Chapter 16: The 28th Year

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by Maksyl18

by Maksyl18

Chapter 16
The 28th year
Maks
The doctors said that Meryl was free to leave and that it would probably be better for her if she did. So Maks took her home so she could heal in a familiar place and be with the people she loved. Maks didn't think Meryl would ever get over this but she was strong and hopefully with the help of their friends and Maks himself she would get through this. Meryl fell asleep at the hospital so Maks had to carry her to the car and gently buckle her in. Maks thought it was good that she was sleeping. This way she's finally getting rest and healing faster. This was by far the worst Christmas ever. Meryl was injured and they lost their baby girl who was just beginning to grow. The drive home was longer than it should have been. Partly because Maks was taking it slow so he could occasionally look over at Meryl to make sure she was okay. For the moment, she looked peaceful. That would change as soon as she woke up. Back at the hospital Meryl kept apologizing to Maks and at first he thought that it was about the fight but now that he thought about it. Did Meryl blame herself about the baby? Suddenly Maks' vision was blurred by unexpected tears. He acted as if they weren't there and just let them fall, crying silently the rest of the way home.
Maks finally made it home safely and stopped the car in front of the house. He looked over at Meryl's sleeping body and sighed. His tears had dried and left sticky tracks going down his face. He got out of the car and went around to Meryl's end and opened her door. He took her belt off and put one arm under her legs and the other under her neck. He carried her inside and put her in their bed. It was after midnight but Maks didn't feel like sleeping. Today's events haunted him and forced his eyes to remain open for the rest of the night.
Meryl
Meryl woke up in her bed momentarily unaware of what occurred last night. But then she touched her stomach and it all came back to her.
You had a miscarriage... Your baby is gone... It's all your fault... Maks hates you.
Meryl's mind was whirling, she put her hand over her mouth and gasped. She felt tears form in her eyes and spill over. Her sobbing got louder and she could barely breathe. Then Maks came running in the room looked very worried.
"Maks." She sobbed.
Maks came over and sat on the bed pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. Meryl cried some more into his shoulder than looked up at his face. He looked like he has been crying too and he had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.
"I'm so sorry Maks." She cried, Maks held her tighter
"Meryl, what do you have to be sorry about?" he asked
"Everything." Meryl sniffed "The fight, the baby..."
"The baby is not your fault. How could you think that you are to blame for what happened to the baby?" Maks asked. He almost sounded angry
"If I hadn't yelled at you then you wouldn't have ever left and I wouldn't have felt so guilty which means I wouldn't have went looking for you and I wouldn't have gotten hit by that car and I wouldn't of lost the baby!" Meryl said all at once with no pauses. Tears were rolling down her cheeks like little waterfalls on her skin. Maks held her tightly.
"Meryl. You are not at fault here! Now I am just as upset as you are about this baby, but at least there is one thing we get out of this." Maks said with a growing smile. Meryl looked up at him , her forehead wrinkling with confusion.
"What?" she asked
"We get to keep trying." Maks said wickedly.
Maks
Her laugh was amazing, and it has been too long since Maks had heard it. Unfortunately it didn't last but they were getting there. This tragedy will never be forgotten but at least they can hide it so they could live there lives again. It would take time but eventually Meryl would calm down and start being herself again. Maks was trying to do anything so he wouldn't have to think about it so he just focused on Meryl's birthday. It was only in a few days and he had the perfect gift for her. At least he thought it was until the accident happened. He knew it was something Meryl would love but he just hoped she was capable of loving it without getting upset about the baby they no longer had. Yet deep down, Maks thought that it would make things a whole lot better for Meryl.
Other then the present, Maks planned to have all their friends there for a New Years/Birthday party. So far everyone who Maks invited was available and already responded to the invite. Val was ecstatic about coming and said he would bring their dog Sir Sleep to the party. He wouldn't know it but Sir Sleep was exactly who Meryl needed right now. She loved dogs and Maks knew he would make her feel 10 times better. No one was aware of what had happened and Maks and Meryl wanted to keep it that way. Maks would just have to make up an explanation for why Meryl was so upset. Right now Maks just had to think positively and everything would go back to the way it was with him and Meryl.
Meryl
The days were flying by and the number of days left until Meryl's birthday was down to one. Meryl didn't really want to celebrate her birthday this year but Maks had been very stern about it so she had no choice. All she wanted to do was lay in bed like she has been for the past five days and drown in her tears. But she knew it wasn't healthy and she was just making it worse so today she got out of bed and sat next to Maks at the kitchen table. Maks was reading the newspaper and drinking coffee when she came in. he looked up startled to see her as she sat down and took his hand in hers.
