HIIIII guys! How are you? So it's late, I'm hungry, and I decided to write my chapter. I don't really like this one much, but whatever, the next ones will be better, I can assure you. Anyways, if you like this chapter, thank you! Next chapter I'm going to focus on two or three main characters who you'd like to see a connection with, so review on that!
Who is gonna watch the TCAs (Teen Choice Awards) 'cause my friend and I are going to stuff ourselves while watching it! The Fosters is nominated and I'm really happy, I hope we beat pretty little liars! That's gonna be a tough one!
Just wanted to thank anyone who reviewed, favourite, followed, and read. I really appreciate it, and thanks to those who have explained their earthquake experiences, I will take that in note! THANK YOU!
ENJOY GUYS!
ALSO, THE ITALICS ARE MEMORIES
THIS FOLLOWS MY PREVIOUS CHAPTER. THERE WILL BE NO PART 3.
The moon shined brightly above the Olmstead's lake house, everything was quiet, peaceful, and simply beautiful. Callie was getting quite confident of her 14, almost 15 year old body. She developed lovely curves, in all the right places, and had a tiny waist, as well as long, toned legs. She was proud to say that she could indeed wear a bikini, and it would fit her immensely well. Although her confidence, Callie always wrapped a towel around herself before she would head out to the lake with the rest of the Olmstead's. After today's events of going to the lake, Callie got into her pajamas and got ready for a goodnights sleep.
The Olmstead's were by far Callie and Jude's greatest, kindest family. They were helpful, patient, loving and above all, they wouldn't lay a hand on either of them unless it would be to give them a high five or a hug. This was the first time Callie had ever let her walls go down since her mother had died, and even Jude was much happier here, and just because of that, Callie was happy as well. But besides their kind ways and loving manners, they could sometimes have a chip on their shoulder. If Callie would accidentally do something wrong, Mr. Olmstead's face would seem to show a hint of anger, just barely recognisable, but Callie could see it due to practise from older foster homes. Then he'd just shrug it off and smile, explaining how mistakes can happen to anyone, and everyone.
Today, Jude and Callie were at the lake house with the Olmstead's and their family. Stephan Olmstead, Callie and Jude's foster father, had rented the lake house with his brother, Marcus Olmstead. Although the Olmstead's Callie and Jude lived with were kind and caring, the other half of the Olmstead clan, were not as much. They were simply what you would call snobs.
Marcus and his wife, Andrea, were always complaining, whether it would be about Jude and Callie, about the lake house, about the forest, the outdoors. Basically if they'd find an opportunity to nag, they'd take it within a heartbeat. "They're a waste of food and money," Marcus would explain in a snobby tone, but Stephan always had a defensive answer. "We get paid to keep them, Marcus. They're not a waste of anything."
"Ah, so I see. That's why you keep them," Andrea would laugh rudely, staring directly into Callie and Jude's direction, not minding whether they heard or not. "Aunt Andrea, quit it out, Callie and Jude are great kids." Liam Olmstead would always, always protect Jude and Callie. And Callie cared for him because of it. He was handsome, muscular, a good person, with a big heart. He'd always take care of them, he was the best person in that entire house. Even Stephan's wife, Dianne, couldn't be a kinder person than Liam, it was impossible.
Despite the fact that Marcus and Andrea were awful, they were still tolerable. Callie and Jude would just do what they always did when they had abusive, disrespectful foster parents; they'd ignore it, not push their limit, they wouldn't fight back. The only time Callie would ever fight back was when it came to someone hurting Jude. Just the thought of someone hurting her little brother made Callie want to hurt them herself.
The only thing worse than Marcus and Andrea, were their kids. 17 year old Amanda was the most dreadful, bitchy person in the entire world. She would always have something to say, whether it was a good thing, or bad thing. She wore bright red lip-gloss, she always wore her blonde hair curled, and had a high pitched voice which made Callie want to punch her right in the mouth. Her long, pointy nails were painted a hot pink and she'd always wear a short sundress, it seemed as if she owned every colour. "Oh Callie, what a shame you don't wear dresses. Well, it's not all a bad thing, they wouldn't fit you well, anyway," She'd smirk as she popped her grape flavoured bubble gum. And the thing that annoyed Callie the most about Amanda, was how easily she could manipulate people, anyone besides Callie that is. Even Liam would kiss her feet if she'd ask him to.
