Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The city avenues were choked with traffic that night, car taillights stretching like a fiery red dragon, winding through the darkness, inching along.

Aubrey sat in the passenger seat, turning her head to watch Damon drive, vaguely sensing a heavy cloud of unspoken tension radiating from him.

Once the traffic ceased, his foot hit the gas, and the car surged forward, leaving other vehicles in their dust,

ronically, she found herself calming, her fear receding. She pulled out her phone, meticulously reviewing the city’s animal control ordinances, already dotting her retaliation.

[wenty minutes later, the car pulled into the hospital.

Aubrey unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed open the door, about to get out, when Damon suddenly rounded the hood of the car and swept her into his

No… I’m fine, I can walk…” A gasp escaped her lips as her body was suddenly airborne, and instinctively, she reached out, clutching Damon’s shoulders.

Damon’s embrace was warm and solid, carrying the faint, clean scent of pine that brought a strange, unexpected comfort, settling deep within her.

Don’t move,” Damon’s voice was low and serious, and he took off at a run, rushing into the emergency room.

n that single instant, Aubrey’s heart was thrown into complete disarray..

A stark, almost eerie silence filled the emergency room.

His voice, raw with urgency, cut through the quiet Doctor.. Nurse. She was bitten by a dog.”

The nurse rushed over at the sound, scanning Aubrey up and down. She peeled back the torn fabric of Aubrey’s pants, revealing an open wound on her

ale, delicate thigh.

Follow me,” the nurse said. “We need to treat that wound immediately.” She led them further inside

Aubrey lay still in Damon’s strong arms, feeling the frantic best of his heart against her.

dis dark eyes were unreadable, sweat beaded on his brow, and his breathing was rough and heavy.

ihe hadn’t seen Damon this frantic in a long time.

The last time he’d been this frantic was five years ago, when her period cramps were so severe she’d nearly passed out. He’d rushed her to the hospital hen too, cradling her, shouting and yelling in the emergency room, terrified she would just die any second.

Once inside, Damon gently placed her on the gurney,

The nurse, already prepping tools to clean the wound, gave instructions. The family member needs to register first. The doctor will be here shorth I lean your wounds, but first, you’ll need to take off your pants”

Lubrey froze, a flush of embarrassment creeping up her neck. She lifted her gaze to Damon,

Jamon hesitated for a few seconds, his eyes meeting hers.“Til go register,” he murmured, before turning and stepping out, pulling the door shut behind

Auley stripped down The nurse carefully examined her, finding two serious, open wounds on her left thigh

he pulled her top bark on, leaving her only in her apricot–colored panties.

The serious wounds were still areping blood as the muse meticulously ilisinfected and flushes shem

Moments later, the doctor came in for an examination, and the additional costs for her treatment and vaccine were decadest

Damon had just returned from clacking her in, vody no rush off again with the slips to pay and pick up the mediation and

The sting of the water

water on Aulurry’s wound made sweat bead on her bio

ent timom door, followed by Damon’s voke “Nurse, I love the

The nurse called out, Being it in

Aubrey hastily pulled the blanket to cover her lower body “Nurse, he’s not my boyfriend”

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I’ll just step out and get it.” The nurse quickly turned and waited, opening the door

handed her

1148

the vaccine and immunoglobulin Damon

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“So many shots Damon asked. “Are they all for today?”

“This is today’s dose. There are four more sessions later; you’ll need to come back for them as prescribed “The nurse finished, then almost afterthought, added. The rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin injections can be quite painful. Many find them hard to bear.”

Damon’s face darkened, and he said nothing.

Noticing Damon’s worried expression, the nurse said. “When I was cleaning the wound, I noticed she’s quite sensitive to pain, almost as if she’s terrified. of it. She might cry and scream when she

gets the shots, but don’t worry too much, it’s a normal reaction.”

Damon nodded. “She’s terrified of needles and p

pain,” he said. “Please be gentle.”

Okay, the nurse replied, taking the vaccine and immunoglobulin and closing the door behind her.

Behind the curtain, Aubrey heard Damon and the nurse’s conversation, and an inexplicable flutter stirred in her chest.

But at the same time, she felt the nurse was exaggerating.

It was just a vaccine. She’d had plenty of them as a kid. Even though she was scared of pain and needles, she could handle a little sting

The nurse returned to the treatment bed and began preparing the shots.

Aubrey propped herself against the headboard, her legs resting on the hospital bed. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the shot.

But she was still so naive.

She had no idea how agonizing the rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin would truly be

The sharp, slender needle pierced her thigh near the wound, plunging in its full length.

A full syringe of serum was slowly injected into her muscle and skin layers. The muscle swelled with fluid, refusing to take any more, so the needle swirled under her skin, injecting the serum in other directions until her muscle and subcutaneous tissue reddened and bulged.

The pain was excruciating, bone–deep, a burning, throbbing ache.

