Simon Barlow was only twelve years old and in those twelve short years of his life, he had already seen and done things that most kids his age wouldn't even dream of.
He'd lost his birth mother, been in a fire, got drunk on a bottle of wine and ended up in hospital. He'd been severely bullied, seen countless family rows, had some of the closet people to him die, including his Mum's fiancé Kal, who recently died in an accident and to top it all off he had an alcoholic father.
When Peter thought about it, it was a wonder that Simon hadn't gone off the rails sooner. This however didn't stop him worrying frantically as he went to the bistro to speak to Leanne about trying to find Simon. There was a sign saying that the bistro was closed due to a family emergency but the door was still open so Peter went right on in.
He walked into the restaurant to find Leanne sobbing quietly in Nick's arms, Peter raised an eyebrow when he saw them and wondered how come Nick was allowed to spend time with his arms wrapped protectively around his ex, when Carla seemed to get a grilling just for sitting in the café with hers.
Although, if Peter was honest they weren't "just sitting in the café" He and Carla still had an incredible connection and after the way she had been with him at his Dad's house and after their long chat in the cafe, Peter truly felt as if something amazing was happening between him and Carla. Their passionate embrace at the hospital was days ago but the though of it still lingered in the back of Peter's mind, until now of course.
Now all Peter was concerned about was making sure Simon was safe.
Leanne saw Peter first and quickly wiped her eyes. Nick sighed a little when he saw Peter, it was almost as if Nick wondered what Peter had to do with any of this and it was all that Peter could do not to punch him right in the face.
He didn't do this of course, mainly because he knew violence wasn't the answer and also because he knew that hurting Nick wouldn't be so much to do with that sigh he had just let out and much more to do with him being with Carla.
"Peter I am so sorry about Deirdre." Leanne said with tears pouring down her cheeks, she walked over and gave him a quick hug. She had always loved Deirdre, just like everyone else had but Peter could tell that she was being completely sincere and just nodded at her appreciatively.
"Thanks…" he mumbled "So what time did Si's school call you?" he asked, getting right onto the subject of Simon.
"They phoned me… at around eleven am." Leanne admitted, looking guilty as she stood there in front of Peter.
"Eleven?" Peter exclaimed, thinking about how he was just sat in Roy's Rolls at that time with Carla. "Why didn't you tell me sooner Leanne? What were you thinking?"
"I didn't want to worry you Peter." Leanne cried "I thought he'd maybe come home and everything would be okay, I mean he bunks off sometimes but he always comes home and after everything you've all been through, Simon being a stroppy pre teen was all you needed."
"Yeah but this isn't just him being a stroppy pre teen is it? His Grandma died yesterday and he hasn't come home yet." Peter said "I mean I get what you were trying to do Leanne but all that time I didn't know about this, was time I could ave been out looking for him." Peter then looked at Nick "Did you tell him before you told me?"
"Yeah she did, why is that a problem?" Nick said, unable to refrain from snapping at Peter.
Peter just ignored Nick, knowing that he was just trying to get at him and maybe cause a little bit of trouble.
"I'm sorry Peter…" Leanne said hopelessly "It's not that I thought he should know before you, it's just... I came into work to take me mind of it and Nick… he just knew something was wrong with me." Peter raised an eyebrow again at this comment, he could have said so much but once again he held his tongue and decided that the most important thing was trying to find Simon.
"Right have you tried Simon's friends? Ave you asked them if they've seen him?" Peter asked Leanne, He could tell she was feeling really awful not telling him straight away. She shook her head at him and bit her lip.
"Well I would ave but it's just… I haven't got any of their numbers, he's got this whole new set of friends that I don't know off." Leanne said sniffing
"Great…" Peter said dryly, so dryly in fact that Nick felt like he really had to put his two-penneth in.
"Y'know maybe if you were actually here for Simon, rather than living it up in Portsmouth you'd be able to help a little bit more, rather than stand there and only offer up sarcasm." Nick said, Peter felt the level of anger rise in his body, the reason he had left Manchester in the first place was so that he could be a better father for Simon and yet here was Nick practically calling him a bad parent.
"Nick if I were you I'd really keep out of this." Peter said gravely, staring at Nick and trying his very best to keep his cool.
"Oh would you now?" Nick said, winding Peter up even more by the sarcastic tone in his voice "And what happens if I don't keep out of this?" Nick then added but Leanne quickly stepped in, sensing that a classic Peter and Nick brawl would be starting up soon if she didn't do something.
