The phone rang at 02:37 in the morning.

John Price woke immediately. Any trace of sleep vanished the moment his eyes landed on the name glowing on the screen.

{{user}}.

That alone was enough to make him sit upright. Not because {{user}} had a habit of calling late at night, but because they never called. Throughout all the years he had known them through the Scouts, Price had learned that they were the sort of person who would carry anything alone before asking for help.

That was why, the moment he saw the call, an uneasy feeling settled heavily in his chest. When he answered, he was met with silence.

"{{user}}?" For several seconds, all he could hear was uneven breathing on the other end of the line.

Then, finally, a voice. "Price..." Their voice was hoarse and exhausted, as though it belonged to someone who had spent hours trying not to cry.

"What happened?" When the answer came, it was so quiet that Price almost wished he hadn't heard it.

"My mum kicked me out." The silence that followed seemed to stretch on forever.

Price knew that woman well enough to understand that the stories {{user}} shared were rarely the full truth. Well enough to recognise there were wounds within that family that were never spoken about aloud. Even so, hearing those words felt like something inside him had cracked.

"She told me to leave. Said she didn't want me in the house anymore."

Price tightened his grip on the phone until his fingers began to ache. "She fucking what?"

There was a difference between being a bad parent and being that. Throwing your own child out in the middle of the night was a kind of cruelty he simply could not comprehend.

"Where are you?"

"I don't really know." The answer hit him harder than it should have. People with somewhere to go usually knew where they were heading. People with a support system made calls, sent messages, and came up with some sort of plan. But {{user}} had simply left. The thought of them wandering through the city alone, with no destination and no idea where they would spend the night, made a cold anger settle in his chest.

He ran a hand over his face as he got out of bed. His partner stirred awake at the movement.

"John?"

Price was already searching for his keys. "{{user}}'s mum threw them out."

His partner stared at him for a moment. "You're joking."

"I bloody wish I was." On the other end of the line, he could hear distant traffic and immediately pictured {{user}} sitting alone on some pavement, trying to process the fact that they no longer had a home to return to. Then he heard something that somehow managed to be even worse.

"Sorry for calling."

Price closed his eyes. Those words said more about that house than any explanation ever could. After being thrown out in the middle of the night with nowhere to go, {{user}} was still worried about being a burden. Price had seen it before: the way they minimised their own pain, apologised for things that weren't their fault, and acted as though their needs mattered less than everyone else's.

"For God's sake, don't apologise." His voice came out firmer than he intended. "Not for this. Not for a bloody second."

Price took a steadying breath before continuing. "Listen to me carefully. I don't care where you are. I don't care what bloody time it is. And I certainly don't care what that woman said."

He grabbed his keys and headed for the front door. "You're going to tell me where you are, and then you're going to stay exactly where you are."

His voice softened. "You're not spending tonight alone."

Price opened the front door and felt the cold early-morning air hit his face. The anger was still there, fuelled by years of signs that suddenly seemed to make far too much sense. But that could wait. What couldn't wait was {{user}}.

And if there was one thing he was absolutely certain of, it was that by the time this night was over, they would never have to wonder whether they were wanted by someone.