** No beta. Mistakes are mine. All mine!**
Andy was still staring at her phone wondering 'what the fuck just happened?' when she realised that Miranda. The Miranda Priestly was coming to her crappy little apartment... In her semi-crappy neighborhood to see her... To see her because she was worried about her... 'Worried? Miranda is worried about me? What the hell?' Looking around she decides it is clean enough. 'I doubt she expects the place to be showroom neat and too bad if she does, i am too sore and freaked out to do anything anyway.'
Meanwhile Miranda has left her house after quickly packing a bag of what she believed was much needed supplies and a few clothes. Biding Nigel a quick goodbye she has jumped in her car and started to make her way. On the way over she has a moment of panic that 'her' Andrea was injured and vowed to take care of her as long as she will allow. 'I just hope i don't freak her out too much by coming over there and oh bugger.. Do i have everything i need in order to help her?... I will just make do.' Half an hour later Miranda had gotten control of her many rambling thoughts and has now arrived and somehow managed to find a suitable park. She grabbed her bag and made her way into the building.
Andy is sitting on her couch starting to doze off when she hears the knock at the door. Slowly she gets up and looks at the bouquet placed on her kitchen counter which sends a shiver down her spine as she makes her way to the door and opens it. "Hi. Um... Please come in."
Walking through the door Miranda places her bag on the floor and finds herself holding Andy's hand and looks in her eyes. "Oh Andrea what have you gone and done to your self? Does it hurt?"
"No, well yer it does hurt but it's not as bad right now..." Andy says as she looks down at her hand cradled so very sweetly and back up into Miranda's eyes. "Thank you."
"Whatever for?"
"Miranda please don't.. First you send me those beautiful flowers and the note. Wow i have never read words that have moved me as much as those, but not just that... You have driven all the way over here to see me when i told you i was injured and you are now standing here and i just... Thank you."
"Well.. I.. Andrea i could not very well just sit there and not come and see you. I was. I am worried about you."
Andy is standing there looking at Miranda's face and notices a slight blush has formed on her cheeks. "Would you like to sit, something to drink? Please forgive me Miranda, for my bad manners."
"Nonsense i am sure that your injury and me being here has thrown you off balance a bit. So may i stay and help you? I think i have everything i need and if not i can either run out and get it or get Emily to go get it."
"It's okay i have everything i pretty much need here and i am sure that whatever you have brought with you will be more than adequate. I just..."
"What is it? Please tell me."
"I am just really tired and need to lay down soon before i fall down. It's just a matter of working out where we will be sleeping. I'm thinking you can have my bed and i will sleep on the couch."
"Nonsense, i will not relegate you to sleeping on what looks like a comfortable couch to sit on. Although i doubt for someone your height it will be suitable or adequate for a good nights rest. I will take the couch, you the bed. You need comfort to help in your healing."
"No i can't make you sleep on the couch."
"Well then i suggest we both take your bed."
Andy's heart has pretty much jumped out of her chest at that thought and by the looks of the flush that has now traveled down to Miranda's chest, she is also affected by the idea.
"Oh... Um.. Okay i promise not to hog the blankets and give you space. Ah its um this way." Miranda grabs her bag from the floor and follows her. Trying not to fidget too much Andy walks through the doors that lead to the bedroom and takes in the state of the room and starts to pick up her clothes, blankets and pillows off the floor "Um shit. I obviously didn't know i was having anyone in my room and it usually isn't as bad as this."
Walking up to Andy with an amused look and a twinkle in her eye she stops her from her cleaning spree and leads her to her bed. "Just sit down or lay down please. This is fine. Its ok please just relax."
"Right well then if you want to use the bathroom it's just through that door and I'm just going to climb into bed. Do you have any particular side you use?"
Miranda makes her way to the bathroom after grabbing her sleep wear and is nearly at the door when she hears the question. turning back she stares into Andy's eyes. "Usually i sleep in the middle." At the look on Andy's face she turns back around, walks into the bathroom and closes the door with a giggle.
"Fucking hell..." Is heard exhaled from the room where Andy has fallen to the bed with a look of shock. 'I am so dreaming right now. Miranda does not giggle and yet that was what i heard. Screw this i am so dreaming' She makes her way to 'her' side of the bed and crawls in to wait for Miranda. Which turns out to be a very short wait because 5 minutes later after turning off the light in the bathroom she has crawled into the opposite side.
After some minutes of uncomfortable silence Miranda sighs and speaks into the dark room. "So are you going to tell me the story of how you managed to injure yourself?"
"Long story Miranda. Let's just say i punched someone who has had it coming for a while now."
"Really Andrea violence? I did not expect that of you."
"Do not look down at me because of this! I have my reasons for why i did it although i doubt they will interest you very much anyway." Somewhat pissed off at the reaction she is receiving Andy rolls over away from Miranda and gets as close to the edge as she can. "Let me assure you Miranda. You are in no danger from me. However if you wish to leave please do so now because i am tired and damn sore and not in the mood to be looked down upon!"
"I'm sorry. I did not mean what i said in the way that you think. I am rather worried that someone has caused you so much pain that you have had to defend yourself physically. Please understand there is nowhere else i would rather be than where i am right now. What caused all of this?" Miranda asks as she pulls on Andy's shoulder to try to have her face her. "I will understand if you don't want to tell me. I just... I want to know about you and im concerned for you."
