Under My Protection

Chapter 23

Each day over the past two weeks had felt longer than the one prior, as Phayu tried to patiently wait for more information from Bun Ma. Knowing Rain was safe was the only thing allowing him to breathe each day. While he had no concrete proof of Rain's safety, he chose to trust Bun Ma, having seen her love for Rain over the time he had known them. He had to trust that she was, indeed, working to help Rain. Not trusting her, thinking Rain was not actually safe, thinking she was not protecting Rain but working against them, was a thought too painful to entertain. So he pushed this sliver of doubt out of his mind, treating Bun Ma's words as reality.

Every few days, Phayu would find a small slip of paper - under his sandwich, below his coffee cup, sitting beneath his napkin. Each one conveyed a simple instruction followed by the initial "B." Knowing the requests came from Bun Ma, though worded more as demands than polite requests, compelled Phayu to complete each one. Each time, he carefully read the words once, then slipped the paper into his pocket. He repeated the words over and over in his mind until he felt ready to comply.

That sliver of doubt would always creep back into his mind, warning him of the dangers to himself, and possibly Rain, if he were mistakenly following these instructions. Uncertainties inundated his mind that was already barely managing to stay sane. What if he was putting too much trust in Bun Ma? What if, in reality, she was betraying them and undermining all the efforts to find Rain? What if Rain's father discovered his actions? What if Rain's father was somehow involved? Each time his mind would continue to spiral as he attempted to eat, hands shaking as he lifted food towards his mouth, forcing himself to chew, trying to appear normal, unaffected.

So, he waited each day to see if a note would be given to him. Waited and hoped that one day the slip of paper would be an invitation to talk to Bun Ma again or a shred of information about Rain. But each time, he would be disappointed to find Bun Ma instructing him to add small clues about Rain's possible location into the information the team had been collecting. Phayu tried to piece together the clues, hoping it would lead him to Rain. Hoping maybe Bun Ma was leading him to Rain but wondering why she wouldn't just tell him. Wondering why he was being left in the dark.

So, he studied her clues, ignoring everything else. When he ignored the other data, Phayu felt close. He had narrowed in on a small area, confused because it was not downtown or in the factory district. It was in a posh, upper-class neighborhood, which confused him even more.

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Rain briefly stared at the two people across from him, unbelieving, before throwing his covers off of him, racing to throw himself into the waiting arms of his now standing mother.

"I .... I don't .... What?" Rain tried speaking through his quiet sobs as he buried his face into Mai's shoulder.

"Shhh .... It's okay, my sweet boy .... You are safe. I'm sorry it took me so long to come see you. I came as soon as it was safe, but you must have been scared and I'm so sorry," Mai said, kissing Rain's forehead while running her hands up and down his back.

Once he felt in control again, Rain lifted his head, looking between his mother and Channarong. Upon seeing Channarong's intense gaze upon him, Rain tightened his arms around his mother, unsure why Channarong would be there.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Rain. Nor to take you back to your father," Channarong said, still using a dark voice which failed at providing the reassurance Rain was seeking from him.

Rain pulled back from his mother, narrowing his gaze which alternated between the two of them, and crossing his arms in an attempt to look angry instead of afraid. "Well, will somebody explain what the hell is going on?"