"Perhaps everyone should leave the room and I could speak to Carla alone?" Dr Gaddas suggested.
"I'm not talking to anyone! You could be helping people that actually need it right now." Carla scoffed, raking a hand through her hair.
"All I'm asking is for you to chat to me. No one else is involved, I'm not asking for anything more."
"Then you can answer me this, why do you think I am so crazy then? What's the evidence to back this up?" Carla raised her eyebrows.
"You've been acting withdrawn for a while now, Car. That's why you got hit by the car-..." Peter explained.
"I was hit by a car because I thought you were having it away with the barmaid again!" She cut him off, angrily as Dr Gaddas shifted awkwardly.
"And why did you think that? Because you were being paranoid again."
"You were sneaking off with her in an alley way, Peter! Anyone would be thinking the same thing."
"And then the camera..."
"The camera?" Carla narrowed her eyes, turning to Roy. "So this is down to you."
"I can't think of a reasonable explanation as to why a camera would be filming you, Carla. There are many similarities from how you acted in twenty nineteen." Roy explained.
"There was a camera!" She yelled, shoving Peter out the way and rushing to the smokers yard.
Peter and Dr Gadass followed her, wanting to make sure she wasn't going to run away. Her face was bright red, and she looked extremely unsettled and agitated. It worried Peter further, knowing this side of her far too well from her breakdown.
As they got to the smokers yard, she looked around and went through the bins in such a haste but nothing. The camera was gone.
"Carla, just calm down." Peter tried grabbing her shoulders, gently.
"Get off me!" She shrieked, pushing him off. "The camera was here. I-I swear, please believe me."
"Let's get you inside." Dr Gaddas smiled, trying to make the situation calmer.
"I'm not mad," She cried, her gaze solely on Peter now. "Please, baby. Tell them, I'm fine. Someone has to believe me."
She looked devastated as he shook his head, tears filling his eyes. Her anger was overwhelming her more and more as she felt she wasn't being heard.
She turned around, trying to look for the camera again. She was on her knees, looking in corners and going through anything that could contain the camera.
"Why didn't I grab it last night." She groaned to herself, standing up and dusting herself down.
"Is this her usual persona?" Dr Gaddas asked Peter, quietly.
"Not exactly," Peter sighed. "She would get irate and agitated during her breakdown last year though. This looks similar to that."
"Once we calm her down, it'll be easier to assess her properly. But if she refuses, I might have to get people who work solely on mental health."
"You're going to get back up?" Carla overheard, her eyes widening and she steps back.
"No, Carla." Peter shook his head.
"Why won't you listen to me? Please, just listen. I saw a camera last night, I know it sounds mad b-but I did. I feel completely okay though, you don't have to get anyone else involved in this!" She stuttered, breathing heavily.
"We will listen to you when you calm down for us-..."
"I'm not going to talk to you when I know you'll get your little pals to lock me up again when I'm okay!" She cut her off, trying to run into the ginnel to get away but she bumped into someone.
"Watch where you're going." Tina hissed, stepping back from Carla.
"What the hell are you doing here? Have you been listening?" Peter exclaimed.
"I bet you're enjoying this, aren't you? You want them to take me so you can have Peter all to yourself." Carla shouted.
"You what? What the hell is wrong with you?" Tina laughed, noticing Carla's dishevelled state. She didn't expect her plan to work this good. And if she was being honest, she wondered if Carla was genuinely mentally unstable by the look of her.
"Get lost, Tina."
"Is she alright, Peter?" Tina asked innocently, ignoring Carla.
"This is private, can you leave us to it?"
"I know what you're doing," Carla squared up to her. "You are trying to make everyone think I'm mad. This is down to you."
"I think you're doing that all by yourself." She scoffed.
Carla shoved her, almost sending the woman flying back. She managed to catch her balance and stared at Carla in fury.
"Don't shove me." Tina warned her.
But Carla was on a role now, and shoved her harder.
"Okay, come on." Peter intervened, walking over to guide Carla away.
Suddenly, Tina lashed out and slapped Carla hard against the face.
Her face flew to the side, a hand coming up to hold her stinging cheek.
"You bitch." Carla growled, trying to leap forwards but Peter's arms secured around her shoulders. She fought, trying to escape but he was too strong. Tina had ruined her life and she was going to pay for it, enough was enough.
