Chapter 67: Hillbilly Highway
Meredith left the narrow road running from Lovelock and entered the highway. She felt a thousand times better than she had the previous day as she was heading in the opposite direction. Surely, the overnight escape didn't solve all her problems, but it gave her a temporary reprieve. It let her release the breath she was holding since Derek returned. She still had no idea how to handle everything but at least she was going to do it with a peaceful mind. Even with Derek in town, it felt good to be going back to Rachel. She was coming home and that was reassuring.
Suddenly, her musings where interrupted due to a rather unusual sight. You could rarely pass by other cars this close to Rachel at this time of year, even more rarely cars that were parked by the side of the road. From the distance, she could only recognize the color. It was red. She prayed to God it wasn't Derek, he tended to get helplessly stranded in the middle of nowhere.
As she approached the vehicle, she was able to breathe out with relief. The car turned out not to be a SUV but a Cadillac and that was certainly no Derek standing by its rear. Two girls in miniskirts and tank tops were carefully studying a map spread out on the trunk.
"Hey, do you need help?" Meredith asked, leaning out the window as she slowed down the jeep.
"Oh yes!"
"Finally, a living soul!"
They turned to face her, and Meredith learnt that even though they looked feminine now, it certainly wasn't always the case. The frames and face features showed masculine traits.
"We've got a flat tire," said the one with platinum blonde hair. "We've tried to call the road assistance, but they told us the fastest they could get here was tomorrow."
"Do you have a spare?" Meredith asked briskly.
"Do we?" The blonde looked questioningly at her companion and then explained to Meredith with a smile. "It's our friend's car. She's going to be sooo mad if something happens to her baby."
"Yep, we have a spare," the brunette informed them inspecting the contents of the trunk. "But no tools. And… I have no idea how to change a tyre."
"Me neither," frowned the blonde.
"Don't worry," smiled Meredith. "I always have the tools with me. And it's not that difficult."
"Wow, thanks!" the blonde grinned when Meredith pulled the car up on the side of the road and reappeared shortly after with necessary tools and gloves on her hands. "We thought we'd have to sleep in the car."
"Where are you headed?"
"Rachel, the UFO spot. Do you know if we're close?"
"No more than twenty minutes. You should watch out not to miss it. It's tiny. You should stop at the inn first. You can freshen up and get all the info you want. My friend runs the place."
"Oh, are you from Rachel?"
"Yeah, I'm the town doctor. Meredith, nice to meet you."
"I'm Charlie," the blonde beamed. "And this is Trish."
"Hey. Thanks for all the help."
"You're welcome," Meredith nodded and set to work.
As Derek drove through the town, he realized Cristina might not necessarily be off her rocker. A few people smiled or nodded at him as he passed by, just like before. It also meant that he was spotted. A few minutes after he had left behind the alien-themed sign that welcomed everybody in Rachel, he received a text from the snarky innkeeper.
My cook saw u driving thru, turn back McWeepy b4 u get in trouble.
He chuckled, what trouble could he possibly get into going to Lovelock? In the worst-case scenario, Meredith would lose her temper again. Even that wouldn't be a completely useless move as it showed her, he was not going to back off, ever.
Some twenty minutes later he started to look for the turn he needed to take to reach Lovelock and for the first time, a thought crossed his mind that he could end up just like that memorable summer day when he arrived in Nevada. However, it didn't seem likely that she would be willing to rescue him this time around.
Before he could find any turning left whatsoever, Derek noticed with surprise that Meredith's jeep was parked by the side of the road, an old-style convertible right behind it. Dismissing a moment of concern, he spotted her standing safe and sound talking to some women he didn't recognize.
Judging by her reaction, she was not happy to see him, which didn't come as a surprise at all. Her shoulders slumped while her face expressed irritated resignation. Undiscouraged, Derek pulled up his car and hurried out to meet her.
"Hey, Mer," he sent her the most charming smile he could muster. "Good morning," he hesitated slightly upon a closer look on her companions, "uhm… ladies. So, what are you doing?" he asked bringing his full attention back on Meredith.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" she snorted, pointing down to show him a punctured tire and all the tools spread on the ground. "The question is, what are you doing here?"
"I was… sightseeing," he shrugged innocently.
"Right," Meredith rolled her eyes. "How did you know where to find me?"
Derek briefly thought about admitting to her that it was due to Cristina's help and that her best friend was currently on his side but decided against it. It was not the place to hold this kind of conversation, especially not in the company of two complete strangers. On top of that, he feared he could do damage to Meredith and Cristina's friendship, and that was not how he wanted to build his own relationship with her.
"I heard Cristina saying you were staying in Lovelock," he said finally. That was not technically a lie.
"Hmm." She squinted at him suspiciously.
"So, who's the pretty boy?" asked Charlie.
Meredith bit her cheek to stop herself from bursting out in giggles hearing the unmistakable hint of flintiness in the blonde's voice and the apprehension dawning on Derek's face.
"Is he from Rachel too?" asked Trish.
"Why don't I make introductions!" Meredith clapped her hands in enthusiasm, her good mood returning. "Derek, this is Trish, and Charlie. They're event planners from Sacramento and they're on their way to see our beautiful town. Girls, this is Derek. He's a doctor too and he enjoys running around in the nude."
"Is that so?" Charlie batted her eyelashes. "We are a bit on the wild side ourselves, aren't we, Trish?"
Meredith struggled to keep her face straight as Derek sent her a death glare while his hand was being taken in a death grip by both the blonde and then the brunette.
