Thank you for the reviews :) Not entirely sure where this is going, but somewhere!
Chapter 3: My soul crumbles, you catch the pieces in your waiting hands
As she pulled up in her car, and glanced over the flat above the bookies, she felt guilty. It wasn't Leanne's fault she was such a screw up. She sighed a little, she was twenty minutes early, she had time to go and apologise.
She got out of her car, putting the pile of folders resting on the passengers seat in her back, and headed towards the bookies.
As she had done yesterday, she pressed her scarlet finger nail onto the buzzer and waited to be buzzed up.
'5 minutes too late' Peter said, opening the door for her, leaning against the door frame.
'Shit' Carla said to herself.
'You could catch her up, she's only taken Si to school, then she's off into town' Peter said, looking across the road.
'No, no not a good idea' Carla said her words disappearing as she breathed out.
'She said you were a bit..' Peter said.
'A bit what? Rude?' Carla said bitterly.
'She said you were in a bad mood' Peter said.
'Yeah, I got a bit short with her. I didn't mean to. I came to apologise' Carla said.
Peter paused for a moment, before looking at her.
'Do you take milk?' he asked her.
'Pardon?' Carla frowned.
'In your coffee, do you take milk?' Peter repeated.
Carla smiled at him gratefully, 'No, no milk.. but you didn't ask about sugar' Carla said.
'I know you don't take sugar' Peter said.
'How?' Carla asked him, a little smile creeping over her face.
'Just because when you came over once, I made the coffees for you and Lea, and you have yours the same as I do.. expect I like to treat myself to a good old splash of milk now and again' Peter chuckled.
'Right then, you've got me looking forward to this coffee, so are you inviting me in or not?' Carla said, smiling at Peter.
He gestured for her to go upstairs, opening the door a little more, and she obliged, heading up the stairs, him shutting the door behind her.
'I'm probably keeping you from a lie in or something aren't I' Carla said as she sat down.
'Don't be silly, I don't do lie ins, and anyway I think it's the other way round, your the one with the factory to run' Peter said.
'You run a bookies!' Carla said.
'Ah, but I don't have people working for me, waiting on me' he winked.
'Hayley practically runs the place anyway' Carla said, looking down and picking at a hangnail.
'Full of memories for you, that place' Peter said.
'Tell me about it' Carla said.
'Your braver than me' Peter said shaking his head.
'How so?' Carla asked, kicking her heels off and pulling her legs beneath herself, so she was curled casually in one corner of the sofa, feeling totally comfortable.
'You know..' Peter said.
'What, with Tony and Liam?' Carla asked him.
'Well, yeah, I mean, that's a hell of a lot of.. stuff to go through, and you just carry on' Peter said.
'I told you Peter, that's just me isn't it' Carla said grinning.
Yet Peter had crossed an invisible line with her, he could see that grin was see through, it was beautifully unreal. Untangeable.
'But it's not, is it?' Peter said, putting his cup down, and leaning forward slightly, decreasing the gap between them.
Carla's smile fell, like a curtain being opened, allowing her blemished windows to become visible.
'I don't know' Carla whispered, her eyes looking up, meeting his, but her head still bowed.