#neverletyougo

This is a short little one shot based off of some sentence prompts that a friend sent me. It’s not my best story, but I tried. Hope you all enjoy!

“I’ll keep you safe.”

“I don’t like you... I love you.”

“You’re the only person I wanted to be with tonight.”

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Amelia

4:30pm

I sighed, laying my dress on my bed. I had less than four hours to be ready and be there. I didn’t really want to go, because I knew Owen would be there, but I had to. The hospital was throwing a fundraiser ball and all of the department heads were supposed to be there. It was mandatory. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, wishing that I had more time. Why did I have to wait until the last minute to get ready? Meredith and Maggie were already showered and were getting dressed. Now it was my turn. I walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind me, locking it. We were all girls, but I just... needed privacy. Meredith and Maggie had been good about that. They hadn’t bothered me (much) since I moved back in, and for that, I was grateful. I took a deep breath as I got undressed and turned the shower on, then stepped inside.

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5:30pm

As I stood in front of the mirror, fully dressed now, my mind wandered back to a couple of years before, to the last time I stood in a front of a mirror wearing a fancy dress. My wedding day. Although this dress was a lot different than my wedding dress, the memories came flooding back. I took a deep breath, blinking back the tears that threatened to escape. My life was a mess right now, but I was pushing through. When I heard my bedroom door open and a soft knock, I glanced behind me in the mirror to see who it was.

“You look amazing.” Maggie’s sweet voice echoed in the room. “Are you ready?” She asked.

I took another deep breath and nodded once. Maggie was going to do my hair for me. I didn’t really care to leave it down, but she said with the dress, it would look better up. So I agreed to let her do it.

“So, Meredith and I were talking... and we thought that maybe.. if you want us to.. we can hang out with you tonight and help you avoid Owen.” Maggie said. “If you want us to...”

“No.. it’s fine.” I heard myself say. What was I thinking? How was I supposed to avoid him on my own? I sighed. “Jackson and Andrew will be here soon. And, I don’t think they’d like it very much if you two ignored them just to hang out with me.” I told her.

Maggie smiled as she worked on my hair. “You’re our sister, Amelia. You know we’ll do anything for you.” She told me. “Just let us know if you change your mind, okay?” She said.

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. What was I supposed to do? I was going to be there, all alone. If Owen saw me..– no. No. If Owen saw me, so what? He’d probably be with Teddy anyway, so it didn’t matter right? I wasn’t in his life anymore. It didn’t matter whether or not he saw me.

“Alright. All done. What do you think?” Maggie’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.

I looked in the mirror again and took in a breath, a small smile forming on my lips. Maggie was good. She really was. I was impressed. “I love it, Maggie. Thank you.” I told her.

“You’re welcome.” She said. “Now hurry up and finish getting ready. You’re riding with us.” She told me.

“Maggie, you don’t have to–”

“You are riding with us. Jackson’s got a limo coming to pick us up. They’ll be here at six o’clock sharp. So hurry up.” She said as she walked out the door.

I sighed once more and grabbed my shoes off of my bed, slipping them on. Perfect. Or not. Nothing like being a fifth wheel right? “This sucks..” I whispered to myself as I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs.

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6:30pm

As the limo pulled up to the hotel, I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I was nervous, to say the least. This was the last place I wanted to be right now. I had no idea why they couldn’t just throw this ball at the actual hospital, but to be honest, I didn’t care. I didn’t want to be here. When the limo stopped and the driver came around to open the door, Jackson got out first, then Andrew. Andrew took Meredith’s hand, helping her out, then Jackson took Maggie’s as she climbed out. I scooted over to the edge of the seat and started to get out when I saw a hand in front of me. When I looked up, I saw Jackson standing there, offering me his hand. I offered him a small smile as I took it and stepped out of the limo. “Thank you.” I spoke softly as I let go of his hand, the driver closing the door behind me.

Jackson nodded once before he and Maggie walked a few steps ahead, just behind Meredith and Andrew. I stood there, looking up at the huge building in front of me. It was nice. I could only imagine what the inside looked like. As I walked inside, I followed the rest of the crew as they made their way to the banquet hall. I felt stupid, being alone while everyone else had a date. I probably looked as stupid as I felt, too. Well, I thought to myself. Here goes nothing.

.......................................................................................

7:00pm

“Is it over yet?” I asked softly, sitting down at one of the small tables around the edge of the room.

Maggie smiled as she sipped her drink. “We’ve only been here for half an hour.” She stated.

“I know, but you have a date. I’m like the only single in here..” I said with a sigh, my eyes scanning the room.

“There are plenty of hot guys here. Just go find you one.” Maggie said. “Have fun, Amelia.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at what she said. ‘Have fun’. Yeah right. I watched as Maggie got up and left the table to go dance with Jackson, once again leaving me alone. I ran my finger across the rim of my untouched glass of water as I scanned the room once more.

And there he was. Standing in the corner of the room, talking to someone I had never seen before. I hadn’t seen him until just now. Maybe he was avoiding me, too. He looked good. Most of the time I saw him, he was wearing scrubs, but now he had on a suit and a tie. It wasn’t the first time I’d ever seen him dressed up, but it was a rare occasion. And each time, it took my breath away. Owen Hunt was a handsome man. And he cleaned up nicely. It felt like forever had passed since I last saw him at the hospital, but in reality, it had only been a couple of weeks. The four years that we had spent breaking up and getting back together, he was always trying; always coming back to me and trying to get me to work things out. This time was different. He didn’t come back. He didn’t text or call or come by Meredith’s house to try and get me to talk. He stayed away. And that killed me on the inside.