"Hi." Meryl whispered.
"Hi." Maks whispered back, this is what is was supposed to be like for us. Meryl thought, her eyes filled with tears. No more crying! She blinked them away and looked up at Maks' beautiful eyes.
"I love you." Meryl said and scooted closer to Maks to lay her head on his shoulder.he put his arms around her, one hand stroking her hair. Meryl could almost imagine the smile on his face when he said
"I love you too."
It was time to stop feeling sorry about herself so Meryl occupied herself with cleaning the house and getting ready for the party tomorrow. Her heart still hurt but she could at least try to be strong for Maks. Meryl cleaned their room, the kitchen, the living room, and started on the bathroom by the time Maks figured out what she was doing.
"Meryl, you are not cleaning the house for your own birthday party." Maks said from the door.
"Well you're a little too late Maks, this is the last room." she said while wiping down the sink. She felt strong arms come around her and when she looked in the mirror she saw Maks smiling at her.
"I have a big surprise for you tomorrow." he bent down and kissed her neck. Meryl couldn't help shivering in delight, god she missed that.
"Well" Meryl said, turning around in his arms "you know how much I hate surprises."
"I promise you are going to love this one." Maks said and kissed her, Meryl could feel the hunger and the longing in the kiss. She realized how much he wanted her and how much she missed him. This is what I needed. Meryl thought and gave herself to Maks completely.
***
Meryl's mood was made 100 times better thanks to Maks, she woke up and pushed all the bad memories out of her head because tonight was the start of a new year. Meryl went to lean against Maks but all she felt was the flat mattress. Just then the door opened and in came Maks, fully dressed Meryl noticed, with a tray full of many varieties of breakfast food.
"Morning, my darling." he said with a smile that stretched across his face. Meryl sat up as Maks put the tray on her lap and sat at the end of the bed. She hugged the sheets so she was completely exposed.
"I hope you are going to help me eat all this." Meryl said but Maks just shook his head.
"Already ate, its afternoon so this is all yours. I have a party to prepare for." Maks got up quickly kissed Meryl and went to the door. He stopped and turned around. "And don't think about leaving your room until everyone gets here... and you might want to get dressed. Unless you'd feel more comfortable in your birthday suit because..." Maks didn't get a chance to finish because Meryl threw a pillow at him. He swatted it away and closed the door on his way out. Meryl could hear his laughter echo through the hallway. She smiled and got out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her as a toga. She found a big white box with a bow on it sitting on her dresser. On top of it was a card with Maks' handwriting on it.
An early birthday present
-Love Maks
Meryl's smile grew as she opened the box to find a beautiful purple dress inside. Obviously he wanted her to wear it tonight. What a subtle way of showing it Maks. Meryl thought sarcastically. She ran to the bathroom to put it on.
Maks
Everything was perfect now. Meryl was feeling better and all their closest friends were coming to celebrate a new year and the birthday of the most beautiful and magnificent human being Maks had ever met. Their guests would be arriving any minute and everything was fully prepared and ready to go. Maks wondered if Meryl was ready yet. Since he had nothing else left to do he went to the bedroom and quietly opened the door, hoping to catch her by surprise and get a glimpse of her body. But Meryl wasn't in the bedroom.
"Mer?" Maks called.
"In the bathroom! Be right out!" She called from the bathroom. Maks sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the bathroom door. After only five minutes, Meryl slowly emerged from the bathroom. Maks had no words that could come even close to describing her beauty. She stood there wearing the purple dress he had given her, her hair in beautiful dark curls going down her face and resting on her shoulders. Everything about her was perfect. Even her adorably reddening cheeks. Meryl's mouth opened to say something but Maks didn't give her a chance, he eliminated the space between them in two strides and crushed his lips against hers. He heard her let out a surprised gasp then fall into the kiss. They were horribly interrupted by the doorbell. Their guests had arrived.
"Time to party." Maks gasped and rushed downstairs to answer the door, leaving Meryl trying to catch her breathe. He opened the door and there stood his little brother carrying Sir Sleep dressed fashionably in his nice suit. Sir Sleep barked and wiggled uncontrollably in Val's arms trying to get to Maks. Maks took him from Val so he could greet him. Sir Sleep started licking Maks' face and wiggling even more with excitement.
"Hey buddy!" Maks exclaimed laughing. "Come on in." he put Sir Sleep down and wrapped his brother in a manly hug, patting him on the back.
"Sir Sleep!" Meryl called from the end of the hallway. Maks watched as his dog ran to her with happiness wagging in his tail. Meryl bent down and hugged him as he jumped up and licked her face. She laughed that beautiful bubbly laugh that Maks loved hearing. Maks smiled to himself and Val patted his shoulder before plopping on the couch.
"So brother, what is on the agenda for tonight? Shall I recommend an end of the year dance off?" He said with a smirk on his face. Maks' smile grew.
"Challenge accepted, little brother."

