Seven Minutes From Heaven [bxb]

Chapter 10 - Liam POV: Jedi and Wookie

It was my hope that tonight would provide a decent opportunity to get close to Jude and win him over a little. That exchange student, Tristan, seemed to be the only one who could get close to him. Was he just a really private guy or was there more to the story than that? My bet was on the fact that Josh Caster had something to do with it, and I would make it my business to find out. Luckily the guys all had my back. Mum did, too.

The house was quiet since mum's full kids, my two stepsisters and one younger half-brother, were either out or inside their rooms. Niko was probably locked away in her room watching movies on a streaming site or something. I'd probably get her opinion on my outfit and dinner plans before I went out tonight. First, I needed the money mum said she left out for me. I just couldn't remember where it was.

Mum's room far, but I really couldn't be bothered walking a single step to go and ask her, so I popped my head out my door and yelled. "Mum, Jude's gonna be here soon! Where's the money you left out?"

"Come to the door to talk to me, Liam," she yelled back in her thick Japanese accent. Everybody's doors were closed, including mums, so her voice was a little muffled. Mine probably was too. "Do you think I'm young? I'll lose my voice box because of you."

"You literally just said more than if you just told me where it is," I yelled back with a roll of my eyes but headed over to her room anyway. I knocked on the door and waited for her OK before going inside. Her futon was folded into a chair where she sat reading a book. She was a tiny woman, but she appeared even tinier curled up with a book and cup of tea in her hand. "The money?" I asked again.

"I'm very well, thank you my darling Liam," she answered sarcastically, but her high pitch tone still made it sound sort of sweet. She hated her voice because she could never seem to sound angry enough which me and dad found hilarious. Sometimes she reminded me of a squealing hamster. "It's in your dad's study on the desk."

Feeling a little guilty, I walked over to her, leaned down and planted a little kiss on her cheek. She was an especially gushy and sentimental woman, so she loved this sort of love language from any of us kids. "Thanks Mum."

"You are a brat," she said tapping my cheek with her hand. "This is a good kid you're meeting, no? I trust your judgment because you have good friend."

"I don't think he's bad at all," I answered honestly. "Just a little misguided."

"That poor baby," Mum mumbled as she licked her finger and turned the page of her book. She pushed her thick specs up her nose and I watched her eyes glide across the page as she provided me with half-assed attention. She was good at multitasking, there was no doubt. "If anyone can save him from awful fate of religious cult then it's my son."

Mum was a developmental psychologist who cared a lot about the risks that might compromise kids' critical stages growing up. She seemed to think that, judging by the stories that came from me and Niko both, Jude might be a prime example of those risks. Mum's thin black hair was held up in a loose bun, so I scruffed it up a little until the tie came all the way loose. Her hand came flying towards my leg, but I managed to dodge it and laughed all the way to the door.

"I should put you for adoption!" she yelled in Japanese as I gently closed her door behind me. "Aish, the brat."

Jude would be here any minute now, so I barely knocked on Niko's door and barged in before she answered. She was sprawled out on her bed reading a magazine, legs crossed in the air behind her. Her had fallen around her face, but judging by her lack of reaction, I figured she probably had her air pods in. She gasped when I sat in front of her on the bed.

"Asshole," she said, pulling out her air pods, just as I suspected. "Knock and wait for me to answer."

"I did," I sort of lied. "I need you to tell me how I look."