Page 120 of Return Policy

“I’m not protecting him!” she shouts, tears streaming down her face. “I’m protecting myself. And Charlie.” She pauses. “And you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, just, I don’t want you to have any problems with him either, you know?”

I shake my head. “Sophia, I don’t need you to protect me.Iprotectyou.That’s how this works.”

“Well, sorry, but I protectyoutoo,” she says gently.

“Please, babe, we have to get you out of this mess.”

“There is no way out!” she shouts, trembling with rage. “We just keep our mouths shut and hope Seth runs away to rot in hell and leaves us the fuck alone.” I reach out, wiping away a tear that’s fallen down her cheek.

“Baby…” I whisper, and her eyes find mine. “Please don’t cry.”

Her lip trembles. “I’m sorry I pulled you into this.”

I slide my seat back, patting my thigh. “Come here.” She removes her seat belt, crawling over the center console and into my lap, resting her head on my chest. “Pleasealwayspull me into it.”

“I don’t want you to have to deal with this stuff though. It’s not your problem.”

“You’re my girl. If it’s your problem, it’s my problem. Remember?”

She drags her fingertips along my bicep. “Just please don’t tell Mark, and everything will be fine.” My chest tightens, and I consider telling Sophia about my talk with them, but she’s in such a fragile state I don’t want to cause her more anxiety over nothing. “Everything will be fine,” she says, reassuring herself more than me.

I rub my palm along her smooth thigh. “Sweetheart, I’m trying really hard not to be angry with you right now, but all I can think of is the fact he showed up and you didn’t call me.”

She’s quiet for one breath. Two breaths. Three breaths. “I wanted to.”

“You should have,” I say immediately, resting a palm against her face. “I pray to God there’s not a next time, but if there is, you have to swear to call me. I would have been over in a heartbeat.” Glancing out the window, I curse myself for not following my gut. “I thought something was wrong, but I didn’t want to push you. I can’t even imagine how you must have been feeling last night.”

She swallows hard and whispers, “I was wishing I was in your arms.”

“You could've been.”

She plays with the frayed hem of her denim shorts. “Elijah?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I sleep at your place tonight?”

“Of course, baby. You can stay over any time you want. If you wanna take over my whole damn room with your sketchbooks and your Polaroids and those tiny koalas, be my guest.”

“I don’t need to take up all your space.” She smiles at me. “I’m small.”

“I want you in my space. Every damn inch of it. I want you in my bed. Your sketches on the walls. I want your golden hair in the shower drain and your running shoes sitting by the door. Your half-full black coffee sitting on the nightstand because we got too distracted for you to finish.” I brush a hair behind her ear and kiss her softly. “I want all the little reminders you’re in my life. All the little reminders you're mine.”

She smiles up at me. “Okay… but if you ever want to send me back to my place, just let me know. I don’t want you getting sick of me.”

“I’ll never be sick of you.” I chuckle. “No returns, no refunds, baby. Remember?”

* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want Sage to come over and stay with you while I’m gone?” I ask Sophia, who’s snuggled up in my bed as I get ready to leave for the game.

“No.” She shakes her head against the pillow. “Like I said, I’m just exhausted… I barely slept last night.”

I brush her hair back before rubbing my thumb against her cheek. Seeing her face broken like this hurts worse than being bucked off a bronco. “I’ll be back right after the game, okay?”

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