He was a neurosurgeon, one of the the best. She was just starting off. He had been married with children before his wife left him before one day he received divorce papers in the mail. They had been alone ever since.
When he arrived home the house was empty, he figured his parents had already gone it bed.
He couldn't help but feel guilt for Meredith's condition as he was the one who called her to come over.
She was in bed when he called her and she would have stayed safe in her bed if it wasn't for him.
Nothing had went how he had planned it to. Meredith was supposed to come over, they would have some time alone and then she could stay the night, but instead she was staying the night in the hospital and should for the next few months at the least.
instead of going to bed immediately he went into the kitchen. he grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured himself a glass scotch.
he didn't know how any of this happened, he just wanted to go back in time and un-call Meredith. if he had only left her alone then she would be fine, and he could see her in the morning and have some alone time while the kids were still at their friends.
"I heard you come home, how is she?" his mother walked into the kitchen.
"the same, nothing changes and it probably won't for the next month," he poured another glass.
"Derek, you don't know that. what are you doing?" she asked as she sat down at the kitchen table.
"I'm going to drink until I can't remember and throw it all up tomorrow," he finished the glass.
"Why don't you just go to bed, you need some rest to be able to think properly," she said.
"I'm not tired," he refilled his glass.
"Just lie down and rest your body, even if you're not going to sleep," she said.
"I don't want to," he drank from the glass.
"Derek, just go to bed" she stood up and removed the glass from his hand and placed it in the sink.
"Ma, I told you, I'm fine," he walked away.
"Your girlfriend is in a coma and you don't know if she's going to wake up. you're not fine," she said as he walked out of the kitchen.
He went into his bedroom and took a quick shower before getting ready for bed.
He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. He watched as the ceiling fan spun creating a small gust of wind upon him.
He couldn't help but think about Meredith and how everything changed instantly in just a few minutes.
One second she was in bed sleeping and the next she was in the hospital having surgery.
She had multiple bruises some were larger and some were smaller. and she had cuts all over her face, some were scratches, others were cuts, and some were deep enough to where she needed stitches. She also had a huge gash on her forehead that would most likely leave a scar which also needed stitches.
Her left arm was broken, as well as her right leg, a piece of her skull, and some smaller breaks around her body.
But the biggest ones were her arm and leg.
There was a large brain bleed and she coded during surgery twice, leaving her brain with not much oxygen, causing her coma.
She was faintly breaking when they found her and then she also stopped breaking in the ER.
The woman who called 911 lived on the street where the accident happened, she said she heard Meredith honk her horn when she saw the car start to spiral in her direction due to his unconsciousness he didn't hear it. She watched the accident happen through the window.
He was in a tremendous pain about the fact there was a low chance Meredith would make it but he also had a large amount of anger for the man who caused it all.
The man who had gotten drunk and then gotten into his car continuing to drink. He got nothing but a few scratches and bruises, maybe even a broken bone while Meredith had to pay the price of his actions in the hospital for the next few months.
He wasn't sure if he should tell the kids what happened when they got home from school or how he would tell them.
He knew the kids didn't know Meredith as well as he did but no one they knew had ever died before. They met this woman, they had dinner with her, and made small talk.
She showed interest in their lives, their hobbies and wanted to know what kind of people they were.
She watched they while their father was away for a few hours. They may not have known her well but she also wasn't a stranger to them.
Madeleine and Michael were familiar with death. They had learnt about with their father, their grandparents and they had also learnt about it in church, but they never dealt with it in their lives.
But Violet didn't know much about it, she knew everyone died in the end, she knew there were sicknesses that chased and she knew it could happen naturally, but she didn't know that someone getting behind a car at the wrong time could end a persons life.
And tomorrow he had to explain that to her.
He didn't know how he would go on if Meredith didn't make it. He made it without her before he had met her but now that he knew her that wouldn't be possible anymore.
She was what helped him get through the day, knowing he would be able to see her or hear her voice at the end of a long day.
But there was a high chance they had to go the rest of his life without seeing her ever again, never hearing her voice, never feeling her touch, the warmth of her body, the comfort of her presence, or the scent of her.
It would all be buried with her six feet under in a large wooden box.
If only he had waited until the next morning to make that call.
Just a few seconds could change your life forever, it changed for the better in those few seconds he met her.. and now it could change for the worse in the few seconds it took for him to pass out and crash into her car.
