Page 13 of Unspoken Truths

“Are you okay?” Liliana asks, drawing my attention as I put my phone away.

“Emil was making sure I got to school alright,” I tell her, omitting the other details.

“That man was meant for a daughter,” she sighs. “I never thought I’d see him protective and shit like this. My father has worked with him a long time.”

A part of me wants to ask what he does for work, but I don’t want to know. With the size of his house and how imposing he is, something makes me think that it’s illegal. He’s untouchable, he loves my mom, that’s enough for me, for now.

“I’m still feeling my way out,” I say truthfully, shutting the door behind me.

Walking together, she loops her arm through mine. Remembering what she said about getting a bit touchy-feely, I ignore it.

“Liliana, you missed school and still found your way to bagging the new girl,” one of the guys says, laughing as he watches us.

Rolling her eyes, Liliana says, “She has better taste than to fuck around with Neanderthals.”

My lips twist as I let my hair hide my smile as we continue to walk.

“Don’t hide,” Liliana whispers. “Shoulders back, head held high. Be a good girl, and show off that pretty face.”

Blinking, I’m unsure how to feel about being called a good girl by her, but I have a weird, heated feeling bubbling through my body at the words.

I think I may like it.

Doing as she says, I take a deep breath and raise my head, my legs eating up the steps to the school doors. Liliana smirks as we walk through them, as they’re left open before the first bell and after the last. Everyone stares, but Liliana keeps whispering, her arm moving around my waist so her lips can be against the shell of my ear as she tells me where I need to go.

The warmth of her breath against my skin makes me tingle, my nipples starting to tighten. Ugh, it’s so hard to focus on her words.

“Rachelle,” she says teasingly, making me bite my lip.

“Uh huh?” I ask.

“Your cheeks are really pink all of a sudden,” she says. “Is there a reason why?”

“It’s really embarrassing,” I mutter, stopping at my locker to open it. My school issued iPad was in my locker, along with my books, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that they’re still there.

Leaning against the bank of lockers, she watches as I put things into my backpack.

“Am I going overboard?” she asks. “I’ve already seen three people drop their books when they saw us walking together. Maybe I can tone it down.”

“What if I don’t want you to tone it down?” I ask, closing the locker and spinning the dial. “I think I may like it. Still feeling it out.”

Liliana licks her lips and nods. “I have questions that would get me in trouble, so I’m not going to ask them,” she murmurs, making me wonder what they are. “One of them is how tight your nipples are beneath your jacket, Rachelle.”

She’s practically purring at me, and it makes me shiver.

“You are trouble,” I murmur, lips twitching.

“Maybe,” she drawls, “but you didn’t deny it. I’m going to meet you at lunchtime at your locker, okay?”

Liliana looks a little worried, and I frown.

“What are the chances that I’m going to get into some kind of trouble before lunch?” I ask.

“Fuck. Now you’ve jinxed it. Come to the restroom with me,” she says, grabbing my hand and half dragging me through the halls.

“Where are we going?” I hiss. “We've passed like two restrooms already.”

“This one tends not to have as many people,” she says, opening the door. As promised, it’s empty, and she pulls me in behind her.

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