I can't thank the people enough who wrote a comment about this story, I really appreciate it. :-) I wasn't sure what people would think as it's just my first fiction but they were all really nice. I didn't know this was possible but I got e-mails to say my story had been added to people's favourites? So thanks to everyone has done that too. :-) This chapter took me longer than I thought cos I changed it quite a lot. Hope you all enjoy it and please leave a comment if you have time.

Part Two.

Six months later, Carla was sitting on the white sofa that she had found herself on more than one occasion over the past few years, though this time the beauty of the place was lost on her. The past six months had been the hardest of her life and there had been so much put upon her, she had kept the biggest and darkest secret she guessed she ever would and it had been eating away at her from the inside out. On top of that, her Mother had died and that had also been something she had struggled to deal with. A few days previously she had called upon the one person that he been there for her through some of the darkest times of her life and was now sitting beside Suzie in the luxurious apartment she owned in LA.

After placing two fruit cocktails onto the table in front of her and her friend, Suzie sat beside Carla with a quiet sigh and tried to hide the worry she felt. When Carla had called her she had immediately thought that something was wrong and suggested that she fly out for a few days. When Carla had arrived in LA, Suzie knew that her feeling of something being wrong with her had been spot on. As she sat next to her, a woman that had always been so strong and so together seemed very different, broken maybe. Suzie couldn't quite put her finger on what it was that was wrong with her friend but she intended to find out, and vowed to help her as much as she could on doing so.

Suzie, similarly to Carla, was very glamorous and she liked the finer things in life. She had married a Liverpudlian guy who she had met at college not long after leaving school and they had moved to America shortly after for his work. Initially Suzie hadn't wanted to go, but now thinking back she was glad she had taken the plunge and ended up where she had. She'd made a lot of friends while being in LA, but the one person she had remained in contact with from the UK other than her family was Carla, and she often found herself missing her. When she had moved, Suzie had always told Carla she could fly over whenever she wanted and was glad she had taken her up on the offer on more than one occasion, regardless of the situation that Carla had been in herself on visiting.

Suzie ran her hand over her light brown curls, hesitating for a moment as she put a reassuring hand on Carla's arm. Carla jumped, it was something she found herself doing often when she got touched without warning and it didn't go missed by Suzie. There was a moment of quiet as Suzie wondered how to approach the conversation that she felt she needed to have with Carla and before speaking she leaned forward, picking up one of the glasses that held the drinks she had not long made. Suzie handed it to Carla and picked up her own, before having a sip of the brightly coloured liquid.

"Carla, talk to me darling..."
On hearing the voice of her friend, the worry that was in her tone, and she felt the familiar feeling of tears threatening to fall, a feeling that had been all too familiar over the past few months. Carla shook her head gently as one large tear slipped down her cheek and lingered on her bottom lip. "I can't..." she whispered.
"You can tell me anything, you know that."
"I don't want to be here anymore."
Suzie laughed a nervous laugh as she hoped she had interpreted Carla's statement wrong. "Oh charming. You've only just got here."
Carla shook her head once and Suzie moved a little closer to her. "Carla please I'm really worried about you. I thought you were really happy with that new fella of yours?"
"I don't know where to start." Carla whispered.
"We've got all night darling, it's only half seven. Just start from the beginning."
Carla ran her tongue over her top set of teeth and swallowed hard, almost as though she was trying to swallow any doubt she had about speaking about what had happened.
"I was happy with him. I love him to bits..."
"I don't understand then? If you love him, he loves you..." Suzie leaned forward to rest her hand on the neat bump Carla had showing through the top she was wearing as she continued. "You've got a little one on the way. What's so wrong?"
Carla bit down on the inside of her mouth a moment and shook her head "the baby... It's not, I mean, I don't know..." she shook her head once more to indicate that she couldn't even bare finishing the sentence, and when she heard Suzie next speak she knew she wouldn't have to.
"It's not his?" Suzie whispered her voice only just loud enough to be heard over the quiet hum of the TV that was on.
"I don't know..."
"Oh..."
"It wasn't like what you think though. I'd never cheat on him... I..." Carla stuttered and Suzie immediately felt sick, little things all falling into place as she realized what Carla was saying to her.
"Please tell me you're not telling me what I think you're telling me..." she whispered, desperately hoping she had somehow misunderstood and that her best friend had not been through one of the most horrific experiences a woman could go through at the hands of someone else.
Carla broke into sobs and it said all that Suzie needed to hear, she wrapped her arm around Carla's shoulders protectively and pulled her into a cuddle. Carla accepted the comfort as Suzie ran her hand over her back soothingly and let her cry, her sobs so hard that they made her whole body shake.

