chapter eleven

lydia was done sitting in silence. tatum had not said another word to her, and she had not said a single word to him. she had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but out of fear that he would get upset with her she did not ask any of them. she had figured that maybe he needed to make a pit stop somewhere, gas maybe? she had no idea. but she did not like feeling clueless, and she felt as though tatum knew this and was playing into it.

without second thought, lydia slightly pushed tatums hand off of her thigh. she figured that maybe this would force him into speaking to her, or maybe it would cause him to actually listen to her when she said he needed to turn around. lydia didn't want to go somewhere else, she wanted to go to the fair. if she would've known that tatum did not plan on going then she would've came by herself.

"don't do that." tatum firmly stated, placing his hand back on the inside of her thigh. only this time, his hand was further up her thigh. lydia began to feel a weird sensation that she had noticed she had never felt before, and she cupped her legs together rather quickly, trapping his thigh in place so he could no longer move upwards. tatum had shown a light smirk, and continued to look at the road.

"where are we going tatum?" she asked.

"my house." he stated in a monotone pitch.

"but tatum," she whined. "i wanted to go see them"

"enough lydia. listen to me when i speak to you. we aren't going back" he slightly raised his voice.

lydia fell quiet, and she would stay that way for awhile. tatum continued to drive in silence as well, glancing at her every so often. he was surprised that she had stopped asking questions, yes, but he missed hearing her voice. as tatum took his last glance at the girl, he noticed that she had fallen asleep in her seat, leaning her head in her hand. he was brought out of his irritated mood almost immediately, as he took the time to take in how absolutely beautiful she looked. she's angelic to him, too perfect to be real.

he took one of her limp hands into his own and continued the journey to his second home in his old town. to say he was excited was the least of it, he had never looked forward to something more than getting her home so he could be alone with her in somewhere that isn't a vehicle. he knew it would be hard for him to be gentle with her, but he felt as though he could handle himself. and if he couldn't, he would simply put her away in another part of the house and ban himself from seeing her until he could gain control of himself.

with lydia sleeping, tatum had no choice but to sit and think. that's why he loved his little lydia, because she kept his brain from being mean to him.

it was never tatums intention to take her within the first day of meeting her. but lydia held something special about her, and he couldn't take the feeling that other men would think the same. and, if they are bold enough, act on it. he needed his sights on her at all times, and if she wasn't in his line of vision he felt a stinging feeling in his chest.

he had never been able to care deeply about anything as a kid, so his attachment issues were severe. it caused him so many issues, but no matter how hard he tries he simply cannot shake the thought that he needed her. most would say that everything happened so fast between the two, but tatum would say that everything had happened just how it was supposed to. what was he supposed to do? wait?

a single ding was heard throughout the car, signaling that the car needed gas. tatum sighed to himself, how could he have forgotten to put gas in the tank before getting her?

the two had arrived at the nearest gas station and tatum had pulled up to the only open gas pump. once the car had stopped and turned off, lydia began to stir in her seat which caused her to pull her hand away from his tiredly. this made him sad, but he knew that she was just tired and groggy. the small girls eyes fluttered open, and she confusingly took in her surroundings as an attempt to recall where she was. tatum chuckled at her confused expression, causing her to quickly snap her head in his direction.

"hi tate," she said calmly, relaxing after she realized that it was tatum she was with.

"hi little," he replied, closing the door and beginning to pump gas into the car.

lydia realized quickly that she had to use the restroom, and she felt as though if she did not go in that very second that her bladder would nearly explode. quietly but quickly she exited the car and rushed inside of the gas station. she glanced around the small convenience store in search of the restroom, and when she found it she felt nothing but relief. after she was finished using the restroom, she began to wash her hands in the sink when she heard commotion outside of the bathroom door. there began to be a quiet non attention grabbing pound on the door, a long with the familiar voice of tatum calling lydias name.

lydia unlocked and opened the restroom door, only to be met with the un-happy face of tatum. without a word, he firmly grabbed her wrist and led her outside. lydia was confused as to why he was acting this way, as just a few minutes before he was smiling and laughing at her. she didn't know if she was just terribly bad with reading people's expressions, or if tatum was just very bad at communicating.

after placing his little back into the car and in the passenger seat, he got in the car from his car and loudly closed the door.

"why would you do that, lydia?" he asked in an angry condescending voice, which frightened lydia. she had never seen him that mad before.

when lydia didn't answer him and began to slowly look away from him, he cupped her face into his large hands and forced her to respond to him.

"i'm sorry, i just needed to go to the restroom but i was unaware that i needed to ask, it won't happen again." she replied in a genuine tone.

"you need to ask before going places, little. i thought something happened to you. do you know how that makes me feel, little one?" he said in response slightly less angry tone.

"i'm sorry, i will ask next time." she responded, ending the conversation.

as tatum began to pull out of the gas station, lydia came to terms with the current events that were taking place. why was tatum so upset with her over that? she needed to ask, like a child? she can't use the restroom on her own accord? once again, as always, she had so many questions. she would take the time to ask the questions but she knew she would not get a response. so instead, she leaned her head against the window staring out into her new surroundings that she didn't recognize.

"when are we going to be there tatum?" she asked.

"twenty minutes." he answered shortly.

lydia nodded, and continued to look out of the window and examine the city around her that she had never knew existed. though she didn't know where she was, she knew she had to be more than an hour away by now. this worried her, and she began to feel slightly scared. she was with a man that she barely knew, in the middle of a city she had never heard of, and on her way to the mans house. her heart started to pound as she realized the true danger that she was in, and she began to think of ways out of the situation at hand.

so, without second thought, she pulled her phone out of her small purse and began dialing her moms phone number. just before putting the phone to her ear, it was quickly and roughly snatched from her hand. she gasped out of surprise, and she looked upwards towards tatum who now held the phone in his hand. she said nothing, for once. all she knew that she could do was stare up at him. she could talk, sure, but what was she supposed to say?

"you don't need it." he firmly stated as he placed the phone in his jean pocket. lydia had never been more confused, but most importantly, more scared.

how was she going to get out of this?

"tatum, you're beginning to scare me" she said quietly, barely audible for him to hear.

"don't be scared, baby" he smoothly replied, snaking his hand right back on her thigh where it had rested before.

lydia stared at him without saying a word for a few minutes. however, just as she had thought of a response to tatums statement and nickname, he pulled the car over on a dirt road just outside of the current city that they had just driven through. this made her nervous, but also relieved. maybe he was finally turning around. but she was wrong, she was so wrong.

tatum placed the car into park with the engine still running, and stepped out of the vehicle. lydia was confused, as she usually was, but she continued to follow his every movement in the rear view mirror until he got to the back of the car and popped the trunk. she began to hear rummaging around for a moment, then complete silence. the silence was eerie, but it did not last long.

suddenly, her door was swung open and she was met

with tatum, who was leaning down so that he could be on her level. she gave him a confused glance, before a white rag hit her face. she struggled for a moment as tatum held her tightly, but as small as she was, it didn't take long for him to over power her and gain control. she was overcome with sleepiness, and tatum was content, as the drug had done its job.

"too curious for your own good. too fucking curious, baby."