The Next Step

Chapter 11

Harry was in the process of getting ready for another day at work when when his phone rang. Throwing his shirt over his shoulder he walks into the living room to look for his phone, he was sure he left it on the coffee table the night before when he was talking to Jo. Spotting in on the floor he grabs and answers.
"Hello?" He asked slightly out of breath.

"Is mom there?" Ryan asks bluntly. No greeting, nothing.

"No, Ryan why would she be here? I'm suppose to come there to get her so you and Jamie can use her truck. Why?" Harry asks.

"She's not here. Harry she went for her morning run. I thought maybe she went there. She's been gone to long." Ryan tells him. "Jamie's out looking for her right now and I've tried calling her several times but she's not answering her phone. I know I'm a momma's boy, but this has really got me worried. She always answers my calls."

The tone in Ryan's voice was starting to worry Harry too. "Have you talked to Jamie since he left and started looking for your mom?"

"Yeah he's been to the club and now he's headed to town to see if maybe she went there to get something to drink." Ryan said. "But, Harry she would be back by now so she could get ready for work. Somethings wrong I can feel it."

"Okay just calm down. I'll head that way and help look. I need to call my mom and ask her to go the the club to help out in case I don't make in tonight." Harry says calmly even though he felt anything but that. "Ryan don't worry we will find her." Harry hangs up, then calls his mom as he finishes getting dressed. He explains the situation to her and she promises she'll take care of everything, for him to find Jo and not worry about the club. After hanging up the phone Harry grabs his his keys and runs to his truck and takes off toward Jo's. Harry was driving slowly so he could watch both sides of the road, he didn't want to miss anything. Just as he was about to turn at the stop sign that would take him to town a flash of color caught his eye causing him to slam on his breaks. Jumping from his he runs to the edge of the road and what he see near makes his heart stop. Jo was lying in the ditch and it looked as if she had been badly beaten. There was no way the damage done to her was done by being hit by a car. He grabs his phone and calls 911. Then he call her kids and his mom while making his way down to her. By the time Harry reached Jo he was in tears, she was so still and look like she was barely breathing.
"Oh God baby, who did this to you?" He cried as he kneeled down beside her. The first thing he did was check to make sure she was breathing then he moved some of her hair aside so her could see her face better and damn near threw up. She was alive that's what mattered right now, she would heal eventually, he hoped. Harry didn't know what to do, so he just sat there and whispered in Jo's ear, telling her how much he loved her. Minutes later he heard the deep rumble of Jo's truck coming toward them.

"Harry?" Jamie called out.

"Down here." Harry called out, his voice cracking.

Jamie ran to the edge of the ditch and froze when he saw his mom. All he could think was it was a good thing Ryan wasn't here. "Dear God." He whispered. Then looked behind him to see an ambulance speeding toward him.

Once they got Jo loaded up and ready to go Harry jumped in his truck to follow the ambulance to hospital, Jamie was going to get Ryan. When Harry got to the hospital he saw they were rushing Jo into one of the rooms to be checked on, so he knew he could do nothing but wait, he'd only been sitting there about 5 minutes when Jamie and Ryan came running in.

"Have they been back out yet?" Ryan asks.

Harry shook his head. "No." He whispers trying to hold back tears. Just then the doctor that treated Jo's leg walks out.

"I was really hoping I wouldn't see you again, son. Whose your friends?" He asked

Harry shook his hand. "This is Jamie and Ryan Weston, Jo's sons. How is she doc.?"