...But God said So

Chapter 14: Stop It

The hospital room was quiet.

Too quiet.

The steady beeping of the monitor filled the silence as Lily sat beside Ife's bed, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone.

She wasn't reading anything.

Wasn't paying attention.

Her mind was somewhere else.

A hospital chapel.

A wooden bench.

A pastor with calm eyes.

"God has not abandoned you."

Lily frowned.

Annoying man.

She tossed her phone onto the chair beside her and leaned back.

Why was she still thinking about that conversation?

Why was his voice still ringing in her head?

"God has not abandoned you."

Easy for him to say.

He didn't know her.

Didn't know her story.

Didn't know the things she'd survived.

Lily shook her head and looked toward Ife.

Still asleep.

Good.

At least one of them was getting rest.

The room fell silent again.

And against her will, her mind drifted backwards.

Back to the first time she had seen him.

Three months earlier.

Sunday morning.

Lily was asleep.

The kind of sleep that came after a long night and too little patience for the world.

Then her bedroom door flew open.

"Lily!"

She groaned.

"No."

"Lily!"

"No."

A second later, her blanket disappeared.

Lily sat up immediately.

"What is wrong with you?"

Ife stood in the doorway holding her phone.

"My parents."

Lily dropped back onto the bed.

"Tell them I said good morning."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Ife walked into the room.

"They want pictures."

Lily opened one eye.

"What kind of pictures?"

"After-service pictures."

Silence.

Then Lily laughed.

Hard.

"You're joking."

"I wish."

"Send an old one."

"I already did that."

Lily sat up.

"And?"

"My mother noticed."

"No."

"Yes."

"How?"

Ife looked offended.

"The church banner."

Lily immediately started laughing again.

"What about it?"

"It said Annual Convention 2025."

Lily nearly fell off the bed.

"No!"

"Yes!"

The laughter came harder this time.

"Aunty Grace is dangerous."

"Very."

"FBI dangerous."

"Nigerian FBI."

The two women laughed until Ife threw a pillow at her.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Lily wiped tears from her eyes.

"Tell them the truth."

Ife stared.

"What truth?"

Lily spread her hands.

"The truth."

"What truth?"

"The actual truth."

Ife groaned.

"You're not helping."

Lily sat up straighter.

"No, seriously."

She pointed at her.

"Tell them."

"Tell them what?"

"That you're tired."

Ife rolled her eyes.

"Lily."

"Tell them you don't want to go."

"Lily."

"Tell them church isn't exactly your favorite place right now."

Ife threw another pillow.

"Do you want my mother to faint?"

"She'll survive."

"My father won't."

"He'll survive too."

Ife folded her arms.

"You know that's not possible."

Lily sighed.

She did know.

Ife's parents adored her.

Their perfect daughter.

Their responsible daughter.

The successful businesswoman making them proud.

The daughter they prayed over every day.

The daughter they thought they knew.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Then Ife grabbed a dress from Lily's wardrobe and threw it at her.

"Wear this."

Lily dropped it on the floor.

"No."

"Wear it."

"No."

"We're going."

"No."

"You owe me."

"For what?"

"For friendship."

Lily gasped.

"Emotional manipulation."

"Whatever works."

Eventually, after thirty minutes of arguing, threatening, negotiating and emotional blackmail, Lily found herself dressed and sitting in Ife's car.

Still annoyed.

Still sleepy.

Still plotting revenge.

"So where are we going?" she asked.

Ife shrugged.

"The church close to the house."

"That's how you choose churches?"

"Today? Yes."

"You don't care about denomination?"

"No."

"Theology?"

"No."

"The pastor?"

"No."

Lily shook her head.

"God help you."

"That's literally where we're going."

A few minutes later, they pulled into the church compound.

Ife smiled.

"Perfect."

"What?"

"It's close."

Lily looked around.

The church was barely ten minutes from their apartment.

"Good."

"Why?"

"The faster we finish, the faster I get back to bed."

Ife laughed.

They stepped out of the car and headed inside.

Lily had no expectations.

No interest.

No intention of paying attention.

She was simply there to help Ife maintain the image of a good pastor's daughter.

Nothing more.

Then the service started.

And eventually...

The pastor walked onto the altar.

Back in the hospital room, Lily blinked.

The memory faded.

The beeping monitor returned.

The white walls returned.

The smell of antiseptic returned.

And somehow, so did his voice.

"God has not abandoned you."

Lily closed her eyes.

For the life of her, she couldn't understand why those words bothered her so much.

Maybe because a part of her wanted to believe them.

And that was far more frightening than admitting she was angry.

Across the room, Ife stirred in her sleep.

Lily glanced at her and sighed.

Then she looked away.

Trying—and failing—to stop thinking about Pastor Joshua.