So there Peter Barlow was. He had just stopped himself from kissing the love of his life because he didn't think it would be right, She had a boyfriend and that boyfriend was the very same guy who was now right in front of him, kissing his ex wife, The very same ex wife who just so happened to be Peter's ex wife too.
This situation was so ridiculously complicated that Peter had to give him self a moment to comprehend it all, before clearing his throat very loudly and also very sarcastically.
Nick and Leanne both stopped kissing each other and looked around them, dazed.
It took them both a few seconds to realise that it was Peter stood before them. He looked at Leanne's tear stained eyes and it was more than obvious she had spent a lot of time crying.
Peter could understand where she was coming from at least, She was upset, she was worried about Simon and she probably just wanted some sort of comfort, but Nick? Now Nick's part in all of this was something that Peter really couldn't understand.
Peter wished he had kissed Carla now, he wished that he'd kissed her and made her feel loved, he wished it so much as Leanne pushed Nick away from her and said,
"Peter... it's not what it looks like?"
"It's not what it looks like?" Peter exclaimed, "Lea the man had you up against that wall with his tongue down you throat, it's exactly what it looks like."
"I were upset and he were upset… it just happened?" Leanne promised but Nick was way too quiet for Peter's liking.
"I get why you were upset…" Peter said to Leanne and then he looked disgustedly at Nick "But you… what reason did you ave for being so upset that the only thing that could make you feel better would be to kiss Leanne?"
"I…" Nick started but he really didn't want Peter to know about he and Carla's argument and now that he thought about it, it all sounded rather pathetic.
"You know what I don't even care about that, I just came ere to tell Leanne that Simon's back." Peter said
"What? When did he get back?" Leanne cried,
"About an hour ago, I tried calling you but I guess you were slightly busy." Peter said, watching Nick as he straightened out his suit.
"Oh thank god. I am so glad he is okay." Leanne said sniffing and wiping her nose. "Where is he?"
"He's at me Dad's having some tea, I reckon he were going to come ere with me but he changed his mind at the last minute and it's a good thing really, given what I've just seen."
"Where on earth has he been all day?" Leanne asked, trying to completely off the subject of her and Nick kissing.
"Well he went around town and he was found on the swings in the park… do you wanna know who found him?... Carla." Peter asked, still watching Nick.
"Carla?" Leanne said stunned.
"Yeah Carla, the woman who's boyfriend you were just kissing, whilst you two were ere doing god knows what, she was driving around town trying to find our Si." Peter said, "Anyways now you know so I'll let you get back to whatever you two were doing before I burst in." Peter turned around and went to leave but Nick called him back in.
"Peter wait…" He said and when Peter turned to face him, Nick thought that he might actually have come over hit him because he looked that annoyed.
"What!" Peter said angrily, he looked so furious that even Leanne looked frightened.
"I don't want you to think that this is something that's been going on for ages, honestly it only happened this once." Nick said.
"I couldn't care less whether it happened once or a hundred times, the fact that it even happened at all is enough to be honest…" Peter began he was about to walk out again when Nick said,
"This is what you have been waiting for isn't it?"
"What you on about now?" Peter said sighing heavily,
"Well I bet you've been looking for a reason to try and spilt me and Carla up since you've got ere and now you ave it." Nick said sorrowfully. Peter shook his head at Nick and sighed again,
"Did you even listen to what I said earlier? I told you that I wasn't going to do anything to ruin you and Carla's relationship, In fact I also told you that you were probably going to do that all by your self, and surprise surprise you ave, So well done Nick."
"Peter don't tell her…" Leanne begged, "It was just a mistake, right Nick." She nodded.
"Yes." Nick nodded in unison, "You can understand that right? Given what happened with you and Carla at the hospital the other day." Leanne, who didn't know anything about Carla and Peter's kiss in the lift, just looked at Peter pleadingly even though she was intrigued to hear more.
