━━━─── • ───━━━

• Luna •

"Nurse Wilson, take Ms. Carlyle to the canteen so she can eat before taking her medicine," Dr. Kim instructed his staff member early the next morning after a routine check-up on Luna.

"Yes, doctor."

Stepping into the hallway, Luna turned toward her and said, "So what's on the menu today?" 

Nurse Wilson scoffed, keeping her eyes straight ahead. Her short reddish-blue hair waved in Luna's view. And the black fingernail polish on her fingers was chipped at the ends.

"Seriously, what is there to eat?" 

The soldier who was guarding then stepped forward. "You will see when you get there." 

The trip to the canteen was an uneventful one. Luna kept her eyes peering down each opened doorway and large corridor, hoping to catch a glimpse of Amir. But he wasn't anywhere in sight. She missed him like she missed eating her favorite candy bar. Three Musketeers. 

"May I ask you something, nurse?" she asked her. The nurse finally looked at Luna. "I can see that it's sunny this morning. Wouldn't you rather have time with your family?" 

She stopped walking and spun on her heel. "What's it to you, Luna?"

"I was just wondering," she said. "I've seen pictures of you on the walls with your family, and you came to work instead." 

"Unfortunately, bills don't pay themselves. My work status has nothing to do with you." 

Ooh, did I hit a nerve? 

"You are here, and you are under orders by Dr. Kim that involves me. I know you have a daughter like I do, so I know you understand where I'm coming from." 

"I do." 

"But coming to this hospital is more important?"

The nurse's gaze sharpened as she inhaled deeply. "You don't know about my situation, Ms. Carlyle."

"Hey, you and I are in the same boat. We are parents. And yet, both of our children can't see us because of the one place we have in common. It's sad." 

The nurse held Luna's gaze for a moment, then turned back the other way to continue their walk. "Sometimes we don't get choices. Sometimes things just happen." 

"That sounds like a cop-out if you ask me." 

"No one asked you in the first place." 

Luna smiled tightly. "Nobody had to. I was just trying to have a decent chat with you." 

"You can try, but I don't have to respond to you." She paused for a moment and surveyed her tablet, pressing check marks into the boxes, and then peered back at Luna. "We should keep our conversation to a minimum. We have to walk." 

"Really?" Luna laughed. "I am only trying to connect to you on a parental level here." 

She believed Nurse Wilson was a recipient of the money Chase was donating to the hospital. Otherwise, she would have refused to come in. Luna took a glance at the schedule and she was scheduled off.

Before the nurse could respond, a siren sounded, and she shifted her eyes through the barely vacant corridors. Lights on the ceilings flashed different colors, and patients and doctors flooded the hallways. The guard who was monitoring them pushed the people against the wall and listened into his earpiece.

"Sergeant Michaels, escort Luna to her room immediately." She pointed at another guard a few feet away. "Sergeant Trent, shut this floor down immediately. Stop all elevators. No one leaves this floor." 

"Yes, Ma'am." 

"How are you able to give them orders, nurse?" Luna asked, laughing at the thought that today might be the day she'll leave this place for good. This was probably Amir's doing.

Nurse Wilson shot Luna a go-to-hell look before stomping away and disappearing into the crowd. Like hell I wanted to return to my room. Things were just becoming entertaining for her, and she wanted to lay her eyes on Amir.

The guard reached for her hand and shuffled her through the chaotic crowd of patients flooding the hallway. He was adamant about bringing Luna to the elevators as he was instructed. Other soldiers poured out of the rooms they were in, pulling and pushing several patients to the side. Another one came rushing towards Luna's guard and stopped him from proceeding. "We have activity on elevator seven, coming from the children's ward. We need to lock it down now!" 

Huh, the children's ward has a child who's trying to escape?

Farther down the hall, an elevator door opened up with more people coming out of it. Luna saw a glimpse of Dr. Kim, a few guards, and then Amir. He had a hand pressed over his cheek, and Dr. Kim's eyes were narrowed down to a syringe in his hand. He brushed past Amir and a soldier, heading straight to the guard with his walkie-talkie.

Amir looked around frantically until his gaze found Luna's. She moved forward.