Meryl
Maks invited everybody : Val, Charlie, Tanith, Sharna, Jenna, Serge, Alex, Henry, Artem, Danica, and Zendaya. Everyone was there to celebrate the new year with them. Maks thought of everything because there was not a dull moment in the entire night. They danced... a lot, and joked with each other. Maks, Val, and Sharna even shared stories of their years as pros. Jenna, Danica, and Meryl caught up while the boys chatted and finally the countdown started.
"5...4...3...2...1..." Everyone screamed along to the numbers on the screen, louder and louder. But instead of yelling Happy New Year when the clock hit 12 everyone yelled
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERYL!" Meryl laughed and thanked everyone. They all hugged and kissed each other, excited for the new year. Sir Sleep was jumping up and down barking and wanting attention. Meryl bent down, cupped his face in her hands and kissed his wrinkly face. Meryl stood up and felt hands on her shoulders and turning her around. It was Maks. Her pulled her to him, dipped her and kissed her in front of everybody. She heard clapping and heat rushed to her face when Maks straightened her. He had a big smile on his face.
"Now for your surprise." He whispered , guiding her to the couch and making her sit down. "Close your eyes." He said and ran down the hallway. Meryl looked at the others curiously and obeyed. Eyes closed, she heard Maks come back into the living room and place a big box on her lap. "Open it quickly." He directed.
Meryl didn't hesitate. She unwrapped the bow and didn't even get to take the lid off because it came off itself and ... a puppy's head popped out of the open box! It's mouth was open with it's tongue hanging out. It barked a squeaky little yelp at Meryl and licked her nose. Meryl was in shock. Her eyes filled with joyful tears and she laughed. She took the puppy out of the box and really looked at it. He, wait... yup definitely a he, was a beautiful fluffy Golden Retriever. He was so soft and he looked like big teddy bear! Bear! that's what Meryl would call him! She finally looked up at the people standing around her and then at Maks.
"You got me a puppy?" She asked. Meryl couldn't believe he actually did this. Maks smiled, clearly proud of himself.
"Well? I knew you always wanted one and why not get you one for your birthday?" Maks paused "You already have a name for him don't you?" Maks knew her so well, she must have had it written all over her face.
"Bear." She said and stood up with Bear in her arms. She walked over to Maks and hugged him. He was laughing, probably at the irony of the name Bear. "This is the best present ever. Thank you so much. I love you." Meryl whispered in his ear.
"I love you too, Meryl. Happy birthday my love."

Sorry it's late! We've been so busy. I hope everybody had a great new year!! Meryl's birthday!! I had so much for on her birthday. Aww I'm guessing everybody saw the picture Maks posted for her. That was adorable!

I'll be posting on a normal schedule now hopefully.