Callie

Today is my first day back to school since the accident. I'm excited to go back and finally get out of the house, but at the same time I want to stay home with Stef. Lena is going back to work as well and knowing that Stef will be alone all day is unsettling. It's ridiculous, really—she's a grown adult who is capable of taking care of herself. But still…

"Hey, can I borrow your denim jacket?"

I snap out of my thoughts and see Mariana already slipping the jacket on over her tan arms. I roll my eyes, "Go ahead."

Mariana smiles gratefully and pulls her hair out from under the collar, "Are you excited to go back to school?"

"I guess," I answer with a shrug. I grab my sneakers and begin to pull them on, "It'd be better if I didn't look like I was just in a car accident." I still had stitches, a wrapped wrist and bruises in different places. It's definitely an improvement from what I looked like that night, but it's still fairly obvious I was in the hospital.

Mariana cocks her head, "Well you were in a car accident…" I glare at her and she laughs, "Lighten up! You look fine. Come on, let's go eat."

I stand up from my bed and follow Mariana downstairs into the kitchen where everyone else has already gathered for breakfast. I take my usual seat in between Stef and Jude.

"So you're going to just spend the day at home?" Brandon asks Stef as he reaches for the orange juice.

"Looks like it," Stef replies, "But that's okay. I have some episodes of Law and Order: SVU to catch up on." A look crosses Lena's face and she looks down into her coffee. Stef catches it and raises an eyebrow, "What?"

Lena plays with her mug, "Well you won't be completely alone…"

Stef's eyes widen, "Lena, you didn't—"

"It's your mother," Lena argues as Stef drops her head into her hands, "How could I not call her?"

Jesus grins, "Sweet, Grandma is coming?" Lena nods and Stef groans. Jude and I laugh behind our hands.

"Her flight come in at 10:00 and then she's taking a car service here," Lena explains. She reaches over and rests her hand on Stef's shoulder, "Honey, she's just wants to make sure your okay."

Stef raises her head, "Well I won't be okay after she nags me to death."

Lena rolls her eyes, "Anyway," she continues, "I'll swing by at lunchtime to check up on you." She shifts her gaze to me, "Callie, you're okay to go to school?"

I nod, "Yeah."

"Because it you're not—"

"Mama."

She smiles at me and goes back to her breakfast. Mariana pulls out her phone and checks the screen, "We need to leave soon. I have to get a book from my friend."

Everyone starts to get up, sans Stef who continues to nurse a cup of coffee. Everyone takes turns saying good-bye to her before heading for the door. Lena gives Stef a lingering kiss as well as a promise to call the house to check in before leaving. Then, it's just me and Stef.

She tugs on my hand so that I'm standing right in front of her, "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," I admit in a whisper, "But I'm happy your mom is coming."

Stef snorts, "Well that makes one of us," she quips.

I look down at my sneakers, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Look at me, Love," I look up and Stef's eyes look so sure and safe that all my worries melt away, "I'll be just fine, Callie. Please don't spend your day worrying about me. And like you said, Grandma is coming. She'll be on me like white on rice."

I laugh a little and nod, "Okay."

Stef smacks a kiss to my cheek and squeezes my shoulder, "I love you. Go get in the car before Mama drives off without you." I wave goodbye, grab my backpack, and make my way to the car.

Stef

I think I'd rather be back in the hospital.

Ever since my mom has gotten to the house, she has done nothing but fret over me. Even though I've assured her numerous times that I'm okay, she doesn't seem to believe me.

"What do you want to eat?" Sharon calls from the kitchen. From my spot on the couch I shake my head to myself.

"Lena is coming home for lunch," I answer.

Sharon claps her hands together, "Fantastic! I'll whip something up for both of you."

I stand up and walk into the kitchen. My mom is busy at work, pulling various ingredients from the fridge. I gingerly take a seat at the table, "So, Mom," I begin, trying to appear casual, "How long will you be staying with us?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. A week?"

Oh God.

"So long?" I ask, still attempting to sound casual, "I don't want to keep you from anything you have to do."

Sharon waves her hand, "Nonsense!" she exclaims, "You're my daughter. You can't keep me from anything."

Great.

"So how is Callie feeling?" Sharon asks as she rinses off some vegetables in the sink, "I notice she isn't home with you."

I nod, "Today is her first day back at school."

"So she's okay?"

"Physically, yes," I answer carefully, "Mentally…" I sigh, "She hasn't properly dealt with her mother's death, so this past week has been rough."

Sharon turns of the sink, "How did her mother die?"

"In a car accident."

She visibly winces, "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." I shake my head, "It's weird because I feel like we made progress with Callie, but at the same time I feel like there is so much we don't know about her."

Sharon nods, "One step forward, two steps back. Has she been to see her therapist since coming home?"

"No," I answer, "Actually, we should get on top of that." I grab a near by notepad and pen and write myself a note, "These past few days have been so hectic."

My mom snorts, "I could only imagine."

I hear the front door open and shut. I hear the clack of heels and soon enough Lena enters my line of vision. I feel myself relax tremendously as she comes over and kisses me.

"Hi, Love," I greet. She manages to smile at me briefly before she is swept up into a hug by my mom.

"Lena, darling, how are you?" Sharon asks as she squeezes the air out of my wife.

Lena smiles, "Good, thank you. I'm so glad you were able to come."

"Of course!" Sharon shoves Lena towards the table, "Take a seat. I'm working on lunch for you two."

Lena sits and I lean in close, "Can you please check your phone more at work?" I ask beseechingly, "At least this way I can text you complaints about my mother's many ways of torture."

"I heard that, Stefanie," my mother says over her shoulder as she works.

Lena chuckles, "Sorry, Love. My phone has been acting up for the past few hours. I'm just going to have Mariana look at it after school. That girl has a thing for technology. How has your day been otherwise?"

