Authors Note:
Thanks once more for the reviews, favourites, and the follows. They mean a whole lot to me as I'm sure they do to many fanfiction writers. I got a little distracted by YouTube and Carla videos the last couple of days, aka I'm back in 2010 watching things and then maybe I'll go to 2009, who knows. It made me wonder what the Frank storyline would have been like had Kym not been on Maternity leave y'know. Anyway, Tree's thoughts are over, enjoy your next update and please let me know if you liked it.
Three of them froze on the spot as Michelle spoke. The latter however began to rage. If Carla wasn't going to bite his head off she sure as hell would do it on her behalf. Besides, Carla didn't need that stress.
"You are disgusting!" She yelled firstly, her finger pointing out at the pair of them in anger.
It took Michelle opening up her mouth to prompt Peter into a reaction, anything than being frozen on the spot.
"Carla," He began speaking to the teary-eyed woman, his hands risen in surrender, "She came onto me, I tried to push her off." He decided to plead innocent before her.
Carla's eyebrows rose, her arms crossed over her chest before one arm outstretched to the lying bastard. "No, Peter, the only pushing you were flamin' doing was with her against a wall!" She yelled now, seething.
"Carla, please," Peter pleaded, stepping away from a stunned Tina who was now standing herself up straight. Michelle then saw it fit to get in his path. Ensuring he didn't take another step near her best friend.
"No, you do not stand there and lie your way out of this one, do you hear me?" She shouted at him as Carla stood behind in silence.
"I don't think this is any of your flamin' business, Michelle, leave Carla and me to sort it out would you!" Tina began to walk behind him quietly, Peter still held his hands in mid air.
"You don't think it's my business? You don't?" Michelle asked, squinting. She glanced back to Carla who was wiping her tears away before they actually fell down her face. "This is definitely my business!"
"Carla, call off your lap dog would ya'?" Tina piped in, earning her a glare from the other three adults in the yard.
"Don't you call me a lap dog, don't you dare!" Michelle now shouted, edging closer to Tina. Thankfully Peter was in the centre so he was able to block off her path to Tina.
"Why not, eh? Seems like that to me!" Tina shouted back.
Amidst the yelling a small voice, broken, came through. Carla sniffled a little before she asked, "How long?"
"Carla." Peter pleaded again. "It's not-"
"Months." Tina replied cutting him off.
"Carla, please, ignore her." He began to beg, walking closer to her.
Carla turned away from him now, devastated. She shielded her face with both of her hands and began to sob loudly into them. Michelle pushed Peter away from Carla, watching him stumble back into Tina's arms.
"Don't you go anywhere near her." Michelle ordered, backing away to stand near Carla.
"I should have seen this coming." Carla said when her friend stood at her side, an arm draped over her shoulders. "If he can cheat on Leanne with me he can cheat on me with someone else." She scowled.
"C'mon, let's get you away from this." Michelle said now, ushering Carla back through into the back of the pub. Trying to get her into the front room at least.
"Carla, please, Carla, talk to me." Peter begged following after them.
"Peter, just leave. Take your cheap girl and leave me alone!" Carla finally shouted just as Michelle got her through into the front room.
"Carla!" He shouted now.
Michelle slammed the door in his face. Peter froze for a moment debating opening it but he knew it wasn't worth it. He had fucked up now. Tina gave a bitter laugh from behind him.
"Seems like trouble in paradise to me." Tina gloated a little. Now Steve had walked through to the back worried by the shouting.
"Whoa, whoa, what the hell is goin' on here?" He asked.
"Shut up, Tina!" Peter yelled, giving her a good shove so he could storm out of the pub.
"Calm down will you!" Steve now called, grabbing his arm. Peter snatched it back and began to storm out of the pub snatching a bottle of the first thing he could grab along the way.
"What was all that about?" Steve now asked confused. Of course he had a small idea, but he wasn't going to broadcast that.
"Just shut up, Steve." Tina huffed, returning to behind the bar in a very awful mood.
The girls from the factory still sat at their seats, looking on in confusion.
"Ay, what d'you suppose is going on there?" Sean asked firstly.
"He just took some vodka with 'im." Eva pointed out.
"I thought 'e was an alcoholic." Kirk spoke.
"Exactly, Kirk, that's why 'e shouldn't be." Eva informed him, taking a drink of her wine.
