Lena's POV

I opened the front door and said," Hey Stef, I'm home."

"Hey, love," Stef said, appearing from the living room. "How was your day?"

"It was good," I said, giving Stef a kiss. "Is she in her bed?"

"Yes," Stef said. "You can check on her when you go up there. And I'm sure Jude would like to see her too. And I thought I'd let you know that she is not okay with physical contact.".

I nodded and said," After I come back down, I'll start getting the stuff ready for dinner. Jude and Brandon are getting out of the car right now and Jesus and Mariana are at friend's houses."

I heard the door open and Jude walked in, followed by Brandon. "Hey, Lena, when are we going to see Callie? I know we went yesterday, but I want to go again."

"Well, bud," I said, walking over to him. "If you go upstairs in Mariana's room, I think you're going to be very happy."

Jude looked confused, but then his eyes lit up and he ran up the stairs saying," Oh my God, Callie!"

"I'm going to go say hi," I said, walking up the stairs, and Brandon followed. "Brandon, why don't you say hi too."

Brandon nodded and said, "Okay, but then I have a lot of homework."

When we walked into the room, I saw Jude curled up next to his sister on her bed. "Hi Callie," I said, softly. "I'm Lena. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Callie said, still looking at her brother. "So, you're the vice principal at the school that we're going to?"

"Yes I am," I said, walking deeper into the room. "Why?"

"Just asking," the girl said, shrugging. Her brown curls were very messy, and she was very skinny. I had only met her the day before when I took Jude to see her. I assumed that she looked so small and frail because she was still recovering, but she didn't look any better now.

"Okay, well I'm going to start dinner, " I said, smiling at the two kids. "It should be done in an hour."

As I walked away I heard Jude say," See. They're nice. They're not like Jim."

-linebreak-

I set the salad bowl on the table as Stef called," Kids. Dinner's ready."

I watched as the kids came down the stairs in the following order: Jesus, Brandon, Mariana, and Jude. "Where's Callie?" I asked, once they were all seated.

"She went to the bathroom," Jude replied, softly.

"I'll go," I said to Stef as she tried to stand up. I walked up the stairs and stopped when I heard sniffling. "Callie?" I asked, knocking on the bathroom door. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," a small voice said between sobs.

"Callie, can I come in?" I asked, turning the locked door knob.

"No!" The girl said quickly. "I'll be right out."

"Okay, dinner's done," I said softly. "We'd like for you to join us."

"Okay," the girl replied. I heard the sink run and she came out, using her crutches. "You didn't have to wait for me."

"I don't mind," I said, walking down the stairs. She followed closely behind. "I hope you like pasta and salad."

"Why?" She asked, when we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Because that's what I made for dinner," I said, pointing towards the kitchen.

"Why do you care if I like it, though?" Callie asked, her face completely emotionless.

I sighed. "Because we don't want to make you eat something that you don't like," I said softly. "So do you like pasta?"

Callie said," Yeah, it's fine." With that, she walked into the kitchen, sitting down next to her brother.

When I sat down, I scooped up some pasta and put it on Callie's plate. "You don't have to eat it all, okay Callie?" Stef said, looking at the girl who had her hands in her lap.

"I'm not hungry," Callie said, looking at me and Stef.

Stef sighed, and said," Sorry, Callie. You have to eat something. Maybe just a few bites-"

"I said no!" Callie yelled, cutting off Stef. "I'm not hungry, and you can't make me eat!"

"Callie, stop," Jude said, grabbing his sister's arm. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

Callie looked at her brother and said," Jude, I'm sorry. " She crossed her arms over her chest and slumped down in her seat. "I'm really not hungry."

"Callie, can we go talk in the living room for a minute?" Stef asked the girl. Callie nodded and stood up, silently.

After Callie walked out, twelve year old Mariana said," Callie's kind of scary now. She's mean."

"Mariana!" I scolded the girl. "Callie's had a rough time these past few years. She needs some time to get used to a new house."

"Yeah, until she ruins another house for us," Jude mumbled. "Just like the Olmsted's."

"Jude, I'm sure your sister doesn't get you sent out of houses on purpose," I said. "She really cares about you."

"She did get us kicked out of the Olmsted's on purpose," Jude said, speaking up. "She looked so relieved when they called CPS to come get us. She didn't care where we were going, even though it was Jim's house. I liked the Olmsteds and she ruined it for us. They wanted to adopt us. That's what Liam told me."

I lifted my head when I heard Callie's voice yell," Jude, how could you?!" The girl had tears in her eyes, and she stared at her little brother. "You promised me! You said you would never mention Liam ever again! You promised!"

Callie turned around and I said," Callie! Wait." I assumed that she was going upstairs, but I was surprised when I heard the front door open and close.

"Crap!" Stef said, grabbing her keys and running to put on her shoes. "Lena! Let's go. Brandon you're in charge."

We ran out the door and got in Stef's car. "Where is she going?" I asked, getting in the passenger side.

"How would I know?" Stef said, pulling out of the driveway. "She's been at our house for a total of like eight hours!"

We drove down the street and turned the corner. I rolled my window doen and called out," Callie, honey, where are you?"

Stef stopped the car and jumped out when we saw Callie sitting on the street curb. She was sobbing and she was holding her leg. "Callie, what's wrong?"

"My leg," the girl said between sobs. "I ran off without my crutches, and it hurts really bad." Callie continued to cry.

"Come on, love," Stef said, picking the small girl up. "Let's get you to the doctor's."

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please review. I know Callie's emotions were all over the place, but it helped build up the chapter. In the next chapter, Stef and Lena try to get Callie to talk about Liam.