Embrace (Chas and Carl)

[roch]

Aw, thanks!

[roch]

OK, I have another idea![/img]

---

Chas was walking through the village when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Outside the pub, Carl was standing with Lexi. They seemed to be in conversation - if, that is, the blonde airhead was capable of saying more than 'hello'.

A cursory inspection of the road around her revealed that Chas was standing a few feet away from Carl's car. As she stood there, she wondered if she could manage to get into the vet's before they reached the place where she was currently standing, and without bumping into them. But just then there was a voice behind her.

"What are you doing lurking around?" said a familiar voice.

Chas turned to see her Dad standing there. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she exclaimed.

"You haven't got a fiver, have you?" he asked, smirking at her.

She sighed, knowing that the quickest way to get him off her back would be to give in. She started rooting through her bag to find her purse.

"I could just do with a pint," Shadrach continued. "All this business over trying to find... Well, you know. It hasn't half made me melancholy."

"If I thought you knew what 'melancholy' meant..." Chas said under her breath. Her purse was continuing to be elusive, and she shot a glance down the village. Carl had started walking in her direction already, though Lexi was now no longer at his side.

"And poor baby Daniel. If only he was still alive it might give me some hope," Shadrach said.

But Chas wasn't listening. She had finally managed to locate her purse, and was pulling out a five pound note. She hastily shoved it into her Dad's hand. "OK, off you go then!" she said to him.

"You're a good daughter." He winked at her, and was just starting off towards the pub when he caught sight of Carl. "Hey!" he cried. "You should never have given this one up, she's a diamond!"

"Shhh!" Chas hissed, elbowing Shadrach hard in the ribs and making him yelp. She thrust her purse down into her bag, but in her anger she pushed it a little too hard. Suddenly the bag's strap snapped, and its contents was spilled into the road.

At the very same moment, Carl reached her. "Do you need a hand?" he asked, perfectly innocently and helpfully.

Shardrach was already halfway to the pub and not looking back, but Chas could not bear to let Carl pity her. "No, I'm fine!" she snapped.

Carl bent down anyway, and gathered together a few things. A lipstick, a packet of tissues, some mints...

"I told you, I don't need-"

Chas cut off suddenly when she saw what Carl was now holding in his hand - her packet of tampons. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It was stupid, because there had been a time when Carl had been privy to every peak and trough of Chas's cycle - but now they were apart, it seemed utterly mortifying.

Carl just smiled and handed the things back to her, and she bundled them into the bag. "Thanks," she said quickly, before turning away and making to walk off.

"Chas, hang on," Carl said, wanting to tell her that there was no need for embarrassment. But how could he say that, when he had been so cruel to her? Perhaps there was a need for embarrassment. Perhaps it would help to keep them apart so that he did not need to worry about hurting her again.

"Sorry, I'm late for work," Chas said quickly, before hurrying away. When she got back to the vet's, she closed the door behind her and leaned heavily against it with her eyes closed tight. She was behaving like such an idiot. If only she could get back to the way she used to be before she had seen Carl all beaten up - if only she had been able to stop herself caring about him.

[Carl'sLittleAngel&HisP.A]

Awwww poor Chas she was sooo embarrassed... xD Please post more up soon

[rtzen01]

Brill updates roch, this is really good Please post more soon.

[missking]

aw bles her its great post more soon

[tomsgirl]

Awww what a fab story Roch I love it more please soon.
I can't wait to find out what happens next.

[rooneyc7]

great update cant wait to read more please xxxxx

[tomsgirl]

I loved the tampax bit it is great to include real life too. More please soon x

[rtzen01]

Please post more soon Roch. this storys really good

[missking]

please post more soon its great

[roch]

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to this - life got in the way!

---

As the days went by, Carl and Chas continued to drift apart. Carl spent his time working and half-heartedly trying to convince Lexi that he was being genuine with her, while Chas was busy feeling shellshocked about Gennie.

She had a sister. When she was young, with only Cain playing rough games with her and making her cry most of the time (until she hardened to it), she used to dream of having a sister. Someone to play with who wouldn't try to burn her hair or push her over or steal her sweets. Someone she could talk to about girly things.

