Lena

I finally finish what I had to do around 5:30 and begin packing up my things so I can get home. Stef texted me earlier in the day to let me know she would pick up some food for dinner on her way home from work. I'm sure it won't be as healthy as I would like, but I'm too tired to worry about cooking.

I sling my bag over my shoulder and head out of the school toward the parking lot. My car, of course, is the only one in the lot. As I get closer, I see a figure sitting on the ground near the passenger side. Is that…?

"Callie?"

Her head snaps up when I call her name. She rises to her feet, stretching a bit..

"Honey, how long have you been out here?" I ask as I unlock the car door, "I thought you were walking home?"

Callie shrugged, "Not too long. I was going to walk but I thought I would just wait for you." I study her for a moment: the way her eyes won't meet mine, the way her foot is tapping impatiently on the pavement. She looks nervous and like she needs to get out of here now.

"Callie, what's wrong?" I ask gently. I go to put a hand on her shoulder and she backs away, hitting the passenger door. I furrow my eyebrows.

She pushes some hair behind her ear, "Nothing. I'm fine." She flashes me a fake smile, "Ready to go?"

I nod slowly, watching as she clambers into the vehicle as fast as she can. She throws on her seatbelt and locks her door as soon as she's done. Her eyes scan the area as if looking for something.

I shake my head and climb into the car so that we can go home.

I enter the master bathroom to find Stef in the middle of changing out of her work clothes. She pulls a sweater over her head and turns around when she catches me in the mirror.

"Hi, love," she greets me with a kiss, "How was your day?"

"Long," I answer with a smirk, "I'm happy to be home."

Stef heads out of the bathroom, "So why did you want Callie to stay after with you?"

My eyebrows knit together, "What?"

Stef takes a seat on the bed, "She texted me after photography club and said you told her to just wait until you were done."

I shake my head, "No, Stef. I didn't. Callie told me she was going to walk home but when I left I found her sitting next to the car. She said she was just waiting for me."

A confused expression comes over Stef's face, "Why would she lie?" she wonders aloud.

"We need to talk to her," I say, taking a seat next to Stef, "Something is bothering her. She looked so nervous when I saw her. Spooked. I asked if something was bothering her but she wouldn't say anything. I think something scared her which is why she didn't want to walk home by herself. I wish she would just tell us."

Stef chuckled wryly, "Well, where's the fun in that?" We hear footsteps in the hallway and see Callie pass by, "Callie, can you come here please?" Stef calls. The footsteps stop before starting up again a lot more slowly and hesitantly. She walks into the room slowly, stopping about five feet from the bed.

Stef

I scoot over so that there's a space on the bed between myself and Lena, "Come sit, Love." Callie walks over and takes a seat, looking up at me expectantly.

I take a breath, "Is there something wrong, Callie? Did something happen today after school?"

"No," she answers quickly, "I'm okay."

"So why did you lie to me?" I ask, going straight for the kill, "You told me Lena wanted you to wait for her. That's not true, correct?" Callie's gaze drops to the rug, "Callie, answer me. That's not true, right?"

"Yeah," she mumbles in a voice that is almost a whisper. I share a look with Lena.

"Why didn't you just tell me you wanted to wait for me?" Lena asks, picking up the conversation, "I wouldn't have minded. You could have waited in my office instead of outside by yourself."

"I didn't want to bother you," Callie mumbles, playing with a thread on her jeans, "Sorry."

I'm not buying this for a minute. But Callie doesn't seem to be budging and we have four other hungry kids downstairs, "Okay," I say, "We're going to discuss lying later on after dinner. Please go to your room." She leaves as soon as the last word leaves my mouth.

Lena shifts her gaze to me, "You don't believe her." She observes.

"Not at all," I reply, "I'll get to the bottom of this."

After dinner I send everybody off one by one until it is just myself and Callie in the kitchen. Lena squeezes my hand and gives me a look before disappearing upstairs. Callie is drying the dishes but by the way she's slowed down, I know she knows something is up.

"You can stop," I tell her, "Let's go to the living room and talk." I walk out and take a seat on the couch. A moment later, Callie appears and takes a seat as well.

I clasp my hands, "We talked about trust, Callie. We said that we were going to work on it; that we were going to try. Lying isn't working on it. Lying isn't going to make me trust you."

Callie looks up at me, absolutely miserable. She looks as though she's on the brink of tears, "I'm sorry, Stef." She apologizes sincerely, "I'm really sorry."

"I know," I say, "What I don't understand is why you lied in the first place. What happened before you texted me?"

Callie sighs, "Nothing."

"Bullshit." Callie's head snaps up at the expletive, "That's bullshit and you know it. Did we not just talk about lying?"

She looks up at me and her eyes are pleading for me to just drop this but I won't. I can't. If she wants tough love, that's what she's going to get.

"Stef…"

"The next thing out of your mouth had better be the truth, young lady." I warn. She bites her lip and brings a hand to her wrist, She begins to rub it, as if it were bothering her. I don't think she knows she's doing it.

"What's wrong with your wrist?" I ask curiously.

Callie looks down at it and as if suddenly aware of what she's doing, immediately stops and brings her hands down to her sides, "The burn was just bothering me."

Another lie.

"You burned your other wrist," I point out in an exasperated tone. I recline myself on the couch and bring up my hands to cover my eyes. I don't understand why she won't stop lying. Was whatever happened really that bad? I sit there with my hands over my eyes. I'm not sure what else to do.

"Stef?" I hear Callie ask in a hesitant voice.

"I don't want to hear anymore lies, Callie."

"Stef."

I remove my hands from my eyes to look at Callie. She's holding both of her writs out to me. I look down at them and gasp. They're red; in the beginning stages of bruising. The pattern is distinct―fingers. I take one of Callie's hands in my own and delicately run my fingers over the marred skin. Her breath hitches a little when I do.

"Who?" I ask simply.

"Liam."

I'm all moved in! Sorry I took so long and that this chapter is so short. I'll try to update again on Thursday or Friday. I've been so busy!

Please review! I love you all! :)

-Liv