Disclaimer : I do not own anything
Author's note : This chapter is just presenting the situation. No Meredith and Derek interaction just yet. But it's coming......
Everything was perfect, she thought. It was a Monday morning. Meredith Grey was sitting on her new black leather couch, in her new living room that happened to be in the new appartment she shared with her boyfriend Finn. He had left for work earlier before Meredith woke up. It was all so perfect, she thought.
"Ouch", she cried in pain. She winced as her small hand touched her swollen lip. Everything was perfect, except for this. It had been two weeks since she had moved in with Finn and she had gotten to know a whole new side of his personality. Meredith lifted her pale blue shirt up to her bra to see if the bruises across her stomach had healed. It had turned into a weird brownish color. The swelling was gone but it still hurt whenever she bent down or streched. She started thinking about the first time it happened. The first night they had moved in, Meredith had came home late. Finn did not like it and let her know :
"Where were you?", he asked angrily as Meredith walked through the front door of their flat.
"I was just having a beer with Iz and Cristina at Joe's. I'm sorry I'm late, time just flew and I didn't look at the clock", she answered, not really sure why he was so angry. They didn't have anything planned for the night and he said he was just gonna finish some paperwork for the evening.
"Now, we live together and you can't just party all night and leave me here. We're supposed to be a couple!", he barked as he closed the space between them.
Meredith looked at her boyfriend, completely dumbfounded. It was the first time he acted that way. She didn't understand the sudden change in him.
"Hey, I appologized, okay? Why the hell are you so angry?!", she asked him, her tone getting louder. And that's when his hand came in violent contact with her cheek.
"Do not EVER speak to me that way! You hear me?! Now, if you just do as I say, this won't happen again."
Meredith looked down, her hand rubbing her cheek. Everything happened so fast.
"I'm sorry baby", he said, as he put his arms around her waist, " but you had it coming. If you had just listened..."
"I know, I'm sorry, I won't be late again", she whispered, her green eyes still glued to the floor.
Of course, she thought, I should have been home. He had the right to be mad.
He also blamed the second and third times on her. All of her friends told her how lucky she was to have found the perfect man. Good looking, educated, owner of a succesful veterinarian clinic, charming and atttentive. She also believed it but sometimes, he just got carried away and it scared her.
"I'm gonna do my best, she internally decided, my best to be there for him and not create stress. Everything's gonna be fine if I just behave. " And with that thought, she got up from the couch, took her bag and her jacket and left for work, hoping no one would ask her about that damn swollen lip.
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"Come in", said Mark Sloan to whoever was knocking at his office door. A tall man, with dark wavy hair and piercing blue eyes opened the door and made his way to the chair in front of Mark.
"Derek Sheperd, my man, I know it's Monday morning but you look like death!", exclaimed Mark with a laugh that showed his pearly white teeth.
"Good morning to you too, Mark, and I look like this because Rose kept me up till 3 in morning showing me ugly wedding dresses and possible honeymoon locations."
"Why are you getting married to that woman again?", joked Mark
"Oh, stop it! I know you don't like her but she's.....nice", explained Derek
Mark scoffed.
"Dude, you have a problem if the only thing you can come up with is «she's nice»", asserted the plastic surgeon
"Oh shut up!", replied Derek. He did not want to admit to his best friend but, deep down, he knew Rose wasn't the girl for him. She was pretty and all but she had expensive taste and loved living «the good life», which was completely the opposite of him. He loved living simply and enjoyed fishing, camping and the wilderness. But she was looking forward to their wedding ever since he proposed to her and he did not want to disappoint her.
"Come on, we have work to do", said the neurosurgeon as he stood up to leave.