Thanks for the great response! I decided to continue the story.
Though the chat that she'd had with Stef comforted her significantly the previous night, Callie woke up with a slightly uneasy feeling in her stomach just like the one she started the previous day with. As per usual she woke up before Mariana, and it was no surprise to her that most of her clothes were still lying messily on the floor or that she was still sprawled out on the bed. Looking at the time on her phone, Callie realised that they didn't have much time until they all had to be ready. Stef probably decided to let her have a little more time to rest after the events of the night before. Grabbing some clothes as quietly as possible, the brunette decided to get changed in the bathroom. She knew the reaction that her sister would have if she realised how early she was up - needless to say, she didn't want to be in the room when that happened.
"Hey sweets you're up early, how're you feeling this morning?" the blonde woman asked as Callie made her way out into the landing, hugging her jeans and shirt close to her chest with one arm and closing the door quietly behind her with the other hand. "I take it Mariana is still asleep."
Laughing slightly she replied. "I'm okay and yeah she is but I'm sorry, I'm not awakening the beast."
"Okay, I guess I'll take on that challenge. Why don't you go down and get some breakfast - we have a busy couple of days on our hands."
"Okay," Callie smiled, heading for the bathroom before turning back quickly. "Stef?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for last night."
She walked into the bathroom and tried to get ready as quickly as possible but something caught her attention. Pulling her t-shirt over her head, Callie caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The scars on her back had faded over time but they were still extremely noticeable. She didn't care much about them, not really, she was just worried about what Stef and Lena would say. Sure Mariana had probably seen them before - after all the did get changed in the same room. But she had never said anything. It was probably just out of awkwardness and not knowing what to say and Callie was okay with that because she understood how Mariana must be feeling. The only person who had ever properly seen them in their glory, she laughed at her own thought and use of that word, was Jude but only because he was the one that had to clean her up time and time again.
Maybe she had so many because she never let Jude get hurt. Out of all the beatings that she had gotten in previous foster homes, she never once let them lay a hand on Jude when she was around - which was more or less always. She had promised herself that she'd look after him a long time ago. Of course, this promise had left it mark.
Callie snapped out of her train of thought as she heard knocking at the door.
"C'mon Cal you've been in there forever, do you want me to stink you out of the campsite?" Jesus called through the door. "Because if you don't let me have a shower I-"
Callie swung the door open quickly, effectively cutting Jesus' sentence off. "There, geez."
"Thank you!" Jesus huffed, pushing past his sister and closing the door behind him.
Pulling on her denim shirt, Callie made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen where only Brandon and Stef were sitting. Brandon with his head buried deep in a bowl of cheerios and Stef reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee held lazily in the other hand.
"Where is everyone?" the brunette asked, grabbing a bowl for herself and sitting down.
"Last I checked Jesus was attempting to batter the door down while you were getting changed," Stef said with a smirk. "Mariana is trying her best to fit all of her clothes into her bag, though God knows why she needs so much stuff, and your brother is helping Lena pack up the car. Which reminds me, do you wanna ride shotgun on the way down? It'll just be me and you because we have to use that car for storage."
Callie nodded with a mouth full of cereal, she was kind of looking forward to riding with Jude since it was their first family vacation.
"Can I bribe you with a cup of coffee?" at this Callie perked up slightly. "Doesn't even have to be decaf..."
"Deal," Callie smiled, swallowing a mouthful of cheerios. "So Brandon, any last minute words of advice? Y'know since you're practically a Foster's family vacation veteran."
"Well..." he began but was cut of by the shrill message tone of his phone. "Sorry Cal, that's Lou. She stopped by to say goodbye."
"Oh yeah, it's cool. Go see her," Callie smiled, waving her hand slightly in the direction of the door as he got up.
She watched Brandon exit the kitchen and sighed, though quickly regained her composure when she realised that Stef was still in the room. She didn't feel anything for Brandon anymore, she couldn't. He had Lou now anyways. Burying her head in her cereal just like her foster brother had done with his bowl only minutes earlier, Callie waited for her the rest of the family to appear around the breakfast table.
The last thing she wanted to see was Lou and Brandon making out on the porch. Especially not straight after she had eaten. The visibly uncomfortable expressions that appeared on both her and Brandon's faces when she walked outside, arms full of camping materials, was enough to make any outsider question their relationship if they didn't already know the situation.
The rest of the morning passed by in a blur of tents and tantrums, though Stef could credit that purely to Mariana and her lack of acceptance over the fact that she couldn't bring every electronic device that she owned to the middle of nowhere. Before the Fosters knew it they were on the road - Callie and Stef in one very packed car and Lena, Jesus, Brandon, Jude and Mariana in another.
It wasn't a terribly long journey but the lack of conversation made it feel like hours. They had stopped briefly at a truck stop for a bathroom break and a drink. Stef wasn't sure where her wife and other kids were - probably more than half way there by now - but it felt like she was slowly losing her mind with boredom. She couldn't get more than a few words out of Callie even when they had gotten back into the car.
"You know, this ride would be a whole lot quicker if we at least tried to act like we knew each other," Stef sighed, glancing round to the brunette sitting in the passenger seat who gave her a confused look in response. "I mean, some conversation would be appreciated."
"Sorry," Callie said quietly. The blonde woman picked up on this. She didn't mean to sound so annoyed. She had barely slept and after spending pretty much all week cruising around the city on her ass, the last thing she felt like doing was driving another car.
"Tell me how your week has been Love," Stef replied quickly in a softer voice, flashing her daughter a smile.
"It was okay."
"Just okay?" she laughed. "C'mon, teenagers are supposed to have exciting lives. Who's dating who, who's twerking where...gimme something."
"First of all, please never talk to me about twerking again." Callie laughed and Stef couldn't help but smile at the younger girl's reaction. It wasn't often that she got a glimpse of a more relaxed Callie. This trip was exactly what they needed. "It's really nice when you get out of the city."
"Yeah, it's really peaceful and some of the views are crazy," Stef replied, looking out of the window. "You should try and get a photograph."
Nodding slightly, Callie adjusted her seatbelt and reached back into the seats behind her to try and retrieve her phone from her backpack.
"Can you find it Love?" Stef said and turned quickly to try and help her.
"I've almost got it."
"Okay," she replied but the only sight she was welcomed with when she looked back to the road was that of another car heading straight towards her. The last thing she heard was Callie screaming and time stopped.