Page 29 of Bliss: Part 1
My stomach growled, which it shouldn’t have after dinner, but I only had some bread and cold cuts, and I suddenly craved my favorite chips.
So I grabbed some money and the truck keys and headed out the front door, telling Dad and Odin I was going to the gas station as I passed them.
They didn’t stop me but told me to be safe.
The gas station on the edge of town looked the same as it always had. A buzzing sign outside, one sad little tree near the curb, and a Pepsi sign that hadn’t lit up since I was twelve. The glass of the vending machine next to the entrance of the little shop was broken, and there were no drinks or snacks inside. Nobody seemed to care about the old thing, but it fit the whole rustic small town vibe.
The moment I stepped inside, the cold hit me hard in the face. I paused, breathing it in, letting it chill my overheated skin. The coolers were loud in the back, and a little radio behind the counter was playing an old song from the 80’s.
I walked through the narrow aisles to grab a cold Coke from the cooler, and after getting to the snacks, I decided on a bag of Doritos before heading to the checkout counter.
The man behind it didn’t even look at me as he started to ring up my items on an old calculator. Before he could tell me the total, I put money on the counter.
I didn’t bother talking to him when all I would get from him was a frown, but I thanked him after he put my change next to the bag of chips.
Back outside, I decided I still needed some space from the others. The lingering heat and every memory of the things we did stuck to me in the most uncomfortable way. But I didn’t let that ruin my mood or appetite.
I headed back to the truck and put the tailgate down so I could sit on it. I opened the Coke and bag of Doritos and sat there alone, enjoying the silence and the view. It wasn’t much. Just the road leading back into town in one direction, and to our house in the other. The sky looked pretty though.
Just when I thought my evening would stay this quiet, a car turned into the lot and parked right next to mine. The two girls and one boy that got out were my old classmates, and I had to be careful not to roll my eyes at the sight of them.
“Bliss Langley.” Emily’s voice was one I never liked to hear. She had a pretty voice, but the fact that it came out of her bothered me. She rarely had nice things to say to anyone, really, and she just wasn’t a person I liked being around.
I turned and gave a tight smile. “Hello, Emily,” I said, then looked at the other two and nodded once. “Kelsey. Carson.”
They both greeted me back. Unlike Emily, Kelsey and Carson were nice. They never ignored me in the hallway and even ate lunch with me occasionally.
Emily tilted her head, her eyes giving me a hint of how amused she was meeting me here. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“I live here,” I said plainly.
Emily snorted. “Yeah, but like…I thought you’d never show your face around anymore after graduation. You know, because you’re so…family oriented.”
I narrowed my eyes. What the fuck is she talking about? “Okay?”
“Em.” Kelsey sighed and nudged her side, then she looked at me with a gentle smile. “How have you been enjoying summer break so far, Bliss?”
Now, that was someone I could have a normal conversation with. I looked at Kelsey and shrugged, putting another chip in my mouth. “Fine. We just closedThe Oldfor six weeks, so I’m only now truly on summer break.”
“I see.” She smiled again. “Well, are you up to anything fun?”
“Not really. Just hanging out with my family,” I told her, glancing over at Emily for a split second.
“Cool.”
“How’s Dash?” Carson asked, joining the conversation.
Carson’s older brother went to high school with Dash, and they were close friends until they graduated, and Carson’s brother went off to college.
“He’s fine, thanks.”
He nodded.
Emily decided to speak again, so I looked at her as I continued to eat my Doritos, surprisingly unbothered by her presence. “Any plans tomorrow night?”
“No, why?”
“We’re going to a party out at the lake. Tyler’s back in town from college. Big thing. Bonfire, beer, the usual. You should come.”
