Beverly Hills Brothers

Chapter 28

I flicked the last bit of joint off of my balcony and rested my head against the iron railing. I never thought I would miss being in school, but I needed a distraction from the missing place in my life the boys left and drugs and alcohol were only temporary. I always woke up after dreaming of being wrapped in their arms to a cold and empty bed. I had tried calling the boys last week and Erik made some random excuse and hung up abruptly. I just wish they would let me talk to them. The longer I went without seeing the them, the further I felt myself slipping into darkness. If I didn't have them, I had nothing. The only thing I had were the bruises that never seemed to fade from my body.

I heard the echoing sound of tennis balls and rolled over in bed to see the sun was starting to rise. My muscles ached to go towards the noise. But I couldn't. I had called them and they didn't want to talk. Sure, they think that I cheated on them, but did what we have mean nothing to them, that they could so easily ignore me and shut me out? We had been best friends for years and now they were radio silent.

"Hey baby. Do you want to go to the beach today?" Erik asked and I obviously agreed. We drove along the coast until we got to a secret cove in Malibu. Erik laid our towel down in the sand and pulled me on top of him, when I tried to sit down. I giggled and let my cheek rest against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around me. I put my arms on either side of his head and absentmindedly played with his curls. He hummed in satisfaction and I leaned my head up to peck his lips. His left hand caressed my cheek and deepened the kiss for a moment before leaning back and admiring me with a smile on his face. "What?" I asked, smiling as I looked down at him. "I love you." he said, and although he's said it many times before, this time felt different. More meaningful somehow. "I love you bubs." I said, smiling and intertwining our fingers. "I know you aren't traditional and you don't want a big ordeal and I've literally been holding onto this for so long." Erik said, reaching into his pocket. "So--do you wanna get married?" he asked, holding out a beautiful, yet simple ring. I opened my mouth in shock and started to nod my head, before he started to fade away and I opened my eyes to see my bedroom.

I rubbed my eyes and groaned at how peaceful and content I had felt in that dream. Would I ever feel that in real life? I tried closing my eyes again and going back to the paradise I had just left, but all I could see were the backs of my eyelids. I begrudgingly pushed my covers to the side and pushed myself out of bed. Well, another day, another- day? I literally have nothing to live for and my days are so fucking monotonous, I was starting to crave something, anything to make me feel some sort of emotion that wasn't empty.

I decided to drive around tonight, since that is something that I used to love doing. I turned on the radio and was instantly hit with the slow song that me and Lyle danced to at prom and tears sprung to my eyes. I turned off the radio and rode in silence, determined to at least try and enjoy myself.

After a couple hours of driving, I pulled into a 7-Eleven for gas and to pick up some gummies. I quickly grabbed a bag of gummy worms and bears and a pack of watermelon Bubbalicious and took them to the counter. I immediately noticed someone standing by the front door and turned to see Perry, who also noticed me. "Hey Sarah." he said, standing behind me to most likely stock up on cigarettes for the weekend. My heart sunk a little imagining Lyle at a party with girls flirting with him that he now had no reason to turn away from. I smiled and nodded. "Lyle is out in the car, if you wanted to say hi." he said, oblivious to how incredibly rigid my body was and how I was struggling to pass my money quickly to the cashier. "I'll see you around." I managed to get out before practically running back to my car and speeding away. I didn't even bother looking around to see if Lyle had spotted me, but I just needed to get home.

I walked in the door around 10 pm and could smell the whiskey before I could see my father. Shit. I tiptoed to the stairs and had just reached the second step when my hair was pulled and I fell onto the ground. "Sneaking out with your boyfriends again?" he said, kicking my stomach. "No." I said, trying to not make him angrier. "What was that, you little bitch?" he said, practically sitting on me and squeezing my throat. "I said, no sir." I managed to get out as my airways were closing. "That's what I thought. Get the fuck up to your room." he said, with a final punch to the stomach. Always careful to stay away from the face, so the bruises and marks could always be hidden, even when he was pissed.

I managed to pass out I guess around 3 this morning as my throat was really sore. There was a small knock at the door and I told them to come in. "Good morning honey. We're going to the Menendez house for dinner tonight, so make sure you're ready to go by 5." she said, before leaving my room, ignoring the ice packs scattered around my bed. Well shit.