Callie
Lena had to stay behind at school for a meeting so we're all walking back to the house. Brandon is up front, Mariana and Jesus in the middle, and finally Jude and I picking up the rear. School was…exactly what I expected.
I don't have to look up to know people are looking at me. My messed up face and haggard appearance is a red flag to these students who seem to be straight off of a movie-set.
"…and this is your English class."
I nearly walk into Brandon as we stop in front of a class room. Everything is so open here and intimate. Half of the classroom is clear glass windows and there are only a couple of desks.
"What's his name? My teacher, I mean."
"Timothy."
I wrinkle my nose, "Mr. Timothy?"
Brandon laughs and shakes his head, "No, just Timothy. He prefers for students to call him by his first name."
Oh god. What have I walked into? I hear some whispers behind us and I turn around to see a flock of girls who are shamelessly scrutinizing me. I shoot them my best glare and it has the desired effect; they scatter off as fast as their overpriced shoes allow.
"It'll get better," Brandon comments, watching the girls flee the scene.
I hope so.
We finally reach the house and Brandon opens the door with his keys. It's the first time I'm alone with these kids without their moms and I'm not sure what to do. I toss my backpack on the couch and Jude follows suit.
Jesus walks into the living room and makes himself comfortable on our makeshift bed with a bag of chips gripped in his hands. He flicks on the TV and holds out the bag to us, "Want some?" he asks, crumbs falling out of his mouth. Jude looks at me and back to Jesus before shrugging and plunging his hand into the bag. I shake my head and make a move for the kitchen. Mariana is leaning against the counter texting away. She briefly looks up as I enter and seeing that it's me returns her gaze to her phone.
"I'm going to move my clothes so you can put yours away," she says, eyes still glued to her screen.
"Thanks," I mumble. I take a bottle of water from the fridge and head to the backyard. I can imagine how this is hard on her; Brandon and Jesus, too. It must not be easy to suddenly be forced to share everything with two strangers. I glance at the window that looks into the living room and I see Jude sitting with Jesus, watching T.V. I wish I could be like him in that sense: open to new people and so trusting.
But I can't.
Not after what happened the last time I let myself be so vulnerable. That will never happen again. I open my water bottle and take a sip. That tree Jude was climbing sure is tall. I wonder how high I could get if I climbed it. Maybe I could touch a cloud.
Maybe I could reach heaven.
Stef
It takes me half an hour but I finally manage to get this bed put together and situated on the other side of Jesus' room. He's sitting at his desk, watching. He helped earlier, with the heavy duty labor, and now he's resigned himself to an observer.
"Do I really have to share my room with a ten year old?" he asks, a bit of whine in his voice.
"First of all, Jude is twelve," I answer, putting my hands on my hips, "Second of all, yes. Need I remind you, you were in the exact same situation not too long ago? Show some compassion." Jesus sighs and nods. I know he understands; he's just stubborn.
Lena walks into the room and nods her head in approval at the bed we've assembled, "Nice work you two," she comments, "Dinner is ready." Jesus doesn't need to be told twice and practically bolts for the kitchen.
I wrap my arms around Lena's shoulders, "Roberts tore me a new one today."
She lets out a puff of laughter, "Yes, I would imagine. What's the verdict?"
"They can stay," I answer with a smile.
"You're excited," Lena observes, bringing up a hand to push some hair out of my eyes.
I shrug. She's right, "I am excited because those kids are finally getting the break they deserve."
"Okay," Lena says, a mischievous look on her face as she pulls away to head for the kitchen.
I roll my eyes, "What?"
"Nothing," she sing-songs as she disappears down the hallway, "Absolutely nothing."
Callie
I set about putting my clothes away in Mariana's room after dinner. She's sitting on her bed, pretending not to watch, but it's pretty obvious she is. I don't have a lot, so thankfully the whole process doesn't take very long. I close the last drawer and turn around to where Mariana is waiting. At this point, she makes no effort in hiding her obvious inspection.
"You know," she begins, "If you ever want to borrow some of my clothes, you can." I guess this is her idea of an olive branch.
"Uh, thanks," I say, "But I'm good."
She shrugs and tosses her hair over her shoulder before reaching for a magazine. I take that as my cue to leave. I peek into Jesus' room and seeing that Jude is alone, I enter.
"Hey, baby." I greet him.
He looks up from where he is cross legged on the bed, "Hey."
I take a seat at the edge of the bed and put my hand on his knee, "You good?"
Jude nods. He takes a look around the room, "I like it here." He declares definitively.
"Yeah, well, don't like it too much." I tell him, half joking and half serious. I kiss his head and wish him a goodnight before heading out of the room and down to the living room to get ready to go to sleep.
Once I'm lying down on my makeshift bed, I pull the blankets up over my shoulders and settle down. I turn to face the television which of course is off. I can see the time on the cable box shining in bright green. It's the one light thing in the completely dark room and my eyes can't look away. When I look at the shadows too long, my imagination gets the best of me and no good ever comes from that.
I close my eyes. The less time I have to dwell in my thoughts, the better.
Stef
It's funny. The first night this week I have the opportunity to have a decent night of sleep and I can't keep my eyes shut. I reach over to grab my phone from the night table so I can check the time.
1:26 AM
I put my phone back and roll over to face Lena who is sleeping without an issue. Lucky woman. I gently push back the covers so as not to disturb my girlfriend and get out of bed. She immediately snuggles up to my vacated pillow and I have to smile at the sight.
I decide to do a check on all the kids. First I peek into Brandon's room. He's sound asleep. As a new mother, it was always comforting to see his chest rise and fall when he was an infant and that feeling hasn't changed. I move on to Mariana's room. She's curled up on her side, eyelashes brushing against her cheeks. She has her phone in her hand and I shake my head to myself. I remove it from her grip and place it on her dresser before heading out of the room.
I move to Jesus' room next. He's splayed across his bed with his mouth slightly open. I chuckle quietly to myself at his position. Jude is quite the opposite: he's tucked neatly under the covers and looks like an absolute angel. I head out of the room and move towards the stairs.
One more kid to check on.
I'm quieter, if that's possible, because I know Callie is more alert and will wake up if I make too much noise. I pad into the living room and the moonlight allows me to see her form lying across the couch. She's shifting somewhat. It looks like she's trying to get comfortable…
No.
It looks like she's trying to get away from something. I step closer and kneel down. Callie's eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth is set in a frown. Her lips move noiselessly as her head thrashes from side to side.
She's having a nightmare.
Sorry this is short :/ I'll update again Sunday, I promise you!
The overwhelming response was no Ana. I love how so many of you actually used the word "nay". So cute! This past Monday's episode was very funny and I wonder if the kids will eventually get busted. I'm stoked for next week's episode when Callie and Sophia meet.
Leave a review!
-Liv