"Right the both of you need to stop right now, things are bad enough round ere without you two starting up your petty little arguments again." She sighed, "I need you both to help me find Simon, he could be anywhere right now."
Peter looked at Nick and then back at Leanne, knowing that she was right, the bistro's telephone started ringing and Nick reluctantly had to go and answer it. Peter watched him as he walked off and then turned to look at Leanne.
"He's so lucky I have better things to do." Leanne rolled her eyes at Peter "I'm serious Lea, I will knock him out if he carries on."
"Will you two ever get on?" Leanne asked, as Nick and Peter's feud seemed to be never ending, especially with the current situation.
"Probably not." Peter said shaking his head,
"I know this sounds dumb but how's it been, being back ere?" Leanne asked because she had barley spoken to Peter since that first time he'd be round.
"Honestly? It's been an absolute nightmare." Peter said because other than the few upbeat moments he'd managed to have with Carla and his family, everything else that had happened to him since his return had been incredibly awful.
"So… I take it you weren't too happy when you found out who Nick's new girlfriend was." Leanne said knowing exactly how Peter had felt about Carla. It had been a long time since she had found out about his affair but Leanne knew that Peter loved Carla like he'd never loved anyone before, including her.
Peter shrugged helplessly at Leanne,
"Yeah well you could say that..." He said, unable to find the words to describe how he had felt about Carla's new boyfriend. "It was the last thing I was expecting to be honest, what do you think about..." he hated saying the words "Nick and Carla", even after having a few days to adjust, it still sounded alien to him, so in the end he went for an awkward "them."
"I weren't too bothered at first, I mean I had Kal and we were so happy." Leanne started sadly "but I have to admit it's well weird, I mean it's our ex's... together as a couple… and Simon was not pleased about it either."
"Simon?" Peter said surprised, he hadn't even spoken to Simon about the situation so it was intriguing for him to hear what Simon thought about Carla and Nick.
"Yeah…" Leanne nodded "He said it were ridiculous that Carla and Nick had got together, he knew that one day you would come back and he knew it would really hurt you to see Carla with someone else."
"Well he were right there weren't he?" Peter said sighing in a depressed manner, even a twelve year old kid could see that he was utterly heartbroken.
"Si said he reckoned if you tried really really hard, that you could get Carla back in a heartbeat." Leanne said with a thin smile "Check him out eh, acting like a right little relationship expert." Nick then returned and stood next to Leanne so Peter quickly changed the subject back to Simon.
"Okay, so we don't know Simon's friends... Where does he like to hang out these days?"
"Oh the usual places, the red rec, the park, cinema, shops, he took his bike to school today so he could be out on that somewhere."
"Okay well let's start there shall we?" Peter said, almost hopefully but Leanne still looked doubtful.
"But Peter if he's run away then he could be anywhere couldn't he?"
"Lea I honestly don't think he's runaway, he's probably just upset and he just wanted some time alone, It's still early, still light outside, I'll drive about those places that you mentioned and anywhere else I can think of and I bet I'll find him in no time." Peter said although his mind was also travelling to very dark places whilst thinking about where Simon could be.
"Okay." Leanne said sniffing again, trying to put on a brave face but Nick had been watching her and put a supportive arm around her.
"You don't ave to put on that brave face y'know." he said giving her a little squeeze and then there was a phone ringtone in the distance, it was Leanne's and it made her jump away from Nick,
"It might be Si." she said hopefully and she ran to go and get it, Peter who had been watching Nick closely said,
"Funny that, you can read Leanne like a book but when it comes to your current girlfriend you seem to be having a bit of trouble."
"Excuse me?" Nick said instantly irritated at Peter's patronising tone.
"Well earlier on in the cafe, when you came over to our table, Carla was almost in pieces but she'd put on a brave face… you didn't notice that did you?" Peter said, he was shocked because he genuinely felt as if Nick should have been able to tell that Carla needed him. How could he not tell that her stunning eyes were glassy, how could he not see that the thin smile that she'd had on her face when he walked over was a fake one? How could Nick have not seen the way she had looked when Peter had decided to leave the café.
"You pretty much left straight after I had arrived, so what would you know about it?" Nick said defensively
"That's true I did leave the café but I do know that it's now only a few hours later and yet you're here with Leanne instead of with Carla."
