Hiding in the Shadows

38. Bonding Time

Meredith knocked lightly on the door to the guest house and entered cautiously. Derek was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands rocking back and forth. The bottle of scotch was one fourth gone already. He was shaking. Meredith made her way over to the couch and settled in next to him. Neither one said anything for a moment.

"So know you know." He said quietly.

"Now I know." She agreed. She took a deep breath and began.

"Matt was a doctor that I dated three years ago. My mother was...is...a horrible person and has always expressed her disappointment in me very vocally. One day, I went to have lunch with her, at her request, and I told her that I was going to go on a trip to Florida with a friend of mine since we were out for summer break before I started my third year of medical school. She told me that I needed to spend that time studying since I obviously hadn't grasped anything in my classes. She said a 3.9 grade point average was average and she had raised me to be extraordinary and nothing less than a 4.0 would be acceptable for her daughter. I told her that I needed a break and I was going and she couldn't stop me. A few more words were exchanged and it got heated and she slapped me...in the cafeteria at Mass Gen in front of several of her coworkers. I ran off and hid in the stairwell until I could stop crying enough to drive and this guy sat down next to me and offered me a tissue. He asked me what was wrong and for some reason I told him. He said that my mother was a bitch and he should know because she was his boss. He invited me out and I accepted...at first it was just to piss her off but I really liked this guy. We casually dated for a few weeks and then we became...intimate. He said he didn't want to rush into that because I deserved better than a one night stand. I thought 'Gee, this guy is really nice and maybe, just maybe I could be this normal girl with a boyfriend'. It was great...at first. But then he started getting possessive and jealous. I never looked at anyone else, but I couldn't control the way men responded to me. One guy came on to me at a bar and Matt drug me out of there. That was the first time he hit me. Afterwards he was so sorry and he was crying and I forgave him. The second time...the same thing. I eventually lost count of the beatings but one day I just had enough and I told him to leave me alone...that I didn't want to see him anymore and I left him."

Derek looked ahead not saying anything, his jaw clenched.. When she paused, he looked at her, his eyes flashing.

"Go on." He said tersely.

"I didn't have any contact with him for several months. One day, he came over and told me that he thought he had left something at my apartment and that he really needed it back. He said it was a watch his grandfather had gotten him. So, I let him in and...." She broke off with a sob. "He cornered me...and he beat me unconscious. When I woke up, I was at Mass General. My mother came in and asked me what I had did for someone to do this to me. I told her that Matt had done this. You know what she said? She said she was ashamed of me and how dare I drag an innocent man's name through the mud. I told her to leave and I told the police what happened and I pressed charges. However, Matt had an airtight alibi. My mother vouched for him and informed the officers that Matt had been at the hospital all night and that he couldn't have possibly left to do this. Then she told them that I was a whore and one of my many one night stands must of done this. They dropped the charges and Matt got off scot free."

Meredith reached for her purse and withdrew a Polaroid picture. She handed it to Derek.

"This picture is a reminder of what happens when I let my guard down."

Derek turned it over in his hands. He gasped.

It was of a woman with a black swollen eye and bloody nose with a bloody and swollen lip. There were abrasions on her cheeks and forehead and bruises on her neck where someone had tried to strangle her. It was Meredith.