A/N - Look at me posting like three days in a row! Does that make up for the radio silence? Thank you so much for reviews! I really love reading your opinions and thoughts! I'm so glad that so many people are reading this story because I honestly thought no one ever would!
To LearningToThinkNewThoughts - When i started writing this it was in the plan all along. As I wrote that chapter I thought about deleting it and not including it but to me (and maybe because it's all in my head about the characters) it fit. I do kind of agree with you though!
To the guest who said Sofia doesn't appreciate her mother - I hope this chapter shows the affection that is there and that she does appreciate her - if only a little.
To smiley714 - no need to apologise! I'm working really hard to try and post as much as I can before school starts back up next week! Honestly getting all the reviews has motivated me so much!
To the guest who said that Callie is getting all the blame - now that you've pointed that out, I totally see your point about trying to make Callie the bad guy. That totally hasn't been my intention in this case but it definitely comes across that way. I'm hoping that by the time I finish this story, that isn't the case. I don't believe Callie has ever been the bad guy and I definitely am not writing this to try and make up from Arizona cheating. Please bear with me!
Also this is another chapter with a trigger warning! I don't know if I should say what it is because I don't want to like spoil it but it's not an abuse trigger warning but if you don't want a spoiler stop reading scroll.
The trigger warning is for gun violence/school shooting.
Chapter 18:
Walking in the front door, Sofia made a conscious effort to not slam the door. After weeks of only slamming any door, she was surprised they were still attached. Sofia was sure Callie was going to remove her bedroom door at least 2 weeks ago. Her mother had shown her so much patience while she was in her funk. Naomi was right though, Sofia needed to stop pushing people away, especially her mum. Her mum who had broken up with the first person in years who made her truly happy. This is was the time Callie needed Sofia more than ever.
Walking into the kitchen, Sofia found Callie cooking dinner and singing to herself. She watched for a few moments before she interrupted. Considering Callie had only been broken up from Arizona for just over a month, she was doing quite well. Sofia half expected that they would be in a new town by now. As much as Callie liked to pretend she was okay, Sofia heard Callie crying every night when she thought Sofia was asleep.
"Hey," Sofia said, interrupting her mother's singing.
"Hey, you're home! I didn't hear you come in, the door didn't slam," Callie joked.
"Yeah I figured if I keep slamming them, they're gonna fall right off the hinges," Sofia chuckled.
"Wow, a full sentence! Did you have a good day?" Callie asked.
"Yeah, actually I did. How was your day?" Sofia asked with a smile on her face.
"It was alright, much better now," Callie smiled at her daughter before going back to cooking.
"I love you, Ma," Sofia said as she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek.
"Love you too, Nena," Callie smiled, enjoying this new attitude Sofia suddenly had.
"Let me know what dinner is ready, I'm going to go and do my homework."
Lying in her bed, Sofia tossed and turned, sleep within in her reach yet she was unable to reach it. Sighing as she rolled around, struggling to find a comfortable position, she decided that maybe getting up would help to tire her out. Throwing the covers off, Sofia headed out to go and get a drink of water.
As she walked down the hallway she stopped at her mum's door. Light was shining through the crack at the bottom of the door. Pressing her ear against the door, Sofia listened to see if her mum was still awake. Hearing muffled sounds, Sofia quietly opened the door and slipped into the bedroom. The light was coming from the lamp on the bedside table. Callie was lying her side, facing away from the door.
Sofia realised that her mum was crying. Callie's shoulders were shuddering as she tried to hold in her sobs. There had been many times that Sofia had seen her mum cry, but this was the most heartbreaking. Sofia tiptoed over to the bed and gently slipped in under the covers. Callie tensed up at the realisation that someone was in the bed with her.
"I'm sorry Ma," Sofia whispered as she put her arm around Callie and cuddled up to her.
Callie rolled over and put her arm around Sofia as the two cuddled up, both heartbroken. Sofia wiped away Callie's tears as the freely fell from her eyes.
"I love you so much," Sofia whispered, trying to console her. "Forever and always."
"I love you too," Callie whispered back. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I understand, I get it," Sofia smiled. "Just, try and get some sleep."
This become their routine. Sofia would go to bed in her room and then at some stage during the night she would end up in her mother's bed. Every time she tried to sleep in her room, she just tossed and turned. Callie and Sofia leant on each other. They never spoke about it, but both knew that it was what they needed for the moment.
"Hey Ma, can you take me to school today?" Sofia asked as they ate breakfast. "I have a diorama due today and I don't really want to catch the bus with it."
