Say Something

Chapter Twenty-nine ~ Number 123

I woke up the next morning at 9am to find that Louis had texted me:

I don't know what to do, Niall. The police found Ernie, but he's dead. Beaten and stabbed, just like your girls. They found him in the park, lying in the forked part of the tree he loved to climb. I can't stop crying.

I read the text and couldn't help but sigh. What had happened to Ernie sounded exactly like what had happened to the other 122 victims of James Riley. He was so young, so, so young. Thirteen years old is too young to die so horribly. It was the first day of June, 2028. The very last birthday that his twin, Doris, had shared with him was not long gone.

I remembered the look on Louis' face when he had received a text from his mother telling him that he was going to have a little brother. I had never seen him so happy. Louis already had 4 younger sisters, Lottie, Fèlicitè, Daisy and Phoebe, on his mother's side, and another sister called Georgia on his father's side. He'd always wanted a little brother, and our band had become like brothers, yet now he was going to have a brother by blood.

Louis' mother had gone into premature labour and Lou had rushed to her side. He had watched the newborn twins struggle for life and he was terrified that he might lose the baby brother that he had always wished for. They both survived, however, and Louis was able to have a real little brother to love.

I knew that Ernest's death would hit Louis hard, and it did. I skyped him later in the day, and he was sitting on the sofa in the living room of his mother's home, Harry's arms wrapped protectively around him, sobbing. I had never seen my former bandmate cry so hard. I told him that I was so, so sorry.

After I while of trying to comfort Louis, Doris entered the room and Louis pulled her into a big hug and she too cried and cried and cried. She was now the only one of his siblings left living in that house, the older four (Georgia lived with his dad) had all left home. I couldn't imagine what was going through that young girl's mind, her twin brother now gone forever.

About a month after Ernest's death, both his body and Zayn's were finally released for burial. I was able to attend both funerals along with my nephew, while my friend Elliott, who I trusted greatly, looked after my house and the girls. I knew they would be safe with him.

Zayn's funeral was held in a small church in his home town of Bradford, Yorkshire, which a large amount of his family and us three remaining bandmates, along with ghosty Liam, made sure to attend. A lot of tears were shed, so many tears, mostly from Zayn's parents and three sisters but also from Louis, Harry and I. The three of us helped carry his coffin both into and out of the church, and we also helped to lower it into his grave in the churchyard.

A much smaller funeral was held for Ernest two days later, in Doncaster. The only people who attended were his parents, his sisters, Louis, myself and Harry. I'd never seen Louis cry so hard in my life. Young Ernie's small coffin sat in the centre of the tiniest church I had ever been in, and it was left open so that the family could touch his body when they said goodbye. I watched as Louis stroked the beaten lad's cheek, whispering, 'I'm sorry, Ernie. I'm sorry that you had to die so soon and so horribly. I won't ever forget you, my baby brother.' with tears streaming down his face.

When I returned home from going to both funerals, I found that Caitlin had become even more big than she was when I left. The twins were starting to get big, and in about a week and a half she was due for her second pregnancy scan. I was excited to find out whether the babies were two boys, two girls or one of each, even though I knew they weren't my own. I had grown to love Caitlin, more than anything, and I had grown to love the two small beings growing inside her almost as much. I loved them like they were my own children, despite the fact that I had always known that they weren't.