Chapter 41
Callie flinched as the door clicked open. Stef entered Lena's office holding a car seat with a sleeping Frankie. She paused for a moment when she saw Callie sitting in Lena's office. "Cal?"
Callie turned her head at the sound of her name to find the older blonde standing in the doorway. She watched Stef's eyes widen with panic.
"What happened? What happened to your face?" Stef's stomach dropped when she saw Callie's bruised and bloody face. Lena called saying there was a problem at the school that may need police involvement, but she didn't say who it was involving. But now she found Callie sitting in Lena's office with injuries. "Were you involved with whatever Mama called me in for?"
Callie failed to meet Stef's eyes as she remained silent, only increasing Stef's worry. Both of them looked towards the doorway at the sound of heels approaching. Lena appeared in the doorway with a first aid kit, smiling when her eyes fell on the baby in the car seat. "Hello, ladybug!"
Stef watched as Lena took the car seat and placed it on her desk with the first aid kit. "What's going on? Why is Callie here with a bruised face?"
Lena hesitated as she glanced at the distant brunette. "The wrestling team um…assaulted her."
Stef's eyes grew wide as her eyebrows rose to her hairline. "What? They assaulted her? How far did this go? What did they do?"
Callie nibbled on her lower lip as she took interest in her trembling hands. "I'm fine."
"Do not say you're fine." Lena scolded gently. "From what I gathered, they cornered her in the gym, dragged her to the boy's locker room, and were trying to…perform certain acts. She said they touched her over her clothes and were trying to take them off. I was headed into the gym with Spears and we saw Callie's bag and that's when we found them in the locker room."
Stef reached out to hold onto a nearby bookshelf. Her mind started to wonder what would have happened if this hadn't been intervened and it made her stomach churn. "Did they hurt you? Your face…"
"They were just rough and I think I fell into the bench. I'm fine." Her voice betrayed her as her eyes glistened with tears. Her mind was still jumbled; she couldn't think straight.
"I was waiting till you got here to clean up that cut in case you needed it for evidence." Lena said.
"I'll have to take a picture of her face. I have another cop on the way. She'll get yours and Callie's statement." Stef reached into her pocket to pull out her phone and walked closer to Callie. "Where are the boys now?"
"Spears was keeping them in the locker room." Lena replied as she opened the first aid kit while Step snapped a photo of the injuries to Callie's face. "I'm having Monty pull up the video footage. There are cameras in the gym and part of the locker room. We think the attack was caught on them."
Stef's eyes returned to the brunette, trembling as she squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't imagine the emotions and thoughts running through the teenager's head. "Cal, they're going to pay for this."
Callie's silence made Lena worry multiply. It was obvious this was effecting Callie tremendously; how could it not? But she was falling back into old habits by closing herself off.
"Have they been bothering you? The wrestling team?" Stef asked as she continued to study the brunette. "I know a lot of people bothered you last year, but I thought things got better."
"They didn't." Callie whispered, keeping her eyes glued to her fidgeting hands.
Lena felt like a failure as a mother and a principal. She had just returned from maternity leave less than two weeks ago, but apparently, this had been occurring in her school for too long. They knew Callie was facing harsh comments and pranks, and even some unwanted touching last year. They should have pressed about what was occurring at the beginning of the school year. "What's been happening? Is it the wrestling team? Are other people bothering you?"
Callie shrugged.
"Callie, I need to know." Lena said urgently.
"It's mostly the wrestling team. Tommy had been threatening me to drop the charges against Vico. They were surprisingly quiet after the trial and I was stupid enough to think they were finally going to leave me alone."
"You're not stupid, Callie." Stef said. "How was he threatening you? With words or did he get physical?"
"He cornered me. It wasn't that physical. He would just like...grab my butt or arm and block me from moving."
Stef's stomach churned. Callie was downplaying someone touching her butt because so many worse things happened to her. "What were his threats?"
"To drop the charges or there would be hell to pay. It was never specific. I mean I guess they hinted at it with the constant sexual remarks."
"Sexual remarks?" Lena cocked an eyebrow.
Callie swallowed thickly. She said too much and now there was no going back. "They think I'm a whore. They think I'll do anything with them or that they can do anything with me."
