The next morning

23rd of March, 1962

A handful of days left until Odette Beatrix's birthday which was in a matter of 2 days only.  Nonetheless, the birthday was never being forgotten not only by her biological parents Judy and Timothy, but also Odette's secondary parents Elsa, Massimo, Evelyn, her secondary sister and her parents' old friend Frank even Serena herself.

Little did the brunette know where's Serena since her absence when she left fortunately the orphanage for better life by being adopted by doting and amazing parents! All she knew was she was actually on cloud nine as soon as she no longer was part of St. Ursula's responsibility. Even more the young singer commenced to wonder about her childhood friend's contemporary life. Is she eventually blissful with her foster parents or otherwise no?

As the wee hours of the morning were embraced with the eloquent songs of the chirping birds, floating in the asylum's background by jingling silver-tongued, joyous tunes in the inmates even the staff's ears which brightly contrasted the bleeding, raucous patients' bewails that collided in the dull, grayish walls of the madhouse.

Odette and the rest of the other imprisoned patients were already released from their cells as a start of the new day as their first task was having a breakfast shortly before beginning their agenda especially for the young patients having an appointment with Dr. Azarova.

Once the young woman finished her breakfast, afterwards she sat on the tattered, soiled couch as she sat all alone at first by reclining in undemanding manner. Her hazelish-brown eyes contemplated blankly, emotionlessly the grand window of the common room as its daylight dispersed through it, bathing the room in light and sunlight sweeping the young lady's pale as vanilla, creamy as silk skin by protecting it from the common cold climate which was usual phenomenon in Briarcliff.

In the meanwhile, Kit pushed the double door by setting a foot in the common room by earning the younger woman's scrutiny look she wore on her face as her honey brown eyes glinted in the sight of the other falsely accused patient of murdering women and skinning them. She peeped over her shoulder by surveying the young man who approached her as he seated beside her.

"Good morning, Kit!" She offered him a demure, girlish smile, honed up in the corner of her plumpish, berry-coloured lips by chewing her bottom lip at his presence.

"Good morning, Odette! I still can't believe what happened here the last day when we clashed with that nosy journalist." The young man confessed by lowering his head for a while as he didn't break off the intense, profound eye contact with the love child.

"She was nothing more than annoying, prying bitch who would love to write a book about this shot hole and if she acknowledges my parents what they used to be, she would be horrified." Suddenly Kit widened his chocolate brown eyes when she emphasized the word parents, making to wonder why she would mention them. Are they that awful is what Kit began to question himself as his smile froze as it was rather replaced with a grotesque frown on his grimaced, youthful face.

"You said what about your parents?"

"Ah, nothing! They aren't atrocious people at all. I have always loved them though," All of a sudden, she burst out weeping as her frail eyelids sunk in bitter, somber dew as tears betrayed to tumble down her face at the thought of her parents who were innocent behind her deprivation from them when she was still a baby. It broke her heart even more when it was high time for a revelation behind her knowledge about them as the young singer knew almost nothing about Judy and Timothy. They were like her Achilles' Heel. She covered her face with her both petite, smooth hands by bowing her head. The young woman verged to resume her sentence until the blubber escalated as she couldn't do it, feeling impotent and enervated when her parents are the topic that lingered on her tongue.

"Odette, are you okay?" Kit enquired concerned by throwing his muscular, strong arms around her shoulders, pulling her in a tight, warm embrace as she snuggled, relished the respect and platonic affection she received from somebody especially a reprensentative of the opposite sex. 

First and foremost, when it's joint a word about females, Odette was prone to be overweening though with the males it wasn't namely the same. She has never been in a romantic and serious relationship, besides the young lady acknowledged even the soreful, unwavering consequences of a romantic relationship, resulting symptoms of philophobia! Heartbreaks! Suicidal thoughts! Great depression! Phobia of falling in love ever again! Self-harm! Self-loathing! Disorientation! Odette knew right away there are always some of her peers who've been in one romantic relationship at least, besides they are no longer virgins. When it comes up to males, she was overprotective over her welfare as on one hand it was a barrier against the detrimental consequences of an epilogue of one romantic relationship, whereas on other hand she was just like her father, although she didn't know it. They were readily parallel to one another, although Timothy even didn't know about her past, early years and her personal stuff. Her bashfulness, demureness peculiarly embodied her father's mini him. Nonetheless, Odette was just like her mother when it came up to the males. They were funked of being heartbroken and losing their value in the eyes of the man. 

"I'm okay, Kit! I've no idea why you are befriending with a love child of former members of the church, who became a hardcore alcoholic in her late teens." Kit frowned at her radical pessimism and bleak words, vommited from her tongue as if a snake has hissed them as she lightly nuzzled his chest by removing her hands from her face by pawing his shoulders as her long, smooth fingers tipped his T-shirt plain, scruffy fabric. 

