Stef

"Stef...wake up."

I blink my eyes open to see Lena standing over me. She's already dressed and geared up for the day. I glance over at Callie who is still fast asleep.

"What time is it?" I slur, rubbing the sleep put of my eyes.

"6:30," Lena replies in a quiet tone, "I'm about to get the kids up for school. I came looking for you last night and I found you down here."

I sit up and stretch a bit. I'm way too old to be sleeping on chairs like this, "Yeah. I just couldn't leave her alone last night, y'know?" Lena nods and gives me a look, her brown eyes bright with something. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

She shakes her head, her curls dancing, "Nothing, nothing. It's just…you're always the one telling me not to get too attached."

"I'm not getting attached," I say quickly, and even I have to admit that sounded weak. Lena hums and walks off to the kitchen. I run a hand through my hair. I figure I should call Captain Roberts and fill her in on everything that is going on. Callie will have to stay at the house today which means so will I. A yawn escapes me and I bring a hand to my mouth. I stand up, roll my neck, and head for the kitchen to get my daily caffeine fix.

"What are you going to do with Callie today?" Lena asks. She is already getting to work, taking out plates and cups for breakfast. She goes for the eggs but I wave my hand at her, letting her know I'll take care of the cooking.

"I was supposed to register her for school today...do you think we could get her into Anchor Beach?"

Lena looked up in thought for a moment, "I don't see why not. She'll have to take the placement test, of course."

I nod and reach for a mug to fill up with coffee, "Alright. I need to call the Captain after I make breakfast. I'm going to stay home with Callie and get her settled in."

"Alright, I'll go wake up the troops." I grin and watch Lena head for the stairs. This is sure to be an interesting day.


"So, who is this girl exactly? Where did she come from?"

The kids are seated around the kitchen table and their curiosity has peaked. Mariana's gaze remains on my face as she waits for me to answer. I clear my throat and lower the fork of food I was about to bring to my mouth.

"Callie is going to be staying with us for a bit," I answer, "I've been assigned as her parole officer. She was just released from, uh, juvie―"

"No way!" Jesus interrupts eyes bright as he gets excited, "That's sick! What'd she do? Is that how she got beat up?"

Lena taps his arm, "There's nothing cool about juvie," she says, always on a mission to ensure our kids remain good-standing members of society, "But yes, that's where she got hurt, so let's be nice, okay? No third degree. I'm talking to you, Jesus." He puts his hands up in mock surrender and attacks his food in a way that only teenage boys can.

"So she's just going to stay on the couch?" Brandon asks, eyebrows knitted together.

"I'm going to take the extra bed out of the garage," I answer as I reach for my coffee, "We'll put her in Mariana's room."

My daughter's eyes widen in horror, "Excuse me? My room? She just got out of juvie and she tried to kill me last night!"

"Cool it, Miss Thing," I say, "Callie wasn't trying to kill you. You'll be just fine." She shoots me a wicked look and I shoot her one right back. She lowers her gaze to her food with a pout and pushes her food around her plate.

"We all need to be helpful," Lena says, eyes catching each pair of the kids' eyes, "Callie's been through a lot. We need to make sure she feels welcome here."

We get varying responses, some less enthusiastic than others, but the message is pretty much the same. Jesus and Mariana were once in a boat similar to Callie's so I hope they can offer her some understanding. Brandon has already gone through the process so I hope he can do it again.

I smile at all of them and reach for Lena's hand under the table, "Thanks, you guys."


"Let me get this straight…you want to foster your parolee?"

I'm pacing the length of my bedroom as I talk to Captain Roberts. I explained everything that happened yesterday as well as my idea and I hope that she sees the rationale and can get behind it.

"Captain, she doesn't do well with male authority figures. Lena and I can provide her with the environment she needs. Plus we're certified."

I hear her sigh over the phone line, "Stef, I see where you're coming from, but I'm not sure how this will fly with the higher ups."

"This girl has been through hell," I argue, "She deserves to be in a good home where she can just focus on herself. She deserves to be safe."

Captain Roberts is silent for a moment, "Okay, Stef. She can stay with you. I'm going to go to bat for you with headquarters. You owe me big time, Foster."

I grin, "Thank you Captain. I'll stop by later on today." I hang up the phone and let out a relieved breath. Callie can stay. Now I just need to worry about getting her all set up. I head downstairs to the living room. Lena and the kids are long gone by now and the house is empty except for the two of us. I peek in at Callie who is still on the couch, dead to the world. Her chest rises and lowers steadily although her breathing sounds a bit labored. I don't think she ever got the chance to take a painkiller yesterday.

I go to the kitchen to grab another mug of coffee before returning to the living room and getting comfortable sitting on the coffee table. I don't want Callie to wake up alone. I don't know how much longer she'll sleep, but so long as it brings her some semblance of relief, she can sleep for the rest of the week.


Callie

What wakes me up is the pain shooting through my body. I groan and blink my eyes against the sunlight. I never had the chance to take the painkiller yesterday and my body is reminding me of that.

"Are you okay?"

