Chapter 10

Dougie frantically re-read Becca's note for what must have been the 20th time, trying desperately to find a clue as to where she could have gone, and trying to determine the cause of her departure. He ran his hands through his hair, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath hoping to calm himself down so he could act more rationally.

"Calm down Dougie," he said to himself, his voice faltering, "Think...think!"

He picked up the receiver of the phone which lay by the bed and dialled.

"You have reached the O2 messaging service. Please leave your..."

"Damn!" He said slamming down the phone. Becca's phone was turned off.

He picked up the phone once again this time typing in a different number. There was a short silence followed by a weary voice on the other end of the line.

"...Hello?"

"Jess is that you!?"

"Who is this?" she replied, her voice still thick with sleep.

"It's Dougie...I need your help. Becca's gone missing!! ...I didn't know what to do, so I thought it best to call you...I mean you are her best friend, and I guess you must know her better than I do, having known her for so long...although I thought that I knew everything about her because we've been together for nearly two months now, but obviously I can't know everything if I haven't got a clue where she is...so I though...yes I'll call Jess, because she might know something I don't, and I'm really sorry for waking you up but I thought you should know and I though you could help me or something... but anyway, do you have any ideas where she could have gone?"

Once again there was a silence before Jess answered. "First of all...you have got to calm the hell down! It's like listening to someone fast forward a cassette for God sake! What are you on helium or something!!" Dougie's constant chatter seemed to have given her time to wake herself up somewhat. "Right. So you're saying she's run away? And you're absolutely sure?"

"Yes she left a note saying that she couldn't take it anymore, and she felt like she was in over her head." Dougie chocked on the tears and the lump that seemed to be lodged in his throat. He had to stay strong. He had to find her and find out what she meant.

"Did anything happen last night, or anything odd yesterday?"

"Well she was quiet all day, but when I asked her if anything was wrong, she said she was fine!"

"Anything else after that?" Jess enquired

"Well no! After that we went up to the room, and I fell asleep pretty much straight away!"

"...ah."

"...Jess? What do you mean 'ah'?" Dougie's voice had become anxious.

"Well...the thing with Becca is that night is when her brain goes into overdrive. During the day, she's normally okay, but if she has something that's worrying her then it normally affects her most when she's in bed, and has nothing else to take her mind off of it. And if you were asleep then I'm guessing she wasn't...errrrm...doing anything if you get my drift...so she was probably thinking, and getting herself worked up."

"...right..? Go on..."

"Well if you said that during the day she seemed pre-occupied, then the chances are that last night she would have been feeling even worse. Normally at uni we have a chat before we sleep, 

because it means that I can re-assure her about anything that' worrying her, and we can talk it out. And I take it that that didn't happen last night?"

"...no..." said Dougie quietly. He ran his hand through his hair again, and sighed deeply. "This is all my fault. I knew something was wrong...but I was so tired! I should have asked her again!!" He brought his fist down angrily upon his leg, taking out his frustration

"Look Dougie. You can't blame yourself. What you have to do is go and find her."

"Well yes I know, but I have no idea where she could have gone! Folkestone's not exactly a small place, and I have no idea when she left. She could have got on a train and gone anywhere by now!" He let out a ragged breath.

"...This note..."

"Yeh what about it?"

"Did she give any indication as to where she was gonna go?" Jess said hopefully

"No! Nothing at all! That's partly why I called you. Do you have any ideas?"

Jess paused for a second, "Well...I very much doubt she's taken any form of public transport. Knowing Becca she'll be walking, especially if something's on her mind."

She paused again, wracking her brains for anything she could think of. "Well I doubt she would have gone into the town...if she's walking then she'll want to be somewhere more natural...less built up. Do you know if there are any parks... or anything like that around where you are?"

"Well there's a few on the walk down the cliffs?"

"Well that would be the first place I'd look. Oh just to ask the obvious, but have you tried her phone?"

"Yes that was the first thing I did, but it went straight to voicemail."

"Well while you're out looking, I'll keep trying her number, just in case she didn't have any signal when you called, or something like that."

"Listen, Jess, I'm really sorry to trouble you with this, but I didn't know who else to go to!"

"Don't be stupid Dougie! The fact that you did call only makes it more clear to me how much you care about her. I mean I knew from the start that you guys had something...I don't know...special, but I can see you really love her."

"I do...I really do...we've got so close, and the guys all love her as well...which is why I can't understand why she's taken off like this!"

"Well I think you better go and find out."

"Thanks again Jess. Call me if you manage to get through to her won't you?" A note of desperation entered his voice.

"Of course I will you goon! Now go!"

And with that she hung up the phone. Dougie looked around the room trying to re-gain his bearings. His head felt like it had been put in a blender. He grabbed his coat from the back of the door, along with his room key, and walked out into the dimly lit corridor.

He walked swiftly down the corridor, and knocked on the door of room 332. "Dude!" he said in a harsh whisper, "Dude open up!" He banged the door again.

Inside he heard the unmistakeable thump of someone falling out of bed, followed by feet padding to the door. The door opened a fraction, and Dougie was greeted by a bleary eyed Danny wearing his dressing gown, and with his hair looking like a birds nest. On another occasion Dougie would have found his friend's appearance hilarious, but he had more important things on his mind.

"...Dougie...what the fuck are you doing mate!" he mumbled angrily.



"Danny I need your help. Becca's gone missing, and I need you to keep an eye out in case she comes back while I'm looking for her...and dude! Do up your dressing gown!" Dougie said quickly looking to the ceiling having seen slightly more of his band mate than was necessary at such an early hour.

"Oh!" Danny hastily pulled his dressing gown across him. "Sorry about that mate! Err yeh; I'll keep an eye out. Do you want me to stay in your room? Might be easier, cos at least then I won't miss her if she goes by the door quietly or summit'"

"Yeh that might be an idea. Thanks Danny," he said pulling his friend into a tight hug, "It means a lot."

"No worries mate...just give me a call if you find her, yeh?"

"Definitely."

And with that Dougie turned, walked down the stairs, out of the hotel, and into the cold night. The search had begun.

Author's note; Thank you for reading so far, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed it so far. It's always appreciated, as it helps me know where I can improve my writing, and lets me know what everyone thinks. Only three more Chapters to go! : ) James.