"Don't even try to compare me and Carla's kiss to what happened in ere…" Peter began "I mean me and Carla stopped it straight away… can you honestly tell me that if I hadn't walked in on the two of you, that you would have done the same?" Nick and Leanne both nodded but neither of them looked the slightest bit convincing. "That's what I thought." Peter said and he went to walk out of the bistro again.
"Peter please…" Leanne begged, He stopped once more and then turned around.
"I'm not going to tell Carla…" He began, Nick looked relived but Peter wasn't finished "I'm not going to tell her because she's already been through way too much heartache and I don't want to be the one to cause her anymore of it."
"Thank You." Leanne breathed but Peter once again, wasn't finished, he was staring at Nick intently.
"You should tell her."
"Me?" Nick said
"Yes… After all, she told you about what happened between us didn't she? and if it was just a mistake then I'm sure she'll forgive you, like you did her." Peter said,
"But what if she doesn't?" Nick began nervously, he wasn't sure that Carla would even give him the time of day if she knew about him kissing Leanne. She was so distant with him already and this was bound to push her over the edge.
"Well that's your problem not mine…" Peter said and as he was about to leave the kitchen he stopped again. "However if you choose not to tell her and if I find out that this is something else…. That this is something that you two have been doing behind her back… well then it will be my problem." And with that Peter left Leanne and Nick in the kitchen, he had only just got outside when Leanne came running out after him.
"Peter wait…" She cried "I wanna see Simon." Peter sighed and shook his head.
"Look, me Dad and Tracy don't know that Simon went off today and I'd like to keep it that way to be honest, If you come over it'll just make everything look too suspicious. I'll bring him back to yours in a bit, okay?" Leanne nodded at him because that was all she could do and then went miserably back into the bistro.
Peter shook his head and slowly strolled back to his Dad's house. He knew how hypocritical it was of him to have a go at Nick but he also knew that Carla needed protecting, he knew that she had been a rock to his family and that he really wanted to spare her feelings from being hurt.
He went back into his Dad's to find Carla sat at the table next to Simon. They were both eating chips and chatting away whilst Ken was in the kitchen with Tracy and Amy.
Normally Peter would be overjoyed to see Carla and Simon getting along so brilliantly, after all of their history, the sight of them sitting right next to each other and talking so lovingly, would have brought tears to Peter's eyes but he was now totally on edge, trying desperately to forget what he had just seen.
"Hi Dad… did you find me Mum?" Simon asked, Peter nodded and quickly went and sat down next to Carla, she could immediately tell that something was wrong with his, just by the way his eye brows furrowed and his mood had so suddenly changed.
"I did indeed… she were at the restaurant."
"What did she say? is she mad at me?" Simon asked anxiously, Peter shook his head at his son and took a chip off his plate.
"No Si…" he began as he chewed the chip he'd stolen off Simon, "She's delighted that your back."
"So where is she?" Carla asked because she'd have assumed that Leanne would have wanted to see Simon.
"Erm… I told her not to come back, didn't want to make it too suspicious that's all, I'll take you home after you've eaten, okay?" Peter said as Ken, Amy and Tracy all came back into the living room with their chips.
"Okay." Simon nodded, Carla watched Peter as he was sat next to her, she could still tell that something wasn't quite right with him and when no one was looking or listening, she leant in very close to him and whispered,
"Is everything alright?" the warm feeling of her breath on his cheek, made Peter jump slightly.
"Yeah it's fine." He said rigidly but Carla wasn't quite convinced.
"Are… you sure?" She asked again.
"Oh give it a rest Carla, I just said so didn't I?" he snapped loudly. Carla flinched a little as Ken looked up at his son in horror,
"Peter, don't speak to Carla like that." He said, ashamed that Peter could be so abrupt after everything that she had done.
"Its… fine Ken." Carla said although everyone in the room could tell that it wasn't fine and that she was slightly upset.
Even though the way he had just spoken to her had hurt her, Carla knew that something else was going on with Peter but as the room was full of people and she didn't want to rile him up even more, she just left the situation as it was.
