Page 127 of Unspoken Truths

Fishing my phone from the cupholder where I left it, I sit and gaze at it. This isn’t a call I really want to make. It feels as if there’s always something going on.

“He’s going to be pissed, but not at you,” Lili says gently. The car is at the gate as it opens slowly for us.

Time feels as if it’s moving funny, making me wonder if I’m in shock as I twitch so hard my teeth clench. Fuck me that hurt.

“We both need to get warm,” she says, blasting the warm air. “I don’t know if you should go to the hospital or not, baby.”

“I’d prefer not to,” I admit. The warm air is helping, but I’m still chattering. Fuck, this call is going to suck.

Biting the bullet, I hit the button to connect the call, listening to the rings, almost hoping Emil took my mother out so they won’t have to deal with my bullshit.

“Rachelle,”my stepfather says as he answers. “It’s getting late. Did you two decide to go out to eat after your hike? Please tell me you’re not still at the park.”

“I can’t do that,” I whisper, sniffing. “We’re on our way home.”

“Are you crying? On your birthday?”Emil sounds horrified, as if that’s the worst thing that’s happened today. “Put me on speaker, mija.”

“It’s not Lili’s fault,” I tell him, hitting the speaker button. “Your son tied her to a tree.”

“He what?”I think I’ve actually managed to make him speechless.

“They invited themselves to our hike, were a nuisance the entire time, and then chased me through the woods. Um, can you make sure Mom isn’t waiting for me when I get home?” I ask, my voice cracking as I gasp in a breath. “I’m soaking wet from being thrown into the creek. I can’t swim very well. Mom knows that.”

“Where is my son?”Emil growls. “You know what? Let me look.”

Glancing at Lili, I shrug, wondering how he’s able to figure it out.

“He’s still at the park, probably going to wait out my anger by camping with his fucking friends,”my stepfather snarls.

“Mr. Emil?” Lili interjects softly.

“How are you, Lili?”he asks, forcing some of the anger out of his voice. “Do either of you require medical services?”

“Rachelle may,” she says. “She says she swallowed a lot of water when they threw her into the creek.”

“Fucking idiots,” Emil rages. “They could have killed her.”

“They tied my arms up,” I add before biting my lip. I may have just made things worse. “I’m really tired, and I can’t stop shivering. They took my clothes, Emil. Today hasn’t been great.”

“That’s an understatement,mija,” he says. “Your mom is upstairs right now. I can’t promise you she won’t want to get involved. What’s the worst part of all of this? I know there has to be something.”

“There’s a lot,” I admit, struggling to keep my chattering teeth from being heard. “I don’t know if it was the fact that they made me believe they’d hurt Lili if I didn’t run, or the lies telling me we’d both be safe if I outsmarted them, or the words all over my skin in permanent marker.”

“It’s everywhere,” Lili whispers. “She won’t say it, but she can barely walk and she’s shivering so hard. I hate that I don’t have a blanket in my car.”

“What is yourETA,” Emil barks out. “I have a man on my payroll who is also a paramedic. I’m going to have him gather supplies and come over. We really need this shit to stop happening. The Kings contract states their bet must die by senior year. I’m about to ship you somewhere they’ll never find you.”

Do I want that? If I was smart, I’d tell him yes. I also don’t want to fuck with my mom’s newfound happiness. She’ll want to come with me. Now that she’s woken up, figured out how checked out she was as a parent, I have a feeling she’s not going to want to be away from me.

“If I leave, don’t they win?” I ask, my voice breaking.

He’s silent for so long, Lili is pulling onto my street before he answers.

“I can’t answer that for sure. According to the King’s Society, they’d say the boys have failed if you leave,”he says, sighing. “It also means they’d search the earth for you to find you to complete their task.”

“I’d rather stay,” I whisper, seeing the brightly lit house that I call home as Lili drives through the open gates.

The front door opens as we approach, and Emil stands in the doorway as I get out. He has a large comforter in his hands, moving to wrap it around me as he leaves the door wide open. His face is frozen in an angry scowl, his gaze not missing a single thing.

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