Checking the time, Callie quickly worked out if she would have enough time before her surgery. She had promised Alex to assist on a knee replacement on 14-year-old soccer star. Agreeing to take her daughter to school, Callie and Sofia quickly finished their breakfast so that Callie would be able to make it to the hospital on time.
"Are you going to be able to carry all of that to class," Callie asked as she watched Sofia struggling to hold everything.
"Yeah, I just have to get the balance right," Sofia smiled.
"Sofia."
"I didn't want to ask because we could run into Arizona and I didn't know if you were ready for that," Sofia told her mother.
"I'll be fine, here let me help," Callie said as she got out of the car and went to help her daughter.
Walking through the school, Callie's eyes were darting, looking out for the blonde. She wasn't sure if she was checking to avoid her or if she was trying to catch a glimpse of her ex. As they walked, Sofia chatted away, hoping to distract her mother, but Callie was barely listening. All she could hear was the intense beating of her heart.
Making it to Sofia's classroom, Callie let a deep breath of relief. They had made it without running into Arizona. Callie helped Sofia set everything up before realising she needed to leave to make it to the hospital in time.
"I'll see you tonight Mija. I have a few surgeries on today," Callie told Sofia with a kiss on the top of her head.
"Okay," Sofia smiled.
"I'll text if I'm going to be too late okay. Make sure to do your homework when you get home," Callie smiled before leaving her daughter at school.
Leaving the classroom, Callie wasn't even thinking about Arizona. She quickly got out her phone to send a text to Alex to let him know she was on her way and would at the hospital soon. She was so busy looking at her phone that she didn't a person walking right towards her.
Bam.
As Callie ran into the unknown person, her phone fell from her hand and landed on the floor with a thud. Not looking up, both people bent down to pick it up. It was only then that Callie's eyes were able to see the face of the person she had run into.
"Calliope."
"Arizona."
They both paused, their hands almost touching as they had both reached for the phone. Their eyes locked, neither one daring to move or break eye contact. Those ocean blue eyes had pulled Callie and taken her breath away more times than she could count. There was something about those eyes that made it hard to look away. Callie couldn't tell if there was pain or affection hidden in the depths of them.
Arizona was the first one to move. She leant down further and picked up the dropped phone, holding it out for Callie take. As she took the phone from Arizona's hand, their fingers touched lightly. It was all they needed. The moment their skin touched electricity ran through them. No words were exchanged between them, they didn't need to. Both their eyes moved down and focused on each other's lips.
Just as Callie was about to speak, a group of students turned the corner and started walking towards them. Arizona quickly pulled her hand away from Callie's, a flash of guilt and regret on her face.
"It was good to see you Calliope," Arizona said quietly before walking away from the brunette.
Callie just stood there, watching Arizona walk away from her. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it was going to beat right out of her chest. She took a moment to slow her heart and breathing down. If those students hadn't interrupted them, Callie was sure she was going to tell Arizona she had made a mistake and then kiss her. How she missed those sweet lips.
Walking down the hallway with her friends was the happiest Sofia had felt in weeks. Trav was joking around with Abbi and Harry as they made their way to their next class. English was the only class they all had together this year. It was probably for the best as their study groups were never as productive as they should be. Sofia was always home late on the days they studied because they spent half their time laughing and chatting instead of studying. Not that she minded, it was nice to have a solid friend group.
"What was that," Trav asked. The group snapping their heads up as they heard the sound.
"It couldn't be. Right?" Abbi asked, looking around at everyone in the group.
"No way. That wouldn't happen here," Harry assured them.
Bang.
"That was definitely a gun shot," Georgia said. The group of friends paused.
"We need to get out of here," Sofia told them. "We need to get into a classroom and lock the door."
The group of friends looked at each other before running down the hallway, opening the first unlocked door they could find, slamming it behind them and locking it. Sofia rested her back against the door, taking a break to try and calm the panic that was slowly taking over her body.
"Hide under something," she instructed them. "Do you guys have your phones? We need to call 9-1-1."
Everyone quickly got their phones out and called 9-1-1 to report what they had heard. Almost everyone's voices cracking from the tears they were holding back, the fear of the reality setting in. There had been times when they had practiced this or talked about it in class, but no one ever thought it would happen here. It was supposed to be a good school. Everyone Sofia had spoken to loved it here.
"Who do you think it is," Georgia asked, her arms clutching her legs to her chest.
"I didn't think anyone here would be that unhappy to shoot the place up," Travis answered in a whisper.
"You never know what people are going through," Sofia answered, staring out of the window.
Scrubbing out of surgery, Callie was arguing with herself about whether or not to tell Alex about what happened with Arizona. She needed to tell someone, and Alex was one of the only people who knew what had happened. Cristina knew as well. Callie knew Yang's advice would be to sleep with her. Alex would at least give her some useful advice before telling her to sleep with her ex.
