Chapter Three: Running.
Sam draped his arms around Addison's neck as he put his bag and car keys down next to the sofa. His surgery hadn't taken as long as expected and he was glad of the chance to spend some time with her; he had been doing a lot of late surgeries lately and hadn't been able to spend as much time with her as he would have liked. He leant down and started to plant small kisses on the soft flesh of her neck, moving his way towards her ear. Addison, who was looking over a patient file, moved slightly to shake him off. Unperturbed, Sam's kisses became more frequent as he moved his hands towards her chest. Addison, in an attempt to signal to him that she didn't like what he was doing, reshuffled the file in her hand and straightened her neck.
"You're working too hard" Sam smiled as he reached over to retrieve the file from her hand.
Addison, annoyed and seeing no other way out of the situation, bolted up from the sofa and threw the file onto the coffee table.
"Ok, do you want to tell me what is going on?" Sam said in a state of confusion as the seething red head glared at him from across the room.
"Nothing is 'going on' Sam, I'm busy that's all, I'm not here at your beck and call whenever you feel like it" she regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth but her intense anger prevented her from taking them back.
"Hang on a minute Addison, let's not pretend this has anything to do with you being 'busy' you've been shrugging me off all week, it's as if you don't want me to touch you." Sam's words were angry and his voice raised.
Addison stood motionless as Sam's anger spread across the room. There was a silence between them, both of them too angry to speak, or holding back afraid of what they might say.
"Don't you want me to touch you?" Sam asked directly.
"Why is it always about sex with you?" Addison bit back.
"I'm not just talking about sex Addison and you know it. I'm talking about you shrinking away from me every time I come near you." Sam had calmed a little and genuinely wanted to know what was bothering Addison, she had told him to be there for her and he was trying to be.
Addison, feeling that Sam was getting nearer to the truth than she was comfortable with, turned defensive.
"Because I know every time you come near me you want something, I'm not here for your convenience, to satisfy your needs…." Addison didn't get the chance to finish before Sam cut in.
"That's crap and you know it, we've hit the first hurdle and you're doing what you always do, you're running so don't blame it on me, don't make me out to be the bad guy here Addison." Sam shouted as his anger rose again.
"Right Sam because I'm, the bad guy, I'm the cheater, the liar, the bad guy" Addison yelled as she grabbed her keys from the table and stormed towards the door, slamming it behind her.
Sam placed his head in his hands, he wanted to be there for her but she wouldn't let him and he didn't how to convince her let him in. He stood for a second wondering what to do. There was only one person who knew how to deal with Addison, he would have to go and see her.
As Addison strolled along the beach she thought of all the fights she'd had with Derek and with Mark, she had been so determined the same wouldn't happen with Sam, that it would different this time, that she wouldn't push him away, break his heart and yet here she was, wandering the dark beach alone, in angry silence. The anger wasn't directed at Sam anymore, it was directed at herself, for messing up, for shutting him out and for running away.
Sam switched off his engine as he pulled up outside Naomi's house. Addison had told him what Naomi had said; that she didn't want to hear about their relationship, but this was an extreme circumstance wasn't it? Addison was keeping a secret that was eating away at her and now she had run off into the night, this was an extreme circumstance.
"Sam?" Naomi said as she opened the front door "Maya said you weren't coming by until tomorrow." Naomi registered the look of sadness and desperation on Sam's face. "Sam what is it?" she questioned, she knew when something was wrong with him, when he was worried.
"I know you said…" Sam began, searching for the correct words "Addison told me that you didn't want to know about us but…."
"Look Sam, can we do this another time? I've just got off a long flight and Olivia has been crying and….." Naomi said, not wanting to go into the subject.
"It's not about that, it's…. I need your help" Sam tried to explain "it's Addison, we had a fight and she ran off and well, there is something wrong and I don't know…I don't know how to….."
Naomi, seeing the state Sam was in and realising that he wouldn't come to her about this unless he was desperate, opened the door wider and let him in.
"We had fights all the time Sam, all couples do, you know that, she'll calm down and come home in a few hours, she's probably gone into the office" Naomi said as she placed a cup of tea on the counter in front of Sam.
"It wasn't just a fight," Sam tried to explain "and it wasn't just tonight, she's been…she's…"
"You don't have to tell me anything Sam but let me give you a word of advice," Naomi said as she sat down opposite him at the breakfast bar "Addison is stubborn and when she's in a fight she fights her corner to the death, it's part of what makes her a good doctor but when it comes to being a friend…a girlfriend" Naomi hesitated over the last word "it makes her difficult and unrelenting at times but she always comes around, when she's calmed down she comes around"
"There's more" Sam blurted out "it's not just about her being stubborn, it's, she's keeping a secret"
"Oh Sam" Naomi said in sympathy and despair.
"No, no, not that kind of secret," Sam quickly corrected her "no, we trust each other, I trust her. It's something to do with the night Charlotte was attacked, she told me she had a secret that she couldn't tell me, that she couldn't talk to me about and it's been eating away at her ever since, she isn't sleeping, she isn't eating and she doesn't want me anywhere near her. I'm trying to help her Nae, I'm trying to be there but I don't know how to, it's like she wants me but doesn't and I don't know what to do."
Naomi sighed "You have to just be there, even when it feels like she doesn't want you to be, even when she thinks she doesn't want you to be, you have to be there. Addison needs constant attention, she needs to be reassured but she won't talk, she'll run, it's what she does but in the end she will come running to you, no matter how far away she goes she will run back to you Sam"
Sam nodded his head slowly as he considered Naomi's words, she was right, Addison did run and although she had done it less lately, although she had started running to him and talking to him this was something serious and although deep down he didn't like her keeping secrets he was sure she was doing it for the right reasons.
"Thanks Nae" Sam said sincerely across the table.
"It's ok" Nae replied "I may not be comfortable with it yet but I can see that you're good for her Sam, you make her stronger in all the right ways."
As Sam smiled and Naomi took a gulp of her hot tea the front door bell rang out from the hall.
"That will be Dink," Naomi said as she left the table "he's been picking up a few extra shifts at the store lately"
As Naomi opened the door she was surprised to see a rather cold and miserable Addison standing behind it.
"Can we talk?" was all that Addison could manage; after walking the beach for an hour she was feeling rather pathetic and sorry for herself.
"The person you should be talking to is in the kitchen" Naomi replied as she motioned for Addison to step inside.
