Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175

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In the small garden outside the inpatient wing, the trees and greenery were lush, and the emerald lawn basked lazily under the morning sun.

Warm, golden light filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows across the ground where Aubrey Hayes and Tracy Blackwood sat together on a long wooden bench.

The air carried the crisp, clean scent of grass. A summer breeze drifted past, a fleeting mix of the morning’s rising heat and a lingering, cool draft.

Aubrey felt no comfort in the scenery. Instead, she felt as if she were trapped inside a transparent coffin. Even though she could see the world right in front of her, she was confined to a space so narrow she couldn’t even turn over, the walls of her mind closing in until she could barely breathe.

She remembered when she first started getting sick, back when the symptoms were still manageable. Her mother’s voice used to ring out with the same dismissive refrains:“What do you have to be depressed about? Just choose to be happy. Why are you so sad? I think you’re just bored. Go find a job; once you’re busy making money, you won’t have time to be miserable. You think you’re hurting? I’ve had it a hundred times worse than you. You’re just being dramatic. You’re just looking for attention…”

That was the world’s perfect summary of depression–a complete and utter lack of understanding.

She turned her head slightly to look at Tracy.

Noticing her gaze, Tracy smiled warmly.“What is it, Aubrey?”

Aubrey didn’t say a word.

If someone had never lived through this nightmare, how could they ever truly empathize? How could they ever understand?

Would Tracy be just like her mother? Would she think Aubrey was overthinking everything, being dramatic, or just acting out? Would she tell her to ust “snap out of it” and that things would get better if she just looked on the bright side?

This illness was so draining–a void of negativity so heavy it felt like it would eventually crush anyone who stepped into her orbit.

As time went on, would they all grow weary of her? Would they start to resent her and eventually drift away?

Tracy, I’m really okay. You don’t have to stay here at the hospital with me all the time,” Aubrey said, her voice soft. She wanted Tracy to leave, to get way before her own darkness started to rub off on her.

‘I’m not the one keeping you company.” Tracy hooked her arm through Aubrey’s and leaned her head against her shoulder, her voice sweet and playfully needy.“I’m off work for the next couple of days, and I don’t have many friends. I have nowhere else to go. Really, you’re the one keeping me company.”

Despite the sweetness of the gesture, the comfort did little to ease the gnawing anxiety in Aubrey’s chest.

Just then, Tracy’s phone buzzed twice.

She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and then straightened up to scan their surroundings. In the distance, she spotted a familiar figure approaching, carrying a child in one arm and a bag of fruit in the other.

‘Over here!” Tracy called out, standing up.

Aubrey turned her head to look.

As the figure drew closer, Aubrey realized it was Sierra Vance, her best friend since childhood.

Tracy hurried over to take the bag of fruit from Sierra’s hand, and the two of them walked back toward Aubrey side by side.

“Look who’s here to see you, Bree,” Tracy said, her smile radiating warmth.

Sierra offered a smile of her own, though her eyes shimmered with a raw, undeniable heartache for her friend that she couldn’t quite mask.

As she drew closer, Sierra’s voice grew thick, catching in her throat.“Bree… I’m here.”

Aubrey looked up at her, her expression flat. Inside, she felt nothing–not even a ripple of emotion.

She knew she should be happy, or moved, or at least concerned about how Sierra was holding up as a single mother.

Instead, there was only a hollow apathy. She didn’t have the strength to feel, and she lacked the curiosity to care about anything at all.

It wasn’t until her gaze drifted to Buddy that her heart gave a sudden, unexpected stutter, a tiny crack in the ice of her numbness. A small, ghost of a smile flickered across her face.“Buddy has grown so much.”

Sierra immediately sat down beside her, pulling the boy closer. “He has. He’s already starting to cruise along the walls and furniture.”

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Aubrey reached out, her fingers tracing the soft, pudgy curve of Buddy’s cheek.“He’s definitely filled out. He looks taller, too.”

He is,” Sierra agreed, gently placing the toddler on the grass.“He’s officially weaned now. He’s strictly on formula and solids.”

