CHAOS STUDY 1: Wreck Me All You Want ✓

Prologue

Before
St. James Hospital Ermita

The poor boy was thin and frail, na para bang isang ihip lang ng hangin ay liliparin na 'to. It was a good thing he was finally out of his dirty clothes; now in a clean white shirt and pants provided by the hospital.

"Is he going to be okay?" Detective Killian Carasco asked the psychiatrist standing next to him without taking his eyes off of the red-haired kid curled up in a fetal position in the darkest corner of the room. Parang apoy sa dilim yung pulang buhok ng bata. Hindi pa nakakakita si Killian ng mga redhead sa personal.

Parehong kaharap ni Killian at ng doctor yung one-way na glass partition. Sa kabilang banda nito ay ang isang maliit na kwarto kung saan nandoon yung bata, nakasiksik sa isang sulok. Mukhang nursery ng ospital yung pasilidad, o kaya naman ay isang observatory room; sinadyang ginawa para sa mga ganitong kaso.

"It's difficult to tell," the doctor told him. "Hindi natin alam kung ano ang nasa isip niya. We could only observe and hope for the best that he'd be able to move past this."

Killian had his doubts about that. He had been the one to rescue the kid from an abusive foster home. Natagpuan niya yung bata sa isang liblib na selda sa basement ng bahay. The kid had been covered in bruises--showing signs of severe physical abuse--and appeared to be malnourished, na parang pinagkaitan ng pagkain ng maraming araw.

The foster parents had already been taken care of. Hopefully, the couples would be locked away for the rest of their lives in prison after what they'd put the kid through.

"What then?" Killian asked next. "Mananatili na lang ba siya dito sa ospital, dito sa psychiatric ward? Babalik ba siya sa bahay-ampunan?"

"He needs a new home." Ito ang sagot ni Dr. Geraldine Moore. "And in case you haven't gotten the news, we already have a volunteer."

"Home? Again?" Kumunot ang mukha ni Killian at lumingon kay Dr. Moore. "Pasintabi na lang, doc, pero may sira ba kayo sa utak?"

"I won't tolerate your snide remark, detective." Dr. Moore crossed her arms and gave him a scornful look.

Killian sighed heavily and shook his head. "He'd been through this already. Paano ka makakasiguro na safe environment yung susunod na tutuluyan niya? Not to mention, how can you be certain that the next foster parents would be--"

"I can assure you, the next family would be safe," Dr. Moore cut him off. "Mr. and Mrs. Rothschild have adopted a child before, at college na 'to ngayon, nasa medical school pa. The kid will be safe there, secured, where he'll be loved."

Killian huffed out a frustrated breath in defeat. He hoped love would be enough to fix everything. Wala na siya sa posisyon para pigilan si Dr. Moore. He'd rescued the kid and that was all it was. Nandito lang siya para gampanan ang trabaho niya.

"The child's case agent would also be reported to the district for letting this happen. Poor child." Dr. Moore tsked and returned her brown gaze at the seven-year-old boy tucked in the room, trying to shrink himself away from the rest of the world.

"He'll be okay," Killian murmured, giving himself a false sense of reassurance.

There was a brief silence.

"I hope so," the doctor finally said before she left the room, leaving Killian having an eye-to-eye contact with the boy behind the glass.

WRECK ME ALL YOU WANT