Chance Encountered

Chapter 34

Derek pushed the door open with his shoulder, a little harder than intended and it swung open. He relished the warmth of his house and quickly shut out the soft drizzle that was coming down upon the city. It annoyed him sometimes how it always rained.

Derek let his jacket fall from his shoulders onto the floor next to his discarded boots and a very small smile graced his lips when he saw Max. He was lying by the doorway to the living room waiting for him. He did that a lot. The dog's ears perked up and he began to rise and licked his mouth before letting out a bark in greeting.

Derek moved over to Max and rubbed his head a few times.

"Hey there boy," He whispered then he removed his hand and stood up.

He turned on a few lights as he maneuvered through his house and into the kitchen. Derek glanced around and saw the dirty dishes in the sink and a leftover pizza box from a few nights ago that he had not gotten the chance to throw in the garbage cans in the garage. And it would still have to wait.

Derek knew he should probably have something to eat. He had skipped lunch and had had only coffee for breakfast. But there was only one thing he wanted at the moment.

So he went to the cupboard above the refrigerator and searched around for a second before his hand hit the bottle he wanted and he pulled the scotch down.

He took of the top off and brought it up to his lips and then took a long swig. It burned its way down his throat and he took only a small amount of comfort in the knowledge that he was about to get as drunk as he could get.

Max followed Derek in to the living room where he collapsed onto the sofa. He rested his head on one end with his feet propped up on the opposite end as Max settled in front of him and Derek stroked his ears gently.

He stared out in front of him. He brought the bottle to his lips and took another swig. He wanted the alcohol to start working on him so that he could forget about everything that had happened.

Addison was married. He had met her husband today. Addison had a husband. She was married.

It just hardly registered. The words barely made sense to him.

And Derek didn't want them to so he reached for the remote and turned on the television which to his dismay was on the chick channel Addison liked to watch all the time.

He immediately changed it to some show about a fabulous hotel on a tiny island that was home to a country Derek had never heard of before. But it did not matter to him what was on as long as it did not remind him of her and her husband.

The show had not been on for very long and the tour guide hadn't even gotten to the suite she was staying in when the phone rang.

Derek glanced at the phone on the end table and momentarily thought about getting it. But that would involve moving and conversing with a person. Two things he did not want to do at the moment. So he just let it ring.

And ring.

And ring until his answering machine picked up.

After the operator kicked on and told the caller to leave a message, the last voice he wanted to hear filled the room.

"Derek… hey it's me. Uh—we need to talk about today. So…are you there? If you're there could you just please pick up? I need to talk to you and not your machine. Please…please pick up. (She sighed)…okay so…I guess just call me back…I love you Derek."

Derek let out a bitter laugh at that.

Yeah right she loved him. How could she expect him to believe that? How could she even call? Why would she want to explain anything? She had a husband. It was a simple concept to grasp. She was married. Addison was married to someone else. What was so complicated about that?

Derek closed his eyes to chase away the angry thoughts that entered his mind. He just wanted to forget about it. Just for a while.

He brought the bottle to his lips again and took another drink.

"Hey."

Derek turned his head toward the doorway and saw Preston standing there with a serious look that made him sigh in response.

"Hey man," He replied and returned his eyes to the television.

Preston watched him with sadness in his own heart at the heartbroken, depressed look on Derek's entire being. It radiated off of him and it was a sad sight.

So Burke just took off his coat and turned back to the hallway. He saw Derek's jacket and boots strewn about and he sighed. He placed his own coat on the hook and grabbed Derek's as well and hung it up. He picked up the boots and put them under the bench where they belonged and put the briefcase away by the door.

Preston did not usually make a habit out of cleaning up after Derek but it was an extraordinary circumstance and he did not really mind. So he headed back into the living room to join Derek.

But on the way he noticed the light flickering on the answering machine.

"You have a new message—"

"Yeah I do and I will tell you exactly what it says if you swear to me that you won't play it." Derek said.

His voice was tired and detached. He was well on his way to accomplishing his goal of the night, getting drunk.

Preston stared at Derek for a long moment, sitting there on the couch with a bottle of scotch in one hand and the other petting his dog. One of the only companions that Derek had had in his life up until Addison and Preston hoped against hope it would not go back to the way things were before her.

He moved toward the recliner when the phone rang again. He looked at it then at Derek.

"You want me to answer it?" He asked when Derek made no move to get the phone.

Derek waved the hand that held the bottle dismissing the question and just continued to watch the television.

Preston shrugged and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" Addison asked quietly.

"Burke…" Preston said and sighed as he shuffled his feet.

"Is he there?" She asked.

Preston nodded. "Yeah he is right here."

"Can I speak to him?" Addison asked.

"I do not think that would be a good idea right now."

Addison sighed and nodded. She tried to keep her voice from shaking as she spoke.

"Okay, can you tell him that I love him please?"

"Sure." Preston replied before hanging up the phone.

Addison drew in a long shaky breath and let the phone drop on to the bed next to her. The tears that had been threatening to fall since Mark had shown up finally broke through and slipped down her cheeks. And once they started she could not hold anything in.

She sobbed and wrapped an arm around her stomach and raised a hand to her face to cover her mouth as the reality set in. She honestly wished that it were all just a stupid dream.

Addison scooted down into her bed further and noticed that her bed wasn't warm without Derek. It did not provide the comfort she wanted without him in it. How could so much change since this morning? Only this morning they were cuddled up under these blankets unaware that other people even existed.

Now, she was alone. She sat there wondering what he was doing and what he was thinking. Did he have that ache like she did at this moment? She missed him terribly and it was making her go crazy with what could possibly happen next.

Addison turned her head into his pillow and hugged to her. She inhaled his lingering scent and wished that he was holding her instead and the sobs became much more violent as the night got darker and that lonely feeling just became stronger.

End Chapter 34.

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