Page 43 of Meet Me at the Metro (Gildenhill #1)

43

THE FINAL ACT

E L L I E

“ R UN!”

I don’t have time to contemplate Theo’s orders before his hands shove me forward, pushing me back through the doors of the administration building. There’s so much force behind the action it knocks the wind out of me. My feet stumble over each other as his broad hands press into my back, propelling me forward to the cobblestone sidewalk outside. I start to trip the second the chill night air hits my skin, but he catches me. His fingers clutch onto the collar of my jacket while one of his arms wraps around my midsection, and he yanks me upright again.

My phone slips from my coat pocket and clatters onto the pavement, but there’s no time to grab it as Theo pushes me forward.

Fear lances through my chest as we race through the courtyard, advising me not to stop—not dare to look back.

“ What is going on?” My words are breathless and trembling.

“Just run!”

Theo seizes my wrist and yanks my body in front of his just as the ground beside us explodes. I scream at the startling bang of the gun as grass and dirt go flying everywhere.

“Kimberley! Don’t fucking shoot at her!” John screams behind us.

“Then, help me catch them! If not, she’s dead! ”

I don’t have time to contemplate everything that’s happening. All I know to do is follow Theo’s wordless demands as he forcefully steers me toward a long, narrow outside corridor. Our swift, heavy footsteps ricochet off the concrete as we run past the columns lining the elongated veranda. We search the school grounds, seeking refuge, but turn after turn—corner after corner—we wind up short. We bolt for doors and entryways as they arise, but each one we come across ends up being a disappointment—locked tight for the night.

My lungs are burning for oxygen, begging me to slow down and give them a rest, but I know doing so would be detrimental. Kimberley and John’s footfalls are approaching quickly, promising to seize us if we stop for even a moment, so we don’t.

Theo’s rushing us toward the next door, the veins in his forehead protruding as he vigorously works to wrench it open. I join the effort, grunting with exhaustion as we desperately tug, pull, and heave against it.

Theo relinquishes a frustrated growl. “Come on, dammit! Come on, come on, come on! ”

“There’s no use in running!”

Kimberley’s lilting shout is a sickening reminder of our dwindling efforts. Theo’s eyes slice over to mine, and his brows furrow with worry. I’m panting as I try to formulate our options, my head scrambling to figure out where we could go—where we could hide .

“The theater! The theater, Theo! ”

He does not hesitate when he grabs my hand and races for the other side of campus. It was an exhausting effort to keep up with him; his long legs carried him much farther than mine were capable of carrying me. I trip several times as I fight to stay at his side, but every time, he’s right there, catching me before my knees hit the ground.

“We’re almost there, Nora!” His head darts back and forth between me and the two-storied brick auditorium approaching ahead, ensuring I’m still with him every sprinted step of the way. “Almost there, baby! Come on. We’re almost there! ”

Theo’s hand only leaves mine for a second as he shoves open the metal doors of the building and forces me inside. We turn to slam them shut.

“We’ve got to hide,” Theo insists, dragging me through the desolate lobby and pulling me toward the auditorium.

We race through the red velvet rows of chairs, weaving in and out of them as we bolt for the stage. My adrenaline is the only thing keeping my body moving. It feels like we’ve been running for miles, and with the expanse of campus, I don’t doubt that we have. We are both utterly exhausted, our lungs gasping for air and our hearts pumping so vigorously that I can feel Theo’s pulse beating in his hand holding mine. Neither of us let our exhaustion slow us, though. We keep moving because we both know that our lives depend on it.

“Why the hell was John with her? What the hell is happening?”

“He’s working with her.”

“ What?”

“She wants me dead, and John wants you, so she recruited him to come after me.”

“But he shot Harvey. ”

“ He intended to shoot me.”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was slowly losing my sanity. Why the hell would Kimberley want Theo dead?

Her stepson... Her own family...

A wave of nausea rolls over me so fiercely that I stagger as Theo hauls me up the stairs leading up to the stage. The sound of the doors swinging open in the lobby cuts through the air as we slip behind its high, crimson curtains. We scramble behind a half-completed set piece backstage, collapsing beneath the shadows it provides as the echo of footsteps enters the auditorium.

Theo draws my body tightly against his as we hide, our chests heaving for air.

Our time is running out; I can sense it dwindling with every frantic beat of my heart.

It’s why I find the urge to tell Theo, “It was her—the fraud on campus.” It’s an effort to get out the words between my overwrought breaths. I fetch the bank slips from my pocket and quickly draw them out for him to see beneath the tiny thread of light seeping backstage. “She’s been embezzling money.”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “What the fuck…”

“Come out, come out!”

Theo and I go as still as ice at Kimberley’s voice.