This conversation felt all too familiar. It was nearly a year ago that Stef and Lena first discovered the bullying Callie was facing. It was after Brandon was involved in a fight with Tommy Walker that led to his broken hand that Stef and Lena learned the wrestling team was sexually harassing her. Neither of them understood how they were blind to it continuing. So much had happened since that day; Timothy giving them trouble with the donor contract, the custody battle with Robert, discovering Callie and Brandon's relationship, learning Callie was pregnant, Vico breaking his bail terms, and nearly assaulting Callie again. And then it was summer. For the first two months of the new school year, Lena was on maternity leave. Neither Callie nor any of the other children ever mentioned anything going on. Somehow, Stef and Lena forgot about the trouble Callie's peers were giving her. They knew Callie didn't interact with her classmates, with the exception of the Fosters and their close friends and partners. They knew the school wasn't kind to Callie. But somehow they didn't know the severity of the bullying had continued this far.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Stef asked.
"Because it was my word against theirs. Nothing was going to be done. They'd get a warning, maybe detention or suspension. It would have made them angrier."
"Love, it's better for us to know. Even if nothing gets done, which in nearly every situation we'll go to the very end to make sure something is done. But even just to get it out. I'm sure dealing with all of this on your own couldn't have been easy." Stef thought Callie's walls were finally disintegrating, but yet again she had been sitting on a big secret. "Did Brandon know?"
Callie nodded. "I asked him not to say anything.
Stef imagined that was true for her other children as well. "It's over now, Callie. They're going to pay for this."
"And the rest of the school is going to hate me for getting them kicked out. They're going to think I'm a slut who was asking for it again and then cried rape." Tears stung Callie's lids and she tried to blink them back.
Stef and Lena exchanged glances. It was obvious how bad this situation had gotten and how much all of this had affected the brunette. Lena swore at that moment that she would do better to halt anymore bullying in her school. "Callie, I promise you I will make sure this school is free of bullying, sexual harassment, and assault."
Stef glanced at her phone as it vibrated in her hand. "The other officer is here. I'm going to meet her and head to the locker room."
"Okay, I'm going to clean up this cut and I'll come down there." Lena said before Stef left the office.
Lena gathered the materials she needed from the first aid kit and placed them on the edge of the desk. Callie flinched as Lena dabbed at the gash on her forehead, caked with dried blood. The antiseptic stung as it sank into the open wound. She watched as Lena ripped open a bandage, squirted an antibiotic ointment on it, and gently placed it over the cut. "Alright, bug, we'll just have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected."
"Thanks." Callie whispered.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"
Callie shook her head quickly. "No. I'm fine."
Lena pursed her lips as her gaze lingered on the teenager for a moment. "If I see anything in the video that makes me think you're injured, we're going."
"Okay." Callie whispered.
"Are you okay to watch Frankie?" Lena asked, glancing at the watch encircling her wrist. "She should be out for another twenty minutes."
"Yeah." Callie nodded.
"Alright, hang out here. I'll be back in a bit." Lena said before she slipped out of the office and Callie was once again left with her dangerous thoughts.
It wasn't long though before the door clicked open again. Callie whipped her head towards the entrance to find Brandon frantically entering. "Are you okay? Mom told me what happened?"
Her lower lip trembled before a sob ripped through her throat. Brandon's features softened as he moved to sit on the chair beside her. He took her hand and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face in his shoulder. "I was so scared."
"You're safe now." He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her hair. Brandon was livid; livid at the wrestling team for hurting Callie, livid that the world continued to torment Callie, livid that she had to deal with another traumatic experience, livid that he wasn't there to stop it. But he knew right now Callie needed comfort, so he swallowed down the fury. One hand rubbed soothing circles on her back while the other twirled at the ends of her curls as she sobbed into his shirt. Watching her cry was one of the most painful things for Brandon, and he had seen it far too many times lately. "I've got you."
"If Lena didn't…if she didn't walk in…" Callie's voice trailed off, unable to articulate the events that could have occurred.
Brandon was so grateful that someone had interrupted the attack. He didn't want to even consider what would have happened if they didn't, but he knew that all Callie could focus on were the what-ifs; what if Lena and Coach Spears didn't walk in, what if it went further? "I know, but she did. And they're going to pay for what they did."
Callie lifted her head off Brandon's shoulder and shook it. "I'm not…I can't press charges. I can't go through that again."
"Hey, you don't have to. This isn't something that would go to a trial like the last time. They'd probably take some kind of probation deal and they're going to get in trouble whether you press charges or not. Mama said at the very least they are going to be expelled." Brandon's hand reached up to cup Callie's face, his thumb gently brushing at the tears tumbling down her cheeks. "Are you hurt? Is your wrist okay?"