Amanda's brother, Liam's other cousin, Sebastian, was the person Callie despised the most. At least Amanda could pretend to be a good person at times, but Sebastian was plain honest about being an asshole. Callie knew that he was a 16 year old pervert, it was written on his face. Whenever Callie would bend down, Sebastian wasn't even discreet, he just plain stared at her behind. The thing she hated the most about him, was how even if Jude was right next to him, he'd do it anyway, which made Callie disgusted, and embarrassed. Meeting Sebastian made Callie feel a little bit more disrespect towards the Olmstead's, considering they all seemed oblivious to the fact that Sebastian would stare at her every chance he got.
"Callie, hey," Liam knocked on her door lightly, but he opened it without any warning. "It's me."
"Liam what the hell are you doing here?" Callie asked Liam, giggling a little just at the sight of him. She hoped Liam wouldn't see how big of a crush she had on him. Liam moved forward towards Callie, he placed a strand of hair that fell from Callie's pony tail behind her ear.
To Callie, Liam's touch was like a soft spark, something golden. "We're going out tonight," Liam whispered, his fingers still tugging onto the strand of hair. "I wanted you to come, too."
At first Callie was confused. Who is 'we', was the current question going through Callie's mind. When she saw the pair of blondes in the background waiting impatiently for Liam, she immediately knew that it was Sebastian and Amanda.
"No way," Callie barked, somehow still in a whisper, moving away from Liam abruptly. "They hate me, they'll try to kill me or something. And Sebastian will probably rape me before that happens!"
Liam laughs, but it wasn't the laugh Callie was used to seeing in him. It was a 'don't you worry' type of laugh; a laugh which Liam made Callie feel crazy, as if it were impossible he could do such thing. "Callie, Sebastian's an ass. He's like that with every girl, I promise."
Even though it was Liam, Liam the boy she had a crush on, Liam who treated her better than any other person, Callie was still reluctant. She didn't want to leave Jude alone with the Olmstead's. She would never leave him alone with anyone, even if she trusted Dianne and Stephan, Andrea and Marcus were still in the house to torment him. And at 10, almost 11 years old, Jude was more fragile than ever. Whenever anyone would say anything hurtful, even if it was a joke, he'd always feel hurt. And whenever Jude felt hurt, Callie was the only one he would let comfort him. It was fine with Callie considering she didn't want anyone else comforting him anyway, even if was the Olmstead's, Jude was still Callie's responsibility; he would always be.
"Oh, c'mon Callie," Liam cooed, noticing Callie's hesitation. "It'll be so much fun, we could jump into the lake in our underwear! And I swear I'll punch Sebastian right in the throat if he dares to touch you."
Callie still remained silent. She hated Amanda and Sebastian, not one thing she could do with them involved could possibly be fun. But if Liam was mentioned, it could go differently. Liam said it himself, he said he'd hurt Sebastian if he dared touch her. And Liam would never lie to her, he couldn't.
"Callie, please, come," Liam purred, his hands making their way to her waist, going under her shirt slowly, causing Callie to let out a surprised moan at how warm his fingers were. His hands traced her back as he pressed his lips on her neck, not moving them, but just letting them stay there. His warm breath made Callie feel a happy sensation, which lead to her leaning into him, but he then moved away, his eyes warm as he stared into hers.
"Okay," she agreed, feeling a little light headed. "Just give me a minute, I'll tuck Jude in and we can go, I have to get dressed anyway."
Liam smiles brightly, looking deeply into Callie's eyes, he then moved forwards to plant a small kiss on her forehead, causing Callie to blush massively. "I promise you won't regret it."
