Fathers and Law: Lom and Fah Book One

Chapter 48

"Are you okay, Lom?" asked Fah as Lom put the elevator key in the drawer.

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?" asked Lom in a quiet monotone. "I'll make something for us to eat, it's already late afternoon and you should have eaten a couple of hours ago. Or do you want me to order something in?"

"What do you want to do?" asked Fah, trying to make things easy for Lom.

"Damn it, Fah, I know you don't have any memory but can't you even make up your mind about what you want to eat?" snapped Lom.

Fah's mouth fell open and he stared at Lom, saying nothing. He had been sitting on the edge of the bed so he decided to lay down and go to sleep. He couldn't believe Lom had yelled at him like that. He had no idea what he had done wrong and wanted to remove himself from the situation.

"Make whatever you want, I'm not hungry," said Fah, as he lay down on the bed and pulled the covers up. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything but Lom.

Lom stared at Fah in bed with his eyes shut. He hadn't meant to snap like that, his regret was immediate.

"If you're not hungry I'll go out and buy something," said Lom. He grabbed his phone and keys and headed out. He needed to drive around, clear his head, and return in a better mood. He didn't want to say or do anything mean to Fah.

Why had he snapped like that? Fah had already said that sometimes he was afraid of Lom. This would only make him more scared.

With the stress from his father, Fah's missing memory, losing Bank, and trying not to get arrested for Fah's kidnapping, Lom was barely holding it together.

He had no one he could talk with. Even if there were someone, they would say it was all his fault. If he had never kidnapped the judge's family Fah wouldn't have lost his memories, Bank would be alive, Ton wouldn't be disappointed in him, and the police wouldn't be looking for him.

Fah heard the elevator doors shut and opened his eyes. He checked the time, went to the bathroom, and then searched Lom's closet. He found some clothes and got dressed. He found the shoes he'd been wearing the day of the kidnapping and slid them on. At this point, he began sweating because if Lom returned now he couldn't explain his way out of this.

He went to the table by the elevator and took out the key he saw Lom use to operate it. Shit, he just left, he probably has the key with him. Much to his surprise, when he opened the drawer there were several keys. He wasn't sure if they were for different things or all for the elevator.

Pressing the button for the elevator he prayed Lom wouldn't be inside. The doors opened and Fah inserted one of the keys from the drawer. It worked! He took a last look at the only home he'd known since awakening from the overdose.

As the doors closed he admitted to himself he would miss some of his time here with Lom, but Lom seemed to go from being a good person to a bad person too easily. Fah was too scared to stay and yet on another level he still loved him.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Fah stepped out of the brightly lit elevator into the parking garage.

Where the hell am I? I can't be too far from places I've known because Run and Mek were in the area.

Before Lom returned he needed to distance himself from the garage. He walked with purpose, heading towards the area with lights and the sounds of traffic. Coming out of an alleyway he was happy to see the coffee vendor that Lom took him to. He hoped Mek would be in the area but he wasn't.

Where should he go? What should he do? He had no idea where his home was. Across the street, stood a police officer. Fah rushed over to him.

"Excuse me, officer, I am lost and have no phone. I need to contact my father, Khun Adi, the judge." The officer looked startled.

"Are you the son he just found? The one that has been missing?" Already the officer could see a promotion in his future, and possibly a reward from the judge.

"Yes, my name is Fah. Will you please help me?" Fah wanted to be inside a police car and out of sight in case Lom passed by.

"Yes, certainly! Come with me." He led Fah to a police car parked nearby and radioed in to his superior. "They said to bring you to headquarters. They're contacting the judge right now to come pick you up. Where have you been? Are you okay? Can you identify the person who kidnapped you?"

The officer's questions came one right after the other.

Oh no, I only wanted to go home. I didn't want to get Lom into trouble. After all, he took care of me and he had a doctor treating me. He protected me from his father. I can't let him get caught, but I can't lie to the police. What should I do?

Fah remained quiet. The officer sped through the streets, terrifying Fah. Several times Fah thought they were going to run over elderly people or hit street vendors.

They arrived at the office of the police station. Once inside, Fah waited in an office and was told to sit while they waited for the judge. Someone brought him a bottle of water.

Looking around Fah knew he was in the office of a high-ranking official. In addition to the comfortable armchair in which he sat, there was also a sumptuous-looking sofa inside the spacious office.

Several police officers came in and introduced themselves. They asked Fah for his last name and he couldn't remember. The officers looked at each other, worried.

"This better not be some sort of scam. If you're playing a game, we'll know soon enough when the judge arrives. If he doesn't recognize you, you'll be spending a night in a cell." Fah said nothing, simply stared at his hands in his lap. From outside the office came the noise of people talking excitedly. A few minutes later the door opened and Khun Adi stepped inside.

"Fah!" he exclaimed as he ran over and hugged his son.

"Thank you for coming," said Fah. He knew it sounded lame but he couldn't remember Khun Adi, only the information he had learned from Run and Mek. He hugged his father back, glad to be truly safe.

Once the officers saw Khun Adi's reaction they were relieved. All except the one who had threatened Fah with a jail cell. Khun Adi signed a paper releasing Fah into his custody and promised Fah would return to share any information he had about his kidnappers.

Once in the car, Khun Adi turned to Fah. "Son, are you okay? Can you remember me?"

"I'm okay. No, I'm sorry I don't remember you but Mek and Run told me about you today."

"Today? Run and Mek saw you? How did they know where you were?" Khun Adi sounded upset.

Oh no, now I'm getting more people in trouble, thought Fah.

"They came earlier today, they found me by accident. Can we talk about this at home? I want to see Run, please."

"Sure, I'm just grateful you're safe and home with us now. You will stay at our house, won't you?"

"Sure. I can't remember where I live anyway," laughed Fah. The judge laughed as well.