Nick sits quietly in the Bistro, it was well past closing time but he needed time to think, time to process the situation he had thrust upon him.
It slowly dawned on him that he has never met anyone quite as insecure as Carla Connor. Carla, who dashes around the street wrapped up in her leather coat and her unwavering confidence, but who is so unsure of herself and her self-worth.
He was the first to admit that when he first met Carla that he despised her, with her self centred personality, treating people as if they were beneath her. But slowly the icy exterior started to crack, leaving chinks in her armour exposed and raw.
His heart broke at the memories of him and Leanne laughing at her misfortunes, even doubting her when Frank had raped her. Guilt that he would take to the grave with him
"Nick?"
"Oh, Michelle " Nick smiled sadly
"Can we talk? " She asked, walking over and taking a seat next to him
"I think we need to" he sighed, holding up the bottle of whiskey that was currently keeping him and his thoughts company
"Thanks " She nodded
"She admitted it"
"She actually said... " Michelle asks in surprise
"That she has an eating disorder, yes" Nick lifted his glass to his mouth, taking a mouthful of whisky, the alcohol burning his throat
"So, what now? "
"That's up to her" Nick sighs, placing his glass back down
"We need to make her see someone, a professional, Steve's psychiatrist is really good "Michelle grabs her bag and slides nick over a card
"No. She needs to do this, we can't force her to do anything "Nick pushes the card back towards Michelle. "Anyway, I promised her, no Doctors "
"This is Carla we're on about, she is the most stubborn person i have ever met" Michelle replied in disbelief
Nick chuckled to himself
"That she may be, but I'm serious Michelle, we need to let her do this at her own pace. I've tried the hard way, and it ended badly"
"So, we just leave her to waste away to nothing? " Michelle nearly shouts, not believing what Nick is telling her
"No. We just need to find a middle ground. I've been reading things online, not that it helped that much, I just kept finding forums full of mothers desperate to find ways of getting their teenage daughters to eat" Nick sighed
"That's because that's what it usually is, a teenage disease. Not someone like Carla " Tears were now filling her eyes
"Its not like she was even near fat" Michelle shakes her head
"Its not what this is about " Nick sighed " Its about Control. It's about thinking she deserves all this pain and punishment "
"The fire? It was an accident"
"She blames herself. No matter what you or I tell her"
"Its Frank all over again. The blame and guilt. What if she... " a sob escapes her chest. She couldn't watch her best friend go through this again. Nick instinctively stands and pulls Michelle to his chest, allowing her to cry
"Well this is cosy isn't it" Carla snapped
"Carla" Nick let go of Michelle and quickly spun round to see Carla standing near the door
"Mind telling me what the hell is going on? " Carla spat, accusing
"We were just talking, I'm worried about you. We both are" Michelle replied softly
"Talking? Didn't look like that to me" She scoffed
"Stop it, Carla" Nick sighed.
"No, you don't get to tell me what to do. Bet you two been having a laugh at my expense "
"Laugh? " Nick ran a hand through his hair in despair "What part of this do you find funny? " He almost shouted
"Carla, I know about the eating dis..." Michelle trailed off
"No. Don't say it" Carla shook her head "I can't believe you told her" Carla had tears in her eyes as she looked at Nick. Her face full of betrayal.
"You think I wouldn't of worked it out in the end? Look at you, you look terrible " Michelle mumbled
"Thanks" Carla spat back, walking towards the table where Michelle and Nick currently stood by, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and taking a huge gulp
"Carla, you don't need this" Nick reaches for the bottle, taking it from her hands and placing it back on the table forcefully, knocking the paperwork on the table all over the floor. Carla rolled her eyes and gathered the papers up
"Leave it, I'll sort it " Nick mumbled
"What's this? " Carla stood slowly, holding the card Michelle had given Nick
"You want me to see a shrink? " She laughed "You DO think I'm crazy"
"No, Michelle suggested you talk to someone that's all" Nick pleaded
"You promised " She whispered
"He didn't accept the card " Michelle added, placing a hand of Carla's back. She has to stop herself from recoiling in horror, she could count every single one of Carla's vertebrae.
"This is nothing to do with you" Carla stepped away from Michelle, glaring at her.
