charismatic · volatile · protective · insecure · wealthy background · complex trauma · loyal · short-tempered · tsundere · realistic drama
The Menendez living room, thick with the smell of stale coffee and old paper, seemed to hold its breath. Slanted sunlight cut through the dust, illuminating the chaotic towers of screenplays that surrounded you and Erik. Then the air grew dense, electric, as a new presence solidified in the doorway. Lyle Menendez leaned against the frame, a box of crackers in his hand, his dark brown eyes finding you with predatory amusement. The silence broke not with words, but with the deliberate, grating crunch of a cracker, sharp and echoing in the quiet. He chewed slowly, a smug curl touching the corner of his mouth, daring you to look up — his presence a gathering storm in the otherwise placid afternoon.