Harry groaned as he closed the final pocket of his carry on bag. He looked at his phone and sighed as the battery indicator blinked from 3% to 2.
"Shit" He grumbled as he powered his phone off and tossed it on to the small table in front of him.
"Is everything ok, Mr Styles?" The bubbly, blonde air steward asked as she came up behind him, leaning over his chair, venturing far closer than she needed to. It was times like this he was struck by how much he missed Nora when they were apart. Blondey wouldn't be nearly so friendly if he had Nora sitting across from him, scowling at most woman that paid him more attention than strictly necessary. A smile flitted over his face at the thought of her. He liked her jealous side. Some men were put off by it but hell, it turned Harry on if he was honest. Least she wasn't afraid to show him how she felt.
"My phones ran out of battery and I've packed my charger in my suitcase. Any chance you have a spare iPhone cable lying about?" He asked hopefully.
"I'm sure we must have one lying about here somewhere. Give me a moment and I'll have a look for it" She smiled sweetly before she sashayed back up the aisle leaving Harry to twiddle his thumbs. He was cursing himself now for not bringing his laptop on holiday. Without his phone or his laptop he had no way of getting in contact with anyone and he hadn't thought to pack a book in his hand luggage so he had absolutely nothing to do on the other half of this 22 hour flight from Male to LAX.
While the air steward looked for a charger he decided to move from the chairs out the front to the bed in the back. Best thing about having access to private jets, getting a decent sleep while being 37,000 feet in the air.
There was a soft tap at the door as Harry removed his boots and placed them inside the small cupboard in the corner. The bedroom might not have been big but at least he knew he'd get to sleep and not wake up with a crick in his neck. Maybe he could sleep away the majority of this flight.
"Mr Styles, I'm afraid we don't have a cable for your particular phone on board this flight" The voice came apprehensively.
"No worries. Thanks for checking" Harry tried to control the irritated sigh that began to escape.
"Let me know if you need anything else, Sir"
He heard her heels hit the floor as she moved away from the bedroom as his head hit the pillow.
*
"I have an IC1 female with definite head trauma in the back seat. No sign of movement. The door is jammed shut, I can barely find the handle it's so wrecked, are the fire brigade on their way?"
"I have 2 IC1 males in the front, these doors are opening though, we'll get them out. The fire brigade are 2 minutes out"
If the paramedic stood still enough he would probably hear the tell tale sound of the incoming sirens. But he didn't have time to stand still. This was a shit show.
"Shit. There's a car seat in the back. Fuck there's a kid!" He yelled alerting his superior to the fact this shit show just got 10x worse. "I need the cutters here pronto" He yelled across the street.
"Is the child breathing?" Another paramedic came rushing to his aid but there was nothing they could do without access inside the vehicle. Even with the two guys out of the front there was still no way to get access to the back the car was so badly crumpled. Broken glass and carbon fibre littered the street.
"I can't tell, the females body is covering her. I can see her feet. There's a lot of bloody and no movement"
*
"Mr Styles" There was a soft tap at the door. "We will be landing at LAX shortly. If you could make your way to your seat so we can prepare for landing"
"Thank you" Harry mumbled as he pulled himself from the bed. He looked at his watch. He'd managed a solid 14 hours of sleep on this flight. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept for so long. I guess that's what happens when you're dog tired and have zero distractions. He pulled on his boots then straightened his T-shirt and jeans but only an iron would fix his creased T-shirt now, giving up he made his way out of the cabin.
Harry took his seat as he watched another female air steward marched up the aisle towards him. He had a sudden sense of fearful apprehension. She was older than blondey and looked far more serious.
"Sir, it seems we have been instructed to refuel the plain and ready for another take off the moment we land in LAX. You will need to vacate the plane for a short while, then we can allow you back on to continue the next part of your journey"
Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't have another part of my journey? I'm only going to LA"
The air steward's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sir" She flustered "The captain had a call from Air traffic control to ready us for another flight for you. I'm sure there will be more information when we arrive at LAX"
*
"Please clear the area. What the fuck are these camera's. Get rid of everyone" The fire chief yelled as his men began readying their equipment.
"We don't need an audience for this" He mumbled to himself. Cutting in to cars was never a fun or easy job, even more so when there was a child involved. No one could get in to check if either body was still alive but they needed to be as careful as possible to prevent further trauma or injury. The woman was lying at such an awakened angle, her body, draped over the child's protectively, was pulling against her seatbelt which was now cutting in to her neck. It had been 20 minutes since the first responders had arrived on scene and while they'd been able to get the two guys out front quite easily, the back, where the impact had occurred, was proving impossible. The back end was so badly bent out of shape that they couldn't even get access from the front of the car. They had no option but to cut them out and hope for the best.
*
"Jeff?" Harry's brows furrowed in confusion as he walked across the hot tarmac to his manager standing outside an emergency exit looking grim. What the hell was going on. Why was Jeff here instead of at his hotel like they'd planned and why were they readying the jet for another flight?
*
The paramedics forced the gurney through the doors of Accident and Emergency.
