love you anyway.”
“Even if I see penises where there are none?”
“Even then.”
“Oh my god,” Nick groaned. “You should leave if you’re going to be adorably weird. I’m vulnerable right now, and I don’t know if I can take it.”
“Nah,” Jazz said easily. “I think I’ll stay right where I am, if that’s okay with you.”
It was very okay with Nick, though he didn’t say it out loud. “I just … needed to hide.”
Gibby hummed. “Don’t blame you. It’s tough.”
“It was the heartbeat.”
Jazz squeezed his hand again. “What about it?”
Nick’s eyes felt like they were filled with sand. “The beeping. And the line. It was a lot. It scared me. Because it was him, but it didn’t look like him.”
“Looks a little beat up, right?”
Nick shrugged. “A lot beat up.” He swallowed thickly, trying to stay in control. “I didn’t mean to leave.”
“I don’t think anyone’s mad at you for that,” Gibby said. “And if they are, they’ll have to get through Jazz and me first.”
“I can beat up men twice my size,” Jazz said. “I got your back. And your front.”
Nick closed his eyes. He didn’t want to know the answer, but he had to ask. “Seth?”
It was Gibby who answered. “He’s … I don’t know, Nick. I know he wants to be here.”
“But he’s not.”
Gibby hesitated. “No. He’s not.”
Nick opened his eyes. “Where is he?”
Gibby shrugged and looked down. She picked at the frayed hem of her jeans. “It’s … there are things going on, Nick. Things that I can’t explain.”
“Why?”
“It’s not my place. You need to hear it from him.”
Nick chuckled bitterly. “Don’t see how that’s going to happen. He’s not here, after all.”
“He wants—”
“Maybe I don’t care what he wants. My dad is in the hospital, and he can’t even take the time to answer the phone? I tried to call him, and you know what happened? It rang three times before it went to voicemail. If his phone was off, it would have rung once. If his phone was on and he missed the call, it would have rung six times. But it rang three. Which means he saw who was calling and then sent it to voicemail.”
Gibby winced. “You can’t know that.”
“Do you know where he is?”
Gibby didn’t answer.
Jazz looked at her. “Do you?”
Gibby sighed. “Look, it’s not my place to tell. I made a promise that—”
Nick sat up. Of course, he hit his head on the table. “Motherfu—ow. Why is this table so hard?”
“It does have a penis on it,” Jazz said helpfully. “Maybe it likes that kind of thing.”
Nick glared down at her. “You’re not funny.”
“Excuse you. I’m hysterical.”
“She really is,” Gibby said. She sighed as Nick and Jazz looked at her again. “I … crap.” Her shoulders slumped. “It’s not what you think. Believe me when I say that Seth would want nothing more than to be here, okay?”
“Then where is he?” Nick asked. “Why can’t he even pick up the phone when my dad is in the hospital because of Pyro Storm?”
Gibby lifted her head sharply. “That’s not true.”
“It is,” Nick said fiercely. “Cap told me what happened. Shadow Star and Pyro Storm were fighting and crashed into a building. And then it exploded, and there was fire everywhere. Pyro Storm was trying to kill Shadow Star, and he didn’t give a damn who else he hurt in the process. He’s the bad guy. The villain. He did this. It’s always been him.”
“No,” Gibby said, shaking her head. “Nick, that’s not—you know what? I don’t care anymore. I’m tired of all of this.” She stared at him for a moment. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, “Nick, there’s something I have to tell you. It’s about—”
The door opened.
Light spilled in.
Officer Rookie sighed. “There you are. Dammit, Nick. As soon as we can look back on all of this and laugh, I’m going to handcuff you and put you in the back seat again.”
“Wow,” Jazz said. “Isn’t that illegal? Nick is underage. You shouldn’t be flirting with a sixteen-year-old. You’re, like, thirty.”
Nick sniffled. “That’s what I said. But apparently Officer Rookie finds me irresistible. I mean, I don’t blame him. I’m pretty cute.”
Officer Rookie rolled his eyes. “Whatever gets your rocks off.”
“Ew,” Gibby, Jazz, and Nick said.
“You probably shouldn’t be talking about that with minors,” Jazz told him.
“You’ll go to jail,” Gibby said.
“Be nice to Officer Rookie,” Nick said.
“Thank you, Nick—”
“I mean, it’s not his fault he has a crush on me.”
“Who has a crush on you?”