A/N: Just something a bit longer than a drabble and a bit shorter than a blurb inspired by 3.24. This is just a little piece to stretch out my muse, who has been on a bit of a sabbatical these days (unpaid). For any of you out there that remember my story "Coast to Coast", no it has not been abandoned. I just want to finish it before I post any more of it, just to prevent me from writing myself into any uncomfortable corners.
Thank you for reading, and constructive and/or encouraging reviews are always appreciated.
When had this happened? She couldn't be sure. Her mind couldn't, wouldn't focus. She just kept seeing pictures, all out of sequence. It occurred to her that she probably shouldn't be driving in this state, since the interstate wasn't registering in her mind.
The entire past year just kept flashing before her eyes. Savvy's face when she showed up in place of Derek for their anniversary dinner. The look of compassion and adoration on Mark's face immediately before he kissed her. The tile on the bathroom floor after another negative pregnancy test. Derek's face the day he was passed over for Chief at Mt. Siani and didn't tell her. The bathtub facet after Derek left when she sat in the fetal position and cried until she vomited. Derek fixing Meredith's collar in the Seattle Grace lobby. Richard's broken, angry face after she told him Adele died. Karev's index cards when she was informed that she was not, in fact, his girlfriend. The pier when Derek never showed for Thanksgiving. Mark's eyes—once a manwhore, always a manwhore. The black panties.
It was too much. Too much blame. Too much guilt. Too little love. It was all just too much.
She had heard what had happened to Meredith after her step-mother died. Her father had come in and eviscerated her, blamed her for Susan's death, and banned her from the funeral.
Addison wasn't going to wait for that to happen to her.
Seeing that look on Richard's face, the face of the one person she felt was a true ally in Seattle, she knew she was leaving. She tossed her scrubs, reassigned her surgeries, checked out of the Archfield and just started driving. She hadn't even taken the time to pack properly. She had tossed everything into suitcases without regard for putting dresses in garment bags or folding shirts, making the executive decision to have everything cleaned and pressed whenever she got to wherever she was going.
She would know it when she saw it.
Until then, she would just keep driving.
She would keep driving and eating and sleeping and breathing until she was far enough away.
Driving, eating, sleeping, breathing. That's what she was going to do. One thing was for sure. She was not going to think about how she had somehow, when she wasn't paying enough attention, turned into Derek.