Last Chances, chapter 11
New Chapter!!! :)
Derek desperately searches for Addison and meets resistance from Callie, Naomi, Savvy and Richard.
“Olivia!” Derek called as he approached the nurse’s station. “Have you seen Dr. Montgomery?”
Olivia shook her head, “Not since this afternoon, Dr. Shepherd.”
Derek nodded and smiled meekly. “Thanks…I…I can’t seem to find her.”
“I’ll let you know if I see her,” Olivia told him.
Derek turned around and began wandering around the surgical floor. In his mind, he replayed the events of the last hour, trying to remember some sort of clue-any inkling of where she might have gone to and why she would have just left without a word.
He slumped down in a chair in one of the waiting rooms and thought about it. Addison had agreed to meet him for drinks at Joe’s before going out for a late dinner, but she never showed up. Figuring she’d just been stuck in the OR, Derek waited almost an hour. He called her cell phone and paged her, but Addison didn’t respond to the calls or the pages. When he called the hospital and a nurse told him that she’d left almost two hours before and when he went to the hotel, thinking she’d stopped there for a shower or a change of clothes she didn’t answer the door. He hesitated only a moment before pulling out the key that she’d given him, only to find that it didn’t work. Worry quickly turned to panic. He went down to the front desk where he was informed that she had checked out earlier that evening. For a moment, he’d just stood there, staring at the clerk, not sure of what to do next; he didn’t know what to do-and more than that, he didn’t know what to think. All he could do was nod and turn away from the desk, as his head spun with every possible scenario about why Addison would have just up and left.
“Olivia,” he said, as he made his way back towards the nurse’s station. “Did Dr. Montgomery say anything when you saw her?”
Olivia thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. “No, I just delivered some test results to her.”
“Oh.” Derek nodded, “Thanks, Olivia.”
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number-again. But immediately, it connected to her voicemail-again. With a sigh, he waited and paced the floor. Finally, her voicemail prompted him to leave his message. “Addie, it’s me. I know I’ve called you about a hundred times now, but-I’m worried about you. Please call me back when you get this…” he trailed off, not sure of what else to say. “I love you.” Shaking his head, he flipped his phone shut and leaned against the surgical board. He closed his head and rubbed forefinger across his forehead, wishing that she would call, if anything, at least so that he knew that she was okay.
“You’re worried about Addison?”
Derek looked up to see Callie Torres standing in front of him with a furrowed brow. He nodded, “Yeah…”
Remembering the blood test that Addison had had her run earlier that day, Callie looked him up and down. He didn’t look good and a confused look had settled in his eyes. “Why?” She prodded.
“She was supposed to meet me for drinks and dinner-about four and a half hours ago and never showed up. She’s not here and she checked out of the hotel,” he looked up at her and shook his head, “She’s…gone…”
Callie stared at him for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like Addison.”
He looked down, “Something had to have happened.” This time it was Callie’s turn to look away, as she again thought about her earlier conversation with Addison. Derek watched her closely, studying her demeanor. “Callie, do you know something?”
“No, no, it’s not that I know something…it’s…” she looked down and shook her head, knowing that Addison would probably kill her for telling him anything, but looking at Derek and seeing the concern in his eyes was somewhat frightening. Earlier, Addison had been so ambiguous, careful never to reveal what kind of tests she was having done. “She didn’t tell me anything…it’s just…”
Derek stepped forward and his voiced sounded of panic. “Just what, Callie?”
Callie sighed; Addison would kill her and her loyalty lied with her friend, not with her friend’s ex..or…whatever he was to her now. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why can’t you tell me, Callie?”
“Because she’s my friend and friends don’t…”
“Callie, I am going out of my mind! I need to find her and if there is something wrong, I need to know.”
Callie sighed and looked at Derek. She shook her head, “She is going to kill me.”
“Please…” he begged.
Callie sighed. She was worried too and if there was something actually wrong with Addison, Derek should know, after all, he loved her. “I don’t really know anything-she wouldn’t tell me, but she was really nervous today and had me take some blood. She told me that she’d do it herself, but she was too shaky-and she was. Her hands were trembling the whole time.”
