Chasing Freedom {Book 3: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 12: The Coffee Shop

Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to write this. Had a lot going on the past few months- some of it beyond my control, and some of it was just distractions.

Chapter is dedicated to my friend Kat, for giving me an idea unintentially. And also Eoin Colfer, because he was sweet enough to tweet me back earlier this week telling me to keep writing, and of course, reminding me that I too have a book where the first seventy pages are falling out. <3

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"This is my December. These are my snow covered trees. This is me pretending this is all I need..." –My December, Linkin Park

Christmas time was fast approaching, yet Audrey didn't feel like it was Christmas at all. This was the first Christmas she had been entirely away from friends and family. The only one she had was Draco- and he was off playing for the Tutshill Tornados most days. While Audrey was glad he husband was off making a living for them, she wished sometimes he hadn't. It was nice having another human around. Sure, every once in a while, one of the others visited, but it wasn't enough to make her feel any less lonely.

Draco and Audrey had moved to Parkend, a small town in the southwest. They lived in a small home, something that shocked her a bit. Draco had always lived in luxury, yet he was the one who picked the house out. He had said something about it being a remote location, so they could live more peacefully. Not that it mattered. Audrey was sure they were being stalked anyways. There had been an increasing number of attacks since Krystie and Fred's wedding, and the girl was sure it was only a matter of time before they were found too. After all, with Draco playing Quidditch, it wasn't like he was staying low-profile.

Audrey sat by the window, skimming the pages of an old book of hers, hoping it would distract her from the silence. She had read it so many times the first seventy pages were falling from the binding. Admittedly, the girl felt bad that she had let it get this bad, but at the same time, no other book she had could say it had been read as much as this one had. It wasn't a sign of neglect in this case, rather a sign of love.

Somewhere in the middle of chapter three, she decided she needed some tea. One thing that was slowly beginning to drive Audrey insane was the lack of caffeine she could have because of the baby. Limit yourself to one cup, the doctors said. Little did they know how much Audrey had been drinking tea before she got pregnant. She had always enjoyed tea, but spending all that time at Artemis' manor had made it more like an obsession. Much to her dismay, when she got to the kitchen pantry, she realized there was no tea in the house.

Audrey sighed. Off to the coffee shop then, she thought.

As much as the girl didn't want to go into town, she knew she didn't have much choice if she wanted to have any tea. With a huff, Audrey flung on her jacket, slipped on her shoes, and snatched her keys off the hook by the door. She stepped outside, the cool air hitting her, stinging her cheeks a bit as she locked the door.

While she really wanted to Apparate or fly, the girl knew better than to attract attention to herself. So here Audrey was, walking in the cold to town. As much as she would've rather taken a different mode of transport, she knew she should enjoy walking while she could; in a few months, her walking would transition to waddling as the baby continued to grow.

It was a quiet walk. Audrey didn't run into any other humans along the way to the coffee shop. It was just her, her thoughts, and the lightly snow covered environment. Nothing she hadn't already been accustomed to; for the most part that's what it had been for about a month or so. Sure, Draco was there at night, but during the day she was alone. To say she liked it, however, was another story. Audrey, while not a social butterfly, did value the companionship of those close to her. Moving had changed how frequent those people could visit. But she didn't complain. She knew this move was beneficial to Draco and where he was working. So she just kept quiet, and tried her hardest to make due in the new town.

The girl stepped into the coffee shop, a small bell ringing as she entered. Audrey approached the counter, and immediately the girl at the counter spoke. "Hi, what can I get you?" she asked.

"An Earl Grey tea would be lovely," Audrey answered.

"Sounds good. Anything else for you, ma'am?" the girl, who Audrey discovered was named Kat after reading her nametag, asked.

"No, that'll be it," Audrey replied, handing her the money for her tea.

After putting the money in the cash register, Kat went to make the drink, and decided to strike up a conversation. "So, um... are you new here? Can't say I have seen you come in the shop before."

"My husband and I moved here about a month ago so he could work," Audrey answered. "Ran out of tea, so I figured I would come here and get some."

"Well I would dare say you came to the right place," Kat retorted. She smiled sweetly, and then added, "Earl Grey is my favorite too."

Audrey smiled back. "I used to not like it, and then a dear friend had me try it again, insisting my taste buds may have changed. Sure enough, he was right."

After a few moments, Kat shifted and handed her a paper cup filled nearly to the top with tea. "Your friend has great taste," she stated.

"He certainly does," Audrey agreed. And then she figured it would be polite at this point to introduce herself. "I'm Audrey, by the way."

"Kat, but you probably already know that," the other girl said, gesturing at her name tag. "It's lovely meeting you. Not too many people our age here, to be honest. So it's nice to see someone around here even remotely close to my age."

Audrey took a sip of her tea before replying. "I'm just happy to see another person and be out of the house for a little bit. It's nice to get out while I can," she explained.

Kat gave her a confused expression for a moment before she realized what Audrey was talking about. A quick glance at her stomach was all the evidence needed. The smile on Kat's face grew even larger. "Awe! You're having a baby! How much longer do you have?" she exclaimed.

"About five more months, give or take," Audrey responded. "So... still quite a bit."

"Do you know what it is yet?"

"No, but in the next few weeks we should be able to," Audrey replied.

"Oh that is so exciting!" Kat went on. "I bet you're excited!"

Audrey kept smiling, but it faded slightly. She was happy about the baby, but admittedly was still a bit hurt by the lack of excitement from some people. "Of course, it's our first child after all," she eventually said. "Just dealing with a lot of people either disapproving of it or trying to overshadow us, is all."

"Oh don't worry about the haters," Kat retorted. "There's always going to be someone who doesn't like you, what you're doing, and so on. Don't let them bug you. As long as you're happy with your life, it's none of their damn business what's going on in it."

"Thanks," Audrey acknowledged, taking another drink of her tea. "I know I need to let it go, but that doesn't make it any easier, you know? There's a lot going on right now, and sometimes I forget that it's not about everyone else."

"Well, if you ever need anything, you can always ask me," Kat assured. "I know it isn't easy being in this town, especially alone."

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Audrey said.

It was reassuring knowing that there were actually people in this town, and that maybe she had just befriended someone. While Kat wasn't an Artemis or Nicole, Audrey felt like there was a good possibility she had just made a friend to help fill the void she had gained while living in this town. If nothing else, life should be at least a bit more bearable now. Even if the threat of being attacked by Death Eaters was growing all the more possible with every passing moment.