Back to normality?

Chapter 6

The next morning, Carla had woken up, determined to put her plan in action; having sent a message to Sarah, she'd  phoned her lawyer and got the paperwork started, sent Peter to an AA meeting after promising she would be fine for a couple of hours, and spent a while on the laptop researching the perfect surprise to say thank you to him for everything he had done. She was just finishing up when he arrived back at the flat; she would never get tired of that cheesy grin he had.

"What are you so happy about?" She asked, standing in front of him as they both wrapped they arms around the others necks.

"What are you?" He asked, noticing the smiled on hers, something he had missed.

"I'm just happy; I'm here, I have you back, not something I thought would happen"

"You know I would never hurt you again like that? Me and you, this is it; you and Simon are all I need"

"I know; to be honest, since you came back from Portsmouth and started at the factory, you've shown you've changed. The old you wouldn't have been capable of looking after me; you would've found company in a bottle or two."

"If I'm honest, I did it for you; you were the best thing to happen to me and we had everything before I ruined it. Working with you, learning how to be friends again, it spurred me on to be a better person; I'm not saying I didn't have moments in Carlisle where i could've easily drank myself in a stupor but you know what stopped me?"

"What?" She asked, realising he'd never told her this before.

"Simon, and you; you were fighting against this demon in your head and if you could face your fears and get the help you needed, I could stay faithful and sober. A part of me knew that if you came through this, there was a chance for us to try again and I didn't want to risk that by having a drink"

"I'm really glad you were the one that was there for me; don't get me wrong, if it had been Michelle, I would've been grateful but knowing it was you, gave me hope, something to work towards. I know I still have my bad days but i know i can get through them because i have you; i do need one thing from you though?"

"What's that then?"

"A boyfriend, not a carer; fancy it?" She smiled.

He grinned back and leaned in; for the first time in years, he was able to kiss her knowing they were both on the same page.

Knock knock. 

"That'll be Sarah" Carla chuckled, wishing they had a little more time alone. "To be continued?"

"Definately; I'll go and get Roy to make us some Bacon sandwiches for lunch"

"With..."

"Ketchup, I know" he grinned, kissing her again before letting Sarah in on his way out.

"Hi Carla"

"Sarah, thanks for meeting me here" Carla said, gesturing to the table. "Can I get you a drink?"

"No thanks, I haven't got long" she answered as they both took a seat.

"I'll be quick then; I need you to do me a favour and I realise you don't owe me anything but I really don't want Nick to know until after it's done"

"Know what?"

"I'm giving my shares to the girls and Sean; it'll work out around £500 each. What they do with them is up to them; they can sell them to Nick if they want or they can use it wisely and with your help, take Underworld to the next level"

"What's that got to do with me?"

"I'm not ready to face them, not certain ones anyway; I'll have the contracts within the next couple of days but I need you to talk to them for me"

"Are you sure?"

"I need a fresh start; this is the only way I can do it"

"I'll speak to them when I get back"

"Thanks"

As Sarah left, Peter reappeared with the two bacon sandwiches; they'd just finished when a knock at the door signalled Scott's arrival.

"You've got this" he smiled, kissing her briefly before opening the door. "Hi Scott"

"Peter, Carla" he greeted as he entered and took his seat at the table with them, Coffee already brewed for them. "How have you been since Saturday?"

"Mostly okay, I had a bit of a meltdown on Saturday night" Carla admitted.

"What about?"

"We went out after I spoke to family; I think I had just overdone it and started overthinking everything. Peter let me have some time alone and then made sure I was okay, didn't you?" She answered, looking him as he took her hand.

"But you were okay yesterday and this morning?"

"I have; we went to Peter's dads for lunch and I went to the local restaurant to see my best friend yesterday and today, I made a couple of decisions"

"What are they, If you don't mind me asking?" He asked, all the while making notes on his laptop.

"Peter and I have decided to officially give us another go; he's been a great support from day one"

"I can see the difference in you from that first week; you said you made a couple of decisions. What was the second one?"

"I'm giving up my share of the factory; I need a fresh start if I'm going to stay on track"

"That's a big decision to make"

"I'm happy with it though, it feels like this big heavy cloud has lifted and I can breathe again; for weeks, it's been about medications and feelings and talking about what to do when you get back in the real world. Well, this is what I want to do; the medication is working, I'm feeling more like myself more often than I'm not.  I know I'll have bad days and I'm prepared for that but I need to start living my life again; find who I am, who i was before i got ill"

"It sounds like you've made a lot of progress over the last two days; we'll continue every day for this week, and then we'll look at every other day. Just try not to do too much too soon; otherwise, it could all get on top of you again"

"I'll make sure she doesn't" Peter confirmed before showing Scott out.

"Now, I don't believe you told me why you were so happy earlier?" Carla mentioned, curled up in his arms in the bedroom.

"I may have organised a surprised for you"

"You've already done so much for me Peter"

"You deserve it"

"So do you, you're not the only one that has a surprise booked" she grinned.

"Love, you really didn't need to; having you back is more than enough"

"I wanted to, to say thank you for looking after me and been the best carer I could've wanted; and for been the best boyfriend too" she answered, kissing him.

"So...what is it?"

"You'll have to wait and see" she grinned, snuggling into his shoulder and closing her eyes, his fingers massaging her hair into a peaceful sleep.