Time for some more waffly content for you. Look at this as a filler chapter I wanted a chance to do some research to see if I could come up with some things up a bit and I think I've found something which might be interesting as well as shocking...
Carla had just arrived in LA, she was soaking up the sun and Hayley was still fast asleep in her pushchair probably from having to be awake for hours on end so Carla could have a peaceful flight. When she touched down in LA she thought about how her life had changed and even minutes of being in LA she was missing Weatherfield but she knew she needed to do this and that there was no going back now. Suzie collected Carla from the airport and drove her back to her house so she could unpack.
"How's my little munchkin then" Suzie beams lifting Hayley out of her pram and giving her a cuddle now she was awake; Hayley clinging onto her for dear life "You've grown so much, beautiful girl"
"Hmm she's missed Aunty Suzie haven't you sweetheart" Carla smiles dragging her suitcase into the house "I can't wait to use your pool and chill for a bit"
"I bet you cant. Was Weatherfield really that bad?" Suzie asks as Carla sighs in response nodding; the truth was she hated to think about it but it really was a nightmare from the off "I heard about your accident through Peter"
"Yeah? I'm better though I've bought my cane in case I get a bit unsteady on my feet"
"You'll be like an old woman" Suzie sniggers as Carla nudges her causing Hayley to let out a loud wail "Wow you are a drama queen aren't you, princess?"
"She always was" Carla scoffs "You remember what she was like when she was first born"
"I do and I don't miss it" Suzie grins as Carla rolls her eyes "Is she better now?"
"Definitely, she sleeps through the whole night, to be honest...only waking when she's hungry which doesn't really happen very often now. You're a good girl aren't you Hayley?" Carla smiles pecking her head as she grabs her hair "And she's in the hair-pulling phase so be warned"
"Ah, I see" Suzie smiles handing Hayley back to Carla who holds her close "Shall we put you in something cooler Hayles?"
"I'm going to chuck a bikini on and lounge by the pool you're welcome to join me, you can bring Hayley and cuddle her"
"Alright I'll just get changed" Carla smiles as Suzie nods leaving Carla to get ready; she puts on a white bikini and puts Hayley in a white t-shirt and light pink shorts as well as a little hat and after, Carla made her way out to the sun loungers.
"Hey, love" Suzie smiles as Carla grins allowing Hayley to play on her lap with one of her toys
"Hey, it's so nice to be in the sun" Carla beams as Hayley laughs at her causing Carla to pull funny faces "Are you missing daddy Hayles?"
"So how is daddy then?" Suzie raises her eyebrows as Carla sighs in response "I bet it was a shock for him when you turned up with Hayley"
"Yeah, it was I think…I don't actually remember anything that happened due to the accident but I can try and explain from the start?"
"Go on, I might be half drunk by the time you've finished mind you" Suzie grins as Carla rolls her eyes in response as Hayley chucks her toy on the floor causing Carla to get it for her.
"So I know that I went back and I went to see Michelle. Apparently me and Peter talked and I found out Rob was in prison then I told Peter everything about Hayley I think"
"How did he take it, was he mad at you for not letting him be at the birth?"
"I have no clue, seriously when I say I can't remember what went on I mean it I literally can't remember, I can't even remember Hayley's birth"
"Wow…anything else happen since you came out of a coma?"
"Apparently me and Peter were getting close, I couldn't even remember the affair, Suzie. We kissed then I started to form a close relationship with this guy called Nick, he's basically Peter's arch-enemy…"
"I bet that went down well" Suzie scoffs as Carla sighs nodding in the process "I can imagine Peter going off on one"
"He did as well. Apparently then we had a heart to heart then I slept with Peter" Carla sighs thinking about how much of a slag she seemed.
"Sounds like you love Peter to me" Suzie mutters as Carla sighs in response, she really didn't know and she hoped time in LA would tell her what she needed to do.
"I don't know…anyway I left Peter in a bit of a mess apparently then I went back home after an argument or something I think it was Michelle I must've told her everything I can't really remember what she said"
"I'm guessing there's a but?"
"There is indeed" Carla starts as Suzie raises an eyebrow "Michelle apparently sent Nick over thinking that he could help as speaking to someone who doesn't really know me helped me so much I ended up in bed with him as well"
"You're kidding!" Suzie exclaims as Carla shakes her head in response knowing how she sounded.
"Then after me and Peter argued, I stormed off then I was hit by the car"
"Wow" Suzie exclaims in shock with the situation "You don't live a sheltered life do you?"
