"And your bed is perfect in the corner, because that way we can stay up late and talk to each other even when we are supposed to be sleeping. And you can keep all of your clothes in the closet with mine, and maybe we could even share. This is going to be so fun!" 8 year old Mariana took a deep breath, having ranted for the last 5 minutes to a quiet Callie. "I know most of everything in here is mine, but now that we are sisters you can use anything you want. Except my diary of course cause that is for me only. Although Jesus doesn't seem to understand that. So, what did you bring here with you?"
Callie shrugged, a little embarrassed. This girl had so much, and Callie only really had 2 items. She walked Mariana over to the nightstand and showed her what was placed on it. A small box, a brush, a journal, and a photograph. Mariana picked up the photo and smiled. "Is this your birth mommy?" Callie shook her head yes. Placing the photo back down, Mariana pointed to the box. "What's in there?" Callie motioned to the gold necklace around her neck. "Oh, a necklace. It's so pretty." Callie gave the girl a small smile, before going to sit on the edge of her new bed. She held the coin-like object in between her index finger and thumb.
Mariana tilted her head, smiling. "You don't talk much do you?" Callie looked up, but didn't respond. "That's okay, you don't have to talk. When I first got here I didn't talk either. My mommies though are really nice, and I think you'll like them. If you want, I'll do all the talking for you until you feel safe enough to do so. Deal?" Callie smiled at the younger girl, unsure of how her new foster sibling made her feel more at home than any other had. "Deal."
The soft knock came right as she was about to start her history homework, and honestly, thank god because she really didn't feel like reading about how 2 countries had practically started a whole world war. What really was the point of history? Everyone from the 1800s was long gone, and she's pretty sure she doesn't need to know who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand to get a job designing clothes or working as a coder for video games. "Come in." Callie entered, and Mariana threw her history homework on the end of her bed, the work now long forgotten until later that night. "Hey!"
"Uh, hi." Callie looked to where her corner of the room used to be, and much to her surprise, nothing had changed. Her bed still sat where it was placed since the day the Fosters took her in. The nightstand still held her purple lamp, and the spongebob sticker still where she had accidentally placed it on the wood when she was 11 years old; the colors not as vibrant of course, especially not after Stef scrubbed that spot repeatedly to try and remove the thing, eventually giving up. "Everything's still here." Callie sat on her bed, shocked. She would have thought after a while they would have gotten rid of her stuff.
"Well of course everything is still here," Mariana interrupted. 'We didn't just forget about you. I mean, moms wanted to at least store your stuff in the garage, but I refused to let them touch anything. I knew you would be back one day." Callie smiled at her foster sister. She missed Mariana the most out of all of her foster siblings.
Mariana had been the first one to welcome her into the family. The girl had never acted weird around her or became awkward that she didn't talk or answer questions. The young girl had stood by her side, and as promised, was her voice. If Jesus asked them if they wanted to come play basketball outside, Mariana would look at Callie and if she shook her head no, then Mariana would respond that they didn't feel like playing outside at that moment. She was well aware how annoyed the boys had gotten that Mariana no longer wanted to play with them but stick to Callie's side. To Callie though, it meant a lot, and after a few months, Callie started to talk to Mariana which made the girl thrilled, as Callie still hadn't talked to Stef or Lena yet.
After that the girls had been inseparable. They talked about anything and everything, even staying up past curfew just as Mariana had said they would. When they were on the verge of becoming teenagers, the two would gossip about cute boys and even help each other pick out outfits for school. Mariana had taken the news the hardest when she was told Callie and Jude would be going to live with their biological grandma in Idaho. "Thanks. For not giving up."
"Never. So, um, where is Jude? I mean what happened to him when you were sent to juvie?"
'Uh, he's still at the foster house we were at last before I entered Juvie."
"And how did you end up in Juvie?"
'Well, I sorta took a baseball bat to our foster dad's car." Mariana's eyes widened. "Why? What happened?"
"He caught Jude dressing up in one of his ex-wife's old dresses. He started to, uh, beat him and I couldn't stop it. So I did the only thing I could think of and started hitting his car. I didn't think I'd end up in Juvie though. I just thought it would be enough to get us pulled out of that house."
