Forbidden Stranger

I wake up to my phone vibrating like it's angry at me.

Not my alarm. A call.

I grab it off the nightstand without looking, heart already beating too fast.

"Hello?"

"You're listed as an emergency contact."

That snaps me fully awake.

"For who?" I ask, already sitting up.

There's yelling in the background on their end. A child crying. Paper shuffling.

"For your brother," the woman says. "There's been an incident at his school."

My stomach drops.

"What kind of incident?"

"He got into a fight. Another student is injured. We need a guardian here immediately."

I swing my legs off the bed. "I'm not his guardian."

"You're the first adult who answered."

Of course I am.

"What happened?" I press.

She hesitates. That's never good.

"He says the other boy wouldn't stop calling you names."

I close my eyes.

"I'll be there," I say, already pulling on sweatpants. "Give me ten minutes."

"We're starting paperwork now."

The call ends.

I stand there for exactly one second, phone still pressed to my ear, brain already calculating damage. Physical. Academic. Financial. Emotional.

Then my alarm finally goes off.

6:03 a.m.

"Perfect," I mutter.

I yank my door open and step straight into noise.

Two of my siblings are screaming at each other in the hallway. Not arguing. Screaming. One is crying so hard they're hiccuping. Someone slams a door. Someone else yells my name like it's a life raft.

"STOP."

My voice cuts through everything. Not loud. Sharp.

They freeze.

"What happened," I say, already moving, already annoyed at myself for how automatic this is.

"He broke my charger!"

"You threw my shoes!"

"She won't stop touching my stuff!"

I hold up a hand. "I don't care."

That earns gasps.

"I care," I continue, "about why the school just called me at six in the morning."

Silence.

All eyes swing to my brother.

He crosses his arms. Defensive. Stubborn. Too much like me.

"What did you do," I ask.

"He started it."

"By doing what."

He shrugs. "Talking."

I stare at him. "Try again."

He looks away. "He said you think you're better than everyone. Said you're gonna fail and come crying back."

My jaw tightens.

"And you decided violence was the solution."

"He shoved me first."

I don't yell. I don't lecture.

I just nod once and say, "Get dressed. We're leaving."

My mom appears in the doorway, already stressed. "Leaving where?"

"School," I say. "There's been a fight."

Her face changes immediately. "I can go-"

"You can't," I cut in, grabbing my hoodie. "You have work. I'll handle it."

She opens her mouth to argue.

I'm already moving.

My phone buzzes again. This time it's a calendar notification that feels like a threat.

APEX ORIENTATION - 8:00 AM

The room tilts slightly.

I stare at the screen.

Not today.

Not like this.

My brother watches me, guilt finally creeping in. "Are you mad?"

I shove my feet into sneakers. "I don't have time to be mad."

"That's worse,"