"Is Carla okay?"
"We've conducted the test results from a MRI scan we did on Carla, and it's showed that she's got a concussion. Head injuries are quite complex and differ patient to patient but we are confident that she will make a full recovery. She also has multiple broken ribs and superficial wounds." The doctor explained.
"So this concussion isn't going to affect her long term?" Jenny asked.
"We can never say for definite but we really don't think so."
"Can I see her? Is she awake?" Peter questioned, tears filling his eyes.
"She should come round soon but she'll be very groggy and disorientated. I'll take you to her room." The doctor guided the pair to her room, opening the door to let them inside.
Peter's heart rapidly beat in his chest as he saw her sleeping frame in the bed. She looked so small, so vulnerable. Her complexion was pale, a contrast to the cuts and bruises that littered across her face and arms. She had a drip connected to her hand, as well as a nasal tube on her face.
She was currently asleep, so Peter and Jenny sat beside her and gently held her hand.
A few minutes later, her eyes fluttered open.
"Carla?" Peter sat forward, stroking her hand with his thumb. "Can you hear me?"
She continued to stir, the pain in her head making it more painful to do so. Everything hurt; it ached. But she followed the soft commands of his voice, instantly recognising it.
"Mm."
"Well done, baby." Peter smiled through the tears. "Keep going. It's me."
As the blurriness of her vision began to focus, she tilted her head to the side and stared at the pair, almost looking confused, squinting.
"You're in hospital, love." Jenny explained, gently.
"But don't worry, you're okay." Peter murmured.
"Hurts." Carla stammered, quietly.
"Are you in pain? Should I get the doctors?" Peter's panic arose once more.
"It's fine." Jenny said, it was expected for Carla to be in pain.
Her eyes fluttered close again, before opening and connecting with Peter's dark orbs.
"Hey." Peter smiled, standing up to lean over the bed and place a soft kiss onto Carla's forehead.
"What...happened?" Carla whispered.
"You were hit by Scott's car, Johnny's old friend." Jenny informed her.
"Oh, joy." Carla joked, sarcastically, her eyes remaining closed.
"You're going to be okay though. You hear me?" Peter said.
"A car mowing me down isn't going to finish me off." Carla exhaled, speaking very quietly.
The pair of them chuckled; they knew she was going to be just fine.
"I've spoken to Johnny and he's going to get a flight back as soon as possible." Jenny entered the hospital room, phone in hand.
It was now the morning, after an unsettled night for Peter. The accident happened in the evening and he was extremely hesitant to leave Carla after that, his nerves were shot and he wanted to protect her. But visiting times had already been stretched and Carla needed to sleep so he had no other option. As soon as sunrise began though and after little to no sleep, he rushed back to the hospital and was now at her bedside as Jenny arrived.
"You should've told him I'm fine. No need to cut his time with Susie short." Carla muttered, as she lay in bed.
She felt a lot more with it now but the searing ache in her head and the sharp pain in her ribs whenever she moved were definitely having an affect on her.
"You know what he's like. He is desperate to come and see you," Jenny replied, taking a seat. "How are you?"
"I feel a bit better, my head still kills though. I feel like I've got the worlds worst hangover." She winced.
"It was quite a knock you had, love." Peter piped up, looking at her in concern.
"I hope Scott doesn't feel too guilty. It was my fault completely." She sighed.
"You don't need to worry about that." Peter interjected.
"And I hope you didn't give him a hard time." She groaned at Peter's silence, confirming her statement.
"I was scared, Car. Terrified actually."
"We both were." Jenny nodded.
"I should've been looking where I was going but I just..." Carla trailed off as she thought back to that moment.
The realisation quickly hit her, the dread of Peter and Tina clouding her mind, almost instantly. It was clear this thought showed outwardly, as Peter caught on...
"Hey, are you alright?" He frowned, placing a hand onto her cheek.
"I need to have a word with you." Carla mumbled, looking down and fiddling with her hands.
"I'll, erm, I'll get myself a drink." Jenny caught on as she stood up, smiling reassuringly at Carla.
"What's this about?" He knew was was coming, and he just hoped Carla could trust him.
