Chapter 52

By the time Elise arrived at school the next morning, Nora was still excited about meeting Fin. She caught Elise as soon as she came in and started talking.

“So Fin is your third brother, your oldest brother runs Whitmore Group, your second brother is Adrian Whitmore, and your fourth brother is Miles? How did you end up with that lineup? I'm so jealous!”

Nora had known Elise had four brothers. She already knew who Julian and Miles were, and she had met Adrian at sports day. Only the elusive third brother had never appeared. She would never have guessed he was Fin.

Elise glanced around and motioned for her to lower her voice. It was study period, and the students in the front rows had their heads down over their work. Nora pressed her lips together, managing to contain herself.

Elise's thoughts returned to her conversation with Julian. Her three brothers still had some complicated feelings about Theo. Miles had the least resentment: he had been young when their parents died and remembered little of that time. All he really knew was that Theo was rarely home. The two had simply had very little to do with each other, which explained Miles's coolness toward him.

Julian was willing to accept Theo back. Now Elise had to find a way to persuade Theo to come home.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Theo: What time do you get out of school?

As if he'd known she was thinking about him. She quickly typed back.

Elise: ?

Elise: Why?

A few minutes passed. Apparently unwilling to type a long answer, he sent a voice message. Fabric rustled in the background, as though he were getting dressed. Then his lazy voice came through.

“I'm picking up a kid from school.”

Elise took a deep breath. Any sympathy she'd felt for him the night before vanished.

A kid? Was he talking about her? How old did he think she was? Was there something wrong with him?

She tapped out a furious reply: I have legs and can walk by myself. No pickup needed, thanks.

Her finger hovered over Send. Then she deleted the whole thing and wrote only, Why?

She wouldn't stoop to his level. Besides, she wanted to convince him to come home; picking a fight now would be counterproductive. She was perfectly capable of seeing the bigger picture, unlike her petty third brother.

Theo: I've never picked up a kid from school. Figured I'd try it out.

Elise stared at the screen. Fine, then.

The monthly assessment was approaching, but she'd already worked through most of her practice problems. She had arranged to skateboard with Jade after school for half an hour. She could study when she got home; a short break wouldn't hold her back.

After a moment's thought, she sent Theo the time and place.

When Elise reached the plaza, he was already there. She looked around, but Jade hadn't arrived yet.

Theo sat on a set of dusty steps a short distance away, absorbed in a phone. His fingers moved rapidly across the screen. Several students in uniforms from different high schools crowded around him, some still holding basketballs, apparently having abandoned their game halfway through. They stared at the screen with a mixture of excitement and disbelief.

“Someone in the grass!”

“Behind that rock on the hill!”

Theo's fingers flashed across the phone. Before the onlookers could follow what he'd done, his kill count had gone up by two.

“Whoa! Did you see that?”

“Your recoil control is insane. You could be a pro. How do you do it? Teach me!”

“Play a round with me.”

“I was here first! Get in line!”

Theo's mouth curved slightly at their excitement. He looked pleased with himself, and more relaxed than his usual careless expression suggested.

The phone wasn't his. He'd arrived early and gotten bored, then noticed someone playing PUBG. After offering a few pointers, he'd borrowed the phone and won the player a match. He hadn't even minded sitting on the dirty steps.

Elise watched, at a loss for words. Several of the students looked familiar; they often came to the plaza. A few had even fought over the basketball court the other day. Somehow a game had brought them together.

As the group became more and more engrossed, Elise called, “Theo.”

He looked up, returned the phone to its owner, and got to his feet.

The boy blinked at him. They'd been enjoying the show. “You're stopping?”

Away from the team he trained so sternly, Theo had become almost boyish with the students. He glanced back at them. “I've shown you the basics. The rest is up to you.”

He walked over to Elise and looked her up and down in her school uniform. She looked every bit the diligent student.

“Want me to take you for something to eat?” he asked.

“I arranged to meet a classmate. We're going to skateboard for a while.” Jade would be here soon, so Elise couldn't just leave.

Theo glanced at the board by her feet. He'd assumed she'd picked it up somewhere. Was she actually going to ride it?

“Skateboarding?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I'm pretty good, too.” Elise couldn't keep a little pride out of her voice.

Theo looked doubtful. She pressed her lips together. She'd only called out to say hello; she hadn't expected him to quit his game immediately. And she still wanted to skate.

She set one foot on the board and kept the other on the ground, ready to push off. “Then I'll go play for a bit, okay? You can sit here.”

Theo caught her by the sleeve. He laughed, though he sounded annoyed. “You call me over and then leave me sitting by myself?”

