The story will really begin in this chapter; the first one was more of an introduction and to get into Carla's mindset at this time. I hope this chapter is an interesting read for anyone who wants to take a look. Thank you.

Carla hesitated for a moment, she had prepared herself to act like she didn't have any worries at this present moment and therefore gain just a few hours of normality with Michelle before she would drop the bombshell of moving upon her. The problem with having a best friend who knows you so well is that it is impossible to lie, they can see straight through the exterior you put up in an attempt to fool them, and Carla knew instantly that if she acted fine, Michelle would not buy it for a second, it was pointless, there was nothing else to do except tell her, openly and honestly.

"I didn't want to tell you just yet, but you know me too well don't ya"

"Carla, you are scaring me, what's wrong?" Michelle asked, as she carefully took a seat in the chair beside Carla, there was a crack in her voice, and Carla felt incredibly guilty for putting her friend through all that she had. Everything always got put onto Michelle, she was just so strong, she too had been through so much but she hadn't let it damage her the way in which Carla had, Carla only wished she could have been as strong as Michelle, she knew her life would be so much different if she could have been.

"I'm leaving Michelle, I can't stick around here any longer... It's slowly destroying me"

Michelle gave no response, her head dropping slightly, Carla knew this was to try and fight back her emotions, something Michelle did often, yet again trying to be strong through something that was obviously upsetting for her. Carla watched for a moment before slowly rising from her chair and stepping towards the chair Michelle was occupying, slowly crouching down to her level. She paused for a moment looking at her best friend before placing a couple of fingers underneath her chin and gently lifting her head slightly so she could look at her, the sight before her made Carla's heart ache, her best friends eyes were red, and tears escaped and cascaded down her cheeks as Carla looked at her, completely expressionless. She used her thumb to wipe the tears from her face, taking away a small amount of her makeup with it. They both remained in this position for a few minutes, neither of them uttering a single word, just thinking about each other.

"I'll miss you so much, you know that don't you" Michelle's whisper like voice broke the long silence and she blinked away the remainder of her tears, grasping hold of Carla's hand with hers. Carla breathed a sigh of relief, the last thing she wanted was for Michelle to beg her to stay, it would have made leaving a million times harder for her, but she should have known Michelle wouldn't do that, she wasn't selfish and she would never ask anyone to do something that could harm them for herself.

"Not as much as I'll miss you, but this isn't it for us, you will always be welcome for a break you know that don't you!"

"Where are you.. where are you moving to?" Michelle struggled just saying the words but tried to compose herself as much as possible, she hoped it was somewhere close, maybe Cornwall or Devon, far away enough but still in the same country although she knew really that Carla would be moving as far away as possible.

"LA, somewhere I know I have been happy before, it has always been my escape, but this time it's my forever escape, somewhere I will be safe"

Michelle's heart sank, it was just so far away, she almost wept once more but quickly composed herself, casting her mind back to the last time she saw Carla after she had been to LA, she was the picture of health and happiness. It had allowed her to escape from all of the hurt and problems that Weatherfield held her hostage to and Michelle had to think of seeing that Carla once again, it would kill her to lose her best friend, she barely had many friends, didn't want many, she had never needed them, she had her cousins and then Carla and Maria and that had been just fine for her.

"I can't believe I'm losing my best friend, first of all my husband ditches me for Spain and now you're ditching me for flaming America, someone tell me what I'm doing wrong" She meant the words she spoke but quickly disguised it as a joke, laughing as she finished the sentence, making Carla's heart break further.

"You have never done anything wrong, you hear me, you are the best mate anyone could ask for and you're the best wife too, you deserve much better than both me and Steve, but I'm so glad I can call you me best mate"

Carla wiped away more of Michelle's tears, before wrapping her in a tight embrace; slightly rocking her in attempt to comfort her, as she pulled away Michelle seemed more composed. Asking how long they had left before Carla would be leaving, after informing Michelle that she was leaving in two days time, they both made a pact that they would make the most of the time they had left together and planned to go out that evening, as much as Carla really did not feel like it, and she would admit it was the last thing she felt like doing at this point, she wanted to make the last few days brilliant and full of fun memories for Michelle, the one who had sacrificed so much for her over the years, she had sacrificed her life in another country, her fiancée, and her job all to help her before and the least she could do in return is make the most of the time she had left with her. They both left the factory, and began to head back to Carla's flat, to get glammed up and hit the town just like old times and attempt to forget current affairs and enjoy their life for once, enough was enough they both needed to prove they can be happy.