"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she breathed, deeply. "What are you even doing in here?"

They were in the back room of the Rovers, Carla paced around the room with her arms crossed around her chest whilst Peter stood by the door, wanting to give her space.

"I'm worried about you. Don't listen to Tracy, she's just upset-..."

"But she's right though, isn't she? I've ruined everyone's life. He was my own flesh and blood and I turned him in, he'll never forgive me."

"Carla, are you forgetting the fact he almost killed you! You were fighting for your life."

"That doesn't take away the fact he's my kid brother." She sniffed, tearfully.

"Where do you draw the line? Because you've given him chance after chance and he just abuses it. He will never learn and he needs to be punished for what he did. You couldn't have done anymore for him." Peter reassured her, standing closer.

"He did it for me."

"No, he did it because he had an overwhelming rage. No one made him, this was his decision. You need to stop blaming yourself."

"I just can't stop feeling guilty, Peter." She sobbed, looking down and crying into her hands.

"I'm sorry," He sighed. "I'm the cause of all of this."

"Yes you are." She snapped.

"I will never forgive myself for what I did to you, Car. And I know my words have empty meaning at this point but if you believe anything, believe this. I would take it all back if I could."

"Too late now. It's happened, we can't change the past." She sighed, sitting at the table and playing with her hands.

He takes this as an invitation, and sits opposite her. They sit in a relaxed silence as they mulled over their thoughts. He hoped no one would interrupt them, that Michelle wouldn't storm in and give him a piece of her mind. But everything was so still, he tried imagining that this past year hadn't even happened and they were just relaxing together.

"Do you ever wonder..." Carla murmured before lowering her voice completely.

"Wonder what?" He pressed.

"It's stupid." She shook her head, looking back down.

"Go on."

"Do you ever wonder...what we'd be doing right now if you hadn't ruined everything?" She whispered.

"All the time," He mumbled. "Every day. Every hour."

"I want to hate you, to stop imagining life with you because it's too painful...but I can't."

"I know theirs no hope for us, and you deserve someone so much better than me. But you don't have to pretend that the feelings are gone."

"The feelings will never go because I loved you with every fibre of my being, Peter. But that doesn't mean it isn't filled with so much hatred and betrayal on top of that. And right now, my head is such a mess and I can't even think." She explained.

"You know, going back to what we'd be doing right now if I didn't mess up, we'd have our baby." He muttered, tearfully.

"Don't, Peter." Her voice wavered.

"You would've just given birth to our little girl. Half you, half me."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Why not? She's our little girl, we should talk about her with pride." He frowned.

"It hurts too much."

"You can't shut it out, Carla. You can't shut her out."

Carla stayed firmly silent, rubbing her lips together as she battled with the overwhelming emotion. She'd never spoken about their baby properly, unless they were drunk and angry. If she was being honest with herself, she tried blocking it from her mind. Not letting herself dwell on the 'what ifs' and the fact she'd be a mother right now. But she was still a mother, to an angel baby.

"Do you ever imagine what she would've...looked like." She croaked.

"Dark hair like us. Your eyes-..."

"I wanted her to have your eyes." She interrupted, a faint smile appearing.

"She would've had to have your smile, that's for sure." He grinned.

"We would've given her everything, you know. I loved her so much, that's all I wanted growing up."

"No one would doubt that she was the most loved child there could ever be. And we would've sold our soul to protect her." He nodded, causing Carla to cry.

"I never wanted to be a mum, I was so close to getting rid of her. But once I got my head around the idea, I really wanted her. And now it feels like I've lost a huge part of me. I feel so empty, Peter." She cried.

"I know, I know."

"How can I miss someone I never knew?"

"Because you did know her. She was a part of you and you were with her for every moment of those four months when you carried her."

"We could've gone to a park with her and Si and have a picnic, feed the ducks. I planned it all out-..."

"That's all I'd ever want." He exhaled, a tear falling down his cheek.

"Then why did you have to ruin it." The bitterness in her tone resurfaced.

