A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers, like yay! Sorry about any mistakes. I DID proofread it, but sometimes things get missed... particularly if you're writing it on a teeny tiny screen which has weird autocorrects... which leads to me saying a extra nice and big thanks to detective-smartypants for sticking up for this story And all the other post 2x10 ones - yeah, I noticed they're getting slammed at the moment too. I'd send you a long rambling PM as a thanks, but that might be weird so I'll write one here instead :) Still, all reviews are appreciated - even the negative ones providing they actually to improve... So yeah. Please rate and/or review :D

DISCLAIMER: Me, own anything? I wish.

CHAPTER THREE

In all honesty, she'd considered leaving. Packing up all her bits and bobs, and vanishing into the night. In many aspects it would be the easiest thing to do, both for her and for them. But last time she'd left, it had resulted in a group home, postponed adoption and they'd been upset - with her and her actions. And it was hurting them that she was trying to avoid. So instead, Callie found herself in a tedious geography lesson, learning useless information about places she'd never visit.

She sighed, hating the lesson, hating the school, hating herself. Well what's new there? She scowled, disliking the bitterness of her thoughts. It's true, you know, that distain - that self-loathing - it's always been there, always present, you just try not to think about it. Again she sighed, but this time louder, catching the attention of her teacher and several of her peers.

"I'm sorry, Miss Jacobs, am I boring you?" The teacher smirked at her, the silent challenge evident in his voice.

As her classmates sniggered, Callie fought to keep her temper. After the morning's spectacle she was already more than likely in trouble, it was best she kept a low profile for a while or they'd end up kicking her out. I thought that's what you wanted. I thought you wanted - needed - to get out of there... whilst you still can...

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, a gesture not missed by the teacher whose smirk widened. "Huh, I thought not. As I was saying..." With a hostile glare in her direction, he resumed his lesson, turning to the rest of the class.

Callie sighed again - quieter this time - before attempting to focus her attention on the topic, desperately trying not dwell on her less-than happy thoughts.

...

Lunchtime came without any more trouble, and soon she found herself at the beginning of yet another daily routine - the task of finding a table to sit at where the other occupants didn't look at her as though she was worse than the scum on the bottom of their shoes. And as usual there was not one table - par the one her siblings sat at - that would welcome her. Says something about you, doesn't it, if no one wants to sit with you even a year after you first came here... You're pathetic. Angry tears appeared in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away before anyone saw. Pathetic. New tears replaced the old ones and soon she was blinking rapidly in an attempt to stop them. An attempt that didn't work. Path-et-ic.

She sighed. Tell me something I don't know.

"Callie?"

Turning around she saw Mariana watching her, a small frown present on her forehead. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged and forced a smile. "Sure... Why, its there a reason I shouldn't be?" Though her tone was humorous, Callie was inwardly nervous. Had she seen her tears? Was it obvious she was upset? And if so, was it just now or this morning too? Had Jude noticed?

"Nope. Just wondering."

Callie couldn't help the relief that flooded her body. "Well, I'm fine so..." She trailed off, shooting the girl a quick smile. "Thanks?" It came out as a question, since when had anybody wondered about her or her well-being. She couldn't remember.

"Okay, good." Mariana stayed standing there for a moment, torn between continuing the conversation and leaving her foster sister be. "Are you eating lunch with us?"

Callie let out a dry, humourless laugh. "Where else would I eat?"

At her joke she was once again reminded of how unwanted she was at Anchor Beach, of how unwanted she was anywhere beside the Fosters'. Even Robert couldn't really want her. Her being in his life was just a way of keeping his daughter happy - she was essentially Sophia's new pet. The truth didn't make her any happier.

For the umpteenth time that day, she sighed.

...

The rest of the day passed without incident and soon she found herself at the table, eating a lasagne that Lena had made earlier. To her surprise, neither Stef nor Lena had mentioned that morning, and for that she was grateful, through she felt saw they'd want to talk about it later. Indeed, from the silent conversation the two of them kept exchanging, it seemed as though there was a lot they want to say.

"Mariana, Jesus, it's your turn to clean up." Lena broke the silence, directing her words at the twins, both of whom remained oblivious to the ten

"But you can do that later, Callie, can you remain downstairs, please? The rest of you up to bed!" Stef's tone and stiff posture told them all it was non-negotiable.

