Mind over Matter

Chapter Twelve: In The Middle

Upon entering, Meredith shut the door and let herself slide down it, uncontrollable sobs coming out of her. She'd held it together during her heated argument with Derek, but now that she was alone, her true feelings all poured out of her at once. 

She held her head in her hands, wishing Derek was there to comfort her, not that she wasn't still mad at him; furious actually. Although, if she was completely honest with herself, the only thing she wanted at that moment, was to feel his strong, muscular arms wrapped around her.

Her breathing became ragged and she stood up, grabbing a sip of water to calm herself down. She took a seat on her olive-green sofa, gathering her thoughts. Her feelings were incredibly overwhelming, filling her mind and body completely. The entirety of the screaming match that happened twenty minutes earlier replayed in her mind. The things he had said to her, the things she had said to him. 

She was so... god she was so angry! Angry at Derek, angry at Addison, angry at Andrew. Hell, she was even angry at herself!

She didn't know why she always lashed out like this, maybe it was her need to hurt others in the same ways they'd hurt her... It had always been like that, it was how she coped with everything. That... and running away...

She stood up, pacing back and forth in her office. She grabbed a pillow off the sofa out of frustration and threw it across the room. It made a soft thud against her wall, knocking a painting down. She groaned in frustration and threw herself back on the couch, another wave of sobs crashing down on her.

She wanted to go back... she wanted nothing more than to go back to her happy place with Derek... To snuggle tightly against him until they both fell sound asleep. Meredith wanted to forgive and forget, but his words had hurt, and his actions had hurt even more...

She held her head in her hands, rubbing her temples profusely as she heard a voice coming from the doorway. Meredith rubbed the tears from her eyes and shot up abruptly, shooting a wide-eyed glance at the familiar sound.

"Meredith? What's wrong?" Lexie asked, her tone filled with genuine concern.

Of course, Lexie already knew what was wrong. She had seen the whole dispute practically with a front-row seat. She wanted to ask Meredith about it, but she had a plan, and she was going to stick to it...

"Lexie?? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Cambodja right now?" she asked, confusion suppressing her previous emotions. She walked over to Lexie and hugged her tight.

The timing of her sister had never been better, in this moment, Meredith needed Lexie... 

"I came here to see you, well no that's a lie.. my uhh boyfriend has a best friend here, practically his brother. He wanted to stop by and see him" Lexie rambled. Meredith's ears stuck at the word boyfriend. 

A boyfriend? Seriously... it was as if the universe was playing some sick game with her...

"You have a boyfriend? Since when??" Meredith asked in shock, moving them to sit down on the sofa. Lexie smiled at her perplexed expression.

"A couple of months, his name is Mark and he's a plastic surgeon. He's funny and smart, and very very hot, almost steamy even..." Lexie rambled, obviously smitten.

"So, do I get to meet this mystery boyfriend? Where is he?" Meredith asked, grinning at Lexie.

"He's visiting his friend right now... that's actually what I wanted to come and ask you. I'd like for you to meet him tonight over dinner" Lexie said with a grin. "His best friend is probably going to join us for dinner too, Mark said he's single and that you'd likely get along" she ended with a wink.