Callie

I nearly choke on my water when Stef asks about Liam. How does she know? I try to appear calm even though I'm freaking out on the inside.

"Who?" I ask. I figure I'll play dumb. I don't think Stef will fall for it, but I'll try anyway.

"Liam." she repeats.

I shrug, "I don't know."

Stef raises an eyebrow, "Really? Because you said his name in your sleep."

Shit.

"I think you heard me wrong," I say and move to stand up but Stef puts her hand over mine.

"Callie," she says, her blue eyes full of so much concern I nearly break right there, "Obviously he's someone you know. Was he the foster brother you mentioned the other night?"

I can't help but stiffen and I curse myself because I know Stef senses it. She grips my hand, "Callie, who is Liam?"

I shake my head, "I'll get in trouble." I whisper. Anything I tell her about my situation with Liam puts Jude's placement in risk. If the state deems me 'sexually volatile,' or whatever, I could get shipped off to a group home that specializes in 'girls like me' and Jude will be sent God knows where.

"Who will you get in trouble with?" Stef asks, and I can tell she is legitimately curious and somewhat confused.

"I don't know," I mumble, eyes darting to the doorway, "You?"

Stef shakes her head, "Why would you get in trouble with me?"

She knows too much already. I push away from the table and head for the doorway but the stupid fever slows me down because Stef steps in front of me and blocks my path.

"Callie."

"Please, Stef," I whisper, "Please don't make me." She takes me by the hand and leads me back to the table so that we can sit again. I'm so nervous I'm shaking and I feel like I'm about to throw up.

"Callie?" Stef is giving me her undivided attention and I can tell she isn't about to give up so easily.

I feel tears well in my eyes and I look down so she can't see them, "I did something bad."

Stef puts her hand under my chin and raises my head, "Talk to me, Sweets. We can fix whatever it is."

That's what she thinks.

I shake my head harshly and some tears escape, "You can't."

"Try me."

I look up at Stef and I want so badly to believe that she can make this all okay. She hasn't let me down so far. Her and Lena are different. I feel like I can trust them; like I'm safe here. I take a deep breath.

"Jude and I lived with this family a while back. The Olmsteads. It was a husband, a wife and their son Liam." God I can't believe I'm telling her this, "They were really nice to us. It was one of the best homes we had ever been placed in. They didn't hit us or yell at us and we never ran out of food. It was too good to be true. Liam was really good to us…or I thought he was." I pause to collect myself before continuing, "He was always doing things like giving us candy or taking us to really cool places.

"I thought he was just being nice. He started to change. He started paying less attention to Jude and more attention to me. He would…um, he would hug me and kiss me and tell me that he loved me. I thought he really did. I should have known better, but it felt so good to have someone who loved me so much." I take a deep breath, "Um, one night he came into my room. Everyone was asleep. He got into my bed and was telling me I was pretty and kissing me. He asked if we could…if we could have sex. I-I told him I wasn't ready, but he…he…"

I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this.

"Oh, Callie." I manage to look at Stef through my tears and the pure sorrow on her face is almost too much for me to bear, "Did Liam rape you?"

I grip my arm, digging my nails into my skin to keep myself from crying out.

"Baby?"

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, I nod and a sob rips through me.

Stef

I'll fucking kill him. If I see Liam Olmstead, I will fucking kill him. How dare he.

I stand up from my seat and pull Callie into my arms. For the first time, there's no resistance on her end. In fact, she wraps her arms around my waist and clings to me. I feel the shudders wracking through her frame and it kills me. I don't understand what goes through peoples' minds when they do stuff like this. There's no way they're mentally sane.

I rest my cheek on top of Callie's head and run my fingers through her curls, "Let it all out, Sweetheart. I've got you." If I could do something to take her pain away, I would. After some time, Callie's cries lighten up and she loosens her grip on me. I step back a bit so I can use my thumbs to wipe the tears off of her cheeks.

