*＊✿❀ Chapter Seven ❀✿＊*

Marcia took the deepest of breaths as she tiptoed into her house, shutting the door quietly behind her. She could hear rustling coming from the living room but could barely anticipate how difficult it would be to look into Carmen's eyes and lie to her. The thought alone broke the blonde's heart.

She faltered on her feet for some time before she stepped forwards to the entrance of the front room. An unpredictable 'woah' slipped out from her lips suddenly as as her eyes gazed upon Carmen snogging the face off of another familiar face. Both of their heads looked towards Marcia in sync. Thankfully she'd got there before they'd taken one another's clothes off.

The blonde shifted her weight with embarrassment.

"I thought you two couldn't stand each other," Marcia reminded them, with narrowed brows.

Robert Charlton was the man who Carmen had been kissing. Her two best friends who had always claimed to despise each other were making out on her couch? Gosh, it suddenly felt like she'd been away for far more than two and a half weeks.

Both faces mirrored the shock in hers, though for a different reason. Carmen was the first to leap forward. The brunette rushed towards Marcia and placed a kiss on her forehead. Carmen wasn't a 'hugging' kind of woman and this was her replacement greeting.

Carmen's face was full of surprise, but there was an edge of worry to it as well; an unusual emotion for the older woman to be showing. Carmen was thirty-four years of age but acted ten years younger, at least. Her bouncy waves and perfectly made-up face made many people wished they looked as good as her.

"Where the fuck were you?" Carmen spat out, taking hold of Marcia's hands to pull her over to the sofa. Carmen's language had never been particularly clean but it wasn't spoken aggressively in this case.

"I'll get the kettle on," said Robert, wearily stepping aside to give the two best friends some space. Marcia watched as he exited the room, longing for him to stay. She knew her disappearance would have a negative affect on him, although it seemed he'd found comfort with the most unlikely of people.

Marcia took a deep breath and lied, "An old friend of mine got very ill. She lives out in the valleys, there wasn't much signal there at all." It was difficult to be dishonest to somebody who knew everything about her. She passed Carmen a one-sided shoulder shrug. "I wanted to be there for her." With nerves, Marcia's finger rolled down her pale face, itching her cheek.

"Well..." Carmen began. She was the worst at emotions and the fright she'd felt over Marcia's disappearance had been more than she could handle. Part of her wished she could explain it to the blonde, but the majority of her was embarrassed by expressing unhappy emotions. "You could have found another way to contact me," she continued; an angrier tone to her voice as she bit the inside of her mouth.

"You know I would never leave you without a word unless I really had to."

"So I thought." Carmen wasn't convinced and rightly so. This was too out of character for Marcia and the blonde could tell her friend knew something wasn't quite right. Carmen's eyes darkened below her dusty, black eye shadow.

"I'm sorry."

"So you should be."

Marcia attempted to explain, "I know you're angry but I did what I had to do. I understand that it wasn't good timing with Alana's recent death but you know that I know how to keep myself from harm." It felt worse to say that when Marcia had learned that she was actually incapable of it. If she wasn't, she wouldn't have been kidnapped.

The blonde scraped the underneath of her eye with her index finger in an attempt to rid them of tears. She watched as Carmen's perfectly white teeth bit down on her lip, smudging her red lipstick a little. This was probably the first time ever that there wasn't a pout on her lips.

And every breath that I've been takin'
Since you left feels like a waste on me
I've been holding on to hope
That you'll come back when you can find some peace'
Cause every word that I've heard spoken
Since you left feels like a hollow street
I've been told, I've been told to get you off my mind
But I hope I never lose the bruises that you left behind
Oh my lord, oh my lord, I need you by my side

The Lewis Capaldi lyrics played on the radio station that Carmen and Robert had put on in the background. The timing of the situation and the lyrics was merely a coincidence.

Marcia exhaled slowly and looked down at her hands, pressing them together. The guilt ran through her so deeply, making her feel ill. Carmen was never going to admit that this had upset and scared her, but that didn't mean Marcia didn't know it had.

"I think you should find somewhere else to spend tonight," Carmen proclaimed. "I'm not ready to have you home." The brunette's loose curls bounced as she got up from the sofa. "If you want to tell me the truth, you know where to find me." Carmen turned her back away from Marcia and walked away, heading for the stairs.

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Marcia didn't know where to go. She could go to her brother and sister's, but she hadn't lived with family since she was a teenager. Not to mention, she'd have to share a room with one of them and she liked her own privacy too much for that.

Marcia had always assumed she'd end up going back home after university, but meeting Carmen had changed her life. The only time they'd been apart since was during the short few months Carmen was married. During that time Marcia had lived alone, but they'd still visited one another's houses almost daily.