"Sure." She remained sitting as her siblings left, keeping her gaze firmly fixed upon her empty dish, rather than face her foster mothers.

"This morning-"

"I completely overreacted. I'm sorry." She quickly interjected, desperately trying to end the conversation before they decided she wasn't worth their time and left her.

"Yes, you did." Stef arched an eyebrow at the teen. "Completely so - there was no need for that, the attitude or the language."

"Still, we all make mistakes." Lena quickly added, shooting her wife a look. "What matters is that you're okay, that you're happy." She smiled at the girl. "Are you?"

Callie hesitated, seriously tempted to just... talk. To tell them how scared she was at the utter helplessness she felt. To admit to being a completely hopeless cause. To tell them about what had happened to the abandonment papers. But she couldn't they'd only worry, or kick up a fuss, and there was no point in that. She didn't matter that much. She shouldn't. Finally meeting their gaze, she nodded her head.

"Yeah," she told them, "I'm fine."

Stef pursed her lips, surveying the girl for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay then, go join the others - and tell the twins they can tidy up now."

"Sure."

He two adults watched as Callie left the room. Lena turned to look at Stef.

"Did you buy that?"

"Nope," Stef responded grimly, "Not one bit."

...

"Worthless piece of shit. I take you in to MY house, feed you MY food, and what do I get in return? An ungrateful entity-nosed brat who complains to her fucking teacher about me not treating her right. A little birch who claims to be hurt by me. As though she doesn't deserve it." Foster father number two glared at her as she cowered in the corner, her ten year old self terrified of the huge man who currently towered above her. "Because you know what, Callie, you know what," He suddenly leant in close to her, so close she could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath, "You do deserve it. You do, because you are pathetic. A fucking pathetic piece of garbage who hasn't even earned the right to live, yet alone live here, with me." He laughed, a cold, cruel chuckle and looked straight into her large, petrified eyes. "You. Are. Pathetic."

"I agree." Another voice chimed in, interrupting the memory as foster mom number seven stepped forward, her eyes burning with hatred.

"Yeah." Number four agreed, so did Numbers one, three, five, six and eight.

Number eight's son stepped into her line of vision. His hair was Sandy blonde and ever-so slightly tousled as he shot her a lazy smirk. "She wasn't even a good fuck." Liam Olmstead added, taking obvious delight in her distress. "She couldn't even get that right."

Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she felt her whole body shake as she looked around at them all, all her previous foster families crowded into the room just to tell her how worthless she was.

"Please, how do you think we feel?" A different voice spoke, cutting through the noise and causing her heart to freeze.

"We just adopted her brother, we're basically stuck with her, whether we like it or not." Stef Foster's voice was full of hatred and resentment as she met the gaze of her foster daughter. "All you do is cause pain. To me, to my family, to everyone around you. You're like a curse, nothing good ever comes from being around you." She shook her head sadly. "I was wrong," she told her, "When I first met you. I told you that you weren't disposable, that you weren't worthless, well, I was wrong. You are."

"I wish I'd never met you." Lena went to stand by her wife, and wrapped an arm around Stef to comfort her. "I wish none of us had." Gone was the woman with the look of kindness and soft, calm voice, instead stood someone furious and disgusted at her and her very being. Callie began to cry.

"S-sorry. I-I'm s-s-so s-sorry." Huge sobs shook her body. "Please f-forgive m-me."

"I don't think they can, honey." A different voice spoke, this one soft and melodic - a voice she knew well from her childhood, back when she had a home, a family, a safe haven. This was the voice of her mother.

"Mommy?"

Colleen Jacobs smiled down at her daughter. Bending down, she reached out with one hand to hold her chin, a gesture from her childhood used to force her to pay attention, whilst the other wiped away a stray tear. "Oh, Callie." She sighed. "You don't seem to get it. Why would they forgive you? You're a pathetic waste of space, who constantly disappoints me." She shook her head sadly. Callie cried harder. "See? You can't help it, you're that bad. That pathetic."

Callie looked around the room at all the familiar faces from both good memories and bad ones, they all agreed. Wiping away a tear, she nodded. "I know." She whispered, "I'm pathetic."

She woke up, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."