"Before the accident, I saw something," Carla paused. "And I want you to be honest with me because I haven't got the energy to fight with you."
"Yeah?"
"You and Tina. I saw you in the ginnel, chatting secretly." Her voice broke, as she looked away.
"Jenny mentioned this. I don't know how I can make you believe me but I promise you, I haven't done anything wrong." Peter sighed.
She shook her head.
"Look at me, Carla," He titled her head to face him, looking deeply into her eyes. "She tried to talk to me and I told her to leave us alone, that you were the only woman I loved. I even shouted at her. She was upset by the time I left and that's when I saw you..."
"I don't want her getting between us. And I'm not stupid, I know she is twisting things to make me paranoid but with the way you've been acting, I don't know what to believe." She cried.
"Believe this, I am not having another affair. I promise."
"What about when I went to Bristol? She knew about that and she taunted me with it."
"I bumped into her as you left, so did Tracy. And we argued. I know I should've told you when it happened but I didn't want to cause you unnecessary worry when it was harmless," He shrugged. "Do you really think I'd jeopardise our relationship again? I was absolutely broken when we split last time, I've never regretted anything more in my life. And after everything with your psychosis, all these battles we've had to face for us, I want nothing more than just you and me. In love. Is that convincing enough for you?"
"I love you so much, Peter." She whispered, pulling his head down so she could give him a long and passionate kiss; his little speech was reassuring enough.
"And I love you. We won't let Tina win. She's adamant that she will break us, but we know her plan and we won't fall for it." He smiled, placing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Good morning," The nurse knocked on the door, poking her head in. "Oh. I can come back?"
"No, it's fine. Is everything okay?" Peter asked.
"I just wanted to explain more in depth about your injuries, Carla. We want to keep you in another night, just for observation because that was quite a bad head injury you got, wasn't it? How are you feeling today?"
"My head really hurts and I feel quite sick and dizzy. But I'll survive." Carla shrugged, gently.
"All of this is very common for people with concussion but it will begin to ease in the next forty eight hours or so. We will probably discharge you tomorrow but it's important you rest. No working or excessive exercise."
Carla groaned, already hating the idea of not being able to do anything.
"But anyway, I'll leave you two to it. Just press the button if you need anything." The nurse smiled, leaving the room.
"So are we okay?" Peter questioned, giving her puppy dog eyes.
"Yeah," Carla nodded. "So come here and give me another kiss."
"Peter! How is Carla doing?" Ken's eyes lit up as his son walked into the living room of their home.
"She's on the mend. She sent me home to have a rest and shower." Peter chuckled.
"As long as she's okay." Daniel sighed, bouncing Bertie on his knee.
"Yeah," Peter nodded. "I was so scared when I saw her laying there, looking so lifeless."
"We all were when we heard. I was going invite the pair of you round for a homemade dinner that evening." Ken said.
"Ah, maybe when she's feeling a bit better. She hit her head quite hard so it will be a few weeks until she's back to normal again."
"Of course. Well, send her our regards and don't let us stop you from resting." The older man went to the kitchen, leaving Peter and Daniel alone.
"I'm guessing you haven't had a chance to talk things through." Daniel raised his eyebrows, pointedly.
"We have actually. Earlier on we spoke about it and everything's fine now."
"It took Carla to get in an accident for you to sort this out."
"Daniel, there was nothing to sort out. It was Tina twisting things again." Peter shrugged.
"Hopefully now you've reassured her that nothings going on, you can stop arguing."
"I hope so," He sighed. "My heart dropped when I saw her on the floor, bleeding. It made it ten times worse that things were left awful between us before it happened. I feel part to blame."
"How so?" Daniel frowned.
"She wasn't looking where she was going because she thought she caught me and Tina at it. So she was in some sort of trance, apparently she was so upset." He explained.
"That was her jumping to conclusions though, Peter. What's important is the fact Carla is okay and she understands the situation better now."
"Yeah," Peter nodded. "Thank you, Daniel."
"No worries."
Thank you for the support so far! I am really enjoying this story and have never been so motivated to write each chapter.