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Owen

7:07pm

“Yeah, I’ll catch you later.” I said softly as the man I was talking to walked away. He was a trauma surgeon from Seattle Presbyterian that I had known for a few years. As he walked away, my eyes scanned the room for another familiar face. When I spotted her, I could feel my heart start to pound in my chest. She always took my breath away when I saw her, but this time was different. She was wearing a tight fitting, red dress that came down just above her knees. The color looked good on her. Her hair was put up with braids. It looked good. I liked her hair up. She was sitting there, all alone, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else, and I couldn’t help but smile. That was so Amelia. She hated events like this. I felt bad because she was by herself, but would she talk to me if I went over? Would she want to have anything to do with me? I missed her. And there were times when I wanted to reach out to her, but wasn’t sure how to approach her. I owed her an apology for the words I said to her at that lawyer’s office.

With a sigh, I made my way over to her table. I approached slowly, trying not to scare her. “You look like you’d rather be anywhere else but here.” I said softly. I knew she recognized my voice immediately because the look on her face was nothing short of annoyance.

She looked down, then finally looked me in the eyes. “What are you doing here?” She asked. “I thought you were avoiding me.”

I looked at her, confused. Why would I be avoiding her? “I wasn’t trying to. If that’s what you think.” I said. “I just...” I sighed. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to apologize.” I told her. “Amelia,.. I’m sorry. For what I said to you at the lawyer’s office that day. I was angry and... I shouldn’t have said what I said. I know that now. I just wish I hadn’t... taken everything out on you. I’m really sorry.” I whispered. Amelia looked down again and I swear I could see unshed tears in her eyes. Maybe I did. And maybe that was my fault. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before I reached out and offered her my hand. “Dance with me.” I said.

Amelia looked up at me and raised a brow. “What?”

“Dance with me.” I repeated.

She sighed and looked around the room, like she was making sure no one was looking at her. “Fine..” She finally said as she took my hand and stood up.

I smiled a little as I led her out onto the dance floor. The last time we danced was at our wedding and that was years ago. When I found a spot where there weren’t as many people, I stopped and put my hand on her waist. When she put her free hand on my shoulder, I smiled as I looked down into her eyes. “It’s been a while since we’ve done something like this.” I said.

Amelia looked up at me and offered me a small smile. “Our wedding day...” She said. “That feels like a lifetime ago.” She told me.

“It does.” I agreed. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as we danced, not really paying attention to anyone around us. It was nice to be able to hold her in my arms again, even if just for a few minutes.

“You know.. you’re lucky you came over when you did.” Amelia said.

I raised a brow at her, waiting for her to explain further.

When she looked up at me again, I saw her eyes sparkle like I haven’t seen in a long time. “All of these guys in here are just lining up to dance with me. And I guarantee you, as soon as you let me go, they’ll be swarming me.” She said, a teasing tone in her voice.

I smiled and looked around the room. I knew she was joking, which was a good turnaround from how her mood had been before. “Really?” I asked. “What if I don’t want to let you go?” I whispered.

Amelia smiled as she looked around at everyone else. “I’m sure there will be a big fight on your hands. Maybe.” She said to me. She looked up at me again, her eyes meeting mine. “Some of them won’t take no for an answer.” She said with shrug.

I smiled again and instinctively pulled her closer, my hand resting on her lower back. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.” I told her. She laughed softly, one of my favorite sounds. We weren’t really paying attention to the music, but as long as there were other couples dancing around us, I knew we were okay. A few minutes passed where we didn’t say anything. Amelia had moved her hands and had wrapped her arms around my neck, while I rested my hands on her back, holding her close. When she rested her head on my chest, I smiled a little and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, taking in the all too familiar scent of her shampoo. I sighed. “Amelia... I know you don’t like me very much right now... hell, you probably don’t even like me at all, but.. I just wanted you to know that I really am sorry for what I said to you and for the way I’ve been treating you.” I said to her. “You didn’t deserve any of that and I–”

“Owen..” Amelia said, raising her head up to look at me. “You’re right... I didn’t deserve it.” She said softly. “And... no... I don’t like you... I love you.”

The words made my heart stop, my breath caught in my throat. We he stopped dancing by now and were just standing there, looking into each other’s eyes. I didn’t know what to say. Amelia had never said those three words to me before. I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, my heart pounding in my chest. “You do?” I asked.

The smile on her face was more than enough of an answer for me. I hadn’t seen her smile like that in months. I couldn’t help myself, I needed to feel her close to me again. I tightened my arms around her, pulling her body against mine and pressing my lips to hers in a soft kiss. Something I hadn’t done in what felt like ages. It felt good. I missed being able to kiss her like that. When I pulled back, Amelia looked up at me, her eyes sparkling again, the smile never leaving her face. She reached up and put her hand on my cheek, looking at my face. I smiled as I looked into her eyes. I could look into those eyes forever. They were so beautiful. “Can I ask you something?” Her voice broke through my thoughts.

“Of course.” I replied.

“Why didn’t you bring a date?” She asked me.

It was kind of an unexpected question, but she seemed genuinely curious. I took in a breath and smiled a little, shaking my head. “Why would I?” I asked softly. “You’re the only person I wanted to be with tonight.” I said.