As she strolled to the Cafe, ready to have a catch up with Roy, her mind drifted back to the night before. She was so exhausted, perhaps she imagined it? It almost didn't feel like it happened. Like it was a dream.
She couldn't think of any logical reason as to why a camera was placed there. And when she woke up, she was ready to tell Peter all about it but he had a shift at Street Cars early that morning so she was yet to see him.
It had been a long time since she spent some quality time with Roy, and it was very much needed. The older man was full of wisdom, and always had the calming and logical presence that Carla loved. He was always a voice of reason, and she throughly enjoyed his company and playfully winding him up.
"Heya, Roy." Carla slung her coat and bag over the sofa, taking a seat as she grinned at the older man who sat in the armchair.
"G-good morning," Roy nodded, gesturing to the mess Carla had already created. "I see you've already made yourself comfortable."
"You know what I'm like," She joked. "So, how are you?"
"I'm rather well, thank you. I must apologise again for being so busy with the cafe recently, I've not had a moment to myself."
"Don't worry about it." She shrugged. "I know what it's like to be snowed under with work, I have a meeting straight after this."
"Ah, I see," He said. "Are you still helping in the Rovers?"
"Not as much now that Johnny's back but I did close up last night," She paused. "And I saw something really weird actually."
"Weird? How so?" He frowned.
"I went into the smokers yard to collect the glasses and I swear I saw a camera facing me. I mean, I didn't even think to grab it but I definitely saw it." She narrowed her eyes, thinking about it deeply.
Roy froze in his seat, his eyes moving to analyse the woman sat before him. She looked like she was taking care of herself, but he took notice of the way she fiddled with her hands on her lap...a sign of what he was currently thinking.
He wanted to trust Carla on this but he couldn't think of any logical explanation as to why there would be a camera. During her episode last year, she was convinced cameras were all over the flat they sat in now. Her paranoia was so believable in her mind, she spoke with so much conviction and he recognised that today. It worried him deeply.
"A camera? As in, a recording device?"
"I know, I was shocked too. I've been trying to get my head around it since first light." She shook her head.
"Have you mentioned this to Peter?" He asked.
"Not yet," She sighed. "I'll go back in a bit to see if it's still there. Who would be trying to video me? Or what if it is for someone else?"
"Try not to think like that, there could be a simple explanation for this." He stated, calmly.
"Like what? It makes no sense."
"How have you been feeling generally, Carla?" He leaned closer.
"Fine?" She looked at him, her face etched with confusion.
"Just fine?"
"My injuries have finally recovered, thank god. I'm off the painkillers now so I don't feel like a zombie anymore."
Roy sighed, it seemed as if she was avoiding the question. She was downplaying it, playing clueless and talking about the accident rather than the elephant in the room. Her mental state.
"What?" She added, taking note of his silence.
"Have you seen anything else peculiar recently?"
"Like what?" She frowned.
"I don't know," He shrugged. "Anything that might've unsettled you."
"No..." Her voice drifted. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm not-..."
"Look, I've got places to be so I'm going to head off." She interrupted, standing up.
"Carla, I-..."
"I'll speak to you later, yeah? Seeya, Roy." She patted his shoulder before swiftly leaving, not giving him a chance to talk.
Now Roy was left alone with his thoughts, his concern grew more and more. He had to speak to Peter...
"Hey, Roy. What can I get you?" Peter smiled at the bar, not expecting the older man to enter the building.
"I-is Carla in?" Roy questioned, his tense demeanour went unnoticed by Peter.
"No, she's at the factory today. Do you want me to let her know you dropped by?" Peter said. "I thought she was seeing you this morning?"
"It was you I came to see," Roy stammered. "May we talk in private?"
"Erm, yeah. Come through." Peter frowned, anxiously, walking into the back room and bumping into Johnny along the way.
"What's this?" Johnny gestured to the two men, who looked awfully shifty.
"I need to talk to Peter regarding Carla-..."
"I'm joining then." Johnny cut him off.
"It's fine, Johnny." Peter sighed, before turning to Roy. "What is this about?"
Roy shut the door of the back room once they were all in, and saw the two men staring at him in anticipation.
"Is Carla okay?" Johnny asked.
"This is what I wanted to discuss," Roy stuttered. "Carla came over earlier and she showed some signs of paranoia. I'm unsure if this is just a query as I have a habit to over-analysis however it was definitely a cause for concern, hence why I've visited today."
Silence took over the room, and Roy noticed how Peter seemed to go as white as a sheet.
He'd been having these concerns for a while now, but he'd convinced himself it was just Tina messing with his head. But as he heard the words come out of Roy's mouth, he felt his heart skip a beat.
