Page 40 of Unspoken Truths

“Interesting,” she says. “That’ll be fun later when you’re a brat. Bad girls get spanked, good girls get orgasms. Just, not today.”

“Well I’d hope not at school,” I breathe, cheeks warm as I walk up the stairs. There’s windows intermittently spaced out along the stretch of stairway, keeping me from feeling claustrophobic.

They allow me to look out at Portland as I climb, reminding me there’s a whole world outside of my tiny, small life. I just have to finish the long years of school before I can live it.

A tower greets me as I climb the last stair, a smile crossing over my face as I look around.

“Wow,” I whisper.

“Administration says these towers are unsafe, but that’s a lie,” Liliana says, walking over to lean out one of the open spaces for windows.

There’s no glass, nothing keeping anyone in. I bet that’s why the adults want to keep people from straying up here. Instead, I take a deep breath of fresh air, admitting to myself that it’s what I need. The school is really old, the walls and stone have that musty smell buildings sometimes get over the years.

“It’s beautiful,” I tell her, walking over to stand beside her.

The openings where there would normally be windows in the tower are large, and Liliana climbs out to sit inside of it, crossing her legs. Holding out her hand, she helps me out to take the spot beside her.

“I’ve been suffocating you,” Liliana says softly, looking out at the world instead of me.

A gust of wind picks up her dark hair, playing with it as it whirls around us. The clouds are getting darker, and I can smell rain in the air. Inhaling deeply, I shake my head.

“You’re not,” I begin to say.

“I followed you into the bathroom today!” she yells, making me giggle. “God, I’m a stage four clinger, Rachelle.”

“I know I probably scared you last week,” I say instead. “Emil also asked you to make sure I was okay.”

“I’m pretty sure even he would draw the line somewhere,” she sighs. “We’re all worried, but I feel like you’re putting up a front to the world. You should have a place where you don’t need to do that. Don’t pretend around me, I’m not reporting anything back to Mr. Emil.”

Well that’s a plus.I feel as if I’m under a microscope. Everyone stares at me when I walk the halls, and the teachers keep looking at me as if I’m going to break. I’m not, I’m just figuring out how I’m going to thrive in this place or if that’s even possible.

“Miss Hailey is officially gone,” Liliana says softly. “My father paid her a visit over the weekend, and I think that even if she hadn’t been fired, she’d have quit.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. Turning to look at her, I let her see that I’m completely confused.

“You don’t know,” she says. “I was wondering. What do you think Mr. Emil does for work?”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “We don’t really talk about it. He took meetings all weekend at the house, which my mom says he doesn’t usually do, but that was it.”

“Mr. Emil is independently wealthy because his father left him everything when he died, but he has also built a large web of businesses through organized crime on his own,” Liliana explains. “His entire family is mafia, but have each proved their ability to lead on their own merits. Basically he’s a very scary man that just happens to have a soft spot for his close family. That includes you and your mom by the way.”

“Mafia,” I mutter. It makes sense in a way, but I’m still floored. “Huh.”

“It’s not talked about, and I don’t know if your mom knows what Mr. Emil does, but Nacio is being groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps,” she says. “He’s hard on him because of the weight of what his work involves. I hate to say this, but Nacio is cruel and petty.”

“Gee, tell me how you really feel, Lili,” Ignacio croons from the stairwell.

Gasping, we turn to face him, and he rolls his eyes.

“You’re spilling a lot of secrets,” he tells her.

“She needs to understand the world she’s living in,” Liliana says fiercely. “Go away, you’re not supposed to be up here.”

Crossing his arms, he leans against the wall and Liliana sighs.

“Whatever, Nacio isn’t going to run his mouth about this,” she mutters. “Anyway, Miss Hailey and the stunt the Kings did?—”

“Yo, why are you throwing us under the bus, Lili? Rude!” Nacio says, smirking.

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