Rolling over to face the stunning women laying next to her in the bed Andy is trying so very hard to understand how it is this is actually happening. "Okay i will tell you." Looking into her eyes, wiping away a tear that has escaped she nods and gets comfortable."Well then where shall i start? Okay. Paris!"
"Ah yes Paris... I wont apologise for what."
Andy cuts Miranda off "No i am not asking for that at all and i realised after i walked away and the phone in the fountain... Anyway like i was saying Paris. Before we left for there Nate, ah he was my boyfriend, he had split up with me, deciding that he didn't like who i had become and i was fine with that. I was sick of the yelling. Sick of the name calling. I was sick of the guilt and i was sick of his childish crap daily. I knew that he had been screwing around on me for a while but again i didn't care enough to do anything about it. I let him leave. So we get back from Paris and i stupidly was hoping that he had moved out and gone to Boston for a job like he had been told he was going to do. Imagine my surprise when i walk in late that night and there he is sitting there watching TV. Straight away he started his crap again and this time i lost it. I started to yell at him and try to get him out. He was obviously not happy with that and when i confronted him about the bimbo he had been screwing he snapped. He grabbed me by the throat and threw me up against the front door." At this point Andy has stopped holding her tears in and Miranda moves to pull her against her shoulder, fury coursing through her veins "I will ruin him. That idiot will never hurt you again and he will never work anywhere again!"
Pressing her face into Miranda's neck she sniffs through the tears. "You would do that for me?"
"Of course i will. No one deserves to be treated like that and especially not you. You deserve so much better. He never deserved you. "
"Thank you for saying that."
"Your very welcome. Now are you able to tell me more about this? If not its fine i understand you have been through rather a lot."
"I'm fine. I want and need to finish telling you about this. Right. So he has me pinned against the wall and is ranting and raving about how i had changed and how i thought i wasn't good enough for him anymore and then he said some things about someone i care for very much and when i tried to push him away... Well he hit me." Andy can literally feel Miranda shaking at this point. "Are, are you okay?"
"No i am not. He is finished. I am going to finish him. Now tell me how you managed to hide all of this? Did anyone know that this was going on?"
"I... Um after he hit me he pulled away from me and started to cry and i called the police and had them take him away and charges placed against him. I ah called Nigel, he came and helped me that night while i had the locks changed and had his stuff taken out. He, Nigel i mean. He wanted to tell you what had happened but i made him promise to keep it to himself and well he did. He helped me cover the bruises and well there you are..."
She hears a whisper come from Miranda. "Why would you not tell me? Did you not trust me?"
"Oh no Miranda i most definitely trust you. This had nothing to do with that though. I wanted to sort it out myself. I needed to be able to do this myself. I told Nigel the same thing when he asked me what he could do. He still ended up showing me how to use makeup and clothes to... Well yeah.."
"I can most definitely understand that. I apologise again for jumping to conclusions. Please continue."
"After that my friends and family turned against me even more, would not answer texts, phone calls, emails. There had been some tension before but that seemed to tip it over to down right hostility. They did not at any point ask me to explain what had happened and they immediately took his side. I did not know at the time but i realised recently he had been telling them lies about why we were no longer living together and he had not mentioned the assault or police or his cheating or any of that. The only thing i am assuming he talked to them about was, well my job and um you. I only found out because one night a few weeks ago i had been forced into meeting with my 'friends' and there he was sitting smug and pleased with himself at their table. I was ambushed and i ended up walking out pretty much straight away. He must have come clean after i left because when i got up the next day i already had messages on my phone. They wanted to talk to me, they were sorry and more crap like that. About 3 weeks now this has been going on and they appear to have spoke to my mom and dad because i have had messages from them as well. I just don't know what to say to them and i honestly am still so very hurt and angry at what they did."
"That is very understandable you feel that way. They have betrayed your trust and it will hurt for a long time."
"Ha yeah Nigel said something like that as well. So this morning i was walking around the local farmers market and ended up seeing Nate, he chased me down when i tried to walk away. Grabbed my arm, said some more shit. I pulled away and started to walk away again and he tried again to get me to stop, at which point i turned back around and let loose. I told him off and i started to leave. Him being the idiot he is said something about the same person as before."
"Ah the same person that you said you care a lot about?" Miranda interrupts.
"Um yes."
"Okay. So i take it you were not very pleased about that?"
"Ha ha, um no, i was not i turned back around and i punched him as hard as i could in his jaw, he went down and i walked off. Came home and noticed how much my hand hurt. Went to the hospital and well, now here we are..."
"Good that arse deserved it! You obviously care very much for the person you were defending. They should be very proud of you for doing such a thing."
"Yes i do. I am actually in love with the person." Andy starts to roll away from Miranda. " I have to go the toilet. Be back in a bit."
"Andrea." She decides to take the chance. "I hope you can tell them one day. If the person you were in love with and protected was i, i would be pleased that you had protected me like that." Miranda looks down at the blanket covering the bed and starts tracing the pattern with her fingers.
"I.. Ah. Miranda." She puts her head down, turns back around to walk out the room and whispers whilst walking through the door. "It is you."