"What do you mean? How?" Johnny exclaimed.
"She stated that a camera was filming her in the smokers yard last night-..."
"A camera? Oh, Car." Johnny put his head into his hands.
"I knew it." Peter mumbled, raking a hand through his hair.
"You knew she was ill? And you didn't bother saying anything?" Johnny shouted.
"Tina mentioned it and I didn't know if she was playing games with me and-..."
"Peter, you should've told me! We need to get her help!" Johnny interrupted.
"I think we should all calm down, this is easily solved. Perhaps we should go to the smokers yard to see whether a camera is present?" Roy intervened.
"Good idea." Johnny nodded, as all the men walked out of the room.
The cold breeze instantly engulfed them, and it was welcomed to Peter who felt his skin get hot as he began sweating profusely. He was full of worry, full of dread.
"I can't find it." Roy sighed.
"Oh god." Peter whispered.
"He's right, nothing is here."
"Did she say anything else to you, Roy?" Peter asked, shakily.
"She left swiftly when I began asking how she felt within herself, I also took note of the way she fidgeted with her hands." He explained.
"I can't believe you, Peter. You should've told us as soon as she started showing signs, did you learn nothing from last time?"
"What I learnt last time is that her so called father cared more about fancy dress than looking after his daughter when she was going through a breakdown. You've been living with her too, how did you not notice anything?" Peter yelled.
"You what? I know I've been a lousy father but if I thought she was struggling, I would've got her the help she needed as soon as possible! But all you did was sit there and let her get on with it!" Johnny growled.
"I suggest you two stop fighting as this is not helping Carla. We need to think of what to do next."
"We need to take her to hospital-..." Johnny exclaimed.
"After last time?" Peter frowned. "No, we can't spook her. We need to get into her head in a calming way."
"Perhaps getting Dr Gaddass over here to check her over? It might be better in the comfort of her own home." Roy suggested.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks for telling me, Roy. I had no real reason to believe she was mentally unstable again so I didn't see a reason to speak up on it until I found out more."
"You have no reason to explain, Peter. All of the evidence is all rather normal things. However, knowing her past makes us more inclined to worry. May I use your telephone to contact Dr Gaddass?" Roy reassured him, as they made their way into the Rovers again.
"I really appreciate you coming over, Dr Gaddass. I know you've just finished your shift." Peter smiled softly at the woman who stood in front of him, awaiting Carla's return.
"I'm happy to help," She replied, softly. "Do you know when she's due home?"
"It should be any minute now. What will happen when she arrives?"
"I will calmly ask her to explain how she's feeling, and I would like her to describe how she saw the camera last night. Depending on how the conversation goes, I will get in touch with a psychiatrist and we'll take action from there." She explained.
"She might be rather abrupt when she arrives, she doesn't like a fuss." Roy piped up, awkwardly.
"It's perfectly understandable, it's quite common. It'll be a process to calm her down and let her explain how she feels in her own time-..." Dr Gaddass was halted when she heard the door creak open, revealing Carla.
She sighed as she walked into the room, but frowned when she looked up and saw four concerned faces staring back at her.
"What?" Her eyes darted to all of them. "What's this? Has something happened?"
"Hi, Carla. I'm Dr Gaddass and I'm here to just talk to you-..."
"What? What do you mean, talk to me?" Carla raised her voice, confusion etched in her expression. "Peter?"
"It's okay, love. She just wants to see how you're feeling." He explained, softly.
"Why are you speaking to me like that? What the hell is going on?" Her heart thumped in her chest.
"We have reason to believe you're struggling mentally again, Carla. And it's okay but we just want to have a chat, if that's okay." Dr Gaddass smiled.
"No, it is not okay!" Carla shouted. "I'm not crazy! I feel completely fine."
"Can we just-..."
"No!" Carla exclaimed, before turning to Roy. "Is this down to you? Have you told them I'm nuts? I knew you were acting weird earlier."
"Why don't you sit down and I can make you a drink-..." Roy stuttered but Carla interrupted again.
"No, you all listen to me and listen good, okay? I am perfectly fine. Peter, tell them! I'm fine."
"Car..."
"Not you as well." She croaked. "I'm not dealing with this!"
"Calm down, baby." Peter whispered.
She exhaled deeply, tears springing to her eyes as no one seemed to believe her word. No matter what she said, it was invalidated. She felt like she lost her voice, no one could trust her due to her past. She knew she felt okay within herself but how could she convince them? It was the most infuriating thing ever, she wasn't going to sit down and let them patronise her like this...
I hope this is okay! I know I could've written it better but I wanted to get it out today as it's been a while since I've updated.