“Blood?” He felt a knot form in his stomach.
Callie nodded, “She wouldn’t tell me why and she had the results given to her. I didn’t see them.”
Derek thought for a moment. “A chart…if she had blood work done then…”
Callie shook her head, “We didn’t make a chart.”
With a long sigh, Derek pushed his fingers through his hair. “This morning she was…fine. We were fine…” he looked up at Callie, “and now she’s gone?”
Callie shifted, “Well, the last time Addison disappeared she ended up in Los Angeles.”
Derek nodded, “I know. I keep calling Naomi-that’s her friend out there-and she’s not answering either. Savvy hasn’t returned any of my messages either.” He shook his head, “Clearly, Addison got all of our friends in the divorce settlement.”
Addison was sitting in a cab on her way from JFK International Airport to Long Island. The house in the Hamptons had always been her solace-and a place where Derek had never once willingly gone to, but a place where she always felt relaxed. She needed to feel relaxed. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back and no sooner than she did, she felt her cell phone vibrating her purse. With a sigh, she pulled it out.
“Hello, Naomi,” she said with a slight smile.
“So, did you get take a test?”
“Four of them…and then a blood test.”
“And… don’t keep me in suspense here, Addie.”
Addison grinned, “I am definitely pregnant.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“Wow.”
“I know,” Addison shook her head, “I can’t believe it.”
“Neither can I, I mean, Addie, it’s a less than five percent chance…it’s…”
“A miracle,” Addison said with a slight smile. She rubbed her hand across her abdomen. “I can hardly believe it’s really happening.”
“You’re not the only one,” Naomi laughed. “So, um, Addison…I’ve got a couple of questions for you.”
With a slight smile, Addison rolled her eyes. “You do, do you?”
“First, who’s the father? And second, why do I have six missed calls from Derek?
“That’s another thing that you’re hardly going to believe,” Addison said with a sad smile. “I can hardly believe it myself…”
“Gah-someone is on the other line. Stay put, I’m going to get rid of them.”
Naomi clicked onto the other line.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Naomi…its Derek…”
“Derek,” Naomi said, her voice was full of surprise-a fake kind of surprise that she hoped told him that she hadn’t noticed that he had called her six times in the last few hours. “Um…hi…”
“I know this has to be a little strange-me just calling you out of the blue like this, but…have you seen Addison today?”
“Seen her? No.”
“I know that she spoke to you this morning and now-and now I don’t know where she is and she’s just gone and-and I’m worried about her.” Naomi was silent for a moment, unsure of what she should say. Derek sensed her hesitation. “Naomi, please…” Derek’s voice pleaded.
“Um, hang on a second, Derek. I have another call.” She clicked back to the other line.
“Okay, Addison, explain why your ex-husband all frantic and worried about you.”
Addison grimaced, “He’s frantic?”
“Yeah, he said he’s worried. What is he worried about, Addie?”
Addison sighed, “I sort of…left.”
“I’m not following. What’s that any of Derek’s business? You’re divorced.”
“You asked me who the father of this baby is… and…well…it’s Derek. Derek is the father and…and we had a thing going…a very uncomplicated thing that is now a very complicated thing, because I’m pregnant and earlier this evening I walked in on him kissing his ex-girlfriend.” She paused, “So, I left. I hopped on a plane to New York and I’m on my way to the house in the Hamptons because I need time to figure this all out.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“So, what do I tell him? He’s on the other line.”
Addison groaned, “Tell him you don’t know anything.”
“Addison, he’s really worried.”
“Did you miss the part about him making out with his ex-girlfriend?”
Naomi sighed, “Okay, fine. Hang on.” She clicked to the other line. “Derek?”
“Yeah…”
“Sorry about that, now, what were you saying?”
“Addison-have you heard from her? I just need to know that she’s okay.”
Naomi shook her head and grimaced. “I’m sorry, I haven’t spoken to her since this morning.”