"Well no…but in a way I'm kind of glad I can't remember some of it as some of it was pretty nasty, to be honest with you but I hate the fact I can't remember Hayley's birth and being pregnant with her" Carla replies sadly as Suzie sighs knowing it must've been hard for her.
"What happened when you woke up from your coma then?"
"Gosh…Peter was there and Michelle, I was so happy to see Peter and I was so scared I worried him I was panicking about the baby because I thought I was still pregnant as I kind of remembered snippets from the first couple of weeks when finding out about the pregnancy so I assumed I was still pregnant. Peter told me that I wasn't and that I had a daughter and at that point, he was honest and revealed that he had an affair"
"At least he was honest" Suzie smiles as Hayley reaches her arms out towards her "Do you want to come to me, sweetheart?
"Go to Aunty Suzie?" Carla questions as Suzie takes Hayley off her so she could have a cuddle "Peter's been really honest about the way he's been feeling since I came out of hospital as well, we decided we would give things another go after a chat at the hospital"
"I think you two suit each other, you always did. I was so shocked to find out he cheated on you when you told me I was in disbelief"
"Hmm" Carla hums "Well I came out of hospital and things went well he taught me how to care for Hayley. He proposed to me and we agreed to re-marry again and do something that represents us. It was going well until I said that I wanted another baby but Peter wasn't keen as he wanted us to settle down and not rush into things"
"That's understandable I guess, he just didn't want to make the same mistakes as last time"
"I know, and I feel like me piling on the pressure really didn't help I guess I just wanted a chance for him to be there through another pregnancy as he wasn't for Hayley's. He agreed that we could try for one when Hayley was a bit older"
"Do you still want another baby?"
"No…I've realised that I want to enjoy Hayley growing up. I love seeing her reach her milestones, I really wouldn't want a baby now…well I don't really know I guess I'm kind of sitting on the fence with the whole thing I kind of do and I kind of don't"
"So what happened next then…" Suzie smiles as Hayley sleeps in her arms.
"I had a business meeting and my client cancelled, Nick owned the place where I was having the meeting we shared a drink and he revealed that he slept with me, of course, I didn't remember because of the accident. I went home and told Peter knowing it was better to be honest than lie"
"Let me guess" Suzie grins "You argued then he stormed off leaving you with Hayley"
"Yep" Carla replies rubbing her forehead at how messy this whole situation was "He then beat Nick up and got arrested, they let him out I end things handing my rings back to him and I then apologise to Nick on his behalf. I go about my day as normal and then go to this local business function then bump into Nick again I invite him back to a nightcap and we just talk about everything nothing happened before you start making up scenarios"
"You're saying nothing happened…when you and Nick were in a room together…?" Suzie raises an eyebrow as Carla shoots her look; it sounded like she was unable to keep her knickers on which when thinking about it she kind of felt the same, she couldn't have two men at once.
"Nothing happened I know I'm making it sound like I'm unable to keep my knickers on but seriously nothing happened. I booked a hotel room that night and let Peter look after Hayley as a punishment for beating Nick up, I returned home the next morning and we spoke I decided that I wanted to come out here, Peter wasn't happy about it first but he finally agreed and could see that we needed time apart so he agreed to let me take Hayley over here. Before we left I saw Nick who looked really rough from suffering from a hangover from the night before I took him back to his flat and gave him a couple of pain killers and we spoke about things then one thing led to another and we had sex…again"
"For god's sakes Carla!" Suzie cries in exasperation as Carla bites her lip feeling guilty about the whole situation "You need to get your head straight, love. Apologise to them both as well."
"I guess you're right about apologising to them both, I know I need to get my head straight and it was bad of me to flit between men. I promise I won't go back until I know what's going on my head"
"Good girl, now get that glass of bubbly down ya and forget about the world yeah?"
"You're right" Carla smiles clinking her glass with Suzie's "To new beginnings"
Peter was distraught at the fact Carla wanted to go but he knew it was best for both of them. He decided what he would do whilst Carla was in LA. He wanted to buy the bookies off Tracy again and make it convert it back into a bookie, he really wanted this business to succeed and prove to Carla that he could provide for Hayley as Carla did. He hoped by doing this it will prove to Carla that he was a safer bet than Nick if he had a sustainable business. After going to the bank during the day he decided he would video call Carla with Simon.
"Hey Si" Peter smiles as he enters the flat "I ordered us a pizza for dinner whilst we facetime Carla, we're going to eat with her I think"
"Really?" Simon questions "Isn't like really early morning for her though?"
