As soon as the car had been parked in the drive and unloaded of passengers, Brandon thought that any bystander would surely be surprised to hear that they were in fact a family considering the lack of interaction between the teenagers. He stood at the front of the group, Jude at the back, slipping the key inside the lock and turning it smoothly. The door swung open slowly and they all moved inside. It was unusually quiet. At least it felt that way. Jesus immediately made his way into the living room and turned on the TV without a word, lifting up a controller and letting out a sigh. Mariana stayed close by him, sitting next to him as he lowered himself onto the sofa. Jude had almost ran upstairs, nudging Brandon - who, for the whole time these events had transpired, had been standing in the exact same spot in the hall - as he passed him.
He looked round to the twins, waiting for some acknowledgement but nothing came. Throwing his key in the basket, he almost forgot to close the front door. It was only the small breeze that had ruffled his hair slightly that had reminded him.
Brandon followed his youngest brother's footsteps - though not as quickly. Each step creaked with his weight, painfully aiding the silence in its awkwardness. Jude's room door was wide open. Brandon took a large step through the door, checking behind the door before turning back. It was empty. He had expected him to be curled up in bed or pretending to be engrossed in something to get his mind off the situation at the hospital.
He had almost missed it as he had walked by. He was heading for his room, knowing that the only thing that would make him feel any better was the feeling of the white and black keys below his fingertips. But something had captured his attention first. He knew that it could have been Callie, though instinctively it was the first thing had came to mind and his heart almost skipped a beat. A small bump had formed underneath Callie's duvet, conveniently shaped Jude sized. Brandon let out a breath before making his way into his sister's' room, sitting on top of Mariana's bed and crossing his legs.
"Hey bud." No reply. Not that he had expected any. If it weren't for the occasional raise of the covers, indicating his brother's shallow breaths, he would have thought that it was just a deceiving placed pillow. "It's going to be okay, we're all going to be okay."
Nothing. Brandon tugged at the sleeves of his sweater, waiting for another moment in case the younger boy wanted to say anything.
"Okay, well, we're all downstairs," he said quietly, lowering his feet back down to the floor. "Mom's gave me money so I'm gonna order some pizza. You might wanna hurry before Jesus eats it all."
It was a bit of a cheap shot. Food was probably the last thing on Jude's mind. Brandon took one last look at him, head buried under the sheets, before he rose to his feet and left him in peace. From the landing he could hear conversation downstairs, it was quiet and sparse but it was something.
You have to be a big brother. You have to be there for them. Brandon thought as he made his way back down the stairs. Jesus was eight levels deep and Mariana was scrolling through her phone. It was as if nothing had happened at all. Though it was one of those moments that you knew if you were to look closer, things wouldn't be quite right. Jesus was unfocused, his eyes almost seemed to be staring far beyond the television screen, his finger movements were sluggish and not well thought out. Far different from his usually level of expertise. Mariana was scrolling mindlessly, one arm hugging her tucked in legs tightly. Usually she would be huffing and puffing, making comments about who wore what better, but instead pictures zoomed past her eyes and she barely took notice. You have to be a big brother.
"Guys, we can't do this," Brandon said almost too loudly and both heads shot up. "We can't go visit Callie and pretend everything's okay and then come home and mope about like she's never going to come home. She's going to be fine."
"You don't know that," Mariana replied and her eyes drifted back down to her cell phone.
"Yes," he replied quickly, walking over and pressing the television's power button - earning a half-hearted protest from his brother. "I do. If anyone can pull through this then it's Callie. There's gotta come a point where we do too. We have to pull it together, if not for her then for moms. If not for moms then for us. We can't just sit around and feel sorry for ourselves."
"What are we supposed to do then?" Jesus placed his controller on the table and stood up to face his older brother.
"We just have to get on with it," they both looked into each other's eyes for a moment before the younger boy nodded slightly and walked past into the kitchen.
"We could make her some cards and a poster for when she comes home?" Mariana spoke suddenly, dragging her eyes upwards and Brandon's head shot around to her.
"That's perfect."
"Really?" her eyebrows lowered into a frown,
"She'll love it," Brandon smiled slightly as he answered her and she smiled back.
Mariana followed in her twin's path and Brandon walked closely behind her, reaching down to his back pocket to grab his own phone.
"Pizza or Chinese?" he asked, though he was already sure what the answer would be, dialling the number.
"Pizza," they replied in unison as they both took a seat across from each other on the island. How did he guess.
"Where's Jude?" Mariana said suddenly as Brandon moved next to them.
"He's up in Callie's bed," his mind drifted back to his younger brother. He wasn't going to disturb him when he was like this. It would cause more harm than good. Jude had been quiet the whole way home and even at the hospital. Brandon had noticed the way that he had been sitting - so close that it was almost as if he were glued to the older girl, petrified that at any moment she might just vanish into thin air. "We should just give him some space."
They twins nodded in unison. Even in the worst of situations Brandon still found it creepy how in sync they could both be. He thought back to the hospital when Mariana began to tell Jesus her plans, watching her lips move tirelessly. He wanted to be there right now. He was sure that everyone else did too but their mothers had been persistent as per usual. Insisting that though things were changing, they didn't want them to spend their summer waiting around in a hospital. It wouldn't be waiting around though. He would cherish every second that he got to spend with Callie as though they were the last moments that they were ever going to spend with each other.
A part of him understood though. This was the crazy part of the whole process. The endless tests and doctors were constant for now. Maybe spending half of his day in a hospital for her was just enough for right now. He was grateful for those hours at least.
