You're not alone

Part 22

Meredith woke up in the middle of the night once again. She noticed that she was somehow stuck between two things. She tried to move a little but she couldn't. Opening her eyes, she noticed that she wasn't in her own bed, it was Jolene's bed. She turned her head, noticing that her neck was stiff and hurt like hell. Also, her cheeks were extremely sore, her throat hurt and she felt- empty. Very slowly she sat up, noticing that the two things she was stuck in between were actually Andrew and her mother.

She crawled over to the edge of the bed, sitting down but just as she wanted to stand up she remembered that she only had one leg. But her throat hurt so much that she needed to drink something. Something warm if possible. She just sat there, feeling dizzy and a little nauseous all of the sudden. Suddenly she felt a hand on her back and someone sitting down beside her. "You okay?" Andrew asked, looking at her from the side.

"I'm thirsty." She whispered after a few seconds of silence. "I'll get you something, stay here." He said, hurrying out of the room. He returned a few minutes later with a cup, filled with warm water. "Thank you." She said, taking a few sips, feeling how the warm fluidity washed the soreness away. "Do- do you remember what happened?" Andrew asked carefully, sitting back down next to her. She nodded slowly, taking another sip. They sat in silence for a while, neither of them knowing what to say to the other one.

"Are you mad at me- because I'm living here?" Meredith asked carefully, not sure how to approach the subject. "What? No! Of course not! What makes you think that?" Andrew replied, looking at her from the side. She just shrugged, looking down. "Are you mad at me because of something else?" she asked, hoping to finally get answers from him now that they could talk alone for a few minutes at least.

"No, I'm not mad at you." He sighed, not really wanting to share his thoughts yet. It wasn't the right time. "Then- why has everything changed?" Meredith asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't you like me anymore? Do you think I'm weird too like everyone at school does?" she asked, letting the tears fall freely. "No Mer, I could never think that. And I do still like you. A lot." He said quietly, not actually wanting to tell her how much he really liked, or rather loved her.

"Please tell me Andrew." she whispered, finally looking up at him and directly into his hazel brown eyes. He just stared back at her, taking in how beautiful she was even though it was completely dark in the room. In his head it was as if a film had started to play, showing his favourite memories of them. The day they got to know each other, the field trip, their birthday parties and so much more that he couldn't even begin to name.

"I am so happy and thankful that you're part of my life Meri and- I'm in a situation that makes it impossible for me to- to just-" he said, not being able to finish his thoughts. "I love you Mer." He said, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"You- you mean like- in a friendly way- like we've been telling that each other for three years now?" she asked quietly, hoping that he would say no.

"No- I mean- I love you like- I want to spend the rest of my life with you- like I want to kiss you- like I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every single day. Forever." He said, hoping that she would not say that she didn't feel the same way. "Really?" Meredith asked, but he couldn't make out much from her voice. "Yes, really. I love you and- I was scared to tell you that because- we have the same mother and are something like siblings and- if we would be together that would mean that mom could never- adopt you." He rambled. But he couldn't do that, he couldn't make chose between him and his mother.

No, if he would say it like this right now, then he would lose her. He couldn't. "It's nothing Mer." He said instead. "Don't worry about it. But please don't ever doubt how much I care about you. Because I do. Otherwise, I wouldn't have driven the whole way to school on my bike." He said, smiling a little, making her giggle quietly. "Okay." She said, placing the cup on the nightstand. "Let's just- go back to sleep." Andrew said, helping her lay down on the bed again.

"Do you think she's okay?" Meredith asked, avoiding calling her 'mom' in front of Andrew. "I think she was pretty concerned about you last evening." He replied, making her sigh. "I didn't mean to worry anyone." Meredith said guiltily, looking down. "It's not your fault Mer." He said, not sure what else to tell her. Of course, they had been concerned and extremely worried because something like this had never happened before. "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

"It's- hard to e-explain because- it's just- there were so many v-voices in my head, s-screaming at me a-and they didn't want to shut up. I-it was just t-too much and too l-loud." Meredith whispered, hoping he wouldn't think that she was a freak. But that was Andrew she was talking to, sweet, caring Andrew. "I don't know- what to say- has that happened before?" he asked, not wanting to upset her. But he wanted her to talk about it since his mother had taught him how much it can help someone who is struggling if you let them talk about it and make them feel safe to talk to you.

"Yeah- I sometimes h-hear them b-but they're n-not always s-so loud." She said, pulling the blanket up higher around her. "Please don't think that I'm weird." She mumbled, her vision getting blurry once again. "I would never think that." Andrew said quickly, laying his arms around her and pulling her closer so that she could cuddle herself into his chest, finally feeling entirely safe and secure for the first time in so long.

It took a while until Meredith fell asleep again. Andrew was determined to make sure she would fall asleep before him so that he was certain that she wouldn't lay awake the whole time, alone, worrying and feeling unwell. And only as he felt her breath evening out against his neck and her heartbeat slowing down a little he let sleep overcome him as well. He had never been able to fall asleep so quickly ever before but with Meredith in his arms everything was just perfect. She smelled so wonderful and her warmth felt absolutely comfortable and familiar, making a smile appear on his face. 

Pls tell me ideas on how to continue this story =)