Chương 29: Chapter 29
Avery jerked awake with a gasp. Her chest was heaving and her head felt like it had been run over by a truck. She placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath.
What was that? Did she have a nightmare? She couldn't remember having any dream but it felt a lot like waking up from a nightmare. She looked around and slid out of bed. The house was eerily quiet and when she checked the time, it was already 10am. That was odd.
Angel rarely slept in beyond 9am and when he woke up, he would knock on her door incessantly to wake her so they would play. It was Sunday and she had promised to take him to the zoo—well, Damon had promised to take him to the zoo—but he should have been too excited to sleep beyond sunrise.
She poured herself a glass of water, downed it and washed her face, then she walked out of her room. He was not playing in his room either. An ominous feeling settled in her stomach as she opened the door to his room.
"Angel?"
She let out a sigh of relief when she saw him sitting on the floor of his room, but her relief soon turned into worry when she saw his little shoulders jerk. He was crying.
She rushed over and picked him up, sitting on his bed with him on her lap. "Baby, what happened?"
He didn't say a word and didn't react to her presence. It was as if he didn't even notice she was there. Her brows furrowed when she felt his forehead. He was running a fever!
"Diana!" She yelled for his nanny and the latter rushed in in a few seconds.
"Madam," She bowed her head and was yet to say a word when Avery interrupted her.
"When did Angel wake up?"
"About…"
"You are not certain?!" She snapped before Diana could answer. "Did he stay on his own since he woke up?"
Diana trembled as she looked down. "He was crying and he likes to be alone so I let him calm down but…"
Avery closed her eyes and hugged her son closer to her chest. He must have been crying for at least half an hour. He was having a meltdown. She took a few deep breaths and carefully placed the boy on his bed, and rushed to her room to grab her phone. She frantically dialled Dr. Chris' number. The call went to voicemail. Just her luck.
Damn it! She cursed and redialled, this time leaving a message.
"Get to my house right now! You better hurry!" She gasped for breath and shut her eyes. This was not happening.
She would much rather see Angel throw a tantrum and thrash his room when he broke down but this silence was killing her. She didn't know what he was thinking. He wouldn't communicate in the slightest and the last time it happened, he was unconscious for four days afterwards.
How did this happen?
"Madam?"
She turned when she heard a knock and Diana's voice. That was the last person she wanted to see.
"Diana. I hired you to take care of my son. Is this how you take care of an autistic child? Ignoring his emotions when they get out of control? Why didn't you wake me?"
"I didn't know I should." She answered, infuriating Avery so much that she would have hit her if she had any strength left in her.
She brushed past her and rushed back to Angel's room. He was back on the floor, hugging his chibi plush toy and crying harder as he squeezed it. It didn't make any sounds.
She hurried over and gathered him into her arms. "It's the toy, isn't it? Is it broken?"
He didn't say a word so she pried it out of his arms and checked it. She didn't hear the recording either. She was slightly relieved.
"Baby, I'll get it fixed. I promise."
He looked up at her and instead of his tears slowing down, he burst into a fresh bout.
"No…" Her eyes stung. "Do you miss him? I'll call him over."
"Avery?" A familiar voice made her look up.
She stood up, cradling Angel. "Damon. Why the hell are you here?"
"You called me." He held his phone up. "Is everything alright?"
When did she call him? She wanted to ask but her mind was a haze. She looked down at her bawling son. "Angel, Papa is here."
"What's wrong?" Damon asked. He had felt that something had gone wrong from her tone but seeing her like this, he couldn't help worrying. He closed in on her and took a look at Angel.
"A silent emotional meltdown?" He asked.
"He was hugging the chibi toy. I thought he missed you." The tears she had been holding came gushing out.
"It's okay. Let me." He took the boy in his arms. "Angel, I'm here. I'm sorry I'm late."
He wrapped his little arms around Damon's neck.
Avery was about to let out a sigh of relief when the boy buried his face in his father's chest and broke down.
"I'll call Mabella." He shifted Angel onto one arm and reached for his phone.
"Your sister?" She asked.
He nodded subtly. "She is nearby."
Before he could dial her number, she grabbed his phone and smashed it onto the floor.
"Don't you fucking dare!"
His brows furrowed. "Avery, this is not about whatever grudges exist between you and my family. It's about Angel's health. Mabella is a pediatrician."
Her hands flew to her hips and she scoffed. "It's not about the grudges? Whose fault is it then? Who should I thank for my baby's autism?"
"Avery!" He barked.
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" She angrily wiped her tears. "It's all because of you and your vile family! Why does my son have to pay for your sins?"
Chương 30: Chapter 30
Angel stirred and Damon shifted him into a more comfortable position. He knew that she was right but that was not important right now. "I'm sorry Avery. I know it's our fault." He admitted.