-

It was around twenty minutes later that Carla's sobs subsided and she sat up slightly, running the back of her hand over her cheeks to try and remove the traces of her tears. She turned to Suzie and sighed quietly before whispering an apology, Suzie hating how she sounded so small. "I'm sorry."
"You've got nothing to be sorry for, not a thing."
"I'll buy you a new top."
Suzie didn't respond in the usual way she would have which would have likely started some teasing between herself and her friend, instead she asked the question that had first popped into her mind when Carla had told her what was wrong. "Who did it?"
Carla swallowed hard as she felt the feeling of nausea wash over her. "Frank..."
"As in your business partner Frank?"
"As in Peter's cousin..."
"Carla does anyone else know?"
She shook her head "just you..."
"You've got to tell him..."
"If I tell him he'll finish with me, he won't believe me. Frank's with our Michelle, do you know how much trouble it would cause? If I was going to tell anyone I'd have needed to have done it when it happened. Now I'm just going to have to keep it a secret and make sure no one else finds out."
"What about the baby?"
"I'm trying not to think about it."
"Do you want it?"
"If it's Peter's..."
"Why didn't you get rid of it when you found out?"
Carla sighed quietly and shook her head. "My mum died... It was a few weeks after..." Carla paused, not ready to finish that sentence. "I blamed how I was feeling on that and by the time I went to the doctor it was too late. I thought I'd missed a period with stress and I don't think I wanted to believe it. Peter was there when I found out so even if it had been an option I could never have done it."
"What was Peter like when you told him?"
"Over the moon, quite literally jumping for joy."
"then that's all that matters, isn't it?"
"Is it?"
"Carla, that baby in there is your baby and Peter's baby. Nothing to do with him. He isn't going to be telling anyone otherwise, he's already taken so much Car, don't let him take your happiness with Peter and the joy of having this baby too."
"That's easier said than done."
"I know it is. I know... Just try, yeah?"
Carla gave a tiny smile and nodded, she knew what Suzie was telling her was right; she was just struggling to get her head around it. She had gotten away with being so withdrawn for so long with Peter after she had blamed her Mother's death. Carla hated that she had used that as an excuse to try and make her own life that little easier, but knew if she hadn't she would have had to tell Peter what was really wrong and as far as she was concerned that wasn't an option. However, Carla knew she needed to pull herself together on this trip away for when she got back so that she didn't raise anymore suspicion, every time she thought about telling Peter what had happened, Frank's words would ring in her ears before she even got close to weighing up what might or might not be the consequence of her doing so. Carla's thoughts were interrupted as Suzie spoke again "how about I go run you a bath?"
Carla nodded "thank you... I don't know what I'd do without you."
"I think you'd manage Carla."
"I'm not sure I would..." Carla whispered, but Suzie had already walked into the bathroom.

-

Twenty minutes later and Suzie had ran Carla a bath with plenty of bubbles in it, she had put her drink on the side in case she wanted some while she was in there and played some music quietly for her. She knew that she couldn't make her feel better about what had happened, so instead she settled for trying to help her forget about the complications in her life while she was there. "Car, your bath's ready..."
Carla got up and walked tentatively through into the bathroom, a small and grateful smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Thank you..."
"You're welcome love, there's a towel on the side."
Carla nodded and Suzie turned and left the bathroom.

Carla undressed and stepped into the bath, lying down with a quiet sigh as she let the warmth of the water envelop her. She bit down on her bottom lip after getting comfortable and could feel tired muscles relax. She was fairly sure that knowing Frank was thousands of miles away and that she didn't have to worry about what he would do next was helping her to relax, even if what was going on in her life wouldn't leave her mind completely. It was moments before Carla's head rolled to one side against the bath and she began falling into a slumber through sheer exhaustion, she was both physically and emotionally drained.