“Did she say anything-anything out of the ordinary?”
“No.”
Derek sighed, “Oh, okay. I just thought that maybe…” He stopped. “If you do hear from her can you just tell her to, um, call me. I’m worried and…and I love her and…and I just need to know that she’s okay.”
Naomi swallowed hard. Derek’s voice sounded so sincere; she wondered if Addison had somehow misunderstood. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything from her.”
“Thanks, Naomi.”
With a sigh, Naomi clicked to the other line. “Addie?”
“Did you get rid of him?”
“Uh-huh.” She paused, “Are you sure about what you saw?”
Addison closed her eyes, “I wish I wasn’t.”
“Well, I told Derek that if I spoke to you, I’d tell you a few things. First, he wants you to call. Secondly, he’s worried about you and just wants to know that you’re okay. And thirdly, he loves you.”
Addison nodded and tears pushed out of the tight corners of her closed eyes. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”
The next morning, Derek stepped out of the on-call room that he’d attempted to sleep in. His eyes were bloodshot and his body was sore-he’d spent the entire night worrying.
He walked towards the coffee pot and poured some into a Styrofoam cup. He grimaced as he took a sip. It tasted terrible.
“Effective immediately,” he heard Richard telling his assistant, “Dr. Montgomery is on sabbatical.”
Derek’s head shot up. “Sabbatical?” He set down the coffee and crossed over to the opposite side of the nurse’s station. “Chief!”
Richard turned to face Derek, “Yes?”
“Addison is on sabbatical?”
He nodded, “Effective today.”
“Did she say why?”
Richard shook his head, “No-just that she was taking some time off for personal reasons.”
“Did she come in?”
“No.”
“So, she called?”
“No,” he sighed, “She sent a fax.”
“A fax? Where was it from?”
“Derek!”
“I need to know where she is, Richard.”
“I can’t discuss this with you.” He shook his head, “I’m sorry.”
Derek let out a long sigh. “I just need to find her.”
“You lost Addison?”
“What?” He spat, turning to face Mark.
“You misplaced your…girlfriend…ex-wife…or, whatever it is that she is to you?”
Derek rolled his eyes. “I don’t know anymore.” He fell back against the counter, “Things were going great. We were really connecting again or at least I thought we were and then last night, she was supposed to meet me at Joe’s for a drink before dinner and-she never showed. I thought she was just late, but it kept getting later and later and then I realized she just wasn’t coming. She checked out of the hotel and now, she’s taken a sabbatical and I don’t know where she is or if she’s okay and…and…I need to find her and make sure that she’s okay.”
Mark stared at him for a moment. “She didn’t write you a “Dear John” letter?” Derek narrowed his eyes, but shook his head. “She wrote me a letter.”
Derek shot him an aggravated and annoyed look and had he not been so tired, he probably would have had Mark pinned against the wall. “I can’t believe I’m wasting my time talking to you about this…”
Mark looked Derek up and down and stared at him for a moment, reading him and seeing things he didn’t expect to see. “You really do still love her,” he said finally.
Derek stared down at the floor, “Yeah-I really do. I just hope that she believes that.”
Mark tilted his head to the side, looking Derek up and down once more. “You look like hell.” Derek looked up and shook his head. “You were up all night, weren’t you?” Derek just stared at him. “I can’t believe it-I’ve never seen you like this over her.”
Derek stared blankly at him. “What?”
“She went to a medical conference in Baltimore for three days and you didn’t notice.” Mark told him in a very matter-of-fact voice.
“I don’t have time for this,” Derek sighed and started to walk away, Mark held out his arm and stopped him. “Take a step back and just think for a minute…where would Addison go?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be standing here, would I?”
Mark sighed, “Just think about it.”
“She doesn’t know anyone in Seattle. I called Naomi, she’s not in L.A.”
“What about Savvy? Have you talked to her?”
Derek shook his head, “She hasn’t returned any of my messages.”
