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Part Thirteen.

The door to the factory closed and it was the noise of that which brought Carla back to her senses. She swallowed hard but now she was on her own she couldn't hold back the sobs that we're threatening to choke her, lodged in the back of her throat. She wiped her arm across her desk sending items flying across the room and onto the floor. She did the same to Frank's desk before her legs gave way from under her and she went crashing to the floor just like many other items had done only seconds before, due to her actions. So many things needed thinking about and at that moment in time it was just too much for her. She wondered about Bailey and about Peter, Michelle and Frank. Her life as she knew it was over now that he knew he was Bailey's dad and she had no idea what she was supposed to do from that moment on. Carla wondered how she was supposed to carry on and what she was supposed to do on stepping outside of the factory, she wanted as little contact with Frank as was possible but she knew that Bailey was a link they now had that she could never break. Regardless of how much she hated Frank.

Hayley had been for drinks with Sean, Julie, Eileen and Fiz and after leaving The Rovers being the only one that was sober she had intended to go home when she found that Frank had just walked out of Underworld and had made no effort to lock the door. She suddenly found herself worried for Carla after what she had thought she had witnessed only a couple of days earlier and after waiting for Frank to drive away she made sure her friends had gone into their homes before making her way to her workplace. Hayley pushed the door open and frowned when she found the place in darkness. She stepped in a little further though and it was then she noticed the glow of light coming from the office. Hayley let the door close behind her and carefully made her way over to where the light was coming from. When she pushed the door open she wasn't ready for what she found and there were a few seconds in which she was sure she could have been knocked down by a feather. The office had thing strewn all over the floor and in the corner by all the chaos was Carla, her knees were pulled tightly into her chest and she was quietly sobbing.

There was a couple of moments when Hayley didn't know what she was supposed to do but she soon pulled herself together and carefully moved over to where Carla was on the floor and knelt down to her height. She reached out and gently touched her shoulder but was shocked when Carla flinched back, her head snapped up and the panic that washed over her expression for a moment even left Hayley speechless. "Carla..." she whispered "what's wrong? What's happened?"
Carla opened her mouth to speak but couldn't get any words out, a pained cry escaped her lips and Hayley moved her arm to place around Carla's shoulders. She fell sideways into the embrace and cried, cried for what she had found out, for wondering what would happen from then on, for what she had gone through at the hands of Frank and the prospect of having to keep Frank sweet to keep the truth from Peter.

It was around twenty minutes later and Hayley had managed to get Carla to sit down on a chair and had poured her a drink from the bottle of Whiskey that was kept in the office. She poured some into a glass and handed it to Carla before sitting down herself. "What's happened?"
Carla pushed her hair back gently with her hand and had a large mouthful of the drink she had been poured before shaking her head. "I can't..."
Hayley noted the way Carla's hands shook violently as she raised the glass of Whiskey to her lips and she felt sick with worry for the woman who had started off as her boss, but was now someone whom she considered a friend. "You can, Carla you can tell me anything I want to help... It won't go any further than these four walls..."
Carla swallowed hard and hesitated for a moment, she knew she needed to tell someone about what had happened before she went mad, but the one person she wanted to tell was the one person she couldn't tell in fear of what his reaction would be.
"Is it something to do with Frank? I know he grabbed you the other day..."
"That isn't even the half of it." Carla stated bitterly, shaking her head seconds before having another large gulp of the brown liquid from the glass she held.
After a moment, Hayley placed her hand over Carla's and leant forward a little. "Carla, tell me what he's done?"
There was a few moments pause, and though she wanted to, Hayley decided against pushing her any further. She knew Carla well enough to know that if she pushed her too far she would just shut-down altogether and that was the last thing she wanted. Whatever it was that was upsetting her, she knew that it wasn't something someone should be dealing with on their own, and her thoughts were confirmed when Carla next spoke. "He raped me..." she whispered, though it was so quiet she doubted whether the words had even left her lips.
To Hayley however, it was like she had screamed the words at her and she squeezed her hand a little tighter, it being a couple of seconds before she managed to reply, wondering how the woman that sat in front of her had managed to keep such a secret. "When?" she whispered.
"Ten months ago..."
"Ten?" Hayley repeated, and Carla knew that she was thinking what had been confirmed that night. "What about Bailey?" Hayley mumbled, unsure whether she should have even approached the subject. She was met with just a sob from Carla and knew it that second who Bailey's biological father was. She knew that no actions or words from her could go anywhere near to consoling Carla, but she knew she had to try. Hayley pulled the woman who she had grown to regard as a friend into another cuddle and she was glad when she accepted it. After a couple of moments Carla sat back once more and ran the back of her hand over her cheeks as Hayley spoke. "What are you going to do?"
Carla shook her head "I don't know. What am I supposed to do?"
"I wish I could tell you."
"I can't tell him, you won't tell him will you?"
Hayley shook her head "of course I won't. You don't even need to ask, Carla..."
"I don't know what to do..."
"I think that you need to think about it first. I guess that's why he was in here?" Carla nodded her response before Hayley continued "I think you need to try and rest and then try and make a decision. I know it's a cliché but wait until in the morning before you decide anything for sure."
"What if I can't love him anymore?"

Hayley frowned "Bailey?"