-Flashback-

Carla had been feeling ill for around three months and she had been blaming it in different things that had happened in her life, but, after becoming increasingly worried about his girlfriend, Peter had made an appointment with the doctor for Carla. She'd had some tests done and they were at that moment in time just sitting in the doctor's surgery, waiting to be called back in for the results of them. Peter moved his hand to place over Carla's who's were in her lap, she was fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket nervously and he frowned in confusion, something had changed about her and he had no idea what it was.

"Carla, you don't have to worry you know."
"I don't know why you brought me here; you know why I feel so bad."
"It's been a long time."
"My mum has just died."
"You weren't right before that, there was something up."
Carla swallowed hard "a sickness bug, yeah. You know it was going around."
"But let's just try to be on the safe side yeah? I just want them to be able to help you and get you better."
Carla sighed quietly and nodded. "I know I know, sorry, I just-"
She was cut off by Peter speaking. "You don't have to be sorry."
Carla wanted to cry when he wrapped his arms around her protectively for a cuddle and in that moment she never wanted to leave them again, the only place she felt remotely safe now was in his arms. Even in her own home she would be terrified at every creak in the flat or every noise outside it, that Frank was going to appear from nowhere and attack her again.

When the doctor stepped out of his room and called her name she gave a small nod in acknowledgement, finding herself sitting in the room opposite him with Peter a moment later.
"Mrs Connor, I know you're here for the results to the tests that we did on you, and I can tell you there's nothing to worry about. We knew why you're feeling how you are with sickness and being run down. You're pregnant." he smiled.
Carla swallowed hard at the words, she could almost feel her world come crashing down around her and the guilt that she felt as she heard Peter speak wasn't something she could describe. "she's pregnant? A...are you sure?" she could almost hear the smile in his voice and it made her feel sick.
The doctor nodded "yes, we're sure. Three months pregnant. Before you leave today we'll arrange a scan for you. Now, I know you've had a hard time of it lately, but I don't want to put you on any medication unless we really have to."
Carla nodded, she could hear what she was being told but it was almost like she couldn't process it in her mind, like she didn't understand what was being said to her. The news had well and truly floored her.

The rest of the appointment with the doctor went in a blur for Carla. A blur of news and Peter sounding like the happiest man walking the planet. She hated what was happening and she hated herself even more for not being able to share his happiness. Carla had known from the start that keeping what had happened to her a secret would be incredibly difficult, but now she knew it would be almost impossible.

-

An hour later, Carla found herself standing at the bar of The Rovers beside Peter, the sickness feeling she had in the pit of her stomach had never even eased, let alone left her and she knew it wasn't morning sickness that was the cause of it. The smile had never left Peter and she silently wondered how his cheeks weren't aching, it was like her's couldn't smile about it and it didn't surprise her. She was doing just enough to stop him from asking questions and blaming being shocked at the news had come in very convenient for her. Carla was distracted from her thoughts as Peter spoke and she turned her head in his direction.
"it doesn't seem right getting an orange juice when we're celebrating."
Before Carla could answer, Tina walked over to them with a bright smile and when she spoke it was evident she'd heard. "oohh, what are you celebrating?"
Peter turned to Carla to make sure it was fine with her that he was going to tell her and Carla nodded. People would find out soon enough anyway wouldn't they?
"We went to the doctors today and we found out that Carla's pregnant."
Tina smiled "oh congratulations. Both of you."
Carla gave a small smile and nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well I can understand you not being able to drink now, so how about I put the orange in the champagne glasses, it's the best I can do?"
Peter laughed "thanks love."
Leanne, who had heard the conversation walked out from the back where she had been standing and scoffed. "Like she has the first clue about being a parent." she snapped.
"Don't start Leanne." Peter shot back.
Carla wrapped her arm around Peter's waist and shook her head a little. "Leave it Peter..."
"I'll bring your drinks over." Tina offered with a smile and Peter placed his hand against the small of Carla's back as they walked over to sit down in one of the empty booths in the pub. On sitting down, Peter wrapped his arm around Carla's shoulders and kissed the side of her head.
"You've made me the happiest man alive."
Carla gave a small smile and when Peter leaned forward slightly for a kiss, Carla responded before turning to wrap her arms around him for a cuddle. "I love you so much, you know that don't you?"
Peter smiled and nodded at what she had said "and you know the feeling is mutual."
Carla nodded and for the first time in a long time she let a small and genuine smile tug at the corners if her lips as Peter kissed her forehead.

