D&B5

42

"Are you okay now?" Day asked about Brick’s feelings at that moment.

"I'm not a hundred percent, as long as we haven’t cleared things up directly with him," Brick replied. Day gently rubbed Brick's back in understanding before letting him go to see his lover's face.

"Don’t worry; I’ll go talk to him directly. If he doesn’t stop bothering us afterwards, we may have to involve the elders," Day said. He still needed to maintain some decorum with Brick's father.

"Okay," Brick acknowledged.

"What about Nick?" Day asked, looking for Nick.

"He's in the kitchen. I’m having lunch. You should join us; Nick bought quite a lot of food," Brick replied, and the two of them walked to the kitchen. Nick nodded and greeted Day while Brick served rice for Day to join them.

"I heard from Brick. What are you going to do?" Nick asked.

"I guess I’ll need to talk first," Day replied.

"Talking to someone unstable; do you think you can get through to him?" Nick asked.

"I’ll have to try. If talking doesn’t change anything, I’ll have to take the next steps," Day answered. Nick nodded and let out a soft sigh.

"It’s good that my nephew is okay," Nick mumbled softly.

"If my kid even had a little mark, I’d definitely stomp on him," Brick said with a slightly irritated tone. Day shared Brick’s displeasure that the other party was bothering his son, and once the three of them finished eating, they went back to the living room near Little Ob’s playpen.

The three of them were watching Day’s phone, looking at footage from the security cameras. Brick hadn’t watched the footage at first because he was waiting for Day to see it together. When they finally looked, they saw Pat walking in and standing still, watching Little Ob before picking him up. At that moment, Cotton was just right there. Little Ob startled from the noise and, feeling unfamiliar in the embrace, started to cry. Brick clenched his hands tightly in anger at Pat, so Day took Brick’s hand and squeezed it gently.

"Look at that guy; what’s wrong with him? Why does he have to hold our kid?" Brick asked, his voice laced with anger.

"Right? Or is he trying to steal Ob?" Nick speculated.

"I’m not sure, but I’ll also record the video," Day replied. He was also unhappy seeing this, and although Pat didn’t harm Ob, he didn't understand what Pat's intentions were in picking up him while he was sleeping.

"When are you going to talk to him, Day?" Brick asked with curiosity.

"Tomorrow; I don’t want to leave it too long," Day replied. Brick nodded in agreement, eager to have the conversation happen quickly. Then Brick noticed some movement from his son and rushed to check. He saw Ob twisting and turning before waking up. The little boy looked around before flashing a smile, showing his tiny teeth when he saw Brick.

"Why are you awake so early? You just fell asleep a little while ago," Brick asked with a smile. Even though he was worried about Pat, he made sure to act cheerful and speak gently to his son.

"Pa Pa," Little Ob called out for Brick, to which Brick lifted him up for a playful squeeze on his cheeks.

"Haha, hihi," the little boy laughed when Brick pinched his cheeks and tummy.

"Oops," Brick paused and exclaimed with wide eyes upon hearing a fart from his son. Ob widened his eyes in response and chuckled.

"Let me see," Brick said as he opened his son’s diaper, but there was nothing inside; it was just the gas.