It was one of those awkward moments that could have lasted forever.
Alex would have smirked at Cristina because her man was here to get her. But he couldn't—Cristina was looking too distressed to deserve a smirk and Burke might strike him.
Burke would have demanded Cristina to explain why she was hiding in the locker room instead of going home. But he couldn't—Burke didn't want Karev to think that he and Cristina were having problems.
Cristina would have walked away and found another place to hide, because she wasn't ready to talk to Burke or any living soul. But she couldn't—She just couldn't move.
"Cristina, are you coming home yet?" Ignoring Alex, Burke asked in an undemanding manner, trying to make his presence as unnoticeable as possible.
"I... I will get a ride from Meredith. I need to finish some work," Cristina held her breath.
Alex wondered if Burke could tell that it was a lame excuse.
"Ok. I'll see you at home," Burke tried to hide his disappointment while Cristina nodded gently and shifted her gaze from his face back to the wooden bench.
They might be just another couple that seemed to understand each other even without much talking. To Alex, however, it was unnerving to watch.
Burke was gone. Why couldn't Karev just leave the room? What if he made snarky comments about her or Burke? What if he asked if she was fine?
Cristina knew she wouldn't be able to handle any of those.
It wasn't really about Burke or their relationship. It wasn't about anything in particular. She was just overwhelmed by everything, every little thing going on in her life—surgeries, Bailey, sex (or the lack of it), Burke…
She worked hard all her life because it was a path that was solid and promising. She didn't work hard to get herself into this whirlpool of confusion. She hated the sense of helplessness and she hated it more knowing she couldn't and wouldn't ask for help.
She was perfecting her skills in the OR. She was getting what senior residents and maybe some new attendings couldn't get. She was a step closer to her goal as a brilliant surgeon. But nothing felt right.
This was all wrong.
"Meredith has taken the evening off. Do you need a ride?"
The fact that Evil Spawn was being nice only proved to her once again how wrong the world had become.