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?"