Chapter 13. (Warning: this chapter contains descriptions of abuse and some coarse language)
"Brandon?" Callie asked. He was so quiet, with his eyes closed, that she wasn't even sure he was awake.
"Hmm?" He replied. It was a warm afternoon, and they were laying under the tree in the backyard, looking up at the sky. Monday had rolled around again, and Callie was trying to unwind before Stef took her to group, which she was dreading. She still had a week of being grounded ahead of her, but she found she didn't mind being home-bound at all. She didn't have many friends, didn't like to go out much anyway, and the only person she wanted to be with was already at home, Brandon. It didn't even feel like a punishment, really.
Propping herself up on her elbow, she turned to Brandon. "You know what I want you to do?"
"What?" He asked, opening his eyes.
"This is gonna sound crazy," she laughed, pointing upward."But... will you carve our names into this tree?"
"I didn't know you were such a hopeless romantic," Brandon teased, smiling.
"I had a dream that you did that," she explained. "Oh, forget it. It's silly."
"I don't think it's silly," said Brandon. "I think it's a nice idea. It'll be there when you get home."
An hour later, Stef was walking Callie into the counseling center. They were headed down the hall, Callie following behind as if her foster mother was leading her to her execution, when they heard her name being called. They turned around to see Liam approaching them. "Callie," he said, smiling. "It's been a while. How are you?"
Callie's legs felt weak when she saw him. Thinking she might faint, and in need of comfort, she reached for Stef's hand, holding it tight. "Just fine," she spat. He reached out to rumple her hair, and she backed away before he could touch her.
Liam laughed. "Chill out, kiddo. I don't bite." He turned to Stef. "You must be Callie's foster mom. She and I go way back." He winked at Callie.
Callie was on the verge of vomiting, paralyzed where she stood. Liam was just as charming as ever. She hoped Stef wouldn't be stupid enough to fall for his act. Stef glanced down at her, then smiled politely. "Nice to meet you." She paused awkwardly, glancing at her watch. "Well, we really need to get going. Bye."
"Bye Callie," said Liam. "See you around."
"Don't count on it," she mumbled under her breath as he walked away.
Once he was out of earshot, Stef asked; "How do you know him?"
Callie shrugged. "Just... around."
Stef nodded, frowning. "Well, I don't like the looks of him," she admitted. "You... stay away from him, okay?" She was still holding Callie's sweaty hand. She rubbed it lovingly with her thumb. "Go ahead to group, Sweetie. I'll be back to pick you up." She kissed Callie's cheek. "Try to share today. And don't forget..." she added with a wink. "You're just getting over pneumonia, so try to look a little weak."
Callie nodded. "Okay. See you later." Stef waited, watching as she went into the room where group was held.
The counselor smiled when she saw Callie. "Hello, dear. We missed you last week. Are you feeling better?"
Callie shrugged. "Yeah. I guess so."
"I'm glad to hear that," The woman replied.
Callie chose a chair as far away from Sarah as possible. Once group began, Callie half-listened, bored out of her mind, until it was Sarah's turn to share. "Yesterday was my birthday," the younger girl began. "The Olmsteads had a party for me." She reached down and lifted a small, oval locket from her chest. "My foster brother gave me this. It has my initial on it." The gold locket sparkled under the overhead lights.
"That's lovely, Sarah," the counselor told her. "You must have felt very special." Sarah nodded, beaming.
"You won't in a few days," Callie mumbled. Liam had given her gifts like that, too. If Sarah just had a birthday, that meant she was now fifteen. Callie was fifteen and one week when Liam raped her. A creepy feeling crept up her spine. Would history repeat itself now that Sarah had reached that age?
The counselor turned to Callie. "Do you have something to share?"
"Nope," Callie said. Like she'd reveal anything personal about herself. Sarah would just go home and tell Liam, not realizing he was using her, then he'd have more stuff to use against her.
"You really should share today since you missed last week's session," the older woman pushed.
"Maybe I don't want to 'share!'" Callie shouted, fed up with the meeting and frustrated about Sarah. "Last time I checked, it was a free country." Once the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back.
"I know you're just getting over an illness," the counselor said sternly, no longer overly cheerful. "But in this room, you show others respect, young lady. Do you understand?"
Callie nodded. "Yeah... I understand."
When group was through, Sarah went off with a friend. Callie overheard that the other girl was treating her to ice cream for her birthday. The counselor took Callie aside as she tried to leave. "I didn't appreciate the way you spoke to me today. If it happens again, I'll be forced to contact your social worker."
Callie looked at the door. She was the last one in the room. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm just having a rough day. I have to go, okay? Stef's probably waiting for me." Without waiting for a reply or saying goodbye, she hurried out of the room. She didn't see Stef, so she headed toward the lobby. She was passing the restrooms, when a hand reached from the alcove and grabbed her. She looked up into the face of evil. "Let me go!" She cried. Liam gripped her arm tight as she struggled. She couldn't get away. He was too strong.
