Page 122 of Return Policy

“No.” She cuts me off. “Please, no. I just… I want to move forward. There’s no reason I should see him again, and-and-I’ll be more careful opening the door.”

“We need to take pictures. We need to document this shit. Can w—”

“Please don’t push me.” Her green, glassy eyes connect with mine. “I just want to stop thinking about it.”

“But Soph—”

“You can take pictures later, but please not right now.”

I clear my throat, trying to shove down the overwhelming emotions I’m feeling.

Mad at myself for not being there to protect her.

Sad Sophia didn’t call me afterwards and dealt with it alone.

Angry—so damn angry I consider hunting Seth down and throwing him in a shallow grave for what he did to Sophia.

“Okay,” I agree begrudgingly, taking her hands in mine.

“Please.”

“I said okay, baby.” She nods slightly, her body shaking. “Let’s get you into something warm.” I walk over to my closet, grabbing my CBU hoodie and the sweats I know she loves so much. I tug the hoodie over her head, pulling her arms through, and she doesn’t make a single sound, only confirming how emotionally exhausted she must be.

I pull her to a standing position, and the hoodie falls to her thighs as I tug off the towel. Grabbing the sweats off the bed, I help her step into them and bring them up to rest on her hips.

“Thank you,” she mutters. “I know you prefer taking my clothes off over putting them on.” Her lips quirk upwards, and I let out a sigh of relief, thankful her defense mechanism of humor has returned. It’s exponentially better than the silence.

“I preferanyopportunity to touch your skin.”

“Oh yeah?” she says, getting cozy under the blanket as I slide in next to her, pulling her close to me, our faces nose to nose.

“Mm-hmm.” I drag my hand under the hoodie and rest it on her hip, kissing her softly. Using my fingers, I brush the damp hair behind her shoulder, my eyes dropping down to the bruises forming against her neck. My mouth pulls to hers like a magnet. As if they have a mind of their own, my lips wander to her jaw. I plant light kisses, trailing toward her ear and all the way down until my mouth is hovering over her neck.

Her warm breath is hard against me, but she doesn’t protest. Lowering my mouth, I kiss along the discolored skin, praying each one will cure her of the damage he caused.

But as much as I ache to, I can’t siphon her suffering. All I can do is be here for her when the ceiling breaks and everything comes crashing down.

35

SOPHIA

“Wow, finally, bitch,” Sage says, jumping off the bean bag as I walk into our dorm room.

“I saw you yesterday.”

“Okay?” She waves me off. “But you haven’t beenhomein like a week.”

“I know… I’m sorry.”

Elijah’s place has been my safe haven since we got back from Thanksgiving last week, and we’ve been living in an oblivious state of sweet bliss. I know he’s angry—hell, so am I—but I’m glad he’s allowing us to move forward so I don’t have nightmares forcing me to relive it repeatedly.

I wish I could tell Sage everything. About Seth—the accident—Seth choking me over the accident. But I don’t want to drag anyone else into this mess. Seth’s made it clear he’s willing to do anything to ensure this stays under wraps, so the best thing I can do is keep my damn mouth shut.

“That’s okay.” She hugs me tightly, following me into my room as I grab a few more things for Elijah’s. “Damn, Soph, you could have at least told me you were moving out.”

“I’mnotmoving out. It’s just been nice staying over there.”

“His honey dick really that good?”

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