Thoughts?
She stopped breathing, stopped fighting. The water was cold, her body stiff. It was dark, and her eyes burned. For a moment, she just let go. The last few months replayed in her mind: Derek, falling for him despite the lies and secrets, the ghost of her mother's disapproval, the sudden reality of his wife. God, how could she have been so stupid?
Her blue eyes shuddered closed. The darkness deepened, pressing in. For a moment, she thought she saw her mother staring at her with disappointment.
Meredith couldn't find it in herself to care.
——
She gasped, her body going rigid. Next came noise: traffic, cars, the sounds of people calling her name. Her eyes fluttered open. She was on land, that much she knew. It was cold concrete beneath her. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
A calloused palm rested on her, and a soothing voice said, "Breathe, it's alright, breathe."
And Meredith, for once in her life, didn't question it. She didn't wonder who the hell was talking, or where she was. She just breathed, in and out, slowly, almost in a trance.
"Will she be okay?" Another voice asked, this one sounding familiar. Meredith's eyes flew open and she looked around. She was on the sidewalk, a little away from Joe's. Seattle Grace Hospital towered opposite the bar. Did I...? What the hell is happening? she thought desperately.
The arms around her tightened, the voice by her ear still soothing. "Better?"
Meredith blinked. Part of her knew this was wrong. She'd been in the bay, drowning, after the man she was helping struggled and kicked her into the water. So... how? She tried turning, but the arms around her waist held her steady.
"Easy now," the woman said, gently shifting Meredith.