Page 38 of Dead Serious Case 4 Professor Prometheus Plume

“That’s ridiculous,” I mutter. “It takes a lot of skill and dedication to do a job like that. They should be proud of you.”

Nick nods. “Mum and Gran are, but I decided I didn’t want to finish up my training in Leeds, so I transferred. I’ll be moving in a couple of weeks and as I was going to be in London, I just wondered if, you know, maybe I could call you or something.”

“Of course you can.” Danny smiles at him. “Do you need a place to stay?”

“I’m good, thanks. I have a house share set up with some of the other students I met online. We’re going to be sharing a place in Spitalfields.”

“That’s really close to us,” I tell him.

Nick nods again, shifting on his feet restlessly. “I… that’s not the only reason I wanted to talk to you. I—I’m bi.” He swallows hard. “Mum knows. I told her a couple of years ago when I figured out I liked boys and girls, but I tend to prefer boys.”

“Thank you for telling us.” Danny smiles at him. “It’s not easy coming out.”

“No, it’s not.” Nick huffs out a quiet laugh. “But I’m comfortable with who I am. I just feel like I want a fresh start somewhere new.”

“So you chose London?” Danny grins and I feel a soft, warm feeling in my belly at the thought of our weird little family growing.

“Seemed like a really interesting place to land and not gonna lie, I knew you’d be there.”

“I’m here for whatever you need,” Danny says.

“We both are,” I add.

“Here.” Danny pulls out his phone and unlocks it. “Put your number in and I’ll send you both my and Tris’s numbers. Do you need help moving at all?”

“No, thanks.” Nick smiles and shakes his head. “I’m all covered. I’m not taking much with me and I’ll just get the train down.”

“Okay, but call us when you get to London. We’ll take you out to celebrate your fresh start, okay?”

“I’d like that.” He finishes putting his number in and hands Danny’s phone back to him. “It was nice to meet you, Tristan,” he says to me. “I guess I’ll see you both in a few weeks.”

“We’ll look forward to it,” I reply.

He walks towards the house but at the last minute he looks back at us.

“Hey, Uncle Danny? Just so you know,” Nick says, “you were always my favourite.”

He disappears back into the house and when I turn to Danny, his eyes are shiny.

“Come on.” I open the door and watch as he climbs into his seat. Rounding the car, I get in my side and give him a few minutes to compose himself while I mull over the events of the afternoon. I’m glad Danny got to clear the air with his family even if it didn’t end up well with all of them. It was a lot more positive than I thought it was going to be and now we’re going to have another Hayes in London. When I think about Nick, I give a little chuckle.

“What?” Danny asks.

“I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“Aidan is going to hyperventilate when he meets Nick.” I grin. “A potentially single, also queer, younger version of you? Yeah, pretty sure he’s going to pass out.”

Danny lets out a tired laugh and rubs his eyes.

“I know this is a really dumb question, but are you really okay?” I ask in concern. “That was a lot for you.”

He lets out a long sigh. “Honestly, I feel like a weight’s been lifted but at the same time, I’m exhausted right down to my bones.”

I rest my hand on his thigh and squeeze gently. “I think we both really need this weekend.”

“You aren’t kidding.”