"Leanne needs me." Nick said defensively, although Peter had definitely touched a nerve.
"Carla needs you too…" Peter said "She's really cut up over Deirdre and you'd know that if you stopped worrying about what I was doing all the time and paid her a speck of attention."
"Look Peter, I really don't need your advice on how to treat Carla okay, I mean after the lousy job you did with her, I'd be a fool if I listened to anything you had to say." Nick said, hoping that would shut Peter up, only it didn't and Peter actually laughed a little and shook his head at Nick.
"You're already a fool mate, I mean ere you are standing in front of a man who kissed your girlfriend the other day and yet you haven't even mentioned it once." Nick flinched a little as Peter had said this, he wasn't expecting it all and he really didn't want to think about Peter kissing his girlfriend at all.
"Why would I mention it? It was a mistake…" Nick said, almost as if he was trying to reassure himself of that fact. Peter wondered if Carla had said that their kiss was a mistake or if that was just Nick's interpretation of it. "Me and Carla were fine before you showed up here and if you think that I'm going to let you try to ruin another one of my relationships then think again." Nick then added. Peter sighed and shook his head at Nick.
"Two things Nick... Firstly I'm not going to try to ruin anything with you and Carla, I had my chance and I messed it up, I know that. As far as Carla is concerned I just want her to be happy... even if it is with a pompous mummy's boy like yourself." Peter said "Secondly even if I wanted to ruin your relationship with Carla, I wouldn't have to, because by the way you're carrying on, you're doing a pretty good job of that all by yourself."
"What do you mean?" Nick said worriedly, as Leanne came back over to them.
"It was just Eva." She said sighing heavily, Peter took a deep breath and tried not to get too upset as he had so been hoping it was Simon. Nick was clearly waiting for an answer but now Peter knew that it wasn't Simon on the phone, he had to get his arse into gear and go and find his son.
"Right, well I'm gonna start driving round and look for Simon..." Peter looked at Nick wondering if he would choose to stay with Leanne. "Call me if you hear anything okay?" Peter then said looking at Leanne.
"Okay…" She nodded and then she thought of something. "Wait, do you reckon we should let Carla know? I mean she really cares about our Si and I reckon she would want to help." Peter nodded knowing Leanne was right and said
"Yeah we probably should, I mean she's done way too much for the family already but I know if we don't tell her about this she'll never forgive us."
"I'll tell her..." Nick said, "I mean she is my girlfriend after all." He had almost smirked when he said that last bit and even though inside Peter was beginning to seethe with anger, he just nodded at Nick and said
"Fair enough." and with that he left the bistro to begin the desperate search for his son.
Carla was sat alone in her office. She was lost in deep thought, spinning around in her chair very slowly. The silence within in the factory was so un-natural that she had turned on the radio just for a bit of atmosphere. She had managed to type out half an email before giving up on doing work completely.
The past few days seemed to have blurred into one and as she stopped spinning on her chair and looked at the clock, she couldn't believe that it was only four thirty pm.
Time seemed to go so agonisingly slowly since Peter had walked into The Rover's a few days ago and everything that had happened since then had seriously changed Carla's way of thinking. She was still unable to believe that Deirdre was no longer around and soon enough she found herself crying again.
It was weird because whilst Carla had cared for Deirdre a lot, she hadn't realised just how much of an impact Deirdre and all of the Barlow's for that matter, had had on her life.
Carla knew it was going to be an incredibly tough time for them from now on, and she wasn't sure how or even if they would be able to get through it. She was extremely worried about Peter as well, She had managed to keep him from drinking and had said that if he wanted her to she would help him through this difficult time but she wasn't entirely sure that she would be enough to keep Peter off of the booze this time.
She wasn't enough before was she? Memories of Peter cheating on her surfaced and as much as Carla tried not to think about him in that way, she couldn't help but think about how he had thrown their marriage away so easily and she was still crying when there was a sudden sound of the factory door shutting.
Carla looked up suddenly to find Nick stood in her office doorway. He looked at her tear stained eyes and walked right over to her desk, Carla was sure she was in for another miserable exchange with Nick, but instead his arms just went affectionately around her.
"I'm so sorry about earlier" Nick said "I know you are really devastated about losing Deirdre and I was being a right idiot earlier. Please forgive me." Nick said, he had done it so remorsefully that Carla looked up at him with pity.
