Missing (Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Luke POV

It is now the twenty-fifth of July, and they still haven't found anything. I'm losing hope.

The group and I are taking a trip to California to search with a youth group. There's about twenty of them between the grades six and twelve. They called us and requested for us to come down there. They're paying for everything.

"Luke, you better hurry up! If you plan to make the flight, you better get to Savannah's house in the next twenty minutes," My mother yells, tossing me my bags. We're going for three days, so I don't have that much packed.

"Alright, Mom. I love you," I tell her, hugging her.

"You be safe, alright?"

"I promise I'll be safe," I say.

"And remember what the doctor said: be positive. It's not going to help your depression at all if you're not positive."

"I will be, Mom. Now I must go," I say.

"Oh, alright. Say goodbye to your brothers and your father." I nod my head and walk to the living room where the rest of my family has gathered.

"Luke, I am going to miss you very much," Dad says.

"I'll miss you, too," I say, hugging him. I say goodbye to my brothers after him.

"Oh, Lukey, baby, promise to call me everyday. And when you land," My mom asks, tearing up.

"Mom, please don't cry. It's three days. That's it. I'll be back Wednesday night, okay?"

"I'm just worried."

"Don't be, and yes, I will call you everyday."

"Good. Now go, you'll be late," Mom instructs, shooing me off. I smile and walk out the door, saying last minute goodbyes.

-

Savannah's mother agreed to take us to the airport, due to her overly large sized vehicle. Ashton pushes me to the back of the SUV, then sits in between me and Brooke. Michael, Calum, and Jordan sit in the row in front of us. Savannah gets shot gun. Lucky bitch.

"Is everyone comfortable?" Savvy asks as her mother starts driving.

"No. My legs are too long for this damn car!" I yell. About five more yells are following.

Savvy just chuckles. "Then put your legs to your chest, Luke." Then she turns around.

"The whole way? Mrs. Fink, how long is it to the Philly airport from here?" I ask her mother.

"About three hours, two and a half if I book it."

-

"Oh, Savannah, promise me you'll be careful," Her mother begs as we stand in front of the airport, bags in hand, waiting for them to say goodbye.

"I will, Mom, I promise. We are going to be searching with a youth group. They're Christian folks, ya know. They won't hurt us," Savvy laughs.

"I'm worried about the city. You don't know anyone there."

"Mother, listen. If I decide to leave the hotel room for a reason other than searching, I solemnly promise to bring at least one member of the group. You can never go wrong with the buddy system."

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom," Savvy says. Then we walk into the building.

It took about fifty-five minutes until we were sitting in the gate, waiting for the time to board. We're all sitting in a line, bored out of our minds. We still have another half hour to wait. Shoot. Me. Please.

A random lady approaches us. She looks older, in her sixties maybe. "Oh, my goodness. You're those kids whose friends with that girl. The one who went missing. What's her name again?"

"I'm guessing you're talking about Becca," Jordan says.

"Ah, yes! Becca. Do they have any leads on her investigation yet?"

"No, ma'am, not yet," I politely say, but silently, I'm wishing she would fuck off.

"Where are all y'all going?"

"Burbank, California," Ashton answers.

"California? That's quite a long way from here. Why are you going?"

To give you a reason to ask questions, I think, but I keep it in my head.

"There's a youth group that wishes to search for her with us there," Calum says.

"Do you honestly think she's in California? What if it's just false hope?" The woman asks. I can tell there's pity flowing through her voice,

Michael stands up, and starts his beautiful speech: "Honestly, we have no clue where she is. If she's in Cali, wonderful. If she's not, so be it. She's somewhere. We're not going to not look in Burbank for her just because she might not be there, because she might. We have to keep our sprits high, and our negativity low. She's somewhere. It's just a matter of finding her. And she can't stay missing forever. I know she wants to escape. Her kidnapper's plan cannot be fool proof. There is always a way out. And honestly, she's pretty damn smart. She'll find a way out. Or, we'll find a way to her. Whichever comes first. It's a big world, lots of places to hide. But there's also a damn lot of people, and if everyone knows about her, someone will find her. Anyone. We will get her back."

The whole gate starts clapping and cheering. I notice that some people are holding out their phones, probably to record us. Michael spins around to face us and we start clapping, too.

It starts out choppy and silent. As it evens out, it crescendos. Eventually, the whole gate is doing it.

"Becca! Becca! Becca !" They chant. We join in on the chant, lifting our hearts to the absolute limit of happiness.

This just guarantees that everyone supports us. It's a hard, long, and rough road we're traveling down, but I know, it's worse for Becca. Her's is worse. We have the support of the whole fucking country, and she may not know, that so does she. She's alone. No one is there to help her. She has to stay alive all by herself.

But I hope she knows, that when we find her, I'll be standing there with open arms.

A/N: yay America for legalizing gay marriage.

UPDATE! My feet are cold.

Hope you enjoyed! See you next update!

Bailey xx