His arms tighten around me, scooting me further back into the shelter of the large stage prop. I hope we are well enough hidden, especially as the gentle sway of the stage curtains catches my eye. I hoped that John or her didn’t notice the subtle movements.

The steady click of heels grows closer, and I shakily whisper, “Call the cops, Theo. ”

“My phone’s broken.”

I wished it was a joke, but Theo glances over at me, forehead wrinkled with distress, and I understand it’s not.

“I suggest you two start showing yourselves before I release John on a goose chase that winds up with the both of you dead.”

I can’t believe our luck, can’t believe that we've cornered ourselves without a visible way out or means to call for help. I have a sinking feeling that our refuge will only keep us hidden for so long.

“What do we do then? W-we’re trapped. ”

Theo grabs my face between his palms, urging me to look at him. “I’m not letting you get hurt. You understand? I’m going to go and distract them, and you’re going to run. Alright?”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m leaving you. Actually fucking crazy, Theo.”

“ We’re running out of options. I promised you I’d keep you safe. ”

“I’m not leaving you. I won’t do it. ”

“Eleanor, please!” John calls from the vacant audience beyond. “I don’t want to see you hurt. Please, just listen to her and come out.”

Theo goes to rise on his knees, but I grip his wrist and pull him back down.

“ Nora , ” he reprimands.

“We are not splitting up. ”

Theo stares down at me for a long, sustained moment, an abundance of conflict written in his eyes and contorting his expression. I can tell how much he hates that I'm not listening, and I can see how much pain it causes him that I'm refusing to flee for help without him, but I don’t care.

I can’t care. Not when his life is at stake.

An abrupt clicking fills the air, and I’m horrified as I watch the velvet curtains begin to part, flooding the stage with spotlights that Kimberley must have found a way to turn on. We’re stolen from our safe refuge as our hiding place is shrouded in warm, golden light.

Theo and I scramble to our feet.

Kimberley casually sits in the front row of the auditorium as if waiting for us to take our starting marks. I’m unsure if she can see us from where we’re standing, but I can see her.

“Oh, come on, Ellie. Don’t tell me you’ve got stage fright!”

Kimberley’s snarky remark has my blood boiling. She speaks as if this is some game between us, and if she thinks I’ll comply and happily play along, she is dead wrong. As if he knows I’m tempted to speak, Theo clamps a hand around my mouth.

“I should let you two know I’m more than willing to stay here all night if necessary. So the longer you hide, staying hidden and scared—”

“You’re the one who should be scared! You’re about to be rotting your life away in a cell,” Theo snarls, pulling us to a different spot further backstage.

“Is that so?” Kimberley laughs— actually laughs —as though the proposition entertains her. “No, boy , I’m about to spend my life in absolute luxury.”

“Is that what you told yourself when you stole all that money from the school?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy, now,” Theo fires back. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Don’t try to rile me up, Theo. I’m losing patience.”

“You know what I think the police will be interested in finding out? What you would need ￡50,000 for, Kimberley. ”

“They’re not going to find out anything that would prompt them to ask,” she seethes, tightening her grip around the weapon in her hand. “They’ll be too busy investigating what’s left of you two.”

John’s face is drained of color as he steps by her side. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her, Kimberley!”

“So long as you obeyed. NOW GET THEM!”

Theo seizes my hand the very second John bounds for the stage, yanking me with him as he races us toward the other side.

The terrifying crack of the pistol fills the air when we reach the middle, and we lurch away from the gunfire in the knick of time. My ears are ringing as our feet stagger to gain balance.

Just as I find a sense of equilibrium again, a hand tightly wraps around my ankle and jerks me backward. It all happens so fast that I don’t have time to process the pain of my body hitting the floor.

I let out a frustrated shout—one that’s been brewing for months—and kick... and kick... and kick... and kick… until John’s grip finally loosens against me.

He’s groaning with pain as Theo hauls me off the floor, but I don’t spare a glance back to see the damage I left behind. I don’t need to look to know that I fucked him up. I knew it the moment my foot made that final, crunching impact.

Theo and I barely reach backstage safely before the third deafening shot rings through the air.

We’re greeted with rows upon rows of costumes as we dash beyond the curtains on this side. We duck as we move along the colorful array of shimmering fabrics, fighting to remain hidden. Kimberley’s footfalls echo along the stage, and we quickly lower ourselves to the floor.

Frozen in shock, we watch through the narrow slits between the hanging clothing as Kim reaches John’s laid-out body in the middle. He’s moaning and clutching his bloodied face as he looks up at her. There’s nothing but disdain in Kimberley’s eyes as she aims the gun down at him, and my erratic heartbeat grows wilder.

He holds up his hands in surrender. “P-p-please.”

“Ugh , you're so pathetic , ” she sighs, rolling her eyes. “I’m saving you for later.”

