chapter seven

"i promise mom, he's really nice-" lydia started

"i don't like that lydia. you know i don't like that." raya cut her off.

when lydia had arrived at home her mother had finished with her office work and was waiting for her in the car with her father. raya noticed that lydia was quiet, and had asked her what the reasoning was for this. lydia didn't know if she should tell her mother about the boy or not, but she also had a hard time lying to her.

"stop it raya. let her finish, if something is causing our daughter joy then you should be more than happy to listen to her. continue, lydia." her father reassured her. raya huffed, but knew her husband was right. she had opened her ears to listen to her daughter.

"well-" lydia started. "we met because we both really liked the butterfly exhibit, which is the main reason i went there as you know. he was so nice mom! he bought me a lemonade, even! we talked about things that were important to the two of us, and towards the end he even walked me to my car! you would like him i think, he makes sure i'm safe." she contently finished her sentence.

raya paused a moment before speaking, before her thoughts were cut short by her husbands voice.

"he sounds great, lidie! do you think you're going to see him again? i would like to meet him if you do." he spoke cheerfully. lydia loved her dad, but they were not as close as her and her mother were- or used to be. she was happy that he was showing interest in the boy that she had taken a liking to, though.

"i hope so," she replied before leaning her head against the window, staring out of it as her surroundings zoomed past.

-

"i love it, rory!" lydia spoke with joy as she looked at the little boys drawing.

her mother and father were visiting with a friend that they had made at a bar a bit back, and lydia had the job of entertaining the couples younger nephew. not that she minded, though. lydia had always loved kids, and her mother and father enjoyed bringing her around children as they felt that her maturity level matched up with the younger generations.

"what should i draw now livie?" the boy mumbled, chewing on his pencil. lydia smiled to herself at the boy, seeing as though he could never seem to say her name correctly.

"what about you and i on a picnic?" she happily replied.

the little boy agreed, as he dragged his pencil across the paper in attempts to make shades to the ocean. lydia never thought about the idea of having kids, she didn't really know much about them. she thought it would be nice to have someone to take care of and be around consistently, though. her mother and father had smothered her with attention as a child and she was nothing short of grateful for that. she hoped that one day, she could maybe do the same for somebody else. however, before lydia could ponder any further, she received a text. she looked down at her phone in her lap and became excited once she saw the name.

hi little

lydia looked around at her surroundings to be sure that her mother was nowhere around before she decided to respond.

hi tate😇

are u busy?

i don't think so

i need a no, little

no, not busy

do u want to go back to the exhibit with me?

she thought for a moment. how would she get away with going to see him? she also wondered why he wanted to see her so soon after saying goodbye. it had been about four hours since they last saw each other, but lydia oddly wanted to see him again too. his presence was calming when he wasn't annoyed with her.

"rory, where did you put my xbox contro-" the deep voice stopped as it landed in the room. lydia looked up, startled at the voice that had interrupted her thoughts. upon her stood a tall boy with dark shaggy hair, looking down at the two.

"oh, hey" the boy spoke, his eyes meeting up with lydias. this boy was very attractive to lydia, and she was starting to think she was struck by cupid on that evening. two pretty boys in one day was very unusual for her. she wasn't complaining, though.

"hello" she responded back softly. the two stared at one another for a second, before being interrupted by yet another voice.

"are you guys having fun in here?" lydia's father spoke, startling her out of her thoughts. he stood over them, a beer in hand, smiling as he watched the little boy continue his sketch of the two.

"can i go see tatum again, dad? he wanted to take me back to the fair since we didn't get much time today." lydia asked her father, hopefully. he thought for a second before answering.

"okay, but don't tell your mother, i will speak to her. you know how she gets." he finished. lydia was excited now, and immediately went back into her messages with tatum.

i would luv to :)

okay little, send me your address

and that is exactly what lydia did.