Where I Belong - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

After the cookies, I felt a little lighter. Sitting with Silas, laughing at his jokes, somehow made the heaviness I'd been carrying since I got here ease up.
I stayed in the kitchen a little longer after Silas left, watching the daylight filter through the window and cast a soft glow on the worn wooden floors.
The longer I stayed here, the more it seemed like there was an invisible wall between me and the brothers I didn't really know how I was supposed to fit in.
Just as I was about to slip out of the kitchen, I heard a voice from behind me that made me freeze.
"You alright?"
I turned, still gripping the edge of the counter, and saw Elijah standing in the doorway. His soft eyes were fixed on me, his brow furrowed with concern.
"I'm fine," I answered, even though I wasn't sure if it was true. I wasn't fine. It had been a long time since I could say that without lying to myself.
Elijah didn't seem convinced. He walked in and leaned against the counter beside me, his presence warm enough that it seemed to fill the space between us. For a moment, neither of us spoke.
"Silas is a good distraction," he said finally, his voice soft. "He can always get people talking, even when they don't want to. But you know, he's not the only one who's here for you, right?"
I hesitated, glancing down at my hands. I felt exposed, though I wasn't sure why. Elijah wasn't like Zane. He didn't have that quiet intensity that made everything feel like it was being weighed and measured. Elijah was... easier.
"I'm not sure what to do with all of this," I said slowly, my voice quiet. "With all of you. I don't know how to fit back in."
His expression softened, and he took a step closer, his voice steady and kind. "You don't have to know right away. It's okay to take your time. We don't expect you to just...be 'one of us' overnight. It's gonna take time to find our rhythm, to figure out what's normal again."
"But it feels like I'm the only one who's not normal," I murmured, tracing the edge of the counter absently with my fingers. I wasn't sure if I meant it about myself or the whole situation. But that's how it felt – like I didn't belong here, not with my brothers who already had their own lives, their own way of moving through the world. I wasn't sure how to re-enter it, how to make sense of everything that had happened, or what was supposed to happen next.
Elijah's eyes softened, and he reached out – not to touch me, but to rest his hand gently on the counter, like he was offering me stability without intruding on my space. "None of us are normal, Olivia," he said with a quiet chuckle. "And that's okay. But we're here. All of us. Even when we don't know exactly what we're doing. But we're trying."
I nodded slowly, my heart aching at the kindness in his voice. It was so different from what I had grown up with. Elijah's warmth was almost foreign to me. He wasn't trying to fix me, or make me feel like I had to be something I wasn't.
"I don't know if I can be who you want me to be," I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them. It was a fear I hadn't fully voiced before. The fear that I wasn't enough, that I wasn't who they expected me to be, or who they needed me to be.
Elijah's gaze softened even more. "Olivia," he said gently, "no one's asking you to be anything but yourself. And you don't have to rush to figure it all out. We'll figure it out together. We're family. That's what family does."
For the first time since I came back, I felt a small flicker of something – hope, maybe. Or relief. Or just the quiet acceptance I'd been missing. Maybe I didn't need to have it all together. Maybe I just needed to breathe and take it one moment at a time.
Once Elijah left, I decided I needed a change of scenery. It felt too quiet in the kitchen and maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to spend some time with my brothers.
I pushed myself off the counter and made my way over to the living room. That's where I found Theo sprawled out on the sofa, remote in hand and his eyes fixed on the TV. His posture was relaxed, the kind of casual ease that made everything around him seem effortless.
I hesitated in the doorway, watching him for a moment. I wasn't sure what I was doing here. I didn't really have a plan.
Suddenly, Theo's head turned towards me, his eyes narrowing in a way which made me feel nervous. "Hey," he greeted casually, though his gaze lingered on me for a second longer than usual, like he was deciding whether I was interrupting or not. After a moment, he shifted his legs to make room. "You gonna sit, or just stand there?"
I blinked, caught off guard by his nonchalant attitude. He didn't seem uncomfortable at all, like he didn't even notice how awkward I felt just being in the same room as him.
Swallowing my nerves, I walked down and sat down a little farther away from him than I probably needed to. I didn't want to sit too close. There was something about being near Theo that made me feel self-conscious, like I didn't know how to act.
I tried to focus on the TV, but my mind kept drifting. I caught glimpses of Theo out of the corner of my eye – how relaxed he was, how easily he fit into this room, like it was his space, his world, and I was just visiting.
As if he realised I wasn't interested on what was showing on the TV, he began to flick through some channels, then tossed the remote on the coffee table and stretched his arms above his head. "You know," he said, glancing at me, "you don't have to sit so far away. You're not gonna catch anything from me."
I froze for a second, my heart skipping a beat. Did I really look that nervous?
"I-I'm not... I'm fine," I stammered, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I just...wasn't sure if you wanted me to sit next to you."
Theo raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting me to be so awkward. "Come on," he said with a soft chuckle. "I'm not gonna bite. You can chill. Seriously."
I moved a little closer, but not much. My leg brushed against his as I sat down, and I immediately regretted it, pulling back slightly. I was aware of every little movement, hyper-aware of the way my body felt too stiff, too uncomfortable, when all I wanted to do was relax.
Theo, for his part, didn't seem to notice. Or if he did, he didn't care. He just leaned back into the sofa, not looking at me but not avoiding me either. His nonchalant attitude, the way he always acted like everything was so simple, was both comforting and annoying at the same time.
"You're good," Theo said, his voice casual, as if sensing my discomfort. "Just don't overthink it, alright? We're not doing anything weird. We're just hanging out. You don't have to be all... tense."
