Page 12 of Unspoken Truths

“Here’s the deal with your teachers,” she says. “Professor Barnes is a hard ass, but will bend over and give his ass to the Carlysle Kings if they asked him to. I wouldn’t trust him at all. Never go into his office, insist on speaking to him in the hallway. He’s a pervert.”

My eyes widen as she gives me the rundown on all of my teachers, most of whom are thankfully not brown nosing assholes. They are tough professors though and I’m fine with that.

I just don’t need to add shocking my professor for inappropriately touching me to my bingo card this year or ever.

“Noted,” I murmur, committing everything she just told me to memory.

“Okay, now the next thing,” she says, blushing. “The only thing that typically gets people to back off is dating one of the elites, and I’m not talking about the Kings. I’m very proudly bisexual, no one gives me shit about it either. If things get too intense, I’d be willing to date you so they’ll back off.”

My eyes widen and I force myself to crack the very heavy exterior that I’ve surrounded myself in. I can tell that this is her shooting her shot, and it would be cruel to do anything other than respond in kind.

“Thank you,” I say softly. “I’ve spent a long time ignoring any kind of attention because it doesn’t ever come from someone I’d be interested in. I’ll keep your offer in mind. The first thing I thought when I saw you was how pretty you were.”

I’m socially awkward, and I know it. I should have seen the invitation to have lunch yesterday as the trap that it was, but I was so grateful to have someone to speak to, I fucked up. I may not completely understand why Liliana is telling me this, since she’s clearly out of my league, however it’s a really sweet offer.

Liliana bobs her head with a nod, glancing at the school.

“I’m a little handsy,” she admits. “I may grab your hand when we’re talking, or put my arm around your waist, and that may be mistaken by people.”

“I don’t really care what people assume,” I say sharply. “I just want to get through my classes without swallowing another mouthful of mud. I’ve lived in some rough places, I could always melt into the background at school.”

“You’re too pretty to be a wallflower,” Liliana says, shaking her head when I open my mouth to argue with her. Isn’t that what Jared told me though too? “You really are. The girls are going to be worried you’ll get too much attention, while the guys will watch to see what waves you may create. Are you smart?”

The question takes me by surprise, and I nod, because I’ve always had really good grades, despite the shit show my life sometimes is.

“Don’t dumb yourself down,” she insists. “Get the teachers to notice you, outside of the perverts of course, because they’ll pay attention if you’re supposed to be in class but aren’t. You don’t seem the type to skip?—”

“Not unless I’m covered in mud from head to toe,” I mumble.

“Exactly!” she says excitedly. I’m starting to worry Emil gave me a guide that may be a little touched in the head. “Okay, I can see that you think I’m a bit insane. Let me tone it down. My point is that because you aren’t the type to skip, they’ll pay attention if you do for some reason. As in they will call the headmaster and suggest that the administrative team look for you.”

“Oh…oh!” I exclaim, feeling dumb. If I’m a star student, then it’ll be harder for people to pull me from the hallway while I’m walking to class.

God, I should not have to be worried about this kind of shit at a school this nice. This is bullshit.

“Yeah, I see what you mean, okay,” I murmur.

“Let’s go, I’ll show you how to get around without anyone seeing you for the most part,” she offers, opening her car door.

I’m going to go out on a limb and let her show me around, but trust is still out with the jury. I don’t think anyone who goes to this school is capable of not being ruthless enough to fuck me over.

Sure, Liliana may be here because of my stepfather, and she may be kind of attracted to me, but I’m feeling very jaded today.

Getting out of the car, I sling my bag over my shoulder, belatedly feeling my phone vibrate. Pulling it out, I frown as I open the settings so it’ll stay silent. The last thing I need is to get into trouble for having my phone on me.

Then, I check the message in case it’s my mom. Only, it’s not.

Emil:

Hello, little daughter. Yes, that’s the loose translation of what I’ve been calling you. I know you’re in an impossible situation today, but I’m proud of you for staring them all down anyway. Have a good day, please feel free to use your new weapon as often as needed.

My lips curl in a wide smile because I wasn’t expecting that at all.

Me:

Thank you.

I don’t knowwhat else to say to that very sweet text without completely losing my shit to the emotion that stirred up.

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