"I almost kissed Arizona today," Callie blurted out.
"Wait, what," Alex asked confused. "How?"
"I had to help Sofia take a project to school and as I was walking out, I ran into Arizona. Like, literally ran into her."
"So you just grabbed her and tried to kiss her?"
"No," Callie chuckled, "there was a moment when she was giving me my phone back. We touched and I just. I almost told her I'd made a mistake and kissed her."
"Why didn't you," Alex asked seriously. "The dumbest thing you've ever done is end it with her."
"Because who would take me back after what I did? I know I broke her heart."
"She'd take you back because she loves you. All you'd need to do is tell her how you feel. How do you feel?"
Callie knew exactly has she felt. Saying it out loud was a terrifying thought. It wasn't something she could just take back. So many times she had told someone she loved them, only for them to turn around and break her heart.
"I, I..."
Before Callie could say it, both of their pages went off and they were running.
"What do you think it is?" Callie asked Alex as they ran to the E.R.
"I don't know, must be massive because everyone is here," Alex answered.
Looking around the room, almost every available doctor was standing around, waiting for instructions from Hunt. This only happened when something big was happening either at the hospital. Or something horrible at happened. Hunt looked stressed. The room was buzzing with doctors and nurses talking, trying to work out what was going on. As soon as Hunt started talking, the room went silent.
"Thanks everyone for getting here so fast,'' Chief Hunt started addressing his staff. "We've been told that there's been a school shooting and once they start getting to the victims, they will be bringing them here. We need to prepare for multiple traumas, gunshot wounds, we're going to need lots of pain meds, fluids, blood and anything else to help the kids, teachers and their loved ones. Triage quickly and then get them up to the O.R.s It's going to be a busy day so eat and drink while you can. Thank you. Torres can I talk to you?"
Callie walked over to Hunt. She knew this was going to be a busy day for her, shootings always resulted in lots of ortho related injuries. Broken ribs, arms and legs from people running away from the shooter, trying anyway they can to escape. A pep talk from Hunt about how was she needed to lead was exactly what she needed right now. She had noted that the on-call Ortho surgeon was called in as well.
"Torres you're done for the day. Can you make sure everyone knows the ortho protocols?" Hunt told her.
"Uh what? No, I'm staying. I'm the best ortho surgeon you have!"
"You can't work this Torres."
"Give me one good reason why," Callie argued.
"The school this is happening at, it's Sofia's school. This is too personal," Hunt replied, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I don't… Are you sure?"
"I'm positive. Go home or stay in the waiting room, but you aren't working. You need to be a mum right now. Whatever you need you let us know and we'll get it."
Callie's heart hadn't beat this fast or this hard before. Not only was Sofia in danger but Arizona as well. She reached into her pocket and quickly got out her phone. She needed to know that Sofia was alive. The panic was slowly taking over her body. The hands shook as she typed out a text to send to her daughter. Every second seemed to be in slow motion as she waited for a reply.
Sofia are you okay?
Yes Mama. I'm fine. We're hiding in a classroom. I'm okay.
I love you. Be safe Mija and don't do anything stupid xx
I love you too Ma
The hospital must have been warned about the shooting. At least when this was over, Sofia knew she'd be taken to her mother. She had no idea how long they had been in the classroom hiding for. It had been a long time between gun shots. That meant there hadn't been any more shots fired or they were too far away to be heard. Both were good for them. Sofia was glad she was at least with her friends during this.
"Oh my god," Sofia gasped.
"What," Georgia asked, through her tears.
"Naomi. She went to the bathroom and didn't come back with us. I need to go find her."
"NO!" her friends all yelled at the same time.
"What if she's been shot? You guys stay here and don't let anyone in," Sofia told them as she carefully made her way to the door.
"How will we know it's you," Abbi asked.
"Just stay down and don't let anyone in," Sofia said again.
Before her friends could even attempt to stop, Sofia was out of the classroom. If she wanted to change her mind it was too late now. She had made sure to lock the door before she closed it. It was eerily quiet. Like even the walls knew something bad was happening. Her ears were filled the beating of her heart and sound of her rapid breathing. Her eyes darted side to side, checking to make sure the coast was clear before she made her way to her friend. Taking a few deep breaths, Sofia slowly started to move down the hallway as quietly as she could.
"You're a good man in a storm," Sofia whispered to herself.
Arizona.
