"Daddy!" Kai calls as he rushes towards me as soon as I walk into the playroom where he was sitting with a few adults surrounding him. I notice that the other kids were still watching the movie in the other room while my son was all by himself, playing with a few of the workers to probably keep his mind off of what he heard. Apparently, he was pulled out of the movie room as soon as they heard someone was there to pick him up, but thankfully, he didn't actually see the man. He just heard a few things that he was yelling.

"Hey, buddy," I whisper, picking him up in my arms as I'm filled with a rush of gratitude that my boy was okay. Nothing had hurt him. I look up at the daycare workers that were all looking at me with worried expressions that they were trying to hide. Margaret Chen, the owner of the daycare center, stands behind me before ushering me back into the lobby where parents check their kids in-and-out.

"Levi," Margaret whispers to me while Kai digs his head into my shoulder while I wrap him up in the blanket I brought in with him since I didn't want him to freeze on his way to the car. I look up at the woman, who was giving me a sympathetic look. "we're so sorry for allowing him to hear the words the man said and from now on, when anyone besides you comes to pick him up, we'll call you immediately. Even if they're on the list, we just want to be cautious from now on."

I nod my head with a small smile. "That would be great, thank you."

"I apologize, but in cases like these, we have to call the police because he was threatening not only the welfare of the child but also the welfare of you. There's a police officer here to talk to you," Margaret tells me in a soft voice and I instantly get worried if this would all scare Kai even more. But by the way his body feels against mine, he had already fallen asleep against my shoulder. I hold him even tighter as I follow Margaret through the daycare center until we're in an office that holds a tall, dark police officer who looked pretty friendly.

"Hi, Mr. Whitehouse, I'm Officer Daniels," the officer introduces himself. He holds his hand out for me to shake and I do it quickly before wrapping the arm around Kai, who was still fast asleep. "I apologize for us meeting under these circumstances, but we want to get a statement from you before we determine what we should do in this situation."

"That's alright," I whisper, rocking Kai back-and-forth in my arms.

He motions for me to sit in one of the chairs and I slowly take a seat while he gets comfortable in the other one across from me. Margaret excuses herself before leaving the room to give us some privacy. The officer pulls out a notebook before giving me a smile and nodding his head. "The child's name is Malakai Whitehouse?"

"Yes, sir," I say in a small voice.

"And where is the child's mother?" He asks and I mentally sigh, hating this. I've already had to explain this to multiple CPS workers when I showed up at the hospital with Kai the day Amelia dropped him off with me. But of course, something else like this has to happen and I have to talk with even more people about my story.

"Uh, Kai's mother isn't in his life," I explain, but don't go into too much detail since I really don't want to.

"And why is that?" He asks, not seeming to notice that I was clearly uncomfortable with the question since he was so busy looking down at his notebook in his lap.

I clear my throat before checking that Kai was actually asleep before continuing in a whisper. "Uh, I was sexually assaulted in college and that's how his mother got pregnant. When she had him, she dropped him off with me before leaving. I haven't seen her since that day. I've already been through multiple meetings with CPS and other people."

Officer Daniels nods his head before writing something down on his notebook, not seeming fazed in the slightest as I retell the story with minor details. "Okay, do you know his mother's name?"

"Amelia Cohen was the name she used in the hospital. I don't know if that was correct or anything," I explain.

He narrows his eyes at me in confusion. "Was there ever an official investigation done?"

I shake my head, feeling guilty. "No, sir. I didn't want to do an investigation. All I cared about was making sure my son was okay and figuring out arrangements at home."

He nods his head before dropping his eyes from me, obviously disappointed that I never did anything legal to Amelia. I debated it, but I knew that I would've lost since women don't even usually win against their abusers when it comes to sexual assault, so why would a man, me, be any different? I saw no point in going through all of that for no reward in the end. Officer Daniels reaches out with a piece of paper in his hand and I grab it, examining the screenshot of the security footage in the lobby of the daycare center. "Do you recognize him?"

The picture was blurry, but I could see the outline of a man. He seemed to have short, light-colored hair along with a very muscular body that would definitely intimidate me if I was in front of him in person. His face looked angry in the picture and I could make out the receptionist standing in front of him, clearly distraught as she talked to the mysterious man. I shake my head at the officer, handing the photo back. "I don't."

