George and Nicole Harper had never had an easy life. From one set of divorced parents to another, these half siblings have had it tough.
Ever since their mother, Naomi, split from George's father and forced them to move from England back to her hom...
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Nick's wheels skidded on the dirt track as she turned off at the exit for the quarry, going, if she had to admit it, a little too fast. She slammed on the breaks and parked a little ways off from the congregation of ambulances, leaving plenty of room at the exit for them to drive out. She swung open the door and didn't even pause to shut it behind her before she stormed down the where a small crowd of people had congregated by the water's edge.
Police officers and paramedics were swarming the place and were trying to push the few people who had crowded around further away from the crime scene. The police had already started to put tape up.
Nick ran up to where everyone was gathered. There weren't many people there but all of them were eager to catch a glimpse of the crime scene. Everyone was trying to push their way to the front. Nick stuck her elbows out and tried forcing her body through the gaps between everyone else but no one would move for her, not even slightly. She tried going around the side of the group but a police officer escorted her away with a bony finger clasped around her upper arm.
Nick sighed in defeat and frustration on the outskirts of the crowd. Her hands flew to cup the back of her head as she took deep breath after deep breath. She turned away from the commotion to fix her worried stare at the entrance to the quarry, looking out for a quartet of bikes.
Nick took off running as soon as the first bike wheel came into view. It didn't take George long to spot his sister in all the commotion, dump his bike and run to meet her.
"What is it? It's not-" He asked, stumbling over his words in his urgency. But Nick knew her brother. She knew him well enough to know what he was thinking.
"I don't know, they won't let me look." She admitted gravely, a hint of worry in her voice. He'd never heard her sound like that before.
"Have you tried pushing?" George asked frantically.
"Do you even know me? Yes I tried pushing."
"I'll go, I'm small. I can fit." George stated without even a second thought and darted off before Nick could grab him and tell him it would all be okay. She stood there, eyes narrowing to stop herself from crying in sheer panic, watching him run off at full pelt down to the water. She watched the others run after him, too scared to notice that there were five of them, and one was a girl.
George didn't have to look back to know the others were running after him. They all shared one thought at this moment. George reached the crowd of people and, having not yet hit a growth spurt, managed to force his way through by shoving at people's legs. It was a struggle and his arms hurt. He was constantly elbowed and had his feet trodden on so many times he lost feeling in them but he had to get to the front of that crowd. He had to know for certain if they'd found Will, even though he hoped they hadn't.
George froze once he'd parted the crowd and squeezed to the front. He wasn't ready. He didn't want to know. If it was Will, he didn't want to know. His breath stuck in his throat as if he'd swallowed a vacuum. His throat hurt and his mouth was dry. The lump in his throat expanded as he saw two paramedics haul a body out of the water. He couldn't bear to watch. He couldn't be... Will couldn't be...
The body was small, it was only a child. And was wearing the same colourful striped T-shirt and faded blue jeans that Will always wore.
It couldn't be...and yet it was.
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