Eight pm.

Michelle Connor was pacing back and forth outside the pub wondering what to do next about her very best friend.

She had been kicked out of her flat in the morning and had spent the rest of the day, racking her brains, trying to figure out what to do next.

Carla's behaviour was said to be "natural."

It was said that when one goes through such a sudden shock that they tend not to think rationally and Carla was definitely not thinking rationally.

In this situation, Carla only saw what she wanted to see and Michelle wondered just how long it would take for her to gain some sense of reality on the situation.

Carla thought that everyone was just against her and Peter, that they hated him and didn't want them to be together but that wasn't it at all and Michelle had been trying to think of some ways that she could make Carla see why they were so worried.

She was about to head back inside and ask her husband Steve when she saw Ken Barlow come out of his house.

He saw an anguished Michelle and walked straight towards her.

"Hello Michelle.. How are you?" He asked, knowing how she had been spending her days trying to get through to Carla and how difficult it had been for her.

"Me?" Michelle exclaimed, "I'm… okay but more importantly how are you?" She asked, biting her bottom lip after she spoke.

"Well I've been better…" Ken sighed as Nick crossed the road. Ken gave Nick a sympathetic look as he approached them and asked, "So any luck with Carla?" Nick shook his head and then looked at Michelle.

"Well?" Nick asked, looking at her with so much hope that she almost couldn't bare to say,

"No."

Nick and Ken both looked disheartened as Michelle then went on to explain all about her visit to Carla's and how it went.

They listened to Michelle as she spoke and after she had finished Nick shook his head frustratedly.

"We ave to do something… We can't let this go on."

"I know… But what?" Michelle said shrugging, "Nick I went around there and you were right… She's not having any of it."

"Michelle…It's been a week, You said on the first day to give her time… But she's had time and she still hasn't changed her mind… I don't think she ever will." Nick said wretchedly, thinking about Carla and how much he had missed being by her side over the past week.

He really didn't want to have give up on her, he had never done it before and it almost killed him to think this way but he really didn't know what to do for the best.

"What if I speak to her?" Ken suggested but Michelle and Nick both shook their heads this time.

"No way Ken, you've been through more than enough over the past week or so… The last thing you need is Carla's crazy behaviour getting to ya as well." Michelle said, Nick winced at her words and said,

"Don't call her crazy Michelle…"

"Uh…" Michelle began but then her face softened, "Look I'm sorry Nick but I don't know what else to say to describe her mind right now…"

"Just... don't call her crazy." Nick said.

There was then a silence.

A deafening one.

One where three very concerned people stood on the pavement anxiously and desperately tried to think of a way to get through to their friend, girlfriend and daughter in law.

A little later on and Carla was lying on her bed flicking through a magazine when Peter came into the bedroom. He was still in his jeans and T-Shirt and as he sat down next to her, He watched Carla smile at him lovingly and took a guilty swallow.

"Carla…" He began, but she didn't let him finish. She just turned her magazine around and said,

"Eh what d'ya think of these boots?" She said, stabbing a finger at a pair of expensive suede boots which were pictured. Peter shrugged as he moved closer to her and said,

"I dunno… They're boots…"

"Hmmm helpful as ever." Carla grinned, turning the magazine back towards herself and looking down at it. "I like em… I might treat me self."

"So does that mean that you're gonna go n buy em… from the shop?" Peter said hopefully, thinking that it would be good for Carla to get out of the flat.

"Or I could order them online?" She grinned but not as confidently as she had done before, she knew that Peter was going to start trying to convince her to go out again… Or to try convince her of something else, something she had been trying her absolute hardest to forget.

"Carla…" He sighed, gently taking the magazine off her and putting it to one side.

"Look I don't know what your beef is ere Peter… If we keep this up we could ave such a cushy lifestyle… Online shopping is a god send, you can get anything on there these days and Michelle could bring us anything else that we wanted… I'd do everything… You wouldn't ave to lift a finger… I'd do the cleaning… cooking…"

"Cooking?" Peter half grinned with a shake of his head. Carla giggled at his reaction to her saying that she would do the cooking and then continued.

"We would never ave to leave this place again." She said, staring down at her hands as Peter gently reached out and stroked her cheek.

"And what kinda life is that eh?" He asked softly, turning Carla's face so she had to look at him.

"It wouldn't matter…" She said quietly. "Cause we'd be together." She had tears in her eyes as she spoke now.

She tried to swallow them back, she tried to think of a way to change the subject but it was too late because Peter said,

"Carla… I ave… something to say n you're not gonna like it… But…"

"What?" Carla replied, closing her eyes as she swallowed once more. She knew what he was going to say and she dreaded it.

"I have to go..." Peter said, looking at Carla and knowing that he was once again breaking her heart.