Stef's fingers traced over Callie's blue brace lightly though she wasn't paying attention to her actions.. Her glasses were perched on the end of her nose and her laptop on her lap. Lena, on the other hand, was at the opposite side of the bed with her head leaning heavily on her fist - catching up on the much needed minutes of sleep that she had lost. The brunette teenager was lying with her eyes closed though she wasn't asleep like her mother. She had soon replaced Jesus' more energetic music with Brandon's classical choices, after asking the blonde to help her put the earphones in.
It was soothing. The pain medication was doing wonders.
If this is how junkies feel then it wouldn't be so bad, she smiled at her own words, knowing what either of the women would have to say to her if she said it out loud. She was trying to focus though. She wasn't on the euphoric high and it wasn't the calm that had surrounded her before. She just felt good.
Callie recognised the song that had been playing. She had watched Brandon play it before, it was one of his favourites. It had become one of her favourites. As the final note rang out she felt it. It was only slight, she had almost missed it.
"Mom?" Stef's voice shot up. Callie's voice was barely more than a whisper but it resonated in the blonde's ears like a shout.
"Yeah Love?" she replied quickly, closing the lid of the computer and sitting up straight. She brought her glasses away from her eyes and rested them on top of her head. "What's wrong?"
"I think," Callie stopped for a moment, letting out a deep breath. "I think I can feel my feet."
"Really?" Stef smiled slightly and tightened her grip on the teenagers hand. "Should I go get the doctor or wake Momma?"
Callie glanced over to her other mother. She hadn't stirred at all since their conversation had begun. Her face was fixed into a permanent frown, her eyebrows scrunched low towards her eyes. Stef couldn't help but think it was cute.
"No," she shook her head slightly, as much as her stiff neck would allow. "Can you do something for me?"
"Anything, Love."
"The doctor did this thing this morning," Callie trailed off. Stef couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt as her daughter spoke. She should have been there. She should have been there, holding her hand and taking note of every little thing that the doctor said to her. "Can you just like push against my feet?"
"Okay," Stef pulled her glasses back down and stood up quietly, moving to the end of the bed and gently placing her hand over the teenagers feet and pushing. She looked up to Callie and the brunette nodded. "Like this?"
"Can you feel me pushing back?" Callie almost laughed. "Can you feel it?"
"Yes, I can feel it. I can feel it," Stef grinned. Before she could say anything else she heard Lena stir beside them, rubbing her eyes and stretching an arm above her head. "Hey."
"Hey," Lena smiled sleepily.
Stef moved over to her, leaning down to place a kiss on her lips. She was ready to tell her what had just happened, ready to make the ever-growing smile stretch even further across her cheeks. Before she could even open her mouth to speak however, a loud voice interrupted her - booming through the corridor outside of the hospital room.
"Where's my daughter?" the familiar voice half-shouted. "Callie Jacob?"
Stef left quickly. Callie barely had enough time to move her neck back around to watch her, wincing slightly at the movement. Lena followed swiftly behind her, shooting an apologetic smile in her daughter's direction. She wanted to protest - shout at them not to go anywhere - but they couldn't just hide away and pretend that Robert wasn't there at all.
"What...doing...here?" Callie could hear snippets of their conversation, attempting to lip read through the window as best she could. Her father's movements were dramatic, arms flailing and fingers pointing. His grey speckled hair was messier than usual. Dark, circles under his eyes shining out.
"My daughter...Unfit mother," she watched his lips move again as he shouted the words. She had to look away. If it were any other time she would have gotten up there and then, probably would have ended up pushing him away or using some choice words. Instead she was confined to her bed, unable to appreciate the small victory that she had only just achieved.
She watched as the older man pushed past Stef, though she tried to block him with her own hands. As the door opened Robert almost fell through, the blonde following closely behind him - clutching her injured hand in the other, a pained expression taking over her face.
"Callie," he said breathlessly, moving towards her to sit down on the chair at her left side.
"I don't want you here," she replied as soon as he had gotten the last letter out.
"You're my daughter Callie, I'm not going anywhere," he smiled, unfazed by her words. Lena and Stef stood on her other side, jaws clenched as they watched Robert reach for her hand. Callie pulled it away before he could touch her and he glanced towards the women. "I'm not leaving you with them again, they've done enough."
"Robert I think you should leave," Lena said calmly but he ignored her words.
"I'm going to fix everything, I know some of the best doctors in the city, I can make this right."
"No," Callie frowned and a confused expression took over his face completely. He tilted his head questioningly and she spoke again. "You don't get to just come here and take over because things are getting difficult. You certainly don't get to say all those things to my moms and expect me to be okay with it."
"I'm your father Callie, I'm supposed to be protective and look after you," he started again. "They did this to you. I'm the one that has to pick up the pieces."
"If you want to be my father then maybe you should start acting like it," Callie glanced towards her mothers quickly before continuing. "Where were you when I went into surgery? Where were you earlier when I got out?"
"Nobody called me."
"Maybe that's because it's none of your business," Callie spat out. "You don't get to come here and call the shots. You don't get to come here and act like my family are the enemy."
Robert nodded slightly and lowered his head, looking down at his lap and avoiding the teenager's hard gaze. Stef couldn't help but let a tiny smile escape her lips as she listened.
"I'm sorry." Robert said quietly. "I just..."
"I'm sorry too," Callie cut him off. "I want you to go."
He didn't say anything else. Pushing himself up against each of the arm rests, Robert took three slow steps towards the door - looking back towards her at the last moment as though he expected her to change her mind but she looked away from his eyes immediately. As soon as he was gone Callie let out a deep sigh.
"No more drama please."
"Have we told you how truly and unbelievably proud we are of you Callie," Stef leaned down carefully and placed a kiss against her daughter's forehead.
Drama drama drama. Thanks for reading, tell me what you want to see next please and remember I'm always open to criticism. I hope you liked the chapter.