"And Jude's still there?"
"Yeah."
"Well why didn't you tell mama. She'll call mom and they will go get him out."
"Lena has to get in contact with Bill first. She tried before but he's busy at the moment."
"Callie this isn't okay. Let's go downstairs and have mama tell mom right now. We shouldn't have to wait for Bill when Jude is in danger now." Mariana got up from her bed and went for the door before being pulled back by her arm. "No Mariana, you can't. I know Jude is in danger, that's why I am going to go get him myself. I need you to cover for me, or just buy me enough time to make it at least halfway across town."
"Callie, no! It's too dangerous for you to go over there by yourself. Mom is a cop. She is trained for situations like these."
"Mariana, please," begged Callie. "Lena was only just able to get in contact with Stef which means she's busy. I have to go now. I haven' t seen jude in three months. I need to be the one who pulls him out." Mariana looked at Callie unsure. "This isn't right."
"Please." Sighing, Mariana shook her head. "Okay, we'll go."
"We?"
"Yes we. There's no way in hell I am letting you go over there alone."
'No, I can't let you come. It's too—"
'What, too dangerous. It's either I go with you now, or we wait for mom to get home. Plus, I'm sure mama already started dinner, so if she hears the front door open she's going to wonder who it is. Better to be both of us than just you."
"Okay, fine. But whatever happens, you don't step foot in that house. Understand?"
"Understood." Mariana put her running sneakers on, then slipped into her coat. Making sure she had her phone on her, the girls headed downstairs into the kitchen. "Hey mama, would it be okay if Callie and I walked around the neighborhood, you know, and talked?" Lena looked up questiongly. "And what's wrong with your room?"
"It's just, it is a really nice day today and I would rather talk outside in sunny weather than in a stuffy room. Please?"
"Okay, but be back in an hour. Mom will be home by then and she doesn't know Callie is here yet."
"We will." Mariana smiled at her mother, then led Callie out the front door. "Nicely played." Mariana smirked. "Told you you would need me."
"Who is that?" Brandon asked. He was quite aware of the fact his mother's phone hasn't stopped ringing since she met him after his audition. "Just mama. I couldn't answer before because you were playing." Stef slid into the driver's seat and pressed the green talk button. "Hello?"
"Stef, thank god, it's about time you answered."
"I know, sorry love. I didn't have my phone on me this morning and then Brandon was in the middle of performing when you called again. What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. I didn't mean to worry you. How was Brandon?"
"He did amazing, as always." Brandon blushed in the passenger seat, not one to really take compliments. "That's fantastic! I can't wait to hear all about it when you get home. How far away are you?"
"Well we are still sitting in the parking lot, so I'd imagine at least 40 minutes. Are you sure everything is okay? You called me like 10 times today Lena."
"Yes, everything is okay for now, I promise. Just, get home as soon as you can. I have a surprise."
"A surprise, huh? Okay, love. We will come straight home."
"Okay, love you guys."
"We love you too. Bye." Brandon smiled staring out the window as Stef pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road towards the highway. "You know, if the surprise is Mariana got the highest grade on her math test in her class again, I don't think that even counts as a surprise." Stef lauaghed. "I would agree. I know that everyone is going to be so excited though when they find out you made semi-finals."
"I guess." Stef glanced towards her son, his expression not as excited as it should be. "Hey, there's no I guess. You earned your spot and should be proud of the hard work you put forth."
"I am, mom."
"What's wrong B?"
'Nothing, I swear."
"C'mon, you're making that same face you did when you were seven and mama and I told you you couldn't get a puppy." Brandon smiled, remembering that day clearly. "Well, I guess I'm...ah, nervous. This competition was already hard as it is, and semi-finals are only going to get tougher. What if I, what if I lose? Or what if I'm not good enough to make it to finals?"
"Brandon, you are amazing. You should never worry about if you aren't good enough, because I know you are and deep down I know you know you're good enough too. I mean, out of 100 people who auditioned for that scholarship only 30 people moved forward to the semifinals, and Brandon you were one of them. Give yourself some credit, huh. All you have to do is keep working hard. And definitely don't worry about losing sweety. There are thousands of other scholarships out there for you to apply to."
