Michelle rolled her eyes and with some reluctance eventually agreed to help, it was just typical of Carla to do such a thing. She could hear the worry in Peter's voice and sighed knowing he had to stay home with Heather. It was the middle of the night and there she was going on the hunt for her drunk ex sister in law and best friend. Grabbing her coat she said goodbye to Peter and headed out to start her search. The night air was cold and made her shudder. Carla couldn't have gone far, when she was drunk she could barely stand up straight for longer than a few minutes so there was no way she had managed to make it any distance. Standing beside the kebab shop Michelle looked down the road in the direction of the flat and then to her left as she tried to figure out in which direction Carla might have gone.

Michelle wasn't wrong, Carla had made it barely anywhere. She had stumbled across the cobbles and was currently crying her eyes out against the wall of Audrey's salon. She was in pieces, completely distraught as her head painfully span. What had happened between her and Peter made her head and her heart ache. It was so confusing, why had he kissed her? If he loved her he wouldn't have left, so understanding why it had happened was something Carla was struggling with. Sitting on the cold pavement she banged her head back against the wall and took a deep breath before throwing her head into her hands. Having drawn her knees up to her chest she sat shivering lost in tears as Marcus came home from the late shift at the hospital.

"Carla, hey are you ok?" he asked crouching down in front of her with concern etched on his face. He had been enjoying the freshness of the night air and gazing at the stars before he'd seen her but he knew he couldn't just leave her there.

She didn't look up or acknowledge him in anyway. Knowing something wasn't right Marcus reached out his hand and rested it on her bowed head. Flinching her head flew up and all he could see was a beautiful woman, in tears with red eyes and blotchy skin, with a terrified look in her eyes and looking more than worse for wear in the light of the moon. He could see she needed a friend. Insisting she couldn't sit outside he helped her up and wrapped an arm around her hunched shoulders as she allowed him to escort her to Maria's flat.

Trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake Liam and Maria if she had gone to bed already, Marcus led Carla into the living room. Maria turned to face him upon seeing him come in and smiled until she saw Carla trailing behind him. Jumping up from where she was seated she hurried straight over to Carla and started fussing over her even though Marcus advised her that probably wasn't the best of ideas. Maria frowning out of concern bought Carla to the sofa, sat her down, sat beside her and grabbed her friends freezing cold hand as Marcus made some hot drinks in the kitchen. Carla was still wiping at her tears as she sat uncomfortably in Maria's flat. Marcus handed Maria her mug and they exchanged a concerned glance before they both sympathetically looked at Carla.

"You going to tell me what has 'appened Carla?" asked Maria gently. She didn't want to push her friend away, just wished she would open up so that they could help.

Carla shook her head, she could feel the hard lump forming in her throat as she thought about how to explain. It was so hard to deal with and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to tell them. Crushing Maria's hand a little Carla drew in a deep breath and with her other hand tried to wipe away her rapidly falling tears that had started again. Seeing how distraught poor Carla seemed to be Marcus looked at Maria, maybe she shouldn't push for answers, perhaps they should just let her rest and broach the subject in the morning.

"Maria" Marcus politely warned when she kept pushing.

Sniffling Carla tried to collect herself and then reached out to take the coffee she had been made from the coffee table. Her muzzy head was starting to feel heavy and her thoughts too hazy to collect and explain properly. She suspected that as much as she trusted the people she was sat amongst they were judging her. She could smell the alcohol on her and she could still taste it in her mouth mixing with the coffee that raced down her throat. Shaking her head gently she looked down, staring into the mug and the blackness of the coffee she was sipping she couldn't help seeing some resemblance of her own life in it. Pulling her hand away from Maria's she drew in a big breath and then sighed sadly as Marcus gestured with his head that Maria back off a bit.

"Carla we are going to go to bed, you get settled, stay here and sleep. Maria will get you a pillow and blanket" offered Marcus kindly.

Maria took the hint, disappearing into the bedroom to fetch the spares from her cupboard. Marcus placed his mug down on the table and smiled sympathetically at Carla as she looked up. Instantly she looked straight back down into her mug. She felt so awkward and had only wanted to thank him for their kindness but just hadn't been able to bring herself to say the words. Maria was just coming back with the bedding when Carla began to mumble. She had finally found the strength to say something.

"Peter…it's Peter" she practically whispered.

Outside in the street Michelle had been up and down it at least three times, checking all of the shadows to make sure Carla wasn't lurking away in them. Unfortunately there was no sign of her and Michelle really didn't have the energy to venture further a field in the cold. Heading to the flat she called in on Peter to let him know he'd either have to call the police or start a search for Carla himself. He looked so worried as she came in and saw him sat feeling useless on the sofa. Taking a seat beside him she grabbed his hand and squeezed tight. Urging him not to worry she picked up her phone to call the police when it started vibrating. Maria's name lit up the screen and Michelle answered it with urgency. Listening intently to all Maria was rushing to explain to her she suddenly breathed out a sigh of relief when she explained Carla was with them and that they would take care of her.

"She is with Maria" Michelle informed Peter as she cancelled the call. She watched as he fell back against the sofa feeling relieved. At least she was safe. Michelle got up to leave when she took one last look at Peter. He had sat forward again and had his head in his hands as if he was in despair. Curious she couldn't help asking if he was ok. She had thought that knowing Carla was safe would have been enough for him to be able to not be concerned anymore.

"I kissed her" he mumbled.

Michelle was confused, she didn't understand. Slowly she came back over and sat in the chair that looked in the direction of the sofa. Having to explain that she was confused she hoped Peter would elaborate on that statement. He seemed a little frustrated as he looked up at her with sad eyes. Starting to explain some of what had occurred earlier between him and Carla he noticed that with every detail he told Michelle's eyes widened and her jaw eventually fell.

"Peter! How could you do that to her" Michelle exclaimed.

Shaking his head he was lost for words and looked away from Michelle, not able to take the intensity of her glare. She didn't know all of the facts so he wondered why she was being so judgemental. Putting all the blame on him wasn't fair, yeas he had initiated the action but they had both been a part of it. He didn't need to admit it was a silly thing to do but he had only acted on his instinct. Taking a deep breath he looked at her. Carla running was all his fault and he felt so guilty. Silence fell between them and the atmosphere grew awkward as Michelle concentrated hard. Her eyebrows the suddenly rose and her jaw dropped again.

"You still love her don't you" Michelle stated as the realisation hit her.