Today was the day where the Connor family would say goodbye to Lilah. Carla was desperate in attempting to get day release so that they could do something together but her attempts were dismissed so she harassed Peter over the phone to get Lilah to visit so Peter had to contact Lilah to ensure that she was definitely visiting that day which she agreed to do. Peter was on his way to the unit he stopped off to collect Lilah on the way and they both made their way to the hospital to sign in.
"Peter, is it?" the nurse says approaching him
"Yes, why?" he asks confused
"Come, with me" she smiles as they make their way to a consultation room
"What's happened?" he asks
"Carla had an episode early this morning, she believed that a person called Liam was with her. We were wondering if you would have any idea what caused this?" the nurse asks
"Well I'm leaving today to do business abroad. She said she was fine me leaving unless she was trying to be strong which can be hard in these places" Lilah states
"Who are you in relation to her?" the nurse asks
"A close family friend" Lilah says
"Right, I don't suppose you could speak to her?" the nurse asks
"I can try, is she still erratic then?" Lilah asks
"She has calmed down a lot but she still seems very on-edge" the nurse explains "I will show you both to her room" she smiles
As Peter and Lilah enter Carla's room, she is curled up in a tuck position on the bed with the duvet wrapped around her shoulders covering her whole body. She looked like she had just been crying and both Lilah and Peter could see the confusion in her eyes as they glance frantically around the room. Lilah went over to the bed and sat cross legged on the end of the bed facing a dishevelled Carla.
"Hi Carla" Lilah says "What's up"
"Liam was here" she says convinced
"Where was he?" Lilah asks
"Here sitting in the chair" she says pointing to the chair
"Is he still here?" Lilah questions
"No, he just left me like he always does" she says angrily
"What did you talk about" she gently interrogates her
"He said he loved me" she says as tears brim her eyes "Then- Then he"
"What happened Carla?" Lilah asks gently
"He disappeared then he was Tony" she says shakily glancing round the room until her eyes stopped in the far left corner
"Carla, who's there" Lilah asks getting concerned
"Get them away" she pleads "PLEASE GET THEM AWAY" she shouts as Lilah walks over to Carla who was frantically moving around the room and grabbed her arms and held her close as she breaks down in her arms.
"Carla lets sit on the bed" she says kissing her forehead guiding her over to sit her on the bed, stroking her hair, trying to settle her. "Oh Carla why now aye?" she whispers
"Peter" Carla says quietly
"He's there, look" Lilah says pointing to the armchair in the corner of the room as Carla gets up and walks over to him sitting herself down on his lap wrapping her arms around his neck
"Hello" he smiles as Carla nuzzles into his neck
"I love you" she whispers
"I love you too" he says "Lilah's leaving today"
"I know, I will miss her" she says quietly "I wanted to say goodbye but they wouldn't let me"
"Hey, I'm here you can say goodbye now" Lilah prompts "I'm not going forever you know, I will be back and I will definitely be back for your wedding, and you can call me every day send me messages and I will get back to you"
"Look you see Lilah will keep in touch" Peter says stroking her hair gently
"I guess so" Carla shrugs
"Can I have a hug then?" Lilah asks as Carla gets up and walks over to her
"I'm going to go out for a ciggy, I will leave you to talk" Peter says excusing himself from the room
"Lie down" Lilah says gesturing to the bed
"Alright mum" Carla says sticking her tongue out and making her way over to the bed lying across it
"Budge over" Lilah says slipping beside her "What's really bothering you?" she asks
"Half the time I don't know myself" she shrugs "You never gave me the gruesome details of your rendezvous with Nick"
"Carla!" she exclaims "You should know what he's like in bed anyway"
"He's not as good as Peter" Carla says confidently
"And how many times have you been married?" Lilah asks
"Four" she says quietly
"Four Carla? Who were these four then" Lilah laughs
"Paul, Tony, Peter and Nick, and obviously I was engaged to Frank" she says
"I still can't believe you got with Nick" Lilah says in disbelief
"It's really not that hard to believe" Carla says
"But you went for the bad boys all of em then there's Nick" she shrugs
"So you're an expert of my taste in men are you?" she laughs
"I could ask anyone and they would agree" Lilah says confidently as Carla lets out a yawn "You tired?"
"Mhm" she says burying her head against the pillow
"Want me to read you to sleep?" Lilah asks
"I feel like I've regressed in age but sure" she shrugs
Lilah picks up a book from the bed side table and begins to read. Peter entered not long after and sat himself in the armchair and listened to Lilah read to Carla. He thought it was amazing how two people could create such a strong bond instantly considering Carla was a private person and they hit it off just like that which amazed him. Lilah literally adopted herself to the Connor's and it was like she was part of the family which Carla loved. Lilah finished two chapters of the book before Carla was sound asleep next to her, she smiled at the broken woman who was lying on the bed before her.
