Page 9 of Bliss, Part 2

Bliss

It was the Sunday before The Old would open again, and the anticipation had been building in me for days. I couldn’t sit still that morning. Every time I thought about walking into the shop again, smelling the familiar mix of oil and sweat, my chest felt tight in the best way. I had missed it more than I realized. Missed the sound of tools clanging against metal, the steady rhythm of voices calling across the space, the way Dad seemed to carry himself differently when he was in work mode. It was the place where they felt most themselves.

Summer break had been too long, and I truly didn’t understand why Dad closed the pace for too long when he missed it the most. Dash said it’s because he told himself early on that breaks were necessary to not go crazy. I figured that was a valuable reason, but the break tortured him more than anything.

To mark the night before our return, Odin suggested we have one last easy evening. A movie projected onto the old wooden wall, a few bags of chips, and some sodas. He handed the errand to the guys and me, telling us to make a run to the gas station.

The five of us piled into Tripp’s car and drove the short five minutes.

It gave me a moment to think about a few things.

I was in a better place now. The worst of my pain was behind me, but I still went to therapy twice a week. At first, it was just to make sure I didn’t slip back into that dark place and let what happened take over my mind. Lately, though, it had started to feel almost…good. There was something freeing about sitting across from someone who listened without judgment, who let me say exactly what I felt without flinching. I didn’t tell her everything. Not the truth about the guys and me. That was a line I could never cross with her. I knew she would have to report it if she found out, and the idea of anyone coming for my family terrified me.

Instead, I told her my truth in pieces, rearranged. I changed names. I changed the shape of the relationships. I still told her about the love I had for these four boys, but I gave her a version of it she could accept. She gave me advice. She told me that love like that was probably why I’d been able to let go of the memories from that night at the carnival. I believed her.

Tripp pulled into the gas station, and we climbed out, then started toward the door. Before entering, I looked over at the two cars parked a little farther back in the lot, with a small group of men standing around.

My eyes caught on two guys leaning against one of the cars. One had hair as red as fire, the other dark brown, and they were shoving each other lightly, laughing. Then the brunette pulled the redhead in and kissed him. I slowed without thinking, my eyes lingering. Something about their ease made me feel warm inside. They looked happy. Whole. Like the world couldn’t touch them.

“Lissy, you coming?”

Dash called from the door, his voice snapping me out of it.

“Yeah.”

I hurried after him. When I reached him, I hooked my arm through his and leaned into him, smiling up.

“Can we also get some ice cream?”

“Sure. I think Dad will like that.”

We made our way to the chip aisle, where Tripp and Ashby were already debating over which flavors to grab. Rhys was over by the refrigerators, loading different sodas and a couple of beer cans into a basket.

“I’ll help Rhys,”

Dash said, nodding in his direction.

“Okay. I’ll be by the ice cream.”

He bent down to press a quick kiss to the top of my head before turning away. I wandered toward the freezers. The glass doors were clouded in spots from condensation, but I could still see enough. The selection wasn’t huge, just a few neat rows of pints and popsicles.

“Hi.”

A voice spoke beside me, startling me.

I turned quickly to see a girl standing next to me, smiling.

She was about my age, with hair that was a wild, fiery red. I’d never seen her before. Her skin was dotted with freckles, and her eyes were this dark blue that reminded me of the lake. She had a look about her that was…different. Not polished. Not city-pretty. More like she belonged to some place far from here. Her style was almost…rural.

I gave her a tight smile.

“Uh, hi,”

I replied.

“Do you live here?”

she asked, turning briefly toward the freezer as if deciding on something inside it.

I kept my eyes on her, unable to stop staring at her hair. It was the same color as the hair of the guy outside, and I decided that they had to be related.

“Yes, I do. You? I mean…I’ve never seen you around here.”

“I’m not from here,”

she said.

“We’re on a road trip. My family and I. We’re going camping.”

“That sounds fun,”

I said honestly.

“It is.”

She glanced around the store, her eyes moving over Rhys, then Dash, then Tripp and Ashby. When her gaze came back to me, there was a new expression there. She had a strange grin on her lips.

“Are they your brothers?”

“Yes. Two of them are. The others are my cousins. But…they’re like brothers to me.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I regretted saying so much right away. She was a stranger, after all.

“They’re cute,”

she said simply.

“Yeah. They are.”

She shifted closer, her grin still in place. Her voice was quieter now.

“I think I know your secret.”

My heart stopped.

What did she just say?

“What?”

“Your secret. I can see it in your eyes. The way you look at them.”

Panic flared hot in my stomach. Did she know? Had someone told her? No…but how? I had never seen this girl before.

I froze, trying to think, but my mind was a blur.

Her face softened immediately.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I just—I know that look. You love them in a way people say you’re not supposed to.”

I stared at her, unable to speak.

Despite her words making sense in my brain, I had no fucking idea what she was talking about. My mind was foggy and my heart racing.

She nodded toward the window.

“See those men outside? One’s my dad. The other’s my uncle. The two over there are my brothers, and the last one is my cousin.”

She didn’t really have to say more. I knew what she was trying to say. My mouth opened before I could stop it.

“Wait, you—”

“We’re close,”

she said, cutting me off.

“Really close. I just…when you walked in, I felt something. Like I knew.”

She winced at her own words.

“God, I sound like a fucking lunatic. But it’s true. I think we have this…connection.”

She started to pull back, muttering to herself.

“I’m freaking you out. I should go.”

“No, wait.”

I caught her hand. A strange jolt went through me as I touched her. It felt weird but nice. Like I had known her all my life, but never really knew she existed.

I lowered my voice.

“Are you saying you’re in an intimate…”

I couldn’t finish.

“Relationship, yes. With my family,”

she said plainly.

Her smile came back, and mine followed. In that moment, we both knew we’d stumbled across something rare. Someone who understood without needing it explained.

Still, this moment felt like a dream. A fever dream. One I knew for certain wasn’t real, but somehow still was.

“We should exchange numbers,” she said.

“I’m confused,”

I admitted, unable to hold back a laugh.

“This is insane.”

“I know, right? But it means something. I believe this is fate. Or destiny. I don’t have anyone I can talk to about this, and you get it.”

Yeah…that made sense.

And I did get it.

I could use a friend like that.

I had Tia, sure, but I could never tell her about the things the guys and I do.

“Okay. Yes.”

I smiled and reached for my phone in my shorts’ back pocket, then handed her my phone so she could put her name and number in. She passed it back just as Rhys walked over.

“Everything okay here, Lissy?”

“Yes,”

I said quickly.

“All perfect,”

the girl added.

“I’ll get out of your way. I hope we can talk soon.”

She grabbed a popsicle from the freezer and headed to the register.

Rhys frowned.

“Who was that?”

“I don’t know. But she—”

I stopped myself, glancing at my phone.

I frowned and checked the name she put into her contact.

“Her name’s Azula,”

I said finally, as if that would explain what just happened.

“Okay,”

Rhys said, amused.

“Get your ice cream, Lissy. We’re heading back. You can explain all that later.”

I nodded and pushed my phone back into my pocket, smiling up at him.

“Yeah, okay.”

I picked out a pint of Neapolitan and followed him to the counter. As we checked out, I watched Azula and her family load into their cars, the back seats piled high with camping gear.

Something about meeting her felt like a shift. Like maybe it was supposed to happen.

I still needed a moment to process it all, but deep down I was kinda glad about this encounter.

Maybe we’d talk again. Maybe we wouldn’t. Either way, I knew this moment would stay with me forever.

THE END