Page 6 of Love Unwritten
Nico pats the empty spot beside him with a smile.
I reach for the two newest options on his bookshelf and hold them up for him to choose. Between the newest comic book about his favorite superhero and a short chapter book in braille, I already know Nico’s answer, but I give him a choice regardless.
“Which one are we feeling tonight?”
He squints at the covers for what feels like an eternity. For a kid who spent the last month talking about how excited he was for this comic, he sure is having a hard time picking today.
“I’m giving you three seconds to decide. One…two…”
My brows creep toward my hairline as he passes over the newest edition of his favorite comic book and grabs his braille book instead.
I check his temperature with the back of my hand. “Are you sick?”
“No.” He pushes me away and yanks his book open hard enough to make the spine crack.
Before he has a chance to read a sentence, I pluck the book from his lap and take a seat on the edge of his bed. “Hey.”
He tries to snag the book back, but I place it out of reach.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” He stares straight ahead.
“I don’t like to push…”
“Then don’t.”
“But I’m worried about you.”
He remains silent, nearly suffocating me with the tension building between us. If this is how Rafael feels whenever Nico shuts him out, I can now understand his bad mood a bit more, because it absolutely sucks.
I’m not ready to give up yet, so I try again. “You can always talk to me about anything. No matter how bad it is.”
His gaze drops to his fists clutching the comforter in a death grip. “I can’t. Not about this.”
I tuck my fingers under his chin and force him to look me in the eyes. “Why not?”
“Because I’m scared.” His strained voice can barely be heard over the air conditioning blasting from the vents.
“About what?” I wait patiently as he takes a deep breath, only to be disappointed when he stays quiet.
“Does it have something to do with your mom?” I ask in my softest voice.
He shakes his head hard enough to send water droplets flying off the tips of his hair.
“Dad?”
His bottom lip trembles as his eyes flood with tears.
Oh, shit. What did Rafael do? I bite down on my lip to stop myself from asking that and ten different questions at once.
His voice is barely audible as he asks, “You promise not to say anything?”
My stomach churns with uncertainty. I shouldn’t make any promises of the sort, but if it means that Nico will share what is bothering him, then so be it.
I ignore my concerns and nod. “Sure.”
It takes him another thirty long seconds to speak again, all while my heart beats rapidly.