(1988)
With my father being gone from the house most of the day, i decided I was going to bake Erik's birthday cake as a surprise, something I've missed doing. Mom and I used to bake together all the time, cookies, pies, anything we could possibly think of. But, things had drastically changed. And I wasn't even allowed to do anything I truly loved anymore. Well, until I met the Menéndez Brothers.
"Honey, you're doing a wonderful job! And it smells absolutely amazing." Helen proudly said from beside me as she helped wash the dishes I had used in the process of making the double layered cake. Marble cake with buttercream frosting and 18 candles to go on the top for him to make a wish I hoped would come true.
"Sissy? Can you make me some chocolate chip cookies after Erik's party?? I miss them....." Ava said with so much enthusiasm in her voice, enough to make me smile. I always made sure to make the most amazing memories with Ava, so when she's older, not every memory will be tainted by our father. So to hear her ask about our favorite cookies, was enough to make me want to cry.
"I promise I will, peanut. But first! We have to make sure Erik has the best birthday possible. How does that sound?" She excitedly grinned up at me with her party dress already on from how thrilled she was for the nights upcoming festivities. If it had anything to do with Erik or Lyle, she was all for it.
"I wanna help! Especially if it means escaping daddy for the night." I softly kissed her forehead in the sweetest manner possible, fixing her slightly messy hair from having been playing around outside with a friend she had made at school, and the child of one of our moms good friends. I agreed to watch them for a couple hours while mom and her friends went out for a girls day, most likely drinking and gossiping about their husbands. Except, she could never say anything but good things about my crooked father.
"Well, if that's what you two lovely ladies want, you shall have. No dads to breathe down our necks." I twirled around to see a smiling Lyle in the doorway of the big kitchen Helen usually occupies, my father acting as if we aren't supposed to even be in the kitchen to begin with, but only "the help". I hated calling Helen that, so I simply referred to her as family.
"Lyle!!" Ava enthusiastically screamed into the room around us, launching into his open arms so he could catch her, twirling her around in an instant with her giggles to follow. I quickly looked around for Erik, but to no avail. I just didn't want him to see his cake. No yet anyway.
"Hey Ana banana. Did you make this? Because it looks incredible!" Lyle started to examine the cake I spent nearly two hours perfecting so it would seem like a professional had done it, proud with the ending result.
"I actually did. I just want Erik to have the birthday of his dreams. No pre-made cake. Just..... from the heart." He immediately looked upon me in such a way, that even made my own heart melt. I could tell that this meant as much to him as it would for Erik, because someone was actually treating them with kindness for a change. But something behind his eyes was telling me a completely different story as well.
"You know Ana, you're the sweetest girl I've ever met." Without hesitation, he wrapped me in his arms in a massive hug that seemed to linger for a while, the mere affection behind it enough to make me feel wanted in a world that has always made me feel the complete opposite.
"You and Erik mean the absolute world to me. You know i'd do anything for you both." I said without a second thought, meaning every single word I spoke. We finally pulled apart with his eyes searching mine, as if he wanted to say more, but thought against it. So he simply grinned that charming grin of his, before going to take some of Erik's presents to the pool house until we left for the house we secretly rented out for the weekend.
"Those boys are so smitten with you, you know?" I nearly jumped from the sudden declaration from Helen, putting Erik's cake in a big cake holder to protect it until tonight.
"Well, the feeling is mutual." I said through a little, bashful smile that she knew all too well. But, much like my mom, she was fearful of the consequences of me spending so much time with them. She saw what my father had done to me on several occasions for even remotely looking at them, let alone hanging out with them.
"I think it's the sweetest thing that you're doing all this for Erik. I know you love him. But...... please. Just be cautious." I looked to the ground below with a little sigh escaping my lips in pure sadness, knowing she knew more than she should about my fathers abuse.
"I will, don't worry. I just refuse to listen to him about everything. Even if it means I face getting hurt....." A massive bruise lined my back as we speak from a few nights ago that he had caused, shoving me roughly against a bookcase in his office that had massive handles on it to open it. I hadn't thought much of it, until Erik saw it a couple nights ago. He was livid.
"For only being 17, you're an absolutely amazing young woman. Strong, courageous, intelligent. And I know in the end, you'll make the right choices." I couldn't help but to hug Helen, her words getting to me in a way that made me want to cry through the smile itself.
"Speaking of an amazing choice you made, here he comes." I quickly looked to the back doors that lead to the pool and tennis court, seeing Erik walking up in such an amazing outfit. His hair as perfect as ever and that striking smile of his on full display from seeing me in the door, my heart literally seemed to skip a beat. Ava had stopped him midway for a hug, something she always makes sure to get.
"I hid the cake for you, dear. It's further back above the fridge. Let me know when you need it, and I'll get it down for you." Helen said with a loving smile, before taking her leave to surely clean up my fathers study because lord knows he'll have a cow if anything isn't cleaned enough.
"There's my birthday boy! How does it feel to be old?" I softly wrapped my arms around his neck, his lacing perfectly around my waist as if it was always meant to be this way, a humorous grin on his lips.
"It'll feel better tonight when we actually have some fun. But, this is the best start to that." He softly said before our lips met in the middle, so much passion littering between us that was never ending. Our kiss continued, softly pushing me up against the kitchen counter directly behind me. So many impure thoughts racked my brain at the moment, but knew trouble would follow.
"Hello my lovelies! I'm home!" We practically jumped from the sudden yell of my mom from further in the house, her voice echoing out to us. We simply looked at one another, before bursting with laughter from nearly doing something in the kitchen that would have been extremely difficult to explain. Keeping us apart was not an easy feat. Because we fought for one another. And would continue to. Now, we just had to make it to tonight.
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Hey guys! I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone that is reading the story. It means the absolute world to me. This is the first of several memory chapters I plan on incorporating into the story, if everyone likes them! Let me know what you think. ❤️
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Thick As Blood {A Menendez Brothers Fic}
FanficAnalise Rosenfeld and her family moved to Beverly Hills, CA to start a new life amongst the rich and famous. Her father was a prominent lawyer and her mother was a stay at home wife and loving mother of two. They seemed like the perfect family. But...
