Best Friends Last Forever ✔️

Part 46: Vacation with Pizza

"No"

"Mer"

"I said no"

"Come on"

"Just go away"

"Please just a few bites."

"I can't, why don't you get that"

He sighed, leaning back in the chair next to her bed, where she was curled up under the blanket, facing away from him. In front of him there was her meal. She hadn't eaten her breakfast nor had she tried anything at lunch and she pretended to be asleep during dinner. That was yesterday.

"Mer you didn't eat anything in the last 36 hours."

"Yes and that's fine just like it is so please go away and take that with you" she said referring to the food.

She had seemed to get better. The past week she had always at least tried to eat something. Sometimes she was even able to finish the whole meal but now it looked like she was sinking into a deep hole again.

"Can you tell me what's going on in your head?" he carefully asked, sitting up straight again. She remained silent. After a few minutes of silence, she finally begun to talk but her voice sounded so broken that it really scared him. But what she was actually saying made him even more anxious.

"I- I didn't realize that you can gain so much weight in just one week. I was so skinny and now I'm a fat cow again and I just- I can't do this. I just want to lose all that weight again and since I'm not allowed to even go to the bathroom by myself or do any exercise I'm not allowing myself to eat anything until I'm better." She whispered, half crying.

"But Mer, losing all that weight again won't make you feel any better. You need the food, your body needs the food, you're supposed to be- "but she didn't let him finish. "I'm supposed to be skinny." She interrupted him.

"You are skinny Mer. Before all of this started you already had a perfect body. You are beautiful just the way you are and you don't have to lose weight." He said determined.

They sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Luckily he didn't have to work today because he already had reached the 60 hours' mark Bailey had given him. So he just sat there, his mind blank. That was not how he had imagined his future with Meredith. They were supposed to be happy.

"I want to go home" she suddenly whispered. He didn't reply because both of them knew that she couldn't just go home. She had been here for almost three weeks now and the progress was just very small and certainly not enough for a discharge.

As he continued to just stare into space he heard her stomach grumble loudly.

"Mer, you are hungry and you can't deny that. Your body knows that it needs food to survive. It is only your mind telling you that you don't need to eat something but it's just tricking you. In some way it makes you believe that you aren't allowed to eat while your body is literally begging you to give it something to keep you alive. So please just a few bites Mer. I don't want you to die." He said, tears welling up in his eyes.

At the sound of his shaking voice she finally sat up and turned around, crossing her legs and looking at him. Over the past month her hair had grown again a little so that it was now almost reaching her shoulders, falling around her face in soft waves. She was beautiful and he didn't understand how she couldn't see herself like he saw her. He smiled at her sadly as they continued to just look at each other. She was wearing one of his pullovers again. He had brought her some a few days ago because he knew she loved wearing them and she looked cuter in them anyway.

"Come here" he said, reaching out a hand as she stood up and he pulled her onto his lap. She immediately pulled up her legs and leaned into him.

"Thank you" she whispered, closing her eyes as he laid his arms around her.

"For what?"

"Everything. Just that you're still here"

"And I don't plan on going away" he said, pressing a soft kiss into her hair. After a few minutes she sat up and pulled the trail with the food closer to her, picking up the fork. She took a very, very small bite from the oatmeal and chewed on it for much longer than necessary before swallowing it. She then took another, slightly bigger bite and leaned back into Andrew while chewing.

"What would you think about a vacation?" he suddenly asked after Meredith had taken another bite and was now again slowly chewing her food which someone without an eating disorder wouldn't even had chewed a single time. But as long as she was eating he wouldn't dare complain.

"A vacation?" she asked confused but amused at the same time as she didn't get up for another bite anymore and stayed in Andrew's safe arms.

"Yeah. When all of this is over. Just you and me. We'll go somewhere peaceful, somewhere beautiful. Maybe I can take you to Italy, I'm sure you'll love it" he whispered into her ear, taking her hands in his.

"I'd love that" she quietly admitted, closing her eyes, a smile on her face. "I'm trying. I promise" she said after another few seconds of silence. "I know" he replied, nuzzling his face into her hair, taking a deep breath.

"That tickles! What are you doing!" she giggled which warmed his heard immediately. "I'm breathing you in" he replied with a bright smile on his face as she just giggled again. "You know your giggle is the cutest thing on earth?" he said, his face still hid in her hair as he pressed another kiss into it.

"Can you do it again?" he then asked. "What?" she asked, smiling slightly. "Giggle" he whispered into her ear. "Usually someone has to say something funny" she giggled and his smile grew even wider.

"Tell me more about that vacation" she said as she put another fork filled with food into her mouth.

"Mhm... let's see. What would you think about a small road trip? Just one week. From Milano to Rome, to Venice, to Pisa and then Sicily. We'll see the Colosseum, the tower but I'll also show you some beautiful places no one really knows about. Like that one cliff where you have an amazing view over the city, especially in the evening. We'll have a picnic and watch the sunset, a lot of candles and flowers, and even though I know you're not the romantic type of person I promise it'll be amazing. We'll stay up late every night, eat pizza and pasta at traditional restaurants- ohh- the best pizza in the world, in a small pizzeria in Rome at the market- I swear they make the best quadro fromagi on this planet. When I was younger I went there a lot with Carina. And when we're in Sicily we'll make a boat tour. You have to know that feeling of speeding through the waves, wind in your face, blowing through your hair while you're looking at the skyline of the colourful houses on the edge of the water. Oh- I forgot Lac du Como! The most beautiful lake ever! We'll visit Bellagio, eat tons of ice cream and walk through the tiny streets with those tiny shops where you can buy handmade stuff like coats and bags and so much more." As he continued to talk about the hypothetical trip for nearly half an hour Meredith didn't only eat the full meal but seemed to be in a much better mood than just an hour ago.

"That really sounds amazing" she said after he had stopped talking and literally planning that future- trip into the tiniest detail.

"Can we have pizza for dinner?" she then asked hesitantly and he thought he didn't hear her correctly. "Repeat that" he said, being almost sure that he had misunderstand her. "You've been going on and on about pizza for half an hour now and I just- want a piece of Pizza" she shrugged with a small smile on her lips as she turned around on his lap to face him, sticking her legs through the holes of the arm-rests.

"You want Pizza?" he smiled as tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm sorry I- didn't want- did I say something wro-" but she couldn't finish as her lips were captured by his. "Are you sure?" he said with a bright smile on his face after they'd parted after a long, passionate kiss.

"It's scary and a l-lot but I- we could share one? And I only eat one or two slices?" she asked, still smiling nervously.

"I'd love that" he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She then leaned forward and kissed him again before laying her head down on his shoulder as he rubbed her back. They continued to stay like this, talking about anything and everything as he was unbelievable happy that she was finally laughing again.

TO BE CONTINUED...