I Can Hear Your Silence (A Heartstopper FanFic -- BOOK 2)

11. Consequences

"Your mum and I are on our way there now, but you're closer than we are --"

"O-okay."

Charlie hung up the phone and shoved it back into his pocket. Before Nick could even ask any of the many questions he had swimming around his head, Charlie got up and started across the square.

"What's going on? Wait!"

He jogged after him. He knew something was wrong, he had watched Charlie's face fall as he spoke to his dad, seen the loss of the colour it had regained.

"There's been a bus crash. Olly's been in a bus crash." Charlie picked up his pace. "I need to get to Church Lane."

And then Charlie was sprinting down the road. Nick followed, trying his best to keep up, dodging and ducking between the bewildered shoppers, not wanting to lose Charlie in the crowd. He caught sight of his dark curls as he darted around a corner, out of sight.

Nick hurtled after him, trying not to imagine what they might find when they got there.

Finally, he made it onto Church Lane. Charlie was standing in the middle of the road, panting as he took in the utter carnage in front of them.

The coach was lying upside down, diagonally across the road, blocking off both lanes of traffic. The few police officers who had already arrived were trying to stop cars from getting too close, barriers being erected as he watched.

Ambulances and fire engines were scattered about, people running in every direction, trying to get the situation under control.

Somehow, Charlie had slipped past and now found himself standing in the kind of no-man's-land between the crash and the barriers. Nick hurried over to his side, wondering how long ago this had happened -- and then realised it must have been while they were in the police station.

"Oh my god," Nick gasped, trying to catch his breath. "This is... What happened?"

Charlie didn't reply, he was watching a man -- the bus driver, Nick realised. He was sitting on the pavement nearby, a paramedic inspecting a bloody gash across his forehead.

Nick looked away again. He reached out for Charlie's hand, to pull him away from the gruesome sight but -- Charlie was not there.

Nick's heart swooped downwards as he looked around wildly.

There he was -- sprinting forward, toward the ruined bus.

"Charlie!" Nick yelled. "Charlie, wait! We can't just --! Fuck it..."

He took off after him.

The tarmac glittered with broken glass, marred by scorch marks and tire tracks. The stench of burnt rubber, smoke and petrol burnt their throats and made their eyes sting.

Charlie joined the commotion, yelling his brother's name, peering into each scared face he saw and getting nothing back but blank stares.

"Oliver? Oliver?!"

Nick watched helplessly as Charlie moved through the crowd. Several firefighters were busy at work, extracting children and a few adults from the wreckage.

There were about four or five Beaver leaders going on the trip, Charlie knew, but mostly -- mostly that smoking wreckage was full of children of about his brother's age. Full of children excited to go on their first camping trip without their parents. Excited for an adventure.

Charlie wanted to curl up and cry, but he couldn't. Not until he found Oliver. Then he could let himself think about why this had happened. He had felt his phone vibrate in his pocket while he'd been running -- another text he didn't need to see to know that this was his fault.