Broken Worlds Collide

Oblivion (Meredith)

"Now! Now!

Do you hear me now?

Screaming at the top of my lungs all night

Why? Why?

Ask me why?

Go ahead and act like you don't know why!" -"Murder Mitten", I See Stars

Chapter 2: Oblivion

•~•~•~•~•

She wandered around the hospital ward with her bare feet padding onto the icy cold tiled floor, her dark brown eyes scanning every detail of the stark clean hallways, as her mind soared far away from the depths of reality. Bright white bandages were wrapped tightly around her wrists and neck. Her wrapped limbs were stiff as if the bandages were cuffs to invisible chains that were connected to the too clean walls of the hospital. A bitter smile made its way to her lips. It seemed that no matter where she went, who she hung out with, that she was always chained down by all of the expectations of all of those she loved. She paused in her steps as she thought about love. What was love anyway? Was love the supreme feeling of pure desire and admiration, or the one emotion that's the catalyst to all things bad. She hummed with the pads of her fingers brushing her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Get Doctor Cortez immediately!" An urgent voice called.

She blinked, and was pushed away as five nurses surrounded and pushed along a carrier that was slowly bleeding from white to red. Not far away a woman on a wheelchair was screaming out unintelligent words with a dirt caked arm stretched out towards the carrier. Her interest peaked and standing on her tiptoes, she looked over the heads of the nurses and saw a masculine face decorated with dirt and a large cut in which bled out. She saw his eyes crack open, and dull metallic eyes met her own dark eyes.

Just as quickly as it happened, the nurses and bloodied boy vanished into the operation room with herself pressed against the wall. A warm hand grasped hers and she looked to see her nurse, Maddie, smiling reassuringly at her as she lead her to her room. "Don't worry about him, Meredith," She had said as she gently but firmly pushed her inside her room, "He's just another patient." Before Meredith could ask what she meant by that, the door was slammed shut in her face and it locked with a dreaded click. Meredith frowned immensely as she took in the familiar white walls and sole stiff bed. Screams of agony and slight insanity erupted from the rooms in which were blocked from her own room by a sole wall. Out of all the harsh screams, however, her ears picked up on a familiar voice, "...send her home?"

Meredith looked towards the small window to see her mother and eldest sister, who held the hand of Meredith's five-year old nephew, talking with Doctor Beltran. Her nephew spotted her and grinned. "Mewy!"

Meredith smiled in greeting and waved at him as he tugged at his mother's hand. "Mom, Mewy!" He exclaimed while pointing at her room door. Meredith's mom, however, was the one who turned and saw her. Her eyes were weary and with a frown, turned to Doctor Beltran and spoke, "When will she be discharged?"

Doctor Beltran smiled and said happily, "In a week, Mrs. Carson."

"Mom?" Meredith called out wearily when she saw her mother frown with worry. Her mother seemed to reply without acknowledging her daughter, "Is there a way for her to...um...stay here? Well, until my eldest gets back on her feet? I don't want little Jay to get, er, influenced by her."

Meredith gasped in pain as if she were shot by a bullet to the stomach as her chest clenched tightly and tears pooled in her eyes. Doctor Beltran seemed taken aback by the question for she stumbled over her words. Meredith stared at her mother in hurtful shock, drowing out the voices of Doctor Beltran, Jay, and her eldest sister Cathy. All she heard were the painful words of her mother and the agonizing screams of the other patients. All she felt was the familiar pain and sadness she encountered every time she had somehow disappointed her mother.

Her fists made contact with the door as she screamed, "Why?! Why are you always disappointed in me?!

"Am I not the perfect daughter you wanted?! The one who cheered in the cheer squad, the one who wore pretty little dresses, the one who got a boyfriend acceptable in your eyes?! Is that what you wanted?!" Meredith pounded her fists onto the door with great force as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Just because I'm different from others!"

Her mother covered Jay's eyes and ears as she watched Meredith in absolute horror. Meredith continued, her mother's fear fueling her sorrowful rage, "Just because I write instead of cheer, just because I read instead of party around, just because I'm mature instead of whoring around makes me the daughter you never wanted!" Her fists then made contact with the window and due to the sudden force, the window shattered as glass shards dug into her hands with the sharp objects breaking the skin and piercing the flesh underneath.

Her mother shrieked as Cathy shielded Jay from the glass shards with Doctor Beltran calling for backup as she unlocked the door. Meredith dashed for her mother, her bleeding hands stretched out to grasp her, as she screamed in agony, sadness, and fury. "All I ever did was try to please you! To make you proud of me just once!" Meredith cried out as nurses helped Doctor Beltran restrained her. She struggled harshly against their hold, her abdomen long chestnut hair thrashing along with her movements. Her eyes caught her mother, Jay, and Cathy leaving, ignoring her screams.

"Mom!" She shrieked, "Mom! Don't go! No!"

"Get me the anesthetics!" Doctor Beltran ordered as she held Meredith in an iron embrace who continued to shriek and scream. "Don't ignore me! Not again! Mom!"

Meredith felt a sharp sting on her neck before everything began to blur, her body going limp in the arms of those who restrained her, as her screams and shrieks quieted down to mumbles and murmurs. Meredith suddenly saw dull metallic grey eyes watching her as if analyzing her physique, as if she were a complex, ancient puzzle in which drew in the explorers. 'Love...' She mumbled drowsily, 'is the way to absolute oblivion.'

Meredith's dark eyes rolled back into her skull as her vision went black.