"He said his name was Beckett Strickland and once I get back to the station, I'll check out if it matches up and I'll contact you with any information. I'm hoping that this was just a onetime thing, but if it deals with a child, then it probably won't be. For right now, we recommend locking your doors and possibly having more people around the child to make sure he's okay and safe. Here's my card," he says, handing me a business card that displays his name and number along with his email. "if you have any questions or any more information, just give me a call."

I nod my head before standing up when he does. He shakes my hand once more before walking out of the room. He says something to Margaret before leaving the center and I quickly grab Kai's stuff before saying goodbye to everyone. I carefully get Kai in his car-seat without waking him up before getting in the driver's seat and starting to drive towards the apartment. I pull out my phone and call Kadri immediately because I needed people with me right now. On the third ring, she picks up. "Hello?"

"Something happened," I blurt out, not wanting to ease into the conversation right now.

I can hear her moving on the other line before she clears her throat. "Is everything okay?"

"I got a call from the daycare center about a man that tried to pick Kai up. He said his name was Beckett Strickland and when they refused to let him take him, he apparently got very angry. He said something about how he was going to find me or Kai one way or another, but then he was forced to leave. I had to talk to a police officer and everything, but they said that Kai should have more people around him for now," I explain.

"Ximena and I will be right there. Call your parents and tell them what happened," she says before hanging up, clearly stressed about what I just told her. I dial my mom's number and explain the entire thing to her again and after talking for a few moments, she tells me that she and Dad were on their way. I check to make sure Kai was still asleep before continuing to drive towards the apartment.

Once I park in the parking lot, I send a quick text to my brother, Lincoln, to explain what's going on since he would probably hear it from my parents and I want him to hear from me first. I stuff my phone in my pocket after that before making my way back over to Kai. I carefully pick him up and when I settle his head on my shoulder, I can feel him moving his neck a bit. I glance down at him to see him rubbing his eyes with his hands with a stressed look on his face. I rub his back lightly as I start moving towards the front door. "Hey, buddy."

"It's cold," he says in a soft voice as he looks around to see where we were. I tighten the blanket around his small body as I walk into the lobby of my building before going into the elevator. I lightly rock him up-and-down as he gets comfortable against my shoulder again.

Once I walk into the apartment, I carefully lower myself onto the couch before securely placing Kai on my lap, not wanting to part with him right now. I run my hand through his hair after pulling the blanket around his body again since he was lightly shivering. "Did that man scare you today?"

He nods his head before rubbing his eyes with his palms again. I give him a moment to think before he nods again, looking up at me with his big, adorable hazel eyes. "He was loud, Daddy. He... he... saying my name. Ms. Chen was sad."

I nod my head, running my hand through his hair again since that always seemed to make him feel better whenever I did that. "I know, baby boy. I'm so sorry you were scared, but you're going to be okay, alright? Ms. Chen and I are going to do everything we can to make sure that you're okay. Always."

His lip starts to tremble a bit and he grabs my arm before wrapping his tiny arms around it. I reach out and place my hand on his cheek, allowing him to lean into my touch. "Did I do something bad?"

"No, Kai, you did nothing wrong," I say immediately because the last thing I want is for him to think is that he did anything bad. I didn't want him to think that this was a punishment for something he did because honestly, I had no clue why this was happening, but I knew that it had nothing to do with something my son did. He was only three and could absolutely do no harm. "the thing is... people can be very bad, Kai, and sometimes, bad people do very, very terrible things to good people."

His eyes widen slightly and he tightens his grip on my wrist. "Is that man bad?"

"I think so," I whisper, nodding my head. "but that just means we're going to have to be extra careful from now on, okay? So no matter where we are and no matter who we are with, you have to stay very close. You can't wander off by yourself and you can't talk to strangers, remember?"

"Stranger danger," he reminds me with a firm nod of the head. Ever since he had started to be able to understand things, I have talked to him multiple times about how he absolutely cannot talk to strangers unless I tell him it's okay. With how he came into my life, I have to be careful because Amelia could be anywhere and I didn't want him to ever have to see her or someone she knows. He didn't deserve that.

"Right," I say, continuing to run my hands through his hair. "stranger danger. So if anyone tries to talk to you, you need to tell whoever you're with immediately. But I need you to promise me that you won't just wander off, okay?"

"I promise!" He says with a determined look on his face. I smile before hugging him to my chest, kissing the top of his head because I was so glad that he was safe. This day could've easily turned even worse if that man actually got to Kai because I had no idea what he wanted. I don't even know who he is or how he even knows who my son is. But somehow, he does and that was so utterly terrifying to me that I couldn't quite comprehend it. "You're squeezing me, Daddy."

