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“I am,” Dad had said. He’d reached across the table, his palm up, fingers curling in invitation. Nick had laid his own hand on top of his father’s. Both gripped each other’s wrist. “I—I can’t be part of this anymore. I don’t …” He’d huffed out a breath. “I don’t recognize the people I work with anymore. And no matter what happens, I’ll always be associated with Seth. My superiors will never see beyond that again.”
Nick had bristled. “Oh no. You don’t get to put that on—”
Dad had squeezed his wrist. “I’m not. I promise. It’s a good thing, Nicky. Because I would rather stand with him—withyou—than anything else. But it’s not only about that. It’s about me too.The things I’ve done. The harm I’ve caused.” He’d blinked rapidly as his chest hitched, his pulse stuttering under Nick’s fingers. “I should’ve quit a long time ago. I had no business having a badge when I … hurt someone like I did. I lost sight of what being an officer is supposed to mean. I don’t want to be that person anymore. I need to figure out a different way to create change for the better, and I don’t think I can do that staying with the NCPD.”
“Are you scared?” Nick had asked quietly.
Dad had laughed as he wiped his eyes. “Hell yes, I’m scared, but it’s the right thing to do. And I don’t want you to worry about money or anything like that. Your college fund is going to stay untouched. I’ve …” He’d sighed. “I think I’ve been planning this for longer than even I knew. I’ve squirreled away enough for us to get by until I figure things out. And we still have money from—from your mom’s life insurance.” He’d chuckled. “Still watching over us, even now.”
“I can get a job,” Nick had said, heart in his throat. “Help out.”
Dad had shaken his head. “Nah. Well, maybe for the summer, but when school starts up again, I want you to focus on graduating and nothing else. We’ll be all right, I promise.”
“This feels like giving up,” Nick had admitted. “You and Cap. I know it’s not, but—”
“It’s not,” Dad had said firmly. “I won’t speak for Cap, but for me, it’s about accountability. How can I help fight to change things when I can’t even hold myself responsible? And I can’t have that for myself or for you, because I’m your dad, Nicky. I need to lead by example, so you become the man I know you’ll be.”
Nick had sniffled. “You’re doing all right so far. What are you gonna do next?”
Dad had smiled at him. “Cap and I have some ideas. Nothing we’re ready to talk about yet, but once we know the direction we want to go, you’ll be the first we tell. You and Seth. Gibby and Jazz. Their parents and Bob and Martha. All of us to—”
“—stand together so we don’t have to struggle apart,” Nick had whispered.
Dad had nodded, pleased. “Exactly, kid. We’ll be okay. I promise.”
Nick had believed him. And it had gotten him thinking about who he was supposed to be, the man he’d become.
Which was why when he’d found himself at the Caplan house the next week—Dad and Cap locked away in Cap’s office, making plans, he came to a decision. Not for Dad. Not for Seth. Not for his friends, but for himself.
“They’ll keep going all night if we let them,” Mary Caplan had said with a laugh. Nick and Dad had come over for dinner at Mary’s invitation. Gluttons for punishment, even until the end, seeing as how Mary had delightedly told them she’d found a new recipe for pot roast. It’d tasted like sawdust mixed with tears. Nick had choked it down.
“It’s never going to get easier, is it?” Nick had muttered as he helped Mary clear the table.
She’d paused, rubbing her hands with a dish towel. “Remember what I told you when your dad was in the hospital?”
He did and didn’t. Those were hazy days when all he’d known was panic and fear, worried that his father would never wake up.
“The price,” Mary had said, “for loving a hero is a steep one. But we’re a lighthouse. A beacon to help them find their way home. What Cap and your father did was brave, Nicky. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. They’re going to need us now more than ever, but I know we’ll rise to the challenge.”
Nick had said, “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course, Nick. You can tell me anything.”
“Well, I guess showing you is probably easier.”
She’d leaned against the counter, arching an eyebrow. “Show me what?”
He’d taken a deep breath and let it out slow. He’d raised his hand, brow furrowing as he searched for the spark within. It was coming easier now. The pressure built in his head, but it didn’t hurt as it once had. He barely had to push anymore.
All the dishes that remained on the table had floated upward,spinning slowly as he moved them toward the sink. Mary gasped, hand at her throat, watching her plates and bowls and silverware float by her face and stack neatly in the sink. Once the last plate settled, Nick had lowered his hand.
“Cap knows,” Nick had said quietly, nervous but trying not to show it. “Dad too. Gibby. Jazz. Seth, of course. Their parents and Bob and Martha. But you’re the first I’ve told since—since prom. I’m an Extraordinary.”
Mary had stared at the dishes in her sink for a long moment. Then she’d shaken her head, a determined look upon her face. She’d marched right up to Nick and pulled him into a fierce hug. “Thank you for telling me,” she’d whispered. “I’m honored. But you should know I already thought you extraordinary.”
Nick had sniffled. He heard movement near the entryway and saw Dad and Cap standing there, watching them both. Cap had grinned at him, mustache twitching. Dad had nodded slowly.
Now, as people moved around them on the football field, looking for their loved ones in a sea of graduation caps, Nick lay his head on Seth’s shoulder. He didn’t know how many of his peers actually believed that he’d had nothing to do with what they’d seen at prom, but no one had pushed him.
