Here is the next chapter! Thanks for the follows! Y'all are great! Please let me know how you like this story and if there is anything you think I should add!
Again, I don't own The Fosters.
Stef and Lena were busy getting dinner ready. They had one more mouth to feed and that meant they had to start on dinner a little earlier than usual.
"So… what's going on with you kids?" Stef asked, not looking up from the salad she was putting together.
"What?" Lena questioned as she too continued to cook over the stove.
"Well for starters, Mariana and Jesus have either been fighting or locked in their rooms and I literally haven't seen Brandon all day and…"
"Don't get me started with him." Lena stated, immediately wishing she hadn't "I mean…"
"What's that supposta mean?" Stef finally looked up from her cooking and turned towards Lena.
"No I mean I love him like my son. I just… I guess I feel like he doesn't think of me in the same way. Which I know isn't wrong at all, but i… I just wish we had a closer relationship" Lena trailed off turning back to her cooking.
Stef sighed and walked over to the stove and put her arms around Lena's middle giving her a loving squeeze. "Honey. I understand how you're feeling"
"No you don't" she said softly
"What?"
"Brandon is your son and the twins knew you from the office before I even knew about them. And I feel like Callie is slowly opening up to you and"
"Lena, love! First off, Callie isn't talking to anyone. And…"
"I just don't understand" Lena sadly said as she walked over to the table. She sat down and put her head in her hands. Stef looked lovingly at her and sat next to her; putting her hand on Lena's back.
Stef used her other hand to pull Lena's face up towards her own. As Lena's eyes rose, she noticed Mariana standing timidly at the bottom of the stairs.
"Hi, Mariana" she said wiping the tears that had begun to form
Stef quickly dropped her hands and turned to her daughter, "Babe can you give us a sec? We'll call you when dinner is ready"
Mariana began to tear up and stayed put barely getting out the words "I need to talk to you"
Stef clearly hadn't taken notice of the tears and sighed as she asked "Can it wait, Mariana?"
"No."
Upon hearing their daughter's stern yet frightened voice, both mothers focused all of their attention on their daughter.
"OK. We're listening." Lena finally said.
Mariana knew she needed to tell her moms, but she also knew she was bound to get into more trouble than she had ever been in before. After Mariana had slammed Jesus' door, she went to her room and cried. She knew Jesus had a point and she also knew that she was being stupid. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Mariana walked into the bathroom to dry her eyes and fix her makeup. Once she looked presentable enough, she walked back to Jesus' room. She gently knocked on the door, but after hearing nothing, she opened the door and peaked in. Mariana didn't see her brother anywhere. She figured he had gone downstairs to get a snack and was about to close the door when she noticed the piece of paper she had left with the address of Ana's house was missing. No. She thought. He wouldn't do something this stupid. He would not leave. Mariana frantically looked around for his wallet, house key, or anything that would indicate that he had not left, but she found nothing. Mariana felt numb as she walked slowly out of the room. She made her way downstairs to tell her moms. Who knows what trouble her twin could be in.
"I… I got in touch with my birth mom a while ago. And I've been giving her money. But she's using it to buy drugs so I told her I didn't have any more money" Mariana began to speak faster, tears falling from her eyes. "But she asked me to meet her one more time downtown because she wanted to see me one last time and give me something"
"Mariana! Downtown?" Stef yelled. She knew just as well as the others that downtown was not a safe place for anyone to be alone.
"I'm… I… I'm… sorry" she squeaked out as her body began to shake.
"Well I'm glad you didn't go" Lena said as she walked over to her broken daughter; pulling her into a side hug and rubbing her back.
Stef knew there was something more "Mariana? What else?"
Lena looked down at her as Stef stared at her begging for an answer.
" I think… I think Jesus is there alone right now." A scared sob slipped out of her lips as she fell into her mother's arms.
Lena held her daughter robotically as she looked at Stef; eyes plagued with fear. She had not herself been downtown all that often, but Stef had told her stories when her work led her down there.
Stef couldn't move. She couldn't think. She knew she had to be the one to take charge. Her baby could be in serious trouble and she couldn't seem to do anything. Tears began to form as she sat there frozen in fear.