chapter twenty four

"you drove it here lydia. you just don't remember." he stated, grabbing her hand and leading her out the front door in the process.

tatum was angry, yes, but the unexpected question from lydia almost made him forget his anger. he knew that she was going to ask him about her car today, but he didn't have enough time to prepare himself before he got angry. on the other hand, lydia didn't know how to feel about what he had told her.

he was right, she had no memory of driving here, but her last memory was being on the road with tatum. how would she have known where she was in order to be able to make the drive home to get her car? did tatum come with her? there were so many questions racing through her little head, but of course there were no answers that she would be able to receive.

tatum led her from the driveway to the passenger seat of his sedan where he held the door open for her. sometimes, he was the nicest boy that she had ever come into contact with. other times, he was the roughest man that had ever laid hands on her. obviously, she liked the soft and gentle tatum better by a ton. but she had a hard time figuring out how to please him constantly so that he was nice to her for the majority of the day.

after getting his little into her side of the car he locked all doors but his own. she hadn't made an attempt to leave him yet, but he didn't want to take any chances either. she was decently well behaved in the running off department so far, and he was very pleased with that. it caused less work for him, and gave him more time to focus on being the best he could be for her when she behaved properly.

the car started due to tatums growing demand to leave the house, and he began driving out of the driveway. he felt content doing this as his plan was never to keep her inside forever. he wanted her to himself, yes, but he also didn't want her to forget that he had her best interest in mind at all times.

as they began to drive down the road to his house and into town he placed his hand on her thigh once more. he knew he would always do this, forever. it gave him peace of mind to know that she was close and he had his grip on her. she wasn't going anywhere, and they both knew that.

however, taking them both by surprise, lydia softly placed her hand on top of his. she wasn't moving him, though. she was simply holding his hand, keeping it in place. tatum looked over to the girl and sent her a smile, content with the small gesture she made to make him feel comfortable. she smiled back with a slight blush, and continued to look out of her window at her surroundings.

the two drove like that in a comfortable silence for awhile until they arrived at their destination. tatum pulled into the parking lot, removing his hand from lydias to do so. this made her slightly frown to herself, but tatum noticed, as he always does.

"just for a second little" he assured her, backing into a parking spot.

"do you know where we are, baby?" he asked her as she excitedly looked out of the window.

"the grocery store?" she quietly asked with a hint of excitement.

tatum nodded his head to her as he finished parking. he put the car into park and turned the ignition off, sending his attention back to her. she was already looking at him, though. the look of anticipation that filled her eyes made tatum so excited about something so little. going to the grocery store definitely isn't exciting, but going out with his little was.

"do you know the rules?" he asked in a monotone pitch.

"rules?" lydia asked.

"yes baby, rules. no walking away from me, no talking to strangers, and you need to look happy to be with me." he stated, and she nodded her head.

that should be simple enough for her. she wasn't worried about breaking any of the rules as she was very content with not leaving his side. strangely enough, she found comfort in him. and she hoped it would stay that way.

"use your words, lydia." he warned.

"yes, i understand" she replied. he nodded in response as he hit the unlock button for the doors. and as lydia reached for the handle, he began again.

"oh, one more thing little," he started as he reached into his waistline.

"don't play with me. don't do anything smart. follow my rules." he demanded, pulling out the gun that was tucked into his waist.