Inferno - Chelle Bliss by Chelle Bliss

Fuck.

“Want to go outside?” I ask her, knowing my cousins will be more chill instead of filling her mind and mine with all the lovey-dovey bullshit.

“Yeah. I could use a breather,” she says, but she has no idea that she isn’t going to get any respite outside either.

My cousins may not hang all over each other, but quiet, they are not. They’re going to have more questions than anyone because they don’t have a limit to their nosiness.

The sliding glass door opens, and Tamara pops her head into the kitchen. “You bitches coming outside or what?” she asks, staring right at us but with a smile.

“We’re coming,” I tell Tamara, glaring.

Way to play it cool, cousin.

“Well, get your fine asses out here. We have two cold beers waiting for you.”

“Thank God,” Opal breathes, moving toward the sliding glass door without hesitation, straight from the frying pan into the fire.





14





OPAL





I let my eyes wander around the large table. Stone’s cousins are each fantastic in their own way and completely different. None of them has the same personality besides being outgoing and friendly.

They’ve made me feel welcome although I’m a virtual stranger. If I had any reservations about coming, they vanished long ago.

Stone leans over to whisper in my ear. “What’s wrong?”

I shrug. There are so many emotions running through me at the same time. I turn my head so our mouths are almost touching. “I don’t know.”

He stares into my eyes, studying me. “Cop-out. Come on. Be honest.”

I’ve never talked about my feelings much. My foster family didn’t want to know about how I felt about shit. When my parents passed from my life, I did my very best to push down whatever feelings were trying to well up inside me.

“Nothing.”

Stone takes my hand in his, continuing to watch me closely. “I want to hear it. You were talking, and then, boom…nothing. Something had to happen. Did someone upset you?”

I shake my head, pushing back the tears that are threatening to come. “It’s silly, really.”

“Opal,” he says with a squeeze of my fingers, “it’s not silly if it has you all out of sorts.”

I swallow, hating myself for being so sappy in the company of others. “I was sitting here thinking that I wish I had been born into a family like this. Imagining how my life could be different. Even when my parents were around, it was never this good. It was just us. But to be surrounded by so many, loved by so many, it’s pretty damn amazing. And if I’m being honest, I’m a little jealous too.”

Stone’s face softens as he gazes at me. “I’m sorry, Opal.” His words hit me in the gut. No one’s ever apologized for what I’ve gone through. Stone is the last person who should be apologizing to me, but his words provide a balm to a wound that I’m not sure will ever heal.

“It’s not your fault,” I tell him, trying to tune out the rambunctious conversation around us.

“It’s not yours either.”

“I know.” I do my best to put a smile on my face, but it’s lopsided before it falters.

“You’re here now, though.”

I want to say, yeah, I am, but for how long? Would I love to be here every week surrounded by such love and kindness? Fuck yeah.

“And they love you too. Probably more than they like me.”

I laugh at those words. They give him so much shit, but he eats it up and feeds into it. “Don’t be ridiculous. They love you.”

“They put up with me.”

“What’s wrong?” his cousin Gigi asks, and the table stops talking, turning all their attention our way. “Do you guys need something? I’ll grab it.”

“No,” I say to her, “everything is great.”

“That’s your great face?” Tamara asks with her eyebrows drawn down. “Looks pretty fucking serious to me.”

“Back off,” Stone barks, being a little too overprotective of my feelings.

It’s my turn to squeeze his hand before turning back to his family around the table. “I’m just in awe of you guys. The love you have for one another. You’re all so, so lucky.”

“Not all of us,” Rebel says to me with a small headshake. “I had a shit family until I married into this one.”

“That ain’t no fucking lie. I mean, my family was beyond fucked up and basically nonexistent until Gigi threw herself at me,” Pike says, earning himself a smack to the shoulder.

“Babe, I never threw myself at you,” she corrects him, giving him a wicked glare. “Don’t lie.”

“Besides the people born into this family, anyone here have a normal family?” Mammoth asks, glancing around at all of them.

One cousin raises his hand. “I did.”

“Jett,” Gigi groans. “You don’t count.”

“Why the fuck not?” Jett leans forward, placing his elbows on the table. “I wasn’t born into this family.”

“I’ve known you since we were both in diapers. Hell, our mothers were roommates. You’re as close to being born into the family without being born into the family as there is.”