Chasing Freedom {Book 3: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 23: For Better or Worse

Hey everyone! Sorry this took a while to write! Things have been busy with work, the holidays, and trying to buy a house, so it took me longer to write this than I anticipated. It's a little longer than normal, so I hope that's a decent apology for taking a long time to write this. Hope you all enjoy!

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"Even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through. Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you. Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you." ~ Stand By You, Rachel Platten

Time seemed to pass slowly for Audrey. It had been about two weeks since Draco's funeral, and a lot had changed in her life already. She had gone back to Ireland to stay with Artemis and his family until further notice. He had arranged for all of her and Draco's things to be packed up and shipped over to help alleviate some of the pain she may have with going through her late husband's things. So far, all the boxes sat in her room, untouched. It wasn't that she didn't want to look through them really. Mostly, it was out of doctor's orders to not stress herself out, or do anything strenuous.

She had maybe two weeks left of her pregnancy, and was essentially on bedrest. She would consider herself lucky, in some sense, if Scorpius managed to wait another two weeks. Since the move, they had to prep another room for the baby. Artemis was in the process of doing that now in the next room over. Although Audrey felt like an inconvenience for taking up so much space in their home, Artemis and his parents all assured her that she was fine. She supposed they were right, given the size of the mansion they resided in, but that didn't make her any more comfortable with it. One day, she deemed she would have to repay them for the kindness they had shown her during this dark time.

Her stubbornness was starting to get the better of her. Audrey had always found it difficult to stay still for long. Staying in bed was incredibly difficult. Against her better judgement, she got up and crossed the room to the dresser on which some of the boxes were stacked. Audrey took a deep breath, not sure she was prepared for whatever may be in this box. She opened it hesitantly, and when she finally saw what was inside, she wasn't sure if she should be happy or if she should cry.

The first thing sitting at the top of the pile of things in the box was a large photo album, containing pictures from all throughout her life. Lots of happy memories filled the book, lots of things that she knew would probably make her cry now. Her life was so different now than any of the memories in the book would show. Yet, she picked it up, and made her way back to the bed, sitting back down. With another shaky breath, she opened the book, and began flipping through the pages, going back in time.

The first page contained probably what was the first family photo the McCarthys had ever taken. She was about two, her father was carrying her on his hip, while her mother held onto her newborn brother. Audrey bit her lip, holding back tears. Her childhood was great, and as she flipped through the next few pages, all the happy birthdays, Christmases, and family get-togethers showed just that. It was sad the state her family was in now. She hadn't spoken to her mother in a couple days now, but that was likely because her mother knew she didn't want to be bothered. She flipped another page, and was instantly reminded of more painful recent events.

One thing her family had always done was take camping trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was a tradition her mother had been doing since her own childhood, having grown up near there. It was a trip Audrey always looked forward to, and she often brought a friend along. Nine times out of ten, that friend was Krystie. And seeing photos of their eleven-year-old selves, only a month from starting at Hogwarts, smiling and having fun reminded her of how close they once were. While her estranged friend once again attended the funeral, she said nothing to Audrey, and that hurt. Having a friend of so many years ignore her pain so blatantly was hard to ignore, and Audrey doubted they would ever be as close as they were in these photos ever again. How could they? It was incredibly selfish to ignore a close friend's grieving, especially for someone like their father or husband.