"You bet we are!" exclaimed Trish. "Last vacation we wanted to go to a nudist beach but… well, I haven't had my surgery yet," she sighed.
"Your surgery?" Meredith asked out of professional curiosity.
"You know, down there," Charlie looked at her friend sympathetically. "I've had mine two years ago, but Trish is still waiting for clearance from her therapist. He is an ass!"
"You know maybe Derek can help!" Meredith announced to everyone's curiosity and Derek's dread as she gave him jovial shove on the back. "His brother is a renown plastic surgeon. They deal with these problems every day."
"Not… every day," Derek mumbled, his eyes boring pleadingly into Meredith's. How could every situation turn against him like that?
Apparently, Charlie was not oblivious to the exchange of looks between them as she asked, "Meredith is he your boyfriend or something? I mean he's cute," she said sizing him up from head to toe, "but we have a code. No funny business with our friends' boys."
"Nah, he's not my boyfriend," Meredith shook her head ignoring his furtive signals of distress. "He's all yours!"
"You're evil!" he whispered as she passed in front of him to carry the tools back to the jeep.
"Oh, I know," she sighed proudly, a self-satisfied smirk playing on her lips.
"So, can we count on your charming company in Rachel?" Charlie asked him flirtatiously.
"Actually," he stammered slightly, ", I am Meredith's boyfriend. We're kinda going through a rough patch now but… but…" he trailed off.
"Meredith?" Trish looked at her, searching for further explanation.
"I don't know anything about rough patches," she said breezily, "but I can confirm we're through."
"Oh, so you do have a history," Charlie seemed crestfallen. "Sorry, Derek, you're out of bounds."
"What… what a pity," he choked out.
Meredith put the punctured tire into the boot of the Cadillac and shut it saying, "You're all set."
"Oh, thank you, hun," Trish smiled at her gratefully and shook her hand. "How can we ever repay you?"
"Really, it's nothing," she assured them. "I hope you have a wonderful time in Rachel."
"So far so good!"
"Mention my name at the inn and you might get a drink on the house."
"We truly owe you," sighed Charlie. "Do you think you can make it to the inn tonight? Buying you a drink is the least we can do."
"I'd love to, but I've got some work to catch up on," she excused herself. However, the effects of her crazy night with Izzie and Cristina were too fresh in her memory and what was more, Derek would undoubtedly keep following her. "Another time maybe."
Leaving Charlie and Trish at their car, Derek followed Meredith to her jeep. "So, you were heading back home when you came across the odd couple?" he quipped.
"Why? Are you keeping an observation chart on me like a true stalker would?" she asked impatiently, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm tired of constantly being shadowed by you."
"There was a time you wouldn't mind," he reminded.
"Yes, there was," she shrugged. "Now, I do mind. I'd appreciate if you finally acknowledged and understood that."
"I'd appreciate if you gave me five minutes of your precious time!" he snapped, his temper rising despite his attempts to remain calm and patient. But talking to a brick wall and waiting for a response would drive a saint mad. "You said we were through, I'd like to know since when! My god, you just completely cut me off without a word or an explanation to say the least and you keep refusing to talk about what happened between us! Is listening to me and then giving me honest answers too much to ask?"
Meredith took a step back and felt the reassuring solidness of her jeep's boot. She needed something to steady her, to give her strength not to let on how miserable Derek's words made her feel. It wasn't too much to ask. She reluctantly admitted in her thoughts that she owed it to him, but she couldn't allow it. Derek had a way with words and the truth was, he always managed to talk her into something. She had to learn from her past mistakes and not give him a chance to persuade her.
"I'm sorry, I usually mind my own business," Charlie suddenly turned up between them. "But we couldn't help overhearing-"
"I wish everyone would mind their own business," Derek said harshly. He was once again being interrupted by a third party. He would never get a moment alone with her at this rate. Maybe he should just kidnap her, tie her up and gag her and make her listen to what he had to say.
"I beg your pardon!" Trish gasped, offended, as she joined her best friend. "Meredith is our friend now, and you're bothering her! You mess with our friend; you mess with us!"
"Look," Derek sighed with frustration. "No one is bothering anyone, we're having a conversation, so why don't you leave us alone to do just that."
"No, Derek!" Meredith shook her head. "I want you to leave me alone!"
"You've heard her," Charlie scowled at him.
"Unbelievable," Derek rolled his eyes, irritated.
"It is," nodded Trish. "Who would have thought you are such an ass!"
Derek couldn't help but take a step back, somehow, he feared there was too much testosterone in those two ladies in front of him.
"Why don't we all go our separate ways!" Meredith sighed audibly. The day had started out so well!
"Yeah," nodded Charlie and poked Derek hard in the chest making him back off again. "Get into your car and stop stalking her. Some men don't understand that when a lady says no," she said and flattened her hair self-consciously, "it means no."
Derek took another few steps backwards; he would have run at their first attempts at flirting it if hadn't been for Meredith. Most unfortunately, he stepped on a stone and lost his balance.
The last Meredith saw of him behind the car, Trish and Charlie was his flailing arms. He disappeared out of sight with a yelp of surprise and a few muffled thuds.
"Derek!" Meredith shrieked and hurried after him elbowing the two women out of the way. She was genuinely scared. The terrain lowered quite steeply at this part of the road so he could take quite a fall. Her heartbeat like mad as she ran down, just being careful enough not to trip herself. Derek hadn't been killed on the spot, thank god; he was trying to pick himself up from the ground letting out little grunts.
