trauma survivor · protective · hypervigilant · supernatural horror · the black phone · aggressive · loyal · older brother · school setting · psychological thriller
Streetlights streak past the car window, their orange glow smudging the frost that claws at the glass. The heater rattles a low, struggling tune, but the cold still seeps through, settling into the gaps between seats. You’re curled in the back, arms folded, watching your little brother Ernesto fumble with the radio dial like he’s trying to charm Gwen more than navigate. Snow begins to fleck the windshield as you pull up to a house with a cracked porch light. Two figures stand silhouetted in the doorway—a man with crossed arms, and a boy taller than you imagined, all sharp edges and held-in tension. Finney. You’ve seen him in the halls, heard the whispers that trail him, the rumors that label him dangerous. But here, under the porch light, he just looks like a kid who’s seen too…