"Don't lie to me! Of course, you don't seem okay at all! Just look at yourself, Odette! I hate seeing you desperate." He shushed to her by opting to reassure the despaired young singer, despite her lack of control over her emotions as her crystal tears, soaked, puffy eyelids dampened his T-shirt. Kit really can tell he liked her since the beginning, in spite of her haughtiness towards Lana as they weren't fond of the reporter at all. "I'm okay with the fact you're drinking and being a love child of both former members of the church, because you aren't their mistake. You even told me by yourself they love you and vice versa."

"I do love them but, Kit," She paused by sniffling continously by breaking off the hug within seconds later as she wiped with her forearm the sprung tears in her distended, ruddy eyelids. Meantime she tilted her head by looking up at the young man's soothing chocolate brown orbs which were fixed on her tear-stained face without breaking off the eye contact. "You don't know my story and I'm expecting from you yar judgement. It's hasn't been an easy for me to live like that."

"Spill the tea, Odette! I won't judge you, no matter what kind of a person you used to be. I doubt it you will disappoint me. Once you lift the ounce off your shoulders, everything will be fine. I assure ya!" In this moment, the young lady took a deep breath as she wiped the last drying tears of her eyes. Little did Odette know once she exposes and opens in front of Kit about her grim past even her early years and teenhood how he might he react. Is he going to loathe her to bones? Is he going to figure out what kind of a person is sitting next to him? If the young man loathes her, on the contrary he wouldn't wish to socialize with her ever again even look at her beautiful, juvenile face, due to his immense abhorrence of her. 

"Well, you know that I'm a love child of a former priest and a nun. They loved me and I was clung to them during their leisure time as they used to work here. They were doted on me since I took my first breath and they heard my cry. When I was hardly a three days old baby, the vicious nuns took me away from their arms though their pleas and their cries even their actions, attempting to stop them. But nothing worked eventually! And I was like thrown garbade in St.Ursula, treated harshly by my own peers and the nuns since I lived with reputation of a love child of pious members of the clergy. I was friends with Serena, one girl from the orphanage until she was adopted when we were barely five-years-old only." In the meanwhile, Kit offered her a cigarette as he took an old cigarette pack, subsequently she took it between her fingers as he lighted it up with matches. "Thank you for the cigarette! It's so kind of your side!"

"No need to! You seemed under pressure once you started with your story. Just relax!" Meanwhile the brunette took her first drag of her nicotine length by blowing smoke as she propped her elbow on her thigh, without averting her gaze from his chocolate brown pools, fulfilled with inevitable compassion. 

"The nuns always believed the bullies' pretty, shitty lies until one day one of the nuns decided to punish me by smacking a slap across my face and I just bit her fist. Therefore I was transported in Florida's orphanage where the things were much worse than St.Ursula. One day when I was 16 years old, I met ocassionally not only my best friend, my secondary mother and my boss, but also my tutor. It was Elsa Mars, of course! She told me I was talented as I hummed to myself and I quickly got along with her small family even her daughter Evelyn. I was a lucky gal. I became a hardcore alcoholic in my late teens, in order to suppress the pain from the past. I had my own job as a singer until the day when I was falsely charged of physical violence towards one of the fans under drug's influence." 

As the young lady narrated her monologue behind her godawful past and early years, hence, Kit listened with ginormous enthusiasm without peeling a single, in fact, he tremendously respected her and he didn't want to make a bad impression at all. As Odette's monologue progressed, Kit listened even profoundly attentive, assimilating each word she has spoken as she was taking puffs by pausing from time to time. 

*** 

Flashback

27th of March, 1943

The young parents have already changed the baby girl's diaper, besides she was breastfed by her mother an hour ago and consequently shortly after she was fed and experiencing no longer famine.  

While Jude and Timothy had an important task in the sister of the church's office, whereas Odette was sleeping peacefully, securely in her mother's arms as a soother blocked her mouth by restraining her from crying and blubbering, they were seating against each other.

"So I don't know if it's good idea to use the funded money for new therapies or investing the money in better quality and effective medicaments for the patients by equipping them slightly better stuff, giving them more privileges for normal conditions behind this madhouse's walls." The man of the cloth clarified as his mammoth, veiny hands were 

"I think we should divide twice the money by investing them in new therapies and better medicaments and privileges for the patients, in my opnion. That's my judgment by balancing the things!" The blonde suggested as she faintly rocked the infant in her doting, protective arms as she looked down at Odette, admiring her gorgeous facial features as she resembled more her father. Contemplating with her honey brown eyes mini Timothy as a young girl. 

"I think that's a better alternative for investing the money in better therapies and the institution's equipment for the patients." The young priest couldn't repress a growing beaming smile, dancing across his plumpish, baby pinkish lips as he observed his lover holding their baby daughter. "You are beautiful my girls, you know."

