Reluctant but feeling some what obliged Peter took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair before exhaling and grabbing his keys from the side and his leather jacket on the way out of the door. This was just typical of Carla when she was drowning in the darkness of the reality's of life; selfish and giving not a thought for anybody but herself. Peter had been helping her fight her demons for years now and truth be told although he knew how hard it was to fight and stay strong he was jealous of Carla. She had so many people who loved, cared for and supported her that he really didn't understand how she had fallen off of the wagon again. Admittedly she hadn't had the easiest of pregnancies with their daughter and he hadn't been as supportive as he guessed he should have been but all that aside, Carla really needed to get a grip. She had a baby to support now; she couldn't afford to just go off the rails whenever she felt like it.
Outside he looked around before cupping his hands and lighting a fag that he held it between his lips. The nicotine helped him to relax and he was super stressed at that moment. He thought he had left all this running around after a lush behind the day he had called quits on their marriage and walked but here he was, still out there, still looking for Carla before she came to harm. Setting off in the direction of the factory he hoped he would find her there. It was where she usually went running to when she wanted to be alone and drown her sorrows in the secret stash of spirits she kept hidden in various boxes and files around the office. When he found the factory door locked he was at a loss but he hoped she hadn't locked herself in so as not to be disturbed.
Standing on the steps outside Underworld Peter pulled out his phone as he flicked his exhausted cigarette off to one side. Scrolling he found Carla's number and called her only to be met by continuous ringing. Huffing he kept the phone pressed to his ear and headed across the cobbles to The Rovers in the hope someone might have seen her. It was busy as he headed through the door and Carla's phone rolled to voicemail. Peter didn't leave a message, just disconnected the call and headed straight to the bar.
"Err Sean, you haven't seen Carla have you mate?" he asked in a hushed tone.
"Sorry cock, no I haven't" Sean answered as Peter turned and went before he could pry for more information as gossip.
Frustrated Peter stepped outside and lit another fag just as Deirdre stepped out of the front door of number one. Stressed out after only twenty minutes Peter was explaining to Deirdre how the second he had finished his current cigarette he was calling Michelle and telling her he was giving up. Deirdre sensed his anger and frustration and just started to give her advice when she noticed that Peter wasn't actually listening to her and he had been distracted by something across the street.
Carla's feet ached as she came marching round from behind The Kabin stumbling across the cobbles and clutching a bottle in her hand from which she took a swig of every other step. She looked a right state and she felt it too. Her head was pounding and her vision blurring ever so slightly as she headed towards the factory and almost tripped up the steps. In her other hand Carla loosely held her handbag and a carrier bag clearly containing another bottle. She dropped them both off of her arm as she reached the doors and then almost fell on top of them as she searched for her keys. Finding them she wobbled finding her balance as she stood up, missed the lock countless times before she got the key in and pushed the door open only to find the sound of the alarm beeping painful of her muffly head.
"Excuse me Deirdre" Peter stated throwing his only half smoked cigarette into the smoking box and then suddenly rushing across the street. As Deirdre looked round she could see that Carla was just disappearing inside the factory and she knew Peter was heading there. She wished him luck with Carla but knew it would probably just result in more upset for everyone.
"Carla!" Peter bellowed out as he barged in and headed down into the darkness of the factory.
The dim light from her desk lamp was his only guide across the factory floor to the office and he did so with caution. As he approached he could see that her chair was swung round so that she was facing the corner and he couldn't actually see her. Not wanting to startle her he moved slowly to the door and gently pushed it open. Peter doubted Carla had even heard him come in as she hadn't even flinched and so he slowly approached the chair moving round the side of it and eventually coming to a stop at her side. He was trying to keep calm but inside he felt furious at her immaturity, that was until he saw her.
Carla was slumped against the leather, clutching to the bottle as she had been when she had gone inside and as Peter got a better look at her bowed head he could see she was crying, sobbing quietly and it tugged at his heart strings. For the first time since he had left Carla he felt saddened to see her such a mess and he crouched down beside her and reached for the bottle. That was when Carla realised he was present and she jumped in fright not knowing just who was in the office. As she turned to look at him she tightened her grip on the bottle and snatched it to the other side as Peter frowned at her. Now she was just being stubborn.