“Okay,” he said, “Think-you’re Addison and for whatever reason, you want to be alone-where do you go?” He shook his head, “It’s not a hard question, Derek.”
Derek thought about it for a moment and then looked up at Mark. “The Hamptons…I’d go to the house in the Hamptons…” A small yet grateful smile crept up on his face. “When she needs to get away, she usually goes to the Hamptons.”
“Bingo.”
“Okay, explain to me what the hell are you doing here and why it is that every time my cell phone rings, its your ex-husband?” Savvy asked as soon as Addison answered the door. She hugged her friend and stepped in.
“Nice to see you, too, Sav.” She looked her friend up and down. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a sports bra. “I needed a little “me time”...but I think the real question is…why are you dressed like that? Who stole your closet?”
“Me time?” Savvy asked, placing her hands on her hips, not buying the excuse. “And I’m going to yoga, that’s why I’m dressed like this.” A bright smile spread across her lips, “And you’re coming with me.”
Wide eyed, Addison shook her head, “Oh, I don’t bend particularly well.”
“I brought an extra mat, some extra clothes and you’ll be fine.”
“I shouldn’t…” Addison paused, searching for an excuse; all she really wanted to do was make some tea, sit outside on the porch swing and cry and lament to an old friend with a sympathetic ear. “I’m pregnant so, it might not be good for the baby…”
Savvy’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “Oh, are you? Well, you can give me all the juicy details about that on the way to yoga.” She smiled, “Because I know better than that-you’re not going to get hurt and you’re not going to hurt the little peanut…now go change.” Addison grimaced and took the bag Savvy was offering her. “You’ll feel great afterwards. It’s relaxing and you said that you were here to relax.” She pushed Addison towards the stairs and followed her up to the bedroom. “Hurry, we’re going to be late and you’re not going to get hurt.”
Addison shook her head and closed the door. She closed her eyes and braced herself against the sink. “It might be a little too late for that one, Sav.” She opened her eyes and stared in the mirror, “Because it already happened. I already got hurt.”
Previous chapters can be found in descending order here.
Derek desperately searches for Addison and meets resistance from Callie, Naomi, Savvy and Richard.
“Olivia!” Derek called as he approached the nurse’s station. “Have you seen Dr. Montgomery?”
Olivia shook her head, “Not since this afternoon, Dr. Shepherd.”
Derek nodded and smiled meekly. “Thanks…I…I can’t seem to find her.”
“I’ll let you know if I see her,” Olivia told him.
Derek turned around and began wandering around the surgical floor. In his mind, he replayed the events of the last hour, trying to remember some sort of clue-any inkling of where she might have gone to and why she would have just left without a word.
He slumped down in a chair in one of the waiting rooms and thought about it. Addison had agreed to meet him for drinks at Joe’s before going out for a late dinner, but she never showed up. Figuring she’d just been stuck in the OR, Derek waited almost an hour. He called her cell phone and paged her, but Addison didn’t respond to the calls or the pages. When he called the hospital and a nurse told him that she’d left almost two hours before and when he went to the hotel, thinking she’d stopped there for a shower or a change of clothes she didn’t answer the door. He hesitated only a moment before pulling out the key that she’d given him, only to find that it didn’t work. Worry quickly turned to panic. He went down to the front desk where he was informed that she had checked out earlier that evening. For a moment, he’d just stood there, staring at the clerk, not sure of what to do next; he didn’t know what to do-and more than that, he didn’t know what to think. All he could do was nod and turn away from the desk, as his head spun with every possible scenario about why Addison would have just up and left.
“Olivia,” he said, as he made his way back towards the nurse’s station. “Did Dr. Montgomery say anything when you saw her?”
Olivia thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. “No, I just delivered some test results to her.”
“Oh.” Derek nodded, “Thanks, Olivia.”
