“Entschuldigung?” Matteo laughed. “Did I hear you correctly: you’rehappyabout something?”
“Iwas, until I called you,” Elio sighed but Matteo was being Matteo. This was also probably a right of passage for suffering younger brothers so Elio resigned himself. “I have accepted that Milo makes me happy so I’m staying at Starlight for the time being,” he admitted. The line was silent for several moments so Elio checked to see if the call had been dropped. “Hello?”
“I’m here, I just couldn’t feel my face for a moment and I think I might have heard angels singing.”
“Shut up.”
“No! This is wonderful news, Eli! This proves you’re human and you’re not a psychopath.”
“Was that ever really a question?” Elio said wearily but Matteo hummed.
“For the longest time! Theo had this theory that our real brother had been replaced by an alien and that you were here to spy on us.”
Elio glared at the phone before returning it to his ear. “Was he drunk?”
“No, I think he was seventeen or eighteen at the time but the idea kind of stuck.”
“Now you know I’m not an alien. Glad we can put that behind us,” Elio said and Matteo snickered.
“And keeping you in therapy has paid off.”
“I don’t mind therapy,” Elio said. “I study science and mathematics, not the human brain or behaviors and emotions, so it’s helpful to talk to someone who understands why things bother me.”
“There are so many things…” Matteo said, then cleared his throat. “How are you managing, though? Are you still worried that caring about Milo will make you less of a scientist?”
Elio laughed wryly. “Oh, I’m still worried. So far, this experiment is proceeding just as I predicted. I’m worthless and Milo is carrying all the weight but he hasn’t noticed or he doesn’t seem to mind.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Matteo said in an attempt to placate Elio. “It’snormalto be distracted and obsessed when you’re falling for someone but you’ll be back to being difficult and miserable in no time.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. You might even find that you’re a better scientist once you get the hang of being Milo’s boyfriend.”
“A better scientist?” Elio asked, both dubious and intrigued. He had suspected that they could do great things together but in what ways could Elio grow and learn from having a romantic relationship with someone like Milo? “I do have moments where I panic because I feel like I’m slipping,” he confessed hesitantly. “But I’m putting my faith in the advice of my brothers and everyone else who’s felt the need to share their opinions on the matter.”
“That’s good to hear. You might be a genius when it comes to astrophysics and the universe but the rest of us common nitwits have been falling in and out of love for most of our adult lives,” Matteo said with a hiss. “Not me, of course. I was wary andthought I was too smart to fall in love but then I met Truman. It wasn’t nearly as messy or uncomfortable as I thought it would be and I know you can survive the fall too.”
“When you put it like that…”
Matteo laughed. “When haveyouever been afraid of falling? How many times have you broken or sprained or shredded some part of your body?” he asked, making Elio shrug.
“I’m better at practicing physics with my markers and in an office than I am at practicing it outside in the real world. When I make a mistake on a dry erase board, I can erase it and start over. When I make a mistake with my skateboard or while I’m climbing, I break a limb or get road rash.”
“You haven’t needed stitches or a sling since you moved to Manhattan,” Matteo noted but Elio snorted.
“I can barely skate here unless I’m at a park. I carry my board more than I use it and they’re more strict about climbing the buildings and bridges in the city. You have to get a permit or people call the police,” Elio said with an eye roll.
“Isn’t it ridiculous?” Matteo said dramatically. “Why would anyone object to a tattooed menace scaling their residence or office building or watching him gosplat!on the pavement on their way to work?”
“In scientific terms, we call it ‘evolution’ when something makes a critical mistake and goessplat!”
“I call it a funeral and I’ve worried less about it since you’ve been here. I’m glad you’re sticking it out at Starlight and giving yourself a chance with Milo. I’ll always be your biggest fan but there’s so much more to life than work.”
“Right,” Elio replied, thinking about the dry erase boards at Muriel’s. He’d been so wrapped up in his infatuation with Milo, the bullying and drama at the institute, and his fear of slipping as an academic and a scientist that Elio barely thought abouttime and his secret mission to find their parents. “I’m having faith and trusting that this is just a phase,” he ground out.
“That’s the spirit! Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, since you asked,” Elio said with a calculating grin. He had sustained some abuse but Elio was certain Matteo would be on board once he was caught up and heard the plan. “There’s a particularly nasty clique at work, Milo calls them the Mean Guys. They’ve been allowed to run the institute and make Milo’s life hell. I want to put a stop to it and put them in their place.”
