Chapter 10

Callie scurried down the hall as fast as her injured ankle would allow. The pungent smell of antiseptic made her stomach churn. She hated this place; it brought up too many bad memories. She stopped outside a room and pushed the door open. A small gasp escaped her lips when her eyes found Brandon in the hospital bed. Hues of black and blue decorated the skin beneath his left eyes. His right hand was casted.

A smile found his face when he met Callie's eyes. "Hey, you made it. I guess Moms got in touch with you."

Callie closed the door behind her and walked to his bedside. "What happened? Stef said you were in a fight?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine."

"What happened?" Callie repeated. "Why were you in a fight?"

Brandon hesitated. "When I finished my piano practice, I stopped in the gym to give something to Jesus and uh one of the guys on the wrestling team was…saying stuff about you."

Callie closed her eyes for a moment. "Brandon…"

"I lost it and he kept going and before I knew it we were throwing punches at each other" Brandon explained. "It's really not that bad. I'm only here because he broke my hand."

Callie felt guilt churning in her stomach. She was the reason he was in a fight. "What about piano?"

Brandon shrugged. "Well I won't be playing until it's healed."

"You can't get into a fight every time someone says something bad about me." Callie said. "Who was it and what did he say?"

Brandon tore his eyes away from Callie. "It was Tommy Walker. It doesn't matter what he said."

"Brandon." Callie said with a slight warning in her voice. "What did he say?"

Brandon entered the gym clutching a folded piece of paper. His eyes scanned the group of wrestlers for his brother. He approached the group for a better look, but still didn't see him. He turned towards the locker room, but the voice of Tommy Walker caught his attention.

"Yeah I saw Vico. He said juvie girl was begging for him to fuck her right there in the woods. He said she wanted it rough."

Brandon spun back around towards the group, his fists clenched tightly by his side. "Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about."

The group of guys turned to face Brandon. A smirk spread across Tommy's lips. "You must be banging her too. It must be nice to have your booty call in the next room."

"Hey, don't talk about her. Vico's a lying piece of shit." Brandon growled through clenched teeth. His nostrils flared as he took a step closer to Tommy.

"Woah, calm down. You can't expect a girl like that to be contained. You gotta learn to share her." Tommy said, earning nods of approval from his friends. His smirk widened. "Especially since Vico said she looks good on her knees. Says her mouth is…"

Something erupted inside of Brandon. He didn't let Tommy finish his sentence. He pulled his arm back and swung his fist at his face.

Callie closed her eyes for a moment. She hated that Vico got away with doing things like this. She hated that everyone was taking his word. She hated that people thought of her that way.

Brandon watched her worriedly. He noticed her demeanor change as he recounted the events. He could tell she was facing a battle in her head. "Are you okay?"

Callie met his eyes and ignored the question. "Can you please promise me that you won't get into any more fights? I have enough to worry about. I can't worry about you getting hurt too."

"I'm sorry. I won't, I promise. It was a one-time thing." Brandon said before reaching his healthy arm out towards her. "Come here."

Callie walked to the edge of the bed. "Where are Moms?"

"They were talking to the doctor and then getting a snack." He reached out for her hand and reached up towards her. She leaned down and their lips connected. Brandon pointed to the splint on Callie's wrist. "We match now."

A chuckle escaped Callie's lips. "Were you jealous?"

"Definitely." Brandon laughed

Stef sighed before taking a sip of her coffee. She walked down the hospital halls with her wife besides her. "I never want to be in this hospital again."

"Well you're going to be when this one is born." Lena said as she rested a hand on her slightly swollen stomach.

"That's different. We'll be in the maternity ward." Stef said. "I never want to be in this emergency room or ICU again. I don't know how much more bad news I can take."

Lena cringed. "Can I give you one more piece of bad news before you decide that?"

Stef halted to a stop and turned to her wife. "What is it?"

"Timothy won't sign the contract papers." Lena blurted out; her eyes searched Stef's face for a reaction.

"What? Are you kidding me?" Stef's eyes grew wide.

"Apparently, he didn't fully understand it until it was on paper."

Stef inhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, okay, we will figure this out."

"With any luck, he'll change his mind." Lena said.

Stef scoffed as they continued down the hall. "The only luck we have right now is bad."

Lena pursed her lips as the two stopped outside a room. Stef turned the knob and pushed the door open. The two women found Callie sitting in a chair beside Brandon's bed. Lena smiled at the two. "Callie, you made it. We told Mariana and Jesus to just go home so someone is there when Jude gets home."