I shifted uncomfortably, but tried to relax. He didn't seem to mind that I was nervous, that I was still figuring out how to be around them, around him. It felt strange, but kind of nice too. Like I could take my time, like I didn't have to be perfect.
"Okay," I said quietly, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach.
I shifted on the sofa, glancing over at him when he chuckled at something on the screen. I hadn't realised I was staring until he caught my eye, his grin widening. "What?" he asked, sounding amused.
"Nothing," I mumbled quickly, my face heating up a little. "Just...didn't expect you to be into this movie."
He raised an eyebrow. "What, you think I'm too cool for a cheesy romance film?" He was teasing, but there was a warmth behind his voice that made me feel a little less awkward.
Before I could respond, the sound of footsteps in the hallway broke through the moment. My shoulders tensed instinctively.
Eros stood in the doorway, arms crossed, his eyes scanning the room with that same cold, calculating look. The air around him felt like it had shifted, thickened. He wasn't here to make small talk or offer anything resembling comfort. He was here to watch, to judge, to see who was going to crack first.
Theo noticed the change instantly. His body tensed, his jaw set in a tight line as he glanced from Eros to me. The unspoken tension crackled between them, and I could feel my heart race, like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It didn't take long.
Eros shifted his weight and looked at me, his expression unreadable. "You're really sitting here with him, huh?" His voice was low, flat, like he was saying something insignificant, but I knew better. There was something in the way he said it, something sharp that made me shrink back, my chest tightening.
Theo's eyes shot to Eros, and I could see it in an instant, the anger flashing in his eyes. "What the fuck is your problem, Eros?" Theo's voice was louder now, hard-edged. "She's trying, man. And you're just throwing daggers at her like you're some kind of perfect human."
Eros didn't flinch. He didn't even blink. He just stared at Theo, the same cold, indifferent look in his eyes, as though nothing Theo said could affect him. "I'm not the one pretending everything's fine," he drawled, the words coming out slow and deliberate. "She can't just come back here and pretend nothing's changed."
I could feel the heat building in Theo. He wasn't just angry now; he was furious. His fists clenched at his sides, his muscles tensing in a way that made me nervous. He was already pissed, but seeing Eros not react, not even acknowledge the damage he was causing, was pushing Theo past his limit.
"You think she doesn't know she's been gone for years?" Theo snapped, stepping forward, his voice rising. "You think she doesn't already feel like she doesn't belong? She doesn't need you on top of everything else making it worse, Eros. You're just making it worse."
Theo's voice dropped an octave, the words coming out like a low growl. "You think she's pretending?" His body was shaking with frustration. "You think it's that easy, Eros? You think any of this is easy for her? She didn't ask for this. She didn't ask to be ripped away from us, and she sure as hell didn't ask to come back and have you-" He pointed a finger at Eros, his voice rising with each word, "-treat her like she's a fucking stranger. Like she doesn't belong here."
Eros, still leaning back against the wall, barely seemed fazed, but his eyes flicked toward Theo for a brief moment and it was just long enough for me to see the subtle flicker of irritation in his gaze.
"Don't act like you know what's best for her," Eros said, his voice dripping with disdain. "You think I'm the problem? Maybe she should hear the truth, for once. Maybe she should hear that she's not one of us anymore. Not after all this time. Not after-" He cut himself off, eyes flashing with something I couldn't quite read, but it wasn't guilt. It wasn't remorse. It was something darker.
Theo wasn't having any of it. He took a step forward, his eyes blazing with so much anger it was almost unrecognizable. "You want to talk about truth?" he spat, his words sharp. "Maybe the truth is that you're so goddamn scared of her being here, of her actually being here, that you're pushing her away before anyone else can. Hell, you've been doing it for years, Eros, and you've been pushing all of us away. But you don't get to do that to her. Not anymore."
Eros stiffened, his eyes narrowing, but he didn't move. He just kept that same cold expression, like Theo's words were nothing but background noise. "You think I'm scared of her?" His voice was low, almost a whisper, but there was venom in it now, like a threat. "She's the one who left. I'm not the one who has to deal with it. You are."
That was it.
Theo snapped.
In a blur of motion, Theo grabbed the front of Eros's shirt, his knuckles white, his face twisted with fury. "No, you listen, Eros. You've been acting like you're the only one who's been hurt, like you're the only one who's had to suffer, but it's not just about you anymore. She's here. She's trying to be a part of this family, and you're making it impossible. You're so damn scared to feel anything that you push everyone away. You think you're so good at pretending you don't care, but you're not fooling anyone. Least of all me."
Eros's jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring, but he didn't answer immediately. His silence stretched on, the only sound in the room being the harsh breaths coming from both of them.
"You've been doing this for too long, Eros," Theo said, his voice low but sharp, like a knife slicing through the air. "You've been shutting people out, pushing people away because you can't handle the truth. You can't handle the fact that we've all been hurt. But you don't get to do that to Olivia. You don't get to do that to her."
I was frozen, too terrified to speak, but also too overwhelmed to process what was happening.
Eros's gaze softened, just slightly, but there was still a coldness to it that made my stomach churn. He opened his mouth to respond, but Theo didn't give him a chance.
"Stop acting like she's the problem," Theo snarled, cutting him off, his voice low and dangerous. "She's not. You are. You're the one making everything harder. And I'm done with it."
Eros didn't say anything after that. He just stared at Theo for a long beat, and for the first time, I saw something in his eyes that wasn't anger or indifference. It was...vulnerability, maybe? Or fear. But before I could process it, Eros shook out of Theo's grip and left the room.