Aiden
I should've known Lia would snap at mom. It was to be predicted.
"Our cousin is quite the character, I gotta say." Ryder chuckles. The younger kids are somewhere upstairs, doing god-knows-what while the older ones lounge on the terrace in the back of the house, leaving the parents to talk.
"Yeah, she's a fierce one. – Silas adds – Is she always like this?" He turns to me and my brothers, looking at us curiously.
"Nope. This was actually the light version." I chuckle when I think about everything my little sister has done. Our poor cousins have no idea what Lia is capable of.
"Is it true what Anna told us? You know, about the illegal fighting and stuff?" Ryan questions. Since he's the oldest among us, being just a year older than me, he's kind of 'in charge' of the kids, along with me and Ashton. As the oldest ones, it's our job to take care of the youngsters.
"Yeah. And she's fucking good, I'll tell you that. Her dad, Tyson, was an MMA champion, but from what I could see, Lia already surpassed him." I grin proudly. I know what I'm saying, I've seen my sister fight a few times.
"Wow. – a chorus of impressed sighs resounds through the room – That's awesome." Some of the boys chuckle.
"Damn, who knew our long-lost cuz would be a badass?" Ryder jokes, getting a laugh from everyone.
"She's a badass alright, trust me. But that's because there was no other way for her to survive. She went through a lot painful and traumatic shit. Both Ashton and Adrian know what I'm talking about since they know about our sister's past."
"And that Blake guy?" Ryan implores, lighting up a cigarette and taking a long drag.
"What about him?" I take the lighter from him.
"Who is he?"
"Are they really engaged or did Lia say that on a whim?" Nolan adds curiously.
I sigh heavily, letting out the smoke through the open window. "They are engaged, yes. They have been for over a year, almost two now. Fucker's resilient, I'll give him that. I tried to intimidate him when we met, you know, the usual 'you hurt my sister, I hurt you' stuff, but he only laughed at me. I guess that after having so many people threaten him, nothing can scare him."
"So many people? Who?" I can't help but chuckle at Julian's suspicious tone.
"Tyson, his friends, the bikers, some woman called Maria, and supposedly even Blake's own father."
"Wow... that's a lot of people... - Ryder breathes out in amazement - Someone's popular." He smirks.
"You have no idea, kid. – Ashton laughs, shaking his head – Our dear little sister is on a completely different level than any of us. She has a goddamn army at her beck and call." I can only chuckle at how true that statement is.
As Ryan and I smoke by the tall window, we catch sight of Ethan heading to the swing set in the garden, soon followed by none other than my sister. "I think something happened..." Ryan comments.
"I think so too..." I add worriedly when I hear Lia's angry voice all the way here. I don't miss Frank and Rob standing nearby, giving Lia and Ethan some space but listening to them.
"What's going on?" The guys come up to the glass wall and watch my sister's exchange with her uncle. I get a really bad feeling when she suddenly leans forward on her knees and keeps her head down, tugging at her hair with her hands. Something's wrong.
It doesn't take long for the situation to escalate and we all watch stunned as Blake rushes to Lia and pulls her to him, rocking them gently on the swing as he calms her down.
"What the hell?"
"Shit, she's having a panic attack." I bemoan, but Ashton stops me from going to our sister.
"Let Blake take care of her. He knows what he's doing."
"What's going on?" Silas implores, sounding utterly confused.
"Like I said, Lia went through a lot and it left her with scars. Physical and mental scars." I sigh heavily, feeling my heart ache for my baby sister. She's been doing so well lately I wonder what made her snap.
I ignore my cousins questioning me about Lia's condition, having no right to reveal her life to them without her permission. It's up to Lia to let them in or not.
I keep watching Lia during the whole dinner, trying to see if she's really better or she's just acting. From what I can tell, she seems fine, though I don't miss how tired she looks. It must be overwhelming for her to be suddenly thrown into this.
Maybe it was a bad idea to drag her here. Maybe it would be better if she didn't meet everyone all at once.
Much to my surprise, Lia agrees to spend the night here, even though she and Blake already have a room booked at a hotel downtown. Our grandpa's mansion is three stories high and has enough rooms for everyone, but some of our family members, namely Harry and Frank, live nearby, so they're going to go to their homes instead of staying here.
Our grandparents have their rooms on the first floor; Ethan, Rob, Luke and Oscar are staying with their wives in the guest bedrooms on the second floor along with our mom and the youngsters are going to stay on the third floor. I'm bunking over with Ryan across the hall from Lia and Blake's room, Ashton is staying with Adrian, Zach is with Nolan, and Silas, Ryder and Emmett are taking the bedroom at the end of the hall.
The only problem here is that there is only one bathroom on this floor, which means all of us have to take turns to use it. Of course, since we're all gentlemen, we let Lia go first. While she occupies the bathroom, we all go to see Blake, per Ryan's request. I know exactly what he wants to do, even though I already said it's useless.
Blake is not going to be intimidated. At all.
"Wow, what a surprise. – Blake chuckles when he opens the door – Let me guess, you're going to warn me to not hurt my girl." He smirks knowingly, casually leaning against the wall as we stand in front of him.
"You're correct. We may have just met Lia, but she's family. You hurt her, we hurt you." Ryan states sternly, making Blake shake his head at us.
