Chapter 8

At school the next morning Callie was excitiedly looking for Mark. She wanted to show him the tie that she had bought him that matched her dress. Callie spotted Derek at his locker and she ran up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and smiled her way.

"Hey, Cal, what can I do for you?"

"Do you know where Mark is?" Derek thought for a moment and then remembered where Mark told him he was going.

"Yeah, he's in the gym, he said he wanted to get a work-out in before class." Callie smiled and thanked him and headed for the gym.

Mark had been lifting weights when Izzie Stevens walked through the gym door. He carefully set the bar back on its holder and sat up on the bench. She walked over to him with a sly smile on her face. Mark looked at her confused and stood from the bench.

"Uh, hi, did you need something?" Instead of answering Izzie launched herself at Mark and crushed their lips together. At that exact moment Callie walked in, at first she didn't notice who it was and immediately tried to back out of the room.

"Oh! Sorry I'll -" she stopped talking when Izzie and Mark jumped apart at the sound of her voice. She stood there with her jaw hanging open and tears that threatened to fall. Mark stood there, his eyes wide and he couldn't seem to form words. Izzie, the blonde bitch that she was, stood there with a smug smile on her face. Callie wordlessly threw the tie she had been clutching on the floor and ran out of the room. Mark was frozen in his spot and couldn't find the strength to run after her.

Izzie wickedly smiled and tried to kiss Mark once more, only to be shoved away from him.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"Why McSteamy? We can be together now that your little girlfriend is out of the way" she actually chuckled at the term girlfriend. Mark began to pace and ran his hands furiously through his hair. He stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around to face Izzie.

"DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!? YOU JUST WRECKED MY RELATIONSHIP WITH CALLIE! STAY OUT OF MY LIFE YOU DUMB SLUT!" He picked up the tie that Callie had thrown and stormed out of the gym and ran in the direction Callie had gone.

Callie ran out the entrance of the school, passing Addison with tears streaming down her face. Addison turned and watched her best friend run to her car and speed out of the school parking lot.

Callie made it home in record time and didn't even bother pulling her car into the garage, she settled for parking it in front of her house and stormed into her house. She ran up the stairs, passing both her parents who were startled by presence there. They watched their baby girl run to her room and slam the door shut. Alejandra and Carlos looked at each other before rushing up the stairs and stopping at their daughter's bedroom. Her mother knocked on her door lightly and sighed when she heard nothing.

"Calliope? Sweetheart are you okay?" They heard Callie blow her nose before answering.

"Yeah, I'm fine mom, I just need a minute" Both parents could hear in their daughter's voice that she was indeed, not fine.

Alejandra pushed open her bedroom door slightly and broke at the sight of her daughter curled up on her bed crying her eyes out. Her mother and father rushed to her side and started to soothe their hysterical daughter, but it was no use. Alejandra climbed on the bed and took Callie into her arms, rocking her lightly, while Carlos lightly smoothed her hair away from her face.

Relishing in the warmth of her mother's embrace, Callie's sobs began to subside, and she had gotten her breathing back to normal. Her mother noticed the calming of her daughter's emotions, and pulled back so she was looking in her eyes. The sadness that she saw in her daughter's eyes was almost enough to push Alejandra to tears herself. Instead, she stayed strong for her daughter and wiped the tears away.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Callie took a deep breath before answering her mother.

"Today, I wanted to surprise Mark, I bought him a tie that matched by prom dress, and when I found him" her voice cracked as the scene of Izzie kissing Mark replayed in her mind "I found him in the gym kissing some other girl" Callie began to cry again and her mother pulled her closer, whispering soothing words into her ear.

Carlos stood from the side of Callie's bed and immediately began rolling up the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. Alejandra caught his eye and spoke over her daughter.

"Oh Carlos, sit down, if she wanted him killed, she would've done it herself"

"Mi vida, look what he has done to our daughter" he said pointing to a still crying Callie, "anyone who makes my daughter feel this way deserves to die" Before he could leave the room, Alejandra gave him the one look that could bring him to his knees. The look that Callie had also inherited from her mother and could easily win any argument.

Carlos let out a defeated sigh and sat at the edge of his daughter's breath muttering threats under his breath. Alejandra turned her attention back to her daughter and gently stroked her hair.

"Baby, did he try to explain?" Callie shook her head against her mother's chest.

"No, I ran out before he could say anything, he didn't even come after me, Mami, he stood there, with his eyes wide and his mouth closed."

"Do you think you could try and let him explain if he tried to?"

"I don't know, Mama, I honestly don't know" Callie started to cry again and Alejandra began rocking them once more.

"You don't have to anything, honey, we will take care of everything" Her daughter nodded against her mother's chest and 20 minutes was fast asleep. Carlos stood from his spot on the edge of the bed and pulled back the covers. He helped his wife ease their daughter under the covers and removed one shoe after the other. After making sure that she was comfortable and tucked in, they silently placed kisses on her head and exited her room.

Carlos and Alejandra were sitting at the kitchen table, both nursing a cup of coffee. Alejandra looked at her husband and sighed.

"What are we gonna do? Our baby is upstairs with her heart broken and I feel like I can't do anything to help her" Carlos reached over and grabbed his wife's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"We are gonna do the only thing we can do, mi vida, we are going to love her, protect her, and be her shoulders to cry on when she is weak." Alejandra smiled at her husband and kissed his cheek.

A knock at the door startled them out of the haze and Carlos stood to go answer it. He almost grabbed his shot gun at the sight of Mark Sloan on his doorstep.

"You've got some nerve coming here, young man" Mark swore he saw his life flash before his eyes as he looked into the eyes of the Carlos Torres.

"Is Callie home, Mr. Torres?" Carlos stood his ground with his arms folded across his chest.

"That is no longer any your business, if you ever come near my daughter again, I will personally have you removed" Before Mark could even respond, Carlos slammed the door on his face. Mark sighed and ran a hand through his hair and sat down on her doorstep. The only thing going through his mind was Callie, and the tears that he had caused. He cursed himself for ever bringing her this much pain. But he knew he wouldn't give up, he was going to make it up to her if it was the last thing he did.