Page 27 of Bliss: Part 2
“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.
