Seven Minutes From Heaven [bxb]

Chapter 19 - Liam POV: God is love and two-faced

Jude appeared lost in thought for the most part of our little walk, but I'd pulled out my phone and was scrambling to find some good bits of Christianity I could use to convince him that I was converting. So far, there were a few things that looked way too easy to use in my favour for them to actually work. But considering the fact that my earlier performance had him roped, he was definitely daft enough that I could pull it off.

"So um," I started, and watched Jude flinch at the sudden sound of my voice. He looked at me with interest. "There's a text from the Bible that caught my attention. Ephesians five: twenty-one. You know of it?"

"Above all, love each other deeply," Jude said with a gentle smile, "because love covers over a multitude of sins."

"Doesn't that mean it's fine for us to continue being friends?" I asked. "Friendly love seems good enough to cover whatever the stuff is your mum thinks you're doing. We're not murdering or anything, right?"

Jude looked ahead and appeared thoughtful for a moment. Then when he looked back at me, a smile spread across his face. "I don't know how to explain it," he said, "but the idea of that gives me peace. It doesn't feel wrong."

"It shouldn't feel wrong because really, how can it be?" I asked. "My friends are wackos, but I love them all. We stick together through everything, so isn't that enough to be good?"

Jude nodded, still smiling. "I think so." Then his eyes widened, and he stared up at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Does that mean you think of me as a friend?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're an absolute knucklehead," I said, lifting my hand up and rubbing his head gently with my knuckles. "Why would I bother reaching out like this if I didn't?"

It's like there were stars in his eyes at that moment. How deprived was this kid if he became so deeply happy by something so simple and basic? It drove me mental to think how severely misunderstood he was at school. How seriously he misunderstood himself and the world around him, by no fault of his own. This guy was brainwashed and didn't know any better. That movie just absolutely confirmed it for me. And the fact he was so quick to agree with me just then, too. He wanted happiness; he just didn't know he was allowed it.

"Then I want you to be my friend, too," he said, resolutely.

"I'm only going to be friends with people who don't avoid me," I stubbornly said. "So no more of that then, yeah?"

"I'm meant to hang out with Josh at school," Jude said, picking at the skin of his fingertips. He seemed hesitant to say anything more, but I figured he was treading lightly because he didn't want to make me think he going to continue avoiding me.

"That's fine," I said, acknowledging at least this much. "You can––"

"I'm scared of him," he said, making me freeze.

Jude stopped and turned to look at me. For him to say something like that, about his own brother no less, did something happen? Did Josh try something on him? The thought of Josh doing something perverted, or trying to force himself on Jude, or doing the mildest thing to make Jude uncomfortable sent the flames of Hell soaring through me. My fists clenched, but I stretched them out several times to calm myself. I took deep breaths and looked at Jude, feeling as helpless as he appeared. I couldn't get worked up and scare him, too.

"I want to tell mum that," he said. "That I'll do everything else she tells me, no matter what, but that I can't hang out with him. I can't put it into words or anything but, sometimes I think he really wants to hurt me. We used to be so close, but he started hating me one day. And since then, he's kept getting pricklier until I can't even breathe around him properly."