"Oh, right." Kirk replied, frowning, he looked confused for definite.
Beth walked back over with drinks clutched in her hands. Double fisted of course. She put them on the table with a tut as she made Julie move up and give her space to sit down.
"Right moody 'mere she is." Beth huffed as she sat down. "'ad a go at me for asking why Peter stormed off."
You could see the cogs turning in their heads as they gossiped along. "You don't suppose sommit' is goin' on between Tina and Peter d'you?" Julie asked in shock.
"I dunno, they're either secretly chatting or not talkin' at all when Tina's got shifts." Sean said, having observed them a time or twenty. "Except when Mrs. Barlow is in with 'im."
Julie gave a little gasp, "Oh, poor Mrs. Barlow, you don't supposeā¦"
Carla's hand shook as she rose it to clasp the bridge of her nose. She sniffled once more and took a very calming breath. Michelle was sat upon the couch next to her, watching her heartbroken. She wasn't sure what to say to make this better nor what to do. Instead the raven haired woman sat there watching her with tears in her eyes.
"She said months, 'Chelle." Carla said after another moment of silence. Her green eyes looked to Michelle, broken. "Months."
"Carla, please. Calm down and talk to Peter about it." Michelle tried to at least get her tears and moods to relax. Even if she hated Peter she knew Carla needed him. They were going to have a child together.
"Talk to Peter about it?" Her voice rose as she looked to Michelle, shaking her head. "Did you just see him try to lie off the fact he had her, one leg around him, kissing her, up against a flamin' wall?" The woman scoffed, "'Push her off' I'll push her off in a minute. Off of a flamin' ledge!"
Michelle looked at her friend angered. She wanted nothing more than to go out there and slap Tina herself but that wouldn't make things better. Before she had a chance to say a comforting word Steve had entered the back with a soft knock.
"I just wanted to let you know Peter's nicked a bottle of vodka and disappeared."
"Yeah, let 'im rot in a gutter for all I care." Carla didn't turn to Steve as she said it.
Michelle looked passed Carla to her boyfriend, shaking her head. "Don't worry. Send Tina home while you're at it." She didn't really want to protect that cheating bitch but for the sake of Carla and that baby Michelle knew she had to stop whatever oncoming fight between the two.
"She barely shows up as it is, 'Chelle!" Steve whinged now.
"Steve." The woman said giving him a stern look.
Steve wasn't about to protest given he knew about Tina and Peter for some time now. He understood it was right to send her home especially with a pregnant and upset Carla in the back. Regardless, he did not get a chance to even agree with his girlfriend over it.
Carla picked up her bag and shook her head quickly. She rose to her feet with a sniffle and a swift wipe of her tears. "No, don't bother, I've got a factory to open."
"Carla." Michelle stood up after her following the caramel-haired woman's steps.
Carla headed straight for the entrance of the pub which was most definitely an exit right now. Not caring who was in her way because frankly she didn't want them to see the tears in her eyes nor their track marks down her cheeks. Her rushed steps were made prominent by hasty clicks of her heels and the voice of Michelle trying to get her to come back. Perhaps she should have been looking where she was going instead of at the floor for seconds later she bumped into someone who was working behind the bar.
Without an ounce of an apology she looked up to meet the eyes of Tina with various other prying eyes watching them from around the pub.
"Oi, watch where you're going!" Tina snarled her.
"Or what?" Carla finally snapped, turning to glare at the girl. "You gonna screw my husband?" She scoffed in disgust, "Leave off would ya'."
It seemed that that was enough to spark Tina into action. She grabbed Carla's shoulders and shoved her. Carla stumbled a little but thankfully caught herself before she managed to fall. Instead she was seething, so she turned and gave the younger woman a very sharp blow to her cheek.
It echoed through the pub followed by a small chorus of, "Ohhh."
Before Tina had another chance to go at Carla, Michelle grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed herself between Tina and Carla right in the middle of the divider to the bar. "If you lay another finger on her I swear to God you will be sorry." The raven-haired woman warned her with a look of hate in her eyes.
Carla didn't do anything else but leave. Her heels clicked through the silent pub as she walked out of the door and towards the factory, fiddling with her car keys as she did so. She had to get away for some air, it was time for a break.