"Nick you aven't done nothing wrong." She sniffed, "I realise my that behaviour the past couple of days has been rather weird and I realise I've treated you quite badly, it's just... The Barlow's have been very good to me in the past and-"
"Don't say another word Carla, I know they have and I just let my jealousy get in the way of what was really important... you." Nick said, softly wiping Carla's cheek. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you okay, anytime you want to talk to me, anytime you just want a hug or someone to shout at... I'm your man okay." Carla nodded, Nick seemed as if he was being totally sincere and he kissed her tenderly on the cheek before saying "Honestly Carla anything you need, let me know."
Carla thought about how happy she had been with Nick, it was only a few days ago even thought it felt like much longer. They weren't just happy they were in that honeymoon stage of their relationship and it had seemed that it probably would have lasted a lot longer if Peter hadn't of shown up when he did.
Peter… He was still on Carla's mind as she stood there in front of Nick. She had been trying to figure out if the way she had been feeling was just because of Deirdre dying and her wanting to help him or if it was something more.
She didn't want him to drink again, She didn't want him to come to any harm, she didn't want him to feel like he had to leave again and if she was honest with herself she didn't want him to leave at all.
Then Carla remembered what Michelle had said to her "You broke up with Peter for a reason." Michelle was right and Carla knew that the sensible thing to do would be to try and get her relationship with Nick back on track and so she eventually said
"Y'know I could do with another hug." She then stood up, still with tears in her eyes.
"Of course." Nick said and he pulled her towards him. Carla took in a deep breath, as if she was trying to take Nick right in, She was trying to see if she could feel the same content way she used to feel when she hugged him.
Carla tried really hard to clear her mind. She tried not to think about anyone else but him and she tried her absolute hardest not to think about the hug she had received on the way out of Number one last night.
Peter's hug and the way he had held her so close to his body, the thought of it just wouldn't leave her mind. Peter's hug almost felt as if their souls were connecting and Carla felt as if she could have lost all track of time in it.
Nick's hugs used to feel like that… didn't they? Carla couldn't really remember, she couldn't decide if Nick's hugs had never felt as good as Peter's did or if it was just because of her confused feelings.
"I've missed this." Nick then said, Carla felt like bursting into tears again. She felt so bad for comparing Nick and Peter and she knew that this kind of behaviour had to stop. She made a vow to herself that she would try her hardest to maintain her relationship with Nick.
"Nick… I know that I've been distant towards you lately-" She began but he shook his head and said,
"Carla honestly you don't have to say anything." Nick said holding her even closer. He was just so happy to have Carla in his arms again that he didn't want to spoil it.
He knew he had gone over to the factory for a specific reason and it definitely wasn't to have this little heart to heart with Carla. Nick had seen that she was really upset when he had walked in the building and as much as it pained him to do so, he had taken Peter's advice and paid more attention.
Carla stayed in Nick's arms for a while and for the first time in days he truly felt that she was concentrating on the two of them again, obviously she was still upset over Deirdre and Peter would probably still be floating around her mind somewhere but she was hugging him back tightly and that was all that mattered.
Nick knew that this should have been the moment he told Carla about Simon, He knew that she needed to know but he also knew the moment he told Carla, her attention would go straight back to the one person he was trying his hardest to get it away from. Peter.
So in the end, Nick just kept quiet on the matter, deciding that Simon would be home soon and that he'd maybe not have to tell Carla anything.
He knew he was playing a dangerous game, he knew the right thing would be to tell Carla but he decided that for some quality time alone with her it was worth it. It wasn't long before she had reached up to Nick's face and kissed him gently, she had only meant it as a thankful gesture but Nick kissed her back passionately and soon he had pushed Carla a little so that she was leaning against her desk.
Carla knew exactly what he was trying to hint at and as Nick's hand went around the back of her waist she quickly suggested that maybe they should go back to his place instead.
Carla had tried to act like it was because she didn't want anyone to walk in on them or that it was because they would be more comfortable but it was actually because she had made lots of memories in that office with Peter and it just didn't feel right for her to be having sex with Nick in there.
Nick eventually agreed, He followed Carla out of the factory and prayed that Simon almost was on his way home because he knew that if Carla found out that he had hidden this from her, She would be more than distant with him.
She would be livid.
Thank you to everyone who is still reading this and leaving reviews,
they really mean a lot and inspire me to continue.
:)