"Do you really think this is helping your case, Carla? You are crazy. Admit it." Tina taunted, almost laughing in her face as Carla continued to throw her limbs about.
"Go!" Peter yelled at the younger woman, causing her to roll her eyes and scurry off.
"Peter," Carla cried, giving in and turning so she was facing him. "No one believes me."
"It's okay, baby. I promise you, everything is going to be okay." He whispered, kissing her head.
"It isn't okay though! You think it too. My word means nothing because of something that happened a year ago!"
"Just let them talk to you, we could be wrong. But we won't know until you've said how you feel in a calm way. This isn't a formality, just a friendly face wanting to know how you're doing. Yeah? I'll hold your hand through it." He reassured her, softly.
"Okay." She whispered, shakily. Her voice muffled as she was comforted by Peter, her head resting on his chest.
"So can you sum up how you've been feeling in recent months, Carla?"
"Things have been stressful. The woman who you saw earlier, well she had an affair with Peter a few years back and since she's been back, she's been making my life hell. But things were looking up so I don't know why this is happening?" Carla explained, she felt a lot calmer now and was currently sat opposite Dr Gaddass in the back room table.
"Would you say you felt paranoid that Peter was having an affair again?"
"I mean, yeah but not in a psychotic way. Any woman would be the same in my shoes. It was normal."
"And what about when you got ran over?"
"I was absolutely convinced they were having it off after I saw them secretly chatting in the ginnel. So I was panicking and didn't see a car coming." She shrugged.
"Can you explain about the incident with the camera last night?"
"I went into the smokers yard and saw it facing my way, as if someone put it there to record me. It freaked me out but I didn't even think to grab it. But it was definitely there." She explained, shaking her head at how ridiculous it sounded.
"I can imagine it's quite frustrating for you," She nodded, sympathetically. "Can you think of any reasonable explanation for why a camera is there?"
"I know it sounds bad, I'm not stupid. Maybe someone left it there by accident." She suggested.
"Hi," Peter knocked, before entering the room. "Can I get anyone a drink?"
"No, we're done here." Carla said, bluntly.
Peter looked at Dr Gaddass expectantly, but Carla stood up and carried on...
"I don't want this conversation again. I am fine." She repeated.
"Things seem to have been very stressful for you recently though, Carla. So I'm going to check in with you in a few weeks time and see if things are better." Dr Gaddass said, collecting her things.
"Things were better before today." She muttered.
"That sounds like a good idea, thank you." Peter smiled, ignoring the stern glare from Carla.
As the older woman left, Carla cleared her throat and stared at him pointedly.
"What?" Peter frowned.
"Don't play dumb now, Peter. What was that all about?"
"I was worried about you, no harm in that." He shrugged.
"No harm in that? Are you serious? Do you know how that felt, having all the people closest to me not believe a single word that comes out my mouth because of last year? I am humiliated, Peter. And hurt." She shouted.
"Everything felt like it was pointing in that direction! I'm not going to apologise for trying to help you."
"You've always been so dramatic," She tutted. "How long have you thought this?"
"A few weeks," He swallowed. "On and off."
"And you didn't think to say something? You thought it would be better to get everyone involved behind my back and force me to explain my private life to a doctor." She scoffed, trying to hold back the tears so she didn't break.
"I wish you could've seen it from my perspective, love. And when you got agitated, it made me more convinced..."
"I got so agitated because no one was listening to me. My word meant nothing, I felt like a child," She croaked, a tear cascading down her cheek. "This has been completely blown out of proportion, Peter. But you know what? It's showed me something..."
"Showed you what?" He narrowed his eyes.
"You see me differently since my breakdown. You all do. You think I'm weak, and my words mean nothing. Today has really hurt me, but it's also been a wake up call." Her voice wavered.
"That couldn't be further from the truth," Peter sighed, moving closer to her but she bats his hand away. "I think you're the strongest woman I know. You've come so far since last year. Please understand that my concern was coming from a good place."
"You're sleeping down here tonight." She mumbled.
"What? Are you serious?"
"Yeah," She shrugged. "I don't want to look at you. And I'll be having words with Roy too."
"I've really messed up here, haven't I?" He sighed. "I love you."
"Mmm." She agreed, distantly. Before walking out the room, leaving Peter to groan.
Sorry I haven't updated in a while!! Life has been pretty hectic but I hope this is okay.