Never Leave Your Heart Alone

Chapter 1

Meredith laid her head back as the plane took off. It's destination: Seattle, Washington. She was going home. Going home to start over, start fresh. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. She was starting her surgical internship at Seattle Grace Hospital in a month. She has a month to get her head straight. She needed to be focused, driven. Just as she was raised to be. She looked over the woman sitting next to her. She didn't look friendly. Thank God. I don't want to talk either, she thought. Life shouldn't be this hard. Things are supposed to just fall into place, right?

She fell asleep for several hours. Usually she couldn't sleep on a plane, in public. The exhaustion had taken over. Dreams didn't come anymore. They used to, but know when she closed her eyes, she slept. She slowly opened her eyes, glancing across the aisle, catching the brown eyes of a stranger.

He's checking me out. Who the hell does he think he is checking me out? I hate men. They are only good for one thing. And boy, some of them are damn good at it, too. I like sex as much as the next person. Actually, I like it a little more. Too much. Sex to me is like, I don't know. Some people like to eat at buffets, some like a fine meal at a nice restaurant, and others like a home-cooked meal. Well me, I like them all. So anyway, that jerk is checking me out, and if he knew the hatred I have for men at this moment, he would be staring at his seat, hoping I don't come from behind and strangle him. I need music, I need something to focus on. She lays her head back, sticking in the ear-buds of her ipod, and closes her eyes.

Meredith opened her eyes to see that they had a movie on the screen. Flying across the ocean took too long. You know it is long when you have time to watch several movies. Sleepless in Seattle, how appropriate. Like that ever happens. Happiness is overrated.

Meredith walked out of the plane, and into the airport. No one was there for her. No familiar face to greet her. Look at all of these people, hugging, smiling, joking, just like a freaking Hallmark card. No one was coming for her. They didn't know she was coming, and even if they did, they wouldn't show. Her relationship with her mother was a mess. They hadn't spoken in ten years. She grabbed her luggage and headed outside. She had to get a cab. The rain. Everywhere I go, it freaking rains. It's like this damn black cloud follows me everywhere.

"Taxi" She yelled, without enthusiasm.

"Where to?" The cab driver asked.

"Home." She muttered. "At least I hope."

The house looked the same as it always did. It looked empty from the outside, but the yard was kept up. The grass was freshly mowed. The grass stains from the fresh, wet grass were still present on the driveway. Just like someone knew she was coming. No one knew. No one had any warning of her departure, or arrival.

"Thanks." She muttered as she handed the cab driver a few crumpled up bills from her pocket.

She reached into her purse and grabbed her keys. There it was. The key. It had arrived in an envelope from her best friend, Meg. Megan had forwarded it to Meredith after she moved. Her mom gave it to her. Well, she probably didn't give it to her. Meredith shuddered at the thought. The thought that her Mom had given her something, what's worse is now, she had accepted. Ten years later, and she accepted. She was lucky, lucky that the house was still standing. She took a huge chance flying across the ocean to a house that she wasn't even sure was still there, or wasn't occupied by some happy family.

She shakily placed the key in the lock, and turned it. The door opened, revealing a dusty house, full of boxes. It was in fact, empty. She reached over an flipped the switch, there was electricity too. Imagine that, my mother just may be a human being. She really might have some feeling in her black heart. She walked around the house, thinking of the memories of her past. The life with her mother and father, before Ellis had pushed Thatcher out of their lives. But he didn't fight.

He should have fought for us. I was seven. I never imagined he would leave forever. You don't think when you see your Dad walk to his car, it will be the last time you will see his face. Dad shouldn't have left, he should have fought. Just because my mom thought she wanted Richard Webber. Maybe she was happy being sloppy seconds to a married man. Maybe she liked screwing around on her husband.

She pushed it out of her head. When she looked in the garage, she was surprised to see her old Jeep sitting there. Now she even had a vehicle. With expired plates, and low tires. Not to mention, it's blue paint covered in dust. But she had a house, and a vehicle. Maybe life would be better in Seattle. She walked into the master bedroom. There were boxes full of stuff. She found a set of sheets. They smelled fresh. Good enough. She throw them on the bed and collapsed. Tomorrow was a new day. Tomorrow she would restart, renew her tired pathetic life.

Meredith got her paperwork in order. The Jeep Cherokee had a full tank of gas, new license plates and a fresh coat of wax. Unpacking, that was not looking appealing to her at all. She did some boxes. She dusted and cleaned the whole house. She had a while to wait until her things arrived from England. She managed to get all of the clothes that she brought into the dresser, now that was an accomplishment. She looked down at the bed. I wonder if my mom screwed Richard on this bed. Okay, now I'm sick. This mattress has to go. She swiftly ripped the mattress off of it's frame, struggling to get it down the hall, to swap it for another from the guest room. That's better. She put on the freshly washed sheets that she had gotten out of the dryer and collapsed on the bed, thinking about the last time she was in this house.

"Mother, everyone is going." She moaned.

"Meredith, you need to focus, study. You need to start thinking about college. Life isn't a picnic. You are gifted. You are special. You are going to be an exceptional surgeon." She retorted to her daughter, who is purposefully rolling her eyes.

"Okay, so I can't go to Las Vegas with my friends?" She questioned with attitude in her voice. "You do realize that I am eighteen, right?"

"You turned eighteen two weeks ago. That hardly makes you an adult. Technically, yes, but actually, no. It's really up to you. But this is disappointing, Meredith." Ellis answered. "To say the very least."

"It's Las Vegas, for one week. All of my friends are going. For once in my life, I would like to have some fun. All I do is work! Chase the grade. I made it, Mom. I am done. I graduated. Early! Early, and you can't even give me credit for that." She argued.

"Yes, you did. So now, you need to get serious about college." Ellis retorted.

"Life isn't work and school. There is more. I want more. I want a break." Meredith yelled.

"Your life has been a vacation, Meredith." Ellis screamed.

"Vacation, is that what you call it? I have worked my ass off. Besides, I thought you'd be happy I was leaving. Now you won't have to sneak Richard Webber in the house like a two dollar whore." She seethed.

"You have no right!" Ellis screamed and slammed her hand down.

"You are the joke, here. He's married mom. He doesn't even love you enough to leave his wife. And you have the moral fiber of an ant. That poor woman." She sighed as she finished her sentence.

"That poor woman? She torments him. She is needy, pushy and bitchy." She defended.

"Or so he says. You should really stop and ask yourself, Mom, why are you his mistress? If he loved you, wouldn't he leave his wife? I would never settle for that. I never will! I'm going to Las Vegas, whether you like it or not!" She walked out of her mother's room, hearing the door slam behind her. Las Vegas was not her idea of a spring break. She wanted to go some where warm, tropical. That was where her friends were going. Her best friend Megan was going with her boyfriend. Besides it was going to get her out of reality, which she desperately needed.

Going to Las Vegas Big Mistake!

Credits go to "Rainandflames" from fanfiction.net.