You could cut the atmosphere at number Twelve Rosamund street with a knife.
The Barlow family plus Michelle and Steve all decided to go back to Peter's flat and wait for him after they'd had that much needed coffee at Roy's Rolls.
As soon as they had entered the flat, Simon headed straight towards his bedroom and slammed the door shut. At first, Ken or Michelle had thought about following him in there to check that he was okay but Steve had said something about Simon maybe wanting to be alone for a while and Ken and Michelle thought that Steve was probably right.
So they left Simon be.
They all sat down in the living room they had only been sat in last night for Carla and Jada's leaving party and already the flat seemed so different without their presence.
Jada's toys were no longer scattered around the living room, there were no rogue puzzle pieces and bits of Dulplo, no loose crayons and no sign of any of Jada's endless amount of picture books.
The coat hooks by the front door no longer had her little black suede jacket hanging from it, Carla's jacket was missing too and as for the place where they would leave their shoes, that was almost empty too.
"Does anyone want another cup of coffee?" Michelle asked, mainly just so she'd have something to do because the silence that was in the room right now was unbearable.
"Yeah… I'll ave one." Tracy sighed. She was sitting on the sofa with her Dad and Amy whilst Steve and Michelle had been sat on the armchair nearby.
"Ken?" Michelle asked as she stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Last night the kitchen counter had been full of food and drink and now it looked extremely bare with only a loaf of bread on the side and a packet of biscuits.
"I'm alright thank you Michelle." Ken replied although it was clear to everyone in the room that Ken was definitely not all right.
He was extremely worried about Peter and had spent the past hour hoping and praying that his son would come straight home after saying goodbye to Jada and Carla.
Ken wasn't the only person worried about Peter not returning home, in fact that subject of Peter not coming straight home after his airport run was like an elephant in the room.
Tracy, Michelle, Steve and even Amy all had visions of Peter stopping off at a random pub or bar on his way home and even though he had done so well since his last alcohol relapse, it was clear to all of them that losing the love of his life and one of his children could really be the issue that made Peter go back to the demon drink.
Peter's other child didn't let himself think that far for too long.
He was shut in his room, face buried in his pillow with some loud music playing in an attempt to try and block out what had truly been one of the worst days of his life.
He was scared about the future too of course, scared about his Dad maybe returning to alcohol but he tried his very best not to think about what might happen now that his Step Mother and little sister were probably on a flight back to California.
Back in the living room, Michelle had brought over the hot drinks that she had made and as she placed them on the coffee table, Tracy quietly asked,
"What time was Carla's flight leaving again?"
"Seven past two." Ken replied as Michelle took her own coffee over to the chair she had been sharing with Steve.
Simultaneously, everyone in the room looked over at the silver clock, which hung on the wall above the Christmas tree.
It was just gone one pm and everyone knew that Carla had to have gone through security by now, they knew that she and Peter must have said their goodbyes and that in a perfect world Peter would be on his way home now… Well, actually in a perfect world, Peter would be on his way with Carla and Jada in tow but of course the world isn't perfect.
"I hope she hasn't gone through with it…" Amy said softly, she was looking down at her hands, which she had placed awkwardly in her lap and it had only dawned on her today how much she would miss her Auntie Carla and her adorable little cousin Jada. "I really hope she's changed her mind."
"Me too Amy… Me too." Ken said as Tracy picked up the cup of coffee that Michelle had just made her. "But I don't think we should get our hopes up…" Ken added, knowing how hard it must have been for Carla to make the decision to leave but also knowing how hard the decision to stay would have been for her too.
"Well… if anyone could change Carla's mind it would be Peter..." Steve began, "I mean I know they've had their ups and downs but deep down I think we all know that the daft pair are meant to be... They're just both too stubborn to realise it."
"They sure are." Michelle said, sipping her own coffee and then sighing. She thought about what Steve had just said and she knew that her husband was right, if there was only one person could change Carla's mind about leaving Manchester it would have Peter. "Carla loves Peter now more than ever... I could tell."
"Maybe she will come back then." Amy said, looking up at her family brightly, "Maybe Uncle Peter really will change her mind n they'll come through that door together soon."
"Amy…" Ken said delicately, "As lovely as that would be... As I said I really don't think we should get our hopes up… just in case."
"Why not?" Amy asked innocently, "You're always saying to think positively Granddad so why can't think positively about this?" Ken couldn't quite answer his Granddaughter just then because she looked so hopeful even he took a moment to imagine Peter bursting through the door with Carla and Jada with him.
He imagined what it would be like to have Carla and Jada with them for Christmas... for New Year and for the foreseeable future... The thought was more than lovely... it was sublime.
"Amy might have a point…" Tracy said as she placed her coffee mug down onto the table in front of her. "I mean maybe this trip to the airport is the kick up the backside that Peter and Carla need."
"Maybe…" Ken eventually said quietly and then he turned his head to look in the direction of Simon's bedroom. Ken wondered if Simon was maybe sat on his bed feeling as hopeful as Amy just was.