"Good," I reply, with a shrug, "I've been taking it easy, catching up on some work." I shift in my seat, "We need to get Callie to talk to Dr. Kodema. The accident has created these thoughts in her head and I'd like for them to be properly dealt with."

Lena nods, "I agree. I feel awful we didn't deal with her mother's death more after Frank's funeral. Obviously it's something she hasn't fully processed." Lena tilts her head, "What about Jude? I mean, I know he was relatively young when Colleen passed away, but he doesn't talk about her very often. I don't want him to harbor these feelings like Callie has."

"Maybe we can get them to do sessions together," I suggest, "They can draw off of each other's memories and get out their feelings to each other. I don't want them to forget their mother."

"Neither do I," Lena agrees as she reaches across the table to take my hand.

Callie

At lunchtime I'm staring expectantly at my phone, waiting for Lena to answer a text I sent a few minutes ago. I asked her how Stef was doing, but I also wanted to make sure she got to the house okay. I glance at the time and bite my lip. Quickly, I type out another message.

To: Lena

Are you home?

"Hey."

I glance up from my phone and see Brandon taking a seat across from me, "Have you heard from Lena today?"

He shakes his head, "Not since this morning. Why?"

I shake my head, "Nothing."

Brandon begins pulling out food from his paper bag, "How has your day been so far?"

"Okay," I answer with an indifferent shrug.

"You look a little run down."

I shoot Brandon a glare, "Thanks," I respond sarcastically. To be honest, I'm exhausted and sore and would like nothing more than to go home and sleep, but I'm trying to stick it out. I've already missed so much school—I can't afford to get anymore behind on my classes.

I glance at my phone again and see no new message notifications. Would it be too much to call? I just want to know where Lena is; whether or not she made it home safely. I toy with the phone in my hand.

"Are you expecting a call or something?" Brandon asks with a slight joking tone.

I smile weakly and shake my head, "No, um…I'm just bored."

"I'm hurt," Brandon deadpans, bringing a hand to his chest.

I grimace, "Sorry," I apologize as I a stand up and begin to gather my things, "I think I'm just going to head to the music room. See you later?"

He nods and waves. I head into the music school, sending another text to Lena.

To: Lena

Are you ok?

Lena

I finally arrive back at Anchor Beach after lunch with Stef and Sharon. I'm on my way to my office when the secretary stops.

"There's somebody waiting for you," she tells me with a pointed look.

Confused because I don't have any scheduled meetings, I push open the door and am surprised to see my eldest daughter, "Callie?"

She shoots to her feet the second she hears my voice and whirls around. Her shoulders visibly relax and she rushes over to me to give me a hug. Her hold is tight and desperate, like she's scared of something. I wrap my arms around her and hold her with equal vigor.

"What's going on, baby?" I ask after a moment. Just as quickly as Callie hurried to hug me, that's how fast she pushes away from me.

"Why didn't you answer me?!"

My eyes widen in surprise, "I-I'm sorry?"

"I texted you," Callie says as she begins to pace the length of my office, "You never replied. Why didn't you answer me?"

I shake my head, "I'm sorry, Sweetheart, but my phone has been giving me problems all morning."

"Well you should have fixed it!" she snaps in a borderline hysterical tone.

Whoa.

I take a seat in one of the chairs facing my desk and fold my hands, "What's going on, Callie?" I ask in a gentle voice, "This is about more than me missing a few messages."

Callie continues to pace as she threads her fingers in her hair in frustration. I can tell she wants to tell me something but either doesn't know how to tell me, or is reluctant to share.

"Talk to me," I encourage her, "I want to help you."

She finally stops pacing and stops in front of me, "I thought something happened to you," she finally admits in a small voice, "I thought you got into a car accident."

I sigh, "Callie—"

"I know it's stupid," she interrupts me as she sits down across from me, "But I can't shake this feeling of…dread. I keep expecting something bad to happen. You told me I can't live like that but…" She sighs and rubs at her eyes, "I'm sorry I yelled at you," she adds in a quiet tone.

I lean forward and take her hands, "It's not stupid," I assure her, "And when I said you can't live in fear…it's not something I expected for you to flip off like a switch. It's something we need to work on. I'm so sorry I scared you, Baby."

Callie looks at the floor, "S'okay," she mumbles.

I scoot over on my chair, "Come here." I pull her next to me and draw her close.

Her heart is pounding.

Stef is right; we really need to call Dr. Kodema. I feel Callie sag against me. I study her face and notice just how tired she looks. There are circles under her eyes and she looks a bit too pale for my liking.

"Honey, I think you should go home," I suggest gently.

She shakes her head, "I'm fine."

"You're exhausted," I argue, running my fingers through her hair, "There's no use in having you go to class if you're too tired to pay attention." Callie lets out an incoherent rebuttal. I kiss her forehead, "I'm going to call Grandma to come get you, okay?"

Callie rubs at her eyes, "Okay," she agrees with little argument. I get up from the chair to use my office phone and Callie curls into herself. As I wait for someone to pick up the landline, I observe my daughter who looks so tired and small and confused at what life has thrown her thus far. I want nothing more than to hug her until all of her broken pieces come back together.

I want to fix her.

Spring Break was like, 30% vacation, 70% work. I'm excited for The Fosters season finale! Who do you think got in the car accident? I keep hearing rumors about Jake T. Austin but they can't kill him off. Can they?

I'm so tired and I overslept slightly so I had to go to class dressed like a ragamuffin. Straight up thrift shop sweater and grandpa socks. Thank you for the reviews/interest you show in this story! It's really makes me happy during my bleak college days. At least I have something to look forward to in your kind words/displays of support. :)

That's all I have to say at the moment.

-Liv