chapter twenty

quickly placing the phones back into the safe and returning it back into the closet, tatum rushed out of the bedroom. the absolute first thing he did was frantically look towards the couch to be reassured that the girl was still soundly asleep. and when he spotted his little sleeping in the same position, he was relieved. tatums attention was then placed back on the door where the knock rang from.

he was cautious of course, as someone who took another person against their free will would be. this being said tatum had always carried a gun, not only to protect him but also his newly found obsession. was it legally obtained? no, but it was still his.

with his hand on the gun that was tucked into the waistband of his boxers, he made his way to the window and looked out of it. when he spotted who was at the door in front of him, he sighed and took his hand off the gun and replaced it with opening the door.

"what are you doing here? i texted you and told you that i wasn't home-" he started.

"oh, tatum. grandma always knows! i stopped by here to collect your mother's old souvenir tray, she asked me for it back. and i also brought you this," his happy grandmother spoke sweetly to him, handing him an envelope that was marked

he gave her a small smile and gently took the envelope from her. tatum was very lucky to have his grandmother, as he wouldn't be where he was without her. she was his mother's mom, and she had been with the family through absolutely everything. she knew that she never really raised her daughter to be the perfect mother, so she stepped to the plate of being the perfect grandmother. and to say the least, that was exactly what she was.

she had always taken a liking towards tatum, and she soon took her daughters place in raising him. her daughter was not a bad mother, no, but after seeing the way that tatum was being brought up she knew that she would have to step in. she felt absolutely nothing but pure love for the boy, and he knew that as well as she did. there was not an ounce of regret in his grandmothers mind for taking care of tatum as she knew that if he continued to be raised with his mother and father that he would end up no good. she took him on like a charity case, atleast that's how tatum felt. but to her, tatum was her little boy. and she was nothing short of grateful for having him.

after taking hold of the envelope from his grandmother, he opened it. as he leaned against the doorway of the home, his eyes widened.

"grandma we talked about this, i don't need this much," he began before being cut off again.

"nonsense, i love you and i want the best for you. i will always take care of you before i take care of myself, so please accept what i give you with joyful hands." she cut him off.

tatums grandmother, lillian, had started giving him envelopes every month since he turned eighteen. the envelopes held cash that she received for her retirement fund, which she gave to him so that he could take care of himself. tatum had had many jobs since he was around sixteen, but lillian always knew that since he was brought up so roughly he would have trouble committing to a full time job. tatum has fought her on this since the day she started it, but overall he learned to accept it and be grateful.

"who's car is that in the driveway?" the sweet woman asked, giving a quick glance back to the car she had previously seen.

tatum paused for a moment before coming up with an answer. he didn't know how he was going to explain the situation to others, as he hadn't really thought of that just yet. he doesn't have many people besides his grandmother, so he simply hadn't taken the time to think about what to say. in fact, he had almost forgotten that lydias car was placed in the driveway.

"my girlfriends," he confidently stated, continuing to count the money in his hands.

lillian let out an excited gasp, with a smile beginning to form on her face. she was extremely excited about this idea, and she wanted nothing more than to meet the girl that her grandson spoke of. she had never seen tatum take interest in a girl before, and for awhile she began to think that maybe he was simply not interested in them. she would have been in full support of this, but she always wanted to see her little boy get excited over a companion.

"where is she? can i meet her?" she excitedly scrambled, attempting to peak past tatums large frame in hopes of setting sights on the girl. tatum quietly laughed at this, happy to see his grandmother so excited.

he stepped out of the doorway and walked inside of the home, lillian following close behind him. with a gesture of this head he brought his grandmas gaze to his little girl. she was adorable, cooped up into a ball of her own body as she slept. she was angelic, sleeping so peacefully with small strands of her hair in her face. the sight not only made tatum smile, but lillian as well.

"she's beautiful, tatum" she spoke, ruffling his hair as she did so.

"isnt she?" he replied.

"what's sleeping beauty's name?" she chuckled.

"lydia," he began.

"i would absolutely love to meet her. are you going to be staying here back in town for a bit? i would like to stop by when she's awoken" she asked.

"yes, she likes this house better than mine. 'more character' she always says." he lied, almost believing his own dishonesty as well. she gave a nod of her head in response, taking a glance of the watch on her wrist.

"oh dear, i am supposed to be meeting your mother in fifteen minutes! i've better get going." lillian stammered, turning to walk out of the door. tatum walked her out, content with the visit they had shared.

"drive safe, grandma. call me and let me know how mom is, but please keep lydia out of the topic of discussion. she's not ready to meet anyone else yet." he pleaded, and she agreed.

and just like that, his grandmother was walking down the driveway and into her car. tatum gave her a final smile and wave before shutting and locking the door.

to his surprise, when he looked at the spot lydia was sleeping in, she was gone.

"oh, fuck." his heart sank.