Chapter 8.
One Week Before Spring Break:
"Hey, Callie," said Robert over the phone. "I have some great news for you."
Callie paced around her room, putting her clean laundry away. "What is it?"
"I just finished booking our family vacation," he told her. "We're going on a cruise over Spring Break."
"What?" she cried, nearly swallowing the spearmint gum she was chewing. "No! I already have plans for Spring Break." He could not do this to her.
"But we're sailing to the Bahamas," her father told her, sounding disappointed. "I thought you would be excited."
"Well, I'm not," she replied. "You didn't even ask me what I was doing. You never ask me what I want to do."
Robert sighed impatiently. "Tell me, Callie?" he asked. "What do you have to do that's more important than spending time with us?"
She chewed her lip, unsure of what to tell him. Could he really make her go with them? No, she decided. She was nineteen years old. He couldn't force her to go. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm spending time with my family for Spring Break."
"Your family?" he repeated. "You mean the Fosters?"
"Yes," she admitted. She felt a devilish satisfaction despite her bad mood.
She heard Robert take a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "It's about time you started acting like a member of this family, Callie," he told her. "I don't know how much more I can take of this rebellious stage of yours."
"I'm not rebelling," she insisted. She didn't bother to mention that she never asked to be a member of the Quinn family. "And I'm not changing my plans, either. Sorry."
"Callie..."
"I'm not going."
"Fine," he said. "But your sister will be very disappointed."
At the mention of Sophia, for just a moment, Callie felt guilt creep into her spine. "I'll make it up to her," she promised. "But nothing is gonna change my mind."
"You know what?" her father finally said with a deep sigh. "I'm not going to argue about this with you anymore. Do what you want."
Three Years Earlier (one week after moving in with the Quinns)
Callie slipped her backpack over her shoulders, and crept out of her room to the staircase. She held her breath each time a stair creaked on her way down, silently counting to three before taking another step. Finally, she made it to the bottom. The hall was dark, flanked by closed doors. She walked down it with soundless steps, carrying her shoes in her hand.
A rectangle of light shone from the doorway of the study. She had to pass by it; it was her only way out of the house. She tiptoed, straining her ears for sounds of life. She planned to dart past the study as fast as she could, but when she reached it, she froze in her tracks; Jill sat at the desk, reading, her face lit up by a table lamp. When she heard someone in the hall, she looked up, making eye-contact with her stepdaughter before turning her attention back to her book.
Taking a shallow breath of relief, Callie went on her way.
The bus dropped her off at the corner nearest to the Foster's. She rang the bell, bouncing on the balls of her feet with nervous energy. Finally, she heard footsteps and the front door swung open. Stef stood before her, gasping in disbelief."Callie, honey. What are you doing here?" she asked.
Callie studied her intently. Her legs felt like jelly. "I wanted to come home."
Stef sighed, her becoming misty with tears. "Oh, sweetheart... come in." She turned to the stairs. "Lena!" she called. "Can you come down here? We have a situation."
She led Callie to the couch, and sat down beside her. "Honey, you need to explain yourself. Does your father know you're here?"
"No," she admitted. "But I don't care. I'm staying here."
Lena came down the stairs, and looked to her wife in confusion and surprise. "What's going on?" Then, she noticed Callie.
"Callie has decided to run away," Stef wearily explained. She turned back to her foster daughter. "You know you can't stay here, right baby?"
"I don't want to go back," she told them, trying to stand her ground. "Please, don't make me." Her chin quivered, and she burst into tears.
"Sweetheart," Stef whispered, reaching out to give her a hug. "We can't let you stay here. That would be kidnapping." She rubbed Callie's back, trying to sooth away her tears. "If we could, you know we would hide you away forever, but we can't."
"But this is my home," she sobbed, giving them a pleading look.
"It's not anymore, love," her foster mother told her, her heart breaking a little more by the second. "At least, not in the eyes of the law."
Callie pulled away from Stef and roughly brushed her tears from her eyes. "Fine. If you don't want me, I'll just go to my dad's." She rose to her feet, and picked up her backpack. "He won't make me go back."
Stef grabbed her hand, holding it firmly before she could flee. "Donald can't keep you either, honey. He's on parole, and he would get in a lot more trouble than we would."
Callie gave her foster moms once last desperate look. "Please. Don't make me go. Just tell them I'm not here. I want to be with Jude."
Lena put her hand on Callie's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We have no choice, sweetheart. We have to let your father know you're here. He's probably worried sick." She dabbed her dark eyes with a tissue. "We're so sorry."
Callie looked down at her beat-up sneakers, trying to hide how crushed she really was; how betrayed she felt. She looked back up at Stef and Lena, backing away from them a step. "You're just like all the others. I shouldn't have trusted you!"
"You don't mean that, baby," Stef told her, taking her face between her hands, and looking her in the eye. Tears ran down her cheeks, dotting her shirt. "We love you."
She shook her head defiantly. "If you really loved me, you would do whatever it takes to keep me."
"We did," Lena patiently replied. "We tried so hard."
"Well, you didn't try hard enough!"
Stef picked up the phone, and went into the kitchen without another word. She was calling Robert, Callie realized. When she looked back toward the stairs, she saw Jude standing on the bottom step, watching her with a curious but wary expression.