She had no idea if the principal was safe let alone alive. Once she had found Naomi, she would make sure that Arizona was safe as well. With a deep breath, Sofia got down on her hands and knees and started crawling down the hallway. She thought this would be the safest way to move and not be detected. She made sure to go quickly but quietly, afraid to bring attention to the fact that was now an easy target.
Sofia headed in the direction that she had last seen Naomi walk in. Sweat was dripping down her forehead and her palms clammy from the nerves of trying to navigate through the school undetected. As she moved, she stopped frequently to listen for any signs of people moving towards her. As she got closer to the last place she had spoken to Naomi, she wiped her palms and said a silent prayer. She really hoped Naomi stayed in the bathroom and hadn't wandered around. She also hoped that she hadn't been discovered by the shooter.
"Naomi," Sofia whispered as crawled into the girl's bathroom. "Naomi, It's Sofia. Are you in here?" As she crawled further into the bathroom, she could hear soft sobs coming from one of the stalls. She quickened her pace, hoping the source of the cries was her best friend. Lying on her stomach, Sofia slid underneath the door.
"Naomi," Sofia sighed with relief, "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Sofia," Naomi said, trying not to sob. "He walked right past before. I thought you were him. I thought I was going to die."
"I got you," Sofia cooed, trying to soothe her friend. "You're safe."
"Why? Why is he doing this," Naomi cried.
"I don't know but we need to get out of here before he comes back," Sofia whispered.
She stood up and then held out her hand for Naomi to grab. The quietly tiptoed to the door and tried to open the door as silently as they could. Sofia only opened it enough to be able to see up and down the corridor. Once she was sure it was empty, she turned to Naomi.
"We need find somewhere safe for you to hide. Somewhere behind a locked door."
"Wait," Naomi said, shaking her head, "you make it sound like you aren't coming with me."
"I'm not," Sofia answered, "I have to go find Robbins and make sure she's safe. I can't just leave her out there. I need to know she's okay."
"Then I'm coming with you," Naomi said adamantly.
"No," Sofia hissed at her, "you need to get to safety."
"I will when you do," Naomi argued, "best friends have each other's backs."
"Fine," Sofia finally relented, "but if you want to leave at any time, you can. Okay?"
"Okay," Naomi agreed. "Where do we find her?"
"I think we start by heading towards her office, but we have to go slow just in case he's out there," Sofia answered as she poked her head back out the door to make sure the coast was clear.
The two friends made their way through the school slowly and quietly. Each time they had to turn a corner, Sofia would stick her head around and check that the coast was clear. It was unnervingly quiet around the school. Every door was locked, and the blinds pulled down. Small sobs could be heard as they passed doors. Even if Sofia wanted to, there was no way she was getting into any of these classrooms unless they headed back to their friends. As quiet as they tried to be, all Sofia could hear was her breathing and the beating of her heart. The longer they walked around the school, the more at risk they were of meeting the shooter.
After checking the office to find no trace for Arizona, Sofia thought the next place she would have been was her classroom. She would have been teaching bio med right now if they weren't in lockdown. Sofia checked that Naomi still wanted to stay with her as they made their way back to their bio med classroom. Even with fear written all over her face and the hesitation evident in her voice, Naomi agreed to go and check the bio med room with Sofia.
Knowing that that the longer that were out here, the chances of running into the shooter was getting higher and higher. Sofia slowed them down, stopping and check the coast was clear every time they came to a corner or place where their sight was blocked. After crawling for so long, their knees were sore. Naomi had asked if they could walk. Sofia agreed, at least this way if they needed to run they were already upright and able to bolt.
They reached another corner and Sofia could hear voices in the distance. They were only a whisper, but she could make out two different voices. Her skipped beat. One of those voices could belong the shooter. She pulled Naomi against the wall, their backs pressed tightly against the brick, hoping that they weren't sticking out.
"Ssssh," Sofia whispered to Naomi, her finger against her lips. "I think there's people around the corner, one could be the shooter."
Naomi nodded at this information, not feeling very confident. She reached out and grabbed Sofia's hands. Sofia squeezed it back, trying to reassure her friend. Looking over her shoulder, Sofia pointed down the ground, indicating that they needed to crawl. They both got down all on fours, Sofia taking the lead as they slowly and carefully crawled towards to the voices. Luckily there was a set of lockers near the people. As they got closer, they could make out the voices. There was a male and female voice. Sofia froze. She knew exactly who the female voice belonged to.
"What's wrong," Naomi whispered, realising that Sofia wasn't moving.
"It's Robbins," Sofia replied, "Robbins is talking to whoever is in there with her. I think he must be the shooter."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Sofia nodded, "I'm okay. Are you?"
"I will be once we are safe," Naomi answered honestly.
