Chapter 10.

The Foster household was quieter than Callie remembered. She knew that it was unrealistic for everything to be exactly as it used to be. Mariana and Jesus were high school seniors now, and would soon be graduation. They both seemed a lot more mature now, too old to constantly bicker, like they used to. She wondered what the house would be like once they left for college, leaving Jude to be the last kid living at home. She hoped he would speak again by the time the twins graduated, for Stef and Lena's sake, as well as his own. The house would seem awfully lonely without all the noise and chaos.

The family's dynamics had also changed since the last time she visited. There seemed to be a powerful bond between Mariana and Jude. After dinner, she'd watched them playing video games together, and her heart ached, because that used to be them. Mariana seemed to have taken her place in his world.

She went up to her room after dessert, to work on some schoolwork, when Lena knocked on the door.

"Come in," she said, looking up.

Her foster mother crossed the room, and sat down on the edge of her bed. "I just wanted to say good night to you," she told her.

Looking up from her textbook, Callie smiled. "Thanks." She sat up, and accepted a hug.

Once they parted, Lena kept one arm around her, holding her close to her side. "I was glad to hear about the talk you and mom had earlier. I'm looking forward to seeing more of you, sweetheart. We all are."

"I'm looking forward to it, too," Callie confided. "I feel like I'm finally starting to turn things around."

"What brought these changes about?" Lena asked.

She shrugged. "It was actually something Brandon said. He was the one who encouraged me to visit over break. I don't know if I would have had the nerve to come if it wasn't for him."

Lena reached over, and tucked a strand of hair that had escaped from Callie's ponytail behind her ear. "It's good that you want to make changes in your life," she told her. "I want to be sure, though, that you're going to take what you said to heart and follow through with it. I know that going to live with Robert wasn't your choice, and that you have issues of your own to deal with, but I don't think Jude can take losing you again."

Callie nodded, her face solemn. "I won't disappoint him again, Lena. I promise."

"I hope not," she replied. She smiled, and pressed her lips lightly to Callie's cheek. "And call me mama, will you?"

"Okay," Callie laughed. "Goodnight, mama."

Lena pulled her back into her arms. "Goodnight, slug-a-bug. I love you."

"I love you too."

Once Lena left the room, Callie hurried down the hall to Jude and Jesus's room, and knocked. The door was open a crack, and she saw Jude inside, so she let herself in. He watched her curiously as she approached him.

"I thought I'd come in and say goodnight," she told him. He stared at her soberly.

"Can I have a hug?" she asked, lightheartedly. "Or are you too grown up for that now?"

He shrugged, but didn't protest, so she took him into her arms, delicately, as if he were made of china. She almost started crying when she felt his arms encircle her in return.

"Thanks for the hug, baby," she whispered, once they parted. "I really needed that." She tilted her head down, and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Goodnight, Judicorn. I love you."

She waited around, in case he decided to speak, and when he didn't, she went back to her room. When she returned, Mariana was inside, working on her laptop.

"Hey," she said, looking up from a shopping site.

"Hey," Callie replied, sitting down on her own bed, and pulling her socks off.

"It's cool that you're home," Mariana told her. "I've missed sharing a room with you."

"I missed sharing a room, too," Callie admitted. "I hate my room at Robert's."

"Why?" Mariana asked. "It must be awesome. He's like, a millionaire, isn't he?"

"He is," Callie nodded. "But my little sister decorated the room, and... it's not... what I would have chosen. I don't spend much time there anymore, anyway."

Mariana studied her intently. "Why not? I think it would be so cool to live in a mansion, and have a maid, and a pool, and a boat. It's almost like a fairytale." She giggled. "When Jesus and I were little, before we were placed with moms, I used to pretend that our birth father was a king, and he was coming to take us back to his castle."

"What happened to me wasn't a fairytale," Callie told her, suddenly annoyed. Once she realized how harsh she sounded, she managed a small smile. "Except for the wicked stepmother part."

"Sorry," Mariana apologized. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," she nodded. "It's okay. It's just, it's true what they say, that money doesn't buy happiness." Callie couldn't lie to herself; she did feel some guilt about allowing Robert to pay her college tuition and build her trust fund, when she once swore she didn't want anything from him. She'd meant it when she first moved in. But later, she realized that her father's wealth was her ticket out of that house. It was hard to accept it, proud as she was. But her sensible side won her over; by accepting the money, she could get a solid education that would ultimately give her the tools she needed to start her own life, and without debt. Besides that, providing for her financially was the least her father could do after uprooting her entire life. She'd learned to see it as compensation for her damages.

She yawned, picking up and opening her discarded textbook, and read until she fell asleep.

When morning dawned, Callie woke up with a sense of calm that she hadn't felt in a long time. It rested deep in the pit of her stomach; a hopeful feeling, that it was the first day of the rest of her life, as cliche as it sounded. She quickly got dressed, leaving Mariana to sleep in. As she made her way down the hall to the bathroom, she nearly bumped into Brandon.

"Sorry," she apologized, blushing. He was dressed only in pajama pants, slung low on his hips, exposing his gorgeous abs. His hair was messy, sticking up in all directions. Looking him over, her insides tingled with desire. She wanted to fuck him right there in the hallway.

"It's fine," he said. He looked at her expectantly. "Hey... do you want to do something later? Maybe go for a drive?"

She gave him a sheepish look. "I can't. I'm going shopping with moms later. Sorry..."

"Hey, no worries," he replied, shrugging. "Maybe we can go to a movie tomorrow, or something?"

"I don't know," she apologized, digging her toes into the carpet. "I'll have to see what's going on tomorrow." She'd never thought about how awkward it would be, trying to find her place in the family once again after all that she and Brandon had shared. Where would her turning over a new leaf leave him? He would never feel like a brother to her; they'd already crossed the point of no return. And her feelings for him ran much deeper than friendship, though she was too stubborn to admit it.

"Oh," he nodded, his eyes betraying his disappointment. "I was kind of hoping you and I could spend some time together this week. You know, just the two of us?"

"We'll figure something out," she promised.

Brandon put his arms around her waist, pulling her body close to his, and kissed her. Callie savored the warm wetness of his lips smashing against hers, and the lingering scent of his shaving cream. She was tempted to kiss him over and over, until his lips were red and swollen and they were both out of breath, but she forced herself not to go any further. When they broke apart, she looked down at the floor. "Well, I guess I'll see you at breakfast."

She ducked into the bathroom, leaving him in the hall, looking forlorn.

To Be Continued