Then, without stalling, she strikes his head with the butt of the pistol, knocking him out cold. The sound of the impact and the thud of his body meeting the floor has me gasping.

Theo’s breaths are heavy beside me, choppy and uneven. When I glance over, he’s clutching his upper thigh, bright red seeping between his fingers. Icy, relentless dread rushes through my veins as my trembling hands pry his away and find the bullet wound underneath.

“Oh, my God. Y-y-you’re shot ,” I whimper. My hands tremble as I quickly press them over his and apply more pressure.

“I’m alright. I’m f-fine. ”

“You’re not fine.”

The words are agonizing to admit, and tears prick my eyes as I consider the severity of our situation. Every fleeting second has my hope waning, but I reach out for the slither of it that’s left, refusing to give up.

“I’m getting rather bored of this chase, you know!” Kimberley shouts, only feet away now.

I frantically search our surroundings to find a way for us to survive this. There has to be a way… there has to be something that could—

I catch sight of the object mounted on the wall ahead and immediately know what to do. “I’m ending this, Theo.”

“ Nora, please, ” he respires, pain lacing his words.

“I love you,” I tell him, nerves racing. “ So much .”

He goes to grab me, but I move from his reach. “Please, baby . Don't.”

“Let’s make this easy, shall we?” Kimberley taunts, her shadow looming closer.

I don’t wait for it to reach us.

I leap from the floor and race for the fire alarm ahead.

“What would be the fun in that, Kimberley?!” I shout, purposefully drawing her attention away from Theo.

I yank down the lever, and the alarm blares, wailing so loudly that I can feel the ground beneath my feet vibrating with its sound. White, flashing light enshrouds the entire theater as the constant, piercing siren reverberates through the vast building.

“You cunt!” Kimberley screams, launching straight for me .

I sprint toward the audience to keep Kimberley as far away from Theo as possible, but I don’t get far before she snatches my hair from behind and yanks me back. I shriek as she throws her arm around my neck and captures me in a tight chokehold.

Theo winces with discomfort as he staggers for me. “ Let her go!”

I cough as she squeezes my windpipe harder and drags me back toward center stage. Theo only stops pursuing me when a chill metal connects with the temple of my forehead.

“One more step, and you’ll watch this bullet go straight through her head.”

Theo’s chest hitches at the threat, and his eyes grow dark. “ Hurt her, and I’ll fucking ruin you .”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Nothing good will come of any of this, Kim! You won’t be able to walk away from it.”

“Sure, I will. There won’t be anyone left here to blame but John and it’s all thanks to sweet, sweet Ellie.” She draws her mouth to my ear and whispers, “ You have no idea how much you’ve helped me in all this. ”

“Fuck you,” I grit through clenched teeth, jerking my head away.

“Careful, girl . Let’s not make things messy .”

“Things are already messy! Why are you doing this?!” I only ask the question to grant myself more time—produce a distraction.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she snarls.

“ Money? Is that it? Is this what it’s all for?”

“You make it sound so vain when you say it like that,” she tuts, pulling us back another agonizing step. “It’s more than that for me. It’s peace of mind. It’s comfort and security. It’s a brighter future for the life I’ve been dealt.”

“A future without Theo! Why would you kill your own stepson to get that? It doesn’t make any sense!”

“It makes perfect sense. He wants nothing to do with our family anymore, so why should I care about what happens to him? Besides, he dies, and I’ll inherit everything his father left him. And I’ll use every penny of it to give Connor and me the life we deserve.”

“You’re sick, Kimberley! Connor will hate you for this! ”

That earns me another suffocating squeeze against my neck. I gasp for air as the alarms continue blaring around us, fighting for breath as we desperately wait for help to come.

“So that's what you wanted Dad's piano for, then? For the fucking money?” Theo interjects. There’s worry written in his eyes, but he maintains an unperturbed composure and fights to mask the pain I'm sure he's experiencing. “Thought you could get your greedy hands on it to sell it?”

“Why wouldn't I?!” I hear her molars grind together. “I hate that fucking piano.”

The mention of Theo’s dad hit a nerve. It’s enough of a distraction to grant us more time.

“Why?” Theo prods.

“Because it’s a reminder of him! It’s a reminder of everything I’ve lost!”

“You think getting rid of it would make anything better? That it’d do anything to erase his memory? No amount of money can make any of what’s happened better. He’s fucking stained on us!”

“He’s stained on you!” She goes utterly silent as she fixes her gaze on Theo, assessing him meticulously. Her eyes linger on his face for an unsettling amount of time. “And you know what makes me sick? How much you’ve grown to look just like him.”

My breathing is rapid as she slowly lowers the gun from my head, but I don’t dare move— not yet.