"Is this from the car crash?" The surgeon asked taking the basic case notes that had been started on the patient.
"Yeah, unknown female, non-responsive, severe lacerations to the upper body, pulse is dropping in and out. We've intubated but there is little to no chest sounds on the left side. She has suffered severe trauma to the head and chest. There is an open wound on her left side. We've managed to stem the bleeding and she's had a unit of blood but we have no idea what internal bleeding there could be"
"Ok, take her straight to OR 2 there's a team prepped and waiting for her" the paramedics rushed away to the waiting team of doctors ready to save this woman's life.
Another doctor approached with another clipboard. "The other ambulance is a minute out. They've got the child"
*
The moment the seatbelt signs were switched off Harry was back on his feet. His hands running through his hair. He couldn't get rid of the feeling of nausea or the ball of fear that was almost choking him.
"Tell me again from the beginning" He barked at Jeff.
"I have very little information H, no more since the last time I told you" Jeff looked up from his phone as he sat in the seat across from Harry's. Harry had witnessed the quickest turn around in aviation history and he was now back on the jet headed for London. But he had at least another 9 hours on this plane, clueless and useless.
"I've only got second hand information from your mum which came from Nora's mum. I've got the team trying but it's still too early to find out any decent information. All I know is there was a car crash about 90 minutes ago, both Nora and Avery were in the back of the Audi which was impacted from behind, they're on their way to the hospital but the extent of the injuries are unknown"
"Why didn't anyone call me? Surely I'm their next of kin? I'm Avery's dad for fuck sake"
"Your phones been off!" Jeff exclaimed.
"Fuck" Harry remembered his dead phone, lying in the pocket of his duffel bag.
"Everyones been trying to call you for the last hour but it kept going straight to voicemail"
"Shit, gimme your cable" Harry gestured to the cable currently plugged in to Jeff's phone. Harry plugged his phone in and slowly waited for it to come to life. And when it did he felt sick as he watched the messages flood in. "It's like her birth all over again. Fuck me"
Mum
Harry you need to phone me, immediately.
Jeff
Why is your phone off? I'm meeting you at LAX
Judy Henley
Missed call x8
Jeff
Missed call x 17
Mum
Missed call x 10
*
From the moment Harry stepped off the plane the adrenaline kicked in. He couldn't move fast enough. It was now 8 hours since the car crash and they were still running on very sketchy information. He now knew Nora had been taken in to surgery but didn't know if she was out or not and he knew Avery had been admitted to hospital but the extent of her injuries were still unknown to them. Doctors were very wary of giving any information out over the phone which Harry could appreciate, especially when if the media got wind of this story there would be more than just Harry phoning for information on his child.
A car was waiting for them as the stepped off the airplane and Harry could barely look out the window. He sat with his head between his legs to stop himself being sick.
Jeff sat beside him typing furiously on his phone. Harry could barely pay any attention to him. His sole focus was the phone in his hands, every time the screen went black from inactivity he would open it again, check he somehow hadn't missed a text of call from Nora's mum and stare blankly at the phone until it went black again.
The car came to an abrupt stop and Harry flung himself from the car when he realised he was finally at the hospital. The anticipation was choking him. He had no idea what he was walking in to. Nora's mum had arrived at the hospital when she was in surgery so although she knew a little more than Harry, it still wasn't much.
"My girlfriend and daughter are here, I need to see them" Harry interrupted the receptionist at the front desk. The waiting room was crowded with people and he knew his dramatic burst through the door and raised voice would attract attention but he was past caring. They could take as many pictures as they wanted, he'd do an Irish Jig and let them video it if it got him to his family quicker.
"Of course, can I take their names?" The receptionist looked up from her computer her bored expression morphed quickly into kindness as a wave of recognition flashed across her face.
"My girlfriend is Nora Henley and my daughter, Avery Styles" Harry rested his hands against the desk and pushed his body away from the desk. The adrenaline was coursing through his body and he had nothing to do with it but wait on these people telling him what to do.
"Please give me a moment and I'll get someone to direct you" The receptionist nodded kindly before picking up a phone. Harry immediately began to pace. Vaguely aware of the eyes that were trained on him. The waiting area had gone oddly quiet as more and more people realised who he was.
"Just breathe bud, we're here now" Jeff murmured quietly as he patted Harry on the shoulder. Jeff was trying his best, working flat out trying to gain any sort of information on what had happened at the crash site and he knew this wasn't easy for him but his focus was pulled in too many directions. He couldn't find it within himself to find concern for Jeff as well.
A surgeon appeared from behind a set of large double doors and approached Harry discreetly. Harry almost lunged for him, desperate to know his family were still alive.
"Hi, Mr Styles, if you'd like to come this way" Dutifully Harry followed the white coat tails of his lab coat through the set of doors from which he had come. Once they were down the corridor and away from prying eyes the doctor spoke again.
"I'm Dr Bell, I'm the chief consultant for your partner and daughter. I can escort you to where you need to go. Where to first?"
"Fuck" Harry looked at Jeff, indecision was clouding his brain. He didn't think he would have to chose which one to see first.
"Avery. Take me to my daughter."