Gaijin No More

Aiden's POV

I turned my eyes to look at the window Cody was pointing and indeed it was broken. Glass was shattered all over the floor and I was positive the window had been just fine earlier. And I didn't think it had gotten broken by itself.

Subconsciously I pulled Cody closer to me, tightening my hold on him. That's when we heard a small sound coming from somewhere in the house. Cody tensed up, a shiver running through his body. I was pretty sure now that there was someone else in this house.

“Give me the baseball bat Cody,” I whispered, and he silently handed it over to me. I let go of him and started to slowly walk towards where the sound came from. I heard Cody following me in to the hallway.

Our eyes were fully adjusted to the dark now, so it wasn't difficult to walk around quietly. We both froze when we heard another unknown sound, this time much closer.

“In the study,” Cody muttered and made a sharp turn to the right. The study was at the end of the house and we could see a small ray of light coming under the door. We could hear someone moving around in the room. We sneaked closer to the door, our minds thinking what or who we would find.

Cody tried to pass me but I stopped him. He gave me a curious look but didn't protest when I pushed him behind me.

The door of the study was slightly ajar so we peered inside. A gruff looking man was standing by the desk, rummaging through the drawers. He was muttering to himself, and I could tell he was high.

“Do you know him?” I asked Cody, getting a small shake of head as response. It seemed like we had a real burglar in the house.

There was a chance that the man was armed so I decided not to just barge in the room and start fighting. Instead I took a hold of Cody's hand and began dragging him away from the study.

“Where are we going?” Cody asked while I led him through the house towards the front door.

“We'll call the police once we are out,” I told him and put my shoes on, Cody following my example. We also grabbed our jackets and just as I had my hand over the doorknob, Cody slid his hand free from my grasp.

“We can't leave April!” he said before taking off to the stairs.

“Cody no!” I hissed, but he was already upstairs. I shook my head and followed him.

Cody was in his room with April in his arms as I entered. I beckoned Cody to come closer so we could get the fuck out of the house, but then heavy footsteps sounded from the stairs. Shit. The burglar was coming upstairs.

Cody went pale as he clutched the cat closer to his chest. April was now fully awake, clearly sensing something was wrong.

I strode over the window and opened it. Fortunately there was a ladder right under Cody's window.

“Come,” I whispered to Cody and he quickly placed April inside his hoodie. I helped him get out through the window and on the ladder. I was only a seconds behind.

Once we both were safely on the ground, Cody let April go. The cat stretched before wandering off into the night.

“That was close,” Cody said and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. We walked a bit further away from the house and Cody called the emergency number.

The night was quite cold, even though we had our jackets on. I hugged Cody closer to me, warming us both in the process.

The cops came pretty quickly, got to give them credit for that. We stood aside and watched how couple of officers got into the house and a few moments later they brought the burglar out with his hands handcuffed behind his back.

“Do you two live in this house?” a lady officer asked us. Cody answered her question, explaining our situation and how his dad was away for the weekend.

“I take that you don't know the man who broke into your house?” she questioned, getting a negative reply.

Another car turned around the corner, its headlights blinding us for a moment. The car stopped with its tires screeching and Bruce emerged with a worried look on his face.

“Oh thank God you two are okay!” he breathed out, wrapping us both in his arms and squeezing tightly. “Out of all weekends that burglar had to choose this one...” he rambled before another police officer cut him off.

“Are you the owner of the house?” Bruce and the officers walked away, leaving us to stand next to the curb.

“What a night,” Cody sighed and nuzzled his head against my shoulder.

“Tell me about it,” I muttered back, kissing his nose lightly. A good night sleep would do us good.

It turned out that the burglar had been seeking some money for more drugs. It was just bad luck he had chosen Cody's house. The broken window was replaced and withing a few weeks the whole incident was forgotten. Though Bruce was now even more reluctant to leave Cody alone in the house, even during the day.

It was seven o'clock on Wednesday evening, and I had planned to take Cody to the movies. I descended the stairs while putting my jacket on, checking that I had my keys with me.

“I'm going now, see you later!” I yelled to no one particular.

“Hold on a moment Aiden!” mom called and appeared to the kitchen doorway with a bowl in her hands. “Where are you off to?”

“To the movies with Cody,” I responded and opened the door, ready to leave.

“Again with Cody? You've been hanging out with him awfully lot lately. What about your other friends?” I froze for a moment when her words sunk in. She still didn't know I was now dating Cody.

“It's only normal I hang out with Cody this much, considering how we're dating now,” I said, turning to look at my mom.

She stood there with a shocked look on her face. There was a long silence which was broken when the bowl she was holding dropped on the floor.

“You two are WHAT?!” I winced a little at her voice. This was not the reaction I had been hoping for.

“We are dating. Like, he's my boyfriend, y'know?”

“But you're both boys!”

“So?”

“It's... It's not normal! And you're not gay.” I sighed and closed the door. This might take a while.

“Mom... I know this is a shock, but try to accept this,” I said, trying to get her to see things from my perspective.

“But I don't understand! You've dated girls, why this sudden change?”

“I care about Cody a lot, mom. I wanted to have something more than just friendship with him. It seemed natural for things to go this way,” I explained, though it didn't do much good.

“Still! You care about your other friends too and still you don't date them,” she said. “You don't have to date Cody just because you care him a bit more.”

“I care about Cody in the same way I've cared my girlfriends, mom. Though with Cody it's even better.”

“Oh no, I will not accept this! I forbid you to see that boy again!” I was stunned by her words. Mom had never talked to me like that, nor had she been so strict with me about something.

Then I became angry. Even though I loved my mom, I wouldn't let her stop me from dating Cody.

“You can't do that mom. Now excuse me, I have some place to be.” with that I stormed out of the house and into my car.

“Aiden! Come back here right now! You are grounded!” mom shouted after me but I ignored her. I'd talk to her again once she had calmed down a little. I'm sure she will understand, she just needs a bit time. I hope.