Iliana could do with out the memories of the next few months and hopes to skip them, but whatever was controlling her memories didn't agree.
Iliana stares outside of the conservatory windows unseeing of the rain as it comes down. How can one person feel so alone when there are ten people that live in the house with you? Iliana remembers that feeling very well and really doesn't want to relive it.
"Ili?" Preston calls to her and only now does she realize that he had actually called her several times that day.
Preston comes up behind her and pulls her to him when he notices her tears. "What's wrong, Ili?"
Ili tries to give him a smile but knows that he didn't buy it when he only frowns harder. "I think that I've worn out my welcome here. Blake has so much responsibility that he leaves early in the morning and comes home very late at night, if he comes home at all. I believe that he's slept over in his office more than once in the last few months. Either that or he's staying with his flavor of the day." Ilia says all that without any jealousy or rancor. She doesn't begrudge him his daily time with a willing partner. She never has and never will.
"I think, if I were to leave that it would be one less problem for him to carry."
"You aren't a problem, Ili, you never have been. You are family." Preston says hugging her to him.
Iliana still feels the disbelief at those words, even after all these years. "Preston, I know and understand, it's okay. People outgrow things, places and even other people. You all have outgrown me." Iliana's eyes tear up just like in her memory.
"Iliana," Preston's voice turns stern. "What makes you think that we've out grown you?"
"The fact that other than you and Blake none of the other boys have spoken to me in the last two months. It's like I'm invisible to them."
Iliana sees the shock on Preston's face at her words. "You, Blake, Isaac, Phoenix and Kai, you all are working your asses off. You are hardly home, so that's understandable. Casper and Flynn, they are going to college and have made new friends and they've never really had much time for me that they weren't guilted into having. I don't think they like me all that much and haven't since I came to live here at eight years of age.
"But the ones that really hurt and have convinced me that I no longer belong here are Gregor, Piedro and Dimitri. Not only do they ignore me at school, but when their friends come over they allow them to be rude and say nothing. Hell, it was another friend of theirs, Jaxon, that stood up to the so called friends and told them to stop it. The triplets just ignored me and what was said."
Iliana can feel Preston as he tenses behind her. "What did they say to you, Ili?" Preston demands.
"It doesn't matter. Like I said, I've overstayed my welcome. If I can ever talk to Blake I'll see about leaving here so none of you will ever have to see me again." Iliana still feels the pain of those words. She loved those boys so much. The betrayal she felt when the triplets allowed their friends to speak so nasty to her and not say a word had hurt worse than anything she ever felt before, including her parents deaths.
"Iliana, I'm not going to ask you again. What did those boys say to you?" Preston demanded of her and Iliana knew better than to not tell him the truth. She never could lie to Preston.
"I was told that I was no more than a parasitic orphan leech sucking at the triplets and you all. That I was no more than a bitch that needed to be shown my place. Then he accompanied his words with some crude actions that made no doubt of what the meaning was. He then said that he would love to be the one to show me my place and would force me if he needed to."
Iliana had whispered that last part knowing that Preston was already very angry with what she had said. She had to grab onto his arms to stop him from storming out and going after the boy that said that to her.
"And my brothers said nothing, did nothing?" Preston says incredulously and beyond furious.
Iliana couldn't speak and tears were running down her face as she shakes her head. "One of their other friends did, Jaxon. He started yelling at them then he told off the triplets. I left, I couldn't stay in the same room after that.
"The next day I saw Jaxon, he'd been in a fight and looked bad. But if he managed to hit any of the others, I couldn't see it." Iliana is still shocked to this day that there had been someone other than those that were supposedly her family that would stand up for her even when her supposed family hadn't.
Preston kissed the top of her head before leaving her.
The memory was no longer hers as she watches from Preston's point of view of what happened next. She had never known what he did or if he had done anything.
