"How long have you been standing there?" Brandon asked, pulling Callie out of her daydream.
"Just a second." she answered, feeling her heart flutter in her chest. Even though she was, she didn't want Brandon to know she'd been watching him. "Are you ready to go?" Callie asked him.
Brandon nodded as he began gathering up his things, "Yeah. Let's go." he said, walking out of the door into the hallway, "How did your first day go?"
Callie shrugged, "It was pretty average, but I suppose it could've been worse" she said, laughing a bit.
They walked in silence to the car, and Callie situated herself in the drivers seat as Brandon started the engine and put his seat belt on. He began driving down the road, she looked quietly out the window at the body of water as they passed it. "You look nice today, by the way." Brandon spoke softly, breaking the tension in the vehicle. Callie could feel the redness in her cheeks at these words, and she thanked him sheepishly. Her mind began immediately disecting them. What could he have meant by this? Did he mean it in a friendly way, or in the sense that he was attracted to her? Maybe he was even only saying it to lift her mood. The sound of the words coming from his mouth was sweet, so it didn't hurt. She bit her lip gently as they drove and she felt a weight lift off of her shoulders as they parked in the driveway of the house.
Callie skipped off into the house, met by Stef and Lena sitting at the table in the kitchen. "Hey sweetie, could we talk to you for a moment?" Stef asked, gesturing for her to take a seat too, and she did.
"Er.. We have some... concerns, about you and Brandon. We read your file, and there seems to be evidence of you 'hooking up' with one of your past foster brothers." Lena said, pausing. "We aren't accusing you of anything, we just want to know that you understand the strict rules of messing with Brandon. It's not allowed under any circumstances." she added. Callie knew that they meant well by this, but she could see Brandon eavesdropping from the hallway and it made her cringe. She could only imagine what he was thinking of her. If he'd thought anything positive of her at this point, it was bound to be dimished now.
"Yeah, I understand." she answered, telling herself inside that the vibe she picked up from him would fade. "I was hoping to talk to you guys about something, too," Callie began, receiving nods from them instructing her to continue. "My brother Jude is in an abusive foster home.. I'm sure you saw in my file the reason that I was in lockup. I need your guys help to get him out. I'm worried about him, thus gut is completely ruthless. This is the first time we've been apart since our mom died..." she drifted into a silence, "I can't live my life without him."
"We'd love to help, but I'm just not sure we can afford to bring in another child," Lena frowned, grabbing Stefs hand on the tabletop, "We'll talk about it, and we'll make sure he's removed from his current home no matter what." she finished, placing her hand on Callies head affectionately, as Brandon entered the kitchen and went to the fridge for a drink.
Callie could feel the anxiety in her chest over Brandons thoughts, and she left the kitchen as quickly as she was able to. She went to her makeshift bed in the living room and placed her school things on the table. She didn't have much to do, but the small amount of work she had received would keep her distracted for a few minutes.
She began filling out the study guide for English and her mind was able to focus, finally. Callie saw movement out of the corner of her eye and noticed that Brandon had come into the room. "Hi." Callie greeted him, doing her best to remain neutral.
"Is that true, what they said about your old foster brother?" he asked, his blue eyes piercing her.
"Oh.." she said sadly, "Yeah. I guess so."
"Is that something you do a lot?" Brandon questioned.
Callie shook her head, "No. He's the only one. He convinced me that it was okay. I was fifteen, and he was nineteen. He knew I was vulnerable, and took advantage of it." she answered. Brandon frowned, and she looked away from his face, unable to keep eye contact. Embarrassment filled her body and yet again, she was blaming herself for getting raped by someone that was supposed to make her feel safe.
"Took advantage?" Brandon asked, sitting down on the couch next to her. Callies heart thumped in her chest, and she stood up.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore." she said bluntly, looking anywhere else but at him. "If you're just asking this to be sure I won't try to come after you, you have nothing to worry about it." Callie finished, leaving her work and walking towards the doorway.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off that way. I just wanted to know. Don't leave, I'll go." he said, and the look in his eyes would've won her heart if she'd been looking at him. Brandon knew the rules of foster siblings, and he'd just heard his mom's reinforce these rules to Callie, but he couldn't control the feeling that overtook him every time he saw her. It was especially wrong, since he was in a relationship. Surely, she was just a temptation by being in the house and his feelings would subside soon enough.
Brandon exited the living room and took his guitar to the back yard, leaving Callie to cry for a moment by herself. The subject of Liam brought out a side of her that she refused to show to anyone, but the fact that her temporary guardians and Brandon thought so lowly of her, hurt in a way that she wasn't able to explain. Perhaps her offended feeling stemmed mostly from Brandon.
Callie decided she'd take a shower and went to the bathroom, opening the window before getting in to allow circulation for the steam. When she lifted the window, she could see Brandon and hear the soft hum of his acoustic guitar. She allowed herself a moment of staring while her water heated up, and before she could disappear, Brandon looked up into the open window and they made eye contact. Callie remained where she was, not wanting to be the first one to look away; feeling it'd be too obvious that she'd been watching him for the second time today.