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number-again. But immediately, it connected to her voicemail-again. With a sigh, he waited and paced the floor. Finally, her voicemail prompted him to leave his message. “Addie, it’s me. I know I’ve called you about a hundred times now, but-I’m worried about you. Please call me back when you get this…” he trailed off, not sure of what else to say. “I love you.” Shaking his head, he flipped his phone shut and leaned against the surgical board. He closed his head and rubbed forefinger across his forehead, wishing that she would call, if anything, at least so that he knew that she was okay.
“You’re worried about Addison?”
Derek looked up to see Callie Torres standing in front of him with a furrowed brow. He nodded, “Yeah…”
Remembering the blood test that Addison had had her run earlier that day, Callie looked him up and down. He didn’t look good and a confused look had settled in his eyes. “Why?” She prodded.
“She was supposed to meet me for drinks and dinner-about four and a half hours ago and never showed up. She’s not here and she checked out of the hotel,” he looked up at her and shook his head, “She’s…gone…”
Callie stared at him for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like Addison.”
He looked down, “Something had to have happened.” This time it was Callie’s turn to look away, as she again thought about her earlier conversation with Addison. Derek watched her closely, studying her demeanor. “Callie, do you know something?”
“No, no, it’s not that I know something…it’s…” she looked down and shook her head, knowing that Addison would probably kill her for telling him anything, but looking at Derek and seeing the concern in his eyes was somewhat frightening. Earlier, Addison had been so ambiguous, careful never to reveal what kind of tests she was having done. “She didn’t tell me anything…it’s just…”
Derek stepped forward and his voiced sounded of panic. “Just what, Callie?”
Callie sighed; Addison would kill her and her loyalty lied with her friend, not with her friend’s ex..or…whatever he was to her now. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why can’t you tell me, Callie?”
“Because she’s my friend and friends don’t…”
“Callie, I am going out of my mind! I need to find her and if there is something wrong, I need to know.”
Callie sighed and looked at Derek. She shook her head, “She is going to kill me.”
“Please…” he begged.
Callie sighed. She was worried too and if there was something actually wrong with Addison, Derek should know, after all, he loved her. “I don’t really know anything-she wouldn’t tell me, but she was really nervous today and had me take some blood. She told me that she’d do it herself, but she was too shaky-and she was. Her hands were trembling the whole time.”
“Blood?” He felt a knot form in his stomach.
Callie nodded, “She wouldn’t tell me why and she had the results given to her. I didn’t see them.”
Derek thought for a moment. “A chart…if she had blood work done then…”
Callie shook her head, “We didn’t make a chart.”
With a long sigh, Derek pushed his fingers through his hair. “This morning she was…fine. We were fine…” he looked up at Callie, “and now she’s gone?”
Callie shifted, “Well, the last time Addison disappeared she ended up in Los Angeles.”
Derek nodded, “I know. I keep calling Naomi-that’s her friend out there-and she’s not answering either. Savvy hasn’t returned any of my messages either.” He shook his head, “Clearly, Addison got all of our friends in the divorce settlement.”
Addison was sitting in a cab on her way from JFK International Airport to Long Island. The house in the Hamptons had always been her solace-and a place where Derek had never once willingly gone to, but a place where she always felt relaxed. She needed to feel relaxed. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back and no sooner than she did, she felt her cell phone vibrating her purse. With a sigh, she pulled it out.
“Hello, Naomi,” she said with a slight smile.
“So, did you get take a test?”
“Four of them…and then a blood test.”
“And… don’t keep me in suspense here, Addie.”
Addison grinned, “I am definitely pregnant.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“Wow.”
“I know,” Addison shook her head, “I can’t believe it.”
“Neither can I, I mean, Addie, it’s a less than five percent chance…it’s…”
“A miracle,” Addison said with a slight smile. She rubbed her hand across her abdomen. “I can hardly believe it’s really happening.”
“You’re not the only one,” Naomi laughed. “So, um, Addison…I’ve got a couple of questions for you.”
With a slight smile, Addison rolled her eyes. “You do, do you?”
“First, who’s the father? And second, why do I have six missed calls from Derek?