"Plus, we wanted to talk to you, Callie." Stef said before taking a sip of her coffee.

Callie shifted in the chair. Her stomach knotted and her heart sped up. Did they find out about her and Brandon? Did they find out about the pregnancy? She met her foster mothers' eyes. "What's up?"

"Brandon implied that this wasn't the first time that someone has said something like this." Stef said, noting the way Callie's body seemed to have tensed.

Callie chewed on her bottom lip. She looked at Brandon, who offered her an apologetic expression. "No, it wasn't, but…"

"Who else is saying things about you? Lena asked softly.

Callie scoffed. "The entire school."

Stef and Lena exchanged glanced. Lena frowned. She was the vice principle; current head principle until the school found a replacement for Sanchez. She's supposed to know when bullying what occurring in the school. "What are they saying? Are they talking directly to you?"

Callie took interest in her hands. She didn't want to have this conversation. "To me and to other people."

"What are they saying?" Stef repeated.

"Does it matter? You heard what they said to Brandon." Callie swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"Yes, this matters." Stef's voice grew stern. "What do they say?"

"V-Vico told his friends a different story than what happened and they believed him and told everyone else. So now everyone thinks I hooked up with him and then accused him of…" Her voice trailed off unable to bring herself to say the word.

Stef took a deep breath. She had a feeling this was more serious than Callie was letting on. "Are they calling you names?"

"Yeah that's what most people do or just make…sexual comments."

"Most?" Stef questioned.

She said too much and now she knew she wasn't escaping this. She felt Brandon's eyes searching her; he knew people were saying things to her and behind her back, but that was all he knew.

"The guys on the wrestling team are um…persistent. Some of them are mad that I got Vico in trouble and the others think that because of what happened with Vico that they can…do what they want."

Stef burrowed her eyebrows as she tried to read what Callie was saying. Uneasiness grew in her stomach; the young brunette was implying things she was hoping weren't true. "What do you mean they think they can do what they want?"

Callie blinked back tears. "I guess Vico told them he'd…share me so they're persistent with asking for…sexual favors."

Brandon's nostrils flared as he clenched his uninjured fist. "What? Who?"

"Has anybody touched you?" Stef asked cautiously. Callie's hesitation made her stomach flip. "Callie…"

"It's not a big deal." Her voice betrayed her, cracking midsentence. "It's nothing serious, they've just grabbed me or cornered me. A few grabbed by butt, but that's it."

Lena closed her eyes for a moment. She couldn't believe this was happening in her school and she was blind to it. "Callie, that is a big deal."

"A few? Who? I'm going to beat…"

"Brandon." Stef interjected with a warning tone. She understood her son's fury, but he needed to stay calm. "Callie, what is happening is not okay. This is sexual harassment and assault. Touching you against your will is assault."

"It's not like it's anything new." Callie whispered.

Stef's heart shattered at Callie's words. "Love, I know you have been hurt by so many people in so many ways and most of your life people have gone unpunished, but this has never been and will never be okay."

"Yes, this will not be going on any further. The wrestling team will be punished and…"

"No!" Callie shouted, her eyes growing wide with panic. "That'll just make things worse and they're not the only ones. The whole school thinks I'm a slut and they're not wrong."

Lena burrowed her eyebrows at the girl before her. "Callie, you are no such thing."

"Really?" Callie shot back, her eyes blurring with unshed tears. "Everybody seems to think I asked for it and maybe they're right. I must have done something to make them do this."

Brandon closed his eyes, running his healthy hand over his face. She was blaming herself for what happened. She was blaming herself when she should have been blaming him. He was the one who sold fake IDs with Vico. He was the one who made Vico angry. He was the one Vico wanted to hurt. He was the one who made Callie suffer.

Stef walked to the chair Callie was sitting in and knelt down before her. She reached out to take the teenager's hands in her own. "Love, you did not do anything to make them do this. What happened is not your fault in any way. It is nobody's fault but Vico and Liam's."

A tear escaped Callie's eye. She felt like it was her fault. The world kept playing one cruel trick after another on her and she couldn't help but think she had to be doing something to cause it. She hated herself for listening to Vico that night and going down to the water. How could she be so stupid to have actually believed Vico was helping her and Mariana after the alcohol stunt? She hated that she wasn't able to fight Liam off before he dragged her into the woods. She didn't believe Stef's words, but she nodded her head because she didn't want to get into this here and now. "Okay."

So sorry for the delay! This semester has been kicking my butt and although I have a lot of this story written, this chapter needed work. Still not too happy with this chapter, but I wanted to get something out to you guys. Review!