"Peter?!"
Carla stood with her mouth slightly open, shocked at the surprise arrival of her ex husband. He still hadn't said anything which confused her, surely he knew he was going to see her because he'd turned up at her house. Before she had the chance to say anything else she heard Simon call her name from the living room.
"Have you got rid of whoever it was yet? I want to-" Simon spoke whilst walking towards Carla but stopped at the sight he saw at the front door. "Dad?! What are you doing here? Did you tell him where I was?" He finished, also surprised at the arrival of his father but directing the last question at Carla who shook her head.
"No I did not!" She answered Simon honestly before turning back to Peter. "Will you just speak already? Have you gone mute or summat?" She asked, arms folded, having had enough of Peter's silence.
"Ha, nice to see you both too!" He joked before continuing, "Si, you left the pub ridiculously early this morning with a massive, fully packed rucksack. You haven't been answering your phone all day and then I remembered we had that location thingy on for each other so I asked Amy to show me how to check it."
"Damn it, I forgot I had that on. She's such a snitch." The youngster replied, clearly annoyed he'd forgotten about that particular feature on his iPhone.
"As lovely as this little reunion is, you're letting the heat out and the cold in. Are you coming in or what?" Carla asked, shivering at the cold outside air in her cami top and ripped jeans.
Peter scanned his eyes over her quickly before answering her question. "Er, is that okay?" He asked, hiding his excitement at being allowed in her home.
"I wouldn't have invited you in otherwise would I?" She stepped out of the way and lifted her arm up as a gesture for him to come in. He walked past her, into the house and inhaled, immediately smelling the scent of Carla's expensive perfume that he fell in love with all those years ago. It was like a ton of memories had come flooding back and hit him in the face.
"Shoes off." Carla and Simon both said at the same time.
"Jinx!" Simon shouted, sticking his tongue out at Carla who just chuckled and grabbed her cardigan from the banister and put it on.
Peter smiled, extremely happy to see his son and ex wife getting on so well. He slipped his shoes off, put them on the rack that Carla had set up to the side of the door and then followed them both through the hallway. Once they were in the lounge, Simon sat back down in his spot on the sofa, engrossed in his phone but Carla continued on into the kitchen.
Admiring the house silently and discreetly so Carla didn't think he was being nosey, he decided to follow her into the kitchen and as he did, he noticed a framed picture on the wall of Carla and Michelle that he was sure he had taken. It was from one of their many double dates in the Bistro with himself and Steve, making him feel both happy and sad at the memory of their old life together.
"Peter, do ya want a brew?" Carla asked as she turned around and looked at him. Their eyes instantly connecting in a way they hadn't in a long time, causing an unwanted flutter in her stomach.
"Yeah please, I'm gasping after 4 hours on the road." He answered gratefully, smiling as she turned around to fill the kettle up with water. "Splash of milk-."
"-No sugar, yeah I remember." Carla interrupted, "You can go and sit with Si if you want, I can bring this through when it's ready."
"Thanks. Before I do, I just want to thank you for looking after him today, I know I don't know why or how he's here yet but I really appreciate you still looking out for him."
"I'll let him tell you everything but it's no problem, I told him I'd always be there for him and I will be. He'll always be like a son to me regardless of whether me and you speak or not." She replied, keeping herself busy so things didn't get too intense between them.
"Well, I'm glad me screwing everything up didn't include your and Si's relationship. I can tell he adores you, just like his dad ay." He said before walking off and into the other room to see his son, leaving Carla to shake her head at his cheekiness.
She finished making Peter's brew and filled up her wine glass with her favourite Merlot. At first she thought maybe she shouldn't drink in front of Peter but then she remembered he currently lived in The Rovers surrounded by booze so he should be fine with it. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to get through an evening with her ex husband without a glass of red in her hand.
Carla strolled into her living room to see Simon sitting on the sofa and Peter on the arm chair, having what looked liked a serious conversation. She placed Peter's mug of tea down on a coaster as well as a packet of biscuits on her coffee table and after hearing him thank her, she turned around and went to go back into the kitchen to give them some privacy.
"Where are you going?" Simon asked, causing her to spin round again.
"I was going to leave you two to chat." She replied honestly.
"Don't be silly, sit down with us. Once we're done we can watch the film like we were going to before dad rudely interrupted."
"Oh I'm sorry I wanted to find my son who decided to travel to the other side of the country without telling anyone." Peter said sarcastically.