Secretly, Ken hoped Simon wasn't sat and anticipating for Carla to come back with his little sister.
He hoped this because he knew it would even more crushing for Simon to spend all this time thinking that Carla might come back to find later on that his Dad had returned home alone.
The six people in Peter's flat had no idea what was currently happening at the airport. Some of them were almost adamant that Carla's mind wouldn't be swayed and some were sat hoping she would come back.
They had no idea that Carla had just got through security and was walking towards the shops hand in hand with Jada. They were only an hour away from their flight and as they walked around the shops and the duty free section of the airport, Jada was becoming more and excited.
She had already talked her guilt ridden Mum into buying her a huge packet of chocolate M&M's for the flight and a good selection of magazines from the newsagent and then Jada had insisted on carrying around the carrier bag herself as Carla tried to keep her mind of the man who she had just left behind.
The six people at Number Twelve Rosamund street also had no idea that Peter was walking towards his car half stunned, half distraught and trying his absolute hardest not to break down in front of the many passers by.
In the rush it had taken to get to the airport and to Carla and Jada's suitcases checked in, Peter hadn't really made a point to remember where he had parked his car and it took him a frustrated half an hour of weaving in and out of other parked cars to find his own.
He slammed the door once he was in the driver's seat and it was then that Peter had assumed he would have been okay to cry. This was wear he had planned on letting it all come out but when it came down to it, the tears just wouldn't come.
Instead, Peter just sat in shock.
For some reason, now he was all alone and able to cry in peace, he just couldn't do it and he honestly didn't know what to do next or where to go next.
The safe thing to do would be to start carefully driving home and go and check that Simon was okay.
The safe thing to do would be for Peter to surround himself by friends and family who would try their very best to be supportive.
Peter started the ignition of his car but before he could do anything to stop it, the Circle Of Life started playing loudly. He'd forgotten to give Jada her Disney CD back and as the music from her favourite film began to echo around his car, Peter quickly turned off his ignition and gripped the steering wheel of his car tightly.
He didn't want to be careful right now… he didn't want support and he didn't want to go home.
There was only one thing he wanted right now and he knew that it definitely wasn't going to be at home.
Meanwhile, Carla was sat in the airport waiting for her plane to board and already she felt incredibly lonely.
Yes, Jada was sat next to her and was precociously thumbing through one of her new magazines but of course she wasn't someone Carla could talk to about how she was feeling.
It's not as if she could tell Jada how much Peter's little speech had affected her. It's not as if she could sit there and explain that the reason she didn't run into his arms and promise to stay was because she was terrified about what might happen if everything was to go wrong again.
Time seemed to drag on and on but eventually Carla's flight began boarding and as she and Jada began to take the walk to their gate, Carla felt her heart began to pound beneath her black jumper and leather jacket.
This was it… She was actually doing it… Leaving Manchester.
Just a week short of Two years since she had left the last time, Carla was once again walking with her heart practically in her mouth only this time she wasn't carrying an almost two week old Jada in a Moses basket, this time she was watching Jada skip happily by her side with Simba in her arms.
As they approached the gate that they needed to be at, Carla swallowed hard as Jada turned around and said,
"Mummy look!" She looked down to see her daughter was excitedly pointing out of the large glass window at the plane that they were going to get on. "We getting on plane!"
"Yes…" Carla just barley got out as Jada started running towards the door to the gate where people were queuing up.
Jada turned around when she reached the end of the queue and smiled at her Mum in a way that devastatingly reminded her of Peter… Seeing that smile had always reminded Carla of Peter but since they had spent the past three weeks with him, it hadn't mattered much anymore.
Now, Just like it had done before Peter was back in their life, Jada's smile would forever make her mother's heart burst with pride but also ache at the same time. It was an extremely odd feeling but it was one that Carla just had to put up with because she really did adore seeing her little one smile.
"Come on Mummy!" Jada cried, waving Carla over to the queue. "We going now…"
"I'm coming." Carla replied. She smiled bravely at her little girl and tried to perk her self up as she too joined the queue of people who were all getting ready to board the plane.
Everyone in the queue looked excited and thrilled to be boarding when it finally commenced… everyone except Carla that is. She smiled broadly every time her little girl gazed enthusiastically up at her but for the rest of the time she had to try her hardest not to cry.
Could she really do this?
Could she really leave Manchester... and leave Peter?
Hours had gone by.
It was almost half past four in the afternoon and The Barlow family plus Michelle and Steve were now waiting anxiously in Peter's flat for him to return home.
Simon was still shut in his bedroom and even though his Granddad Ken had checked on him a few times he had still insisted on staying in there alone.
Amy thought turning on the television might help but when she switched it on, it went straight to Jada's favourite television channel.
As a cartoon princess in a purple dress sang away on screen, Amy very quickly switched the channel over to an adult one and as she did so, Steve quietly said,
"It's probably a good thing you turned that on… we wouldn't want Peter doing that later and being faced with a kids channel would we?"
