Souled [Editing]

Chapter 11

Meredith woke up the next morning to bright late morning sunlight that only made her head pound more. She didn't think that she drank that much but it was enough to give her a hangover. They hopped from bar to bar, enjoying the time they all had together. They finally made it back to Guthrie around two in the morning. Meredith had to sneak into the house like she was back in high school again. Only this time the drinking was legal.

The house was louder than usual. John must've been in the kitchen because she heard the clash of silverware against silverware and the protests of porcelain plates crashing together. The only real noise he ever made.

The clock on the bedside table told her it was almost eleven which meant she had to get up. Her flight was leaving at five and she planned on spending the remainder of the day with John. They hardly had any one-on-one time together since she arrived and she felt guilty about it. She got dressed and jogged down the stairs to the kitchen.

Coffee was in a pot on the counter, beckoning her to have a cup. She threw some ice in a cup and poured the warm coffee over it. John finally noticed that Meredith was in the kitchen and he smiled. She looked up at the same time and returned the grin.

"Good morning," she said. "What would you like to do today?" She glanced over at him to see he shrugged. "How does lunch in the city sound? I need to leave here around three thirty anyway."

He nodded enthusiastically with a smile.

"Perfect. I'll go finish packing then we'll head out."

Meredith grabbed her cup of coffee and headed back up to her room. When she walked in her phone was ringing like crazy. She dashed across the room and noticed that it said Nate. A knot of nerves formed in her stomach as she hit the green button, answering the phone.

"Hello?" she breathed. The line was silent.

"Meredith?" His voice was just as hesitant as hers.

"Yeah?" she said cautiously.

There was a long pause. "When you get back I need to talk to you."

She wondered if that was all he called for. "O...kay? Is that it?"

"Yeah." He paused. "That – that's all."

"Bye then I guess."

"Yeah. Bye."

Neither of them hung up the phone at first as if they were both waiting for the other to say something. Anything. In the end, it was Nate who cut the call off.

Meredith let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She was dreading this conversation. She was afraid he'd tell her that he had found someone else like she suspected. Then she'd be destined to live alone forever.

Tears started to form in her eyes and she fought to blink them away. She didn't know what he really wanted to say and she should give him at least the benefit of the doubt.

As she packed her bag, she tried to distract her brain from ending up in the spiral of what if's. She wished she had a book to read and time to read it. Books were her TLC and stress relief, something she desperately needed right now, but she had to go downstairs and have lunch with her father and go back to Atlanta.

She cut it close getting to the airport in time for her flight. It had been a good day out with her father. They ate at a Mexican restaurant on the canal and walked around the gardens before they bid their goodbye's. When she hugged him goodbye, she didn't want to let go. She missed him so much, but even being in the same room as him didn't ease that pain. She hardly remembered what his voice sounded like and all she wanted was for him to speak again. It was more than time for him to come back to the real world but he was still in grief over her mother. They both were. Only Meredith was better at coping with it.