As she pulled up, she was adamant to get inside to see him. She missed him so much and couldn't think of anything better than to be in his company right now. Walking through the Rovers, she saw him reading the newspaper at the table.
She creeped up behind him, placing her hands either side of his face, making him jump.
"Heya." She giggled, leaning over him to give him a long kiss.
"You scared me!" He said, breaking the kiss to look at her.
"Sorry, baby." She went back in for the kiss, as he responded. She slowly changed her positioning, so that she was sitting on his lap.
"Did you have a nice time in Bristol?" He asked.
"Mm, would've preferred being with you. But the meeting went well."
"That's good then." He smiled, although he seemed distant.
"Are you okay? You seem stressed." She frowned, placing a hand on his cheek.
"Yeah," He paused, not wanting to bring up his confrontation with Tina yesterday. "I didn't sleep well."
It's not that he had anything to hide, but he didn't want to tell Carla about his conversation because he knew she would jump to conclusions and they'd be back to square one. He was trying to protect her but ultimately, it was going to do more damage than good.
"Ahh, did you miss me?"
"Of course I did." He murmured into her lips.
"Well, I'm all yours now."
He began getting more passionate, cupping her cheek as he continued to kiss her and pull at her clothing. She knew where this was heading, and she tensed up. Although Peter didn't notice this and continued.
She loved Peter but she was just not in the mood for anything sexual. Her medication lowered her sex drive and on top of this, she found it hard to trust men after discovering what Jordan did to her. He did more damage than she thinks Peter realises. Her confidence and trust was at rock bottom and she also felt enormously guilty. She knew it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help but feel like she'd been unfaithful to Peter. He'd reassured her but it didn't stop her from feeling awful.
"Peter," She placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. "No."
"You don't want to?" He frowned, clearly offended.
"I'm not up for it. Maybe another time, ey?" She smiled, softly.
"You're never up for it anymore." He gestured for her to get off his lap so he could stand up.
"That isn't true." She lied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Are you going off me?" He asked.
"What?" Her eyes widened. "Of course not. I just don't want to have sex right now."
"I'm going out." He grabbed his jacket off the sofa and made an abrupt exit.
"Seriously, Peter?" She shouted, sitting down on the sofa in a huff.
"Just this please, Rita." Carla placed a pack of chewing gum and her money on the counter as she stood in the cabin.
"There you go, love." Rita responded, warmly.
"Thank you." As Carla was about to leave, she heard Tina calling her name.
"Carla," Tina said, loudly. "Did you have a nice time away?"
She slowly turned around, narrowing her eyes as she glared at the younger woman.
"How do you know I went away?" Carla asked, she didn't know if she was falling for Tina's typical tricks but her insecurities got the better of her.
"Peter behaved." Tina taunted, ignoring her question.
"Tina!" Rita hissed, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Oh, shut your face, Tina. I know what you're trying to do." Carla shook her head, but she felt her stomach churning.
"I'm not trying to do anything. I just know how paranoid you are so I thought I'd let you know he's innocent." She shrugged.
"What do you mean? How paranoid I am?" Carla frowned.
"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" She referred to her breakdown last year.
Carla swallowed back a lump that formed in her throat. Wow, gossip got around fast.
"How'd you know about that?" Carla's voice broke.
"It doesn't matter. But I am trying to reassure you-..."
"No you're not. I can see right through you, Tina, and it's pathetic." Carla cut her off.
"Don't hesitate going away again, Carla. I'll take good care of him."
"You're still chasing a middle aged man years later, that's a problem there." Carla interrupted, her voice being stronger than how she felt.
Before Tina could make a snarky reply, Carla left the Cabin with her head held high.
She felt absolutely horrible inside but she was not going to give Tina the pleasure of seeing that.
As she entered the factory, she felt herself weaken in the doorway. Taking a series of deep breaths, she tried to control her emotions before anyone else was aware. Tina was not going to win. Wiping her eyes and flicking her hair back, she strode into the main factory area and walked straight into the office.
"Ah, Carla!" Sarah exclaimed. "How did the meeting go?"
"Yeah, it was a success." Carla mumbled, dumping her bag onto the floor and sitting down.
"Are you okay?" She asked, softly.
"Yeah. Just tired." She logged onto the computer and began typing away, showing that she was not continuing the conversation.
Sarah frowned, catching onto Carla's mood and walking out the office.
As she was now alone again, she stopped and placed her head in her hands, raking her fingers through her hair in distress.
She was debating whether to ask Peter about what went on whilst she was in Bristol but was she really prepared to hear the answer? Another concern was, she didn't want to look like she was overly paranoid. If she was constantly bringing her up and questioning him then it would drive him further away. She was constantly on edge and she detested it. In her eyes, their was no winning in this situation. She thought whatever she would do next, would ultimately lead him to her again.
The constant sound of chatter and the repetitive songs on the radio were doing her head in. Not only did it make her lose concentration and rile her up, but it also reminded her how down she felt in comparison to them.
She debated for a moment whether to keep a cool head but when she heard someone cackle loudly, clearly not doing a bit of work, she had enough.
"Will you lot shut your gobs and do a bit of work!" Carla snapped, storming into the main factory area.
"Carla!" Sarah gasped, clearly she'd been involved in the disturbance instead of doing her job too.
"We are not in a school playground. Do what you're paid to do or get out of here! I'm trying to concentrate and all I hear is your whining voices!" Carla continued, her face red as she waved her hands around, angrily.
"Calm down, Mrs C." Sean laughed.
"Don't make a mockery out of me, Sean. I mean it."
"She's just annoyed because Tina is taking her man back." Beth cackled.
Carla couldn't speak but her expression said it all, she just stared at Beth with a deep glare.
"Beth!" Kirk piped up, nudging her.
"What? It's like that song..." Beth paused. "Jolene! But replace Jolene with Tina and it's spot on."
"Beth, you best shut your mouth-..." Carla warmed, scarily low.
"Or what?" Beth stood up.
"Or you can get yourself down the job centre!" She yelled. "I'm going home."
"Carla?" Sarah said, high pitched as she watched Carla gather her things and storm out of the factory.
As the fresh air hit her, she leant against the wall of the factory as her lip trembled and she fought with the inner turmoil in her head. In her mind, she'd already prepared for the fact Peter was going to run off with Tina again. And that meant she couldn't even bare to look at him.
Walking into the Rovers, she kept her head down and ignored all the people around her. She instantly knew he was there when she recognised his scent and felt eyes at the back of her head but she kept her eyes glued to the floor as she walked into the back room.
"Hey." He said, nervously, catching onto the nervous tension immediately.
"Hmm?" She looked up, avoiding his concerning gaze.
"Have you been crying? What's wrong?" He asked, sitting down and placing a hand on her knee, noticing her slight flinch.
"I'm fine." She stood up, swiftly.
"Carla?" He raised his voice. "Have I done anything? I'm sorry for getting annoyed earlier."
She sniffed, lightly shaking her head before excusing herself to go upstairs.
Peter sat there, not knowing whether to follow her or give her space. But all he knew was, he was completely innocent.
Things are beginning to heat up...I'm excited to upload the new few chapters!