Aubrey clenched her teeth against the pain, cupping her hands over her mouth to stifle her cries. Unbidden tears streamed down, drenching her face

At last, the nurse withdrew the needle.

Aubrey thought the pain was over, but then the nurse forcefully massaged her swollen muscle where the shot had gone in, to help the medicine disperse i bit. Then, she moved to a new, unswollen area, and the long needle plunged in completely once more.

The needle went in, its entire length vanishing beneath her skin.

A strangled scream tore

scream tore from Aubrey’s throat. One hand gripped the sheets so tightly her knuckles turned white and trembled, while the other she iloved into her mouth, Liting down hard on the fleshy part above her thumb, desperate to stifle the cries.

Cold

var slicked her skin, and her very soul vibrated with the agony

Suddenly, the door burst open

Damon, having heard

burst into

Aubrey, still commumed by the scaring pain, didn’t register his presence

Aubery was dat in puncthat her mand blurred, du was layoond

The terror of the dle and the excruciating hoor deep pathad been building but the tent Damon neared her, she couldn’t hold in any longer She Hung her arm around best burying her face in his abdomen and began to me only

Never in her life had she experimed an injection that sellased nich sony

Damon suffered the moment she clung to him. His bond red in the air for a before slowly descending to wrap arosiml her trembling

shoulden

The prolonged

After the series of injections, Audrey’s thigh was fiery red, swollen, hot, and throbbing with pain. Her er boly (el drained, making it impossible for

< Chapter 24

er to walk.

After receiving the doctor’s instructions, they waited for a thirty minute observation period at the hospital.

Damon carried Aubrey back to the car.

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The car glided smoothly down the avenue. Aubrey wiped her tears dry and turned her head to look at Damon.

The streetlights cast flickering shadows that danced across his sharply defined profile, rugged and aloof, undeniably handsome.

Thank you,” she whispered, her voice weak and fragile.

Jaman kept his gaze fixed on the road. Don’t mention it,” he said.

Do you still have the hospital bill?”

I do.”

Can I have it?”

Sure

Later, I’m going to sue those people. Once I get the money, I’ll pay you back for the

No need to.”

Aubrey fell silent, not speaking again

The money she earned, aside from rent and food, almost all went to pay for Caleb Taylor’s father’s medical treatments.

I was a bottomless pit.

Caleb Taylor knew his father was brain–dead, a persistent vegetative state from which he would never wake, yet he refused to stop the treatments. All o trap her, to drain her, and force her to give in and marry him.

ust then, Damon’s phone rang.

He put on his Bluetooth earbuds, answered the call, and gave a faint “Mm–hm, okay.”

fanging up. Damon turned the steering wheel, taking a turn up ahead.

Aubrey, curious, asked, “Where are we going?

Someone from the police station called and asked me to go over there.”

Aubrey nodded, leaning back against the seat. She sighed softly. That works out. I was planning to go to the station tomorrow anyway, but since they alled, we might as well get this resolved tonight.”

Don’t be afraid. I’ve got this handled.” Damon’s tone was incredibly serious.

Aubrey froze for a moment.

That wasn’t something he should be saying to her.

But they were the only two prople in the car.

n this world, besides dogs, there was nothing else that Aubrey truly feared

Duce day arrived

station, they were separated for questioning and to gi

give their statemems

Inside the interrogation rooms, the lights were light

The man was in plain clothes, with a work clipped to his shirt, showing his badge number and names Gavin Taylor

Damon had just sat down when Gavin pushed a stack of photos at the table “This dog–you killed in

Damon glanced at the photos “Yes,” he said.”1 killed

Officer Gavin pushed a stack of hills across the table.“Its purchase price, air freight, routine vaccination and health check–ups, all the other expenses for its upkeep… and the fact that its death sent the owner’s mother to the hospital with grief. All told, the owner is demanding a quarter of a million dollars in compensation from you.”

Damon’s gaze was steady as lu looked at Gavin What’s dog owner’s name?”

11:48

< Chapter 24

“Caleb Taylor.”

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The dog owner had been so arrogant in the neighborhood, shamelessly boasting about his connections in the department.

That explained it.

Damon’s lips curled into a cold, faint smile.“Caleb Taylor,” he said, referencing the dog owner, then looking at the man across from him.“And you, Gavin. The Taylors. Clearly, you’re from the same family.”

Gavin nervously clutched his badge, quickly flipping it over. He slapped the table, his voice sharp. Tm handling this by the book. A dog a private property. You killed someone’s dog without cause, so you owe compensation. The owner hasn’t even asked for emotional damages yet.”

The dog was attacking someone in a public place. I acted in the heat of the moment to save a life. It was a clear case of self–defense and defense of another, making my actions reasonable and lawful. What did I do wrong?”

Gavin scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “What you call an ‘attack‘ was just the dog and its owner’s wife playing around. They’re husband and wife. Who asked you to butt in?”

“Husband and wife?” Damon didn’t dignify the claim with an argument. “Where’s their marriage certificate?”

Gavin paused.