"Callie, Callie?" Jude's voice was filled with absolute fear, causing Callie to wake up from her nightmare, or her memory, she wasn't sure what to call it. "Baby, what's wrong?"
"You were having a nightmare, you were squirming around, speaking," Jude admitted, his voice was engulfed with fear and exhaustion. Callie let out a sigh, dropping down onto her back, Jude still sitting up.
"It's fine, go back to sleep, Jude," Callie assured him gently, placing a hand onto his. "Callie, you kept repeating Sebastian's name."
Callie's eyes burst open at the mention of one of the most hated people in Callie's life. The memory of what he did to her was fresh in her mind, swimming around in every area, never leaving. Like a rock stuck at the bottom of the ocean, never to be lifted out because of the heaviness.
"What did he do to you exactly, Callie? Why wouldn't you ever tell me," Jude croaked, looking down at his sister, those brown eyes staring at her widely. Callie didn't speak, instead she just turned around, pretending as if she never heard him, something she rarely does, but Jude knows that whenever Callie wouldn't speak to him, it was because she didn't want to hurt him, or that she needed space.
"Callie," Jude insisted, as if he forgot about how this was Callie's only escape from the world, escape from the questions. But Jude wanted Callie to face her past, for her own sake. "I wanna know. I'm not a baby anymore."
Callie sighed deeply, closing her eyes, placing the blankets over her shoulders, ignoring him once again, hoping he'd get the message. But Jude got his persistence from his sister, and it was something Callie wasn't sure to be proud of or to be scared of. The last thing she wanted was for Jude to be as messed up as she was, but for Jude, it's as if she was forgetting that Jude had to be there to witness his sister get hurt, to see her in pain, and it was something he never wanted to go through again. "Callie, tell me. Or I'm…I'm going to tell Stef and Lena about Sebastian myself, or at least, what I know about the story."
Jude hated using Stef and Lena to get to his sister, but he knew that if Callie would keep too much bottled inside of her, she'd end up doing something stupid, and Jude didn't want that. But the second Callie turned around, Jude regretted saying anything at all. The look Callie had on her face was a mix of vexation and unhappiness, and Jude just sat there staring at his sister's face. Eventually, he lied back down, his back facing Callie, not wanting to mention Sebastian again.
When Callie noticed she had gotten Jude upset, she felt another emotion overcome her body; guilt. Tonight wasn't a good night, was it? Callie let out a loud sigh and scooted closer to her brother, drawing shapes on his back.
"Jude, you'll get scared," Callie explained soothingly, moving her hand up to stroke his hair softly. "No I won't. I've seen too much already," Jude insisted, his back still facing his sister, not moving away from her touch, but not leaning into it either.
Callie sighed, knowing Jude was telling the truth. Although Callie had endured the pain, Jude had witnessed it, and it broke her heart that she couldn't keep his innocence at bay. "Jude, we went to a lake. Sebastian liked hurting people. Liam and Amanda had went to get blankets. We were alone. In the dark. In the middle of the woods. What do you think happened?"
Jude let out a noise which sounded an awful lot like a swear word, but Callie didn't bother to scold him, she knew he needed to let it sink in. Jude suddenly turned around to look at Callie, his eyes seeming red, but Callie pretended not to notice, not wanting to make a big deal out of anything. "He tried drowning you?" Callie's silence was also her affirmation. She didn't want to explain to Jude what made him try to drown her; that she would be keeping to herself. Well, until Stef and Lena would force it out of her, and then engulf her in hugs and kisses, something Callie didn't need right now.
"How'd you get him to stop?" Jude asked shakily, letting Callie run her fingers into his hair once again. "He heard Liam and Amanda's loud feet, and he pulled me out, threatening me not to tell anyone about this ever again." Callie didn't want to tell Jude that he threatened to hurt him, because then she knew he'd blame himself.
"What did he threaten you with?" Jude asked innocently, burying his head farther into the pillow. Callie shut her eyes, but Jude insisted again. Sometimes Callie wondered why the part of his innocence, the clueless part, wouldn't leave him. It would be so much easier for Callie, so she wouldn't have to explain everything, word for word. But she wondered if Jude was smarter than she thought, doing this just so she could face her problems.