She thought she saw smirk play across Brandons lips as he looked back down to his instrument and the feeling in her heart rised again as she climbed in the shower. Maybe she would make friends with the guy she'd met today, Wyatt, and her attraction to Brandon would faulter. Callie hoped, anyway, since her feelings here would be enrequited under all circumstances.
She allowed the water to engulf her and her bones warmed in only a second. Hot showers were Callies vice because they were comforting, while also providing a place to think in quiet privacy. She wondered for a second it running away from this home would be best for everyone involved. Upon getting out of the shower, Callie could still hear the beautiful chords coming from outside and she decided she'd go down and join him.
Pulling on the same familiar clothes and shaking her hair out, Callie went out the back door and approached Brandon slowly. "How many instruments do you play?" she asked playfully, and he smiled gorgeously back at her.
"Just the guitar and piano," he responded, "Do you play anything?"
"I used to play a little guitar." she answered, and Brandon tried to hand his to her. "No, I wouldn't be any good now, it's been too long." she sputtered out; but he insisted and she took the large guitar in her arms.
Callie waited a moment and gathered her thoughts, and began playing a few strings of the song she remembered best. It was only a second before she messed up, and blush crossed her face, "See, I told you it's been too long." she laughed nervously, and Brandon scooted closer to her on the ground, causing her to breathe differently. He took the guitar and played the same song she had, but correctly, and then placed it back in her arms.
"Try it like that." he whispered softly.
Callie obliged and played the chords the way he had, and smiled as the song sounded correct. Brandon placed a hand on her knee and she continued to look at the guitar, not wanting to make it obvious that his touch sent electricity through her body. When she finished the parts of music that she did know, she handed back the guitar and Brandon removed his hand; a thought of his girlfriend crossing his mind. He could tell that he wouldn't be with Talya much longer. Even aside from Callie changing his feelings, he hadn't been committed to her for a while. He deserved to be with something that filled him with completion, someone who would build him up in the world.
Before he could stop himself, Brandon placed his lips on Callies and put a hand on the back of her neck. Her heart vibrated her rib cage as she felt his kiss and everything in her life melted away for a moment. The wrongness of their actions couldn't break the forcefield that surrounded them, but the interruption they experienced could.
"Brandon?!" a voice exclaimed, one that was unfamiliar to Callie. Brandon jumped away from her and looked up at the girl, who had tears forming in her eyes. This must be his girlfriend, Callie assumed, although she hadn't known that he even had one. She bit her lip at the horrificness of the situation and she left the two to talk. Brandon said nothing, and only looked at Talya.
"Are you even going to try to explain yourself?" she asked, staring at him, but he just looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry." he said sternly, "I never should've done that... But.."
Talya cut him off and took a step closer to him, "But what? There are no buts or exceptions to cheating!" she yelled.
Brandon sighed and sat down at the picnic table, and Talya sat next to him, fuming. "You told me she was just some foster kid that your mom brought home." she said.
"She was." he responded, "But this isn't about her, Talya. This is about us."
"What about us?"
"I don't want to be with you anymore." Brandon answered, met with a look of pain on the girls face, "I just haven't been in love with you for a while."
Callie listened from near the back door, and she felt her heart throb. Why would Brandon kiss her while he had a girlfriend? Even if he intended to leave her, he should've left her first. Or maybe, his kiss had been completely spontaneous and meaningless, just something that he felt right in the moment. She frowned and went back into the kitchen.
"Wanna help me set the table for dinner?" Lena asked her, and she nodded, proceeding to place plates and silverware around the tabletop and they made conversation about Jude, and Callies first day of school at Anchor Beach.
Talya and Brandon stormed through the house and she left through the front door, but not before taking a pause to glare at Callie.
"What's wrong?" Lena asked Brandon after the front door had slammed shut, but he just shrugged.
"Nothing, I just broke up with Talya." he replied.
Clearly shocked by this news, Lena sat down the silverware in her hands and walked over to him, "Why? What happened? I thought you two were doing great." she said in a concerned motherly tone.
Callie tried not to look at him as she put the plates in their places on the table, afraid of what she would feel inside if they made eye contact. "Nothing happened, I just wasn't happy with her anymore. It would be wrong of me to stay just to spare her feelings." Brandon said.
Mariana came into the kitchen and looked at Brandon, "I just saw Talya, she looked really upset."
Brandon let out an ugh sound and left the kitchen, leaving Lena to relay the small bit of information he'd given them.
The rest of the family arrived home and they all sat at the dinner table and ate, making small talk about the events of their day. Brandon had sat next to Callie, but neither of them spoke, and she wondered if his choice of seating was intentional or not.
Everyone went to bed and Callie covered up on the couch, glad to be in the dark. It had been an extremely long day, and it felt good to be alone.
She thought about Jude and decided that tomorrow, she would take a train and go find him at her old foster home. It was risky, but he needed to be here with her. Callie drifted into a deep sleep as she tried to figure out the complications in her life.