Merder

Saying no has to be the hardest word

" alright thank you for understanding. Yes please apologize to the president for me. Thank you bye." I hung up the phone. Meredith was standing on the stairs.
" what did they say?" She asked
" they tried to convince me by raising the salary and privileges for both of us. I explained the circumstances and they understood and they were very sorry to see me walk away from this offer."
" so you blamed it on me."
" no I actually didn't."
" that's just terrific Derek. Blame it on the wife so they think my say is the final."
" they should see it how it is."
" excuse me?"
" Meredith let's be honest to ourselves here. You do get the last say. I didn't blame it on you so just stop. I could have. But I didn't. So get one thing straight. When it comes to my work... I get the last say." I walked away. I packed a bag.
" where are you going?" Mer asked
" I'm not staying here."
" where you gonna go?"
" Mark's, Callie's, Owens, jacksons, Alex's."
" alright I get it."
I grabbed my suitcase.
" goodbye Meredith."
" when are you coming back?"
" I don't know."
" what about the kids."
" tell them I love them."
" what about me? What about us?"
" I don't know." I walked out the door and went to Alex's.

THE NEXT DAY:

" so the kids are at daycare and I'm gonna be here pretty late tonight. Do you mind taking them with you?" Mer asked.
" yeah I guess."
" listen we are supposed to have a surgery together...." I cut her off.
" Bailey is gonna do it with me."
" Derek you can't just kick me off my own surgeries!"
" it wasn't yours. It was mine. But like always you take control of everything".
" Derek!"
I walked away.
" your wife is pretty mad." Mark said
" yeah I really don't care at this point what anybody thinks."
" what's wrong with you."
" the president called me yesterday."
" the president?"
" yes, he wanted me to lead the brain mapping program."
" are you going?"
" no."
" why?"
" Mer is making me choose between my family and this job. "
" so you chose your family."
" of course I did."
" she won't go with you?"
" nope. Says she needs to stay here."
" I'm here for you bud."
" thanks man."
" Derek the guest bedroom is ready for you." Alex said
" thanks man." I said
" wait you're not staying at home?"
" no I left last night."
" so are you guys over?"
" I don't know. I need time to think."
I walked away and went into an on-call room. The door opened.
" God, can't anybody just leave me alone. I just need time to think." was all I said.