"You are a handsomer, my heart! Believe me!"

"If you think so," All of a sudden, the baby spat the soother as it limply dropped on the floor as Odette cut the adults' conversation off as her whine sailed in the austere office, drawing promptly not only the anxious parents' attention, further, one of the nuns who's wandering in the long hallway of the nuthouse until she couldn't help but overhear baby's yowl, in fact, she cannot slumber any longer. "Oh holy shit! I think we're so screwed." Timothy sighed frustrated as he smacked a tad slap upon his temple as Jude opted to comfort her daughter by shushing, swinging her into her secure, affectionate arms.

"Shu, shu, sweetheart! Are you having nightmares?" 

"Waaaaaaaahhh!" The little girl couldn't babble even with exception by expressing her emotions and feelings in her cryptical silence and blunt cries. 

"What the hell is," Sister Frances stuttered reluctantly entered lastly by storming off in Jude's office as she scowled when she heard Odette's cry as her sensitive ears verged to bleed of its high-pitched wail, arching an eyebrow by expressing her bewildered and livid nature since she wasn't very fond of children at all. The older devotional woman of the cloth was actually in her late 30s, possessing piercing glares once she castes them on the others with her amber brown irises, fair skin tone, highlighting her rosy-coloured, thin lips as a couple of chestnut strands were framing her porcelain complexion with its sharp facial features. She has been a nun for a decade, due to a woe, befalling her. "Oh, Sister Jude and Monsignor Howard! What are these cries of a baby?" She shut momentarily the office door by stepping up inside, marching up to the both members of the clergy as she earned their mortified looks across their faces, glaring in leery manner at the couple who had a secret affair though it was oblivious for the malicious brunette the infant in Jude's arms was actually their creation, who was the crucial reason why they were in seventh heaven. 

"It's okay, darling! Mommy's got ya!" The young blonde sister of the church tried to soothe her daughter by murmuring to her as her honeyed voice was solely audible for her and her daughter as she halted blubbering at last. 

"Sister Frances! We had an important discussion with Sister Jude about Briarcliff's funded money by investing them in new therapies and patients' privileges. Don't you understand," Sister Frances moseyed up to her younger colleague by trying to take the baby away from her arms, who was swaddled up warmly. Furthermore, the elder nun earned Jude's glare by clunging the baby to her chest.

"Shut up, Monsignor! There's an occured issue there. I can smell it."

"Please, Sister Frances! Don't take this little ray sunshine of my arms! I assure ya."

"Oh, Jude! Don't be too pathetic!" The brunette lisped by hissing as Timothy opted to drag Frances from the office though she punched him with the back of her hand as he collapsed on the floor due to her immense physical strength which Frances possessed, causing apprehension in the younger woman of the cloth. "Isn't that your child?"

"It's not of your business. It's one of the patients' ones as I decided to look after it since I was doted on it since day one." The blonde lied as she retorted by gritting her teeth, huffing. "Do not touch Odette!"

"I doubt it it's their child! This child shouldn't be in your arms." In the meantime, Jude got from the chair as she sped up to the unconscious corpse of the juvenile priest by rocking as she squeezed his shoulder, in fact, to wake him up as her hairs stood on end, whereas holding her love child in one of her arms without unwillingly dropping her out of her arm. 

"Timothy, please! Wake up!" 

"He won't help you needy whore!" Sister Frances bended down as she smacked a scorching slap across the back of her head, factly, Jude didn't pay attention who was behind her back until she plopped on the floor while Odette was rowdily crying and crying as her high-pitched voice swam in the austere office's background, jingling a requem in the intruder's ears. The younger woman's senseless body collapsed on top of Timothy, forming a pile of two bodies, pressed on one another. "Don't worry about the child! This bastard child's going to be safe somewhere from a priest, who's having an affair with a whore!" In the interim, Sister Frances yankered Odette as Jude and Timothy passed out without moving a single muscle of their bodies. As soon as she collected the incessantly crying child, she didn't make the effort to alleviate it by heading towards the office door by exiting the room within seconds, thereafter fleeing to the orphanage where will be delivered the 3 days old young girl. 

***

"I can't imagine what a pain in ass is all this. I really can put myself in your shoes, picturing this dynamic, howsoever, painful sight of being a love child, living with this reputation for years."

"Indeed! But do you know what I hate more than anything?" The young singer took another drag of its length by emitting dim, escaping her lips and tender nostrils as she darted her hazel eyes up to his chocolate as if she shot arrows into his orbs. "To being pitied and considered a victim of sorrow and compassion." In the meanwhile, the young man gulped by wiping his clammy forehead with the back of his head, subsequently rubbing idly, uneasily his head. 

To be continued...