Like Father, Like Son ✔

Chapter 21 - Blind Fear

CHAPTER 21

NICK

When Nick finished his last exam before summer break, it was like a huge weight was suddenly lifted off his shoulders. He breathed an audible sigh of relief when he finally got to leave the stuffy testing center assigned to the students with special needs, glad to be away from that monotonous sound of fingers tapping away at keyboards or pens scratching against paper.

Fuck, it felt so good to be free!

He only had one more year of this to go and then he'd be completely done with school and off to bigger and better things in the real world. He honestly couldn't wait, having never been one for academics in the first place.

With summer time on the brain, Nick made his way out onto a grassy patch near the Sullivan Center on Sheridan and sat down at a picnic table. He put his phone off silent and went through a few text messages: one from Leon asking about a gig, one from his mother wishing him good luck on his exam and one from Cat that was pretty much the same as his mother's, only a little cuter.

He listened to the voicemail left behind by a number he wasn't familiar with off the top of his head.

"Hello Mr. Bradley, this is Fiona calling from Adventure Valley Day Camp for the Blind and Visually Impaired, letting you know we've read over your resume and we'd love to have you for an interview as soon as possible for the position of instructor. Please give us a call shortly to schedule a meeting. Have a great afternoon," the voice of a very perky woman echoed in his ear. She rattled off the number of her office and gave him their address, wished him a good afternoon for a second time and then hung up.

Nick pursed his lips thoughtfully. He had to admit, he was surprised he'd even gotten an interview. He'd applied for that job on a whim about a month and a half earlier, and when he didn't get a call within the first few weeks he pretty much forgot about it.

He was excited, but something in the back of his mind was nagging at him. The camp was located on a ranch about six hours away from Chicago, which meant he'd probably be gone most of the summer.

Could he really be away from Cat and Luke for nine weeks? Cat had no idea he'd even applied for the job as he figured it wouldn't even happen. What would she think about it?

Deciding to push it out of his mind for the time being, he made a note on his phone to call the woman back and left it at that. He needed to grab some lunch and then get home, since he was taking Luke out for ice cream to give Cat some alone time to study.

It was the middle of the afternoon by the time he waltzed through Cat's door, only to have his legs promptly assaulted by a very tiny human being. He grinned as Luke's voice filled the entire entrance of the apartment.

"You didn't stay here last night," Luke said accusingly.

"No, I stayed at my place," Nick replied.

"Didn't you want to stay here with us?" Luke asked.

"Baby, Nick doesn't live here," Cat's voice traveled from somewhere in the living room.

"Why don't you live here?" Luke asked.

Nick picked Luke off the floor and made his way over to Cat, very careful about his footing since he had a kid in his arms. He counted every step until his feet touched the carpet and then turned to the right toward the couch.