He could feel North's judgement before they could even speak.
                          
"Kas, no," they said firmly. "Don't put yourself through that. Tell him to fuck off! And don't lie to your mom, please."
                          
Kaspian considered it, and almost relented, but changed his mind as soon as he thought of all the things that could go terribly wrong if his mom was home. "North, please. I can't put my mom through that, he's such a fucking asshole. He's gonna question her parenting or something, and he'll make her feel bad about everything. She doesn't deserve that."
                          
North let out an exasperated huff, and then groaned softly. "You're so fucking annoying. You don't deserve it either."
                          
Don't I? Kaspian thought, and then, I don't know. Maybe I don't. Or maybe I do.
                          
"I need my mom out of the house for just like... an hour and a half. My dad's a dick, he won't even hesitate to manipulate her if she's home. Please, North," Kaspian begged.
                          
An acquiescent sigh was heard from the other line. "Fine, I'll talk to my mom, you talk to yours. But don't put your mental health at risk for your dad, okay? He's not worth shit. I hate him."
                          
Kaspian laughed. "Mood. I'll be safe, I promise."
                          
"Okay! Call me if you need me, I might be a little busy, but still!" North offered, and then they ended the call.
                          
Okay. Okay. Now I have to convince Mom to leave.
                          
Kaspian made his way downstairs, where his mom was watching something on a news channel, her hair up in a bun. Kaspian didn't bother to sit down, so he just made his way to the kitchen, and poured himself a glass of water so that he could stall for a bit.
                          
"Stupid. What are you doing standing there? Come here, you have that guilty look on your face," Kaspian's mom suddenly called out from where she was sitting, causing Kaspian to slap himself. Internally.
                          
"No, no. It's nothing, Mom." Should I tell the truth or make up some bullshit lie? "Actually, uh... There's a movie that came out on Friday. And—"
                          
"You want to go with Rowan?"
                          
Kaspian choked on air. "What? Mom, no. Rowan and I aren't— okay, we are, but no. That's not it." Sucking in a breath, Kaspian said, "Okay, so, I told you that I got some of Karina's things from Ara a while ago, right? There were some—" Wait, should I be telling her all this? Will this ruin her image of Karina? I don't want to do that.
                          
"What is it, mijo?"
                          
"There were a few things that she left for... uh, for Dad." This is a bad idea. "And I thought that I should give it to him. So he's coming home today."
                          
There was a torpefying silence, one that took up all the space in the room and made Kaspian feel like he was choking on it. The only thing that Kaspian could hear was his not-so-rhythmic breathing, and his heart throbbing in his ears.
                          
And then, finally, his mom spoke. "What does this have to do with the new movie?"
                          
"I just..." God, I should've fucking lied. "I don't know if you should be at home when he's here. He's a fu—" Kaspian racked his brain for an alternative to the word he was about to use. "He's a pain."
                          
Kaspian's mom looked skeptical of him, and he couldn't even blame her. "Good save." She pursed her lips, before saying, "So, I shouldn't be at home because, as you said, he's a pain. But it's okay if you are at home?"
                          
"Mom, please. It'll just be like, an hour at most. I've already told North to ask their mom if she'll watch a movie with you," Kaspian admitted.