"I'm fine." She whispered unconvincingly. She was sore and achy from being grabbed. thrown around and trying to fight back. She was sure she would have bruises by tomorrow. Her wrist was throbbing. She had ongoing complications from having it severely broken twice and this aggravated it.
Brandon rolled the sleeve of her sweater up to examine her wrist. He found swirls of blue and purple encircling her swelling flesh. "Callie, it's bruised and swollen already. Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"I'm fine." She repeated for the umpteenth time in the past half hour.
"Would you stop saying that?" Brandon reprimanded gently. "You're not fine. Anyone who just went through what you did is not fine. You have bruises. Can you please be honest with me? Are you hurt?"
"I don't think so. Not anything serious anyway." Callie watched the concern intensify in Brandon's eyes. "I'm just sore and achy from being grabbed and thrown around."
Nausea tumbled in Brandon's stomach at her words. It was obvious they were rough with her and had absolutely no care for her well being, but hearing her say she was grabbed and thrown around made images flash in Brandon's mind. The disgust and rage he felt towards the wrestling team were overwhelming. It matched the pain and worry he felt for his girlfriend. "It doesn't hurt to get checked."
"Please don't make me go to the hospital." Callie's plea tore at his heart. "Lena already said she was going to make me go if the video showed anything, but I can't, Brandon."
Brandon gently stroked Callie's leg in an attempt to calm her from her frantic cries. "What video?"
"It's apparently on video. There are cameras in the gym and part of the locker room."
Brandon wasn't sure if he should be relieved or horrified. The images that came to his mind based on the explanation of events were sickening enough and he could only imagine that seeing the actual events unfold on the video was worse. But he assumed having a video only made things easier for distributing consequences. There were no twisting stories, no her word against theirs.
"You know I always do what's in your best interest and if Lena sees something then you have to go. Just to be safe to make sure nothing is broken or you don't have a concussion or internal bleeding." Brandon could see the panic swimming in her eyes and he realized the hospital had almost become a phobia for Callie. He couldn't blame her. "If you go, you know I'll be by your side."
A small cry filled the office. Callie turned her head to find Frankie awake, her small arms and legs squirming. She wiped at her dampened cheeks as she pulled herself off Brandon's lap and towards the desk. She unbuckled the little girl and carefully pulled her out of the seat, cradling her in her arms. "Hi there, pretty girl."
Frankie let out another cry. Callie rocked her gently, making a soothing shushing sound. The little girl looked up at her as her cries quieted. "See, it's all okay. Did you have a nice nap?"
Brandon's heart swelled as he watched his girlfriend interact with the baby. And then his heart shattered- as it did every time- when he remembered what they lost. She was so natural with Frankie, so loving, so soothing. Brandon knew undoubtedly that Callie would have been an amazing mother and it killed him that he would never see her interact with Melody.
Callie peeled her eyes off the baby in her arms to look at Brandon."Don't you have class?"
"I'm not leaving you." Brandon stated.
Callie didn't want him to leave. Just his presence was comforting, but she also didn't want to risk him getting into trouble for skipping class. "I'm fine. I don't want you to miss anything or get in trouble."
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere." Brandon knew Callie better than anyone. He knew she wasn't fine; that she needed him, but he also knew that she was once against putting everyone else's needs and concerns above her own. "If you don't need to get checked, as soon as Moms say it's okay to leave, I'm stopping to get your favorite milkshake, and then we're going to go home, put on sweats, and cuddle on the couch while we have a Friends marathon."
A small smile found her lips. Somehow Brandon always knew exactly what she needed. "Well, I can't turn that offer down."
The door clicked open. Stef stood in the doorway. "We got the entire thing on camera."
Callie swallowed thickly. It should have relieved her that everything was on camera as it insured punishment. But instead, she was horrified that other people, including Stef and Lena, witnessed every moment of the attack themselves.
"The boys' parents were all called to pick them up. They're going to be expelled." Stef continued. "Officer Donovan is coming in a few minutes to get your statement. She wants to hear about the harassment leading up to this too."
"But they're being expelled." Callie whispered.
"She needs the statement to press charges." Stef clarified, watching the anxiety double in Callie's eyes.
"We don't need to. I don't...I can't…" Callie struggled to emit her words and she shook her head frantically.