Now, suddenly, when it was the last thing she needed, a sister had come into her life. Not that Gennie seemed to have noticed her at all. She spent plenty of time trying to make things work with Shadrach, but she showed no interest in Chas whatsoever.

But Chas did not care about Gennie, or so she convinced herself. What she cared about was the stabbing feeling that her Dad was betraying her by showing his feelings for the new brat. He was making such an effort, all the effort he had never made for her, or for Cain.

So it was that Chas often found herself wandering off on her own, going for long walks where nobody would find her - if they even bothered to look, which she doubted. She was alone with her thoughts, and her bitterness, and for a while she was spending so much time stewing over her feelings about her Dad and Gennie that she quite forgot about the pain Carl had been causing her.

She stood on the bridge, watching the water rush beneath. It made her feel as though she was floating away, away from all her troubles. But if she closed her eyes she knew that her troubles were just as close as they had always been. Her unfulfiling life was all barwork and drinking, with none of those highlights that made being alive worthwhile - her son barely knew her, she had no real close friends, there was no man in her life...

The more she stared at the water, the more she thought that its clear waters might bring her the release she was looking for. She leaned as far forward as she could over the side of the bridge, so that the water was all that filled her vision. It was not a very comfortable position, but it was peaceful. She closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" said a voice behind her suddenly. "Chas!"

Chas jerked upright, startled by the voice. That voice. She turned, and saw Carl standing there.

[missking]

thank god carl turned up hehe ;D its great i love it please post more soon cant wait to see what happens next

[Carl'sLittleAngel&HisP.A]

Awwww wicked update! Please post more soon!

[rtzen01]

yay, another great update roch Please post more really soon, can't wait to see what happens next xx

[rooneyc7]

another great update roch. more soon please x

[Sapphira]

Cliffanger!! That is NOT fair!

This is so well written Roch - you'd better get writing!!

[tomsgirl]

More soon please Roch I wanna see what happens next.

[roch]

The saga continues...

---

Chas turned slowly, and Carl knew why. She was a proud woman - which was one of the things he had always found most attractive about her - and she was upset about something. After everything that had passed between them, she would not show him her tears. But he wished to God she would. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.

But now Chas was facing him, and her face was a mask. She was trying very hard to prevent the emotions she was feeling from showing. Besides, she hardly wanted Carl of all people to find her in such a state - he would only assume the tears were over him. "Nothing," she said.

Carl sighed. He knew he could never allow himself to begin a relationship with her again, but he cared so much. She was upset, and to him it felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart. He had always thought, hoped, that those feelings would lessen as time went on, but they never did. It had been so intense when they were together, so perhaps they were destined to be tied together by these invisible bonds forever. And it hurt.

"Yeah, well I'm just going," Chas said, knowing she had to leave because her steely exterior was failing. He had caught her at too vulnerable a moment.

Carl stepped closer and put his hands on her arms. "Please, Chas, talk to me. You're upset about something. I can still be here for you." He knew it was a rash promise to make, that it might lead somewhere it shouldn't, but he could not stop himself from making it.

Chas looked up into his eyes, for the first time since he had joined her on the bridge. The moment she did so, she saw something remarkable - he was concerned about her. She realised that she must have looked very desperate, hanging over the bridge like that. And Carl still cared.

For a short while, they just stood like that, looking at each other with a mutual appreciation. But then, quite suddenly, Chas crumbled into Carl's arms, and he held her as she sobbed.

[missking]

roch that is great i love it aw poor chas glad carl is there for her hehe its a great update please post more really soon i cant wait to read more its great

[rtzen01]

aww poor Chas , That was a really good update Please post more really really really soon, i can't wait t see what happens next

[porlock2000]

Aww! Poor Chas! Post more soon please!

[roch]

Thank you so much for all the encouragement! Here's a bit more...

---

Carl stroked Chas' hair as she sobbed against his shoulder. It felt good, so good, to be holding her again, to have her pressed against his body. She had been upset, and now her pain was pouring out in a flood of tears, and he was there to mop them up. It seemed just how it should be.

