Page 182 of Return Policy

“He showed up here,” I admit, the words slipping from my mouth.

The line is quiet for a moment. So quiet I think he hung up. “Hewhat?”

“He showed up here,” I mumble. “At the hospital. And he-he…”Fuck.Tears blur my vision again.

“Are you alone, Bear?” I glance at Theo and shake my head. “Bear?”

“No, I’m with a friend.”

“Can I talk to them?”

I glance again at Theo, who pulls his brows together, the expression only deepening when I hold out the phone. He takes it without hesitation, placing it on his ear.

“Yes,” Theo says. “Of course, sir.” His arm tenses over my shoulders. “Yes, I understand.” He clears his throat and shakes his head. “No, of course not. I’d never let that happen.” More words from my dad I can’t hear. “You too, sir.”

Theo gives me back the phone, and I promise my dad I’ll call every few hours to check in.

“What’d he say to you?” I ask Theo on our way back to the waiting room.

He lets out a low chuckle. “Basically just if anything happens to you while you’re out here, he’ll hunt me down, chop my balls off, and feed them to me.”

My eyes go wide as saucers. “What?!”

His lips curl upwards, and he shrugs. “I may have paraphrased slightly… but that was the gist of it.”

A few hours later, I’m sitting on an uncomfortable chair in the waiting room and my phone buzzes. I flip it over to see a notification from Charlie.

CHARLIE

Charlie

I should've sent this to you sooner. I’m sorry it took me so long.

(1) Video Attached

52

SOPHIA

“It’s been two days. He should’ve woken up by now,” I tell Noah, who’s sitting across from me on one of the uncomfortable chairs a nurse brought in yesterday. Elijah’s no longer in the ICU so they’ve allowed the boys to come in too. Theo and Julian sit on the floor with their heads against the wall. Sage and Charlie wanted to stay, but I insisted they head back to Florida when the rest of the team left. I haven’t been able to even think about the video Charlie sent me. I can’t think about any of that until Elijah wakes up.

“Today,” Noah says quietly. “He’ll wake up today.”

“I hope so…” I squeeze Elijah’s limp, cold hand before placing it back under the warm blanket. “Jenna should be here tonight.”

“Good.” Noah clears his throat. “Our flight’s scheduled for this afternoon… but if you need us to stay longer, we’ll push it again.”

“No…” I shake my head. “I’ll be fine until Elijah’s mom gets here.”

“Only if you’re sure,” Noah says.

“I am… I’m gonna go for a walk.” Theo stands as I pull myself away from Elijah’s bedside. “Alone,” I say, and he sinks back to the floor. “I appreciate you guys looking out for me. But I think I can handle a stroll around the hospital.”

Seth already left with his team, so I’m no longer checking over my shoulder at every turn.

“Fine,” Theo grumbles. “Bring me back something from the vending machine, would you?”

I wander the halls, unsure what I’m even searching for until I stumble upon it. There’s a small sign on the door: Glendale Hospital Chapel.

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