Page 32 of Meet Me at the Metro (Gildenhill #1)

32

STEPbrOTHERS

E L L I E

M y heart is thundering in my chest as I so quickly identify the person standing within the threshold of the dining room.

Connor.

Connor is Theo’s step-brother.

My palms go sweaty at the revelation, but I do my best to maintain an unbothered composure because I can feel Theo’s eyes pinned on me, and I have absolutely no idea how to go about this.

Thoughts swirl through my mind in a raging whirlwind.

How have I gone these past few months being around the two of them and not pieced all of this together?

My gaze locks onto Connor’s dark brown eyes for a beat too long, and my stomach twists into furious knots. As a tense silence settles over the room, I find myself comparing him and Kimberley’s features. With every second that passes, I find their undeniable similarities growing more and more evident. I swallow the lump that’s suddenly formed in my throat and force myself to blink, and finally look away.

Theo’s hand squeezes mine. I hate how my heart begins to race at the gesture and how I can’t seem to bring myself to look him in the eye right now.

Kimberley must notice the recognition in Connor’s and my eyes because she motions a manicured finger between us. “You two… know each other?”

Theo straightens beside me—back stiffening .

“Uhh, y-yeah,” Connor timidly answers. “We do.”

His eyes search mine for permission to explain our acquaintance further, but I’m too riddled with anxiety about how Theo is going to take me being best friends with his estranged brother to find it in me to say or do anything at all .

How do I make Theo believe I truly had no inkling of this bizarre coincidence between the three of us?

“Ellie’s the one I’ve been giving piano lessons to.”

Theo coughs on his glass of wine beside me.

Connor gives him a wary look. “We’ve, umm —become really good friends.”

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Piano lessons?” Theo looks me dead in the eyes, and my whole mouth goes dry.

His wine glass meets the table with a forceful thud,and Connor tentatively shifts in the doorway. I can feel both of the brothers’ eyes boring into me as if I have an answer for either one of them.

“What a pleasant coincidence,” Kimberley says, either completely oblivious to the tension brewing inside the house or simply uninterested in it. She pats the seat beside her for Connor to take. “Well, come on then. Join us, will you?”

“I-I’m actually not that hungry, Mum.”

“Don’t be rude, Conn. Join us. We were just talking about the spring production.”

Connor nods tersely and sits beside his mom, careful not to look Theo directly in the eye as he does so.

Beside me, Theo’s glaring down at the plate in front of him as if it’s spoken as an insult.

A suffocating silence blankets the room for several agonizing moments before Connor clears his throat and attempts to converse casually. “You find a good monologue to audition with yet?”

“Not yet,” I answer, my voice strained. “I’ve got it narrowed down to three, though. ”

“We were trying to convince Theo to audition for the orchestra,” Kim interjects.

“Oh, really?” Connor busies himself to gather his plate of food. “That’d be cool.”

Theo scoffs, “ Cool .”

Connor stiffens and finally brings his dark eyes to look at his stepbrother. “Something the matter?”

“ Nah . Just wouldn’t want to intrude on you and Nora’s quality friendship time.”

“You wouldn’t be intruding on anything,” I retort, slightly annoyed.

He’s trying to bring up things I believed were well past us. I’d rather he not stir the pot that’s already simmering with dinner’s newest arrival.

Connor takes a passive-aggressive jab at the meat on his plate. “Ellie’s right. We get plenty of time together as is, between classes and piano lessons. Plus, the more the merrier, right?”

Mother fuc —

“Piano lessons, right ,” Theo derides. “Nearly forgot about those. I mean, if you would even consider those lessons.”

Connor’s lips tighten into a serious expression.

“Theo,” I breathe.

“You know, I’d love to hear more about them, Connor. I’ve heard you have quite an inclusive take on them.”

I kick his foot beneath the table, silently begging him to stop.

Please don’t do this here.

Connor narrows his eyes and shrugs. “Not sure what you mean.”

“Oh, I think you know what I mean.”

I could scream.