"Where the hell are you running off to?" Trent yelled behind her. She spun around and jerked his arm off her shoulder. "I have my orders." 

To Hell with your orders, douche.

The guard caught up to Luna quickly and pulled her against the wall so a group of other soldiers could storm through. Then the lights began flashing red. "We'll go up the stairwell and then stop at the top floor."

She'd lost sight of Amir. Damn.

"That's a lot of floors. My ass will hurt by then." Luna turned away and pushed herself through the throngs of people. He clamped a hand on her shoulder and yanked her back. "Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to do that." 

Whatever the guard saw in Luna's expression must've assured him that she wasn't playing around. He backed off.

After crossing into the stairwell, she tripped suddenly into someone's strong arms. Amir. He was on the other side of the door. 

"Are you okay, miss?" he asked, his eyes searching hers.

"I'm good." Luna smoothed her clothes with her fingers and watched as Trent spoke to other guards on the radio. "Do you know what's going on?"

Amir shook his head. "Something went on inside the children's ward." 

"Was this your plan for escaping this place?" she whispered.

He narrowed his eyes as they stood beside the rail, only a foot away from Trent. "No, not like this." 

"This might be a drill," Luna murmured.

"Afraid not," Trent said. "Nothing like this has ever happened."

The lights above them blinked rapidly from yellow to green to orange, and then finally settled on red.

Dr. Kim rushed down the hall and spotted Amir, Trent, and Luna standing inside the staircase. "Mr. Khan. Sergeant Trent. Stand guard with Ms. Carlyle at all times. Don't let her out of your sight." 

"What's going on?" Luna asked him. 

The lights on the ceiling now flashed from red to orange. 

"A patient got loose," he said, a muscle popping on his forehead. "A violent patient." Dr. Kim glanced up at the top of the stairs and then down to the bottom floor. "I suggest you three get to the first floor. Trent, lead them to the conference room. Do not move until I inform you to." 

As they shuffled down the steps to the first floor, they ran into a guard near the doorway. "What the hell happened in the children's ward?" Trent asked the man.

"I don't know," he replied to Trent. "It's patient one."

They scuttled past the guards and stood against a wall, staring at each other. 

A ding beeped on the wall, signaling that the elevator door will open shortly. 

"Hold your fire!" a doctor yelled out, waving a syringe around like it was a peace treaty. "Whatever you do, you can't shoot the patient."

A small figure stepped out of the elevator, covered in orange clothes, with short wavy dark hair and an innocently looking face. 

Luna's eyes opened wide. 

A child. A tiny child that these grown people feared. Maybe six or seven years old?

His eyes landed on the doctor with the syringe in his hand, and he growled his way. Then from behind Luna, her stomach curled as her eyes landed on the one person she never wanted to see again. 

Chase . . . emerging from a room down the hall.

The kid's eyes landed on him, and a frown came over his face as his lips trembled. Luna glanced between Amir, the kid, the guards, the doctors, and Chase, wondering what was going on. 

Then the kid stepped one foot forward and seethed through his teeth. "Daddy!" he yelled, glaring right at Chase.

Luna's jaw dropped. Huh?

"Uh . . ." Amir muttered.

Chase was a father of a young boy who was also a patient at the institute. That just gave Luna more reason to loathe him. How could he admit his son into a hospital like that?

The guards all stood quietly as Chase slowly approached the young child, cautiously bringing his hands out and urging him to stand down. 

"Matthew, what are you doing? You know you're not supposed to walk around. Let the staff—"

Several things happened fast and so quickly that Luna didn't even have time to blink her eyes. She held onto Amir as the kid stepped quickly towards Chase, lunging his arms around his thigh. 

She let out a horrified gasp as everyone watched the guards bring their guns up, ready to tase the child who was wrapped around Chase's left leg.

The kid curled his fingers around Chase's calf and brought his mouth in to bite him. Luna dug her hands around Amir's back and buried her head in the crook of his neck. "Holy . . ."

"Crap . . ." Amir finished.

One of the doctors pushed past several soldiers and pulled Matthew away from Chase.

"Matthew, stop or we'll hurt you!"