I instantly let Kai go as his giggle hits my ears. I look down at him to see that he wasn't scared anymore. He just looked like the same happy, energetic boy that I get to see every day. I run my hand through his hair again, watching as he grabs one of the toys on the couch next to us before starting to play with it. He glances up at me with a cute smile before giggling, holding the toy out to me. I smile, deciding to play with him before everyone got here.

After about 10 minutes of Kai and I playing together, the apartment door opens and Kadri and Ximena walk in using their key. They had distressed looks on their faces as they glanced between the two of us. As soon as Kadri sees Kai and me, she lets out a sigh before rushing over to the couch to sit down next to us. She presses a firm kiss to my son's cheek, making him giggle again, before hugging me tightly. "Are you okay?"

I nod my head when she pulls away. "We're okay."

"Hey, Kai, do you want to come play with me for a bit?" Ximena asks, already sitting on the floor next to his toy box. I was happy that she was distracting him for us so Kadri and I could talk for a bit, so when he looks up at me, I nod my head.

"Go play with Mena," I tell him in a soft, calm voice before picking him up and setting him on his feet. I watch as he runs over to her and looking through his toys before grabbing two dolls that my mom had bought him a few weeks ago. After a few moments of watching him to make sure he shows no signs of distress, I turn to Kadri, who was staring at him as well.

I let out a sigh before collapsing against the back of the couch, finally allowing myself to drop my act. I was scared and just because I can't show Kai that doesn't mean I can't show my best friend. I rub my palms over my eyes before looking up at my best friend, who reaches over and grabs my hands. "What the hell happened?"

I notice that she was keeping her voice soft so Kai wasn't able to hear her, so I lower my voice as well. "I don't know, Kadri. I saw a picture of the guy and I have no idea who he is. I didn't recognize him or anything and I don't even know how he knows who Kai is. I just... what if he took him? What if he hurts him?"

Kadri immediately shakes her head with a narrow of her eyes to show me how serious she was. "We don't talk like that, Levi. Instead of thinking of the what-ifs, we're going to think of what did happen. Kai's safe and happy and healthy. That man, whoever the fuck he is, will not touch him. We'll find a new daycare center if we have to, I don't care. We will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. If I have to start babysitting every single day, I will. I'm a writer, it's not like I have scheduled hours or anything."

I shake my head. "The daycare center will protect him and I know that all of the employees wouldn't dream of any of the kids getting hurt. They have precautions for these things, so I trust them. That's not what I'm worried about because I don't think he would go back to the daycare center again unless he's an idiot or something."

"What're you worried about then?" She whispers.

"What if one time, we're out at the park or something? I take my eyes off of him for one second and the next, he's just gone? What do we do then? What do I do then? He's my whole world, Kadri, and I can't even imagine anything happening to him," I whisper, trying to keep my voice down as I start to get hysterical. I didn't cry often, but when I do, it's bad. It was a full-on mental breakdown and at this point, I was getting close to that.

"Levi," Kadri whispers, seeming shocked at hearing my voice becoming panicky. "everything will be alright. Wherever we go from now on, someone will always be watching him. We can handle this and we will handle this. We have the police working on it now, right? Well, they'll figure something out. They'll find out who this psycho is."

I can't help it when a tear runs down my face and my hands start to tremble because even though she's right, I'm already so terrified. I know I can protect my child, I just don't know why this had to be happening. We were happy. I was happy. Why does this guy have to come and mess all of it up? Kadri reaches out and wipes the tear away before pulling me into a hug. I try to calm myself down since I know that she's right. Thinking of the what-ifs would just make things worse and I needed to be strong. I needed to stay strong for Kai.

I look up when the door is unlocked using a key before my parents walk in, looking around before their eyes land on Kai. They both let out sighs of relief before they turn to me, softening their eyes when they see my puffy face. My dad shuts the door while my mom rushes over to me, pulling me into her arms. "Oh, Levi."

"Mom," I whimper against her shoulder as she runs her hands up-and-down my back in a comforting gesture. We sit like that for a few minutes before I pull back, using the pads of my thumbs to wipe away my tears. My mom pushes my hands away before using her fingers to dry my face. I glance over at Kai for a second to see that he was still playing with Ximena, who was pretending to be her doll and changing her voice to sound more high-pitched. I smile for a second at seeing my son not being as scared anymore, but I turn to my mom, my happiness dropping down again.

