Shattered Memories, Broken Hearts: An SOSS Story

Chapter 3: A Disastrous Discovery

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"What did you just say, Zoey?" Griffin asked in disbelief after he had found his voice again.

"I said that we had found Harper, aka our best friend in the whole entire world!!!!" Zoey cried into the phone, making Griffin's ears pop.

Griffin couldn't believe it. After all this time, Harper had finally been found. He felt like jumping for joy, but knew that right now was not the time to engage in such childish behaviors since he had to get down to New Orleans and see Harper for himself.

"Where are you at?" he asked as he quickly pulled a jacket out of his closet.

"Ochsner Medical Center. Wyatt and Topher are gonna meet me here. See you soon, Griff," Zoey said quickly before she hung up.

Griffin sighed as he hastily placed the ring box back in the closet before he ran down the stairs to the lobby and found one of the concierges he had hired waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Pardon me, Mr. Campbell, but the couple in room 109 would like a refund because apparently there's a draft in the room and not enough hot water coming out of the shower," he said as he rolled his eyes.

"Look, Eddie, as much as I'd love to help you right now, I can't. I've got some personal business to tend to in Nola, so I'm leaving you in charge until I get back," Griffin said hurriedly as he ran into his office and grabbed the keys to his black pickup truck.

Eddie nodded. "Sure thing, boss. Take care," he said as he shook Griffin's hand.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Griffin said as he raced out of the lobby and down the porch steps towards his truck, hurriedly pulling the door open as he slipped into the driver's seat and turned the key over, all but speeding out of the driveway as he drove away from The Tremont.

His leg was bouncing the whole entire time he drove towards New Orleans. Although he was excited at the prospect of seeing Harper again, his heart was also breaking because he hadn't seen her since she had disappeared, and he was slightly worried about hurt she might've been. He had seen Harper get plenty of scrapes or bruises in the past, but based on the amount of blood that was caked in the guest bedroom at Zoey and Topher's house, he guessed that she was probably hurt pretty bad.

As he continued to drive, Griffin couldn't help but know in his heart that if he was going to be able to successfully care for Harper during her recovery after she would be released from the hospital, he would have to come clean to their siblings about their relationship, and that was not pleasant to think about in the slightest. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The atmosphere in the waiting room of the Ochsner Medical Center was thick with anxiety, tension, and worry as Griffin was quick to check himself in at the front desk before he sat down in a nearby chair, drumming his fingers against the smooth material of his denim jeans as he waited for Zoey, Wyatt, or Topher to arrive and ease at least a small portion of his pain. 

Although it was a beautiful and warm sunny day outside, the tension inside of the waiting room was palpable and made Griffin shiver involuntarily as he saw Zoey and another woman walk out of a door that led to the recovery rooms. The woman looked to be about the same age as him, and had messy, curly blonde hair that had been put up into a messy ponytail and she was dressed in a nurse's uniform. It was Harper's friend, Bailey Moody. Griffin forgot that she had majored in Nursing when she went to college.