He didn't want to do this, he'd stay with Carla forever if he could but he knew his time with her had to end.

He knew that she had to move on.

"Go? Go where?" Carla frowned, as if she didn't get what he meant.

"You know where..." Peter sighed, shaking his head and closing his tear filled eyes.

"No... No you don't." Carla said, reaching out and taking hold of his white T-Shirt. Her eyelashes were spiked with tears as she shook her head and said, "Don't do this to me Peter."

"Carla we spoke about this after you got back ere from Portsmouth… I told you it would only be a while… I'm not meant to be ere...I ave to go..." Peter said, as Carla threw herself against his chest.

"No, no you don't…" She sobbed, "Stay ere... Stay with me... Don't go... Please." She begged, still clutching tightly onto his T-Shirt with a closed fist. Peter sniffed as a tear ran down his cheek and put his arms around Carla who was crying into his chest.

"Carla… You know I ave to do this…" He said softly, "I ave to move on… N so do you."

"Why? Why can't it just be like this forever? Me n you in ere… Together?" Carla asked, sitting up straight but still holding onto Peter for dear life.

"Because it can't… no matter what happens… eventually life… It has to go on." Said Peter.

He hated seeing Carla in this distressed state and he wiped her cheek as another tear dribbled down it slowly.

"N what am I supposed to do with out you eh?" Carla croaked, almost chocking on her tears as she spoke because after the week she'd had, Carla felt there really seemed to be no life left without Peter there.

"You'll be fine Carla… I promise… you're going to get through this just fine… You're going to sort things out with Nick and you're both going to be blissfully happy." Peter said, smiling sadly at Carla and moving up the bed so that he could half lay down on it.

As he moved he pulled Carla along with him and said,

"Come ere..."

"Stay… One more day Peter… Please stay?" Carla begged again but she knew that it was no use.

Peter was going to go and she was powerless to stop him. She cried some more as he put an arm around her and pulled her towards him so that she lay with her head rested on his chest.

"Shhhhh…" Peter began, stroking Carla's head and kissing it one last time. "I'll stay ere with you… I'll hold you until you fall asleep." He said thinking that at least that way, she wouldn't have to watch him disappear.

"And how d'ya expect me to fall asleep eh?" Carla asked, in between sobs.

"You will." Peter nodded, looking down at the exhausted woman he had in his arms.

"I love you Peter… I always ave and no matter what happens… a part of me always will." Carla said, as if she was finally admitting defeat… finally saying goodbye.

"I love you too…" Peter said, still stroking Carla tenderly on the head, knowing that soon enough he'd be able to get her off to sleep.

"Wait for me... Peter… Promise me." Carla said quietly, unable to fight the exhaustion that she had been overcome with for days. Peter sniffed softly and nodded as he said,

"Course I will… I promise."

It was the next morning when Michelle got that call.

The one she had been so hoping would come.

The one that shocked her right out of her sleep.

The one which just had Carla saying,

"Chelle… Please… I need you."

She rushed around to Carla's flat the moment that she hung up and let herself into the building as quickly as she could.

It was only when Michelle had gotten up the stairs that she took a moment to breathe.

She hoped this was it.

She prayed this was it.

She slowly and delicately let herself into Carla's flat, she closed the door behind her quietly and swallowed as she looked around the room that she was now in.

Carla was sat on the sofa in the dark. Her knees together, rested underneath her chin and with her arms wrapped around her legs.

She was still in the same all white outfit that Michelle had seen her in the morning before and her tired eyes were swollen from hours and hours of endless crying.

"Car..." Michelle said with a whisper.

Carla was staring straight ahead as Michelle joined her on the sofa. She didn't speak at first.

For the longest time she just stared, right ahead as if she was studying something that was directly in front of her.

Michelle felt utterly hopeless once again and contemplated going to get Nick but then Carla spoke,

"Peter's gone."

"He's… what?" Michelle asked, she had to hear it again, just to make sure she wasn't imagining it.

"He's gone Chelle. He said he had to leave... That he wasn't meant to be ere..." Carla said, shaking her head and frowning, as if she couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"He's right... It's not fair on you babe... He had to go eventually." Michelle said delicately, not sure what the best way of talking about this was.

"One more day ... I just wanted one more day with him..." Carla sobbed, with a tear running down her pale cheek. Michelle took in a deep breath and put an arm around her trembling best friend. "Why do they always do this Michelle? Why do they always ave to leave me? Why do they always die?" Carla cried, throwing herself into the arms of her oldest and dearest friend.

There it was.

There was the moment Michelle had been counting on happening for days now and as heartbreaking and painful as it was, she couldn't help but take a huge sigh of relief because Carla had finally let it sink in.

She'd finally said it out loud…

Peter was dead.