“That’s another thing that you’re hardly going to believe,” Addison said with a sad smile. “I can hardly believe it myself…”
“Gah-someone is on the other line. Stay put, I’m going to get rid of them.”
Naomi clicked onto the other line.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Naomi…its Derek…”
“Derek,” Naomi said, her voice was full of surprise-a fake kind of surprise that she hoped told him that she hadn’t noticed that he had called her six times in the last few hours. “Um…hi…”
“I know this has to be a little strange-me just calling you out of the blue like this, but…have you seen Addison today?”
“Seen her? No.”
“I know that she spoke to you this morning and now-and now I don’t know where she is and she’s just gone and-and I’m worried about her.” Naomi was silent for a moment, unsure of what she should say. Derek sensed her hesitation. “Naomi, please…” Derek’s voice pleaded.
“Um, hang on a second, Derek. I have another call.” She clicked back to the other line.
“Okay, Addison, explain why your ex-husband all frantic and worried about you.”
Addison grimaced, “He’s frantic?”
“Yeah, he said he’s worried. What is he worried about, Addie?”
Addison sighed, “I sort of…left.”
“I’m not following. What’s that any of Derek’s business? You’re divorced.”
“You asked me who the father of this baby is… and…well…it’s Derek. Derek is the father and…and we had a thing going…a very uncomplicated thing that is now a very complicated thing, because I’m pregnant and earlier this evening I walked in on him kissing his ex-girlfriend.” She paused, “So, I left. I hopped on a plane to New York and I’m on my way to the house in the Hamptons because I need time to figure this all out.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“So, what do I tell him? He’s on the other line.”
Addison groaned, “Tell him you don’t know anything.”
“Addison, he’s really worried.”
“Did you miss the part about him making out with his ex-girlfriend?”
Naomi sighed, “Okay, fine. Hang on.” She clicked to the other line. “Derek?”
“Yeah…”
“Sorry about that, now, what were you saying?”
“Addison-have you heard from her? I just need to know that she’s okay.”
Naomi shook her head and grimaced. “I’m sorry, I haven’t spoken to her since this morning.”
“Did she say anything-anything out of the ordinary?”
“No.”
Derek sighed, “Oh, okay. I just thought that maybe…” He stopped. “If you do hear from her can you just tell her to, um, call me. I’m worried and…and I love her and…and I just need to know that she’s okay.”
Naomi swallowed hard. Derek’s voice sounded so sincere; she wondered if Addison had somehow misunderstood. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything from her.”
“Thanks, Naomi.”
With a sigh, Naomi clicked to the other line. “Addie?”
“Did you get rid of him?”
“Uh-huh.” She paused, “Are you sure about what you saw?”
Addison closed her eyes, “I wish I wasn’t.”
“Well, I told Derek that if I spoke to you, I’d tell you a few things. First, he wants you to call. Secondly, he’s worried about you and just wants to know that you’re okay. And thirdly, he loves you.”
Addison nodded and tears pushed out of the tight corners of her closed eyes. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”
The next morning, Derek stepped out of the on-call room that he’d attempted to sleep in. His eyes were bloodshot and his body was sore-he’d spent the entire night worrying.
He walked towards the coffee pot and poured some into a Styrofoam cup. He grimaced as he took a sip. It tasted terrible.
“Effective immediately,” he heard Richard telling his assistant, “Dr. Montgomery is on sabbatical.”
Derek’s head shot up. “Sabbatical?” He set down the coffee and crossed over to the opposite side of the nurse’s station. “Chief!”
Richard turned to face Derek, “Yes?”
“Addison is on sabbatical?”
He nodded, “Effective today.”
“Did she say why?”
Richard shook his head, “No-just that she was taking some time off for personal reasons.”
“Did she come in?”
“No.”
“So, she called?”
“No,” he sighed, “She sent a fax.”
“A fax? Where was it from?”
“Derek!”
“I need to know where she is, Richard.”
“I can’t discuss this with you.” He shook his head, “I’m sorry.”
Derek let out a long sigh. “I just need to find her.”
“You lost Addison?”