The moment Buddy’s feet touched the grass, he steadied himself against Sierra’s knees, toddling toward Aubrey. His small, pale hands brushed against Aubrey’s knee for support as he shuffled to the edge of the bench, lunging for a dry, withered leaf resting on the slats.

He clutched the leaf like a trophy, a wide grin breaking across his face and revealing a few tiny, pearly–white teeth.

As Buddy beamed, Aubrey found herself smiling back, the reflex almost instinctive.

he immediately dropped into a crouch, gathering more fallen leaves from the ground and lining them up on the bench in front of him.“Look at this ne, Buddy,” she murmured, her voice soft and melodic.“It’s golden. Isn’t it pretty?”

Suddy snatched the leaf from the bench and threw it with all his might.

As the leaf fluttered back to the earth, Buddy let out an infectious, high–pitched giggle.

Aubrey began scavenging the area for more leaves, the smile on her face widening with every step. Her movements, previously stiff and hesitant, grew nore fluid and natural.

ierra and Tracy watched her in silence, but Aubrey’s entire world had narrowed down to Buddy. She didn’t seem to notice anyone else was there.

o Sierra, the silence was heavy. She realized Aubrey hadn’t offered a single word of greeting to her, showing no interest at all in how she’d been or what her life had looked like lately.

racy, however, saw it from a different perspective. Aubrey had been stuck in a state of emotional paralysis for two days since waking up, but Buddy ad managed to crack the armor. This was the first time Tracy had seen a genuine spark of joy return to Aubrey’s eyes–the first sign that she could ctually be happy again.

ost in the moment, Aubrey continued to play with Buddy and the golden leaves.

Aubrey gathered a mountain of leaves, scooping them up in her arms and showering them over Buddy’s head. He tilted his face toward the sky, watching the golden cascade fall around him with wide, sparkling eyes. A pure, infectious giggle erupted from him, and he began clumsily throwing eaves into the air, mimicking her every move.

Vhen Buddy plopped down onto the grass, Aubrey immediately followed suit, sitting cross–legged as they shared a private world made of nothing but rittle, autumn leaves.

ierra leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a low, confidential tone.“Bree, Ryan finally agreed to the divorce. We’ve already signed the papers. I have ull custody.”

Aubrey’s gaze never wavered from the boy; her focus was locked on his small, joyful form.“Congratulations,” she said, her voice flat. “Getting away rom that prick is the best thing you could do. Your life is going to be so much better now.”

Yours will be, too,” Sierra whispered.

Aubrey didn’t offer a response.

Sierra knew the weight of the silence. She knew Aubrey had lost her child and was drowning in the aftermath.“I’m planning to head back to Crestview City for work,” she continued gently.“My parents are going to help me with Buddy.”

That’s good,” Aubrey murmured.

I probably won’t have much time to visit New Haven City anymore, but let’s stay connected on social media. Don’t go silent on me–you can share anything with me, okay?”

“Okay,” Aubrey replied, her expression remaining eerily still.

“You have to stay on top of your treatment, Bree. See the doctors, take the meds, do the work. You and Damon are still so young–there is such a long road ahead of you. Wealth, a career, happiness, children… you can have it all again. You just can’t give up.”

“I know, I know,” Aubrey said, giving a small, mechanical nod. As Buddy began to crawl away across the lawn, she didn’t wait for another word. She dropped to all fours and crawled right after him, her entire world narrowing down to the movement of the child.

Buddy reached out and picked up another handful of fallen leaves.

Aubrey ruffled his hair, her eyes brimming with a soft, aching tenderness. A doting smile played on her lips as she whispered, “Buddy, you have to grow up strong. Stay healthy, and always, always stay this happy.”

Mimicking her, the toddler tossed the leaves into the air toward her, trying to make them rain down over her head in a flurry of gold

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Watching how sweet and innocent he was, Aubrey felt a sudden, sharp pang in her chest.

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The thought of such a precious little boy growing up in a single–parent home, wondering what kind of man he would become without a father figure, made her heart heavy.

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