Page 183 of Return Policy
A shaky breath leaves my lips as I push through the door. The room is empty aside from a few chairs and a cross in front of a false stained glass window. There’s a pew at the very front, and I make my way toward it, kneeling on the soft cushion.
“Hey, God,” I say out loud awkwardly. “It’s me… Sophia.” I shift uncomfortably on my knees. “Sophia Summers… I don’t know if you can even hear me… or if you even exist. Sorry, that was kinda rude of me to suggest you’re not real when I’m talking to you. Anyway… I know Elijah believes in you, so if you could listen for his sake, I’d appreciate it.” The sound of me cracking my fingers echoes through the room. “I, um, I need to pray for Elijah. Elijah Anderson. He’s not doing so great, and if you could send an angel or someone to help him out, that would be really, really appreciated.” The awkwardness fades as my eyes blur with tears. “I know I’ve messed up… a lot… but please, God. Please just let him be okay.” I take a deep breath. “I can’t lose him.” A sob rips through me, ricocheting off the walls and piercing my ears. “Please.” I wipe the tears from my eyes. “Um… Amen.” I push myself off the pew and leave the small chapel.
Theo’s Doritos bag swings from my fingers as I reenter Elijah’s room. “Any change?”
“Nope,” Theo mumbles, a hoodie thrown over his eyes as he’s sprawled uncomfortably between two chairs. Julian and Noah are gone, probably to the cafeteria.
Elijah lays unmoving, the same as the past two days, looking peaceful—calm. The doctors perform tests on him every few hours to check his responsiveness, and so far the results have been good. Hopefully they can wean him off the medication today. I notice the ketchup stain on my sleeve from yesterday’s lunch.
“I think I’m gonna go to the hotel and shower,” I say, suddenly feeling about as gross as I look in two-day-old clothes.
Theo pulls his hoodie off and rolls his head to look at me. “The guys will be back in a few. I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t ha—”
“Sophia,” Theo says sharply, standing up. “Please stop fighting me every time I try to protect you.”
I chuck the Doritos bag at him. “Okay, damn, no need to go all King Triton on me.”
He smirks. “Listen, I know you can handle yourself. But if something happened to you, your dad would kill me while Elijah digs the ditch.”
I roll my eyes as Julian and Noah stride back into the room.
“We’re gonna head out and clean up,” Theo tells them. “Let us know if anything changes?”
“I’ll come with,” Julian replies. “I reek like a stale locker room.”
“Alright, I’ll stay here,” Noah says. “Can you grab my charger? My phone’s almost dead.”
“Yeah, sure,” Julian replies.
We head back to the hotel, and I almost fall asleep in the Uber. My body feels heavy as we trudge to the rooms. Once I get inside Elijah’s and Noah’s room, I take a steaming hot shower, trying to ignore the shit storm that is my life right now. I stumble out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around me, and collapse on the bed.
* * *
A loud bang rips me from a deep sleep. Muffled sounds blur into my ears, along with another loud knock.
“Sophia!”
Groaning, I force my eyes open and roll out of bed. The towel falls off me, and I snatch it up, resecuring it and hurrying to the door.
I open it, peeking my head out to a very worried and impatient Theo. “I’ve been calling you for an hour. Are you okay?”
“I fell asleep,” I say groggily, and his expression softens.
“I figured. But let’s go, okay? Noah texted they were stopping the sedation a few hours ago.”
“Did he wake up?” I ask hopefully.
“Not yet.” Theo frowns.
I rush to dress, and we make it to the hospital half an hour later.
God, I miss his voice.
Theo pushes open the door to Elijah’s room.
“Do you think he—” The words fall off my tongue at the sight of Elijah propped up and talking with Noah. I run over to him, and his tired smile widens.
