thanks for the reviews. I have listened, and so from now on, the chapters will be longer. keep reviewing please. thank you

Chapter 3

Carla stared at the wooden door from right outside her flat. She slowly fetched her keys from her hand bag and inserted it in the door. She paused a minute, delaying from turning the key to unlock it. Peter gently rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it slightly, just to comfort her. Carla's head fell, she gulped and let out a sigh as she turned her key and entered her flat.

"It gets easier, but it's still difficult" she told Peter, who followed her into the flat and smiled lovingly at her. "So how about that bath and coffee eh?" she asked him, as Peter headed for the bathroom to draw her her bath.

As Peter was in the bathroom, Carla stood still in the middle of her kitchen, again staring at the door to her flat. She couldn't help but feel physically sick when she looked at it, remembering how Frank had forcefully pushed her against it. I need to get that door changed, different colour, different style, different everything, she thought. She still stood still, as if frozen in time. Still staring, still scared, and obviously still terribly affected.

"Earth to Carla…" Peter waved his hand in front of her face. She blinked and looked deep into his eyes, and he could tell she was just trying to cope, but couldn't. "You were far away, in another World. Your bath is ready, and I added a bit of that lovely shower gel in, you'll smell wonderful" he added. "Thanks Peter, will you wait for me? I'll try and be quick?" she asked hopefully. "Take all the time in the world, and I'll be sat here when you get out, I promise" he said as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I promise" he whispered lovingly, as Carla turned away and proceeded into the bathroom.

As Peter listened through the bathroom door to ensure Carla got in the bath OK and was relaxing, he slowly made his way to her living room, reaching for his phone from his jeans pocket and flipping it open. He sighed as he read

12 MISSED CALLS – Leanne

2 NEW MESSAGES - Leanne

One read:

I saw you with Carla

The other:

I know you're at her flat together. Come home now or I will come there myself.

The last thing Peter needed was for Leanne to come storming in to Carla's flat, causing her more pain and grief than what she was already suffering. He also didn't want to leave Carla and go and explain things to Leanne, who was the least of his worries at the moment. Peter scrolled down to Leanne's name on his phone and gave her a call:

Leanne: How nice of you to call

Peter: Listen Lea, don't get mad, but don't turn up here OK. She is having a very bad day today

Leanne: Peter this is not your problem, come home now or I swear, I will leave you after I've stormed over and told that cow exactly what I think of her

Peter: Really? Really Leanne? You know if this is how you act, then I'm not even sure I want to be with you. I care about you so much, I love you, I trust you, and all I'm asking is for you to return the favour? Carla is my friend. No actually, she is my best friend, and if you won't let me help her, I'm sorry then tough. You do not rule my life and I do not expect to be treated like I have done something wrong. I resisted before remember… I couldn't say the same for you though.

Leanne: Peter I do trust and love you but she's not your problem, let Michelle deal with it. And as for that comment about Nick, there's no need for that.

Peter: I'm staying here until I know she's OK. Goodbye Leanne.

Peter finished the conversation by slamming his phone closed, not giving Leanne a chance to respond to his decision. He switched his phone off and put it back in his jeans pocket, hoping that Leanne would see sense and to not push her luck and come to the flat.

A significant amount of time had passed as Carla had felt so relaxed, she didn't realise she was in the bath that long. She couldn't hear any noise coming from the kitchen or the living room, and she wondered if Peter might have left. "Peter? Peter…?" he heard Carla call from the bathroom. There was no answer. "Peter? Peter…?" she called again, afraid that he had in fact, gone.

Peter heard her discreet voice from the balcony, where he was having a cigarette. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was worried that he might have left. He rushed inside quickly and called "I'm here, I'm here, what is it?" through the bathroom door. "I wanted to come out of the bath if you were here, but otherwise I would've just stayed here relaxing" she replied, as Peter's heart skipped a beat and a warm rush of something travelled his body, like he had never experienced before. He liked this feeling.

Carla walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a small towel, her wet hair draping down, reaching the top of her shoulders. Peter couldn't help but think back to the time when he last saw her wrapped in a towel. She had tried to seduce him, all confident and sexy, without a care in the world, a mixture of love and lust from her side. This situation couldn't be any more different. She wasn't shy of him, but she was reserved. He had a feeling that she was holding back, protecting herself, even though she didn't have to protect herself from him. He reached in and hugged her tightly, giving her reassurance. They both held the hug for a long while, each of them feeling so comfortable in each other's presence. It was Carla who pulled away first, as she stepped back slightly, tilted her head upwards and gazed into his eyes. He gazed back into her eyes. "Peter I'm scared" she said. "Scared of what love?" he questioned, both of them still gazing into each other's eyes. "You tell me to open up, to trust you, and I do. I trust you with my life. But... you know... I'm just scared of telling you what's going on in my head, because I would rather have you here and not know, than not have you here at all" she replied as her head dropped, losing their eye contact. Peter cupped her jaw in his hand, and lifted her head so that she was looking into his eyes again, and he told her "Carla, nothing you tell me is going to make me leave you. I'm here for you, please trust me?" He stroked her hair back behind her ear, and encouraged her to reply. "OK but you won't like it" she continued. His hand was still holding her face, but her eyes fell as she couldn't look at him. "I'm scared because I have fallen in love with you, and I don't want you to leave..." She started to panic as she had revealed her true feelings, and so she kept rambling on "…but listen this doesn't mean anything, I just want you to know it's not your fault, I swear, you have not given me any mixed signals, it's just I can't help how I feel, and with you being there and helping…." She was cut off by Peter. "Look up. Look at me" and so she did. "Don't you ever apologise for falling in love, because I, Carla Connor, have done exactly the same" he finished. Peter leant forward and kissed her passionately on the lips. Carla reacted to this and deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. They kissed passionately and their breaths became deeper and quicker, until Peter pulled away. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he said, "I have a wife, a child. I can't do this. not until I figure out what I should do with my life atleast. I'm so so sorry Carla"

"You can leave" she said calmly, but he could hear the disappointment in her voice. "Go now please and don't make it harder for me" she said as she escorted Peter out of her flat. "I'll see you" she said as she closed the door, and locked it securely from the inside.

She sat on her sofa, head in her hands, and sobbed and sobbed. She hadn't cried like this since Liam died. She ached all over. The pain, the humiliation, the hurt, the betrayal. This wall all too much for her.

From the corner of her eye, she could see a full litre bottle of vodka. She reached out for it, and before she could control herself, she was gulping it down like it was water…