"Oh Carla" he said with a sigh.
"Leave me alone Peter" she whined.
"Oh love, you know I can't do that" Peter explained. That emotional connection he had with Carla and that love he had been keeping pushed back and buried deep came rushing back to the surface as he remembered the last time he had seen her in such a state. They were bad memories, those that had happened after the rape with Frank years ago and it bought a tear to his eye.
Carla tried to get up, pushing down on the arm of the chair she wobbled and fell back down into a seated position. Typical Peter she thought, when she needed him the most he never cared and when she just wanted to be alone he couldn't help but interfere. Annoyed she tried again and this time successfully got up. Clutching the bottle she staggered passed the desk, reaching across it to grab her bags she had dumped and started to leave the office all as Peter scrambled back up onto his feet.
"Carla wait" he called out, sensing she was going to cause herself more harm than good.
"Leave me alone Peter" she yelled, slurring her words and she staggered and stumbled across the dark factory floor. Peter was just at the office doorway and could just about make out her silhouette in the darkness when she stumbled and fell.
Carla went crashing to the floor and there was the sound of smashing glass as the bottle took some of the impact too. Carla was silent, no cursing and no screams as she lay against the floor having shocked herself. Peter was quick to fight his way through the dark and over to where she had gone down but he couldn't see a thing. Dashing across towards the doorway he searched for the power and flicked the light switch to flood the factory with bright light. His eyes took a moment to adjust and then he saw her lying there. Rushing over he crouched at her side and took her hand to try and help her up when he noted that it seemed wet and cold. His shoes crunched against the broken glass as he helped her up and upon closer examination her could see her hand all cut and containing a few shards of the broken glass.
Helping her up Peter slowly walked across to the kitchenette area, supporting Carla's weight as he pulled her along with him. Pulling out a chair for her, he helped her sit down. She hadn't tried to fight his assistance nor had she told him to leave her alone but Carla couldn't think straight, she was too drunk to comprehend just exactly what had happened to her. She seemed distant and as if she was miles away as Peter busied himself grabbing the first aid kit and some paper towels with water to get her cleaned up. This wasn't the first time he had pulled shattered glass out of Carla's hand and he doubted it would be the last. Sighing he pulled out a chair and sat before her as he gently wiped away the blood and removed the glass to see the full extent of the damage done. It wasn't bad and looked far worse than it actually was. The second the glass was removed Carla winced and it seemed to bring her back to life where she snatched her hand away from him.
"Carla let me help please" insisted Peter as he tried to grab her hand back.
Defiant and not wanting his help Carla went to get up and walk away as she had done before but dizzy and unstable she simply fell back onto her chair as soon as she had started to push herself up. Taking her hand again she reluctantly let Peter finish as she admitted defeat. It was nice actually she supposed to have him caring for her again, she had missed him. Everything was going well until his phone started to ring. He smiled at Carla and got up to take the call out of her earshot. Peter hadn't looked at the caller ID but before he could even say hello he heard the screaming of a baby and then the urgency in Michelle's voice as she panicked about whether he had found Carla yet.
"It's ok, yeah I've found her. No, don't worry Michelle, it is all ok" stated Peter trying to keep his voice low so as not to frighten Carla.
It was too late though, Carla had heard the mention of Michelle's name and panicking she had gotten up and stumbled but managed to somehow go running across the factory with the stability she had been lacking previously. She took a little stumble and she reached down to scoop up her hand bag from the floor on her way out but seconds later she was gone. Peter didn't hear until the distinct slamming of the main doors that lead out on to the street was heard. Turning quickly he glanced over to where he had left Carla to see the chair empty.
"I gotta go. Don't worry" Peter hurried to say as he hung up mid sentence. Then he headed out after Carla, hoping that she hadn't gotten far.