“Maybe you’re right, Theo. Maybe none of this will change a damn thing. Maybe there’s nothing I can do to erase his memory and stop all this pain. Maybe all the renovations, clothes, and money won’t help numb any of it. Maybe getting rid of you won't help either...”

“It won’t,” Theo growls.

She shrugs. “But maybe it will.”

I ram into Kimberley the second she starts to move to aim the pistol at Theo, knocking her down.

The fourth shot slices through the air as I fall on top of her, wrestling her writhing body as I fight to get the weapon out of her hands. Kimberley thrashes and kicks at me, but I don’t yield, even as we take turns pulling and tugging at the gun. Even as it twists between our hands and the barrel aligns on me. Even as she shoves me off of her and rolls over the top of me, regaining power as she pins me to the floor.

“Tell me,” she snarls, the veins in her forehead protruding as she strains against me. “Was he really worth it, Ellie? Your life?”

I grunt as she presses the tip beneath my chin, driving it into my skin. I wince at the pain that stems from the forceful impact but don’t stop fighting. I refused to relent to her. I refused to allow her to aim that gun at Theo one more time.

I push her body away from mine as far as my fatigued arms will allow me to, granting myself inches of space from the weapon.

“He’s worth every fucking breath.”

My elbow connects with her face a second before the doors to the theater burst open and flood with flashing blue and white lights. Kimberley’s head whips toward them as hordes of firefighters and police officers rush into the auditorium.

I use the abrupt interruption to my advantage and rear my leg up and back, kicking Kimberley off me.

“ ARMED POLICE! DROP THE GUN NOW!”

The authorities stream down the crimson-carpeted floors of the audience, bracketing the rows on each side to block every exit Kimberley might have had of escaping.

“DROP THE GUN NOW, OR I WILL FIRE!”

The blunt threat has Kim obeying. She drops the gun, and it clatters loudly against the floor as another wave of officers storms into the auditorium.

“ON YOUR KNEES! HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD!”

I scramble to my feet at the peak of their warnings and rush to where I last saw Theo.

I find him immediately, sprawled out along the floor—chest barely rising.

I fall to my knees beside his limp body and scoop him into my arms, every one of my limbs trembling.

“No. No, no, no, no, no, no...”

Theo moans as I pull his body closer. The ring of bright red seeping through his shirt gives me an indication of where he’s been shot this time. I cover the bleeding wound in his lower abdomen hastily, applying pressure.

“Help! Someone help, please!” I wail over the commotion all around. “He’s shot! He’s hurt!”

My jaw trembles as I behold him, the claws of unconsciousness slowly dragging him away for me.

“ Come on, Theo! Theo, please!” I shake him until his heavy lids flutter open again. The second they do, his eyes settle on mine, and I cry with relief. “Stay awake, alright? Okay, Theo? Alright?”

The thunder of feet grows louder as a multitude of officers rush to the stage, but I don’t let them divert my attention away from Theo. Even as Kimberley’s shrill cry fills the air when they tackle her to the ground. Even during the eruption of uproar when they crowd around John’s unconscious body on the stage and piece together who he is. Even as they rush our way and work on calling an ambulance to the scene.

Theo’s eyes blink rapidly, growing heavier alongside his labored breaths, but I keep shaking him awake—keep talking and patting at his high cheekbones to keep him from slipping into sleep.

“I-I-I’m sorry, Nora.”

The sound of his voice—so faded and weak—has me crying harder. “What are you sorry for? You have nothing to be sorry about, okay? Don’t say that.”

“I promised you I’d”— he winces as he speaks, his face scrunching beneath the pain —“I’d keep you safe.”

“Stop, Theo. No sorrys, okay? Just focus on me. You’re going to be alright. Y-you—”

“ I love you,” he breathes, face growing a sickly pale.

I hate the finality laced in his words.

“I love you more. Focus on me, Teddy. Keep awake, okay?”

He cracks a faint, weak smile as he hones in on the features of my face, fulfilling my simple request.

“H-have you thought about it?” he asks, his voice far away. “About staying? ”

“Yes,” I confess, a strangled laugh escaping my throat between my sobs. I stroke his dark, golden hair away from his clammy forehead and work on keeping him conscious. “Of course, I have.”

“Will you?”

“Yes. I’ll stay, okay? I’ll stay, so you have to do the same, alright? You’ve got to promise to stay with me. Stay with me, Theo.”

“Okay,” he mumbles sleepily, eyes threatening to close. “N-Nora. Promise me…”

“Anything.”

“Promise me you won’t leave me.”

“I’m not leaving you. I’m staying right here. Okay... alright?”

So much love strings the two of us together, and I can't bring myself to imagine its existence. I can’t bear the thought of losing him—I can’t consider the pain it would cause me. So I make a promise immediately, offering him everything I can to keep him fighting.

“I’ll stay, Teddy .”