leanne was behind it and monitoring his calls. She thought, and secretly hoped, the rape would have brought her and Leanne closer again. So far she was being proved wrong and Leanne stayed even further away from her. Perhaps she thought she was damaged goods too.
A good month ago she would have instantly called Peter back, with no second thought, but today, no. She couldn't be bothered answering the usual questions of "yes i'm fine" 2no i'm not drinking" so instead she locked the keypad and threw the phone back into her bag. Resigning herself to the fact that she wasn't in the right frame at all to be trapped in this factory all day she grabbed her bag and black leather coat off the back of the door and decided to go for a walk to clear her head.
As she left the factory floor seemed to dim in noise and she suddenly felt 8 pairs of eyes on her as she briskly strutted towards the main doors.
"Carla?"
Hayley hot-footed it over to where Carla had stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at her friend.
"Do you want me to lock up?"
"Erm actually Hayley, and I know this will probably be against my better judgement but if I leave Sally in charge would you mind joining me?"
Hayley looked a little shocked but also extremly touched. She really had grown to love the friendship that had blossomed between herself and Carla over the years. Even with the heartache that ony put her and Roy through she knew it wasn't down to Carla and beign taken hostage along with her, well she very much appreciated her Boss.
"I'll just get my coat"
Carla smiled as Hayley went to tell a very smug Sally that she was in charge for the day and decided to wait for Hayley outside the Factory. The cold air hit her with a force and stung her eyes. She wrapped her coat firmly around herself, wishing she had remembered to pick up her scarf the previous night, and looked up and down the street. Every inch of Coronation Street held painful but joyful memories for her. Memories of Paul, of Liam, of Michelle and Ryan, whom she missed dearly, and sadly memories of Tony and Frank. The decent thing for her to do would be to move away completly! Start over afresh somewhere brand new, but she just couldn't pull herself away from this street that had become her home, especially since she was now staying at Marias flat and didn't have any intentions of moving out anytime soon.
Not knowing what was taking Hayley so long, but then again this was Sally Webster, yet another employee she wasn't actually sure what she paid her for, yes her work was brilliant but she had more mouth than, well than herself! She leaned her chin to her knees and shivered a little as the cold icey air seemed to invade everywhere! The door banged closed behind her and startled her making her jump.
"Oh god! Hayley"
"Sorry Carla, must remember to get that door fixed. So where do you want to go?"
"Oh anywhere. Just away from here. It's making me crazy inside there!"
Hayley held up a hand to help Carla up and she gave her a sad smile.
"Why do you do it eh?"
"Why do I do what Carla?"
""Rescue me at every given moment"
"Isn't that what friends do?"
Carla smiled and nodded in agreeance. She hadn't had a true friend like this for a very long time. Sooner or later her friends turn on her or just stop talking to her, but not Hayley. That one was loyal. She knew she had to open up about everything to somebody and she had finally found the somebody. She had it all planned, maybe their feet would lead them to the Red Rec and she could pour out everything that was weighing down on her brain. She needed to. Especially since her latest bit of news from her "loving" family was about to put the spin on her world once more...