Chapter 18: Unlocking Utopia
"She asleep?" Aaron asked as he walked in front of her room, Derek slowly shutting the door as he sighed.
"Yeah, everything is just taking all her energy away from her. I got her to eat some jello but that's it. She doesn't want anything else, and I don't blame her."
"I know, hospital food tastes like crap."
"That's not what I meant." Derek sighed, rolling his eyes while he leaned against the wall. "I asked her if she was ready to talk about what happened."
"What did she say?" Aaron asked, bending his knees up to his chest.
"She...she can't. And I understand, but I also want the bastard to rot in hell. And then she started mumbling some word."
"What word?" Aaron as in curiosity.
"Utopia. You know anything about it?"
"Just that she loved reading that book." Aaron explained.
"I thought you two were Twilight freaks. Are you telling me that she has another favorite book?"
"It was back in high school. She loved that book even if it was all battered and old. Her father gave it to her when she was little, barely able to talk but he still gave it to her."
"She never told me about her family before." Derek whispered, his heart pained, not knowing all about the woman he loved.
"Well, her mom was a surgeon, never home or practically living in the hospital while Mer was at home with her father. When she was five, he left. I assume her folks had a falling out. That book was the only thing left of him. Her mother had burned all the pictures with him not leaving one for her to keep. Although I don't understand why she would be talking about Utopia all of a sudden." Aaron said.
"Yeah." he sighed in frustration. "She said she was sorry. Actually, apologizing for what happened."
"That's just crazy."
"Well, right now would be a perfect time to be losing ones mind. Everything is just crap at the moment."
"You tell me. My best friend gets raped and is hurting in her own world, my apartment is this memory of all that has happened, and to add to that my laptop is wrecked." he received a look from Derek. "The last two don't really matter right now. It's Meredith were concerned about."
"Exactly, but you know what the good thing is about having your computer smashed up."
"What?"
"It helped us save Mer before things got even worse. I would have rather not have Meredith go through any of this but it's good we came when we did or else..." he trailed off.
"Or else nothing. She is fine and she will continue to get better."
"Now, I have to worry about this Utopia shit now. She wouldn't just say something like that and not mean anything."
"Maybe she wants to read." Aaron mused.
"I don't think reading is on her mind right now."
"Maybe she wants you to check her emails." Aaron continued on.
"Wh..what?"
"Her emails. That's her password to her account. She's been using that same password for everything since she was in high school." Aaron replied with a shrug. "But I know what you're going to say..."
"You're a genius." Derek replied.
"What? Well...thanks I think." he shrugged.
"Can...can you watch Meredith for me for a second?"
"Sure." Derek quickly stood up almost stumbling in the process. "Wh...wait! Where are you going?"
"I'm unlocking Utopia." he called out, running down the hallway to his office.
There are dreadful punishments enacted against thieves, but it were much better to make such good provisions by which every man might be put in a method how to live, and so be preserved from the fatal necessity of stealing and of dying for it.