As Lena left the garage, Stef stayed seated across from Elliott to speak to him, as the moms had figured that talking to one person was less stressful than two. The fear that had originally filled him to the brim began to melt away as he realized that this was a person who genuinely seemed to care about him. She did her best to not make him feel uncomfortable, spoke gently, yet didn't treat him like some broken child.
"Do you mind?" she began, gesturing towards Elliotts arms, though careful not to get too close.
It took him a moment to process what she was asking before taking off his jacket, exposing his arms from the edge of his t-shirt sleeves down. Stef stayed almost completely still as she looked up and down the teens arms taking in the light scars that riddled his skin. Only a few of them looked new, most of them were relatively faded, although they were numerous.
"That's a lot." the woman remarked quietly before looking back up towards Elliott "How long?"
"Um," he began, scanning the arms that he so often kept hidden. It wasn't often that he really studied them, he'd never quite noticed how many scars there were. "I mean, it started getting bad after my dad passed away. He was the only support I had. He was helping me. We were talking to people, gender therapists, trying to figure everything out. It felt like maybe I was finally getting a little bit closer to who I was supposed to be." he took a deep breath. "And then I just lost all of that. So I've been doing it for about two years I guess. It got worse when I was in a worse situation. I haven't done it at all since I got here."
"What happened to him? Your dad?"
"A car crash. Both him and his fiance, on a trip to big bear."
"I'm sorry. And your mom is…"
"Out of the picture."
"Have you ever talked to anybody about it? Losing someone so suddenly can really take a toll on you."
"I've never really had anyone to talk to about it."
"Would you like to have somebody to talk to about it?"
Elliott shrugged, feeling like asking two women, who had a whole family to provide for, to add paying for him to go to therapy, or whatever it was Stef was suggesting, wasn't quite right. Finally, after a few moments of silence and Stef looking at him expectantly, he choked out a few more words.
"It's been a really long day. I wanna go to sleep."
"Of course, kid." Stef responded, standing up and placing a comforting hand of Elliotts shoulder. "Let us know if you need anything at all. We're here to help."
She made her way out of the door, pausing quickly to respond to Elliott's quiet "goodnight".
The next day at school didn't differ much from the first. He didn't mind the classes much, all the teachers were good, but he was still subject to the occasional person staring or making a comment in the hallway, and he still had nobody to talk to aside from the Adams Fosters who he felt spoke to him less out a desire to and more out of obligation. They found him once again at his locker after the day had ended, and they all walked home together, and finally settled down in the living room, just as they had done on Monday, creating what almost felt like a routine, despite the fact that it had only just begun the day before, which Elliott was grateful for, as he so often lacked any sort of consistency while being in the system.
He sat next to Callie, their work spread out on the coffee table in front of them, when she set down her book (some kind of Shakespeare) and turned to him.
"So, you were in Juvie, huh?"
Elliott turned back, giving her a skeptical look before answering. "Uh, yeah?"
"Can I ask why?"
"I got in a fight with a kid at school who had a way better lawyer than the one that the state gave me, and I stole from a store."
"What was the fight about?"
Elliott shrugged "He was just being a dick."
"You got in a fight bad enough to send you to juvie just because he was being a dick?"
"No, he hit me first, and I wasn't just gonna stand there and let him beat the pulp out of me. But his lawyer somehow convinced everybody that i was the danger and landed me in juvie. Which really sucked. A lot."
"Yeah, I know the feeling. I've been a few times myself."
He glanced over a Callie with a sympathetic look, before she finished speaking.
"The whole system really sucks. A lot."
Stef and Lena once again asked Elliott to speak to them after dinner, which had been a delicious roast, some of the best food he'd had in a long time. They settled down in the living room, the moms sitting on the couch across from Elliott, who had settled into an armchair.
Lena talked first. "So, Stef does a little bit of work at the LGBT center downtown, and came across a support group for teens. It'd be a place where you'd be able to talk to some people who can relate to you, find some people who can help you. Does that sound like something you're interested in at all? As opposed to just taking to a therapist?"
'Yeah. I guess so."
"There's also other people there," Stef added on "who are able to help you with any other issues that might come up."
"Okay."
"They meet every other Thursday, and last week was the off week, which means they'll meet in just a couple of days."
"Alright, sounds good. Thank you"
"Of course. I told you, were here to help."
"Right."
"It is right, remember that. Lena and I are gonna head up to bed. Sleep tight, okay?"
"You too."