As they crawled closer, the two could finally see the owners of the voices. Arizona was standing in front of a young boy, trying to calm him down. Sofia and Naomi stopped, using the lockers to block the other two from being able to see them. From behind the lockers, they couldn't see if he was holding a gun or not. Sofia and Naomi looked at each other, fear overtaking both of their bodies in that moment. Looking back to Arizona, Sofia could see how scared the blonde was but how she was also trying to hide it. Without thinking, Sofia slowly started moving forward. She wasn't sure why but the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach told her keep moving forward.
"Stay here," Sofia whispered, "run if you need to."
Naomi nodded as tears started build up in the corners of her eyes. They both knew that things could get dangerous. They nodded at each other as Sofia left her best friend hiding behind the lockers, hoping that would keep her safe if things started to go down hill.
Suddenly, the boy started to get agitated. He was moving side to side on his feet and then he suddenly started pacing. Sofia was now close enough that if he looked to the side, he would have a clear view of Sofia. She watched as he stopped pacing and started talking incredibly fast. Sofia couldn't quite hear what he was saying as he was muttering to himself. Sofia looked up to Arizona who had finally spotted her.
Arizona begged Sofia to retreat with her eyes. Suddenly the blue orbs grew in size and Sofia looked back to the boy. He was silent and holding his arm up in front of him. Looking back to Arizona, Sofia felt a tear slide down her cheek. They both knew what was about to happen and everything suddenly seemed like it was in slow motion.
Before Sofia knew what she was doing, she pushed off the ground and started running to Arizona. The blonde was only a few steps away and Sofia knew that she would be spotted before she got to her. She could see Arizona's mouth move and a look of terror on her face but the blood pumping in her ears blocked out any sounds. As she finally got close enough to reach the principal, Sofia reached out her arms and pushed the blonde away. It was barely a second later when a gunshot rung out in the hall. Sofia wasn't sure what had happened in those last seconds but all she felt was pain as her body shuddered and fell to the ground. As she hit the ground, time seemed to move at its normal speed again.
"Oh my god. Oh my god. No Sofia," Arizona cried out, crawling over to the young girl.
"Sofia," Naomi screamed as she watched her friend collapse.
"Oh my god. Oh my god," the boy said, panicking before running off.
"Sofia can you hear me," Arizona asked as she took Sofia into her arms. Arizona ran her hands around Sofia's face. Sofia's eyes fluttered open and closed for a few moments before staying open. "Hey, stay with me," she demanded.
"It hurts," Sofia cried, writhing in pain in Arizona's arms.
"I know, sweetheart, I know. Just, try to stay still," Arizona said softly. She took off her blazer and rolled it up. She lifted up Sofia's shirt to find blood all over her abdomen. She gasped at the amount of blood as she tried to find where the bullet had hit her body. Sofia moaned in pain as Arizona took her blazer and pressed it down on to the wound that was bleeding profusely.
"Naomi, I need you to run and go find help. Tell them a young girl has been shot in the abdomen, no exit wound. Can you do that?"
Naomi nodded her head, tears streaming down her face. She used the wall behind her pull herself up, her eyes never moving from her best friend.
"NOW!," Arizona yelled at the young girl. Naomi just nodded before running off. "Hey, hey, I'm here Sof, you're going to be okay."
"It hurts so much, and I'm so cold," Sofia said weakly, her voice shuddering.
"I know but I've got you," Arizona replied, trying to smile through her tears as she hugged her close. Blood had split all over her clothes, but Arizona didn't care.
"Arizona, if I die," Sofia started to say before Arizona cut her off.
"No, no don't say that. You are not going to die."
"We both know I've lost a lot of blood," Sofia said, her breathing now laboured, "there's no exit wound… which means the bullet is inside me. I could die."
"I'm not going to let you die, you hear me. You need to fight," Arizona begged.
"Promise me something? Promise me that if I die, you won't let Mama be alone," Sofia asked, pausing between words as she struggled to speak.
"You're not dying on me. Help will be hear soon, you hear me. Just keep your eyes open," Arizona whispered. The tears she had tried to hold back broke free, a small sob escaping her mouth as she spoke.
"She loves you. She'll need you," Sofia spluttered. "Promise me, please," she asked, grabbing Arizona's hands and holding them.
"I promise," Arizona smiled, squeezing Sofia's hand. "I love you Sofia. Please just, keep looking at me. Keep talking."
"I love you, Arizona," Sofia said just as her eyes closed and she went unconscious.
"No, no, Sofia," Arizona cried, looking around for help. "Don't you dare die on me. SOMEBODY HELP US!"
A/N - I'm so sorry, please don't hate me! I promise another update is coming soon!