"Guess," Callie whispered, freezing her hand from where she was stroking it on Jude's head. "Someone I loved. Someone I still love. The one person I would protect more than myself."
"Me," Jude spoke, sounding as if her were apologizing to his sister. Before Callie could say anything, Jude spoke, whimpering slightly. "I'm sorry, Callie."
"Hey, Jude. No, don't be sorry, Bud. This isn't your fault, it's not. They're assholes, and you know it. Besides, they're gone now, we won't ever have to see them again." Callie kissed Jude's forehead, wishing that she could erase all his pain with that one kiss. "Go back to bed Jude. It's early, we have a big day tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay." Callie lied onto her back and Jude snuggled next to her once more, his head buried into her shoulder deeply. And Callie pretends not to notice the moisture that came from his eyes, knowing he's still blaming himself.
"It's not your fault, Jude," Callie whispered, running her hand through his hair, the other hand holding onto him. And only moments later they both fell asleep, hoping that tomorrow, or today, would be much more fun than the previous day.
"You're going to be in your room, right?" Jude asked his sister as she tucked him in, grasping onto her hand tightly, afraid that she'd leave him alone forever. "Of course, Jude," Callie gulped. She hated lying to him, especially when her lie made him feel better, because the truth wasn't good enough.
"Promise?" Jude asked, his chocolate eyes looking into her matching ones, waiting for his sister to promise him that everything would be alright, like she always would. "I promise."
Jude nodded and let Callie kiss his forehead before she disappeared into another room. This was the first time the siblings have ever been away with another family, and Jude was afraid that Callie would run away, leave him alone. And usually, Callie and Jude would share a room, so that way, he always felt safer. But now he wouldn't be able to just jump across the room if he had a nightmare, or if he couldn't sleep, she wasn't there to talk to him until he would.
Callie assured Jude that it'll be fine one more time before she closed the door behind him, walking into her room, Callie changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, her sexiest lingerie underneath her clothes. She walked out of the room gingerly, heading downstairs to find Liam, Amanda and Sebastian. She inhaled deeply, ready to get this over with.
"Pancakes for you, Jesus," Stef beamed, placing the pancake on his plate, sitting down in front of him. Everyone was down for breakfast, each one of them sitting down, chewing on eggs or pancakes.
"How'd you sleep, huh?" Asked Lena, looking over at all her children, Brandon being the first to answer. "Really well, the couch is real comfy!"
"Stop bragging," Marianna nagged, pouring syrup onto her plate. "I get the couch next year, right Moms?"
Stef laughed. "Well, we'll see with your lovely attitude and how kind you and your brother will be to each other." Marianna rolled her eyes, handing the syrup onto Jesus.
"Whatever, as long as I don't have to sleep with Marianna," Jesus complained loudly. "Even with pillows in between us, I woke up to Marianna's arm in my face."
"Yeah, and I woke up without any blankets, even the extra one I brought was gone!" Marianna announced, stuffing a slice of pancake into her mouth. Everyone at the tabled managed a small laugh, Jesus and Marianna were always at each other's throats, but it just meant they cared.
"How about you guys?" Lena asked, looking towards Jude and Callie, sipping on her orange juice. Jude looked over at Callie. She seemed calm, prepared, as if last night had never happened. "It was alright."
Stef could detect a sense of hesitation in Callie's voice, which she hid with a small smile and a fake confidence. "Well that's great, Love."
Callie faked a smile at Stef, and she returned it, taking a sip of coffee from her mug. "So you guys, what should we do today?" Asked Lena, as she took another bite out of her eggs.
"I was thinking that we could go back to the lake, and use the long rope to jump in like we always used to!" Exclaims Marianna, sounding much more excited than she had before.
"Yeah! That was loads of fun!" Jesus agrees, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Stef gasps dramatically at Jesus. "My goodness! Did I just witness Jesus and Marianna Adams Foster, agree with one another?"