"Hey, it's okay." Stef reassured softly. "I'm not going to put you through another trial. This video guarantees their guilt. Believe me when I say they'll take a deal. It's just protocol that we get a statement and she wants a little more history."
Callie looked down at the baby in her arms and let out a long breath. "Okay."
"I'm going to get Officer Donovan. B, Mama and Monty want to talk to you about the bullying you've witnessed in the meantime." Stef watched her son's eyes fill with adamance as he opened his mouth, but Stef continued before he had the chance to say anything. "We'd prefer Callie to give a statement alone given your history with Tommy. It's unlikely, but we don't want anything to be construed."
Brandon let out a frustrated sigh as he looked at his girlfriend. Callie dismissed his concerns with a small wave of her hand. "It's fine. I'm fine. Really. Go do what you need to do and I'll do what I need so we can just go home."
"Okay." Brandon nodded as he watched Callie carefully buckle Frankie back into her car seat. He strolled over to her, gently brushed her hair behind her ear, and planted a warm kiss on her lips. "I love you."
"Love you too." She whispered.
"I want to see the video." Brandon announced.
Stef, Lena, and Monty all exchanged glances. Stef patted her son's shoulder. "B, I don't know…"
"She's not telling me what really happened. I want to see it." Brandon repeated firmly.
Stef sighed. "Okay, but it's not easy to watch."
Monty pulled up the video on the computer sitting before her and clicked the play button on the screen. Brandon braced himself as Callie appeared on the screen crossing the gym. A few seconds later the wrestling team entered, forming a circle around her. His fists clenched by his side, watching the fear take over Callie's face. His nostrils flared as they were suddenly grabbing at her and pulling her towards the locker room. The screen flickered as the video switched cameras to the locker room. Brandon gripped onto the back of Monty's chair as he watched the wrestlers toss Callie around like a ragdoll, touching her against her will, and forcing her hands in places she didn't want. The terror and desperation in Callie's eyes made Brandon's stomach clench painfully. Fury was ticking away inside of Brandon, ready to detonate at any given second. He inhaled sharply as he watched Tommy straddle her, grope her, and then force her onto her knees. Nausea erupted in his stomach, praying and hoping that this didn't go any further. And thankfully, Lena and Coach Spears halted the attack before it did.
Brandon grunted furiously as the video came to an end. How dare they touch her like that, how dare they ignore her cries to stop. He was disgusted that people could do this. He spun around and struck his fist into the nearby wall.
"Brandon." Stef gasped.
Brandon started for the door in plans of charging into the locker room. He wanted revenge. He wanted to hurt them for hurting Callie. All rational thoughts left his mind. The only thing he could focus on was vengeance for Callie, for what they did to her, for every tear they caused, for every bruise they left.
"Brandon!" Stef shouted, darting towards the door to block her son. "Where are you going?"
"To the locker room." He growled through gritted teeth.
"Brandon, that is not the answer." Lena spoke up as she stood from her chair. "The boys are all being punished."
"They should know what it feels like to be thrown around like that! To be terrified! To see what it feels like when someone ignores their cries to stop!" Brandon's voice boomed throughout the office.
"I know this isn't fair…"
"Not fair? Tell that to Callie! She's been the victim of assault by so many different people! It's not okay!" Brandon yelled, throwing his arms in the air frantically. "What is wrong with this world that all these people think it's okay to do this?"
Stef placed her hands on Brandon's shoulder and looked into his wild eyes. "Hey, I know you're angry and you have every right to be, but I need you to calm down."
"I'm sorry." Brandon exhaled. "I'm just…"
"I know. I get it. But they're not getting away with this."
"Can I suggest we hold an assembly?" Monty spoke up. "I think Brandon brought up a really good point. Sexual harassment and assault are something that occurs way too often. And I think it needs to be addressed, especially that it is occurring in our school."
Lena nodded. "I agree. We'll start planning one."
A door in the near distance clicked open followed by footsteps. Officer Donovan, followed by Callie, appeared in the main office. Officer Donovan smiled as she held her notepad up slightly. "I got what I needed. She's all good to go."
"Great, thanks. I'll meet you back in the locker room." Stef said before Officer Donovon nodded and left the office.
"Can I take her home?" Brandon asked. All the anger seemed to dissipate and it was replaced with worry for his girlfriend.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Stef asked as she noted the bruise on her face had become more prominent.
Callie shook her head. "I'm fine. Believe me, I've survived worse beatings without a hospital visit."
