Heal
Brandon wasn't scared per say- no he was anxious. He didn't know what the day was going to bring him, good or bad. He was anxious to see what was going to happen. Hopefully he would make new friends, he wanted to make new friends. It wasn't until he went inside the school and the teacher instructed him where to sit that he decided that is was going to be a good day.
He was sitting next to the prettiest girl he had ever seen.
"Hi, I'm Brandon Foster. What's your name?" He introduced to the pretty girl. She looked up from the picture she was coloring, brushed her long brown hair out of her face and smiled at him.
"Hi, my name is Callie."
All he hoped for was to make new friends and he didn't know it then, but she would become his best friend.
Well as much as two five year olds can become best friends. They played together at recess, helped each other with their work, and even went to each other's houses. He met her parents and her one-year-old brother Jude. She met his parents. They shared some of their happiest moments as children together and some of their difficult.
"My parents are going to be together anymore." Brandon announced one day.
Callie looked up from her worksheet as her forehead creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," He shrugged. "Mom told me that her and dad aren't staying together and that mom is taking me to go live somewhere else."
"Are you moving schools?"
"No, I don't think so. Mom told me I'm going to have two moms. Whatever that means."
Callie's eyes widened. "You are going to have two moms? That's so cool. I mean I love my dad but having two moms would be awesome."
Brandon laughed at Callie's declaration. Only she would be able to make the best out of something that should be sad. "You're right, having two moms is going to be cool."
But it was a lot harder than Brandon expected. He was thrown into a new world without his father always there. It was tough to get used to and soon enough he was living with his two moms. And with Callie as his best friend, he began to love his new life and his new mom.
He was even more ecstatic when he was eight years old and they asked him if he mind if a few kids came to live with them. Brandon said, "Yes". He was excited at the announcement of kids closer to his age living with him at home. When he wasn't able to play with Callie, he was able to play with someone whenever he wanted too, even though they were a few years younger than him.
He couldn't wait to tell Callie.
"Guess what!" He said eagerly as he ran up to her at school.
She only shrugged at him.
"Moms are bringing two kids to come live with us for a while. We are going to have more people to play with and we can finally play a board game with out moms when you're at my house."
"That's cool." Callie said before looking away and walking into school.
He ran to catch up with her. "Are you okay?"
"No," She said. "I'm moving."
Brandon stopped and looked at her. "Moving to a new house like I did?"
"Moving away where I won't be able to go to school here moving away." She said, a few tears prickling in her eyes.
"Oh."
Then the bell rang for all the kids to go to class. Both of them obediently went, but didn't really speak to each other during the day. Towards the end of recess, Brandon walked up to her and asked the question that has been on his mind all day.
"When are you moving?"
She looked up at him from coloring. "This weekend."
"Why so early?" He asked as he moved around to sit next to her on the steps down to the playground.
"Mom says they knew about it for a while but didn't know how to tell me. Jude is only four so it doesn't matter how he feels because he is still little enough."
They both went quiet for a moment, Brandon watching the kids from his class playing on the playground, while Callie went back to coloring her picture. A few minutes later there was a whistle signaling the end of recess. Callie packed up her things, but before she could stand up, Brandon put a hand on her arm.
"Promise me something?"
"What?"
"Promise me we will stay in touch. Call each other."
He met her eyes as a small smiled played upon her lips. She nodded in agreement. And they intertwined their pinkie's to solidify it.
They kept their promise, for about a month. One or the other would call a few times a week and they would talk for hours on the phone catching up. But after the first month, the phone calls went down until they ceased all together two months later. Brandon tried to write her a few times as well, but he never got anything back. Soon enough, he almost forgot all about Callie.
Almost.
One day two years later, he came home to his moms at the kitchen table, whispering to each other. He set his backpack down and grabbed a banana before asking, "What's going on?"
His mom looked at him, almost teary eyed. "Hey B. Uh, so I have some bad news."
"Do you remember Callie?" Mama asked, after pleading eyes from her partner.
"Yeah, why?"
"Uhm," His mom cleared her throat. "There has been some news going around and it turns out, well, Callie's mom died."
He swallowed the current bite of banana in his mouth before leaving it open in shock. He felt tears coming to his eyes. Callie's mom was one of the nicest moms he had ever met.
"How?" Brandon asked.
"We don't know, bud." Mama said, rubbing a hand up and down his back in comfort.
He looked from his Mama to his Mom, "Can we go to her funeral?"
"Maybe, we have to see if we get invited. We can't just go up there."
They never got invited.
Brandon grieved for a little bit, as did his moms. The real reason came to light on how Callie's mom died, but his moms decided not to tell him, he has grieved too much for a ten year old. Again, life went on. Soon this moment was apart of the past, but never forgotten.
Brandon truly thought he would never hear anything from or about Callie again.
Until six years later, when he was at on a date, the home phone rang.
"Mariana, will you grab that?" Stef yelled from the bathroom.