“What?” He spat, turning to face Mark.
“You misplaced your…girlfriend…ex-wife…or, whatever it is that she is to you?”
Derek rolled his eyes. “I don’t know anymore.” He fell back against the counter, “Things were going great. We were really connecting again or at least I thought we were and then last night, she was supposed to meet me at Joe’s for a drink before dinner and-she never showed. I thought she was just late, but it kept getting later and later and then I realized she just wasn’t coming. She checked out of the hotel and now, she’s taken a sabbatical and I don’t know where she is or if she’s okay and…and…I need to find her and make sure that she’s okay.”
Mark stared at him for a moment. “She didn’t write you a “Dear John” letter?” Derek narrowed his eyes, but shook his head. “She wrote me a letter.”
Derek shot him an aggravated and annoyed look and had he not been so tired, he probably would have had Mark pinned against the wall. “I can’t believe I’m wasting my time talking to you about this…”
Mark looked Derek up and down and stared at him for a moment, reading him and seeing things he didn’t expect to see. “You really do still love her,” he said finally.
Derek stared down at the floor, “Yeah-I really do. I just hope that she believes that.”
Mark tilted his head to the side, looking Derek up and down once more. “You look like hell.” Derek looked up and shook his head. “You were up all night, weren’t you?” Derek just stared at him. “I can’t believe it-I’ve never seen you like this over her.”
Derek stared blankly at him. “What?”
“She went to a medical conference in Baltimore for three days and you didn’t notice.” Mark told him in a very matter-of-fact voice.
“I don’t have time for this,” Derek sighed and started to walk away, Mark held out his arm and stopped him. “Take a step back and just think for a minute…where would Addison go?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be standing here, would I?”
Mark sighed, “Just think about it.”
“She doesn’t know anyone in Seattle. I called Naomi, she’s not in L.A.”
“What about Savvy? Have you talked to her?”
Derek shook his head, “She hasn’t returned any of my messages.”
“Okay,” he said, “Think-you’re Addison and for whatever reason, you want to be alone-where do you go?” He shook his head, “It’s not a hard question, Derek.”
Derek thought about it for a moment and then looked up at Mark. “The Hamptons…I’d go to the house in the Hamptons…” A small yet grateful smile crept up on his face. “When she needs to get away, she usually goes to the Hamptons.”
“Bingo.”
“Okay, explain to me what the hell are you doing here and why it is that every time my cell phone rings, its your ex-husband?” Savvy asked as soon as Addison answered the door. She hugged her friend and stepped in.
“Nice to see you, too, Sav.” She looked her friend up and down. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a sports bra. “I needed a little “me time”...but I think the real question is…why are you dressed like that? Who stole your closet?”
“Me time?” Savvy asked, placing her hands on her hips, not buying the excuse. “And I’m going to yoga, that’s why I’m dressed like this.” A bright smile spread across her lips, “And you’re coming with me.”
Wide eyed, Addison shook her head, “Oh, I don’t bend particularly well.”
“I brought an extra mat, some extra clothes and you’ll be fine.”
“I shouldn’t…” Addison paused, searching for an excuse; all she really wanted to do was make some tea, sit outside on the porch swing and cry and lament to an old friend with a sympathetic ear. “I’m pregnant so, it might not be good for the baby…”
Savvy’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “Oh, are you? Well, you can give me all the juicy details about that on the way to yoga.” She smiled, “Because I know better than that-you’re not going to get hurt and you’re not going to hurt the little peanut…now go change.” Addison grimaced and took the bag Savvy was offering her. “You’ll feel great afterwards. It’s relaxing and you said that you were here to relax.” She pushed Addison towards the stairs and followed her up to the bedroom. “Hurry, we’re going to be late and you’re not going to get hurt.”
Addison shook her head and closed the door. She closed her eyes and braced herself against the sink. “It might be a little too late for that one, Sav.” She opened her eyes and stared in the mirror, “Because it already happened. I already got hurt.”
Previous chapters can be found in descending order here.