What!?

13

It's the day before her sixteenth birthday when the scene is shown. Iliana is sickened. She really hates her birthdays and this one ranks right up there with her parents death and her foster parents deaths.

"Iliana, can I come in?" Blake asks after knocking on her door.

"Of course, Blake. It's not locked. I wanted to talk to you any way." Iliana replies morosely. She will be leaving here soon. It doesn't matter how much she loves all the boys, they've shown her that she has overstayed her welcome and has no desire to continue being a problem.

"Ili what's wrong?" Blake's smile as he enters her room falls as he sees her unhappy face.

"I think it's time I leave, Blake. You are over burdened as it is, but if I leave it will be one less problem for you. Besides your brothers have proven to me that I've out stayed my welcome."

"But this is your home." Blake says and hides his alarm her words bring him. He thought that his talk with his brothers had changed things, it seems that he was wrong. He won't lose Ili just because they can't get their shit together.

"It's your home and theirs much more than it is mine. You know it and I know it, there's no use saying otherwise."

"Ili, my parents left you half owner of this house for a reason and you know it." Blake says exasperated.

"I still don't understand that. When I'm eighteen I'll sign my half over to you. This is your home, it has only been a temporary home for me."

"My parents loved you like a daughter, Ili, you know that. It was their way of showing you that you are family, even if you aren't theirs by blood."

Iliana tears up, just like her memory did. She loved Elizabeth and Clayburn as much as she loved her own parents.

"It doesn't matter, Blake. You and the other older siblings, you work insanely long hours to keep your businesses going. You don't need to be burdened with me along with that. If I'm not here, you will be able to go out and socialize like other men your age do. You're twenty-eight, you should be out clubbing, not coming home to a hormonal teenage girl."

"Clubbing holds no appeal to me. Too noisy and smelly. Sweaty people and alcohol, the mix really doesn't do anything for me. Being here with you relaxes me more than that ever could."

Iliana snorts. "Yeah right. You need to get yourself a steady girlfriend and not just a flavor of the day. You are too good of a guy to waste time on the casual hookups you do."

Blake raises an eyebrow at her, "You want me to get a girlfriend? I've tried before."

"I said a girlfriend not casual hookups. The ones you are claiming as girlfriends are casual hookups that lasted more than one night. Instead of flavor of the day they became flavor of the week or the one that made it almost a month. You need to find someone to date, go out to eat, dancing, bowling or hell go on a picnic with her. Someone that you can love. These hookups aren't anything more than just relaxation for you."

Blake smirks at her words. They are beyond accurate. "Oh, but the girls don't deserve to be more than that. Not with how they treat you."

"Then choose better flavors. Find a decent girl or guy and stick with them. Don't just have sex with them." Iliana still feels that way. They all treated their hookups like they were nothing more than that. They used them and dumped them. In fairness, their partners also used the boys and were, for the most part happy to have no strings attached. For the most part. There were a few times that their partner wanted more than was offered.

"Ili, you know that I prefer females over males." Blake tells her in an aggrieved manner.

Ili shrugs her shoulders. "I know, but that hasn't stopped you from bringing in an occasional male. All of you boys have had partners of both sexes. I'm not judging. At least not on that. I am judging on the quality you bring home. Seriously, Blake, you and your brothers can do better. But it's none of my business and never has been. 

"I wanted to talk to you about either becoming emancipated or going into foster care. I can't take it here any more. Not with how your brothers have been treating me." Iliana tells Blake and impatiently wipes away the tears that were falling without her permission.

Blake stills and narrows his eyes. "What do you mean, how you've been treated? I heard about the triplets and have dealt with them. Have they been causing you more trouble or bringing those bullies back over here?"

Ili laughs a very bitter laugh. "No, no, the triplets haven't done anything. In fact, I think that I've become completely invisible to them. It's as if I no longer exist. If I'm in the same room, either they will leave or completely ignore me. If I try to talk to them I get nothing but the silent treatment.

"They won't even know or care if I leave. They might notice that I'm not in class with them any more, but I doubt they'll care one way or another."

"Then what makes you say that about being treated badly?" Blake is confused, angry at how the triplets are still treating Iliana, but confused by her words.

"Casper and Flynn, they have never been all that close to me, but lately I'm beginning to think that they actually hate me. They came home from college with a bunch of friends. I was in the entertainment room watching a show when Casper took the remote from me and turned off my show and started looking for a movie to watch with his friends.

"Even his friends were shocked with how rude he and Flynn were to me. They completely ignored me and started debating about what to watch. Their friends were shocked and said something about what a douche move they did.

"I just stood up and said, what do you expect when they are both assholes. I think I'll leave now since the room smells from the stink. Some of their friends were smirking as I walked out. Other than you two weeks ago and Preston ten days ago talking to me, none of the others have in months. Isaac, Preston, Phoenix and Kai have been working just as hard and long as you. But even when you work such long hours, would it hurt to send a short text letting me know that you are alive and don't hate me? Just a few simple words will do."

Iliana still feels the pain when she confronted Blake more than two years ago.