Retribution (The Protectors 3)

I saw that the caller was Ronan and felt the automatic pang of fear go through me that I always did when he called. I’d talked to Matty earlier in the day and he’d been fine, but I couldn’t get past my fear that one day I was going to get the call that things were no longer fine.

“Hi,” I said after hitting the answer button. “Is Matty okay?”

“Hey. He’s doing good, Tate.”

Relief went through me and I glanced at Hawke who was in the process of moving his bag to the bed, probably so he could get his tablet out so I could video chat with Matty.

“Tate, I just wanted to give you a heads up about something before you talk to Matty.”

The relief I’d felt a moment ago disappeared instantly. “You said he was okay,” I whispered. Hawke appeared at my side with his tablet.

“Put it on speaker,” he said quietly.

My hand was shaking so Hawke took the phone from me and did it himself. “Hey Ronan, you’re on speaker, okay?”

“Hey,” Ronan responded. “Tate, honestly, Matty’s okay. It’s just that his hair started falling out over the past couple of days and we talked him into shaving it off this morning. I wanted you to know before you saw him so it wouldn’t be so much of a surprise.”

I felt tears sting the backs of my eyes at the brutal reminder of what my little boy was going through. “Okay,” I managed to say.

“Give me a minute and I’ll start the video chat.”

“Ronan, call my tablet, okay?” Hawke said.

“Yeah.”

Ronan disconnected and Hawke put my phone away. “Hey,” he said as he settled his hand on my back and put his head against mine. “He’s okay. He’s strong, Tate. Just like his dad.”

I sucked in some air and nodded shakily. I blinked rapidly in an effort to clear the tears from my eyes. Hawke’s tablet began ringing a minute later and he held it in front of me and hit the answer button.

Matty was sitting cross legged on his hospital bed. I managed to keep my composure at the sight of his bald head, but inside I felt like I was dying. “Hey, buddy,” I said, my voice cracking. Hawke’s hand at my back had a soothing effect.

“Daddy, look,” Matty said as he pointed to his head.

“Wow, you look great,” I said with a big smile. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” Matty responded. “Guess what? Ronan says I look like Professor…” – Matty looked off-screen and whispered something, then nodded – “Xavier,” he said proudly, struggling with pronouncing the name. “He’s an X-Man, Daddy! He can read minds. Want me to read yours?”

I managed a nod. “Yeah, sure.”

Matty closed his eyes for several seconds and scrunched his face up. Then his eyes popped open and he said, “You miss me lots!”

I managed to stifle my laugh and opened my mouth wide as if in shock. “That is exactly right! How did you do that?”

“Magic powers, Daddy. Is Hawke there? I want to read his mind too.”

Hawke moved the tablet so Matty could see him. “I’m here, Matty.”

Matty gave him a small wave. “Look!” he said as he pointed to his head again.

“You look just like the Professor,” Hawke said. “But no way will you be able to read my mind.”

“I bet I can,” Matty insisted.

“Okay, you can try,” Hawke said with a shake of his head, his doubt clear.

Matty once again got lost in thought, then opened his eyes and announced, “You miss me, too and you and Daddy are going to come see me soon.”

My heart hurt as I watched the fleeting pain in Hawke’s gaze as he looked at Matty. And I knew in that moment he was thinking about his own son. But he managed a smile and said, “Wow, you got it exactly right.”

Matty nodded knowingly and Hawke shifted the tablet so Matty could see us both. “Daddy, guess what?”

“What?”

“Ronan and Seth knew how sad I was when they said I wasn’t gonna have any hair for a while, so look.”

The image teetered for a moment and when it came back into focus, I slapped my hand over my mouth in disbelief. Because there on the bed next to my son sat Ronan and Seth, their heads completely bald.

“Hi!” Seth said with a wave.

“Isn’t it cool, Daddy?” Matty said as he put one hand on Ronan’s shaved head and the other on Seth’s. The men looked so different, but I barely noticed that. All I noticed were their big smiles as they proudly showed off their new look.

“It’s really cool,” I managed to get out. Tears were flooding my eyes and I was helpless to hold them back. When Hawke used his arm to pull me against his chest, I gladly went. I knew my son and Ronan and Seth could see me, but I was too busy trying to hold it together.