Asystole ✷ Mark Sloan

𝟬𝟮𝟬 heroes & heretics

𝙓𝙓.
HEROES & HERETICS

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NEW YORK

ADDISON MONTGOMERY-SHEPHERD  was delusional, I was sure of it.

First thing in the morning, she'd phoned me, her voice thick with excitement as she declared to me that this evening she was throwing a New Years Eve party with the help of one of her friends. The mention of this particular friends name, Petunia, was one that I didn't recognise. 

Whoever it was, she was 'Addison's best friend' and she was the reason why Addison was impulsively throwing a New Years party and had to organise it with only hours to spare.

New Year's Eve was quite possibly my least favourite evening of the year.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the last few months had gone so quickly... Or that my studies had gotten cutthroat, I was on the cusp of a big breakthrough and I was still extremely alone and single, but this particular new year was not something I was looking forward to.

New Year's Eve back home was all about going out to some nice restaurant, dressing up fancy and spending the whole time watching what you said and spending the whole evening with the weight of heavy judgement from your parents on your shoulders. 

Here, New Year's Eve was compiled by a series of events—as I'd come to learn from the last four years we'd been here.

The first thing was pre-drinks at Addison's, where she'd insist on perusing through the events of the last year, all while cracking open some ancient bottle of wine and playing her good records. 

The second thing was a party, usually at some sort of reception that Derek had gotten us into or where Addison had befriended the host. 

Third, was the part that Amy prioritised—the part where we ended up in the middle of Central Park or whatever other parts of Manhattan (not Times Square, never Times Square) completely shit-faced, ringing in January.

This year, Addison wanted to do it differently. This year, she wanted to play hostess, host a bunch of friends at her apartment, with Petunia... whoever Petunia was.

As I processed what she was telling me, I couldn't help but wonder whether Derek knew what his wife was doing while he was in surgery. 

He had a big surgery today and I'd barely even just gotten off the phone talking to him about it-- while he was saving lives and changing them at the same time, Addison was listing off a bunch of things she needed to complete in between her consultations and surgeries.

"And why are you telling me this?" I questioned hoarsely, walking down a busy New York street, bundled against the winter chill.

The scarf that I had tight around practically every inch of my torso slightly muffled my words as I clutched a coffee to my chest. My little phone was pressed against my ear and I was avoiding the icy wind as I dipped in between busy heads and newspaper stands.

"Because I need someone to help me!" was my older sisters reply; I sighed loudly, standing at the side of the road so I could cross to the nearest subway station. I briefly pinched the bridge of my nose and even on the other side of the city, Addison could tell that I was exasperated with her. "Look, c'mon, you've been to brunches with her before and I can't do this all by myself—"