"I'm so sorry." He sobbed, covering his face with his hands. He tried to control his emotion but he couldn't any longer.

"Peter..." This was the first time Peter had ever showed so much genuine vulnerability with their daughter and it struck a chord with her. She couldn't just watch him blame himself and mourn for their little girl alone.

Standing up, she walked over to his seat and bent down so her head was level with his. She pulled one of his hands away from his face and held it in her own.

"Peter..." she repeated, softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't you ever be sorry. I'm the one that's sorry, for everything."

"Just let it out, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I tried to control it, I don't have a right to grieve-..."

"Yes you do, Peter. She was your daughter too."

"Our daughter." He whispered, taking his hand away from his face and looking at her in the eyes through tears.

"And we will always love her." She smiled. "I think getting it all out, the built up doom and emotion, has really helped me tonight. I feel like a weight has been lifted."

"I'm glad. It helps just getting it out."

She carried on staring into his dark orbs, the tears still lingered but he looked almost content. And so did she. This was the first time since the accident where she started feeling genuinely relieved from the torment of this year.

She learnt in and kissed him. It was soft and slow at first, but as the passion grew, so did the pace and intensity. In that moment, it felt so right. She clawed at his short hair whilst he placed his hands onto her jawline.

The kiss soon came to a natural end, Carla pulled back and stood up, dusting herself down.

"I best be off." She sighed, acting as if nothing had just happened.

She walked out the room, leaving Peter flustered in his seat. He frowned whilst smiling widely. He knew this didn't mean they were back together, but it was definitely a start. He had hope.

With her palms around her warm mug of coffee, she stared ahead and mulled over last nights events. Part of her blamed the fact she was clearly vulnerable; the effects of calling the police on Rob had been playing on her mind ever since Tracy entered the pub. Not to mention the chat about their daughter, she was bound to have high emotions.

But she couldn't help but think this was her finally letting everything go and just letting things happen naturally. She wanted to kiss Peter, she didn't want to hate him anymore. She couldn't ever go back there but it felt good to just admit to her feelings.

She hoped she didn't give Peter false hope, that he wasn't bouncing off the walls now thinking a reunion was coming because that was far from the truth. She didn't want to give him mixed feelings but last night they both just got carried away.

It was the morning after now and she was sat in her kitchen, wrapped up in her dressing gown. She'd just taken her pain killers and was drinking her coffee before getting ready for work. She didn't want to face going in today but it was time she got back to normality.

Sighing, she picked up her phone and clicked onto his contact number.

Carla: I need to see you later.

Almost immediately, her phone alerted her of a new message.

Peter: That's fine with me. I'm free all day x

Carla: Don't get your hopes up. I think you know what we need to talk about. I'll meet you in the ginnel in an hour.

As she walked down the street to meet Peter, she felt butterflies. The kind of feeling you'd get when you were overcome with so much excitement about seeing someone you loved. She told herself it was nerves, but she knew it wasn't.

"Hey." He whispered as he saw Carla walk up to him.

"Hi." Her eyes beamed, the twinkle was still there.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it?"

"Let's cut to the chase, Peter." She shrugged before biting her lip.

"How are you feeling?"

"Last night should've have happened. I'm so annoyed with myself."

"You gave in and listened to your feelings. You shouldn't regret that." He reassured her.

"You would say that, wouldn't you?" She scoffed. "But no, it still shouldn't have happened. You don't deserve my love anymore."

"I know I don't." He looked down.

"I'm not going to pretend that I don't love you, Peter. But I...I can't go back there. What is love without trust? I don't trust you and I don't want to be that paranoid girlfriend that needs to know what you're doing every hour of the day. We're best staying apart." She sighed.

"You won't know until you try."

"I think we both know, it's not going to work. It won't be like us."

"I understand that." He rubbed his lips together.

"I can't forgive you for what you did. Images of you and Tina always comes to my head and I can't get rid of it. I can't escape the thought of how the man who saved me from everything, is also the man who's broken me."