"Thanks, mom." That had been exactly what the boy needed to hear.
"Anytime B."
By the time they pulled into the driveway, the sun had long set, and Stef was tired enough to call it a night at only 6:30. There was still dinner though, and apparently some surprise. "We're home!" Stef announced, following Brandon through the front door. "Hey guys," Lena greeted them. "How was it Brandon?"
"I made the semi-finals."
"That's terrific!" She leaned in, giving her oldest a hug. " We'll have to celebrate. For now, why don't you go get washed up for dinner while I talk to mom, yes."
"Mhhm." He headed towards the stairs, and Lena turned to Stef who had a curious expression on her face. "So, where is this surprise you were talking about?"
"Yeah, about that. Stef you might want to sit down for this." Stef's face grew serious, all of a sudden not liking where this conversation was headed. "Okay." They walked into the living room and Stef sat on the couch while Lena sat in the chair across from her. "This morning I got a call from Bill for an emergency placement for a teenage girl."
"Lena, please tell me you didn't." Stef knew her wife. Lena has always had a soft heart like that. Even when Stef had brought the twins home her partner couldn't help but melt at Jesus' smile or Mariana's giggles. And since they had only dealt with a boy before, having a little girl in the house had been quite a happy change.
"Stef, please listen. I said yes and—"
"Lena, we can"t foster another child, not after what happened with Callie and Jude. I can't, we won't." Stef went to get up, Lena sensing the woman was more than pissed off at her. Apparently there would be no laying the news down gently. "Stef, the girl was Callie."
Stef froze, all the air seeming to leave her lungs when she heard that. There was no possible way that Callie was currently upstairs, in their house, at this exact moment. "Lena, if this is a joke...it...this isn't funny."
"Stef, I know it seems impossible and it is a long story of how Callie ended up in California again, but I promise you she is here."
"I don't understand though, how, how is she...they are supposed to be living with their grandma in Idaho."
"Well to give you the cliff notes version, Callie said she was diagnosed with dementia about a year and a half ago and then had a stroke. The grandmother was placed in a home, which meant Callie and Jude went back into the foster system. Somehow Bill became their new social worker and brought them back down here."
"God, Lena, they were living in California for a year and a half and we didn't know about it. Why weren't we notified? Where was Dan through all of this?"
"I'm not sure, but all that matters is Callie is home." Stef frowned. Why was only Callie with them, what about Jude? "Lena, where is Jude? Why is Callie the only one here?"
"I picked her up from juvie this morning."
"Juvie!" Stef got up from the coach, now pacing around the living. "How the hell did she end up in Juvie, Lena?"
"Apparently she damaged some of her foster father's property, but I don't know the details. Callie didn't tell me. I would assume Jude is still stuck at that foster home. I've been trying to reach Bill all day but he is busy."
"Callie would never do something like that unless something bad had happened. I mean, god, that's how they ended up in our care in the first place, no foster dads for a while, remember that. We have to get Jude out of there."
"Stef, I know, but we can't just barge in without Bill and without the facts. We would need Callie to confirm with us that Jude isn't in a safe environment at the moment."
"Where is she?"
"Her and Mariana went on a walk about an hour ago. They should have been back by now. I'll give her a call." Lena dialed her daughter's number, but got a voicemail in response. She tried two more times before giving up. "Mariana isn't answering." Stef pulled out her phone, going to the find my phone app. "I thought you said they were just going for a walk?"
"That's what they said they were doing." Stef held her phone to her partner's face. "Then why the hell are they in San Ysidro right now?"
"Are they going to Tijuana? Why on earth would they go there, unless…"
"Unless what, Lena?"
"Jude. Callie had been insistent on seeing Jude this morning. She may be going to see him herself since I couldn't get in contact with Bill."
"Alright, you stay here." Shoving her phone back in her pocket, Stef was happy for once that she hadn't changed out of uniform yet. "Where are you going?"
"To get our daughters back."
"Not by yourself. I'm going with you. And we'll call Mike on the way for backup."
"Okay, lets go."
