was trying to do everything he could to stop Owen before people got hurt.”
Nick shook his head as he dropped his hands. “Obviously he didn’t do enough. If—” He swallowed thickly. “If it’d been worse, what then? What if … what if my dad had died? Would you still say he did everything he could? He sat across from Owen. Almost daily. Seth knew who Owen was, and yet he did nothing to stop it. That’s not what heroes do. And Seth is no hero. He’s a coward. And don’t even get me started on Owen. He’s … there’re pills and…”
Gibby took a step toward him, hands balled into fists at her sides. “Seth only did this because of you! Everything he is, an Extraordinary, Pyro Storm, is because of you!”
Nick’s knees felt wobbly. “What the hell are you talking about? He didn’t—”
“Your mom died,” Gibby spat. “And it sucked, Nick. For us because we didn’t know how to help you, but more for you and your dad, okay? Both of you were so lost in your grief, and it tore at all of us. And Seth made a choice. You forget, I think, that the same thing happened to him. Before, he was only Seth Gray, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But After, he promised himself he would do everything he could to make sure you never had to go through that again. He always … since he was little.” She sighed. “It was the train accident, Nick. It changed him into something else or activated something already in him. But he always felt guilty about it. That he was given a gift at such a high cost. He never wanted anything to do with it. Not until after your mom died. He saw what it did to you. He loved you so much that he put on a mask to keep Nova City safe. To keep your father safe. To keep you safe.”
Nick ground his teeth together. “Which means he lied. All this time, he lied to me. He kept this from me. Kept all of it—”
Gibby’s head snapped up. Her eyes were blazing. “Maybe if you weren’t so self-centered, you could’ve figured it out on your own. Like I did. Like Jazz did. Jazz finds out, and she protects his secret. I find out and do all I can to help him. And what do you do when you find out? You bitch and moan about what it does to you.”
“That’s not fair! My dad is—”
“Your dad got hurt, and that’s awful. But that wasn’t Seth’s fault. It was Owen’s. It was a trap for Seth. Don’t you get that? Owen was trying to kill Seth, Nick. Your dad was collateral damage.”
“I don’t care. It’s on both of them.”
Gibby looked away. “I can’t believe…” She shook her head. “Whatever. You do what you want, Nick. You always do. I’m going to go help my friend because he needs me.”
She turned and pushed the door open. It fell shut behind her.
“Huh,” Jazz said, staring at the door. “That didn’t go like I thought it would.”
“Of course it didn’t,” Nick groused. “That’s what happens when people lie to each other.”
“Huh,” Jazz said again. Then, “Are you going to yell at me now? If you are, I’d like to know in advance so I can cry to make you feel better.”
Nick deflated. “No. I want to go back to my dad and forget all of this.”
“That’s going to be hard to do. Forgetting. Seems pointless.”
“I can do it.”
Jazz sighed. “I think you believe that. Can I tell you something?”
“Are you going to apologize?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You … you knew about—ugh.” Damn her for being right.
“That’s what I thought. I worry a lot about what happens when Gibby leaves. You know. Graduates. While we stay here.”
Nick struggled to keep his annoyance down. “I think there’s bigger issues we need to—”
“I thought she’d go to college. Maybe move on to bigger and better things. Leave us all behind. Leave me behind. We’d break up, and maybe we’d stay friends who talked to each other every now and then, or maybe we wouldn’t. I mean, it’s not exactly realistic that you meet the love of your life when you’re sixteen, right? And besides, we’re young. People think we don’t know what we’re talking about. That our feelings aren’t valid. I thought about it a lot. All the time, really. It hurt. But you know what I realized?”
“No,