Callie's words didn't sit right with everyone else in the office. Stef didn't know if she should be more sad or angry. It was a reminder of how much suffering the teenager had been through in her young life. And now she was torn on whether she should give in to Callie's wants or insist that she go to the hospital. If this had been any of her other kids in any other situation she wouldn't have taken no for an answer. It was better to be safe than sorry. But it was obvious that Callie's past experiences with hospitals had created severe anxiety for her. Stef had seen the video multiple times, she'd seen the bruises and scrapes on the young girl, she'd seen the swelling in her wrist. They'd been rough with her and she had fallen hard more than once. But Stef had no reason to believe that Callie had sustained any serious injuries. Her biggest concern was her wrist which already endured countless injuries and complications. "I won't force you unless you start showing signs that tell me you need to go. But if the swelling in that wrist doesn't go down tomorrow, we're going to the doctor to get it checked."
"Okay." Callie nodded. The knot in her stomach loosened ever so slightly.
"Please make sure she rests." Stef told her son, who nodded. There was no point in arguing with him about staying at school. It was a battle she had no chance at winning and even if she did, it would be useless for him to remain in school; his focus would undoubtedly revolve around Callie. Plus, Callie needed him. Brandon was the one person that brought her comfort and safety. The one person she let her walls fully collapse. And neither Stef nor Lena wanted her to be alone right now.
And so Brandon and Callie took Frankie, stopped to pick up milkshakes as Brandon promised, changed into comfortable clothes when they arrived home and gathered in the living room.
Brandon grabbed the remote and flopped backward on the couch. Callie crouched down to unbuckle Frankie from her seat and scoop her into her arms. "Hey, pretty girl. You want to cuddle with me and Brandon?"
A smile found Brandon's lips as he watched Callie coo at the baby. He shifted on the couch, making room for Callie to sit between his legs. She leaned back against him and cradled Frankie in her arm. Brandon pressed a kiss to the top of Callie's hand, inhaling the sweet coconutty scent of her curls. "I wish we could stay like this forever."
"Me too." Callie whispered before she smiled sadly. "I pictured us like this with Melody."
"I know." Brandon frowned, leaving a kiss to her cheek this time. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
Callie shrugged.
"I saw the video." Brandon admitted.
Callie whipped her head towards Brandon. "You did?"
"I'm sorry. I just...I knew you were downplaying what happened and I needed to know." He watched her grimace before her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. "Cal…"
"I didn't want you to see it." She muttered.
The shame in her eyes was unmistakable and it made Brandon's heart physically ache. "I am disgusted and furious but it's all directed at them. I hope you know that I don't think of you any differently. That this has nothing to do with who you are as a person and everything to do with how awful of people they are."
Callie was silent for a moment before she let out a breath. "I'm just…it has to be me, right? I mean all of this bad stuff doesn't just happen to people. I have to be doing something."
"You're not. You've just had a really raw deal. The foster system, especially here, is a wreck. And what happened today…it shows a real problem in our country. In our world. There's way too much sexism that still exists and there are way too many cases of sexual harassment and assault. It's not okay"
"I thought they were going to do it, Brandon. They were all planning on raping me." Callie choked out. Brandon's arms tightened around her. "I don't know if I would have been able to get past this if Lena didn't walk in."
Brandon was sickened by the thought. Images from the video flashed behind his lids. He never wanted to let her out of his sight again. "I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been."
"It just makes you feel so worthless. There were ten of them. Ten guys that didn't care what I was saying, what I wanted. They didn't care that they were hurting me or scaring me or doing things that I didn't want them to do. I was begging them to stop and not one of them even cared. It was like they didn't even see me as a human. Like I was just some object for them to use for their sexual needs and to assert their power." Callie looked down at the infant in her arms as Frankie grasped onto her finger. "The worst part is it's not the first time. There have been too many times to count."
"They're in the wrong, Callie." Brandon frowned. He didn't know how to convince her; how to make things better. He didn't know how to take away all the pain she had suffered. "It makes sense that you feel that way, but you're not worthless. You know that I care so much about what you say and feel."
Callie nodded as she smiled sadly at him. "I do. Thank you. Thank you for showing me what love is."
"I'll continue to show you every day for the rest of my life." Brandon promised. Callie leaned toward him to press a kiss to his lips. He smiled at her as he clicked the tv on. "Should we start our Friends marathon?"
Callie snuggled further into Brandon and grinned. "Yes please."
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Still much more to come!