The blonde sat down on the step outside of the house to gather her thoughts. Her blonde hair immediately started attacking her face in the wind. That was when her body jolted as the door behind her back opened. She looked up with teary eyes to see Robert stood there with a cup of tea. The kitchen was near enough to the living room for him to have heard her conversation with Carmen.

"She'll come round," he assured. Though he barely knew Carmen, so what would he know? He was one in a long line of men who had been slept with her.

Marcia brushed her hair away from her face and Robert sat down next to her with his usual brooding expression. He was a difficult person to read with that never-ending look on his face. "Perhaps," the blonde said softly. "But that doesn't stop me feeling guilty. Not that this is about me."

"Well, I missed you and I know she did too," Robert urged in his manly, Irish accent.

Their eyes collided before Robert threw his arms around Marcia, pulling her into what felt like the tightest and safest of hugs. His head rested in the dip of her shoulder. She could feel his fast heartbeat from their physical contact and immediately held on tighter.

The hug lasted a minute of two. It wasn't a quick embrace by any means, but it was a much needed one of both sides.

Nobody knew why Robert had recently moved to Trecco of all places, but Alana and Marcia had been the first two people he'd connected with. He'd asked Marcia out at first before she'd explained to him that she was only interested in women. After that they'd become the best of friends in an instant; their personalities grabbing hold of one another like they were platonic soulmates. They cared for each other like siblings. In fact, she was closer to him than her own brother.

"We thought you were dead," Robert explained, carefully, tracing his finger along his other hand once the embrace had ended. He observed her movements, hoping they would give something away, but they rarely ever did. Still, he didn't care. She was home and that was all that mattered to him so long as she was safe.

Marcia nodded softly. "I know." Her silvery words paused whilst she thought of the correct way to continue them. "I thought about you both every day, but I needed that time with my friend. I'm so used to saving people and this was the first time I couldn't with somebody I know. Second, after Alana. Even when it isn't my fault, I can't help the guilt I feel."

"I'm sorry," the Irishman breathed out, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it tenderly. "God, I'm relieved you're not hurt. No need to feel guilty."

Robert pulled her into a side-hug. It wasn't like him to be affectionate but with Marcia it was different. It felt like they'd been put into the same world at the same time to keep one another company. "You can stay with me until Carm changes her mind."

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Marcia sat in Robert's kitchen; her eyes browsing over his walls with interest. She hadn't been in his home until now but she was impressed with what she saw. Not that Marcia was the type of person to judge another person's house, but it was nice.

She lifted her head to look across at the dark-haired man, done with inspecting his house. "So when did you and Carm stop fighting?" Marcia asked, tilting her head to the side with interest. She was keen to learn what could have possibly pushed them both together, though her own intelligence told her it was because of herself.

"We haven't."

Marcia giggled. "That, I can believe."

"She needed somebody when you disappeared. Nobody was listening to her and I felt the same so we...connected, sorta." He wasn't a man of many words so she would have to push hard to get the full story. Or ask Carmen, if the woman would ever speak to her again.

"By connected... you mean you started sleeping with one another?"

"Mmm, something like that."

"Please try not to get too attached," Marcia warned him. "She's recently come out of a divorce and has never been the type of person to successfully settle down. She needs a distraction but not somebody's heart."

She worried about how it might affect Robert if her best friend was to hurt him, although failed to realise that Robert wasn't all too different to that description himself. Other than not being a divorcee.

Marcia wasn't usually the type of person to get involved in other people's business but her fight with Carmen when she needed the woman so deeply had put her into an uncharacteristic mood. She knew Carmen would understand her situation if Marcia told the truth but the woman would get involved and put herself in danger too. Nobody else needed to be put in danger. Besides, if Carmen knew then Freya would want to tell one of her loved ones too. Marcia knew how quickly that could spiral out of control.

Robert stepped forwards and gently put his hand to Marcia's cheek. "I can handle Carmen. Everything will be fine now that you're back."

"Good," Marcia said with eyes that glowed back at him. His manly, Irish voice put her at peace. "You know I don't mean to speak negatively of her. She's the best person in the world, but I love you as well, so I had to be honest."

It was at that moment that Marcia's phone vibrated and she suddenly became motionless. She lifted it off of the kitchen counter and stared down at it slowly. A frown immediately crossed her lips.

She hadn't saved Freya's number into her phone, but the message told her everything she needed to know.

It's Freya. I need to speak with you NOW. Urgent. Seriously, meet me down at Porthcawl beach ASAP. Hurry!

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Writer's notes:
So I actually plan on writing a story about Carmen and Robert and how they got together too (though it will also be written briefly in ' Trecco Bay'), so please let me know if you'd be interested in reading that! I know a few people have been interested in Carmen's character and she is definitely one of a kind.

Interactive question:
How far away do you live from the beach?