She glared at him with a scoff. "You are just saying that to get me to shut up."
He looked at his uncomfortable son and lowered his voice. "You are right about that, but Angel doesn't like this conversation."
She looked at her son and shut her eyes. "I left Dr. Chris a message. He should be here soon." She was frustrated. It was rare for Dr. Chris to be unavailable when she needed him, which was why she was panicked earlier.
Damon shook his head. "You didn't call any doctor. You called me."
"What?" She frowned and took out her phone to check. As expected, she did call Dr. Chris the first time but the second time, she dialled the contact above Dr. Chris in her contact list and that just happened to be 'Demon.'
She huffed in frustration and called again, but his phone was still off.
"How about I call Mabella and whoever arrives first takes care of him?" He asked gently. "I promise, this is not about me or my family. I just need Angel to be better sooner.
The concern in his voice sounded real. No father would be selfish when his son was so unwell, right? At least not if the father was Damon. She had to give him that much credit.
"I don't know… we can't just have him switch doctors on a whim. What if he's upset?" She asked worriedly.
"What if it's an emergency case?" He threw a question back at her.
"Just call her." She said dismissively.
….
Mabella arrived ten minutes later and Avery held her heart in her hands. For four years, Angel had only ever had one pediatrician and it had taken ages to accept him. How would he react to Mabella's presence?
Mabella sat near Damon so she was close to Angel. She held her hands out to him. "Hello."
The boy turned to look at her and scrunched his brows in curiosity, then he turned to look at his mother.
Avery held her breath. At least he had reacted to someone's presence. She flashed a reassuring smile. "She's your Aunty. Go on, say hi to her." Reading the confusion on his face, she explained, "Aunty means she is very close to your daddy and your daddy loves her."
Hearing that, he looked at Mabella as if he was contemplating going over.
"Come here. It's okay, we can be friends." Mabella coaxed.
As if Mabella's voice had a magical charm, he got down from Damon's lap and walked over to his aunt, even raising his little arms to be carried.
Avery was flabbergasted. Was that really her son? Since when was he ready to make friends, and why did this woman look familiar?
"Did anything change in his routine?" Mabella asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Nothing that I know of." She thought hard about it. "Aside from Damon's reappearance… but I don't think that would trigger is emotions. He likes Damon."
Mabella nodded as she rocked Angel on her lap. Seeing him cling to her neck and start to close his eyes, she wiped the tears from his adorable little face as she spoke. "What about little activities that you do every day? No matter how tiny it is, it counts."
Avery gazed at her son as she thought about it aloud. "Uhm… we do the same things every day. That's what Dr. Chris suggested so we usually choose each other's outfits in the morning then I go to work and when I come back, we play for a while, have dinner, play some more, then we choose each other's sleep outfits…" She stopped when she realized the inconsistency.
"That's it!"
"Huh?" Mabella looked over and so did Damon.
She let out a breath and sat down opposite the siblings. "Last night, I chose my own nightgown. Could that upset him?"
Mabella nodded seriously. "The tiniest change could upset him. You may not realize it but choosing your outfits might be one of the most important things in his life. Perhaps he likes the assortment of designs and colors in your closet. Maybe it's your expression to whatever he chooses or who knows, perhaps it makes him feel important when you actually wear what he chooses."
She was stumped. "He loves it so much and he's so good at it. But saying that he feels important when I wear his selection… isn't that complex? I've always done my best to let him know that I love him. He doesn't need to seek my attention in such sophisticated ways."
"I hate to break it to you but with autistic children, it's not just about showing or telling them. They have their own way of showing or seeking love and if you happen to find out what works for your child, you're in luck."
Avery looked down, feeling like everything she knew had been reset.
"You may not have realized it but take notice henceforth. I'm certain that the outfits he chooses every day have a certain pattern. When the pattern breaks, it may upset him more than you anticipate. "Mabella concluded, and Avery looked up with a frown.
"Isn't that some sort of OCD? I thought he was too young."
"It's gradual." She lowered her voice, then realized how upset her brother and Avery looked.
"You don't need to be stressed." She tried to reassure her.
"I am! How can I not be? It's already enough that he's autistic."
Damon stood and sat next to her, pulling her into his arms.
"Get your hands off me!" She shrieked.
"I was just…" He held his hands up in surrender.
"Don't do that! Don't come close to me. I wish I told you that before you knocked me up."
Mabella was relieved that Angel was asleep and didn't witness that. She so badly wanted to tell Avery that Damon was just as distressed as she was but she was not ready to die. When she felt a sharp gaze on her, she looked up.
"I think I know you." Avery assessed. "Have we met before?"
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