Carla nodded.
"Carla, regardless of what that animal did to you, Bailey is still your son."
"But..."
Hayley cut her off before she could finish. "There is no but, he is your son. He isn't Frank Carla; he is nothing to do with him. He is a beautiful baby boy who relies on you to take care of him and I know you are just having a panic now. You couldn't not love him and I know things are hard for you right now but don't let him ruin your relationship with Bailey, he isn't worth it."
Carla nodded in acknowledgement to what she had said before speaking up in a whisper, though it wasn't in answer to her words of comfort. "I feel sick..."
Hayley sighed sympathetically and moved to rub Carla's back gently as she leaned against the desk a little but before she could answer what Carla had said, her phone rang. Carla jumped and turned to the side quickly before taking her phone from her bag. "It's Peter..." she stated, though Hayley didn't say anything, she knew what Carla had said didn't require an answer. Carla sniffed and sat back slightly, swallowing hard before she answered the phone. "Hey you..."
"Hey baby, where are you?"
"In the factory..."
"I thought you were going to the shop?"
"I was but I just remembered that I... That I needed to arrange meeting for next week."
"Could it have not waited until tomorrow? You've been gone ages..."
"Unfortunately not."
"Do you know how much longer you are going to be?"
"I think I will go and get a taxi now."
"Good, we've saved you some take-away..."
Carla felt her stomach churn at the mere thought of eating anything though she did her best to disguise it. "Thank you."
"I'm going to go and put Simon to bed so leave your work for today and come home alright?"
Carla could almost hear his smile in his tone "alright, I shouldn't be too much longer..."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Carla ended the call and put her phone down, sighing once more before she got out of the chair and picked up her bag. Turning slightly when she heard Hayley speak, concern dripping from every word that passed her lips. "Are you sure you're alright to go back home, Carla?"
"What choice do I have? Seems like the running theme for my life over the past few months that, doesn't it?" she laughed bitterly and shook her head.
"Please don't say that."
"It's true."
"I think he would stand by you Carla, maybe you should tell him."
"you think" she sighed "I can't take the chance."
"Maybe you need to..."
"I can't... I just, I can't."
"If you ever need to talk again please come and get me, don't let yourself get this upset again. You're not on your own, you know?"
Carla said nothing, fearing that if she did she would break down into tears once more. She nodded her acknowledgement to what Hayley had said and reached out her hand to give Hayley's a gentle squeeze. She hesitated for a second before she spoke up once again "will you..." she didn't even need to finish the sentence before Hayley nodded "go on, go." Carla turned on her heel and left the factory; she folded her arms over her chest defensively on getting outside and headed in the direction of the cab office.

Inside the factory, Hayley sighed quietly and silently hoped that what she had said to Carla had helped, though with the situation she was in she was unsure any amount of comforting from her would help. Hayley began clearing up the office, picking up what had been knocked off the two desks, putting it back as best she could in the hope that no one would notice that it had moved, she knew that would only make Carla feel even worse if people found out that she had lost control. Hayley had always known that Carla was strong but in that moment she understood just how much. She wouldn't say it to Carla of course but she was surprised that it had taken until then for her to let things get on top of her. Hayley was sure that most people wouldn't have been able to handle things as she had, especially with Frank doing what he could to make things even harder for her.

As she was picking things up from the floor she came across the piece of paper which stated Carla's fears in black and white. She put it into her bag and decided to keep it and ask Carla what she wanted to do with it the following day, rather than leaving it there and risk letting it get into the wrong hands. Or more specifically, Frank's. After tidying the office Hayley locked up Underworld before going back to the Cafe, silently worrying about her friend.

-

When Carla arrived outside of the flat she took a deep breath before slipping the key into the lock, hoping she wouldn't have to front things out for too long. Once Carla had pushed the door open she stepped inside and forced a small smile in Peter direction as he turned around from his place on the couch. "Hey baby."
"hey, how are you?" she questioned, letting the door close behind her before she turned around to put the lock on.
"I've missed you." Peter smiled.
"Was I really gone that long?"
Peter smiled and shook his head as he spoke "no, but it was long enough." He wrapped his arms around Carla on getting close enough and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Carla rested gently against his chest and as she breathed in his familiar scent and felt the softness of his touch she felt an urge to cry that she could not hold back. She sniffed and brought the back of her hand to wipe over her cheek, though she was too late, Peter had moved her back with a hand against either one of her shoulders. "What's wrong sweetheart?" he whispered, concern etched into his tone as he spoke.
"I..." Carla shook her head a little and swallowed hard as she struggled to get her words out.
Peter shook his own head a little and pulled her close, wrapping her up in his arms. "Hey, don't get upset. You're probably just tired; you've had a rough couple of months. How about we go to bed and get you some much needed rest, hey?"
Carla nodded against his chest and Peter leaned over to turn the light off, before placing his arm around her, guiding her into the bedroom. He nudged the door closed with his foot as Carla undressed and put on her nighty, leaving her clothes in a crumpled pile by the bed. She took her make-up off and climbed underneath the covers, allowing Peter to pull her close as she curled into his side.

Peter ran his hand over her hair gently as she laid beside him and kissed the top of her head, hoping that there wasn't more to her getting upset than she was saying and though there was a niggling feeling in his stomach he decided to ignore it, not wanting to think that Carla was lying to him. He gave her a gentle squeeze and listened to her steady breaths as she lay beside him. Carla sighed quietly and let her hand rest palm flat against his chest gently as she drifted into a restless slumber beside the man that she loved.