"Shall we go?" Lilah whispers to Peter
"Yeah it might be better that way then she won't have to say goodbye and get emotional" Peter explains
They sign out of the unit and head to the car. They take the short drive to Lilah's house and Peter parks his car out on the drive. Lilah asks if he wants a coffee and he accepts.
"I have a proposition for you" Lilah states handing him a cup of coffee
"Oh what's that then" he asks confused
"I need you to house sit for me" Lilah explains
"Ok?" he replies still confused
"Look, why don't you move in here, you and Carla for a while until I get back, Michelle is going to need a flat of her own with two bedrooms isn't she? So this means neither of you need to find a place to stay" she states
"Only if you're sure" he replies firmly
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it, anyway you can keep Esme company" she says gesturing to the small white urn on top of the fireplace
"You're not taking her with you?" he replies shocked
"She belongs here, this is her home" she says "So will you, if you don't want to move in here that's fine at least house sit for me"
"Ok, fine. You're not going to back down anyway are you?" he questions
"You know me so well" she winks "Here are the copies of the keys, they're labelled, the code for the gate is 271112" she says jotting it down on a piece of paper "Help yourself to anything you need if you do decide to stay here" she smiles
"Ok thank you, I will head off now, the Connor's are meeting you at the airport, aren't they?" he asks
"Yeah just grab a lift with Michelle" she says
"Alright bye, see you later" he smiles as he leaves the house
Lilah finished off her packing for the remainder of the day. She ensured that she packed the essentials for her trip, not that it was a big deal anyway as she would probably just buy what she needed in America. She had some dinner and double checked her passport was in her bag before calling a taxi to driver her to the airport. The Connor's were meeting her there ensuring that she got off safely. After a short drive she arrived at the airport to be greeted by Michelle and Peter.
"Hey you guys, where the rest of y'all?" Lilah says as the taxi driver gets her suitcases out of the back of his car
"Stuck in traffic" Michelle explains "Want to grab a coffee?"
"Sue why not" she shrugs as she follows Michelle to a small coffee shop
"Right then so what's the plan when you land?" Peter asks
"Meet up with a business associate and stay with her for a while until I find a place of my own. You should come and visit for a holiday once I'm settled" Lilah says hopeful for some company
"I wouldn't want to stress Carla out any more then what's needed, I just want to focus getting her settled back in" he explains
"Understandable, but if you ever need to get away use my house, I gave you the keys and the code for the gate, you too Michelle" she smiles
"What's this?" she questions placing the cups of coffee on the table
"Lilah has given me the keys to her house, so if you ever need to get away you can go there" Peter explains as Lilah nods
"Oh, thank you Lilah" Michelle replies
"No problem, I needed someone to house sit for me" she shrugs
"Ok, if you're sure" she replies
"I should probably be heading off now" Lilah says glancing at her phone
"Come on then let's get you booked in" Michelle says
"Right, this is it then" Lilah says
"It is" Michelle says "Come here" she says gesturing for a hug which Lilah gratefully accepts
"Peter" Lilah says
"I'm going to miss you" He says "What do I do if things go wrong again?"
"Believe in yourself" she says "And believe in Carla"
"How will I know if things go wrong again?" He says
"You won't but like I said, if you believe in yourself and Carla the likelihood of things going wrong will be minimal. Focus on the positives not the negatives." She states
"Thank you for everything, I mean that" Peter says emotionally
"Really, it's fine" she smiles "Michelle, you look after that baby of yours ok?"
"Yes Mum" she mocks
"Right, I'm going to head off otherwise I'm going to be late for my flight, tell the rest of them I've gone and that I say goodbye" she smiles "I will see you on the other side of this business venture. Ciao!" she says strutting off with her suitcase as Michelle and Peter wave her off
"Shall we head home then?" Peter asks Michelle
"Come on then" she says as the rest of the family turn up "She's gone you just missed her" Michelle explains
"Damn traffic" Johnny says "you heading home now?"
"Yep we are" Michelle says "We'll see you back there"
Michelle and Peter arrived back at the flat reflecting on the day, they would miss Lilah there was no doubt about it, they would miss the support she gave and the understanding she had of the situation there family was in. They lost a friend and they were afraid that in Lilah's absence, they would struggle to cope but Lilah taught them one thing and that was that they needed to believe in themselves and focus on the positives and that if Carla was to deteriorate again they would need to step up and ensure that her safety takes priority. Lilah hoped that now Peter and Michelle watched her cope with Carla some of her techniques would rub off on them but all she could do was hope.