I nearly fall off the couch at the voice and shoot up into a sitting position. Stef is perched on the coffee table in front of me with a cup of coffee in her hands. From the looks of it she has taken a shower and she's dressed in jeans and a sweater. Her hair is down and wavy and she looks a lot more relaxed than the first time I met her.

"I'm fine." I mumble. I blink a bit and yesterday's events flood back into my memory. What a day. I glance at the clock and my eyes nearly bug out of my head. It's 11:47 AM. I don't remember the last time I slept this late.

Stef must sense this because she offers up an explanation, "You went through a lot yesterday and we figured you could use the sleep."

"Where is everyone?" I ask.

"The kids went to school and so did Lena. She's the vice-principal at their school." She explains as her eyes shine with pride, "I was actually hoping we could get you set up there."

"In school?"

Stef nods and stands up, "There's breakfast in the kitchen. We can talk more in there." She walks off and I follow a minute later. Now that it's light outside, I can see more details of the house. It's very lived in: you can tell a family lives here. There are pictures all over the walls of Stef and Lena and the kids. There are varying pairs of shoes by the front door and random school books on the counters. It's very different from what I'm used to.

I walk into the kitchen and take a seat as far from Stef as I can. She puts down a plate of eggs and toast in front of me and I study it for a moment before slowly reaching for my fork to bring some food to my mouth. My eyes are on my plate but I can tell she's watching me and it makes me uncomfortable.

"Why are you here?" I ask, focusing on eating, "Shouldn't you be at your job?"

"You are my job." I look up at Stef and she's smiling at me from behind her mug as she takes a sip of coffee, "So after you're done here we're going to head to Anchor Beach. We're going to look around and set up a time for your placement test. Also, we're going to stop by the police station just so we can square aware some last minute details. Does that sound okay?"

I nod. I don't understand why she asks for my opinion so often. What I want never matters in the end anyways. I finish eating and look up at Stef, "Can I use the bathroom?"

"Of course," she says. I put my dishes in the sink and move to get my stuff but Stef is blocking the entry way. She has two painkillers in one hand and a glass of water in the other, "You should take these."

I take the pills and toss them back, foregoing the glass of water. I grab some clothes from the living room before following Stef upstairs. She brings me to a large bathroom down the hallway, "This is the kids' bathroom. There should be body wash and shampoo and conditioner in the shower. Toothpaste is on the sink and there are extra toothbrushes in the cabinet. Careful with your hand, alright? We'll take a look at it after your shower. If you need anything, just yell." She leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

I begin to strip off my clothes, stifling the gasp of pain that wants to escape. My ribs are covered in a multitude of bruises. They vary from red to blue to purple. I step into the shower and turn on the hot water. It's like heaven on my aching joints. Well, except for my hand which I try to keep out of the spray of water. I do a 360 looking for some soap when I notice something on the wall. They're faded and peeling but I recognize the Skippy stickers right away. Jude loves those characters.

Jude.

I can't call him right now because he's in school but I can call him later. I haven't figured it out yet but I have to go get him. There is no way I'm leaving him with that asshole, Jim. I'm not sure what will happen to me when I go get him, but I could go back to juvie for all I care if it just means Jude is safe.

I finish up in the shower and get dressed. I wrinkle my nose at the scent of my clothes: I smell like an ashtray. I run a comb through my hair and brush my teeth before heading downstairs to where Stef is waiting for me in the kitchen. There's some gauze on the counter along with a bottle of something. She waves me over and waits expectantly. I walk over to her slowly, subconsciously bringing my hand closer to my body.

"It's okay, Callie." Stef says softly, "I just want to make sure your hand is healing correctly. Is it alright if I look at it?" She waits for me to say something; to do something.

She waits and waits and waits.

Finally, after about two minutes of complete silence, I slowly extend my hand towards her. I curse myself for not being able to keep it from shaking. She shouldn't know how scared I really am. She could use it against me. Stef gently takes my hand in hers and I reflexively jump.

"Sorry, Sweets," she murmurs her apologize as she starts to peel off the gauze. She unwraps it all the way and I see my skin for the first time since last night. It's not a pretty sight. It's red and shiny and blistering. And it burns.

Stef reaches for the bottle now and I try to pull my hand away, "What's that?" I ask nervously.

"Hydro-cortisone with aloe," she answers, pausing her movements, "It will help your skin heal and not burn so much. Is that okay?"

I nod and watch as she squeezes some of the lotion onto her fingertips before gently applying it to my skin. It's cool on my skin and I immediately feel the relief. It's weird, having someone take care of me like this. She's so gentle and kind. I want to kick myself for falling into her trap. That's how they get you. They break you down and gain your trust, only to pull the rug out from under you. I can't let that happen. Not again.

The minute Stef finishes wrapping the gauze around my hand, I pull my hand behind my back, "Can we go now?" My eyes are on the gauze because I don't think I could stare into Stef's eyes anymore. They're too much. Much too much.

I feel Stef eyeing me for a moment and stands up, "Sure." And we head to the car to go visit Anchor Beach.

2,298 words. Damn!

I went to Dorney Park today and it was pretty gross outside but still a good time. You'll be glad to know that most of the rides I went on were 5/5 Aggressive Thrill rides. Except for Demon Drop because I'd like to keep my vital organs.

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Love,

-Liv