Wait For Me: Carter

Chapter 5

"Liam-" Carla started, but a shake of his head stopped her. He turned, and walked away from the pair: feet scuffing the ground as he went.

Peter couldn't bring himself to meet Carla's eyes. A heavy, weighted feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

"What have I done?" He breathed. How could he have thought this would be a good idea? He knew just how volatile Dean could be from Michelle's tales. Maybe, by coming to the Underworld, he'd sealed all of their fates.

"Come on..." Carla muttered, grabbing Peter's hand and leading him away from the wall. He hadn't known what to expect from the Underworld, but it certainly wasn't this. It looked just like any normal town: houses lined up along streets; green spaces dotted around. The only abnormal element was the giant wall encircling the place, and the adjoining castle the towered over them, casting shadows across the buildings. That, and the suffocating expanse of blackness that stretched above their heads in place of a sky.

They walked for about ten minutes, before stopping outside a small terraced house. Carla pushed open the door and invited Peter inside. As they entered the kitchen, the sound of someone running down the stairs startled Peter. He eyed Carla nervously, but relaxed somewhat when she didn't react.

"I'll put the kettle on." She stated. "There's biscuits in the pantry." She gestured towards a door at the back of the kitchen. Peter followed instructions, and headed into the pantry.

"Carla! There you are! I was worried-" He heard a woman's voice exclaim, breathlessly.

"Sorry, Hayley." Carla interjected. Peter emerged from the pantry, biscuits in hand, causing Hayley to jump.

"Peter!" She exclaimed, rushing over and pulling him into a hug. He was taken aback for a moment, but soon wrapped his arms around the woman.

"I told you he'd come, didn't I?" Carla grinned, as Hayley pulled away. "I'm going home, Hayley."

"I'm so pleased!" Hayley smiled, excitably. "Let me do that! You two sit down and catch up!" She said, shooing Carla away from the boiling kettle. Carla rolled her eyes, but sat down at the kitchen table all the same.

Peter sat down opposite, taking hold of Carla's hand across the table. He had so missed being able to hold her. He'd felt a wave of relief wash over him upon seeing Hayley. He knew that Carla felt safe with her: trusted her more than most. It was comforting to know that even though she hadn't been with him, she'd had someone else alongside her with her best interests at heart.

"So, how did you get here?" Carla asked, still not quite able to take in the fact that he was sat with her now.

Peter retold his story with as much detail as he could remember. At some point, Hayley had joined them at the table, presenting them each with a mug of coffee.

"Sounds like you've had quite a journey." She said, once he had finished, taking a sip from the mug.

"It was a bit mad, yeah." Peter agreed. "What was it like for you?" He asked, tentatively. He wasn't sure whether Carla would want to talk about it.

"I don't remember." She replied. "I just remember waking up here." She shrugged.

"It's the same for all of us." Hayley confirmed, nodding.

"Did it hurt?" Peter whispered. Carla hesitated, before answering.

"I don't remember." She settled for, hoping Peter wouldn't ask anything else.

The truth was, she couldn't remember any of the last few months of her life. Each day she woke up, she remembered less and less about what had happened in her previous life. In fact, the only reason she knew she had married Peter on the day of the accident was because Michelle had told her several times since. She couldn't bring herself to tell Peter that she couldn't remember a single moment of what would have been the happiest day of their lives.