❝𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃❞ ɢʀᴇʏ·s ᴀɴᴀᴛᴏᴍʏ

CHAPTER NINE.

Strange things happen that day. The first evidence of this is that Maddox sleeps in, completely ignoring the alarm clock, something incredibly uncharacteristic of her. It's George who has to wake her up, and Maddox almost appreciates it, because she's seen how Izzie wakes people up, and she honestly prefers George's shyness and patience to the blonde's yelling and banging. "Something's wrong with Meredith," is the first thing the boy says to her, looking at her for a while, and then leaves the room to give her privacy.

Yes, Maddox can also feel something strange in the air. She gives it a lot of thought in the shower, as she lathers her hair and brushes her teeth on the way out, but decides it's best not to make a big deal about it when she's toweling off and trying to get into the pants that now barely fit. She decides to get mad at big business and their obsession with making smaller sizes to create hang-ups and forgets about the bad feelings until she walks into the hostess's room.

"She doesn't want to get up," Izzie tells her, grabbing cereal straight from the box and chewing noisily. "Says she has a feeling."

Maddox nods, knowing that she will be the one who will eventually have to sort things out. In the months she's been living with the three interns, Maddox is the judge, the impartial person, the voice of reason amidst the chaos, but she seems content that way, as everyone ends up listening to her. Izzie and George proceed to enter the room, but Maddox shakes her head and slams the door in their faces, hearing an 'ouch!' on the other side.

"Morning, Mer. You waking up?" Maddox starts combing her hair in front of the bedroom mirror, not giving too much thought to the blonde's attitude. She's dealt too many times with Dennis behaving like this, so she knows not to push or Meredith won't open up.

"Not today," the other intern's voice sounds barely audible, since her head is buried in the pillow.

"I see. They say you have a feeling. What kind of feeling?"

Meredith rolls over in bed, pulling the pillow away from her face and looking at Maddox. "Like I might die."

The brunette nods, toweling her hair dry. "Did you have a dream? Sometimes they are so realistic they seem true to us."

"It's just...," Meredith begins, sitting up in bed, and Maddox can almost feel Izzie and George's ears intruding on the conversation, leaning more and more against the door. "Okay. The man I love has a wife. And then he chooses her over me. And that wife takes my dog. Okay, she didn't take the dog, I gave it to her, but I didn't mean to give it to her, I meant to give it to him. But that does not change the fact that she's got my McDreamy and my McDog. She's got my McLife, and what have I got?" The blonde's face suddenly becomes more serious, and Maddox takes a seat next to her on the bed. "You know I can't remember the last time we kissed? 'Cause you never think last time is the last time. You think there'll be more. You think you have forever, but you don't," Meredith sighs, and again drops back on the bed, exhausted. "Plus, my conditioner decided to stop working and I think I've brittle bones. I just— I just need something to happen. I need a sign that things are gonna change. I need a reason to go on, I need some hope. And in the absence of hope, I need to stay in bed and feel like I might die today."

Maddox feels really bad for her, because it's more than obvious that Derek still loves her, but his cowardly decision to stay with Addison has caused him to lose the possible love of his life. And now Meredith is the one who suffers and, therefore, so does Maddox. So she decides to tell her something she hasn't told her yet.

"I have a brother. A twin brother, actually," Maddox chuckles, and that seems to catch Meredith's attention. "I know it's not the same situation, but I get what you mean when you say you never think last time is the last time. We were really close growing up. We were the best of friends. He was a bit troublemaker and I was the sensible one. I used to clean up the messes he left, and he was the one to encourage me to pursue what I believed would make me happy. We complemented each other, there was no Maddox without him, and not Dennis without me. But he left years ago. I didn't even get a goodbye. I thought I had him forever, but I don't. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. Sometimes it's up to us to fight for it, but sometimes it's not. I get your suffering, Mer. I really do. It's not the same situation, but I wish things were different for both of us," Maddox pats her leg, covered by the sheets, and smiles. "You can stay today if you want. I'll cover for you."