Carla chose not to say anything, not wanting to get involved unless she really had to. She just sat down next to Simon, glass of wine in hand and took a sip. Letting the important conversation carry on.
Simon answered his dads questions just as he did with Carla earlier in the day, explaining why and how he ended up in Devon. He was honest and open, something he hadn't been with any of his family for a while. He discussed how everyone seemed to be baby mad, how he felt left out at home and that being around his friends made him happy despite them being bad news. Carla noticed Peter wince when Simon brought up babies, the subject being quite awkward between the divorced couple as they hadn't really spoken about the baby girl they'd lost together a few years ago.
"So, is the interrogation over now?" Simon asked his dad after about 15 minutes of nonstop talking.
"I guess so. I'm glad you came here rather than me finding you with some gang-"
"I'm not in a gang." Simon interrupted.
"But please from now on, let me know what you're up to and where you're going, yes?"
"I will, I promise."
"Thank you." Peter said before looking over to the hazel green eyes he could feel on him. "Carla, I'm sorry he just turned up on your doorstep the way he did."
"Ah, it's alright. We've had a nice day together." She grinned at the father and son duo. "Are you sorry for turning up on my doorstep the way you did Peter?"
"Ha! She just owned you dad." Simon laughed. "I'm just going to the bathroom and then we can start the film." He announced as he got up.
"Hang on mate, Carla might want us gone."
"You, not 'us' dad. I'm already set up in her spare room, I'm not going anywhere." He beamed as he walked out of the room.
Carla laughed at the look on Peter's face as it hit him his son was right, he might have to find a nearby hotel on his own if she didn't want him in her house overnight. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't want him there but it would be a lot easier if she did let him stay.
He studied her appearance properly whilst she was having the last sip of her wine. Her chocolate brown hair flowed past her shoulders, longer than it had ever been since he'd known her. Her soft skin looked tanned and her cheekbones beautifully defined. She was glowing. Being away from Weatherfield had clearly done her good.
"Hellooo Peter! If you could stop staring for one second you'd realise I just said something." Carla said, waving her hand and snapping him out of his daze.
"Ah, sorry. What did you say?" He answered whilst scratching the back of his neck, something he always did when he was nervous.
"I said I'm not going to chuck you out at this time of night and make you find a hotel, I'm not completely heartless."
"I know you're not but are you sure? I don't mind going to a hotel if you'd prefer me not to be here."
"It's fine. Although actually, Toyah and Leanne probably won't like you staying here."
"I honestly couldn't care less." Peter stated, not knowing how he felt about his ex wife bringing up his other ex wife and current partner that he lived with.
"Ooh. Trouble in paradise?"
"I don't know if there is a paradise to be honest." He said glumly, running his hand over his well groomed beard, unsure whether to go into details or not.
Carla noticed the look on his face. "Peter, I was joking. You don't need to tell me anything. Look Simon has taken over the spare room so unless you wanna share the bed with him, you can have the sofa for the night. As someone who has fallen asleep on it many times I can confirm it's very comfortable." She said as she gestured towards the sofa she was sitting on.
He smiled at her, not quite believing his current situation. "Sounds good, thank you. I really do appreciate it."
"What do you appreciate?" Simon asked as he walked back into the room, curious to why his dad was thanking Carla.
"Carla said I can have the sofa for the night as it's highly unlikely you're going to share the spare bed with me. Is that alright with you?"
"Hmm. I guess so." He replied to his dad, pretending to think about his answer.
As Peter and Simon were joking around, Carla picked her wine glass up and took it into the kitchen, putting it straight into the dishwasher. She heard Simon call her name because he wanted to start the film before it got too late so she took the share size bar of chocolate out of the cupboard and went back into the lounge. Once she got there she saw that Peter and Simon had swapped seats and at her raised eyebrow, Simon spoke up.
"I need to charge my phone so I've got to sit here by the plug socket. I'm sure you can manage sitting next to me dad for one night." He said from his new spot on the armchair.
"Oh I'm not sure about that, I might end up 'accidentally' kicking him in the face or something." Carla replied, not missing the grin on the boys face.
"Oi, I am here you know." Peter announced, folding his arms and pouting, pretending to be annoyed when really he was feeling the complete opposite.
"Oh are ya? Would never have known." Carla replied sarcastically, thoroughly enjoying the unexpected company of her old family. "What film did you even choose Si? I forgot to ask earlier." She made herself comfortable on her side of the sofa, opening the bar of chocolate she had brought in with her.