Marianna rolls her eyes at her mother's comment and Jesus just smirks before he continues stuffing his face.
"Oh my, Stef! We must celebrate!" Insists Lena, looking towards her wife, both of them acting dramatic towards one another. "Yes we must! We'll go to the lake, and have some lunch there!"
"Oh, so basically what we were gonna do anyway?" Asks Brandon, handing Callie a hot cup of coffee. "Pretty much." Admits Lena.
For the next few minutes, everyone finishes eating, making small talk. The second everyone is allowed to get ready they all get to it, not wanting to act like everything was fine, when they were all feeling quite awkward with Callie. Once they're all up stairs, Brandon pulls Callie over, feeling the need to apologize.
"Hey, umm, look, Callie. I'm sorry, I didn't really expect you to react the way you did," Brandon confesses, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand the other one awkwardly hanging at his side.
"Its fine Brandon, it's not your fault, I over reacted." Brandon manages a small smile before returning to all seriousness. "Why'd you react that way, Callie?"
Callie tried to walk away from him, but Brandon pulled her back gently, forcing her to stare into his eyes. "Callie, we want to help you! Let us, let us understand."
"There's no reason, Brandon, I just didn't want to be thrown into the water!" Callie snapped, causing Marianna and Jesus to walk out of their room. "What's going on, guys?" Asks Jesus, walking next to Callie cautiously, noticing her shaking slightly.
"Callie, calm down," Jesus whispered, placing a hand onto her shoulder gingerly, but she flinches away from him anyway, throwing her back onto a wall, closing her eyes tightly.
"Seb, I'm going to get some blankets with Amanda, keep an eye on Callie, will you. Don't try anything stupid," Liam called out to his cousin, who was in the water, wetting his hair. Callie turned to Liam, still not taking her jeans or shirt off. "You're leaving me alone with him?" Callie gulped, hugging herself, trying to comfort herself when no one else would.
"C'mon Cal, he's not a bad person. Besides we'll only be gone for a few minutes," Liam promised, walking away, not giving her any chance of an answer. And Callie just watched Liam and Amanda disperse into the trees before turning back.
When she finally got the courage to turn around, she saw Sebastian getting out of the water, making his way towards her. Callie gulped loudly, taking in a deep sigh before she walked forward, trying to prove that she wasn't afraid, when deep down, she was terrified. Sebastian was fully out of the water, just staring at her. Callie wanted to undress so she could into the lake, but Sebastian staring at her made Callie feel so uncomfortable all she did was stare back at him, no reaction in her eyes, just a plain face.
"You gonna get undressed or what? Can't go in the lake with your jeans on, Cal," Sneered Sebastian, making his way near her, but Callie just stayed frozen, watching him. "Need me to help you?" He suddenly grabbed her by the waist, not bothering to be sensible at all.
At the sudden movement, Callie pushed her off of him before he could press his mouth onto hers, or even worse, undress her himself. "You know, for a 14 year old, you're damn feisty. Isn't every girls dream to make out with a hot, sexy, older boy?" Callie laughed, suddenly being aware of her surroundings, no longer feeling magnetic to the floor.
"Yeah, when it's mutual. Besides, why are you calling yourself hot, you have a little too much confidence, don't you." Callie was surprised at how easily she let those words slip out, and how good it felt to express them. But she regretted it the moment she saw the anger in Sebastian's face, his blonde hair falling into his green eyes, his face a bright red.
Callie knew what was coming next, she tried to run but Sebastian was fast, he grabbed her by her shirt, and dragged her into the water, keeping a hand on her mouth so her screams would be muffled and sound much quieter. He grabbed her hair when they were deep enough, and pushed it under the water.
Callie tried her hardest to get out, kicked and screamed, but that only made things worse, causing her to lose her breath much more quickly. Eventually, he pulled her back up, but only for a few seconds before pushing her down again. "Say anything to anyone and I swear to god, your brother will never be able to move any apart of his body again, and I'll make it look like a fucking accident. Now don't disobey me again you fucking little girl!" Sebastian whispered to her so softly, if he hadn't said what he had, it would've maybe been soothing. He then placed her head back under the water.
