Page 103 of Return Policy

She giggles and shakes her head. “Good. I don’t want you to hurt my Theo Bear.”

“Do I need to worry about you two?”

A loud laugh escapes her pretty lips. “Babe. Come on, don’t be so insecure. You know I only have eyes for one honey bee.”

“Yeah.” My gaze narrows at her. “And apparently one Theo Bear too.” She shrugs, biting her lower lip, and my eyes turn to stone. “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just do that.”

“Okay.” She giggles, returning her head to my chest. I trail my fingertips along her back as I think about her panic attack today.

While I know she was probably freaking out because of her sister’s accident, there’s one thing that doesn’t add up. Sophia told me she wasn’t with her sister when it happened… But today she just kept repeating, “we have to call the police.” And she told Seth, “let’s go to the police,” and I can’t help my mind from wondering if those are dots I should be connecting.

“Sophia?” I release a shaky breath.

“Hmm,” she hums against my chest.

“You know you can always talk to me, right?” Her body tenses under my touch, and I clear my throat. “I know it was a lot for you today… But you always act like I’m going to run if you open up to me, and I just want you to know I won’t.” She draws circles on my chest with her finger. “So if you ever want to share those thoughts clouding that sunshine head of yours, I’m here. You don't have to deal with anything alone. You have me now.”

“Elijah…” She pulls away, her green eyes telling me everything she won’t. She’s scared, hurt, afraid—needs someone in her damn corner.

Let me be that for you,I beg silently.

“Kiss me,” she whispers, rolling on her side to face me.

I press my lips gently to hers, placing my hand against her hip, and tug her closer. She fits perfectly—like her body was specifically made just for me—our broken pieces mixing together, creating a vibrant, dazzling mosaic. Our tongues tangle, and she clings to me, hungry, desperate. Like this is the last time she’ll ever kiss my lips. Her hands are impatient, frantic, like this is the last time she’ll ever touch my body. I brush my thumb along her cheek and freeze.

“Sophia?” I pull away to the sight of small tears dripping down her cheeks. “Baby, why are you crying?”

She gnaws on her trembling lower lip, and I kiss the tears away before pulling her tight to my chest. “I want to tell you something.”

My entire body stills, the pit in my stomach turning into a black hole sucking every ounce of oxygen from my lungs. I tug the blanket over us and rub my hand along her arm.

“Anything.”

“Please, don’t leave me,” she begs, and my bones ache with sadness at her desperate tone.

“I won’t,” I assure her, analyzing her worn face. “You wanna know one of my favorite quotes?”

“Is it fromSouth Park?” she teases half-heartedly.

“No.” I nuzzle her nose, pecking a kiss on it before pulling away. “It’s Edgar Allan Poe.” Her lips curl upward as she nods, seemingly impressed.“Tell me every terrible thing you ever did, and let me love you anyway.”

She nibbles on her bottom lip. “Okay.” A shaky breath escapes her lips. “Here we go… Earlier this year, months before I met you, I was still dating Seth.”

My brow furrows, but I don’t interrupt out of fear she’ll stop sharing.

“We were… He was driving me and Charlie home from the springs, and we came around a sharp turn and—” Her breath hitches, tears pouring out of her eyes. I find her hand under the covers, entangling her fingers with mine as she takes deep, calming breaths. “He hit someone.” She shakes her head, swallowing hard. “Hekilledsomeone.”

I inhale sharply. “Oh.”That explains the panic attack.“I’m so sorry you had to witness that.”

“No. You don’t understand. You don’t—” She shakes her head without meeting my gaze. “You don’t understand.”

“Baby,” I say softly, tipping her chin to meet my gaze. “Please, help me understand?”

“We… we didn’t call the police. He was lying there… He was bloodied and not moving, and I wanted to help him.” Her voice cracks. “God, I wanted to help him. But Seth said it would ruin our lives. And the guy was homeless, so Seth said no one would miss him. And… I wanted to call the police. I wanted to, I swear,” she wails desperately, searching my eyes for any reaction, but I’m unable to speak. Unable to process the information fast enough. “Seth wouldn’t let me since the guy couldn’t be saved. But Seth was wrong. The guy wasn’t dead when we left him. My dad… he was the paramedic on the case and…” She drags a hand down her face. “The guy may have lived if we’d just called the fucking police…” Her shaky breath is the only sound filling the small room.

“And then it was too late,” she whispers, the pained tone of her voice slicing through my body like a machete. “Seth got rid of all the evidence. All the proof. He burned our clothes, fixed his bumper out of state, and made damn sure Charlie and I wouldn’t ever tell anyone. They found the body, but they don’t know who did it.” Tears pour down her cheeks, the dam bursting now that her truth is free. “I just—I made a mistake. I should’ve fought harder. I should’ve called the police. Instead, I left the dying man on the side of the road, alone… I’m amonster.”

“Sophia…” I whisper, my stomach twisted up in a million painful knots. “You arenota monster. You are sunshine and kindness and everything that’s good in this world. It was a terrible situation, and you were manipulated. That doesn’t make you a monster. That makes you human.”

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