chapter thirty six

"do you know what day it is today, little?" the boy whispered into lydias ear as she lay cuddling with him.

"what day is it today, tate?" the girl sleepily replied, rubbing her eyes awake as she knew tatum would not allow her to go back to sleep.

"it's valentine's day, my love." he said with a smile.

tatum couldn't help but smile, really. things between him and his little had been almost absolutely perfect since he brought her back home from the small incident that had occurred, or atleast he'd like to think it was small. and as long as lydia never found out about it, it was small.

"tatum!" she squealed, quickly sitting up in the bed they shared. tatum looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she took that as her sign to continue.

"you have to let me go home today, tatum! you have to!" she exclaimed.

"wha-" tatum began before he was abruptly cut off.

"my dad and i have our valentine's day reunion every year, tatum! i can't miss it!" she exclaimed further.

"reunion?" the boy asked.

"my dad works a lot, tate. so when i was little, he promised me that every valentine's day was our day together. he'd take the day off from work, and always came up with super fun plans for us to do for the day. last year he took me to disneyland for the day, and the year before that he took me to the butterfly exhibit to pick out my own butterfly to take home. i don't know how he was able to do it, though. anyways, i got a monarch, and i named her lena because it matched my name a bit. i was so ecstatic about her, it almost felt like i had my own little child to take care of. but it quickly came to an end when my mother cracked my window to get fresh air into my room after cleaning it, and lena flew away. i always blame myself for that, because i didn't have a proper enclosure for her. if i could do it all over again i woul-"

"little," tatum cut her off, as he took notice to her growing tone of distress.

"we have plans today, baby. you can see your dad tomorrow-" he began before being cut off.

"tomorrow? no, really tate, i can't miss it!" she exclaimed, clutching the blanket tightly in her hands due to her stress.

"what if i let you call him?" he asked, with a sly smirk on his face. he knew it would bring his little joy to have the option to atleast speak with her father, and he knew exactly how to come up with the plan to do so.

"r- really?" she mumbled under her breath as she stared up in awe at the tall boy. and when he responded by nodding his head, lydia slightly squirmed as she felt her heart expanding with happiness.

"but not now. i have something to do today before our plans little, but i'll be back before the hour ends." he blankly responded, reaching for his car keys along with lydias. the girls expression melted off her face quickly, as she felt like she had been lied to. it made tatums stomach drop a bit to see her hold such an expression, but he quickly walked out of the bedroom door before his little could respond.

-

"so you'll do it?" tatum asked hopefully, bringing his can of beer to his mouth.

"why should i?" the guy responded, sending a questioning glance at the boy sitting across from him.

"because if you don't, then i'll have to let grandma know what you've been doing lately, kreed." tatum replied in a threatening tone.

the guy, also known as tatums brother, slumped down in his seat as he sighed. he knew his brother had an advantage over him, and there was simply nothing he could do about that. tatum chuckled at kreed, as he watched him ponder. kreed and tatum had never really got along, but they would usually come to one another if they needed something to be done. and right now, tatums biggest concern was lydia.

"what about her is making you so fucking nuts?" kreed questioned calmly, hoping his grandmother would stay in the unknown. lillian, the boy's grandma, had always shown love to the both of them. however, everyone in the family knew that tatum was her baby. she would believe anything he said at anytime, which is why tatum usually used their grandmother against kreed.

"he's 48, kreed. make it sound believable." tatum responded lowly, which kreed knew was to be taken as a threat. kreed had only known a very small bit of lydia, as tatum wanted them to have absolutely nothing to do with one another. tatum did not believe that kreed was necessarily a threat to his little, he just simply didn't want her around other men.

kreed watched as tatum walked off of the porch and down the driveway, tucking his gun back into the waist band of his pants. kreed had never been scared of guns, so he was never really sure why his brother always felt the need to have one around when talking to him. however, kreed had always been scared of tatum.

-

"hi little," tatum greeted as he entered the front door.

"hello, tate." lydia softly responded, sinking back into her spot on the couch. she had not done much since tatum had left, as she felt she was too busy pondering in her head. she wondered about her dad, and if he put the big heart shaped balloons in her room as he always did for this holiday. that was one of her favorite things about her dad, in fact. her father had always cared about the little things with his wife and his daughter. he would spend an extra thirty minutes after work picking flowers off the side of the road for his girls if it meant that they would be happy to see him return home.

"are you ready to call your father, little?" the boy sweetly asked, hiding the keys to both vehicles as lydias view was blocked by the couch.

he knew exactly why lydia was upset, however he simply couldn't take the risk of calling her parents while she was in his care. to him, it didn't really matter whether her parents were called, because he didn't think they really cared about her as much as he did. in his mind, a mother who cares for their child will not make it so that the child does not know how to survive. and to be fair, lydia didn't. in fact, she had absolutely no idea, which is why she was now with him.

"yes!" she exclaimed excitedly as she immediately hopped up from her spot on the couch.

"just a second, baby." tatum replied with a smile, happy to see his girl so happy. he loved that it never took much to make her happy, but he also hated how easy it was to make her sad. and with that, tatum held the upmost hope that his brother would follow through on his word. tatum felt like the plan was fool proof, and assumed that lydia simply wouldn't notice.

tatum made his way to the refrigerator to pour himself a glass of lemonade, nodding his head to his little to ask if she would like any. and when she nodded her head yes followed by a small thank you coming from her lips, he silently thanked her for saying yes. tatum felt like he needed to buy himself some time, because as much as he hated to admit it, he was worried. he was worried that his brother would slip up, and he was worried that somehow lydia would find out what he had planned.

"it's ringing, lydia." he sighed as he held up her cup for her. it's not that he wasn't excited for lydias happiness after or during the phone call, but he simply did not feel like the call was going to go according to his plans. but of course, lydia was clueless. the girl quickly grabbed the phone and placed it to her ear. she felt so many emotions, but she was sure to try and display that she felt calm. but suddenly, when the ringing came to a haunt and the line was answered, lydia was not calm.

"dad!"

-

guys i feel so bad i can't believe it's been sooo long since i've updated

life is still kickin my ass rn but i promise i haven't forgotten ab this book, i think about it all the time :,)

i'll keep up as much as i can, i missed u guys <3