Best Friends Last Forever ✔️

Part 47: Pain and Healing

"Oh my- when did you had time to do this?" she asked as she turned around to face him after he had taken the blindfold off of her eyes. In her room at the hospital Andrew had set up a table with a red-white table cloth, with a candle standing on top of it, a plate with one Pizza in the middle and two more plates at each side of the table. He walked around her and pulled out the chair for her, gesturing her to sit down.

"I set it up while you were in therapy" he whispered and kissed her from the side before sitting down as well. She shook her head with a big grin and teary eyes.

"I'm sorry I- don't know if I can do this. Maybe it was a stupid idea" she said quietly, making it hard for him to understand her. "Oh Mer. It's not a stupid idea and I get that it's hard but you've come so far the past three weeks. You're doing amazing. And you have no idea how much that means for your progress that you suggested to have Pizza for dinner."

She just nodded. He was right. It had actually become a little easier to eat more over the past few weeks. The urge to cut herself or throw up after eating hadn't completely disappeared but it had gotten a little less.

"One or two slices of pizza won't make me fat right?" she asked embarrassed. But she needed him to reassure her that she won't gain too much weight because of this. This morning she had had trouble starting to eat because something in her mind had made her feel like she hadn't in a few days.

She still had anxiety attacks and was very insecure about literally anything but the constant feeling of losing control and the linked desire to lose as much weight as possible had actually become less dominant of her behaviour. She was getting better. And she was happy about that.

"No Mer it won't. I promise" he said, smiling at her slightly. "Okay" she breathed, transferring a slice of the pizza onto her plate as he did the same. And then she took a bite of the edge of the warm pizza, her mouth filling with the taste of cheese, tomato and bread. She begun to chew and didn't know how to feel. On the one side the pizza was amazing. Probably the best one she'd ever had. But on the other side it was very greasy... containing a lot of calories.

With her mind pacing back and forth asking one million questions at the time she eventually swallowed the food and felt a sudden warmth spread in her stomach she hadn't felt in a long time. Sure there had been warm meals at the hospital but the hospital food was nothing compared to this pizza. And then she smiled to herself. She did it. She just ate a piece of a very unhealthy pizza without feeling the necessity of getting rid of it any time soon or start exercising to burn the calories. She knew that she would probably have trouble with eating a second slice of pizza but she was sure that she would be able to finish this one without any kind of guilt. Still deep in her thoughts she looked up at Andrew, noticing that he was looking at her with a concerned expression.

"I'm okay" she said softly, smiling at him reassuringly. "You're okay" he echoed quietly.

The rest of the evening passed rather quickly, with Meredith eating one and a half slices of the pizza and Andrew eating the rest in the same time but that was okay. They talked about surgeries he had currently performed, the mice study, and of course their trip to Italy.

The end of the day came closer and Andrew was asked to leave the fifth floor because visiting hours had ended almost three hours ago. "Thank you for doing this" she whispered, pulling him closer and placing her lips on his. "Your welcome" he whispered, kissing her passionately, pulling her body closer by her waist. "I love you so much" he said after they had parted again, their foreheads touching. "I love you too" she said, smiling before he pulled her into a hug. "I have to go" he said. "I know" she sighed, burring herself in his arms.

And not a minute later he was gone. She changed into some leggings and one of his pullovers before she laid down. She had a hard time falling asleep as she couldn't stop thinking about this beautiful evening. Some small part of her could feel the pizza, laying heavily in her stomach... but there was this other part who suddenly started thinking about Andrew again. She wouldn't have survived this without him. He was that one thing that made her keep going. Of course she had her kids and she had her sister but that wasn't the same. Her children were her everything. She loved them the most. More that she could ever love anyone else. But they were kids. Innocent kids. So she was thankful to have Andrew who had been there for her through this whole thing and whom she knew would stick with her till all of this was over. He had promised her forever. And she couldn't wait for that forever to start. She loved him and she was beyond happy that he came back into her life.