Simon clicked play on the remote control and picked up the bowl of sweet popcorn from the table, placing it in his lap. "The Woman in Black." He said excitedly.
"The Woman in Black? Sounds like it could be about me that." Carla said with a chuckle.
"Unless you secretly kidnap children and kill them I don't think so, love." Peter replied, laughing at the look of horror on Carla's face. He couldn't tell if it was because of the description of the film or because he accidentally called her love. He hoped it wasn't the latter though.
"Oh well that sounds delightful. How can a 12A rated film be about that kind of stuff?" She huffed, ignoring the pet name and taking a bite of her chocolate.
"Not sure to be honest. Probably means it isn't that scary though, you'll be okay." He answered with a cheeky smile on his face, knowing Carla wasn't a massive fan of scary films. It was a secret she didn't like a lot of people knowing as she had a reputation to uphold, so she looked over at him with her well known death glare.
"Shut up or I won't give you any chocolate, don't think I can't see you giving it the eye." She grinned, waving the chocolate in front of his face.
Peter wanted to say he was actually gazing at her and not the chocolate but knew it wasn't exactly appropriate so instead he apologised dramatically and promised to not reveal her secret to anyone else. She rewarded him with a line of the chocolate bar, making them both laugh like a pair of teenagers, forgetting there was actually a teenager in the room who had been watching them the whole time.
"Alright you two be quiet, it's starting." Simon joked, secretly loving the scene in front of him.
"Sorry Si." Carla replied, pretending to zip up her mouth to prove she'd be quiet from now on. Peter watched her briefly before turning back to the tv, he hadn't felt this content in a very long time.
The three of them sat quietly watching the film, occasionally jumping and giggling when there was a loud noise or jump scare. Simon munched on popcorn whilst Carla and Peter finished the bar of chocolate that was placed between them.
Carla moved the empty wrapper to the table and curled into the side of the sofa, her head resting on the pillow next to the arm of the chair. Peter softly tapped her legs, she knew it was him silently saying she could stretch out and put them across him if she wanted, he used to do it all of the time when they were together so without hesitating she complied.
As the credits rolled Simon yawned. It was late and he'd had an extra long day thanks to his little adventure across the country. Announcing he was going to bed, he picked up his phone and charger, gave Carla a kiss on the cheek, his dad a hug and said goodnight. He then made his way upstairs to the spare room, looking forward to a good nights rest after a tiring but enjoyable day.
Now Carla and Peter were left alone it suddenly seemed more awkward than it was before. Carla moved her legs from across Peter's lap, planted them on the floor and picked up the remote control from the table to turn the television off.
"See, it wasn't that scary was it?" Peter said, breaking the silence.
"No, it was bit jumpy but I enjoyed it actually."
"Yeah, I thought you were gonna take off at one point you jumped so high." He said, thoroughly enjoying winding her up.
"Oh don't be so dramatic, I wasn't that bad." She replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm just going to get you the spare duvet and pillow."
Carla came back a couple of minutes later holding a soft, single duvet and a matching pillow she had bought especially for cosy nights on the sofa. She placed them both down, setting it up as a bed whilst Peter was perched on the arm of the sofa, watching her intently. She could feel his eyes on her, which made her want to get out of there before either of them did anything stupid.
"Here you go." She announced one she had finished.
"Thanks again." He said sincerely for what felt like the tenth time in a few hours.
"If you thank me one more time I might actually have to kick you out."
"Ha. I just can't quite believe today. I'm not dreaming am I?" He joked.
"Dream about sleeping on my sofa often do ya?" She joked back.
He looked at her with a glint in his eye and instantly she knew something cheeky was about to come out of his mouth. "Sofa? No. Somewhere else? Yes, definitely."
She let out a laugh. "On that note, goodnight Peter." She said as she turned around to leave the room.
"Night Car." He chuckled, watching her walk away.
After going to the bathroom, using a spare, unopened toothbrush Carla had left out for him, he made his way back to the living room. He took off his jumper and jeans which left him in his boxers, it was all he had so it would have to do. He climbed into the makeshift bed on the sofa and sighed.
Following a long week of rows with Toyah and Leanne, to the point where it felt like he was in a relationship with them both, Peter couldn't be happier with where he was right now. He was already excited about waking up and spending the morning with his son and Carla so he closed his eyes and let sleep take over.
a/n: thank you so much for the reviews! as you'd all like it to be a longer story i will definitely commit to it :)