"Where is he?" Tracy asked now that Peter had been mentioned, They had been avoiding talking about him for a little while because it was clear that everyone was on edge about whether he would come straight home or not. Ken and Steve had started calling his mobile phone about an hour or so ago but when he didn't answer any of their calls, it didn't make the situation any better for anyone waiting.
"He should ave been home by now right?" Tracy asked again, sighing because she truly had hoped her brother would be with them safe and sound by now.
"There could be traffic…" Michelle began, trying to remain optimistic.
"Peter would have been done at the airport a long time ago now… Carla's flight left on time… he should be here, with or without traffic." Ken said quietly, looking thoroughly worried about his son who could be anywhere right now.
"Maybe he just wanted time alone… Like Simon." Steve said, also trying to remain optimistic about the situation although he knew his best friend very well and that his best friend had started drinking again for a lot less than this before.
"Maybe… Although Simon is also who I'm thinking about here... He need's his Dad." Ken nodded, he took a deep breath as he looked down at his phone and contemplated calling his son again.
"There's no point…" Said Amy who gently reached over and supportively took hold of her Granddad's hand.
"I know…" Ken said sadly, "He won't answer." Michelle watched as Ken, Tracy and Amy all looked thoroughly miserable, she leant towards Steve and quietly said in his ear,
"This is torture… I really wish we could do something to help."
"Me too…" Steve replied softly, he looked towards Ken who was actually getting paler and paler as the day went on and and as he worried about Peter, "Maybe I could take the cab out n go looking for him… y'know… in the obvious places."
"Yeah…" Michelle nodded, "That's a good idea." She gave Steve a quick kiss before he got up and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Errrr… How about I go n look for Peter." He said, not quite sure how to phrase what he was about to do. "Y'know just in case he's feeling really bad and… needs someone."
Ken, Tracy and Amy all responded to Steve with a silent nod because they knew exactly the types of places that Steve might be looking in first and as he pulled out his car keys from his pocket, he began to say,
"I'll call if I hear anyth-"
There was the sudden sound of a door closing from below and it took everyone in the flat a few seconds to realise that it was the sound of the front door shutting.
Everyone in the room stood up and Simon came bursting out of his bedroom with red eyes and one last look of sheer hope on his face.
It wasn't just Simon who looked hopeful, everyone else in the flat would be lying if they said that they weren't secretly praying deep down that Peter would be returning home with Carla and Jada and that they were going to be staying for good.
The few seconds it took for whoever it was at the door to get up the stairs felt like eternity for those waiting on the other side of it and as they heard the sound of a key go into the door, they all held their breaths.
Simon spoke first.
"Dad…" He said hoarsely, staring at his Dad who was stood in the doorway with his keys in hand.
Simon wasn't the only one staring. Everyone in the room was watching Peter closely and whilst they could see that his eyes were bloodshot and his body was shaking, they knew that he was still sober, after all, if you're a relative or a friend of someone who drinks... you'll know instantly when that person has even had just one drink.
Wherever Peter had been for all these hours… he clearly hadn't been drinking.
"Peter… thank goodness." Ken said softly, walking towards his son who unfortunately… had returned home alone. "Peter are you alright?"
Peter nodded at first, he nodded but then he began shaking his head uncontrollably as he tried to speak and eventually he was able to come out with,
"They're gone." Peter then stepped forwards slowly and repeated himself, "They're gone…" He pretty much ignored everyone in the room except for Simon who was standing the furthest away. "I told her…" Peter began as he walked towards a tearful Simon, "I told her everything, how much she means to me, how much I love her and Jada… I begged her to stay but…" Peter shook his head at Simon who now had tears running down his cheeks, "I'm sorry Si… I'm so sorry I couldn't get her to stay." Peter started crying properly now, tears pouring out of his brown eyes as Ken, Tracy, Amy, Michelle and Steve were stood watching this heart-breaking Father and Son exchange.
"Dad…" Simon cried, throwing his arms around Peter and shaking his head, "Don't… don't say sorry… I don't blame you… none of this is your fault."
Peter didn't say anything this time… he just stayed in his son's arms whilst the people that surrounded him let them both have this moment alone… they were in tears too of course but they kept quiet whilst Simon and Peter comforted each other... There was someone else who needed comfort.
Someone who was miles and miles in the sky… Someone on a Virgin Atlantic plane who was sat sobbing silently to herself.
Carla and Jada had got on the plane.
They had been in the air for almost two hours now. Carla had managed to contain herself whilst boarding, she smiled at the flight attendants who all said Jada was probably the cutest child they'd had on board and whilst people were walking past and getting themselves settled, Carla had managed to stay in control.
It was only when they were in the air and on their way that Carla couldn't quite keep it in anymore.
Jada was sat in the window seat and was far too busy staring out the window, watching the little television on the back of the seat in front of her and playing with Simba to notice that her Mum was having a silent cry to herself.
There was no one there to comfort Carla but she knew this was how it was going to be from now on and so... she decided that she truly had to get used to it.