He reached out and poked her dimple. The well-behaved sister he remembered had learned to be mischievous. Had she picked it up from him?

Elise tipped her head away from his hand, irritated. “I didn't mean to. How was I supposed to know you'd come straight over? I was only saying hello.”

He was the one who'd chosen to stop playing.

She rocked the board with her foot. “Besides, even if I took you along, you don't know how to skate.”

Theo caught the challenge in her voice. “You looking down on me?”

Elise said nothing. Her expression said plenty.

They stared at each other for several seconds, neither willing to look away. At last Theo laughed under his breath. She really could hold a grudge. He'd only been a little too obvious about letting her win, and now she was challenging him.

Taking advantage of his height, he rubbed her hair hard enough to mess it up. Elise turned her head away, but his hand followed.

“Go on, then,” he said, his voice softening almost imperceptibly.

She pushed his hand away and retreated several steps to a safe distance. Only then did she ask, “What about you?”

Was it really all right to leave him here alone while she played?

Theo settled back onto the steps, bracing his hands behind him and stretching out his legs. The students who'd surrounded him had already gone. He sounded a little weary and bored. “I'll play some more games.”

Elise bit her lip, nodded, and pushed off. The board carried her a long way across the plaza.

Behind her, she barely heard Theo call, “Don't go too far.”

After one circuit of the plaza, Jade still hadn't shown up. Elise took out her phone to message her and found she'd received a message several minutes earlier: something had come up, and Jade couldn't make it.

Elise sighed. She spent most of her time studying, and skating was one of her few ways to relax. It wasn't nearly as much fun alone.

She picked up her board and turned back toward Theo. She'd only taken a couple of steps when a boy in a basketball uniform approached, a ball in his hands. His gaze stayed on her; when she looked back, he lowered his head, seeming embarrassed.

She recognized him. He often played on the nearby court and was jokingly called the plaza's rebounding king. A little over six feet tall, he had an easy, sunny manner. Fashionably dressed girls gathered at the edge of the court whenever he played. Elise had heard that the love letters he'd received could fill a drawer, though nobody had seen him accept any girl.

When she stopped, he quickened his steps. Up close, the muscles in his arms showed the effects of years on the court.

“Elise Whitmore?” His voice was slightly hoarse.

She frowned. She'd stopped to hear what he wanted, but how did he know her name?

“How do you know who I am?”

Caleb Ross looked at her with bright eyes. When she met his gaze so seriously, he lowered his own. “I... asked around. Someone told me.”

“Oh. Did you need something?”

He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his head. “I've been noticing you for a long time.”

“Noticing me?”

Why? Elise grew more confused. They were clearly having very different conversations.

Caleb seemed to realize she hadn't understood. He grew anxious, his breathing quickening as his hands shifted around the basketball. He raised his voice and gathered his courage.

“What I mean is, would you be my girlfriend?”

Elise's eyes widened. Was he confessing to her? She didn't even know him.

She searched for a tactful answer. “I'm sorry. I just want to concentrate on my studies.”

The light in Caleb's eyes dimmed.

“And aren't you a year ahead of me?” she went on, frowning. “You're a senior. Your college entrance tests aren't far away. At a time like this, how can you be thinking about anything but studying?”

She barely had enough time for her own work. How could he have time to think about dating? The urge to lecture someone who wasn't paying attention to his studies came almost automatically.

His eyes lit up. “You're worried about me?”

“I won't bother you,” he said quickly. “You'd only have to talk to me once in a while. Once a day, even just a sentence or two.”

How had he turned her words into that?

This was difficult. If she was too gentle, he wouldn't understand. If she was too direct, she might hurt his pride. But gentle clearly wasn't working.

Her expression and tone cooled. “I mean I don't want to date anyone right now.”

Caleb stepped closer and bent toward her, stubbornness in his eyes. “Are you worried your homeroom adviser will find out you're dating? Don't worry, I won't let that happen. If she does find out, I'll take responsibility. I'll tell her I forced you into it on my own. Okay?”

So many girls wanted to date him. If he wanted a girlfriend, he could have one immediately. How could Elise possibly refuse him? She had to be worried about something. He took her reluctance for shyness.

Elise stepped back, putting distance between them. What was wrong with him? Couldn't he understand what she'd said?

A cold voice came from behind her.

“She already said no. Didn't you hear her?”

Elise turned. Theo was standing a short distance away, hands in his pockets. She hadn't noticed him approach. His hair was rumpled, but even with part of his face hidden beneath it, she could see how unhappy he was.

“Theo!” she called instinctively, and hurried over to his side.

Seeing her come to him without argument eased some of the chill between his brows.