"I know, I know. Actually, I'm glad you brought this up. Cause if you hurt my girl, I will hurt you. – Lia's man suddenly gets serious, staring us all down – And I'm not bluffing. I don't fucking care how many of you come at me, I won't tolerate anyone bringing harm to my woman. She's been through enough and she doesn't need to go through more. You may call yourself her family, – he sneers – but I've already seen that it means shit to some of you."
"Blake-" I start, only to be cut off by him.
"No, Aiden. I know you guys care about Lia, but that doesn't mean everyone else does. We've seen that firsthand, haven't we? Your mother betrayed her child to save her own ass, so who's to say any of you will be different? I'm not going to blindly put my trust in you unless you prove yourselves." He grits out. I can only sigh at this. He's right. What mom did was unspeakable and he's right to hold it against her.
Ryan is the first to break the silence. "You've got some balls to say that to our faces. I like you. As the oldest, I welcome you to the family." He reaches out his hand, which Blake shakes firmly.
"Thanks."
"What's going on here?" We all turn around when Lia's suspicious voice resounds from the doorway. She's already in her pajamas, which consists of a loose camisole and a pair of shorts. I'm not sure I like her choice of nightwear, but I know it's due to the welts on her back.
"Nothing, kitten. Your cousins tried to scare me." Blake smirks smugly, getting shocked looks from my cousins.
"You snitch! What about men's solidarity?!" Nolan exclaims as Lia goes to her man, snuggling into his side. She doesn't even seem to be concerned that we all just saw her wounds.
"There's no such thing when my girl's involved." Blake shrugs, pressing a kiss to Lia's head.
I only shake my head at the guys. "Pay up. I told you he'd tell her." I chuckle, stretching out my hand to them. They all grumble in annoyance, begrudgingly placing the money on my palm.
"Sorry, little cuz, but it's a tradition. – Ryan smiles at the lovebirds – Since there aren't many girls in this family, just you, Olivia and Lilith, we decided to test any guy that wants to see them. And until now, only your man has passed the test." He explains, getting only an unimpressed look from my sister, before she smirks evilly. Uh-oh, I know this look.
"Aww, that's cute. So... if you get a girl I have the right to test her too?" She taunts, getting some nervous looks from the younger guys. I can't help but laugh at her. Only she could turn this whole thing to fit her. Oh, sis, you're good!
"I don't think that will be necessary..." Silas shudders. I glance at Ryan questioningly when he doesn't say anything, only to see him staring at Lia worriedly.
"Ry?" I try to get his attention.
"Is this what those guys did to you because of Anna?" He whispers quietly, making everyone turn to my little sister imploringly. I catch Ryder quickly turn on the lights before all of our cousins gasp at the sight of Lia's battered body. She's been hiding the bruises on her face with make-up, but now that she's not wearing any and she's in this revealing pajamas instead of a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, all her wounds are bare for everyone to see.
Lia lets out a heavy breath, averting her gaze from us. "Yeah." She admits with a nod. I feel my heart break for my little sister once again, hating the fact that she had to suffer so much.
"Oh god..."
"God had nothing to do with it." Lia chuckles humorlessly, making me scowl at the thought of those two fuckers hurting her. She's my little sister and I couldn't even keep her safe!
Blake doesn't even say anything, just keeps Lia wrapped in his arms as he kisses her head. They keep whispering something between themselves too quietly for anyone to hear then with a shaky breath, Lia turns around in his arms and shows us her back, letting Blake lift her camisole to reveal the extent of her injuries. I barely stop myself from flinching at the sight and I can see I'm not the only one.
Lia's whole back is filled with red angry welts, all the way from her shoulders to her hips. Some of the marks still have stitches and are covered with transparent dressing, while others are already scabbed over. The sheer amount of them brings tears to my eyes. There's so many of them that the skull tattoo on her back is almost unrecognizable.
"Now you can see why I'll never forgive that woman." Lia croaks, her voice only a quiet, pained whisper.
"Did mom... did she see this?" Ashton asks after a moment.
"No. She didn't deserve to."
"I'm sorry if I sound insensitive, but can I... can I take a picture of it? I think the family deserves to know why you hate your mother so much, but I don't think you'd be comfortable with showing them..." Ryan questions, making me gape at him in astonishment. Take a picture?!
"Ry, what the hell?"
"Lia hates her own mother and no one knows the reason why. They won't understand it if they don't see what Anna's betrayal did to her!" He argues and I groan in frustration. He's right, but I don't want my sister to become a fucking spectacle!
"It's okay. You can take the pic." Lia assures. Ryan takes out his phone and quickly snaps the picture, ignoring our shocked looks. As soon as he's done, Blake covers Lia's back again and engulfs her in a tight hug, keeping her pressed against him as he strokes her hair.
"What are you going to do with that?" Blake implores seriously, gesturing at Ryan's phone.
"If Lia's okay with that, I'm going to show it to grandpa Alan. – my cousin turns to me – He'll decide what to do with your mother." I nod in understanding. I know I should be defending my mom, but what she did to our little sister is unforgivable. She can't keep going on telling everyone how innocent she is and how she did nothing wrong, when it's because of her that Lia has suffered so much.
She needs to know what she's done.
And pay for it.