Trapped in my head

Chapter 53

One week later Tom was back at home and already doing a lot better. Meredith had visited her dads every day to make sure that they were both fine as she was pretty worried about them. Also, one whole surgery-free week had passed for her. Meredith hadn't attended a single surgery over the past six days and she was doing better than before. She was calmer, she didn't have as many panic attacks and the symptoms of the OCD had disappeared again. The night after her dad's heart attack she had somehow developed some obsessive compulsive habits, she had washed her hands like ten times in a row just in order to calm herself down, she had counted the number of lights every single time she had entered a room and she had started to chew on her fingernails. But now that her dad was better and she had more time to focus on herself those symptoms had disappeared again.

Today was the day where they would finally go on the vacation they had talked about two weeks ago. After everything that had happened the past month all of them needed a vacation very badly. But Meredith was nervous. Of course, Andrew, Alex and all er other comfort people would be there but still, being away from home for a week, having to sleep in an unknown bed, having to live in a foreign house was a challenge. In her childhood her dads couldn't really afford vacations so that she hadn't been on that many yet and wasn't used to living away from home for a while, even if it's just one week.

"Hey Mer, you ready?" Alex asked, peeking through the door to her room. She had systematically packed her suitcase and went over her checklist five times to make sure she wouldn't forget anything. Right now she was sitting on her bed, going over her list a sixth time. "Yeah, is Andrew here already?" she replied, looking up at him from her position on the bed.

"Not yet but I think he'll be here any minute. I was just starting to load the trunk, can I take your suitcase already?" Alex asked. "Uhm- yeah. I think I got everything." Meredith replied, standing up and grabbing her backpack in which she packed everything she would need on the car ride, although it was just two hours.

Walking down the staircase she put on her shoes and walked out, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Just then Andrew pulled up the driveway, getting out of the car. Meredith couldn't help but smile brightly as he walked over to her, placing his hand on her cheek and pulling her into a soft kiss. "Hi." She giggled adorably and the tightness in her chest immediately cleared up. She felt unbelievingly safe with him.

"You ready for our trip?" he asked, obviously a little worried about her as he had noticed right away how hard it was for her to leave her home, her comfort zone for a whole week. "Now I am." She whispered, looking at his lips. Eye contact was still not easy and was therefor reserved for special occasions only.

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Twenty minutes later they were already on the road. In Alex' car there were him, Jo, Maggie, and Winston while in Andrew's car there was Andrew, Meredith, Amelia, and Link. Meredith had insisted on the front seat since she loved driving and watching the landscapes. It was an amazing way of stimulation because she didn't have to concentrate on anything, she was comfortably cuddled into a blanket, she had snacks and her tiny massage balls while she could watch all those people and all those houses, buildings, and other cars.

She was completely content. "Andrew?" she asked, chewing on a carrot stick. "Mhm?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the road. "Did you know that tomorrow is our two month anniversary?" she asked, looking at him from the side. "I did." He said, smiling handsomely. "You know... I have a little surprise for you." She said, making him curious. "Really? I- I didn't get you anything I didn't know it would be that big of a deal." He said, a little bit uncomfortable now. He actually hadn't thought that it would be that big of a deal.

"That's okay." She said, still smiling as she kept looking out of the window. She had a plan. And she was sure that he would like what she had had in mind. She knew that Andrew was the only reason that she wasn't freaking out right now. Back when she was younger, she had been on a school trip with her classmates for four days. It had been horrible and her dads had had to come and pick her up on the first evening. She never slept over at someone else's house except her grandparent's and now Andrew's. Andrew and Alex were her comfort people so that she was glad that both of them were coming as well. But since Alex was bringing Jo she would have to rely on Andrew. And she knew she could. She always could rely on him. That's why she had wanted to plan something special for their two month anniversary tomorrow.

She had never thought that she would be able to be in a relationship. An actual boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Andrew had been the second person ever that she had had a crush on. Her first crush had been a boy in her class in seventh grade who probably didn't even know that she existed. But Andrew- she had had a crush on Andrew the second he had started to work at the hospital over a year ago. She had never told him that. Maybe he would like to hear about that.