"When did this happen, Honey?"

She takes a shaky breath, "Two years ago." She answers, "I was fourteen."

"How old was Liam?"

"Nineteen."

I'll fucking kill him.

I put my hand on her cheek, "Why do you think you're going to get in trouble?"

As if suddenly remembering, Callie tenses up and looks away. She swipes away the tears on her face and sniffs, "Because it was my fault."

Whoa.

I pull back from Callie and put my hands on her shoulders, "Callie Jacob, look at me right now." She looks up at me and pulls her lip between her teeth. She looks so scared and I have to remind myself to stay calm. She doesn't know what is going on in my head and is only taking guesses based on what my face is telling her, "Callie, what happened with Liam was not your fault."

"But―"

"No," I say, not giving her the chance to explain what is running through her mind, "Liam was an adult who knew full well what he was doing. He manipulated you and that was wrong. You were…you are a child and he took advantage of you. This was not your fault. Do you understand me?"

Callie looks down at the floor and gives a little shrug.

"No, Callie," I say, gently bringing her chin up with my hand, "Look at me and tell me that you understand." She needs to know that she did absolutely nothing wrong and that Liam is the only one to blame here.

She sniffs and some tears roll down her cheek, "I-I understand."

"What do you understand?"

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment before opening them and looking at me, "I understand that what happened with Liam wasn't my fault." I let out a breath and once again gather her into my arms. She eagerly accepts the embrace and grips the back of my shirt. Her nails dig into my back a bit but I could care less. I rest my cheek on her curly hair and sigh.

After a while, Callie mumbles something into my shirt and I have to step back to hear her, "What was that, Sweets?"

"I'm tired," she mumbles, eyes half open. I take her hand and help her off the stool so that we can head to my room. I almost forgot she was sick and all the crying she did is probably making her feel a lot worse. I help Callie crawl under the covers and tuck them around her.

"Get some sleep, Callie," I say and I bend down to kiss her forehead. Her eyes slip closed and she's out almost instantly. I slip out of the room, pulling the door halfway closed behind me. I walk a little down the hallway and sink down against the wall.

I bring my knees up to my chest, drop my head into the nest of my arms and cry.

Mariana

After what seems like forever, school ends and I make my way to the parking lot to wait for Mama so she can drive us all home. I hope Callie is feeling better. She's actually pretty nice and not murder-ish at all. I walk over to the bench that's near Mama's parking spot and take a seat. First one here. I take out my phone so I can check Facebook and pass the time.

A minute or two passes and I hear some footsteps. I look up and see Jude walking towards the bench. I scoot over so that there's room for him and he sits. He was pretty worried this morning. Mom and Mama had to talk to him for like five minutes before he would even get into the car. I've always wanted a younger sibling. A girl, mind you, but Jude is pretty cool, too.

"What's up?" I ask, trying to make conversation.

Jude shrugs, "Nothing."

Silence.

I'm not really sure what to say so I go back to my phone. Where are Jesus and Brandon?

"I like your nails."

I look up and see that Jude is studying them. I hold out my free hand in front of me. I painted them a deep blue yesterday, "Thanks." He keeps looking at them, admiring them actually. If he was a girl, my next question would be a no brainer but he's a boy and I don't want to weird him out. Mama is always getting on us about breaking gender stereotypes…this can't hurt, right?

"I could…do you want me to paint yours?"

His head snaps up and he looks at me with wide eyes. I'm beginning to believe I asked the wrong question but then he asks in a quiet voice, "Could you?"

I smile and nod my head, "Sure," I say, "After we finish our homework I'll paint your nails any color you want. I have a ton of options."

Jude grins excitedly, "Well, I really like the color you have on your nails."

"Okay then," I say, "That's cool. Blue for Jude."

Work. Just work.

I'm so excited for next week's episode! It looks really good! Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews, you guys are so amazing! I appreciate the support to the moon and back! :)

-Liv