Mind over Matter

Chapter Twenty-One: Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

TW: mentions of substance ab*se, overd*se 

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Meredith opened the door and stumbled upon Derek who was sitting on the stairwell with his head in his hands. 

She walked closer to him carefully, she wasn't sure how to approach him in this state. 

"Derek..." she softly spoke. He tilted his head up to face her recognizing her voice.

His eyes were red and his cheeks were visibly wet from his tears. He sniffled and wiped away some of the wetness with his thumbs. 

"Oh Derek..." she walked over and sat down beside him immediately, pulling him closer by his shoulders. She put her hand on the flat of his back and rubbed it in slow, soft circles. "I'm so sorry..." she said after a minute of silence. 

He pulled back from the crook of her neck and sat upright to face her. 

She gave him a careful smile as blue met green. He smiled sadly back at her. He cleared his throat and started to speak. 

"Two guys... shot my dad, for his watch..." Derek said as he fiddled with the silver watch on his wrist. Meredith looked at him attentively as he continued. 

"My mom saved up for it. Two guys came into the store and they shot him because he wouldn't give it up..." he said. Derek took a deep breath as Meredith grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. "That's how my dad died"

"After that, my mom continued to raise us as best as she could on her own. It was the hardest on her. Amelia was 6 at the time so she didn't fully comprehend what was happening. I was 12 and I took over the role as the man of the household..." Meredith scooted closed towards him and laid her head down on his shoulder. 

"When I turned 18, I started to resemble my father more and more when he was young... I remember that causing a lot of bittersweet moments for my mother... She would give me his old shirts and when I'd come downstairs wearing one of them, she had to take a minute alone."

"A few years later when I was around 25, I got a call from my mom saying Amy wrecked the car and stole her prescription meds...I moved back home for a while to help them both and-" he stopped and choked up, wiping a tear from his cheek. 

"Then one night, mom was out with her friends for a book club while I stayed up with Amy. I remember her going up to her room exceptionally early... A couple of hours passed and I went up to ask her if she needed anything before I went to bed" he stopped for a second. 

"It was quiet upstairs, I remember having that eery gut feeling I told you about; the one I get in the OR as well. I knew something was wrong...I walked to her room and went to knock on her door but it was already open...a little push was all it took to open the door all the way..." Meredith almost knew what he would say next, as she grabbed his hand tighter for support. 

"I walked inside and I saw two feet peeking from behind her bed...I remember walking over and seeing Amelia's lifeless body on the floor; foam coming out of her mouth. There was a syringe in her hand and a pile of vomit beside her head... I called 911 and my mom Amelia and started performing chest compressions right away... I can still remember the feeling of her cold flesh on my hands and her bloodshot eyes staring right above with zero sign of life in them... I stayed with her until the paramedics came and my mom arrived. I had to forcefully hold my screaming and crying mom back from her body, as they carried her out on a gurney..." 

Derek finished and looked over as Meredith pulled her head from the crook of his neck. "Derek... I had no idea... I'm so sorry" she said as she rubbed her thumb on the back of his hand.