Aria came down the stairs still tying the belt of her robe, her hair loose around her shoulders, exhaustion sitting heavy behind her eyes. She hadn't slept much. Every time she'd started to drift off, her brain had dragged her right back under — Derek and Rose in the scrub room, Alex with Rebecca, Meredith laughing downstairs like nothing was wrong, and Lexie's face every time the middle between her sisters started to crack wider.
She was halfway down when she saw Alex waiting at the bottom.
Leaning against the wall.
Watching.
"Ah," he said, pushing himself upright, "she awakes."
Aria rolled her eyes on instinct, too tired to do anything else, and walked straight past him into the kitchen.
"I was going to say good morning," Alex called after her.
"You still can," she muttered, reaching for the coffee pot.
The smell hit her first — coffee, eggs, butter.
And then she looked up.
Derek was sitting at the kitchen table.
Eating.
In their kitchen.
Aria froze with the mug halfway to the counter.
"What's he doing here?" she asked flatly.
Alex came into the kitchen behind her, followed by Lexie, who had clearly been staying over. His eyes landed on Derek's plate. "Dude, what the hell is that?"
Derek looked up, far too comfortable for Aria's liking. "An omelette."
"Yeah, I got that," Alex said. "Why?"
Meredith turned around from the counter, looking almost sheepish. "I cooked."
Aria stared.
That alone was enough to make her suspicious.
"She wanted to do something nice for Lexie," Derek added.
That made Aria look from Derek to Meredith to Lexie, her expression flattening further with every second.
"You cooked for me?" Lexie asked, visibly surprised.
Meredith shrugged like it was nothing, though the tiny awkward smile on her face said otherwise. "It's no big deal. Just eggs and avocado and whatever cheese was in the fridge."
Lexie's face softened instantly. "Oh. I love avocados."
Meredith looked almost uncertain. "Is it okay?"
Lexie nodded quickly. "It's really good."
Aria stood there for one long second, coffee in hand, looking at the three of them — Meredith trying, Lexie looking hopeful, Derek sitting there like he belonged — and something in her chest twisted.
Not because Meredith was being kind to Lexie.
She wanted that.
God, she wanted that.
But because it all looked so... easy this morning. Too easy. Like Meredith got to decide when she was ready to soften and everyone else just had to fall into line around her. Like Derek still got to sit at their table after kissing another woman. Like Aria had spent all of yesterday trying to protect Meredith from hurt, and somehow she was still the one carrying the discomfort of it.
"Give me a break," she muttered under her breath.
All three of them looked at her.
Meredith frowned slightly. "What?"
YOU ARE READING
Shooting Stars
Hayran Kurgu"But he's Evil Spawn." "Don't you think I know that. I didn't wake up one day and suddenly decide I was going to be in love with Alex Karev." Being the daughter of a world renowned surgeon was never destined to be easy. The first born of the Grey tw...
