Callie (earlier)

To: Mariana

I'm walking to math now. See you the end of the day.

From: Mariana

Kk have fun :P

I chuckle to myself a little. Mariana and I have gotten into the habit of texting each other during school when we're bored. It's nice to have her as a sister and as a friend. When I first met her I thought she was selfish and a brat, but I don't think that anymore. I've learned who she really is.

I'm looking at my phone while I walk to my next class, so I don't see him before we collide. I immediately look up. He's tall with mussed up blonde hair and dark green eyes. I recognize his face but I don't know him too well.

"Sorry," I mumble as I attempt to maneuver around him but he blocks my path.

"It's fine," he says with an easy smile, "Aren't you one Principal Adams' kids? Callie?"

I nod, "Yeah. Look, I have to go to class—"

"What's the rush?" he asks with a laugh, "We still have time." He holds out his hand, "I'm Bradley, by the way."

I restrain myself from rolling my eyes and weakly shake his hand, "Nice to meet you."

Stef

"Why do you think you're bad?" I ask Callie carefully, taking her hands in mine. She looks down at them, how we're joined, and slowly moves her hands out of my grasp.

"I hurt him." She tells us in a matter of fact tone of voice.

Lena brings her hands together, "Did he do something, Callie?"

Callie's eyes glaze over as she thinks. Something akin to recognition flickers in her eyes but eventually she shakes her head, "I don't remember."

"What do you remember?" I ask. She's worrying me.

She sighs and drops her head into her hands, "Is he okay?" she asks quietly.

"Well his nose is broken," Lena says lightly and Callie flinches, "And he has some bruises, but other than that he should be okay."

Callie takes a deep breath, "Did Sanchez call my parole officer?"

"Not yet," Lena answers, "She agreed to wait until tomorrow morning, after we got your side of the story, but you're saying you don't remember anything? Did Bradley say something or do something to make you upset?"

Callie's leg begins bouncing and her eye dart around the room. Obviously she remembers something; the question is why doesn't she want to tell us? I put my hand on Callie's knee, effectively stopping her leg and catching her attention.

"Do you understand what we're saying?" I ask in a more stern voice, hoping to startle her a bit so that she'll talk, "If you don't tell us what happened, you can be taken from us. You could go back to juvie for assaulting someone. Is that what you want?" She looks away, biting her lip, so I move her head until she's facing me, "Answer me, Callie."

She pulls her face away, "I don't know." She mumbles.

"What don't you know?"

"Stef," Lena warns, putting her hand on my knee.

I refuse to back down, "You don't know what happened or you don't know what you want? Which one is it?"

"I don't know!" Callie exclaims, growing visibly upset. I sigh.

Lena puts her hand on Callie's back, "Honey why don't you go to your room for a bit, okay?"

Callie doesn't waste a moment heading up the stairs. I face Lena, a look of disbelief on my face, "She's lying. She remembers something, she's just not telling us."

"Maybe she's not lying," Lena suggests, "When something traumatic happens, the brain will try to forget the event as a sort of protective measure. She truly might not remember."

"Well that's not going to help us!" I snap. I cover my eyes with my hands and take a few deep breaths, "I'm sorry," I say quietly, "But I can't risk losing our daughter, Lena. We need to fix this."

"And we will," she says, taking my hand and bringing it up to her lips "Just like we always do."

Callie

I open my drawers quietly and begin pulling out clothes, not the clothes Stef and Lena bought me, the clothes that I had before I met them. They're all the way at the bottom; I haven't worn them in a while. I pull my old backpack out from under my bed and begin filling it with clothes. This will make it easier when it comes time for me to leave. When I've packed enough things, I zip up my bag and stuff it back under my bed. I know Stef and Lena will be watching me like a hawk, especially since I'm suspended. I'll have to wait for a window.

I lie down on my bed, exhausted both physically and mentally. I used to think I was a good person: I took care of my brother and made sure he was safe. Now I'm not so sure. I find that most of the people I come in contact with—whether intentionally or not—I hurt.