The atmosphere at the table was now slightly awkward thanks to Peter's outburst and eventually he got up off the chair that he had been sitting on and went out back for a cigarette.
He lit it and tried to ignore just how guilty he felt about snapping at Carla. The whole reason he was on edge was because he wanted to stop her from getting hurt and yet there he was, upsetting her and making her feel bad.
He wondered if he should just tell her about what he had seen at the bistro, he didn't want to to keep it from her but at the same time he didn't want to be the one who gave her the horrible truth.
Peter knew that no matter what Carla felt for Nick, and whether it was love or not, she'd still be devastated to hear that once again, she had been cheated on, even if it was just a kiss.
That was another thing, Peter also wasn't sure if he believed that Nick and Leanne had only kissed the once, after all, they were famous for their on and off relationship and he wouldn't put it past either of them to have another affair with each other.
Once again Peter knew that it was slightly hypocritical for him to be thinking this way, especially after he had been the one to hurt Carla so much in the first place and the fact that they weren't still together was all on him but he felt like in this situation, he was allowed to be a hypocrite, he was only thinking about Carla and her feelings after all.
Peter was almost done with his Cigarette when Simon joined him.
"Alright Dad?" Simon asked, Peter nodded but not convincingly enough because Simon then asked "Are you sure? Because since you've been back you've been a little bit… angry."
"I know Si… I'm gonna apologise to Carla when I go back inside… I didn't mean to have a go at her it's just…" Peter then just stopped talking. He wasn't in the mood to make something up and if he was honest he couldn't be bothered.
"What happened Dad? When you went to see me Mum?" Simon asked because he knew that something must have got his Dad in this funny mood, especially because before he'd left to go over and see Leanne, he and Carla seemed to be getting on like a house on fire. Simon then thought about something and it was almost as if he had a light bulb moment because he then said, "Was Nick there with her?"
"Yeah he was." Peter said, he had meant it to come out casually but it must have sounded a little odd because Simon then a said very conspicuous,
"Oh…" Peter watched him for a moment "Did you see something?"
"What makes you say that?" Peter asked stunned. Simon checked that the back door was closed and said,
"Well it's just… me Mum and Nick have always been close but lately I've just… been noticing something that's all." Simon said "They look at each other in this special way… and sometimes when I walk in a room that they're in, it's kind of like I've interrupted something." Peter rose an eyebrow at his son and even though he hadn't planned on telling Simon anything about what he had seen, it did feel good for him to have someone to talk to, so he said,
"I did see something... I saw them… kissing." Simon didn't look too surprised at Peter's revaluation, which then made him ask, "Simon is there something going on between em?"
"No… I mean I don't think so, I haven't seen anything as I said it's just the way they look at each other… it's kind of like the way you and Carla look at each other, it's the look of love." Simon said with a smirk,
"Oh I didn't realise you were such a love expert." Peter said nudging Simon in the side, Simon laughed for a while but then began to look serious again as Peter flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground.
"Are you gonna tell Carla what you saw then?"
"No… I'm not." Peter said
"But… isn't lying to Carla what got you in trouble before?" Simon said bluntly, he was still at that age where telling the truth was still so easy.
"Well I'm not really lying, am I? I mean if Carla were to ask me if I'd seen Nick kissing Leanne then I'd tell her but…" Peter stopped upon Simon's unimpressed facial expression.
"That's stupid Dad." He said, "You're still keeping something from her."
"Well I've told Nick to tell her, so lets hope he does eh, although she'll probably end up forgiving him for it because he forgave her." Peter said sighing and almost forgetting that he was talking to his twelve-year-old son.
"Forgave her for what?" Simon asked, Peter decided that he might as well go on and tell Simon because he knew that he wasn't going to let any of this lie.
"Me and Carla… we kissed at the hospital, it were just the once and she told him about it that very same night." Simon shook his head at his Dad and sighed a hefty sigh, which made Peter chuckle "What?"