"I don't want to go back to the children's floor!" Matthew yelled out in a high-pitched voice. 

A guard moved in, holding a pistol in his right hand. Chase shouted, and Matthew's neck peered up; his small eyes in tears. The guard's face paled, and the kid closed his fist.

"Matthew!" a doctor yelled out. He moved himself forward, but then the kid pulled out a syringe filled with some clear liquid, then aimed it at his father's thigh. "Don't do that, Matthew. That would be bad." 

Bad? That would be bad? 

"What in the world?" Luna whispered. Amir tried to shield her eyes from the scene. "This cannot be happening."

Luna wanted to help the poor disturbed child, but he had a mischievous grin plastered over his face, almost reassembling a little Antichrist. He looked like he was out for revenge against his father, and even snarled under his breath at everyone.

"I can't handle another treatment," said Matthew, not taking his eyes off Luna. "I'll be forced back into my room, just like the others. I don't want to go back there." 

Dr. Kim stared at the boy. "Why don't we talk about this in your room, Matthew?" 

"Don't you see what you've all done?" Luna spoke up, shaking her head. "You've scared this little boy to death. He doesn't want to go anywhere with any of you." 

Matthew cautiously stepped around Chase's leg and walked between the guards, who had now given him a wide berth. His steps were light and small as he strolled toward Luna and laid his hands on her hips. "I don't have any friends in there." 

One doctor turned to the boy and slightly grinned. "Is it because you aren't playing with them?"

Luna choked on a snort and wanted to laugh at the man's statement. Like it was the child's fault for people not wanting to play with him. 

Keeping his arms around her and glaring back at the doctor and Chase, Matthew growled and shook his head. "It's because I'm different. I see people from other places, from other countries."

What. The. Hell. 

"Now, Matthew. We have talked about this. It's all in your head." 

Matthew shrugged and turned his gaze back to Luna. "Can we play together? You understand me. I can feel you." Then he glanced at Amir with a tiny smile. "You both know what I go through. Just like Miss Cami." 

Oh God, he was displaying all of our powers in front of everyone.

Chase was luckily too far away and couldn't hear anything his child had said. The kid was a Tethered Soul, and his powers came at an early age. That had never happened before.

Luna smiled back at him and whispered in his ear, making sure no one could hear her. "Everything is going to be okay. Just do as they say."

Matthew nodded up at her. 

Chase marched forward and laid a hand on his shoulder, cautiously turning him around. "I'm sure she can later, son, but right now we need to get you back to your room." 

"I don't want to go back there!" Matthew screamed. 

Dr. Kim moved forward quickly passed Luna and plunged his syringe into Matthew's arm, causing the boy to drop to his knees. 

"Matthew," Chase said, holding onto him. "I'm sorry for this. I'll see you when you wake." 

Staying still and keeping her gaze on Matthew, Luna watched his father carry him down the hall and step into an opened doorway. Whatever he had gone through in his life, she didn't blame him. 

"Are you okay?" Amir asked her as she nodded and ran a hand through her hair.

"Someone needs to get these patients back into their rooms. Now!" Sergeant Decker screamed, parading down the hallway.

"Sergeant Decker. What just happened?" Luna asked. 

"It's not important." His eyes shifted toward the elevators. "Trent, take her back to her room. Mr. Khan, you are coming with me." 

"No. I want to know what's going on," Luna demanded, not wanting to move an inch.

"That kid isn't like any other patients we have here," he explained, narrowing his eyes. "That is all I can tell you." 

"That kid is Chase's son. You owe me answers," Luna said with a stern look in her eyes. 

"He is sick, Luna," Chase said, walking from behind them. "As in you: a patient who sees people who aren't there." 

Luna shot a glare at him and growled, wishing she could slap him across his face again.

"It's okay, Sergeant Decker, and Mr. Khan. I can take over now." Chase tipped his chin up, meeting both of their gazes. "I will take Ms. Carlyle with me to the courtyard so we can talk." 

"Sure, Mr. Marquette," Sergeant Decker agreed. 

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Luna huffed.

"Luna," Chase whined, staring directly into her eyes. "We need to talk." 

"No. We do not."

