Missing in Action

Chapter Twenty Four

Missing in Action

Chapter Twenty Four

Louis' P.O.V

Jane was sobbing, John had his hands over his eyes and Edward was looking between his mother and twin brother as if he was trying to work out who to comfort first. I didn't know who to comfort myself.

"What do you mean she's missing?" Jane asked.

James' face soften. He had so much sorrow in his eyes.

"Her plane malfunctioned whilst we were dealing with some... hostiles, so I sent her back to the ship, but she didn't make it," he replied.

Jane tried to calm herself down, but failed miserably.

"What- what hope do you have of finding her?" I asked.

"An awful lot Mr Tomlinson," James said firmly.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Cassidy has never been one to give up. She's out there somewhere, we just have to find her," James replied.

The words didn't help. Tears were pouring down my face. She was out there alone.

"Where?" I whispered.

James let out a shaky breath and wiped his eyes.

He never cries.

Cassidy had said that once when I had asked how James could remain straight faced. He was crying now. Tears were slipping silently down his face.

"Syria. In territory that is occupied by terrorists," he chocked out.

It felt like I had fallen into a thousand pieces and scattered across the floor. No one survived that, even Cassidy couldn't survive that. You didn't even get out of there when you were dead.

My world began to crumble around me. Everything that I had ever done, it didn't matter anymore. It would never mean anything to me without Cassidy.

Cassidy was the girl that had gone with me to get my A level result, the girl that had stood with my family during my X factor audition, and the girl that was always there whenever I needed her most.

I couldn't live in a world where Cassidy Davis was gone.

"We are launching a full investigation into the cause of the crash, but um... but-" James stuttered over the words, and he couldn't finish the sentence.

"But what?" Edward asked.

"But we believe it was caused by shrapnel from the crash of one of our other pilots hitting her wing," James said firmly.

"What happened to the other pilot?" my mum asked.

James wiped his eyes again. I knew what his answer was going to be before he even opened his mouth.

"Sadly, we lost Lieutenant Purcell in the line of duty," he sniffed.

My eyebrows furrowed.

"Lieutenant Henry Purcell?" I asked.

James nodded. One pilot dead and one missing.

"I'm guessing Cassidy mentioned him a lot if you know his name," James whispered.

I thought of her talking to Henry on the video for my mum's wedding. She'd been smiling so brightly.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "She did".

He nodded again in understanding. That seemed to mean a lot to him.

Cassidy always said they were like her brothers, and I could see that in James' eyes as I looked at him now.