Chas had not realised how much unhappiness there was pent up inside her. She had been bottling it up for a long time now - some of the pain went all the way back to her childhood. It was difficult to remember a time when she had not felt this misery, and the period from her neglected youth, through her wild twenties, the loss of her son, the break-up with Carl... it all seemed like one long continuum of pain. The more she thought about it, the more she sobbed.

But Carl was happy just to hold her, and he held her tight.

A long while later - maybe half an hour, maybe and hour, or more - Chas lifted her head. There were no tears left to cry after such an outpour of emotion. She felt a little embarrassed as she looked up at Carl, and she made to step backwards, away from him.

But Carl would not let go. He touched her tear-stained cheek with a gentle hand. "Tell me what's hurting you, Chas. I want to help."

Chas gulped, but she wanted to tell him. Perhaps they could be friends at least, even if it could never be more again. So she began by telling him how hard her childhood had been, and how her Dad had never cared, and she went on to describe Shadrach's search for a lost daughter, Gennie's appearance, and all the fuss her Dad was making of the little pipsqueak. Usually she would have been shouting when describing things that made her so angry, but just then she felt completely washed out, and she told the whole tale in a hoarse, cracked up voice that wobbled every so often.

"Blimey," Carl whispered, when Chas had reached the end. "I'm sorry, I had no idea..." He trailed off, realising how lame his words sounded. How could he, of all people, offer her comfort? What words could he say that would not rub salt in her wounds by reminding her of the relationship that they had shared and lost? He had not known what was happening in her life for such a long time now, but it was not because he did not want to know.

As a substitute for words, Carl put his arm around Chas. Now they both stood facing the river, and Chas lowered her head onto Carl's shoulder. "Thanks," she said. She wanted to say more, but she was too choked, and she did not want to burst into tears again.

"I'll always, always be there for you Chas," Carl said very quietly. "No matter what happens."

Chas pulled away slightly and looked up at him. She shook her head, frowning. "Don't say that if you don't mean it."

She was about to say more, but just at that moment Carl kissed her, very softly, on the lips.

[missking]

omg thats great i love it post more really soon i cant wait to see whats going to happen next

[rtzen01]

Aww that was so sweet Actually cant wait to find out what happens next Pwetty Please post more as soon as you can roch, so we can see what happens

[Carl'sLittleAngel&HisP.A]

Awwwww great update! =3 Please post more up sooon! =]

[porlock2000]

Hurray ! Thank god they kissed at last!

[tomsgirl]

Wow what a fab update Roch more please soon as I can't wait to find out what happens next.

[rtzen01]

OMG am actually dying to see what happens next ;D, Please can you post some more roch

[roch]

A bit more!

The kiss lasted for a long time, but it was really not the sort of kiss they were used to sharing. Their relationship had been a passionate one, with grasping sensuality and hot pain in equal measure. But this kiss was tender, and there was love behind it. Their lips moved softly and silently, sealing them together, and their tongues did not try to intrude.

When it came to an end, Carl and Chas were locked in an embrace that seemed somehow inescapable. They looked at each other, their heads very close together. A further kiss seemed a surety.

Chas' head was spinning, but at least it had taken her mind off her problems. And it had revealed something - Carl still loved her! Despite every impracticality of this situation, she felt like skipping through a field of daisies singing.

Carl was feeling equally jubilant. He looked deep into Chas' eyes, and at long last he knew he had to trust her with everything he was. It was wrong to keep from her the things that had made him so hard and miserable, the things that had made him push her away in the first place. For now, he knew she loved him, but in the future he would tell her everything, from the truth about his father's death to the misguided relationships he had been involved in since pushing her away. He grinned.

When Chas saw the grin, something inside her flipped. She pulled away sharply, putting Carl slightly off-balance, and slapped him hard across the face.

Carl staggered slightly. "What was that for?" he asked, exasperated. Just when everything seemed to be going right...

"Is this your idea of being a mate?" Chas yelled. "I tell you what's upsetting me, and you think 'Oh, I know, I'll make things worse by taking advantage'!"

Carl shook his head, desperate. "It wasn't like that. Chas, I swear, I just wanted to comfort you, and..."

Chas turned away. "I'm not listening, Carl. Just get lost." With that she walked away.

[missking]

thats great i wasnt expecting that i loved it poor carl and poor chas hehe please post more soon its great