Fabrications

• 4| tainted innocence •

[to all who have yet to forgive others or perhaps, even themselves.]

• • • •

"You seriously need to clean this place up," Meredith scowled as the door swung open and revealed what was inside. She stood in astonishment over its condition, so concerning that her first assumption involved an actual hurricane causing havoc within it. The apartment seemed to be rather unlivable by her standards, yet was regarded as a standard home with comforting qualities for her older brother.

"Clean," he scoffed incredulously. "I barely have enough energy right now." The young nurse rubbed his left eye repeatedly as Meredith walked inside his apartment, rather hesitantly.

It was a quarter past twelve and judging by his attire of a standard t-shirt and sweats; Garrett had just woken up from a nap. In truth, Meredith would have never been able to withstand such a horrendous schedule, she knew that much. The young man had gotten used to the continuous late night shifts at the hospital, only to then sleep the afternoon away before waking and continuing the upcoming shift. He worked while everyone else slept, then slept while everyone else was wide awake. As a younger sister, the obvious respect she had for her brother was a given, yet his rigorous job deemed to make that respect tenfold.

"Have you packed? Or is that a stupid question?" she retaliated with a ghostly smirk, nearly taken aback by the impossible task of finding the sofa under countless piles of clothes.

"I was.... And then I got home, I don't know how but I somehow ended up in bed," Garrett shrugged humorously.

"Well, we leave tomorrow so you might want to get a move on," Meredith remarked under her breath. Sure, it would've been nice for Garrett to enjoy his first real day without going to the hospital but the brunette knew firsthand that if she didn't come over and help him pack while he was still awake, he could've very well gone to the trip with a plastic bag and toiletries for all he cared.

"I mean, I already took out most of what I need, I think. And that's me with just 5 hours of sleep, imagine all 8 hours," he gawked before plastering a teasing grin.

"Wow, you've never failed to impress me. I'll give you that one," Meredith retaliated humorously.

She peered over the suitcase resting upon the small coffee table as it remained inches away from the pile of clothes mounted on the sofa. It was obvious Garrett had planned to at least start the packing process, but whether or not he fell victim to his own exhaustion had already been determined. The brunette sighed as her brother walked towards her, picking out the fresh but unfolded laundry he intended to bring along for the trip. Meredith folded and organized the wardrobe in neat piles within the suitcase as Garrett did his part of the folding too. Although quite unusual, she found herself grateful for the special time she was spending with her older brother, even if it involved laundry and a practical battlefield he dared to call his living room.

"So, what was that whole scene between you and Debra on Wednesday night? You two were practically ready to round house kick each other's faces off."

Meredith chuckled to herself, but the smile soon diminished at her brother's stoic expression. He continued searching through the clothes without a word. It was only after a couple more seconds that he gulped, shrugging off her question.

"Don't worry about it."

"Excuse me?" she laughed. "How am I suppose to ignore that? Even Kenneth was afraid of being close to you two."