“Kim,” I interject, abruptly ending their heated conversation. “Theo told me that you and his dad met at Gildenhill . I take it you’ve been there for a while now?”

She hesitantly glances between the two young men at the table before offering me an answer .

“I have. He gave me a tour around the campus on my first day there. That was about fifteen years ago, but some days it feels just like yesterday.”

Those final words are laced with grief, so I try to bring some light-heartedness back into the room. “He stole your heart away the second you heard him play the piano, didn’t he?”

I remember how I felt the first time I heard Theo play— Charmed . Captivated .

However, I can’t help but notice the frown still lingering on Kim’s face. “He did. I loved hearing him play— watching him play.”

A prolonged, reminiscing silence settles around the room. I can feel the years of hurt lingering within the walls of this house. It’s like an agony that resists being forgotten despite all of the renovations that have been made inside.

Pretty distractions .

“Speaking of,” Kimberley asserts. “I wanted to talk to you about something, Theo.”

His brows lift. “About?”

“About your dad’s piano.”

Theo stiffens and grits his teeth. “What about it?”

Kim takes a deep breath. “I just—when I walked in on you playing it the other day, it got me thinking. It’s been sitting in that dreadful music room for years now—”

“Until I buy a place with enough space for it.”

“I–I know. I just thought that maybe, in the meantime, I could put it in storage for you. Keep it safe .”

“Mum.” Connor nudges her as if he knows just how sacred that piano is to Theo and how risky of a conversation she’s treading into.

“Fuck no. Dad left that for me. It’s mine.”

Dad left that for me.

The sound of desperation behind those words brings the most heartbreaking ache to my chest.

“I know it’s yours,” Kim starts, her tone growing harsher. “I just thought— ”

“ Thought what? You needed something else from him for yourself. Was the house not enough? Or the life insurance?”

“You know you’ll get his inheritance when you graduate.”

“I don’t give a damn about it. I don’t care about the fucking money. He left you with so much, but I guess it wasn’t enough to satiate your needs, was it?”

Kimberley flinches. “That’s not what I’m saying, Theo. I just thought that maybe you’d like his piano to be in a safe place rather than out in the open for the whole campus body to put their hands on. That’s all I meant for this conversation to be about.”

The legs of Theo’s chair scratch against the hardwood floor as he straightens in it. I grip his thigh, desperate to break through the veil of anger falling over him.

“It hasn’t been a fucking issue in the last 10 years that it’s been there, so I’m not sure why you’re suddenly interested in it now?”

“Watch your tone, Theo,” Connor snaps protectively.

“ Watch your mouth ,” Theo growls.

It’s clear that the statement has two meanings.

I glance between the three people sitting around the dinner table.

Mother. Son. Stepson .

This entire night has so quickly turned to turmoil.

“Let’s just calm down, Theo,” Kimberley sighs, subtly rolling her eyes.

“Calm down?” he scoffs. “I’ve been as calm as I can possibly be given my current circumstances, Kim. What the hell are you wanting Dad’s piano for, huh?”

“ Watch. Your. Tone .” Connor snaps again.

“It’s always going to be this, isn’t it?” Theo snarls, rising from the table. I try to grab him as he stands, but he slips his arm away from my grasp. “It’s always going to be you two and then me. And you know what? Thinking about it now, it’s been that way the second Dad died. And now you both want to try and steal away the only piece of him I’ve got left.”

“We’re not trying to steal away anythi—”

“You two are a piece of fucking work. ”

“No, you are,” Connor argues, raising his voice. “You’re the one who’s pushed us away. We tried being there for you. I tried being there for you! And what did you do? You pushed me away. Shut me out.”

“I did what I needed to do to cope.”

“Yeah, and what about now, Theo? Still coping? Because you’re doing the same thing you’ve always done—pushing us away. That’s the sad part. You won’t ever change your ways. You’re still that lost and angry boy you became 10 years ago, who wants to fester in his grief and force out anyone in his life that actually cares about him.”

“Fuck you!” Theo growls, his fingernails digging into the denim covering his thighs.

