Beyond the Badge

Chapter 3

The next morning Ohm woke up before Nanon which was quite natural as he barely slept last night. Ohm kept checking on Nanon almost every hour of the night to ensure the younger boy was having a sound sleep. Ohm was much more concerned about Nanon but he didn't need to pay attention to it as nobody knew that and Ohm would not let anybody know that.

After completing his morning routine Ohm usually went jogging and then to the gym for his workout session but that morning was different. He could not leave Nanon alone in his house so he chose to skip his daily routine and worked out at his home instead.

"Good morning, P'Ohm," Nanon came out to the living room while rubbing his eyes. He was wide awake at the moment when he saw an epitome of masculinity chopping vegetables and frying eggs in the open kitchen of the apartment. Nanon had woken up quite early at 5:30 am as they were going to leave by seven but seeing Ohm made him wonder if the person in front of him had even taken a nap.

"Morning, now get ready quickly. I have put your clothes in the bathroom already. The breakfast will be served within half an hour." Ohm said while facing the stove as he stir-fried the vegetables.

Without saying anything Nanon went to the bathroom where he not only found fresh clothes for him but also saw a new toothbrush and a new towel. Nanon came back to the living room after getting ready and saw Ohm serving breakfast for both of them. The kitchen counter was already cleaned and the apron that Ohm was wearing while cooking was placed on the rack in the right corner. The utensils which were used for cooking were placed in the sink. The younger man understood that Ohm Pawat is not only particular with his duty but also with everything he does.

"Have you made all of this?" Nanon asked while looking at the table.

"You don't like takeaways, neither do cereals. So... yeah." Ohm looked up at Nanon for the first time in the morning. He paused for a moment to see the soft face of the younger boy in front of him. It had been a long time since he had seen someone else in his apartment and interacted with someone face-to-face there. It had been three months since his mother and sister had visited him. There was another person who used to visit him, Ohm's best friend but she had been caught up lately in her work and new relationship. It felt nice to have company but Ohm should not admit it as he could not get used to this feeling. This might be the last time he saw the boy before taking him back to his house and leaving him there forever.

"You made this for me?" Nanon could not believe Ohm had cooked for him, just for him. The one who does not cook for himself often had cooked for him as he didn't want to have cereal for breakfast. Nanon could count the number of words he had exchanged with the officer and still that reserved person had made breakfast for him. Nanon could even find the sandwiches packed in the lunch box which he had planned to make to eat while travelling back to his home.

"You made sandwiches too!"
"You told last night-" Ohm was interrupted by Nanon.

"I told you that I would make them along with the breakfast. Why didn't you-"

"Because you needed a good rest. Yesterday was a very hectic day for you and we need to travel for a few hours today, so..."

"You need to take care of yourself too, phi. You have a night duty tonight and..."

"Finish eating quickly, we don't have much time left. No need to think about yourself, think about you and your mom. We may not meet again after today. Why are you wasting time worrying about me? Don't you want to get home back as early as possible?" Ohm finished eating and left Nanon alone. Nanon really wanted to go back to his home when he was trapped in the brothel when he was in the hospital room, and when he was in the police station but since he came to Ohm's place he was not in a hurry to go back. He still wanted to go back and meet his mom quickly but when Nanon was reminded this was the last time he was seeing Ohm, Nanon wouldn't mind getting a little late if it made him stay longer with the person who might not be as rude as he seemed. Rather Ohm was a person whose actions were louder than the words he spoke.

Although Nanon wouldn't mind a delay due to Ohm's punctuality, they started their journey at 6:57 in the morning. As Ohm was driving he didn't talk much but from time to time Nanon tried to initiate little conversations between them though they ended with "yes", "no", and "hmm" from Ohm.

After covering more than half of the distance Ohm said, "You can have the sandwiches if you are hungry and there was juice in the back seat as well."

"What about you, aren't you hung-" Nanon paused when Ohm's fierce eyes turned towards him.

"Nanon," Ohm softened his voice for what he did not understand but it relaxed Nanon completely. "How am I supposed to eat when both of my hands are engaged in driving the car?" Then he focused his eyes on the road again. Suddenly a sandwich was held in front of his mouth, making him amazed.

"I can feed you phi. Look, both of my hands are free," Nanon took a bite from his sandwich and told Ohm to take a bite as well." Ohm hesitated at first but he couldn't refuse the adorable little kid, that was how Nanon looked at that moment, chewing his food cutely.

With a mild smile on his lips, Ohm continued driving, taking a glimpse of Nanon in between. There was a comfortable silence between them for a while. Then Ohm found Nanon fell asleep, he was a kid indeed, that's what Ohm thought. As they were about to enter Nanon's Village the older woke him up gently. The excitement on Nanon's face was something else.

"P'Ohm, we have already entered our village, just ten minutes away was my school and after crossing that we will reach my home within five minutes," Nanon said while grabbing Ohm's arm. Ohm looked at the place where their skin touched then tried to hold himself. "Sit properly, I am not going to take you back with me. You will stay here forever." And with that, Nanon took his hand back and rested them on his lap.

As they reached Nanon's locality, Nanon requested to stop the car there because it could not go through the narrow lanes. Ohm stopped the car and Nanon almost jumped from the passenger seat.

"Nanon," Ohm called him. When the younger looked at the officer he forgot what he wanted to say. Ohm only knew he could not hold the boy back, he took a step closer and said, "Take care of yourself and your mother. If you need... I mean you face any problem later contact the police-"

"Then will you come here?" Nanon asked.

"Maybe not but the local police will help you."

"Oh, ohkay, let's go." Nanon started walking and Ohm followed him.

Nanon was so excited he couldn't stop talking about his childhood memories and Ohm subconsciously added them to his own memory.

"Just one more turn from here to the right and the second house is ours. My mom and I ran a little shop of hand-crafted goods on the ground floor of our house. It was my grandfather's shop. After Dad died we are running this business. You will choose anything from our shop and that will be a little present for you from my mom-" When Nanon took the turn towards his residence his steps were halted. There was no sign of the store or his house. There was a two-storied house indeed but he couldn't call it his own. He couldn't believe what he saw there, an unknown family was living there, at his place. It had been hardly two weeks since he left his home and everything had changed.

When Ohm inquired, they told them that this house had been sold to them before Nanon was sent to the city. They were given the possession last week. The new owner of the house showed Ohm the legal papers which had the signature of Nanon's mother which Nanon recognised. Nanon was completely unaware of this matter. He didn't know what to do now, where to live but what came to his mind first was where his mother was.

According to the new owner of the house, they didn't meet any middle-aged women there. When they came there was a man in his 50s who handed over the keys of the house to them. From the description of the man it was understood that this man was none other than the uncle of Nanon who dragged him to that hell but Nanon hadn't imagined that he could make his own sister and his nephew homeless.

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Dear Readers,

Thanks for your comments and votes on this story. I hope you liked this chapter too. I am thankful to all of you. I will come back with an update soon. Love you all. Love yourself and keep loving OHMNANON ❤️ 💚 🧡 💙