Page 166 of Unspoken Truths

“Where do I even go from here?” Rachelle asks hopelessly. “Going to school bald just feels wrong.”

“Why?” Dad asks, eyes narrowing. “You’re prettier than any girl with hair at that school, present company excluded.”

Lili smirks. “That was smooth, Mr. Emil.”

“I speak the truth. My concern is the way this is all ramping up. I think a break is necessary, unfortunately. I know you just started, but—” Emil shrugs, sighing heavily.

“I feel as if I’m not learning anything,” Rachelle admits. “The classes are all at a lower level than I’m capable of, because I barely passed some of my classes last year.”

“Alright, so I’m hiring a tutor that will be virtual,” Dad decides. “I’ll call the school and state that I’m worried about your safety, and will be putting you on medical leave. Mental health counts for this as well. It’s happened before. They can’t drop you from the school either.”

I desperately want her to take this out. If she’s not at school, they’ll have to find another way to get to her. It’ll be harder with the house built like a damn fortress. God, come on, baby.

“Okay,” Rachelle says, nodding. “I don’t know what else they can take from me at this point, and I don’t want to find out.”

Good girl. Thank god.

I keep my sigh of relief inside, as I know everyone else is right now.

“I need a shower,” she says. “I just feel disgusting. I didn’t even get my backpack, phone, or anything else.”

“I’ll pick it up on Monday,” Dad says. “If it can’t be found, I’ll buy you a new phone. I’m going to make some calls, get everything figured out. I don’t want anyone coming to the house right now. It doesn’t feel safe. I’m going to go through my contacts to find you a tutor.”

“Thank you, Emil,” Rachelle says in such a small voice that tears threaten my vision.

Fuck, I can’t cry. Breathing through my nose, I force them back. If Lili can stay strong, so can I.

“It’s the least I can do,” he says.

“Go shower, and I’ll check on dinner,” Julia says. “Remember when you look in that mirror, that you are stunning, honey.”

Ah, fuck. A single tear escapes my water line, trailing down my face at her words. Continuing to rub Rachelle’s bald head, I dash away the tear with my other hand unapologetically, continuing to force myself to take even breaths.

“Thanks, Mom,” Rachelle says, her eyes at half mast as they begin to close at my soft touches. “I think I like the head massage, Nacio.”

“There’s more whenever you want,” I promise her as she squeezes Lili’s hand and escapes to the bathroom.

The four of us continue to sit in the room silently until the door shuts behind Rachelle and we finally hear the water begin running an interminable amount of time later.

“What you did was very sweet, Nacio,” Julia says, breaking down into tears.

“If it’s already gone, it needs to be perfect,” I tell her, shrugging as I struggle to keep it together.

“We lose our shit where she can’t see,” Dad says, swallowing hard. “Fuck, Theo is an evil mastermind.”

“It all happened so fast,” Lili says, standing as tears begin to stream down her face.

Pulling her toward me, I hug her as she presses herself against my chest.

“I need to know what’s going on here,” Julia says, sniffing. “Does Rachelle know about how close you two are?”

“Yes,” I say, my cheeks reddening. “Ah…”

I don’t know how much to say.

“Nacio and Rachelle started getting really close over the summer,” Lili chimes in. “I’ve always liked Nacio, and I’m for this. Rachelle has too big of a heart to contain.”

Julia blinks for a moment as Dad rubs her hand, waiting for her reaction.

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