"Carla, please,' Nick sighs. 'We need to talk about this.
'No we don't,' Carla says loftily. 'There is nothing to discuss.'
'Apart from you trying to kill yourself?' Michelle says mildly. 'No, nothing.'
Angry, Carla spins round, her head spins. She tries not to show it.
'Kill myself?' she says, eyebrows raised.
Stop spinning, room, stop spinning. '
What on earth gives you that idea?' She scoffed
Unfortunately Michelle's answer is cut off as Carla rather dramatically to the floor. Nick is at her side in seconds.
Damn it, Carla
'Are you okay?' Nick kneels by Carla's side and puts a tentative hand on her back. 'Talk to me, Carla, or I'm going to call an ambulance.
"I'm okay,' Carla stammers out desperately. 'I'm okay.
"I'm calling an ambulance " Michelle voice is shaky, clearly in shock
"No, Nick, please" Carla begs, reaching for his shirt and pulling herself up
"Michelle..."
"Take her to the Rovers, I'll finish closing up" Nick sighs
"I'm not happy about this" Michelle throws her phone into her bag as Carla manages to stand on both legs, evidently still shaking. Carla can do this. The room isn't really spinning, she knows that. Gravity, or whatever ridiculous phenomenon that Nick previously tried to teach her about, has not altered. One foot in foot of the other. Left foot, right foot, left foot.
"Can you get me some water? " Carla mumbles as she sits with Michelle in the back room of the Rovers
"Of course" Michelle leaves the room briefly, returning moments later with a bottle of water
Here,' Michelle mumbles. Pulling a chair from the table so she's facing Carla on the sofa. She just sits and waits. Carla will crack first.
Carla does crack first.
'I don't understand,' she whispers, after five minutes of silence.
'What don't you understand?' Michelle asks gently knowing how difficult a thing that is for Carla to accept.
'How this happened,' She admits slowly.
'That's okay,' Michelle replied softly "We can figure that out later. Right now that's not important. What is important is what we're going to do.'
'We?'
'Yes, we' Michelle says, more sharply than he intended. 'You cannot do this alone. Do you hear me? This is not the kind of thing you can do alone.'
'I don't need anyone,' Carla says fiercely
'Of course you do, and whether you like it or not, me and Nick are involved in this now " Michelle grabs Carla's hands. They are freezing, how can two people's body temperature be so different
"What is she doing here " Amy glares at Carla as she opens the door
"Amy... " Carla murmurs
"I'll take you back up to bed" Michelle sighs, releasing Carla's hand and walking towards Amy
"Mum said she doesn't want her anywhere near me" Amy doesn't take her eyes from Carla "She said you could of killed me"
"Amy, stop it" Michelle sighs, ushering her from the room
"I'm sorry.. " Carla mutters. The guilt from the fire flooding her body, stronger than ever
"I'll be five minutes " Michelle notices the change, Carla can look hopelessly vulnerable in the correct situation.
Carla finds herself on her feet and halfway through the back door, a bottle of vodka in her hand. She genuinely has no idea how it got there. Her body is becoming less and less his every day. She quietly shuts the door behind her and quickly makes her way back onto the street, her mind blank as she heads towards the factory
"Watch where your going"
"M'sorry" Carla mumbles
"Oh, it's you" Tracy rolls her eyes. Then she takes a proper look at Carla, she looks terrible. A pang of guilt hits her gut
"Why don't you come home with me, you look like you could do with a hot drink " Tracy offers, spotting the bottle of vodka in Carla's hand
"No thanks " Carla snaps, spotting her Car, pulling the keys from her pocket
"Where are you going? " Tracy follows Carla "You can't drink and Drive" She shrieks
"I'm fed up of people telling me what to do" Carla turns on her heel, pointing a finger at Tracy "especially YOU" She forcefully pulls the car door open and throws herself into the car. Tracy looks around the street before walking round to the other side of the car, pulling the door open
"This is crazy"
"That's my middle name " Carla scoffs
"You're not doing this " Tracy replies and she enters the car, slamming the door shut
"Just try and stop me" Carla laughed and she started the car, tyres screeching as she fled the street