Mind over Matter

Chapter Sixteen: You And Me

--TW: THIS CHAPTER MENTIONS ABUSE AND VIOLENCE--

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His hands were wrapped tight around her throat. She felt his body weight pushing her further into the cold ground. The darkness blinded her from distinguishing any features but the feeling in her gut knew it was him.

It was always him...

The air in her lungs became scarcer as his grip around her esophagus tightened. In a faint attempt at fighting him off, she swung around her closed fists, hitting his hard form. He didn't budge.

At his point, she knew it was too late, the need to scream and fight was slipping dangerously farther away from her. Maybe it would just be easier to give up...

As her body spasmed in a reaction to the sensation of not being able to breathe, she closed her eyes; hoping and praying that whatever came next would finally give her some peace.

Her body began to feel number and number until she heard a faint voice.

"Mer..."

The voice quickly and violently became louder.

"Mer..."

"Mer!"

"Meredith!"

Meredith gasped and shot up with her eyes wide open. She looked around the room in a panicked manner and jumped when she felt Derek gently grab her arm.

"Mer, it's okay, it's me; you're okay," Derek said softly, wrapping his arms around her shaking body and pulling her closer to him.

Meredith breathed deep and slow, realizing that she was safe. It was just a nightmare... one they had gotten so familiar with over the course of the last few days...

Her entire body was on fire, beads of sweat dripping down her distraught form. Derek held Meredith close, pressing soft kisses against her temple. They laid there for a while until her heated temperature matched his cool one and Meredith was fully relaxed in his arms.

"You're okay Mer, I've got you" Derek broke the silence first.

She smiled sweetly with the familiar sparkle in her eyes and breathed in his scent. He smelled like home.

"Thank you for being here with me" she leaned up for a quick kiss before laying her head back on his chest. Derek pulled her tightly against him and stroked her hair.

Not even five minutes later, he heard the familiar snores coming from her sleeping form. She was sound asleep.

However, Derek was wide awake, staring at the ceiling fan above him.

It had been three days since everything that happened at the prom. Derek hadn't left her side ever since, scared that if he would even close his eyes for a second, she would be gone. He almost lost her that evening, and under no circumstance could he lose her again...

It would be the death of him...

It was even worse when he did manage to close his eyes and sleep deprivation would get the better of him. Meredith wasn't the only one that had nightmares.