Addison paced the hallway on wobbly legs. She toyed absent-mindedly with the wedding ring on her finger before dialling his mobile, yet again. It had been 22 hours since she had last seen her husband. Richard said he had phoned in sick so Addison returned from Seattle Grace expecting to find him at home, but she opened the door to an empty house. Struggling to keep her voice steady, she left her fifth message on his voicemail, just asking him to call her.
Derek had always been passionate, storming out in the middle of arguments from being so worked-up, leaving Addison to go to bed alone and pray for the sound of his car on the driveway. And he came back. He always did. He would come home, calmer, and climb in bed beside his wife, pulling her close to him and burying his face in her hair. Just that touch had let her know that they were on the same side. Invariably their argument recommenced over breakfast but Addison had always been satisfied with those few hours of comfort before morning. Her gratitude that he had come home had clouded her judgement and, under the cover of darkness, she had actually believed the things that he whispered in her ear. That he would never leave her, that he was sorry, that he would always come back to her.
Sighing, Addison busied herself in the kitchen, scrubbing every visible surface with every available cleaning product, desperately trying to wipe thoughts of Derek from her mind.
He forced himself to climb out from under the duvet and inhaled sharply at the sudden blast of cold air. Fumbling for his beeping phone, he located it in his jacket pocket and squinted at the display screen. For what seemed like the hundredth time that night, he saw his wife's name, and once again he waited for it to stop ringing before dialling to pick up her voice mail.
"Derek, it's me. I just want to know where you are. I mean, I just - I just want to know that you're safe. Can you call me, Derek?"
Tossing the phone onto his pile of discarded clothing, Derek walked across the room and stared out of the window into the night. Addison had left him numerous messages, all asking him to call her. He knew she was worried, and he had felt a pang of guilt listening to the pain in her voice. He felt an even stronger pang of guilt as he heard a rustling of bedclothes behind him.
"Was it Addison again, Derek?"
