Thick As Blood {A Menendez Brothers Fic}

23. Moment Of Truth

Adding the finishing touches to my makeup, I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of sadness begin to wash over me. Staring at myself in the mirror, I saw the woman I had become. And the things I was made to do and endure. I wanted to disappear. But at the same time, I had people worth living for. Ava, Erik, Lyle, Aunt Clara, even Helen who was definitely family to me, they kept me alive. And I knew I couldn't abandon them.

"Sissy....?" Ava softly called once she entered my room with Erik and Lyle in tow, her little hands enveloped in theirs like a protective shield against the horrors called our father. Since moving to Beverly Hills, she'd found that there are good guys in this world. And we have the two best ones in our lives.

"Hey pumpkin. Did you find our princes?" She smiled her little giddy smile she does when she's actually happy, seeing the smiles of humor on Erik and Lyle's faces from my comment. I made work of slipping on my heels I'd be wearing for the duration of the night, red in color and matching my vibrant red dress. I made quick work of hugging Erik and Lyle both, softly kissing Erik on the lips as not to rub any lipstick off on him.

"You look stunning, Ana. As always." Erik said with the smile that captivated me from the very beginning, when I first saw him on the tennis court below my balcony. We'd done so much together, and yet, I still got butterflies in my stomach when seeing him. And would even blush when he'd look at me a certain way. As if he couldn't look away, just as I did to him. It felt like complete and utter magic.

"Well you are the most handsome man I've ever met." He gently took my right hand in his, bringing it to his lips to leave the sweetest of kisses amongst my skin, my heart beating with love more than anything at this point.

"And look at you Lyle! Snazzy as always. And definitely ready to make an impression." He winked at me with his charming smile that I knew won all the ladies over, so thankful that things weren't weird between us after the kiss. It seemed to strengthen our bond since we talked it over, igniting a stronger friendship.

"You're so beautiful, Ana. And so are you little princess!" Lyle said before suddenly picking up Ava and twirling her through the air, her laughter being music to my ears. We eventually left the confines of my room, watching as Ava practically ran down the stairs to greet a posh looking Aunt Clara, leaving Erik, Lyle, and I alone to ponder our thoughts for the night.

"Just remember what I said. Don't go alone with any guy anywhere, unless it's us. I'll be watching. Even if I'm across the room, I won't be far. Okay?" Lyle said while taking the authoritative role, noting the fearful look in my eyes from the thought of this party. We all three had spent hours talking last night about our game plan on protecting ourselves from the pain our fathers inflict on a daily basis.

"I'm not going to leave your side, Ana. I'll always protect you. No matter what." Erik softly said with his eyes searching mine, slight tears welling in my eyes from their words.

"I love you both, so so much. You two have been through hell in back, and yet, you want to protect me. That's why I can't let anything happen to you. You two? Are my life. Remember that." I softly hugged both of them once more with so much love within the gesture, feeling the way they truly cared about me. And it was overwhelming to say the least.

"You're my girlfriend Ana. It's my job to protect you. But, I don't even look at it as a job. Because I want to protect you 24/7. You have no idea how much you mean to me." I could see Lyle eyeing us both with an unknown look about him from Erik's words, not saying another word, but smiling none the less. I on the other hand was an emotional mess, but we all three managed to make it down the staircase without breaking down, not realizing just how bad things would be tonight.

"You three look like angels." I softly grinned at Aunt Clara with a hug to accompany it, following everyone outside to the limo that awaited us. Inside, was lavish seating, soft music to lighten the mood, and bottles of champagne that came with the limo. Ava was in heaven from the mere sight of it.

"Now kids, have fun tonight. Don't let anything your parents say ruin it." Aunt Clara said with so much seriousness in her tone, something she doesn't usually do. She's always so cheerful. But even she was fed up with our parents. Especially our fathers.

"Oh we will. I'll make sure of it." Lyle said with his smile aimed at Erik, Ava, and I, popping open one of the champagne bottles without a second thought. I usually never drank around Ava. But in our household, she saw so much. She knew what it was, even though she's only six.

"Here's a glass for the beautiful lady." Erik said with his eyes focused solely on me, his arm coming to rest stop my shoulders to bring me closer to him, the proximity of our bodies enough to set me ablaze. Maybe me wearing this kind of revealing dress wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"To what lies ahead!" Lyle suddenly said while raising his glass, having poured Ava some apple juice that was also in here into a glass for her to have with us. We all immediately cheered, wishing for the best. But that feeling of dread ate away at me more than anything ever had.
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(At The Party)
The limo had stopped right in front of the home the party was being held at, the lot of us clambering out to join the nights festivities that was already underway with loads of people to join. Knowing our fathers were already here, I dreaded going in. But holding Erik's hand felt like I could face anything.

"It's okay beautiful. Remember, I'm right here." Erik said with that smile that gets me every single time, knowing he was just as nervous as me. I knew him so well. But he was being strong for me. So I needed to do the same. So I plastered a smile on my lips, softly kissed his lips, then we walked into the house together to see what the night held for us.

"I will keep Ava with me, sweetheart. You three go have fun." Aunt Clara said to me before disappearing into the crowd in the lavish home of this Reggie Smith guy dad mentioned. But I wanted more than anything to avoid his son.

"Our dads have no problem inviting the entirety of Hollywood, do they?" I chuckled from Lyle's comment, watching as he began to chat away with some folks he must have met before with his charm on full display. Celebrities roamed about from time to time over the course of the first 30 minutes, knowing they knew our dads from work.

"Ana! There's my gorgeous daughter. Come here." I deeply sighed in full surrender, knowing he wasn't beneath dragging me over. But in turn, I grabbed Erik's hand and we walked on over, noting the guy next to dad must be Reggie. And the other being his son, Caleb. I wasn't impressed, judging by the way he was eyeing me. Eye raping me was the right term for it. That's when I felt Erik's arm lace around my waist to bring me into him, his touch enough to set me at ease.

"Now, this is Caleb I was telling you about. You guys have a lot in common. He's going to college, he plays tennis, and he writes, just like you do." All I could do was muster a smile, not saying a word to the guy what so ever. With drink in hand, he was more than willing to take me somewhere and have his lustful fantasies come to life. And I was more than afraid that my father would try and force it. He had become so sickening about my life as of late, so fascinated by who I was having sex with, being only Erik. But he hated it so much. He never wanted it to happen. And he was also convinced I was screwing Lyle.

"Hey man! What college do you go to? Because we can talk about a lot." Lyle suddenly said from behind Erik and I, noting from afar what this Caleb asshole was doing. He had noticed right away how he was eyeing me, and it didn't set well with him. So immediately, he intervened to stop what would happen because of my own father.

"Oh uh.... Yeah. Whatever." He said, but making Lyle smirk non the less from cockblocking him. I couldn't contain my humored smile, trying to hide my face on Erik's shoulder. Eventually, my father in an angered manner, stalked off and disappeared into the crowd. And I was fearful. Because I knew this would end badly. He was going to do something terrible. And I was scared more than anything.