Old News

Coming Home

I looked out the window as the plane started to tip downwards. I could see grey clouds. We were over London.

Harry hated landing. But Harry wasn’t here. He was home with my family. The only family I had left.

A tear rolled down my cheek. 

I don’t know why it shocked me. It was going to happen sooner or later. He was only going to get older. I just wish that I had somehow spent more time with him. I wish that he had gotten to see the twins. 

But it was too late now. 

Uncle Jeff was dead.

I pressed my face against the cool glass of the window. My silent tears mingled with the fog of my breath on the glass. I tried to focus on those little drops of condensation, as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. It worked for a while, blocked out the emotion. Until a song popped into my head, and that only fueled my misery. It was Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw. 

I rubbed at my eyes and tried to pull myself together so that I would look presentable when we landed. 

I took my time getting off the plane, gathering my stuff then slowly walking into the terminal. There were a lot of people waiting in the terminal, but nobody that I knew. 

I frowned as I looked around. Harry had said he would meet me. I hoped he hadn’t gotten lost.

Seriously. I told myself. Chill. He probably just got stuck in traffic or something. 

I had left London rather suddenly. The doctor had called me to tell me Uncle Jeff was dying on Sunday afternoon, and I had hastily flown out on Sunday night. I didn’t have time to pack anything other than the essentials; toiletries and one change of clothes, as well as a black dress. A dress that I hoped I never had to wear again. All of this had fitted in my backpack, so I didn’t have any luggage. 

I sat down on a bench in the terminal, and picked up a newspaper to read. God. I was on the front cover. There were pictures of me saying goodbye to Harry and the kids on Sunday night. There was a close-up of my face over Harry’s shoulder as I hugged him goodbye. I looked absolutely shattered. I quickly flipped the page. This was a much happier article. It was from last week, the first official pictures of the newborn twins twins. Our newborn twins.  There was a picture of just the twins, Finn and Rosie, then there was a picture of them and little Darcey, our four year old. I smiled. She had Harry’s green eyes and perfect smile. The twins had my eyes, except brown looked much prettier on them. They were also starting to develop freckles, although we don’t know who the gene is from. Probably one of my unknown family members.

I sighed. I had been waiting for at least twenty minutes. Where was Harry? I pressed the power button on my phone impatiently. Why did it have to choose now to run out of charge?

With a sigh I picked up my bags and walked down the terminal, looking for a pay phone. I saw one on the wall, but someone was using it. I decided to keep looking rather than wait. 

As I was walking, two women who looked only a few years younger than me kept glancing at me and whispering. I rolled my eyes as I quickened my pace. I did not want to deal with fame right now. 

I found it really strange how I had become a celebrity. I hadn’t done anything, besides marrying Harry. But there were other people out there that deserved more attention than me. People who had actually done something to be famous.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a man wearing a security uniform. Maybe he could help me find a phone. I waved to catch his attention, and he walked over to me. 

“Can I help you with something?” He smiled.

“Yes, I’m looking for a pay phone. Is there one nearby?” I asked.

He pointed down the terminal. “Just go straight down there and take a left. It should be on the wall just there.”

I smiled. “Thank you!” 

He nodded as I walked off hastily. I mentally cheered when I saw that the phone wasn’t being used. I rushed over and quickly slotted in a few coins before dialing Harry’s mobile number. It rang for ages before finally going to voicemail. I frowned, fed the machine a few more coins and called the house phone. Still nothing. Finally, I called Louis, who didn’t pick up either. Seriously worried, I hung up the phone slowly, thinking through the possibilities. Everything pointed to ‘not good’. I picked my bag and headed quickly to the taxi area to hail down a cab. 

Finally a free taxi pulled up in front of me. I jumped in quickly, telling the driver my address, adding ‘Hurry’ on the end. We zoomed through the streets and although it seemed like forever, we were soon at my house. My heart beat agonizingly slow as I took in the scene. Police cars surrounding our house. Louis and Eleanor were arguing with an officer, then being pushed into a police car. Then I saw Harry sitting in the back of a police car. I dropped my bag and ran to the window. 

“Hey, hey!” A man yelled, and I found myself being peeled away from the glass by two officers.

“Harry!” I shouted. Harry opened the door and said something quickly to the policewomen sitting in the driver’s seat. 

“Jenna, it’s okay. Calm down.” Harry said, rushing over to me. I noticed he wasn’t wearing cuffs, and was instantly relieved. The policemen let go of my arms, but didn’t step back.

“What’s going on?” I asked frantically. “Where are the kids?”

“Shh. Deep breaths. It’s okay, really. Darcey and the twins are next door with Mrs. Heath. The police just want to ask us a few questions.” 

I narrowed my eyes. “Questions? About what?”

Harry looked pained. “Sorry. I was going to tell you, but I didn’t want to upset you, after all you were going through with Uncle Jeff-”

“Harry.” I frowned. “What happened?”

He took a deep breath. “Liam Payne is officially missing.”