"Yeah but no doubt Hayley will be up and ready to go at this time so it's likely she'll be up" Peter smiles as Simon nods in response grabbing the iPad and setting it up on the stand ready to face time Carla.
"You can ring to see if she'll answer if you want?" Peter offers as Simon nods clicking the call button and waiting for it to go through; Carla's face appearing on the screen
"Hey Si" Carla smiles through the camera as Simon smiles back at her
"Hi, Carla how was your flight?"
"Really good yeah…Hayley slept the whole way and was really well behaved, it must've been all that entertainment you and your dad were doing before we left"
"We miss you" Simon pouts his lips as Hayley starts to cry "You can deal with her if you want"
"Yeah, I'll just grab her then she can say hi to you both" Carla smiles going out of the view of the camera to collect Hayley before returning with her allowing her to sit on her lap "Who's that Hayles?"
"Hi Hayley, it's Simon" Simon grins waving at her as Hayley waves at him back before squealing in content and clapping her hands "How's LA?"
"Yeah it's good, I mean the weathers lovely, well it always is. We chilled by the pool yesterday with my friend Suzie, she has a pool in her back garden you see"
"Alright, no need to rub it in" Simon complains sulkily as Carla grins grabbing one of Hayley's toys and handing it to her.
"Where's your dad then?" Carla questions as Simon glances around the room.
"He's just sorting out the pizza, we decided to order in" Simon smiles as Carla nods watching Hayley squirm around on her lap before settling her in the crook of her arm as Peter hands Simon a plate of pizza.
"Look, Hayley, there's daddy" Carla whispers as Hayley looks up at her before letting out a cry "Oh baby, it's not breakfast time yet"
"Is she grumpy?" Peter questions as both he and Simon eat their pizza.
"Yeah she's quite grumpy at the moment, I might just get her dressed quickly it might cheer her up, I'll turn my camera off" Carla smiles as she turns her camera off briefly before returning with Hayley who was dressed in a floral dress as well as more toys for her to play with "Sorry about that"
"No problem" Simon grins as Hayley looks at the screen reaching her arms out "Hey Hayles"
"Wave at Si," Carla says as Hayley waves at him before squealing wanting to get down as she was hungry "Look I may have to go and make her something if you give me an hour or so I'll be back?"
"That's fine" Peter smiles as Carla nods in response.
"I'll see you in an hour then" Carla smiles ending the call.
After talking to Simon and Peter for a good part of the day Carla and Hayley were chilling in Suzie's back garden while she was at work. Carla got dressed in a bikini and took Hayley for a swim considering she hadn't had a chance to do that when she arrived back in Weatherfield. Hayley hated swimming and that was obvious from when Carla placed her in the water so she gave up and resulted to cuddling her on the sun lounger as well as attempting to get her to talk which just proved fruitless as she was more entertained with pointing at things in Suzie's garden. Suzie arrived back around five that evening with Carla's favourite American takeaway and was intrigued to see how Carla got on with the video call between her and Peter.
"I got this for you" Suzie smiles handing her a paper bag: Carla's favourite takeaways from Chipotle.
"Oh my god, thank you so much" Carla grins excitedly placing Hayley in her booster seat which was at the table as she squeals wanting to eat some "It's a bit spicy for you Hayles"
"So how did it go with Simon and Peter then?"
"Umm" Carla sighs twiddling her food around in the cardboard box it was in "Simon was alright but with Peter it was awkward I guess"
"I don't mean to be negative Car but isn't the whole point you being here to not speak to Peter at all?"
"Suzie!" Carla scolds "I'm not denying him from having any contact with Hayley, it's already unfair that I took her away from him"
"Alright I'm just saying you don't have to bite my head off"
"Sorry" Carla apologises "It's just a really complicated situation, why can't life be simple ey?"
"I agree with you on that" Suzie smiles as Hayley reaches her arms out to her "Poppet you cant have this ok?"
"Do you want a bit of lettuce Hayles?" Carla smiles offering her a piece of lettuce which didn't have any of the dressing on it as she eats it "Weird child"
"Oi! Don't call her weird, she's beautiful" Suzie beams at Hayley who looks up at her mesmerised that someone was giving her attention.
"Why don't we just sit and watch a film later?"
"Hmm yeah why not" Carla shrugs "I'll put this little one down for a sleep first before we get into watching films"
"Right let's just not talk about life back home and only focus on things which are going on here" Suzie suggests as she digs into her food.
"You're right" Carla nods as she digs into her food, her mind still clouded with thoughts of Weatherfield which she would soon need to contend with in order to move on with her life…