This time Callie didn't even protest she just stayed there, her eyes wide open, pretending she was somewhere else entirely. All she could hear was the sound of the bubbles coming from her nose going up. She noticed how even the water had a sound, even emptiness had sound, even the quietness had a sound. Callie just pretended that she was breathing, that it was alright, that nothing bad could ever happen to anyone. She just thought that nothing could be destroyable, even her. Especially her.
"Breathe, Callie, Breathe." Just three simple words made Callie feel the wall which locked her from reality tumble down into pieces. Callie immediately opened her eyes after being able to stop those awful memories from flooding her mind.
All Callie could see is her family surrounding her, staring at her intently, every member with a different look on their faces.
Marianna and Jude share the same scared look. Their worried expressions make Callie feel bad for even letting herself remember that awful day in her past. Lena and Stef share the same look of worry, but they also have that curious look on their faces. And now Callie knows she'll have to explain to them, or else they won't leave her alone, because that's just who they are.
Jesus and Brandon stand behind everyone, as if they were some sort of protection, some type of bodyguards. Callie wanted to run away, disappear; leave. Instead, Callie just slide down, closing her eyes and burying her face in her legs so she couldn't see anybody, pretending that if she wouldn't see them, they wouldn't see her either.
"Kids, go to the lake, now." That was Stef's voice, Callie was certain about it. Although everything seemed hazy, and her hearing felt unclear, she could make out Stef's voice like a tall person surrounded by short ones.
"No!" And that voice was Jude's. "Jude, come on." Brandon. That was Brandon. Callie looked up for a second, seeing Brandon try to drag Jude away as he just stared at her, Jesus doing the same with Marianna, although he was looking back at Callie a few times as well.
Callie buried her face back into her legs, closing her eyes so tightly she thought they'd stay that way forever. For a few minutes, everything was quiet, all she could hear was the hollow sound of a door opening, and then closing only minutes later. "Callie." That one was Lena. Callie suddenly felt a warm body slide down next to her, wrapping an arm around her.
Callie didn't bother moving away, she was too tired to move any muscles. She then felt another body on the other side of her; Stef. Stef wrapped her arm around Callie as well.
They just sat like that for what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes. Lena rubbing Callie's back softly. Stef grasping tightly onto her daughter's hand. After a while, Callie slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes, feeling safe to do so. Stef and Lena glanced at each other before saying anything, but they didn't need to.
"The Olmstead's," Callie started, her voice sounding dry. "It started with the Olmstead's."
"Jump, will you?" Jesus exclaimed directly to Marianna. Apparently she was taking too long to get settled on the rope, and Jesus wasn't patient. "Oh, shut up, do you want me to kill myself?"
"Well I wouldn't mind," Jesus joked, taping his foot impatiently. "Marianna hurry up, seriously you're taking one thousand years."
"You see, this is why you don't get good grades in math," explains Marianna "Or any other subject." Marianna suddenly swings herself from the rope and into the water, before Jesus can answer her back. Marianna causes a loud splash as she enters the water, laughing madly. Jesus following right behind her.
Brandon and Jude sit on the shore, not wanting to go in the water, feeling something missing. "Jude, what really happened with Callie?" Brandon asked Jude the question so softly, Jude almost felt relaxed.
"I can't tell you. She'd get angry with me," Jude remarked, throwing stones into the lake, watching them skip away. Brandon knew better than to go to Jude for information on Callie, but at this point he'd do anything.
"But Jude, it's for her own good." Jude turned to look at him, suddenly feeling anger. "No. Her own good would be telling Moms, not you or Jesus, Marianna, not even me."
Brandon was shocked at Jude's answer, but he smiled anyway placing an arm gently over the boy's shoulders. "I know you're worried, we all are, Jude. But everything is going to be fine, I promise.
"How do you know, you're not Callie, you don't know what goes on in her head," Jude chocked, and let out a small sigh before continuing. "No one does."
