World Without End
(Trigger warning: mentions of death and miscarriage)
Wednesday 17th November 2021 was a difficult day for Carla, it was the day she was laying her father to rest. She had prepared a eulogy which she hoped would do him justice all while expressing how much she truly loved him and so desperately missed him. Jenny had even commented how eloquently Carla had spoken, Carla wasn't even sure how she'd managed to get up and say those touching words about her dad, all she knew was that she wanted to make him proud until the day she died too.
After the funeral, Jenny held a wake in the Rovers for close family to attend but it resulted in her getting blind drunk and unintentionally upsetting Carla in the process, all the while finding out that she was the sole beneficiary of Johnny's will. It wasn't that Carla for one second even cared about the money, she cared more about the gesture. Jenny had then carelessly told Carla that her and Johnny just didn't have a bond as Carla came into his life later. She tried to back track herself by saying that Kate wasn't mentioned in the will either and Johnny obviously loved her because he was about to go and live with her before he tragically died. At this point, Carla couldn't have felt more heartbroken. She had stormed out of the Rovers and the cold November air hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't help the tears which fell from her eyes and down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away. Unsure of what her next move was going to be, she crossed the road. As she approached the flat where Peter was probably waiting for her, she decided to continue walking down Victoria Street. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with Peter right now, it was she just didn't want to go home and mope around.
The sun was going down and it was getting colder and darker. As she walked, she passed the community garden and decided to sit down on the bench and let the events of the day sink in. It was pointless trying to stop her tears at this point as they continued falling. She tried to muffle the sound of her sobs but there was no use in doing that. Carla was utterly devastated. It didn't take long for her to start blaming herself. Thinking back on her life, everyone that managed to get close to her had either died or left her. Her disastrous relationships, from Paul, Tony and Liam to Rob being banged up she completely blamed herself. Michelle and Kate had left and moved on with their lives. There was Aidan and Hayley too who were taken too early from the world, even her own baby didn't stay around long. Then she thought about Peter, she honestly wouldn't be able to cope if he left her, but she was convincing herself that it was inevitable. He'd almost died from liver failure which again she took the blame for.
As the evening began to get darker, Peter who was back at the flat was growing more concerned about Carla's whereabouts. She had told him that she wouldn't be long and shed be home but that was over an hour ago. Peter pulled out his phone and gave her a call. It went straight to voicemail. Peter was getting more worried, so decided to put on his coat and head over the Rovers. It was closed which was probably due to the fact it was Johnny's funeral today and the fact that Jenny was more than likely sleeping off all the alcohol she had consumed that day. He banged on the door hoping that Carla was there, or Daisy knew where she was. "Sorry, we're clos- Oh." Daisy said as she sae Peter.
"Is Carla here or do you know where she might be?" He asked as worry laced his voice. Daisy shook her head.
"She was here and then Jenny accidently upset her, so she stormed out and that was probably… An hour or so ago." Daisy said as Peter sighed slightly and pulled out his phone to ring her again, but he was met her voicemail again.
"What did Jenny say to upset her?" Peter asked Daisy who could see how concerned he was.
"Johnny's will is all to Jenny and she might've told Carla Johnny didn't have a bond with her." Daisy said and almost grimaced at how bad it sounded. Peter sighed because he knew Carla wouldn't care about the money, but she would care about what Jenny had said to her and was probably devastated.
"Did she say where she was going before she left?" Peter asked but he wasn't hopeful. Daisy shook her head.
"She didn't, sorry." She replied knowing that she wasn't much of a help.
Peter then knew he had to go looking for her. The next place he would try would be Roy's. Carla saw Roy as a second Dad so Peter thought maybe that's where she would be. He quickened his pace to get there sooner but he didn't have to look much further because even though it was almost dark, he could recognise the person in the community garden a mile off. He breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't gone far, and she probably just needed time to herself after such a heavy day. As he slowly approached her, he could hear her pitiful sobs. She'd heard him walking towards her and she honestly didn't care what she looked like as she was sure he'd seen her in worse states. "I've been calling you." He said softly. She sniffed back the fresh tears.
"Sorry, I just wanted to be alone for a bit." She said as she wiped her tear-stained cheek.
"That's completely understandable, but it's freezing out here." He said as he sat right next to her. She didn't say anything in response because she felt exhausted. "Daisy told me what happened." He said and she inhaled deeply. "Carla, look at me." He said gently as her eyes were just permanently fixed on the ground. As she looked at him, he could see how fragile she looked. The woman that he loved more than the world was completely broken. "Your dad was proud of you and the beautiful woman that you are." Peter said. "It is completely unfair that you got so little time together, I know that." Peter spoke as he put his arm around her and pulled her close. She responded by leaning her head against his shoulder. "People say things they don't mean when they're grieving. And what Jenny said, it isn't true.
"Isn't it?" Carla asked as she managed to find her voice. "When I first found out he was my dad, he made me swear to never tell Kate and Aidan. Maybe because he was ashamed… Ashamed of me."
"Carla, anyone could see how much he adored you. You were his first born- "
"Exactly, I was his first ever child, yet he wanted nothing to do with me. If Rob hadn't have blackmailed him, I probably still wouldn't even know." Carla said sobbing as she took her head off his shoulder and looked at him directly. "But I loved him. I loved him so much. After everything was out in the open, he truly showed me unconditional parental love. I always felt third best but nonetheless he still loved me and now I'm sat here questioning it all because a very drunk Jenny doesn't have a clue what she's going on about." Carla said still crying as she leaned back into Peter. Carla managed to compose herself and Peter held her close. "
"Don't ever doubt that Johnny didn't love you or care for you… He didn't know that he was going to die when he did so he obviously hadn't changed his will from Jenny." Peter said trying to get Carla to see this from a different angle. "You know that over the years your relationship went from strength to strength and as heart-breaking as it is, it's so wrong that it got cut short, but I promise you that he loved you just as much as I love you and I can assure you that's a lot." Carla smiled at his last comment.
"I love you too… I couldn't have gotten through these past few weeks if it weren't for you." Carla said as she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
"You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You can do anything you set your mind to, don't ever put yourself down." Peter said as he kissed her on the cheek. They sat in a very comfortable silence for a little while. Carla was appreciating how close they were because earlier this year she was certain she was going to lose Peter and after everything that's happened it wasn't something she liked thinking about.
"Can you make me a promise?" She asked as she looked up at him.
"What's that then?" He asked in response.
"Promise me you're never going to leave me, ever. I've lost too many people who I care about in my life, and I never want to lose you." She said very seriously.
"I'm not going anywhere unless you're there with me." He replied which gave Carla a sense of relief as she pulled him closer to her. She was going to be okay. It was going to take time, but she would get there, Peter didn't doubt that for a second.
-Hello! I wasn't going to post this but if you're reading this then I obviously did. I'm not sure if this is something that I will continue but if you would like me to then please let me know even if you have any storyline ideas. Let me know what you thought of this little drabble and I hope that you enjoyed it. X.x.X