"Nothing… it's just… I don't know why you and Carla just don't admit that you're still into each other… and me Mum and Nick." Simon said, he didn't understand adults at the best of times but all of this stuff with his Dad, Mum, Nick and Carla was confusing him to no end.
"Yeah well it's not as easy as all that Si…" Peter began "I had my chance with Carla and I messed it up, it's not fair for me to go and spoil her relationship with Nick."
"Is it easier to lie though Dad?" Simon asked, watching his Dad for some sort of guidance. Peter sighed once again and put his hand on Simon's shoulder.
"Look Si… I'll level with ya, when you get older you'll realise that sometimes, it's much easier to lie, than to admit your true feelings." Peter said honestly, Simon shook his head at his Dad before going back into the house and said,
"Adults are so confusing." Peter chucked at him before going inside after him. He went and sat back down next to Carla who was just finishing her chips.
She was involved in a conversation with Ken and Tracy about something, so he just kept waiting for her to give him some eye contact, unfortunately for Peter, Carla had seemed intent on not looking at him at all. She was still a little peeved about the way he had spoken to her earlier and made sure that she kept her eyes on Ken or Tracy or her plate and eventually when she could practically feel that Peter was watching her, and when she just couldn't resist it no more, she glanced at him.
"I'm sorry." Peter mouthed looking apologetic and praying that she would accept his apology.
Carla nodded at him with half a smile and went back to her conversation with Ken. It wasn't much but that nod was enough for Peter for now and he let her continue to talk to his family but he knew that at some point, he had to apologise properly.
It was an hour later when Peter decided that he should probably take Simon over to Leanne. They both got up and at the risk of being left alone with Tracy and Ken, Carla said that she needed to get going too.
"Bye Bye Carla, thanks again for everything." Ken said to her as she gathered up, all of her stuff to leave.
"I wish you lot would stop saying thank you." Carla said giving Ken a quick hug.
"Bye Carla." Tracy said as appreciatively as she could manage. Carla gave her a somewhat friendly nod and also said goodbye to Amy before she left with Simon and Peter.
The three of them stood awkwardly outside number one for a moment, Simon looked between his Dad and Carla with a smirk.
"How about you walk Carla over to her building Dad… I'll wait ere." He suggested casually. Peter rolled his eyes at his son whilst Carla giggled at Simon's not so innocent suggestion. They both went ahead and walked across the road together though, leaving Simon stood outside his Granddad's house.
"Listen Carla... I'm sorry about earlier…" Peter began but Carla just shook her head at him.
"It's fine… Peter, todays been a right mad one and you're probably just tired." Carla said because after everything she still felt sorry for Peter and his family.
"No… it's no excuse Carla." Peter said, "After everything that you've done you really don't deserve any of my attitude... I know I keep saying it but we honestly wouldn't have got through the past few days without you." Carla smiled modestly as they reached her building and as they stopped walking she said,
"Peter...I know that you said everything was fine… but if it's not… you can tell me, you know that right?" Peter gave her a nod and said,
"I know…" He thought about just telling her one more time, he thought about what she might do or what she might say but in the end he decided that he was going to give Nick a chance to do the right thing. "Thanks Carla."
"Bye then…" Carla nodded. She wasn't completely satisfied with his answer of I know. In fact she'd was hoping he'd just tell her what was wrong but as it seemed like he truly didn't want to divulge the thing that had made his mood change so suddenly, Carla decided that maybe she really should just keep out of it.
"Bye… Thanks again." Peter said, as Simon came across the road and joined him.
"What did I say about all these thankyous? " Carla called as she opened the door to her building. "Bye Simon." She waved.
"Bye Carla." He called back and he watched his Dad, watch Carla in complete despair as she walked properly into Victoria Court. Peter then sighed when she disappeared from view. "There's that look of love again." Simon whispered with a grin, Peter laughed silently to himself and as he put an arm around Simon he said,
"That's enough you, Come on… let's take you home to your Mum."