Page 140 of Return Policy
The asshole of all assholes.
A guy around our age dressed in tight joggers and a hoodie hops out of the jacked-up truck parked across from ours, and Elijah’s entire arm goes tense.
“Elijah,” Jenna says in a sharp tone. “Don’t.”
I glance up at his dark, cold eyes. “Elijah?” He removes his arm, rushing towards the guy. “Elijah!” He grabs the guy by the collar, throwing him to the ground, and I stop dead in my tracks.
“Dude, stop,” the guy shouts before getting back to his feet. Elijah throws him against the truck with a loud bang. “I tried to help!”
“Bullshit!” Elijah cocks his hand back and swings, hitting the guy square in the jaw. He stumbles backward, holding his face, eyes going wide. Elijah grabs him by the collar and swings again, hitting him in the nose.
Blood drips down his chin and onto Elijah’s arm that’s still clutching his shirt. My heart pounds chaotically in my chest as I watch Elijah lose his shit.
“You deserved that and more.” Elijah pushes him away.
“For what it’s worth, I’m just glad your sister’s okay,” the guy says, seemingly genuine.
His sister?
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
“No thanks to you, asshole.” Elijah turns around, eyes flicking to mine as an angry tear escapes. He quickly swipes it away and trudges to the driver’s side door of his truck.
I follow after him, sliding in the backseat, unsure what to make of all the information I’ve learned today. I’m grateful he finally shared about his dad with me, but I can’t shove away the disappointment it took him so long to open up. Now I find out he has a sister too? Where is she? Why is Elijah so mad at this guy? What the hell is going on?
Why am I just now finding out about the things that have been torturing him on a daily basis? I thought he’d always been honest with me…
Clearly, I don’t know him as well as I thought.
40
ELIJAH
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I told myself I wouldn’t lose my cool, and what did I do? Exploded like a damn volcano. The truck is silent on the way home. No one speaks, not even Nama, and she always has something to say. I glance at Sophia in the rear view, but she’s staring out the window at nothing in the darkness.
Baby, please just look at me.
The truck’s headlights shine against the house as I pull up in front of it. No one moves a muscle when I kill the engine. “Alright, let’s get on with it then.”
“Jenna said I’m not allowed to say anything,” Nama says before opening the door and exiting the truck.
“When has that ever stopped you?” I point out, following her lead, slamming my door shut.
Sophia hops out the back, looking confused as hell courtesy of my Hulk Hogan impersonation in the parking lot. Everything she’s learned about me today, my damn freak-out, it wouldn’t surprise me if she runs all the way home.
Nama rounds the truck and grins at me. “True.”
“Mama,” my mom says to her in a stern tone.
“What?” Nama counters. “Is it so bad to tell him he handled that way better than I would have? Hell, if Dean were here, he’d have shot him.”
“Dean was a man of faith. He would have done no such thing,” Mom snaps.
“Dean was a man wholovedhis daughter,” Nama presses, jaw ticking. “He would have done much,muchworse.”
Dean was… Dean was… Dean was…