"We're meant to be together." He shook his head.

"Maybe before this all happened." She weakly smiled.

"Can you not tell anyone about what happened? I want it to stay between us and forget it ever happened." She added.

"That goes without saying." He nodded.

"Thank you." Carla walked away, failing to notice Roy who was frowning at the pair from afar.

"Good morning, Roy." Carla smiled cheerfully, walking up to the counter at the cafe.

"Ah, g-good morning!"

"Just doing the cake run. I offered today, anything to get rid of their nattering voices for five minutes! I've forgotten how irritating they can be." Carla chuckled, leaning over the side.

"Coming right your way," Roy nodded, awkwardly. "I gather it's your first day back since the accident. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I still get tired easily but I'm definitely starting to feel like myself."

"That is rather comforting to hear. It's grand you're on the way back to full health, it's important not to push yourself though. It's a slow process."

"Yeah, I know that. I'm only going to be working a few days a week for now." She smiled.

"And when you're not at the factory?"

"I dunno," She shrugged before chuckling. "Ey, maybe I might start playing golf."

"I couldn't imagine anything more peculiar." He frowned.

"I'd be good at golf!" She pretended to be offended.

"So you will not be meeting up with Peter in secret?" He raised his eyebrows, as he continued to prepare cakes.

"You what?"

"I saw you earlier in the Ginnel is all."

"Oh, that was nothing." She shrugged.

"I will not inquire nor ponder what you're doing in your private life. I just wanted to check you were okay."

"It's fine, Roy. I just...I think I messed up last night." She looked down.

"How so?"

"I kissed Peter." She whispered, checking no one was around.

"Oh," He froze. "I see."

"So I went to meet him earlier to tell him it meant nothing."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, what else would I see him about?" She frowned.

"No, what I meant was," Roy began. "Are you sure it meant nothing? Because if I gather all the times you've confided in me recently, I beg to differ."

"It meant nothing," She concludes, shifting slightly. "Nothing more will happen between us."

"Ey, hurry up. I haven't got all day." Steve interrupted, rolling his eyes behind Carla.

"How about you come here after work and we can discuss this properly?" Roy questioned.

"I'd like that," she smiled, weakly. "Don't tell anyone, will you? Not even 'Chelle."

"It will remain completely confidential."

"Do you regret it?" Roy asked.

The living room was dimly lit, only lamps illuminating brightness through the room. It was definitely a cosy setting; a setting Carla felt very comfortable to open up in. It was the evening now and she was sat at his dining table, holding a cup of tea in her palms.

"I don't know," She exhaled. "Partly."

"I-I felt so good after, finally letting myself have feelings and for a moment I just forgot about everything that happened this year. But I don't want him getting the wrong idea. I'm not getting back with him and he needs to understand it was just a moment of weakness for me." She added.

"Can I vocalise my input?"

"I'm sure you will whether I liked it or not." She weakly smiled.

"I do not think it was a moment of weakness. You let yourself feel and love again and it was unwarranted. You need to be honest with yourself and bring down that hard exterior." He explained.

"It's not as easy as that though, is it? He will hurt me again and I won't be able to get through it. What's love without trust?"

"Love is an instant feeling whereas trust can grow. In time, he will prove himself and you will learn to trust him again."

"I just don't see that ever happening, Roy. He proved himself to be the perfect husband last time and look how that happened."

"So what are your other options?"

"I, Erm, I'm thinking about just getting away from it all." She stuttered.

"On holiday?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure yet." She bit her lip.

"So there's a possibility it'll be a permanent stay."

"Everything is going wrong here, it's like I'm cursed. And I don't know how much longer I can put him off for, Roy. It's too painful."

"I respect whatever decision you decide is right. But if you do leave, I for one will miss you very much."

Hope this is okay! I wanted to get it out now as I know we're all recovering from tonights Corrie - it was so heartbreaking. I'm so excited to get on with this story! I have so many plans. Twitter: Carlafanx