chapter twenty six

"not tonight baby, not tonight." he gently responded.

beamer took himself by surprise with his calm demeanor. he just didn't have it in him to be upset with her, not tonight. she was so good for him the entirety of the day, and most importantly she made him feel safe. secure, even. it was now his turn to do the same for her. he didn't want her to be afraid of him, he just didn't want her to leave him. and through the little moments that they shared together today, he learned that she needs him to be gentle with her.

she just didn't understand. she didn't understand the situation that he had placed her in, and he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her because of that. he knew he would need to figure out how to simplify things for her so that she would get how things were now, but he didn't know how. he didn't know how to be gentle. but if that's what it would take for her to stay with him, he would do it.

"another sleepover, beam?" she softly asked, glancing up from him as she finished her meal.

"another sleepover, baby." he assured her. he was very pleased to see that she wasn't upset about this, but she almost seemed happy for it.

on the other hand, lydias mind was decently quiet for the time being. mostly because she was enjoying the dinner they had made together, but also because she wasn't afraid of him. she was at peace. however, her mind travelled back to her family. it's been a few days that she's been with beamer, and she honestly lost count of how many days she's been here. she had no contact with her mother throughout all of this, and all she could imagine was how worried her mother was.

she wanted nothing more than to call raya and tell her that she missed her and would be home very soon, but she didn't want to upset beamer. she didn't know a lot of things, but she did know that she wasn't supposed to touch her phone. she didn't know where it was but she knew that she wouldn't be allowed to have access to it. she recalled the memory of the first night that she spent with beamer. she was used to constantly texting raya and telling her where she was and what she was doing, so she didn't think much of picking up her phone that night. but as you know, beamer didn't like this.

"what's got you down, lyd?" beamer asked, interrupting her thinking.

he took notice to her change in demeanor after she stopped talking and giggling as much, and he knew she was upset as he watched her smile fade out getting replaced with a dull expression as she stared down at her plate. he was concerned that he had upset her about something, so his mind began to ponder as well.

"i just- i miss my mom," she began.

"she knows you're here. everything is fine, she's not worried. she knows you're safe, lyd." he reassured her.

she did know that she was with him, that part was true. but she didn't know where they were or when lydia was getting back. truthfully, she wasn't. but he had to lead her to believe that she was in order to keep things peaceful. besides, even if he did bring her home for a bit to say she was okay, he knew that raya would not release her daughter back with him. in fact, he knew that he probably wouldn't see her again. raya was protective like that, but he was more protective.

"c- can i call her?"

the question left beamer at a stump. he hadn't expected her to ask that, so he hadn't prepared an answer quite yet. with all of his heart he wanted to say no, he really did, but the saddened frown that lydia held on her face kept him from that option.

"i don't know." was all he could say, as he got up from the dining room table to wash his dishes.

"w- why? why can't i beamer?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"listen to me lydia, listen to me when i tell you this," he began, as she nodded her head awaiting his response.

"if i let you do this, you cannot tell her where you are. you need to be happy that you are with me, and you need to let her know that you are safe. that's it, nothing more and nothing less. no longer than three minutes." he firmly stated as he rinsed his dishes.

"o- okay i wont i'll be good for you i promise beam," she stammered out, standing up from her chair at the table.

it slightly bothered him that she didn't wait for his approval to get up like she normally did, but he decided not to make a big deal out of the situation as he chopped it up to her simply being excited to speak to her mother.

-

"m- mom?" she shakily asked, keeping eye contact with beamer as he sat in front of her watching her closely.

"i'm okay, i'm alright. okay- i understand- please slow down mother-" she spoke.

"yes i'm with him, we're helping his mom move so we've been super busy i'm sorr-" she was suddenly cut off as beamer grabbed the phone from her and hung up the call.

this is short but i'm tired so i'm srry guyzzz :( i just wanted to update asap so u guys knew that beamer wasn't upset that she asked to go home :3