CHAPTER 133: YOU’RE NOT MY MOM!

It had been a long day already, classes kept dragging on endlessly. I hadn’t heard from Dom all day...not a text, not a call or even him popping online.

I tried not to think about it.....he was drowning in practice, since tomorrow was the game.

But the quiet made me restless.

So when my phone buzzed, I nearly dropped it.

It wasn’t him.

Alia’s teacher?

"Mr. Rivera?" Mrs. Torres’s voice came through. "Would you be able to stop by? I need to discuss something about Alia."

My heart dropped.

Issomething wrong?

Did she do anything?

By the time I got to her classroom, the hallway was loud with kids running to their parents.

Mrs. Torres stepped out to meet me, her face was serious.

Posters of multiplication tables and cursive letters lined the walls, but the look on Mrs. Torres’s face stripped any comfort away.

She folded her hands, like she was bracing herself before she spoke.

"Thank you for coming, Ash," she began, dropping the formal tone. "I wanted to talk to you in person because... Alia’s been struggling."

What did she mean struggling?

She pressed her lips together before continuing. "She got into a fight today."

My chest immediately tightened. "She what?"

Mrs Torres sighed. "She dragged another girl by the hair. It wasn’t the first time she’s lashed out either. I’ve noticed a pattern lately. She’s been more... aggressive with her classmates. Snapping at them, pushing back in ways that aren’t just standing up for herself, but crossing into bullying."

I was speechless.

"And she’s also been very emotional....crying easily. I think she’s hurting, Mr. Rivera, and she doesn’t know how to say it."

My stomach sank. "Aggressive? Emotional?"

"Yes." Mrs. Torres gave me an exhausted look. "She’s bright, she’s capable, but she’s carrying something heavy. It’s showing up in the way she interacts with the other kids. She’s starting to bully them. I don’t want that to define her."

Shame and guilt washed over me. "Thank you for telling me. I’ll... I’ll talk to her."

Mrs. Torres squeezed my shoulder. "She needs patience. And honesty."

Alia was waiting in her classroom, her backpack slung carelessly over one arm, cheeks puffed out in that stubborn way that meant she was already defensive.

She didn’t even look at me, just poured and shoved her hand into mine as we walked out.

On our way to the bus station, she didn’t say a word. Not her usual humming, not her random chaotic questions about why clouds look like sheep. Just silence.

I tried to keep my voice steady. "I’m not happy with you, peach."

Her grip didn’t tighten like it usually did. She just stared ahead at the pavement.

"I heard you dragged a classmate’s hair. You know that’s not okay, right? I didn’t raise you to be a bully. I’m... I’m disappointed in you."

Her little shoulders stiffened. Still no words.

We walked a few more steps before her voice cracked out of nowhere.

"Yesterday was bring your mom to class day."

I froze. "And you didn’t tell me?"

Her head snapped toward me. "What was the need?" she demanded. "She’s still in the hospital! She can’t come! Everyone else had their moms sitting with them, taking pictures. What was I supposed to do? Bring you instead? You’re not my mom."

I felt bad immediately.

"Alia..." I bent a little to meet her eyes. "You could’ve told me. I would’ve..."

"You would’ve what?" she cut me off, her voice started trembling. "Sat there and pretended? Pretended like mom is still coming back?"

"Don’t say that." My chest twisted. "She’s not gone, peach. She’s fighting. She’s going to wake up."

"That’s what you always say. You don’t even have my time anymore, Ash. You’re always busy. You don’t even see me."

I was guilty of that.

I swallowed hard. "What happened with your classmate, then? Why did you pull her hair?"

She sniffled, holding back tears. "Because she deserved it. Violet deserved it."

"Alia!"

"She did!" Her voice pitched high. "First she took Jayden away. He was my favorite person. He stopped being my friend because she told him I was annoying. And yesterday, when everyone brought their moms, she said something mean, and the whole class laughed at me."

I clenched my jaw, heart pounding. "What did she say?"

Alia’s chin wobbled. "I told Mrs. Torres, and she didn’t even care. So I went to Violet and I grabbed her hair!"

I crouched down in front of her, meeting her eyes. "Alia, listen to me. You’re strong. Stronger than me, sometimes. But hurting people back doesn’t fix anything. It just makes things worse. Makes you like them. And you’re not like them. You’re better."

Her lips quivered.

"What exactly did she say to you?" I asked gently.

Alia sniffled hard. "When Ethan asked why my mom wasn’t there, Violet called me an orphan." Her voice broke. "So I grabbed her hair. I wanted everyone to know she was lying. I told them my mom is only sleeping in the hospital, and she’s gonna wake up soon. But nobody believed me. They all laughed."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I wanted to tell her I was proud she stood up for herself. But I couldn’t show that. I had to teach her better.

"I still disappointed," I whispered.

She shook her head, tears started spilling. "You’re not happy with me. You’re disappointed."

That was it.

Her whole face scrunched up and she ripped her hand out of mine. "You’re not my mom! You’re not my dad either! You’re just Ash! You don’t understand me!"

The words hit me harder than I expected. Like she’d taken every fear I buried and thrown it straight in my face.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I wasn’t enough. Not a parent, not even close. Just her brother fumbling through, pretending I knew how to raise her when half the time I couldn’t even raise myself.

It stabbed deeper because I wanted to be enough...for her, for Mom, for all the things falling apart around us. But in that moment, all I saw was how badly I was failing.

She spun, storming down the sidewalk.

"Alia!" My voice tore out of me as I chased her. My chest burned as I caught her and pulled her back into my arms. She fought me, hit my chest with her little fists.

Then, just as suddenly, she collapsed.

Her sobs ripped out of her. Hot tears soaked through my shirt. I held her tighter, rocking us both without even thinking, because I didn’t know what else to do.

The street blurred around us. The world kept moving. But right there, it was just her cries and my arms trying to be enough.