Chasing Freedom {Book 3: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 13: Waiting

Hey everyone! Sorry about the four month delay. It was a hectic last semester of my university career, and I am glad it is over. I've been out for about a month now, and I had initially planned on writing this chapter sooner. And then life threw me a curve ball. The last four weeks have been crazy. I had my graduation, I was sick myself, lots of family things, my husband needing to go to the emergency room, work stuff... Just... it's been ridiculous. But at any rate, the past few days I have been working on this, and I hope it's at least somewhat okay! Hope you all enjoy!

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"Every night I try my best to dream, tomorrow makes it better. Then I wake up to the cold reality, and not a thing is changed." ~ Last Hope, Paramore

Audrey stared at the envelope in her hands, not knowing if she wanted to open it to read its contents or not. Inside the envelope was the information she had been waiting for for a long time. If she opened it, she would finally know if the baby was a boy or a girl.

Part of Audrey really wanted to know, yet the other half wanted it to remain a mystery. She had been dying to know so she really could begin picking out colors for the nursery, buying clothes, and all that jazz. Yet, at the same time, by not opening it, she would get the excitement of the surprise when the baby came in roughly four and a half months.

Stowing the envelope in her pocket, she shook the thought from her mind. Right now she needed to focus on the situation at hand. She had rushed over to the Burrow for the next W.A.N.D.E. meeting, and she didn't want the thoughts from what had occurred at her doctor's appointment clouding her judgment. She'd wait to talk to Draco before making any kind of call on opening the envelope. After all, it was his baby too.

She glanced at the clock on the far wall. The Weasleys had since adopted a real clock on top of the one with all their names on it. Audrey double checked to make sure the one she was looking at didn't have nine hands on it, and then realized Draco was incredibly late. Everyone else had already arrived, eaten dinner, and had begun chatting amongst themselves while they waited for the latest meeting to begin. Audrey was worried; Draco was not one to be late. She wondered silently what could've been keeping her husband.

She didn't have long to think about where he may have been. Before she could get too lost in those thoughts, Nicole had plopped down on the couch next to her, and began rapidly asking questions about how her appointment had gone.

"How did it go? Is everything okay? Did you find out what it is? Are you eating okay?" she began, but was cut off by Audrey covering her mouth with her hand.

"It went fine. Everything is okay. The baby and I are both doing just fine. And I sort of know what it is," Audrey explained, removing her hand from Nicole's mouth so she could speak again.

"What do you mean 'sort of know?' Shouldn't you know for sure, or as sure as they can be?" Nicole asked back.

Audrey sighed, and pulled the envelope from her pocket, showing her friend. "The results are in here. I'm just not sure if I want to know yet."

"Why wouldn't you want to know? I mean... it's exciting! And the sooner you know what it is, the sooner you can pick names, and paint the room, and buy clothes, and-"

"-oh would you stop pestering her?" Artemis spoke up from the other side of the room, catching both Audrey and Nicole off guard. "When she's ready to learn what the baby is, I am sure she will open that envelope. In the meantime, it's up to the rest of us to be supportive of her decision."

Unfortunately, this caught the attention of Molly, who was entering the room as well. "Well of course we're all very supportive of Audrey and her decisions," she replied, still drying her hands with a dish towel. "We're all just very anxious to know if we'll be having a boy or a girl joining this family of ours. You know you have four mother figures that are just dying to throw you a baby shower."