“No, fuck you!” Connor pushes up from his chair and makes the whole table shake. I steady the wobbling glass in front of me, my pulse hammering. “Do you think you were the only one that lost him that day? He was my dad, too! You always blame everyone else but never take accountability for yourself and how you went about things after everything that happened.”

“Speak for your fucking self. Have you ever taken any accountability?”

There’s a meaning behind Theo’s words that I’m not entirely sure I want to decipher right now.

“Please stop, guys,” I beg.

Connor looks me over. “This is what you’ll get with him, Ellie. He’ll let you get close until he decides that you’re too much for him to handle on top of his own shit, and he’ll shut you out. He’ll ghost you.”

The sting of those words burns deep in my chest.

Theo's gaze hardens as it settles on Connor. “I’ll never consider you family again.”

Kim tentatively rises from her seat. “Boys, please.”

Connor ignores his mom entirely, too strung up with the high emotions swarming the room. “You haven’t considered me family since the day that he died. I think Dad would be disappointed in how you’ve pushed us away.”

“And I think Dad would still be here if not for you!”

“Stop blaming me for his death! ”

Before I’m even aware of what’s happening, Connor’s bolting toward him. Kimberley shuffles to try to halt her son from advancing, but he yanks away before she can get a hold of him. Theo's standing his ground, so I quickly shove up from the table to intervene. My chair crashes to the ground behind me as I hurry to the space between them.

I push them both back a few inches. “Connor. Theo. Please , just take a second and—”

My words are cut off as Theo protectively yanks me behind him just before Connor shoves his chest.Theo's firm body crashes into mine, and my feet stumble backward. He immediately turns to assess me.

“I’m okay,” I breathe.

I am burning hot with adrenaline as Theo pivots to face his stepbrother again, fists tightening as he steps forward.

“Theo. Theo, please . Look at me.” I'm surprised by how quickly he listens to my plea, and when his eyes settle on mine again, I say, “Let’s just go, okay? Please .”

“Yeah. Let’s go. ”

Without another word, Theo storms out of the dining room. Nothing but the sound of his fleeting footsteps and Connor’s ragged breathing fill the house. When Theo’s no longer visible, Kim finally releases Connor from her arms.

I swallow and give myself a moment to take in everything that just occurred before I quietly— and carefully —pick my chair off the floor and push it back under the table.

“Ellie, I’m—I’m so sorry,” Connor says softly, conjuring my eyes to look at him before I leave. His dark hair is a disheveled mess atop his head, and he looks me over with regret.

“It’s alright.”

I watch as red bleeds into the whites of his eyes—notice how they glisten under the room’s bright lights, filling with tears.

I take a quick moment to check on him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he lies hoarsely. “You should be careful, alright? I know you probably think you can save him, but he’s going to push you away eventually, and I don’t want to see you hurt by the end of all this. ”

“I never said I was trying to save him. Believe it or not, he doesn’t need saving, Connor. He’s just needed time— and patience . I’m willing to be patient. So while I appreciate your concern, honestly, what’s going on between him and me isn’t your concern.”

He swallows hard at that, blinking back the tears threatening his eyes. “Fair enough.”

“I’m sorry about tonight. I really am. I can’t imagine the weight of what you all must have gone—”

“I think it’d be best for you to leave,” Kimberley sternly interjects.

“Okay.”

I swallow my pride and head toward the door, my heart pumping so hard that I can hardly hear my footsteps against the polished hardwood floor.

I need to find Theo and make sure he’s okay.

Goosebumps trail along my skin as I step into the cool, damp night and attempt to decode the undefined meaning of everything that was said tonight. I didn’t come into this dinner thinking I’d face so many new truths. More importantly, I didn’t think I’d be ending it with such heavy, overwhelming questions.

What happened to their dad all those years ago? It had to have been something unimaginable—something so significant that it had the power to tear apart an entire family.

Tear apart, Theo .

Moving quickly along the raindrop-soaked pavement outside, I begin searching for him, hoping and praying that when I find him, he’s alright.