Sorry for the lack of delays again :/ got kinda lost in translation
Anyways
Chapter nine, here we go.
Note: This is set in season 6, hence why Kyle is sixteen in this story.
As soon as the door slammed, Eric emerged from the bathroom, his towel still wrapped around his waist. Calleigh's hand was still on her cheek, she seeming almost too stunned to move.
"Calleigh?" He asked, approaching her cautiously. When she did not respond to him, he walked towards her slowly, both hands outstretched in front of him before he touched her, so she could see him approaching her. "Calleigh, talk to me..." He tried. When she shook her head, he sighed a little heavier. "Calleigh what happened?" He asked, this time a little firmer. Calliegh blinked hard, trying but failing to keep her tears out of her eyes.
"She hates me." She admitted, dropping to the couch as sobs finally overtook her broken body. Unsure of what she meant, Eric sat next to her and pulled her as close to him as he could without injuring her more. As he felt his fingers run through her hair and rest on her shoulders, he felt a surge of anger at the red marks and faded bruises visible under the strands.
"Who hates you?" He asked, tilting her chin to face him. Taking one look into his eyes, she saw her daughter's staring back at her, showing the same look of sadness and confusion that hers housed.
"Julie. We had a fight, and..." She absently rubbed her still throbbing cheek. "Her temper got the better of her, I guess." She confessed, shrugging her shoulders. Eric looked at her, dumbfounded.
"She hit you?!" He asked, releasing her. Calleigh nodded slowly. Eric felt his breathing speed up and his chest heave.
"Eric, please!" She begged. "She didn't mean it! She just lost her temper. And who can blame her?!" She exclaimed, feeling immediately guilty for raising her voice at someone whom was merely trying to help her. "She's been through hell, Eric..." Her voice returned to a semi-normal tone. "It's her way of coping." She admitted, slowly getting to her feet and heading to the staircase. "Get dressed, Eric, I'll talk to her." Before Eric could respond, Calleigh took the stairs two at a time.
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As Calleigh approached Julie's bedroom door, she heard Avril Lavigne's Unwanted blasting through the speakers. Knocking three times, she called out,
"Julie?" No response. "Open the door, Julie!" She begged, a sudden flashback plaguing her with the last time Julie was left alone behind a locked door. Twisting the handle, she was relieved to see it was open. Slowly entering the room, She was semi-relieved to see Julie sitting in the beanbag by her closet door, her stuffed Panda being cuddled tightly to her chest as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Calleigh knelt in front of her, resting her good hand on her daughter's knee. "Juliette..." She tried, hoping the use of her fullname would snap her out of her trance. "Baby talk to me..." She begged. Julie shook her head, dislodging tears from her long black lashes. "Honey, please... I know you didn't mean to do what you did... And I didn't mean to raise my voice to you. And you're right; I could have left him. I had plenty of opportunity to do it but I never did. But y'know what... what I said about everyone being there for us still stands. We have a lot of people behind us that will help. And... I bet Kyle would help as well." At the mention of Horatio's sixteen year old son, a very small smile escaped her.
"I doubt it, momma." Julie almost whispered, holding her Panda closer to her. "I doubt he would want 'damaged goods' as Jake put it." She pointed out. Calleigh, ignoring the stab of pain it caused her, pulled Julie close to her and clung to her as tight as she could remember.
"Juliette Marisol Delko, you listen to me." Julie looked at her mother, seeing the brutal honesty and fire that had returned to her eyes. "I know it's hard to do, but what Jake said to you, whatever he called you, none of it is true. You're not damaged goods, you're not worthless, you're not stupid, you're not moronic, you're not an idiot, you're not a stuckup bitch and you certainly are not a whore." She held her tight, the venom Jake spat causing tears to form behind both pairs of eyes.
"Momma I'm real sorry about what I said before and..." She looked at her mother's cheek. "For leavin' a mark." She gestured to her red cheek, it barely standing out in comparison to the rest of the bruises on her face. She longed for her to look healthy and well again.
"It's in the past, my love." She reassured, holding her close to her and running her hand through Julie's hair. "Three more days of this and then it's over for us." She promised, tightening her hold on her and humming Keep Holding On before both girls succumbed to the much needed sleep that had eluded them both over the last two days of hell.
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Across town in her makeshift office, Diane clicked her pen and threw it down on top of the large stack of papers before her. Realizing that she may have been slightly over her head in accepting this case, she fished her phone out of her bag and hit speed dial 3. Only as it began to ring did she realize the time difference.
"Alicia Florrick..." A less than impressed voice greeted on the other line. Diane bit her lip, knowing her former co-worker couldn't see it.
"Alicia, it's me... I know it's a stupid hour in the morning there, but... And please don't mock me for saying these words but... I need your help."
