"Carla? Carla?"
He called for her repeatedly, his voice hoarse but somewhat welcoming compared to the shrill, mocking tones that she had unwillingly grown accustomed to. It took her a few moments to summon the power to distinguish whether or not it was another part of her mind slowly unhinging, pushing more familiar sounds to the forefront of her sub conscience in order to trick her, make her believe she was safe only to rip it from her the second she dropped her defensive barriers. Was he even there at all, talking to her? Or was it all a dream?
Two strong arms gripped onto her skin and jerked her from beneath the surface. Cold air hit with the force of a bullet and caused her to cough violently in attempt to clear the water that had pooled into her lungs. She spluttered and choked, her throat stinging as the blood vessels at the back of her throat threatened to burst at any given moment as the water evacuated her airways and joined the larger body of water contained within the tub. She gasped hard, taking hold of the sides of the bath to try and ground herself as reality slowly washed over her.
His hand gently rested on her back, grazing over the now prominent curves of her shoulder blades as she hunched herself over, alternating between rubs and forceful blows to aid with the functions of her body as it worked to take back control of her breathing.
The reality of what was really happening soon dawned on her, as did the pain. Her skin stung, crimson red from the searing temperature of the water. Her lungs burned almost as if they were on fire, ironic as only moments ago they had been filled with water. Her head throbbed, but she wasn't quite sure whether it was due to the brief deprivation of oxygen or the contents within her mind. The voices, the ringing, the blaring of sirens in the distance; it all began to creep it's way back in. Everything was closing in on her and despite Peter's best efforts to pull her from the water she still felt as though she was drowning.
"What the 'ell do you think you're playing at?"
His voice was sharp but filled with concern and panic. She had never meant to worry him or cause him any more grief than she already had. she couldn't be responsible for inflicting more damage on people's lives, not when she had caused everyone more than enough pain. Kate was right; nobody wanted her here. What exactly would she be achieving by hanging around where she wasn't wanted? They all wanted her gone; her family, neighbours, people that she had always considered to be friends, the voices… especially the voices. Why prolong the inevitable?
"I… I was having a bath."
She spoke monotonously with no sign of emotion present, no regret or sudden realisation of what had happened, what could have happened. Her eyes rocked back and forth, desperately searching for something to fixate on, something she knew to be real. She tried to focused on the sound of his voice, his kind and soothing tones, but the others were so strong as they battled for dominance within the psychological prison of her mind. She couldn't get out.
"It didn't look that way to me. Come on, love, let's get you out of there."
She looked up at him, her expression blank and pitiful. She was merely an empty shell of the woman he once knew. The light in her eyes has faded. Physically she was sat before him but she hadn't been herself for longer than he cared to admit and he feared that she would never return again. Peter dragged her from the tub and sat on the floor, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping the towel that was on the floor around her quivering body. He couldn't tell whether she was shaking from the sudden exposure to the cold air or because her body had become so weak, so fragile, that the only thing it could do was tremble.
Her eyes searched the room, trying to locate the origin of the whispering. The deafening sounds of people talking about her, plotting what they were going to to do her. She couldn't let them get her, she just couldn't. She was too weak to fight but she couldn't sit back and allow them to take her. She clasped either side of her head and covered her ears, hoping that everything would stop. Her body rocked involuntarily, uncertain of whether her movements of her own accord or Peter's attempt to soothe her, imploring them to leave her alone.
"No, no, no… stop it… I know what you're trying to do, I know…"
She pleaded with them, begged them to stop. The louder they grew the more her body shook and her breathing became more erratic until suddenly there was nothing. The ringing had stopped again, the voices were gone. It was quiet once again. She let out a sigh of relief until she heard a noise so haunting that her blood ran cold. Her head snapped up to look at Peter and the confusion in his expression almost matched hers.
"Do you hear that? Where… where's that coming from? What have you done?"
The grip of her hands around her head loosened as she focused on the sound as it grew louder, more recognisable. She stared at the man in front of her. He looked familiar but she couldn't be sure whether she really knew him to be real. Maybe they had sent him? Had they sent him to trick her? She couldn't be sure of anything except for the soft but needy cries coming from the next room. It was her, she just knew. An instinct awakened inside of her as she tried to shuffle her body away from Peter's.
"What have you done to her? Why is she crying? Where is my baby?"