"Listen, please. I think we should go somewhere more . . . quiet." 

"I will not be alone with you," Luna argued, hearing a soft growl coming from Amir. 

Chase eyed Amir, then Sergeant Decker, and he pressed his lips into a thin line. "All right. Sergeant Decker can escort us to the courtyard. Will that work?"

"Whatever. Let's hurry this up." 

Luna and Chase made their way out to a bench near the fence as Sergeant Decker stood guard beside them. 

"We're outside now," Luna said, plopping down on the seat. "Talk."

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

She barked out a laugh. "So Matthew is your son?" 

"Yes." 

"I suppose you were never going to tell me about him. We would've gotten married, and I wouldn't have known you had a child. Such a classic Chase move."

"I was going to tell you when the time was right," Chase said, looking down. "I wanted to many times."

Luna noticed Amir appearing next to them and sitting beside her as she discussed her past with Chase. She was relieved he was there, so he could hear them.

"We spent five and a half years together. You had plenty of time."

"I've kept him hidden away and private," Chase spoke about his son like he was a thing, which disgusted her. 

"I'm sure you have an army of offsprings coming out of the woodwork," she snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"That's a little dramatic, Luna, even for you. It's not like that." 

"Yeah. I'm sure that is true. Not." 

"Matthew started showing signs of hysteria. He showed signs of seeing invisible people, and my mother suggested that he go into a psych hospital," Chase explained. 

Luna glanced at Amir and then turned her gaze up to Sergeant Decker as he kept his posture. "This place? You thought it was best to put him in St. Matthew's? They give everybody shock treatment."

"This place seemed like it was the best choice for him. He experiences delusions." 

"But can you not see the damage that it's doing to him? This place is dangerous, Chase. You threw me in here for whatever reason." 

"I didn't want to," he murmured, inching closer to her. She arched her back and jerked away. "I hate that I did this to you." 

"Your parents and everyone else knew you had a son. But I didn't know a thing. I much less expected it. You hid it so well." He kept quiet and looked down at his hands, folding them under the table as she kept going. "Matthew has delusions. What does that mean, exactly?" 

"I wasn't ready to share this with you yet, but considering what you've seen, I guess I should talk to you about it. Sometimes things don't go the way we hope, and we have to adapt." 

"Adapt," she repeated, glaring his way.

"St. Matthew's Psychiatric Hospital is not as bad as you think," Chase said, his gaze unwavering. "A year after he was born, I found this place. My mother asked me to find out what was happening to Matthew. So, ironically, this hospital was mentioned to me by Phil and Lacey. Phil had some family admitted here, and the staff help with people and their delusions." 

Luna stared at Chase with a scowl. 

"This hospital helped him become sane again. He stopped seeing people who weren't there for a while." 

"Maybe he's imagining things like children do, Chase. Sarah was like that."

Luna stood up and walked straight to the fence, seething through her teeth under the dark clouds coming in.

"You're crazy."

"Luna, I didn't want this to happen to either of you. I love all three of you. That includes Sarah."

Turning around, Luna growled deeply under her breath. "Screw you."

"You have to believe I want what is best for you. And even for Matthew."

"I don't give a rat's ass what you're selling me. You had many years to tell me you had a son, but you chose not to. You placed me in this hospital to keep control over me because you knew I was going to leave you when we got back home from the studio. You cheated on me time and time again, and each time you somehow convinced me to change my mind. You sexually assaulted me!"

Chase sat still, not moving an inch.

Luna then opened her mouth and asked a question she wanted to know the answer to. "Where's Matthew's mother? Is she a patient, too?" 

"She's no longer here," Chase mumbled. "She died shortly after he was born. Cancer." 

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Turning toward the guard, Luna said, "Sergeant Decker, could you escort me back to my room? I think I'm done here."

"Lu . . ." Chase muttered as she turned around quickly and glared into his eyes.

"Don't you Lu me! I am not your Lu anymore!"

━━━─── • ───━━━

How could Chase do that? Stay with Luna all those years and never tell her about his son? He even admitted him into this facility. He's so sinister and does not realize it. Or maybe he does and hides it? What do you all think?