Once Tyler and Zack headed home for the holidays, Nick's life turned into a monotonous grind. Since the company was officially closed, all departments were locked down under seal, with security handed over to Wallace and his team.
As for Nick, since he couldn't get into the lab, he spent his days at home, tinkering with side projects that actually interested him. As New Year's Eve approached, the festive energy across the city grew impossible to ignore. Families were everywhere, rushing through last-minute shopping for the holidays.
Since he was alone, Nick didn't have much to buy. Still, it was the holidays, so he had Ryan Orston drive him to the supermarket for some essentials. Since he wasn't much of a cook, his cart was mostly a sad collection of convenience food: frozen dumplings, ramen, deli meats, and sourdough. He threw in some spinach and cherry tomatoes just so he could say he'd eaten a vegetable.
His phone began to buzz in his pocket. He hesitated, seeing the ID, but eventually hit answer.
"Hey, Nick. Have you eaten yet?" a familiar woman's voice asked.
Nick glanced at the empty ramen cup on his coffee table—finished but not yet trashed. He nodded to the empty room. "Yeah, I just ate. How about you guys?"
"We're just finishing up. How are things down there? You really should have come home. Your dad and your sister miss you so much," she said.
The voice belonged to Helen, his stepmother. After his mother passed away, his father, unable to handle the silence of an empty house, had married her not long after. Helen had quickly given birth to a daughter, making Nick a big brother to a girl eight years his junior.
Back then, Nick had been a ball of resentment. He'd convinced himself that this woman had somehow replaced his mother, stolen his father, and dismantled his family. Because of that, he had never called her "Mom." Despite years of his father's threats, bribes, and lectures, he had never relented.
As he'd grown up, the anger had faded into a dull realization that his mother's death wasn't Helen's fault, but he still couldn't accept her taking that specific title. Over the years, she had been nothing but kind to him, and their relationship had thawed into a polite, functional bond—even if he still couldn't bring himself to change how he addressed her.
"I'm doing great, don't worry. Work is just buried right now, so I couldn't make the trip," Nick said, forcing a cheerful note into his voice.
"You kids," Helen sighed. "Once you grow up, you never want to come home."
"It's not that, I promise," Nick said quickly. "I'm just in the middle of a big launch. When things settle down, I'll definitely come see you and Dad." He pivoted the conversation before she could dig deeper. "So, how's Lily doing? How were her midterms?"
Helen sighed again. "That girl is obsessed with her Switch. Her grades took a hit. She was top five in her class last semester, and now she's dropped to twenty-fifth. It's driving me crazy!"
"I didn't drop! My actual score was five points higher than last time! Give me the phone! Let me talk to him!"
A high-pitched, chirping voice exploded through the receiver, and Nick couldn't help but smile. Lily, his half-sister, had been obsessed with him since she was a toddler. Despite the drama with his father, he and Lily were incredibly close.
"Nick! Why aren't you home for New Year's?" Lily demanded, her voice full of grievance.
"Hey, kiddo. I just have too much going on at the office this year," Nick laughed.
"It sucks," she huffed. "If you aren't here, nobody will set off the big fireworks with me."
"Aren't you getting a little old for that?" Nick teased.
"No way! Even the high schoolers do it," she said.
Nick chuckled. "Alright, next year for sure. But what's this I hear about you failing class because of video games?"
"Don't listen to her! My raw score was better than my finals in the spring. Nick, you don't understand—the questions this year were ridiculous. Half the honor roll kids bombed it. The only people who did well were the ones who got lucky," Lily explained frantically.
Nick smiled. "So, the gaming has nothing to do with it?"
"Zero! I only play a couple of rounds of Splatoon with my friends at night. Literally everyone in my grade does it," she said definitively.
"Okay, okay. Just make sure it doesn't get in the way of your homework," Nick instructed.
"I know, I know. You're starting to sound like Mom. I'm gonna go. You want to talk to Dad?" Lily asked impatiently.
Nick hesitated for a split second. "Yeah. Put him on."
"Okay! Bye, Nick! Happy New Year!"
He heard her shouting in the background: "Dad! Nick's on the phone!"
A moment later, a deep, gravelly voice came through: "Hello."
"Hey, Dad," Nick said. He hesitated, but the word came out.
"Mhm. How are things in Tampa?" his father asked.
"It's alright," Nick replied.
"You're down there all by yourself. You need to take care of yourself, you hear me?"
"Yeah, I know," Nick answered.
There was a pause. "Is the job going well?"
"Pretty good. Just busy," Nick nodded.
"You're young. You should be busy. Just don't burn the candle at both ends. Don't forget to eat." His father paused again, his voice dropping a fraction. "A few days ago, your mother even bought new sheets for your bed, hoping you'd surprise us. Now that she knows you aren't coming, she's been hiding in the laundry room crying."
"I'll come visit as soon as this project wraps up." Nick's eyes suddenly felt hot. He blinked rapidly, fighting it back. "You and Helen need to take care of yourselves, too. Don't overdo it."
"And you still can't bring yourself to call her Mom?" his father asked, the familiar note of reproach returning.
"I—I just can't," Nick stammered.
The line went quiet for a long beat. Then, a heavy sigh. "Forget it. It's the holidays; I'm not going to start an argument. You stay safe. Happy New Year."
As the dial tone hummed in his ear, Nick sat back with a bitter smile.
After all these years, how was he supposed to just flip a switch? Helen treated him like her own flesh and blood, and there had been times he'd almost said it, but the word always caught in his throat. He could feel her disappointment every time he avoided it, which was exactly why he'd spent his life avoiding home.
He'd spent middle school and high school in dorms, and for college, he'd picked the school furthest away. He'd wanted to escape, but he hadn't realized that the further he went, the more he'd actually miss it.
Home is a strange fortress; when you're young, you spend every waking hour plotting your breakout. But once you're out in the world, facing the storms alone, you spend your nights dreaming of the harbor.
Nick sighed and shook his head.
He'd go back eventually.
Just... not tonight.