Page 78 of Unspoken Truths

Gazing dispassionately at him, I let my hand rise and drop into my lap as if to say, well here I am. Unraveled.

“Kind of like this, huh? You fucking win,” I mutter. “Barrett is absolutely going to see me like this and tell your dad that he can’t help me. I’m a lost cause, Ignacio. Just wait for the men with the white coats, because I’m done.”

“Is this because you’ve been in a mental facility before?” he asks. “Yeah, we’re assholes who dig deep, little mouse.”

Pursing my lips, I raise my middle finger at him to show how much I appreciate his digging. Grabbing my finger, he sucks on it, allowing me to see that he doesn’t have a gag reflex.

“Cute,” I mutter. “Your sleepovers with the Kings must get really wild.”

Releasing my finger with a pop as it leaves his mouth, he shrugs. “About the same as your nights with Lili,” he says.

“This is getting us nowhere,” I sigh.

“Barrett is a shrink,” he says suddenly. “God, I don’t know why I didn’t realize this. I was too busy being jealous.”

“What?” I ask, shaking my head. I don’t understand what he’s trying to say.

Everything is hard right now.

“Listen,” Ignacio breathes. “I promise never to touch you like that again. I didn’t think about how I could be triggering you. I was too far gone by the time the words were out of my mouth and you were stiffening in my arms.”

“Look at this,” I mutter, pulling away the neckline of my sweater to show him the bruised skin from Theo’s bite mark. “You can promise whatever you’d like, but this will not end well.”

Standing, I sigh as I walk to the railing of the terrace, glaring down at the dizzingly far ground.

“Get away from the railing, Rachelle. Fuck, why do we have this open anyway?” Ignacio’s hard body wraps around me, his fingers digging into my hips. “What’s in your head right now?”

“It would be easier to end things now,” I sigh. “It’s early enough that Lili won’t miss me, and I’ll never have to deal with another nightmare, or worry that Colton will get out of prison early for good behavior.”

“Your brain is lying to you,” he says, burying his face in my hair. “She’d be devastated. Lili adores you, and if she hasn’t told you already, she fucking loves you. You need to fight, Rachelle.”

“Fight for what?” I whimper. “Everything is so hard. I can’t turn around without one of you assholes bothering me.”

“There’s a bet,” he says slowly. “I can’t stop that.”

“Then your words mean nothing,” I murmur.

“Why are you two out here?” Emil asks, the door swinging wide. “What’s going on?”

“Rachelle and I are talking,” Ignacio says.

“And?” my stepfather asks, walking out onto the long terrace.

“What would it take to kill Colton?” Ignacio asks.

Turning around as I ignore his fingers digging into my sides, I gape up at him. His teeth are gritting against each other, his gaze hard as he speaks to his father.

“He’s in prison,” Emil says slowly. “Are there concerns that he may be getting out?”

“No,” I bite out, almost too quickly as I sniffle. Too many tears means that my nose is also running. I’m sure it’s not a pretty sight.

“Liar,” Ignacio growls.

“You talk an awful lot,” I rasp, my voice cracking.

“Rachelle, talk to me,” Emil begs, trying to redirect the conversation.

“I’m sure I wouldn’t make any sense even if I tried, or I’ll say something that will just get me locked away,” I scream, my body shaking as I sob.

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