When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 86

Nelly felt their eyes on her, and it made her skin crawl. She wanted to say something to Jonah, to maybe break the tension, but he looked just as awkward, sitting straight with his head bowed, saying nothing.

Then, out of nowhere, someone knocked over a glass of juice. It spilled right onto Jonah’s lap, soaking his pants in a bright, sticky mess.

Jonah jumped up, looking down at himself, visibly embarrassed.

“Jonah,” Nelly called, hurrying to her feet. She grabbed some napkins to help him clean up.

But before she could get to him, a laugh broke the silence.

“Hey, I heard you call Jonah your cousin?” That was her aunt Britney, her tone teasing. The one who’d knocked over the glass was her seventeen-year-old son, who didn’t even bother to look up from his video game after making the mess.

Nelly blinked, confused. “Is that not okay?”

“Not exactly wrong,” Britney said, glancing at Jonah with a sly smile. “But I doubt Jonah’s used to it.”

Felix, sitting at the head of the table, looked like he’d bitten into something sour. “Why wouldn’t Jonah be used to it? He’s my son, just like any of yours.”

Britney gave a little shrug, clearly enjoying herself. “That’s not really the same, is it? You can’t pretend blood doesn’t matter.”

Everyone else acted like they hadn’t heard a thing. They were either staring at their phones or sipping from their glasses, lost in their own worlds.

Only Britney’s son, irritated by his losing game, snapped. He slammed his console down, glaring at Jonah. “This is all your fault, you bastard! Sitting next to you is bad luck. I keep losing because of you!”

The whole room froze for a few seconds. Nelly felt her heart drop, her eyes wide in disbelief.

But the moment passed, and somehow, it was like nothing had happened. Nobody spoke up for Jonah. Even Felix just glared, his jaw tight, and slammed his palm on the table.

Britney gave her son a weak little pat. “Don’t say things like that.”

Jonah met Nelly’s eyes for just a second, then looked away. He wiped at his pants, said nothing, and left the table as quickly as he could.

Nelly caught the look on his face. He was mortified. Suddenly, everything made sense.

She started to follow him, but Felix held her back.

“Let him handle it,” he said, voice cold.

Nelly couldn’t hold it in anymore. “What is wrong with you people?”

She turned on her aunt. “Aunt Britney, your son spilled the juice and then started insulting Jonah. Shouldn’t he apologize?”

Britney’s son just scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What do you know? I didn’t say anything wrong.”

Britney shot him a look, then put on a smile for Nelly. “Sweetheart, you just got home. I guess you don’t really know how things work here yet.”

She gestured at the table. “Everyone here is your family, except for Jonah. He’s not.”

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