"Jude," she said, quietly approaching him. He gave her a hard look, then ran back upstairs.
He hates me, she thought. Her shoulders slumped, and she turned away, guilty. If only she'd left things alone; she would have never met Robert. She wouldn't have even known she and Jude had different fathers. Jude was right: she didn't just ruin things for herself. She ruined them for him, too. And this time, she'd damaged their lives beyond repair.
"Come on, sweetheart. I'm taking you home." Stef grabbed her jacket, then took Callie by the hand, leading her to the front door.
She sighed, feeling dazed, almost as if she were dreaming, and followed Stef to the car without a fight. What did it matter, if Jude didn't want her there? What did anything matter?
She didn't speak during the ride, and soon, they were pulling into the long driveway of the Quinns' fortress-like house. The porch light was on, and Robert stood on the steps, waiting.
Stef turned to Callie before unlocking the doors. "Callie," she said, in a firm but kind voice. "I want you to promise me that you'll never do something like this again."
She shrugged, studying her puffy, tear-stained face in the rear view mirror. She looked like someone else in the dim light of the car.
"It's not that Lena and I don't love you," she went on. "We love you very much. But our hands are tied, here. If you're a good girl, though, Robert shouldn't have a problem with letting you visit us once in a while. So, you need to behave yourself. Okay?"
Fresh tears filled Callie's eyes. She and Jude's dream to be adopted together into a good family was dead. 'Once in while' would never be enough; it would never change what happened. "I hate him," she told her foster mother, referring to Robert. "I hate Jill too."
"Don't say things like that, honey," said Stef. "You don't hate them."
"Yes I do," Callie replied.
Stef sighed, looking toward the house. "We better go over there. Your father was very worried when I called." She unbuckled her seat belt, and got out of the car.
He should have asked Jill where I was, Callie thought to herself, as she walked toward the steps. She saw me running away and she didn't even try to stop me.
"Here she is," Stef told Robert apologetically. "I'm so sorry about this."
"Thanks for bringing her back," he nodded, smiling weakly.
Stef turned to Callie, lowering her voice. "Remember what I told you? Next time you want to come visit, you need to tell someone." She gave her a quick hug and kiss. "Take care of yourself, baby. I love you."
"I love you too," Callie mumbled begrudgingly. No matter how angry she was, she could never deny loving her foster moms.
"Maybe we can work out some kind of schedule so she can come spend time with us?" Stef asked Robert. "Something regular, so she can still be involved with the family?"
Robert gave her an unsure look, as if he didn't know whether to reply or not. "I'll have to think about it and discuss it with my wife."
"Please do," said Stef. She brushed her hand over Callie's hair. "Bye, sweetie. I'll call you this week."
"Bye," said Callie quietly, waving just the tips of her fingers. She watched Stef descend down the driveway and start her car. Then, she watched her drive away, until the car grew smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared.
"Listen," said Callie, turning to Brandon as they pulled into Stef and Lena's driveway; it was the first day of Spring break. "Can we keep quiet about, you know, us? I'd just prefer they didn't know. At least, not for now." She still wasn't sure of what she wanted from Brandon, or how her moms would react to it. All she wanted was for her visit to be as free of drama as possible.
"Sure," he agreed. "That's no problem."
"Thanks," she nodded. She got out of the car, and followed Brandon to the door. Before they reached the porch, Stef and Lena came out to greet them.
"Hi, baby," said Stef, smiling brightly. She held out her arms, and caught Callie up in an eager hug.
Callie hugged Stef back, and immediately, she felt the tell-tale sting of tears in her eyes and the lump in her throat. She was going to cry, and there was no way to stop it. She just hoped they wouldn't draw attention to it. "Hi, mom."
"Come here, sweetheart," said Lena, taking her turn to hug Callie. "Oh my gosh," she breathed. "Look at you! You're so beautiful."
Once Lena let go, Stef held Callie at arm's length, studying her as if she might disappear. "We've missed you, honey. How come you never come to see us anymore?"
Callie shrugged guiltily. "I- I've been busy. With school." She glanced down, then back up at them, her chin trembling. "But I'll do better. I promise."
"We're just so glad you're here," Stef told her through her tears. "I made your little bed, and we'll cook all your favorite meals. We're going to have so much fun. It will be just like the old days." She brushed some loose strands of hair from Callie's forehead, and kissed her again.
If she had the composure, Callie would have told Stef and Lena how much she loved them, and how she never stopped wishing that they were her parents. But she couldn't find the words. Instead, she let out a gasping sob, her face crumpling.
"Oh, Callie," Lena sighed, taking her back into her arms, rocking her slowly. "Don't cry, sweetie. It's okay." She pressed her lips to the top of her head. "Shh."
Callie's cheeks burned with embarrassment as she cried. She hid her face against Lena's shoulder, and the sweet scent of her foster mother's perfume filled her nose; she still smelled the same as Callie remembered. She held onto Lena a little tighter, letting her stroke her hair.
"Come on inside, you guys," Stef told both Callie and Brandon. "We have cold lemonade and oatmeal cookies, and the other kids are dying to see you."
Calmer now, Callie finally looked up from Lena's shoulder through swollen eyelids, and smiled. "Okay." As she followed them inside, her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. She was truly home.
To Be Continued