The less people around me, the less people to hurt.

Brandon

I stand by Lena's car, waiting for everyone to meet me. I slide open my phone and look again at the message Lena sent me.

From: Lena

Please take your brothers and sister home after school. Mom and I are home with Callie. We'll talk later.

She didn't mention it explicitly, but I know what happened. The entire school knows what happened; it's all anybody was talking about. Getting through the last couple of periods was rough.

"Did you hear what Callie Jacob did?"

"I heard she broke his arm!"

"I knew she was a total psycho!"

I just wanted to yell at them all to shut up, but I refused to lose it. The last thing Moms need is another kid in trouble. After what seems like an eternity, I see Jesus and Mariana walking towards the car. From the looks on their faces, they're just as confused as I am.

"I can't believe it," Mariana says as she opens the door to the backseat and tosses her bag in, "I mean…why would she do it?"

I shrugged, "He probably did something,"

Jesus plops into the passenger seat, "I heard he's not even in trouble! I swear to God I'll beat his ass—"

"Jesus," I say in warning as I spot Jude approaching us. He follows my gaze and thankfully shuts his mouth. Jude looks worried. I was hoping the middle school hadn't heard about it, but I guess they did.

"Is it true?" Jude asks us when he reaches the car, "Did Callie really beat up some guy?"

Nobody says anything for a moment.

"Moms will figure it out," Mariana says finally, "She'll be okay. Right guys?" She shoots us a look and gestures her head at Jude.

"Totally," Jesus says, catching on, "Don't worry about it, dude."

Jude nods, but doesn't look any less worried. He climbs into the back seat next to Mariana, and I get into the driver's seat. This is turning out to be one hell of a day.

Mariana

We walk into the house through the back door. Moms are sitting at the table, talking in hushed tones. As soon as they see us they put on fake smiles that none of us buy for a second.

"Hi, guys. How was school?" Stef asks, turning around to face us. I can tell she's trying to stay calm but I don't think any of us are buying it.

"Did Callie hurt someone?" Jude asks, going straight for the kill. We stare at our moms, waiting for an answer. Stef shares a look with Lena who folds her hands on the table.

"Come sit." We take our usual seats at the table and wait expectantly for them to talk.

"So you probably heard that something happened at school today with Callie, yes?" Stef begins. We nod, "Okay. I'm not sure what you guys heard exactly, but all you need to know is that the boy is okay and Callie is okay. As of right now, she's been suspended from school while we try to figure this all out."

"It was Bradley Clark," Brandon states aloud what we all know, "I've never even seen her talk to him before. He's not even in our grade; he's a senior."

Jude bites his lip, "Do you have to call Callie's parole officer?" he asks timidly.

Lena reaches across the table to take his hands, "We're going to figure this out, buddy. I promise."

"Okay."

"Let's try not to make a big deal out of this," Stef instructs firmly, "Even in a joking manner," she says with a pointed look at Jesus who puts up his hands in surrender.

Lena nods in agreement, "Let's just give her some space for now, okay?" she shares a look with Jude. I know he's probably itching to talk to Callie. Everyone gets up from the table and goes their separate ways. I'm about to leave too but Lena puts her hand on my shoulder and holds me back.

"If Callie tells you anything about what happened," she says in a low voice so that the boys don't hear, "Please tell me or mom."

I nod, "Okay, Mama."

I head upstairs for my room, wondering what exactly I'll be dealing with.

Just to make things clear, Callie WILL NOT run away in this story and she WILL NOT be taken away in this story. I know it seems that way, but she'll be staying with the Foster's for the story.

So the Superbowl. I was rooting for the Seahawks but when Butler (#21) intercepted the ball, I knew it was over. It was heartbreaking. They were SO CLOSE to winning! There's always next year :(

It's snowing like crazy in the city. I was walking home from work and was blinded by the snowflakes. They were literally the size of Cheez-Its.

Thank you for your reviews! They make me so happy :) You guys are too kind.

Until next time,

-Liv