"Everything will be okay," she reminds me, giving me the most serious look she had. I nod my head, agreeing with her. Everything would be okay. I was going to make sure of it.

"A safeword," Kadri blurts out, making my parents and I look at her with confused looks. She looks around at us before thinking for a moment. She clears her throat before glancing at Kai. "we should come up with a safeword. Like if we say that one word to Kai, he needs to find a place to hide. Like, as soon as he hears that, he drops everything and finds a place away from whatever's going on to protect himself."

I look at her in confusion. "A safeword?"

My mom shrugs her shoulders. "It's a good idea actually. Because, God forbid, if something like this does happen and we can't get him to a safe place, then he can. He's smart and he would be able to understand it."

My father nods his head, reaching over and clapping me on the back. "It's a very good idea. Like your mother said, God forbid, but now that something like this has happened, we need to be prepared for something even worse. He really is a smart kid and he would be able to comprehend what to do if we really taught him what that one word means."

I look over at Kai, seeing him playing with the dolls with Ximena. I look at his cute, perfect face along with his beautiful smile because they were right. He would understand what it meant and it's not a bad idea. He understands 'stranger danger' and how he knows not to hit when having a tantrum because it doesn't get him anywhere. He is smart, even if he doesn't know it. I just hate that I even have to be taking precautions like this because of some person that decided to come and mess everything up. I nod my head at my family, looking over at Kadri, who was giving me a small smile. "It's a good idea."

"Okay," Kadri whispers, looking pleased that I agreed with her. She glances over at Kai before letting out a sigh. "we need a word that we wouldn't ever use because we don't want to confuse him."

"I mean, we could just take a lesson from Fifty Shades of Grey and go with 'red'," my mother says with a shrug of the shoulders, staring at my son now. But when she looks at me, her smile drops when she sees my small glare. Kadri chuckles at my unamused look, reaching over and settling her hand on my shoulder to tell me that it was okay.

"This isn't some sex scene in a book, Mom. And, anyway, 'red' is a word that we use a lot. He would get totally confused if when we were coloring and I just said 'hey, can you pass me the red marker'. He would think he would have to hide just because I asked for a marker," I explain to her and she sighs before nodding her head, knowing that I'm right.

We all think for a few minutes before my dad picks up his head. "Mockingjay? I don't think that would be used a lot and it seems pretty easy to remember."

"That's a good idea," Kadri says, nodding her head before turning to look at Kai, who was still playing with Ximena. She looks at me for agreement and I nod my head to tell her that it was alright to call him over here. I know that this would be hard and would probably take a while for him to grasp the concept of a safeword, but it needs to be done. As they said, God forbid, but if something like this happens again, he needs to be able to protect himself by hiding. "hey, Kai, can you come here for a second?"

Kai immediately drops his toys and walks over to Kadri and I. He glances at me before holding his arms out to tell me that he wants me to hold him, which I instantly do. I hug him close to me before kissing his forehead, hating this entire situation. I take a few moments to myself as everyone in the room stares at me, waiting for me to start the conversation. Once I felt ready, I pull back to look down at Kai, who looks a bit confused since no one was saying anything. "So we're going to have a safeword, which means that whenever one of us says that word, you're going to follow some rules."

Kai looks even more confused. "Rules?"

"Yes, rules. The second you hear this word, you're going to stop and find a place to hide," Kadri explains for me, reaching over and brushing some of his hair out of his face. "okay?"

Kai looks up at me, tugging on my shirt with a confused look. I knew he was a little young to be introducing this concept and he was probably getting tired, so I would have to keep working with him on what this was, but it was good to tell him this now. "Whenever me, Auntie Kadri, Mena, Grandma, or Grandpa say 'mockingjay', you need to find a place to hide."

He looks around the room at all the people I just named and they all nod their heads at him. He looks up at me, tugging on my shirt again to get my attention. "Why?"

"Remember when I explained bad people?" I ask and he nods his head. "Well, bad people are always in the world, so we want to make sure you're safe, so that's why we have 'mockingjay'."

"Mockingjay," he says, looking confused again. But when I nod my head, he smiles like he was proud that he was able to say it. I lean down and kiss his head, proud that this wasn't scaring him as I had expected him. He's a strong kid and I know that if I ever had to use the word, he would know exactly what to do. I know I'll definitely have to keep teaching him within the next few weeks so he really understood what it meant, but that was okay. I wanted him to learn and in the future, this word could potentially save his life, so I was happy. Even after this stressful day, I was happy with where we were.