Page 15 of Unspoken Lies

It reminds me of Rachelle, rainy days, and screaming into the wind when she needed to blow off steam. I would do almost anything to be able to go back to one of those days. No matterhow hard it was to know she was struggling, she was alive. There was hope for good things back then.

Grabbing my suitcase with the hand that has my gun, I pick up my weapons case and walk through the courtyard. It’s peaceful in this space, and I can see the swing just like Dad said. Despite my anxiety about what lies in the house, the tall brick walls surrounding the courtyard block me from the rest of the world.

It’s like having my own secret garden. There’s not another house around me for at least a block, and it feels kind of odd that there isn’t. Yet, since I hate people and the idea of neighbors gives me hives, I love this for me.

Entering the code for the back door of the house, I hear my father through my ear piece, his voice worried.

“Liliana? Are you still with me?”he asks. “What are you doing?”

“I was getting lost in how pretty this courtyard is,” I confess, opening the back door. It appears to open into the rest of the house, and the kitchen lies to the right, while the living room is to my left.

“It is, isn’t it?” Dad says smugly. “Remember that all the tech info and keys are going to be in the kitchen.”

“I will. Need to clear the house first,” I explain, putting my luggage just inside the door and keeping the weapons case in my hand. I’ll set it just inside of the kitchen so it’s not in the way.

It also has a finger print scanner on it, which means that no one other than I can open it. Flicking the lock closed on the back door, I keep my firearm in my right hand as I check out my new home.

“You have your gun with you?”Dad asks.

“I do,” I say, not telling him I brought in the weapons case. If someone is in the house, they’ll hear me. This may be fairlyparanoid, but it keeps me alive. “The kitchen is nice. I like that the windows all face the courtyard.”

“The entire house opens to the courtyard,” he says. “It’s shaped in an L shape .”

My hands both on my gun, I continue to explore. I can see the door that leads down to the basement, and flip on the light to walk downstairs. The space is huge, though I’m not really sure what I’ll do with it. The washer and dryer are down here though, so I’ll be down here regularly.

Maybe I’ll convert a section into a home gym so I won’t have to join one. Musing about it to my father and the possibilities, I return upstairs to continue to walk the property. As I walk what appears to be a long hallway, my father asks me to stop.

“It looks like a long hallway without a purpose to the stairs, right?”he asks. “On your right there’s a bathroom, but on your left, you’re going to see the beginning of a bookcase.”

Nodding, I make a sound when I see it. The wood is a beautiful dark color, and it extends from the floor to ceiling.

“It’s gorgeous,” I murmur.

“Put whatever books you’d like in it, but it also houses a secret door. You’re going to see War and Peace on the third shelf. Pull the third volume straight toward you,”he says seriously.

“This is a funhouse,” I tease him, dropping my gun to my side as I pull the book toward my body. There’s a click and then the bookcase section moves forward to show that it’s a door. Pushing it open, I grin as I see the office. “Dad…”

“It’s cool, right?” he teases me.

“This is amazing,” I agree.

“Use it as an office, turn it into a private movie theater, whatever you want,” he says. “This house is yours.”

“I love it so far,” I say, walking into the space in awe. There are no windows, which protects me from others knowing that this exists. “This would make a fucking awesome movie theater.”

“If you need a contractor, I’ll set it up,” Dad says. “I am worried about you. A new start could be good.”

“I know,” I sigh. “Everything is kind of shitty. I feel upside down.”

“I know,” he grunts. “New beginnings, okay,mijita? Try for me.”

God, that feels like a fucking gut punch, and I make a face as I leave the secret room. I am glad that there’s also a panic room outside of this. There are different security measures that go into them.

I make sure to close the secret door so no one will know it’s there, and then find the stairs. They overlook the full bank of windows, allowing me to sigh as I look at how beautiful the courtyard is.

“I hope you don’t mind,”Dad says. “I asked Emil to change all of the windows to high impact glass. Nothing short of a bomb is getting inside there.”

“I can’t say that’s overkill, because that’s the nature of our lives. However, changes like that, cameras, etc take time. So how long have you known that Mr. Emil was going to send me here?” I ask him.