Page 168 of Unspoken Truths

Unfortunately, I fade quickly, drowsily watching as my eyes droop.

“Give up the ghost, sleepy head,” Nacio murmurs in my ear. “Don’t fight your exhaustion. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you confirming what I’ve had my suspicions about,” Emil mutters from the door. “You have a perfectly good bed, Ignacio.”

“I don’t like to use it,” his son responds. They share a long stare, before my stepfather rolls his eyes.

“I came up to tell you that I found you a tutor who lives in Greece,” Emil says. “He is completely outside of the Kings’ politics, and said he is bored with retirement. He is proficient in a wide range of subjects, including languages. I think he’ll be an excellent tutor.”

“Will the time difference be an issue?” I ask, chewing my lip.

“He doesn’t sleep well these days,” Emil says. “He’ll be awake while you are, and be a grouchy ball of sunshine.”

“Those are very different from each other,” I admit, smirking.

I’m just happy to have options, to be frank. I can’t stomach the idea of going back to Carlysle Prep. This isn’t me running, this is self preservation. I wish it hadn’t taken me losing all my hair so traumatically for me to understand that.

“Eh,” he murmurs. “I’ll deal with the school on Monday. I’m sure they’ll be assholes about it, but there’s a precedent for this, and I plan to lean hard on it. I’m going to go up to bed, though.”

“To sleep or plot world domination?” Nacio asks, grinning at his dad.

“That all depends on whether or not sleep comes,” Emil says with a shrug. “Good night.”

“Night,” we call out as he leaves, and I hide my face as I yawn.

“Bedtime,” Nacio murmurs, calling it. “Go do whatever you need to do to get ready for that.”

Lili smirks as he talks about my bedtime routine as if it’s a very extensive process or even a secret. It isn’t, but it is really cute. Nacio gets out of bed, padding across the hall to his room to use his bathroom, and I get up as well.

“He’s cute, I’ll give him that,” Lili says, picking up the bowl of leftover popcorn to set on the nightstand as she gets up to follow me to the bathroom.

I can manage to brush my teeth next to her without turning redder than a tomato after our summer trip together, which is progress.

Seeing my reflection is still a big surprise, and I stare at it for a moment as I mindlessly grab my toothpaste and add some to my toothbrush.

“I know you didn’t choose this,” Lili murmurs. “Rachelle, all Theo did was unveil how stunning you’ll always be. I can go online and find wigs if you’d like for things like the Darkest Nights concert or going out. However, I want you to look at yourself and see how beautiful you are.”

Taking a breath, I stare at myself in the mirror and notice that my ears aren’t too big for my head, they are symmetrical, and my head is pretty. Blinking away the tears that come unbidden as I acknowledge that hair isn’t everything, I nod.

“Now, say it with me: I am pretty,” Lili insists.

Sighing, I glance at her to see if she’s serious.

“Don’t make me do it alone, brat,” she says, her lips twitching in amusement. Glancing back at the reflection of myself, I nod and say with her, “I am pretty.”

“Good. Keep telling yourself that until you fully believe it,” she says, beginning to brush her teeth.

My lips twitch at how sweet she is, also brushing my teeth, hoping that I’ll actually be able to sleep once I get into bed. It was one thing watching a movie, sometimes it’s harder when the intent is to fall asleep.

I can’t explain it, since it’s totally a mental thing.

Done brushing my teeth and the other small things I do before bed, like my quick skin care routine, I walk out of the bathroom with Lili to find the door closed and Nacio in the middle of the bed with a smirk on his face. He took his shirt off, and looks good enough to eat.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” he begs. “I just got my dick to go down.”

The words surprise a chuckle out of me as Lili and I climb into bed on either side of him.

“Poor baby,” I murmur, getting under the blankets to snuggle against him. His arm wraps around me, making me feel safe and warm.

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