Chapter 25 Theo
Theo
Theo stood on the flower-trimmed front walk, a tray of coffee in one hand, tail between his legs.
Humboldt Park in late morning still had a sleepy hum to it: the distant hiss of a bus, the rattle of someone’s recycling bin being dragged to the curb.
Nate and Sammy’s place was the kind of sturdy, two-story brick house that looked similar to the other mid-century homes on W.
Hirsch Street: fresh white trim around the porch windows, a couple of bikes leaned against the railing.
Through the side gate, he could just make out the glint of a large gas grill in the backyard.
He’d waited a full day after his conference to make this trip to their house. Instead of replying to Nate’s text, he spent Monday taking a deep dive into everything listeners were saying about him.
The panelist, Gary, was no help.
When people reported “drama” at Bloomington/Normal’s HorrorCon, Gary had jumped into the comments like gasoline on a fire.
He mocked the whole thing, tossing snide one-liners, trying to turn it into yet another genre-war debate.
In other corners, the talk got uglier, mutating into the usual incel-flavored racism and misogyny.
Theo’s hands had itched to respond. To call out the hypocrisy. To defend himself, and writers like Maya, who were literally minding their own business.
But he knew better.
Feeding the trolls only made them hungrier, and worse, that hate would spill into her world. He didn’t need these freaks harassing her.
So he stewed in his apartment, put off contacting Maya, and focused on preparing for this moment: Ringing Nate’s doorbell.
Thankfully, it wasn’t Nate who answered.
The door swung open and Quenton appeared, all gangly legs and bedhead, still wearing pajama pants covered in cartoon sharks. “Uncle Theo!”
Theo crouched down automatically, relieved at the sight of him. “Hey, kiddo. You gonna let me in?”
Quenton grinned and stepped aside. For one half-second, Theo considered just hanging out with the six-year-old, maybe building a pillow fort in the living room until Sammy could smooth the way.
Before he could make that his actual plan, Sammy appeared in the hallway, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “No, you can’t hide behind my child,” she said with a knowing look.
Theo stood, offering the coffee like it was a diplomatic gift. “For you.”
She took a cup, smirking. “Nate’s in the backyard. Something about fixing the shed before winter.”
Theo frowned. “But it’s… June?”
“That’s what your friend does when he’s sorting big feelings,” she said with a chuckle. “Maybe don’t start with a joke.”
Theo glanced toward the back of the house, the faint sound of hammering coming through the open kitchen window. “Right. Cautious. Got it.”
“I’ve tried talking to him,” she said with a shrug. “Hopefully, that helped?”
Theo managed a tight nod as he walked to the back patio door.
When he stepped outside, he found Nate by the shed, already sweating through his t-shirt, a line of focus cut deep into his brow as he drove another nail into place.
Theo shut the door behind him.
Nate didn’t look up.
“Need any help?” he called out.
His friend stopped hammering long enough to glance over his shoulder. “Man, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, I just came out here to build shit.”
Theo cracked a small smile and started toward him. “Therapeutic construction?”
“Something like that,” Nate said, setting the hammer down on the workbench. “Keeps me from doom-scrolling before noon.”
The sarcasm was biting enough for Theo to feel the anger underneath it.
“That’s fair…”
Nate wiped his hands on his gym shorts, then turned fully to face him. “So… how long have you been in love with my sister?”
Oh, we’re diving right into it…
Theo blinked, his mouth opening, closing, then opening again. “That’s… not what I thought you were gonna lead with.”
Nate crossed his arms, expression unreadable. “I could’ve started with the clip, but honestly? I don’t need to remember it again.”
Theo shifted his weight, eyes darting to the half-repaired shed like maybe it could offer an escape. “Your sister is a client. She needed a narrator and accidentally reached out to me. I offered to help her.”
“That’s not what I asked. How long have you been in love with her?”
Theo exhaled slowly. “I don’t know how to answer that.”
Nate just waited silently, giving him the same look that had made Theo nervous when he’d accidentally spilled soda on his chemistry textbook.
“It’s too soon to call what I feel for her… love. But I’ve had a crush on Maya for years, and I care about her a lot.”
Nate frowned. “Years? You hardly saw her when we were kids. She was already in college.”
Theo shrugged one shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. I saw enough to know she was smart, funny, and way out of my league. And later, after I moved away, I still heard about her from you, saw her stuff online. Crushes don’t always need daily contact to stick.”