However the smile was wiped from her expression as she heard a voice that made her blood run cold. "Get these two Chelle, they're having a moment."
Michelle laughed and Carla shuffled closer to Peter. "oh stop it and go get us some drinks."
"We've got ours."
Carla turned as Tina walked over and placed the glasses of orange down in front of them. "Thank you."
Tina smiled as Carla spoke and then left to go back to the bar and finished her shift. Carla crossed one leg over the other and her stomach churned as she heard Frank speak. "Not drinking Carla?"
"No she's not." Peter smiled and she could only wonder how different the situation would have been if Peter knew what was really going through her mind. She might not have had to deal with Frank but she was almost sure that Peter would not have been sitting next to her and she was terrified of taking the chance of losing him. "We're having a baby." Peter added with a grin that told everyone he was ecstatic about the news.
Michelle leaned over the table and placed her hand on Carla's with a smile, squealing in excitement. "Are you serious?" she got up and walked around the table to cuddle Carla, a cuddle which she returned. "I'm so happy for you. Congratulations. Have you been for a scan yet? How far gone are you?" Michelle asked, displaying the excitement that Carla knew she should have been.
"Thank you... No not yet, we've got an appointment though and I'm about three months, they can't be sure until the scan."

Frank had just shook Peter's had but his mind was working overtime and he knew that there was a large possibility that the baby was his. He felt very smug that he had something else over Carla and knew that he could bring her while world down around her if he chose to. "Well I think this calls for a celebration. I'll get us a proper drink; we'll drink enough for the both of you."
Peter laughed "go ahead mate."
"I'm just going to the toilet." Carla gave Peter's hand a gentle squeeze before getting up from the table.
"Is everything alright?" Peter questioned, causing Carla to almost melt at the concern in his voice and shout at him that everything wasn't alright, that everything was anything but alright. But, instead she settled for a nod and a forced smile before turning on her heel as she walked in the direction of the toilets.

Carla stepped into one of the cubicles on getting into the toilets and wretched, though was glad when she wasn't sick. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself down, which admittedly, was easier said than done. She pushed her hair back with her hand gently, stepping out of the cubicle and over to a mirror a few moments later. As she stood opposite the mirror she realized how pale her complexion was and knew she needed to try and improve it. Carla leaned forwards and splashed her face with water before patting her skin dry gently with a few paper towels. She needed to make sure that the secret she was keeping remained one and to do that she knew she needed to try and go on as normally as she could. With this in mind, she took her lip-gloss from her bag and applied some before stepping out of the bathroom to return back to the bar when Frank walked through the doors and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to one side. "I think me and you need to talk."
Carla pulled her arm away roughly "no, we don't."
Frank stepped closer and Carla took a step back, almost tripping in her haste to get away from him. She turned when the door opened once more and she forced a small smile as Michelle stepped through the door and frowned on finding Frank outside the toilets with Carla. "what are you doing?" she questioned.
"Just congratulating Carla"
"Outside the toilets?"
"Yeah she was coming out as I was going in."
"Alright" Michelle laughed before going on through into the toilet and Carla walked out into the bar and back to Peter before Frank had a chance to say or do anything else.

-

Carla woke herself up with a start and felt her heart beating inside her chest so fast that it almost physically hurt her. She swallowed hard and leaned back a little as she tried desperately to stop tears. She had cried so many times and had told herself that she wouldn't shed anymore tears for Frank again but found it more difficult as time passed to stick to that. It was a few moments later before she sat up to wash her hair, hoping that the simple activity could distract her from her thoughts, even if it was only for a few moments.