Mariana yelled back that she would before picking up the phone. "Hello?"
"Brandon? Is Brandon there?" A voice said. A terrified voice.
"No, he is not. He is on a date."
Mariana thought she heard the phone being ruffled around. "Uh- Uh is Stef there then? Please."
"Yeah she is. Hold on." Mariana's heart picked up. She didn't know who it was, but they sounded scared. Truly scared. "Mom, the phone is for you."
Stef took the phone as she sat down with the rest of her family for dinner, minus Brandon. "Hello?"
"Stef! Oh Stef, I don't know what to do. He is hitting Jude and- and I can't. I'm locked in a closet. Please." The voice pleaded.
"Wait, who is-" Jude. "Callie?"
Stef let out a gasp, partially out of relief at the sound of the young girls voice she hasn't heard in years, but more out of fear.
"Yeah, Stef, it's me. Please, I need your help. I'm scared. I think he might do something to Jude." Callied cried.
Stef hastily got up from the table and running upstairs to get a pair of shoes on. She continued talking on the phone getting all the information from Callie she needed before she had to hang up. She called Mike and filled him in before running back downstairs.
"Was it really Callie?" Lena asked standing by the front door with the twins.
"Yeah, it was and she is in trouble. She said a guy was hitting Jude and that she was locked in a closet."
"Oh my." Lena put a hand over her mouth.
Stef kissed her cheek before running out the door, forgetting to say goodbye.
"Alright guys, let's try to go finish dinner." Lena said, pushing the twins in the direction of the kitchen.
"Who is Callie?"
"What's going on?"
They said at the same time.
Lena sat down at the table with them. "Uh, Callie is an old friend of Brandon's. I'm not entirely sure what is happening."
The twins both remember a little about Callie after Lena explained further. They remember Brandon on the phone with her when they first moved in and him being upset over her mom dying. Forty-five minutes later a door opened.
"Hey guys, Talya wanted to say hey before I dropped her off at home." Brandon said, hand in hand with his girlfriend walking towards the kitchen. When he walked in, he got a sight he didn't want to see. Worry.
"What's happening?" He asked, dropping Talya's hand and moving closer to the table. "Where is mom?"
"Uh, we got a phone call about an hour ago. Uh, it was-" Lena stopped before taking a breath.
"Who?"
"Callie."
Brandon stopped. At least he felt like his whole world stopped for a moment. "What do you mean it was Callie?"
"She called. She asked for you first, but since you weren't here, she asked for mom." Mariana replied.
"What- what did she want?" Brandon fumbled over the words.
Lena looked at him shakily. "She said she was locked in a closet and Jude was being abused."
Brandon's heart broke.
"That would never happen. Her father would never do that."
"Brandon," Lena let out a shaky breath. "Your mom and I didn't tell you at the time because you were still grieving and it just came to the point where we never told you."
"Tell me what?"
"Callie's father was driving the car that killed her mom. He is in jail for manslaughter."
Brandon sat down on the stool at the head of the table. Talya slid into a seat next to Jesus.
"What- why didn't you tell me?"
"You were ten, you were already so upset about her death. We meant to tell you, but then you forgot and we forgot so we never told." Lena explained.
He looked at her. "So Callie is in a foster home?"
Lena nodded.
"Where is she going after tonight? She can't be put back in a place like that. She is probably scared, Jude is probably terrified." Brandon rambled.
"I don't know honey. We will have to wait until Mom comes home and she tells us everything."
Almost like a cue, they heard the front door open.
Brandon was up in an instant, "Mom, what happened to Call-"
As soon as Callie walked through the front door, she heard a voice she never thought she would ever hear again. He stopped mid-name when their eyes locked. It was like all the air was taken out of her for a moment. She stood frozen, an arm around Jude, looking at him. It was almost like a spell put upon her and it wasn't broken until Stef put a hand on her arm.
"Do you need anything to eat? Drink? Water?" Stef asked.
She snapped her gaze to Stef. "Uh, maybe a little water."
"I'm a little hungry." Jude said.
Stef smiled softly before taking their bags and dropping them in the living room. She directed them to the kitchen. Jude took a seat at the table, which was still silent. Callie stopped mere feet in front of Brandon.
"Callie," He breathed out. "What happened?"
She shrugged, tears forming in her eyes.
But she didn't know she was full on crying until the salty tears stung the cuts on her face and when Brandon hugged her to his chest.
She was crying through the pain she has been put through the past six years, but mostly she was crying at the fact she knew she was safe. However long she was safe for, she didn't know.
But she was finally with people she felt safe with, Brandon, Stef and Lena. The people she knew she could only ever be safe with again since her mom died.
As long as she could stay safe, she knew she would begin to heal.
And she did.
She began to heal.
notes: i tried figuring out and sticking to the timeline in the show as much as possible, but this is without a doubt au. im also posting this late at night without revisions, so there may be an updated version later.
find me on twitter at: outlawmaia