The Marvelous Elijah's Return novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

She needs you

The hospital room was filled with silence once the doors to the room closed. Then Elijah turned to look at Peach, asking, “Are you okay?” “Yeah… Yeah, I am fine.” Peach muttered, crossing her arms across her chest, lowering her eyes to the ground, and sighing softly. “I’m sorry…” 

“For what?” Elijalı asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. 

“For being like that…” Peach murmured, clenching her teeth together and averting her eyes away from him. “When you start fighting for your right at a young age, you get angry at whoever tries to take it away from you…” “You don’t have to explain yourself, Peach, I understand where you are coming from,” Elijah replied simply. 

Peach shook her head, still refusing to meet his eyes, “No, you don’t. It was unfair for you to have to defend me… And I am sorry. I should never have put you in such a position..” 

Elijah gave a small smile, reaching out to touch her arm. He rubbed his thumb gently over her wrist, giving her a reassuring look, and said, “Don’t worry about it.” 

When Peach looked over at her mother, Miss Grace wanted to be mad at her daughter, but she knew after her husband died and she had a heart attack, Peach had to fight against everyone coming after them at a young age, and it was not easy for her either. 

So seeing her like that now reminded her too much of what they had gone through, especially in regards to how cruel and uncaring some people could be at times to them. 

“Mama, I am so sorry,” she quietly uttered, her voice cracking with sadness. “I shouldn’t have said” 

“It wasn’t your fault, Peach,” Miss Grace interrupted gently. “I mean, it was not your fault. I’m sure your father would have done the same thing in this matter. You have his fighting spirit, and he would be so proud of you.” 

A sad, longing expression overcame Peach’s eyes, and her lips began quivering uncontrollably as the memories of her father flashed through her mind, the warm smile on his face, gentle eyes filled with concern when he looked at her, and the way that he made her feel safe. 

The sound of the room door opening startled everyone, making them all turn to see Doctor Ben standing there with a confused and worried expression on his face. Then he fixed his eyes on Peach and said, “There’s a… umm… Well… there’s a little issue.” The look of guilt in his eyes and how he won’t stare directly at her face made Peach furrowed her brows in confusion as she waited for him to continue. 

Doctor Ben cleared his throat and began walking toward Peach, stopping when he was close enough and saying, “My job is at risk. Apparently, someone reported to the board of directors of the hospital that I was treating your mother without any payment or insurance and now I am in quite a mess… You guys need to..” When Elijah saw the worried look on Miss Grace’s face, he darted his gaze to the doctor and said, “We have the money.” 

“All Twenty thousand?!” Doctor Ben blurted out in surprise. “Yes,” Elijah answered calmly. “We can make the payment now.” 

“But… how…? When…? How did you…?” Doctor Ben stammered. 

“Have you heard the saying, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover?” “But… What’s… what is the content of this book?” “You just have to be patient and watch the chapters unfold… you would be shocked about the ending.” Both Miss Grace and Peach looked at each other with their faces contoured in confusion just as Doctor Ben was too because the three of them were not understanding anything that Elijah had said. 

Turning his focus off the Doctor, Elijah looked over to Peach and handed the briefcase to her, saying, “Twenty thousand like I promise.” 

The look of shock on Doctor Ben’s face grew even deeper than before, and as he gazed at Peach, she opened the briefcase with a shaky hand and took a glimpse inside, finding a hundred bills piled over one another. 

Now, it was Miss Grace’s turn to gape at Elijah in disbelief, staring at him incredulously as she tried to grasp what was going on, and how he could get his hands on such money so easily and fast, knowing the news about who he was when he was married to Melina. 

“You and Doctor Ben should settle the bills. I will stay here with Miss Grace.” Elijah stated, smiling at Peach, trying to ease the tension in the room. Silently, Peach nodded with a weak smile before closing the briefcase, leaving out of the room with Doctor Ben, who was still confused about what was going on. Watching them leave the room, Elijah sighed deeply, ran his fingers through his hair, and then fixed his eyes on Miss Grace. 

Both of them stared in silence, waiting for something to break their awkward mood, which lasted until finally, Elijah broke the silence as he asked, “How are you feeling?” 

“What are your plans for my daughter?!” Miss Grace asked calmly, yet, her words carried a hint of fear. “Did you know who she was when you walked into our motel that night?”