Tails, I Fall

Chapter 3

"So it's good news then?" Michelle's eyes widened, hoping that the words she was hearing from the doctor meant that Carla's recovery was going exactly as they had anticipated. She had been in an induced coma for almost three weeks now and it had taken its toll on the whole family. There had been plenty of visitors to keep her company, although she wasn't aware they were there. Michelle had been by her bedside every day, only leaving to fetch a quick cup of coffee or to use the restroom. Johnny stopped by when he could, feeling guilty that he couldn't be there for his daughter night and day but he had stepped up to keep the factory afloat as well as the pub all the while keeping on top of his medication. Even Nick had stopped by a few times, despite Carla having finished their relationship on heartbreaking terms but he knew she wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"It's excellent news. She's breathing on her own without the need of the ventilator so we will extubate her as soon as possible," the doctor spoke in a matter-of-fact tone as he glanced down at the file of notes that rested in his arms. It had started off as a clipboard with only one piece of paper but the paperwork and test results had soon accumulated to create something resembling the large binders of paperwork Carla would often flick through in the factory. "The puncture in her lung seems to have rectified itself, her ribs are healing well and her leg will remain in the cast for the next 8 weeks. I've said it everyday since she came in and I'll say it again, it's a miracle that Carla's alive." The doctor smiled, scribbling down his messy signature on a sheet of paper before disappearing out of the room.

Michelle practically ran to Carla's bedside, taking her hand and giving it a small squeeze. "Hear that, you'll be back to bossing everyone around in no time," she leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, tears of joy filling her eyes. It had been a long three weeks but the news that Carla was doing well and recovering made up for the lack of sleeping and eating. Robert had given her time off from the Bistro to stay by Carla's side as she couldn't imagine leaving her alone at a time when she needed people around her. Michelle had feared for the worst ever since she received the phone call about what had happened. She can still remember the blood curdling scream that she heard on the other end of the line when she answered the call from Johnny.

"Oh god, Michelle!" Just the tone of his voice as he sobbed into the receiver made her fully aware that something terrible had happened. She hadn't received a call like this since Carla phoned to break the news about Aiden's death. "Johnny, calm down. What's happened? What is it?" Her heart rate increased as she desperately tried to get any information out of him she could, all the while her mind facing and imagining the worst. "It's Carla!" As soon as she heard Carla's name she froze in fear, the colour draining from her face as she reached for the closest thing to her to steady herself, fearing she might collapse. "Oh Michelle.." his sobs broke her heart and she tried to hold herself together long enough to find out what was going on. "Johnny, listen to me. Tell me what's happened." Her voice became firmer as he fell silent on the other end of the phone. This scared Michelle even more and she called his name, hoping he was still there. "She jumped, Michelle. Carla's jumped off a flamin' cliff."

Carla's life has always been plagued with disaster and drama. At times she didn't mind because the attention that came with it was somewhat comforting. Ever since the fire in the flats at Victoria Court she seemed to be on a downward spiral. She began drinking uncontrollably, not even giving her body the chance to sober up before opening up the next bottle. Then came the gambling. She spent thousands of pounds of her own money, the business income and even using Nick's credit card to feed her addiction. She always tried to justify it, reiterating that nobody else would ever understand, that it was the thrill of being in the moment that shut her mind off so she didn't have to dwell on the misfortunes of the past. Michelle had tried speaking to her on numerous occasions, Nick offered to take her abroad for a few weeks to help her to unwind and ease a bit of tension, Kate and Johnny had always been there to lend an ear, even Roy had tried his best to persuade her to stop before she pushed away any more people and ended up hurting herself more. But there was no end of it.

It was understandable how it had came to this. All the debt, the relationships that had broken down, the business with the factory and the aftermath of Aiden's death seemed to just pile on top of her. She had no room to breathe. She was slowly suffocating in all the mistakes she had made and nothing or no one could pull her back to reality. She knew the cliff was the only solution and she knew everyone else would be better off without her. How wrong she had been. If only she had asked for help at the time there was no doubt everybody would have rallied round to get her the help she needed. Carla had been so good at giving advice to other people but she could never take it herself. Even after Aiden's death when Johnny was at his worst she was the one to pull him back from the edge. 'Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, it won't solve anything.' She repeated this to him so many times, at least until she knew it had sunk in. If only she had have listened to herself and allowed it to sink in, but at the time her problems seemed far from temporary to her.

Michelle jumped slightly as the door of the hospital room flew open and Johnny, Kate and Nick entered. "They said they were taking her off the ventilator and lightening her sedation, we thought we'd all be here for when she wakes up," Johnny's eyes shone for the first time in weeks and Michelle couldn't blame him for she was just as excited as he was. "If she wakes up.." Kate whispered, picking away at whatever nail she had left on her thumb. "What if she doesn't wake up?" Johnny put his arm around her offering her a hopeful smile. There was a small knock on the door as it opened and they all spun round hoping to see the doctors arriving to begin the process but their smiles quickly fade as an unwelcome face appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" Michelle said harshly, shaking her head in disbelief. "I just wanted to be here, y'know for Carla, when she wakes up," Peter spoke softly, looking down at the small and fragile frame in the bed. Despite every stitch, every bruise and every cut she was still beautiful.