DANIEL
Ever since I met Luna, I always wanted to be near her, but she didn't want that, so as a kid, it made me quite angry because I felt like she saw me as less. That bothered me. During the times she was at the boarding school, I always hoped she'd come back, so I could prove I was worthy of her friendship. But instead, she decided to move even further away, to London, and that really hurt. I felt like she did it to get away from me. That's why, as soon as I could, I joined the army. I pushed myself to finish my studies early and to enter the army before I was of age. It wasn't easy, but I managed. I was determined to forget about Luna Smith, hoping that if we ever crossed paths again, it wouldn't affect me at all. Whenever I had spare time in the army, I started dating girls, but nothing serious came of it—just one-night flings to unwind and destress from training. However, when I turned of age and got a month's leave from the army, returning to the home of Jackson, my mom's husband and Luna's grandfather, I found out she'd be arriving in a month and a week. I couldn't help but feel nervous, but I did some quick math and realized I wouldn't see her as she'd arrive a week after I returned to the army, and I'd be in month-long locked-down training. So there was more than enough time to get used to the idea and prepare for seeing her, since she would be living with her grandfather, and that's where I stay when I'm off duty, so seeing each other was inevitable.
But to my bad luck, she arrived two weeks earlier than expected, and I was the one who opened the door. Seeing her left me speechless; she was beautiful as a child, but even more so now, though she continues to avoid my gaze and keep her distance. That always bothered me, so I sought to provoke her. Even with family around, I blasted rock music at full volume. Carter got mad at me for upsetting his little sister. What I don't understand is why everyone gives in to her and her whims. Carter told me that when I know the truth, I'll regret bothering her.
So, I decided to look deeper into prodigious kids like Luna and identify the symptoms she exhibits. In my research, I found that gifted children are often lonely, but that's not an option I believe for Luna. She might have low self-esteem, which I doubt, or maybe she's hiding something and doesn't want anyone to find out. Another possibility is mild autism, which also includes nervousness and discomfort. I'm leaning towards autism since everyone respects her space, especially Jessica and Jackson. If she had autism, they would be the first to know and protect her, but they wouldn't tell me—so I decided to try to get closer to her. When I had to take her to the company, I held her hand, and she got nervous. So, I asked her to close her eyes and breathe. It was the first time I held her soft hand for so long, and I liked the feeling. I discovered that for Luna, it's easier when she doesn't have eye contact with people.
After we parted ways at the company, I reviewed some new security equipment Jackson asked me to check. When I finished, I went to see if Luna was ready to leave, but upon reaching the office, Jackson told me she'd left less than a minute ago, so I ran to catch up with her. In the parking lot, I saw a man attacking her. I hit him, but he ran off. I tried to console her, but she wouldn't let me touch her, confirming my suspicion that Luna has autism. Anyone else would've sought refuge in the arms of their savior after such an ordeal, but not someone with autism. I asked her to do the same thing she did in the car to calm down. When she did, I offered to drive her.
She gave me an address, and I realized it was a building with psychological consulting offices—I knew because the army does psychological testing, and one of my tests was there. She claimed she was just there to meet someone. Although I offered to wait, I think I was pressuring her too much. Nevertheless, I stayed, of course on the opposite side of the street, so she wouldn't see me when she came out.
After an hour, I saw her leave with a woman. I took a photo of them to find out more about the woman accompanying her. I told Luna I'd wait for her story, but that doesn't mean I can't do my own investigating. Besides, I'm a soldier—I like to be informed about everything, and I need to be. After snapping the photos, I went to Jessica's house to bother Carter—it's easy to get under his skin. Just hinting that I might leave the army to take over the Smith family businesses does the trick. Jackson has groomed Carter since birth to take his place when the time comes, and I don't really care about it—I just say it to annoy him. Upon arriving at Jessica's, I greeted Lina, an employee who's always worked with them. She told me Carter was in his room, so I went up to tease him.
"Hey, kid, how's it going?" I said as soon as I entered.
"Just because you're two years and a bit older than me doesn't give you the right to treat me like a kid," Carter replied.
"Come on, don't get mad. I came to ask a favor. The security sent some videos to my email; we need to review them together," I said.
"What nonsense do you want to review?" Carter asked.
"It's not nonsense. Someone attacked your sister Luna coming out of the company, and I want to see what he wanted and why he attacked her," I explained.
"You should have started with that. Give me your email," Carter said. I gave him my email and password, and he opened the email with the videos for download.
"Seriously, your password is your ID?" Carter asked.
"What were you expecting?" I replied.
"I don't know, your girlfriend's birthday, the name of your first love," Carter said.
"You know I don't have a girlfriend and have never been in love," I reminded him.
"And what about Luna?" he said, and at that moment, I nearly choked on my own saliva, and I think I even lost color in my face, wondering what on earth he meant by that.
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