Brandon laughed. Jude knew Callie more than anyone else in the family, but Brandon was dedicated to knowing her just as much one day. "Jude, Callie is Callie. You know her, and I know her, and if I know that Callie will be fine, then you do, too, you're just letting your fear cloud over your judgement."
Jude looks up to his brother and manages a small smile, nodding his head lightly. "Thanks, B." Brandon chuckles, standing up, getting ready to jump into the lake. "You coming?"
Jude nods, smiling massively, he slowly gets up and walks next to Brandon, heading up the small hill to jump into the lake.
Before Brandon can teach Jude how to swing from the rope, they see 3 pair of feet walking their way over. Once Brandon notices who they are, he slowly jogs over to them, Jude not far behind. Once close enough, Brandon stops, not making any closer steps, letting them make their way towards him.
"Hey," Brandon called, smiling at Callie, who was standing in the middle of their moms. "Hi."
"Wanna join us?" Brandon asked, looking back at Jude who just stood there silently, waiting awkwardly for Callie and Brandon to do something, anything. "Yeah," Callie answered, unlatching herself from her mothers' arms, walking next to Brandon. He gently placed an arm around her, Callie wrapping an arm around him as well, and all of a sudden, they're hugging.
"You're okay?" Brandon whispered, hugging her tightly. "Yeah. I'm okay." Eventually, the two siblings pull apart, smiling at one another. "C'mon, let's go jump into a lake!" Brandon exclaims, pulling Callie's arm along with him.
"Wait, Callie, Love. Are you sure you wanna go in that deep?" Stef asked, placing a hand onto Callie's shoulder before Brandon can drag her away. "Yeah, I'm positive. I have to face my fears."
Stef smiled, letting go of her shoulder. "Alright, but if anything happens, I'm not letting you go into a lake ever again," Lena remarked, joining in on the conversation. "Don't worry, Mama," Callie smiles. "Besides, I'll be with Brandon and Jesus, and Marianna, and Jude."
"She's in good hands," Brandon adds, looking down at her, smirking slightly. "That, we know," Stef points out, smiling brightly at her children. "Alright, go, have fun."
Brandon's smile extends even more and he drags Callie by the arm, and straight up the mountain, Jude right behind them.
"Callie," Jude spoke softly, making his way next to her as Brandon got the rope ready. "Did you tell them?"
"Yeah, Jude. I did," Callie assured, smiling down at him. "Everything?" Jude asked, looking shocked.
"Everything," informed Callie, placing a hand onto Jude's shoulder lightly. "Now, do you wanna jump first, or is that gonna be me?"
"Oh, you for sure," Jude teased, nudging her slightly, causing Callie to giggle. "I can't wait to see you fall into the water!"
"Oh, be quiet!" Callie laughs, nudging his as well. "Alright!" Brandon turns around and explains to Callie and Jude how to climb onto the rope, and exactly when to jump off before someone gets hurt.
"So, who goes first?" Brandon asks, his eyes changing direction from Callie to Jude. "Me," Callie states, walking up to the rope, climbing onto it, latching herself around it tightly.
"Are you sure, Callie?" Jude asks cautiously, Brandon's curiosity growing wider. "I mean, with what happened, and you freaking out when Brandon wanted to throw you in. I was just joking when I said you would go first, I can go."
"No," Callie insisted. "I can do this, it's not like I'm going to die; I'm just going to face it." Jude nods, Brandon smiles, and Callie launches herself into the air, dropping from the air, and into the lake.
At first, it was all panic. Memories flooded through her mind from the night when she had almost died, the sensation of disappearing into the water, dispersing into a wave herself, the sensation of death.
But after she blocked out her memories away, feeling an arm tug her out of the water, she slowly started to feel a new familiarity with the water. This was the lake which belonged to the Foster's, her family, not the Olmstead's, a family she once thought she loved, but now despises more than anything else.
"Callie," Marianna pulled her out, laughing. "You good?"
"Yeah," Callie laughs. "I'm good."
Thanks guys! Remember to tell me who you'd like to see a connection with next chapter!