Preston goes to where he knows his youngest siblings are with their friends. He looks around and spots one that has very faded bruising. Then he looks at the other boys and girls, "Get out. You are no longer welcome in this house." Preston's words shock the triplets into silence for a heartbeat then anger.
The friends are confused and look to the triplets before slowly moving towards the door. When the kid that has the faded bruising starts to go past, Preston notices a faint smile. "You can stay. All the others need to leave, now!" Preston accompanies his words by grabbing Jaxon by the arm, gently and then all but yelling at the rest.
Suddenly the kids are in a much bigger hurry to leave than they had been before.
"What the hell, Preston? Why did you send our friends home?"
Preston ignores the triplets and just calmly waits for the others to leave. Once they are gone Preston asks the kid he's holding onto his name. Once he hears it, "Care to tell me how you got those bruises that are fading?"
Jaxon looks at the triplets before turning to the older man. "Some of the kids that you just kicked out of here were saying some very nasty things to Iliana. I stood up to them and they didn't like that. They decided to show me that they didn't like it by ganging up on me."
"What did they say?" Preston demands.
Jaxon glares at the triplets before once more turning to the older man. "They'd been calling her a whore for some time, but never to her face. What caused this, they called her a parasitic leech and some other not nice things and said that she needed to know her place. Then the leader told her that he would show her her place even if she didn't want him to. He made it very clear that he would force himself sexually onto her. I put a stop to it, but it seems that the other kids didn't like that so they ganged up on me."
"And where were my brothers during all that?"
"Right there. They heard everything and did nothing." Jaxon tells Preston honestly.
"Thanks, Jaxon. You are welcome back here anytime. It takes a man to stand up to peer pressure and do what's right. You've proven yourself to be one."
"Thank you, sir." Jaxon says before leaving.
Preston never stops looking at his brothers. "You think it's okay for your friends to threaten Iliana with rape? You think it's no big deal for them to call her a bitch and a parasitic orphan leech?"
"They didn't mean anything by it." Gregor says sullenly.
Preston stares at him sickened. "You have got to be kidding me. How can you possibly believe that that is in any way, shape or form okay to ever say to any one ever?"
"What's going on here?" Blake demands from the doorway. The triplets begin to look sick instead of angry.
"These fools allowed their so called friends to verbally assault Iliana, not just that they allowed them to verbally sexually harass her here, in her own home. One of them even threatened to rape her and they did nothing. One of the other boys stood up for her and they ganged up on him and beat him for it." Preston tells him, there's more than a little heat as he does so. "They don't see anything wrong with what their so called friends did. They claim that they didn't mean anything by it."
"Is that so?" Blake says, furious by what he just heard. He'd managed to get off early and had wanted to spend some time with Iliana and relax, instead he has to deal with this.
When the boys fail to respond, Blake demands a response. "Is that so?"
"Yes, Blake, what he says is true." Piedro finally admits to his enraged brother.
"They are no longer welcome in this house. I cannot control who you spend your time with outside of here, but you will never be allowed to bring them back here. The only exception will be the one that stood up for Iliana against those future rapists.
"This is her home and you made it so that she doesn't feel safe here. You are grounded until further notice. Other than for homework purposes you will not be allowed on any electronic devices. Hand over your phones now." Blake holds out his hands and the triplets reluctantly hand them over.
"I'll have the maids go through your rooms and remove your computers and all other electronics. If you are caught using anything before I remove the grounding the time will start over and will go up to six months. That will include anything that plays music as well." Blake smiles darkly. He knows how much his youngest siblings love their music. "Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, Blake. How will we do our homework?" Dimitri asks softly, more than a little sullenly.
"You will go to the butler and request your computer for the purpose of school work. They will then assign one of the staff to make sure that you are actually doing homework and will take back the computer when you are finished."
Iliana smirks, she hadn't known what punishment if any the boys had received. Not being able to listen to music was perhaps the best punishment of all and add in not being able to be on their phones, well that was just frosting on the cake.
But it didn't change anything and as her birthday drew closer, she dreaded it even more.