Nate studied him for a long moment, like he was weighing the truth of that. “And now?”
“Now,” Theo said quietly, “I’m working with her, and she’s an incredible woman.”
He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck before continuing.
“I’m currently trying to figure out if we can keep working together without ruining the good thing we’ve got… and without making you hate me in the process.”
Nate’s mouth twitched. “You think I hate you?”
Theo shrugged, eyes dropping briefly to the grass. “I think it’s a possibility. You’ve known me a long time, but you’ve known her your whole life. And if this goes sideways…” He let the sentence hang, the unfinished thought heavier than anything he could say out loud.
Nate shifted his weight, glancing back toward the shed before looking Theo dead in the eye. “I don’t hate you. But if I had to judge by that clip, you two sound like you’re in a relationship. Something I don’t really want to think about…” He gave a shudder. “You’re lucky that Sammy talked me down.”
Theo raised a brow. “Yeah?”
Nate blew out a sigh. “My wife reminded me that I’m not supposed to be a third-wheel in a DudeBro’s relationship.”
“Right,” he said with a nod, silently thanking Sammy.
“It’s just… the thing with her ex was a mess,” Nate explained. “I don’t think my parents realize this, but she wanted to marry that asshole.” He shook his head like he still couldn’t believe it. “So when she finally walked away, it fucked her up for a while.”
Theo rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m not him, Nate.”
“I know,” Nate said. “You’re my best friend, and she’s my sister. If this gets messy, I’m in the middle. I don’t want to be in the middle.”
Theo nodded slowly. “I get that. And I’m not looking to make things messy. I care about her, Nate, more than I’ve cared about anyone in a long time. She’s smart, she’s funny, gorgeous—”
“Ah ah ah! None of that…”
Theo laughed. “I like being around her. A lot. I wouldn’t be pursuing this unless I knew I was sure. At thirty, I feel stable and mature enough to invite someone like Maya in my life. I also think I could add to hers if she’ll let me.”
Nate’s gaze stayed steady, measuring him. “So this is bigger than the book, huh?”
“It is,” Theo said. “I’m not trying to rush anything, but I’m also not pretending there’s nothing there.”
Nate studied him for a few seconds longer, then blew out a breath. “Alright, alright, thank you for the assurance, but this speech is probably something you should be saving for her.”
Theo smirked. “Fair.”
Nate shifted his weight, his gaze to the ground before coming back to Theo. “And… look, we should probably talk about the media lab thing for next year.”
Theo’s stomach tightened. “Right. The lab.”
“I set that up because I knew you’d be a good fit, not because you needed the job. But if this audiobook turns into a thing, even just with the staff talking, I can’t have it getting weird. School administrators, parents—they’re just moving different these days.”
Theo nodded slowly. “I get it. You don’t want to vouch for me and have it blow back on you.”
“Right. It’s not about your skills. Shit, I know you can run that space with your eyes closed. But high school kids don’t need to be whispering about some viral clip, you know?”
“Maybe we should stick a pin in it?”
“I’m sorry, man,” Nate said. “But yeah, we should. At least until you figure things out with Maya and the book. Who knows? You might have found another career avenue.”
Theo’s face went hot. “I don’t know about that…”
Nate laughed. “I saw the post before she deleted it. Your fanbase is about to double, my friend.”
Before Theo could answer, the back door banged open and Quenton came flying across the yard, still in pajamas, with a plastic shark clutched in one hand. “Uncle Theo! Look! He can bite your arm off!”
“Oh yeah?” He immediately scooped the boy from the ground and tossed him into the air. “What kind of shark is that?”
Quenton couldn’t answer through his squeals.
“You know how you could make this up to me?” Nate asked, watching his son fly through the air.
Theo tossed the child again. “How?”
“Practice on a younger audience by giving this one a PG ghost story.”
He caught his friend’s smirk and grinned back. “Deal.”
The name Maya hadn’t come up again, but it lingered in the back of Theo’s mind, sharp, unresolved, and looming.
He still hadn’t talked to her.
Hadn’t set up a time to continue the book.
Hadn’t figured out what he’d say if she picked up the phone.
He let Quenton’s toy shark chomp down on his chin, making the boy shriek with laughter.
If he was lucky, he hadn’t ruined everything.
If not...
He didn’t finish the thought.