"That's not gonna happen," Liam laughed in a sleazy voice. "You're gonna fuck me, Callie." He placed his hand on her head, and tried to force her down.
"Help!" She shouted to anyone who was in earshot. Most of the rooms in the center were soundproof, for privacy reasons. Maybe no one would hear her, she realized, tears burning her eyes.
"Shut up!" Liam snapped, slapping his hand over her mouth. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be." He tried to push her down again, when a shout filled the hallway. They turned to see Stef sprinting toward them.
"Get the hell away from my daughter!" Stef screamed. Liam stared for a second, a scared look in his eyes. Taking his moment of weakness as an opportunity for escape, Callie jabbed her knee between his legs as hard as she could. When he doubled over in agony, she ran to her foster mother. In seconds, Stef pinned him down and handcuffed his hands behind his back, then called Mike on her radio. Not long after that, Brandon's father was reading Liam his rights, then leading him away. Callie breathed a deep sigh of relief, as Stef took her in her arms. "It's all over now," she told her. "Come to the car. We need to talk."
"Who is he?" Stef demanded, once they were sitting together in the backseat of the car.
"Liam," Callie told her. "He used to be my foster brother."
"Has he ever hurt you?" Stef asked. That struck a nerve. Callie's face went ghostly pale. "You can tell me, Callie," she pushed, gently but firmly. "Before today, has that guy ever hurt you in any way?" Callie couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears as Stef grabbed her into a hug. "Tell me the truth, Honey. From the beginning."
Callie took a deep breath, then began her story. "We lived with his family, like two years ago. It was a pretty good situation. Liam was nineteen then, and I was fourteen." She paused for a moment.
"Go on," Stef urged. "I'm listening."
Callie shifted in her seat. "Um... he took an interest in me right away. He was really nice, really affectionate. He'd take me places and buy me stuff. I liked getting so much attention, and he always told me what I needed to hear. I had a crush on him. I thought he loved me. He said he did." She wiped her runny nose with a tissue. "He'd, uh, hold my hand, or tickle me. He was the first guy who ever kissed me. But then..." She took a few more breaths, trying to collect herself. "A few nights after I turned fifteen, he came into my room while I was sleeping. He woke me up, and started kissing me really hard. Then he... he asked me for sex." She glanced at her foster mother, and saw her cringe. "I told him I didn't want to," she explained. "But he wouldn't give it up. He kept touching me under my blanket, and he told me he wanted to be my first. I said no, and tried to push him away, but he threatened me. I was so scared..." He voice trailed off.
"You're doing good, Cal. Keep going." Stef squeezed her hand for reassurance.
"Then," Callie continued, "he pulled down my underwear and started fingering me. And he forced me to touch him, too. After that, he got on top of me and made me..."
"Made you what, Baby?"
Callie was close to tears. "H- he raped me."
Suddenly, it all made sense. Stef had long suspected that Callie had been sexually abused at some point in her life. Though there was no mention of it in her file, she displayed many of the signs, from her poor self-esteem to her history of combative behavior. A while back, Stef even brought her suspicions to Lena, who agreed with her. "Callie," she breathed. "I'm so, so sorry, angel." She felt as if her heart had been ripped in two. Callie began to cry again, and she wrapped her in another hug. "What did you do after he raped you? Did you tell anyone?"
Callie shook her head. "No. I hurt, and there was blood. I felt so gross, I couldn't stand it. I sneaked out of my room in the morning and took a shower. I didn't tell anyone, though. No one would've believed me, anyway. People with my record don't get believed."
That was a mistake, Stef thought. By showering, she washed away the evidence. But she didn't say so out loud. What was the point? It wouldn't change anything. Instead, she looked Callie in the eye and said; "I believe you."
With that, Callie was back in her arms, shaking as she wept. "It's okay to cry, sweetheart," Stef whispered. "See? I'm crying, too." She kissed Callie's forehead, rocking her, as tears ran down her own face. "Let it all out. You're safe with me." She pressed her lips to Callie's soft hair. "My poor baby."
Callie wiped her red-rimmed eyes, and looked up at her foster mother. "Before, in the hall... you called me your daughter."
"And I meant it," Stef told her. "You're very special to me. Lena and I love you and Jude as if you were our own."
"There's something I've been trying to tell you," Callie confessed. "But I've been too scared."
"What is it?" She asked patiently.
"I love you, Stef."
If Stef wasn't already in tears, she would have been then. "Callie, thank you. It meant a lot to me to hear you say that." She pressed another kiss to her foster daughter's cheek. "I love you too, Sweetheart. So much."
Callie smiled, happy that Stef believed her, and that she was finally able to tell her she loved her. But she knew it was time to tell her the rest of the story about Liam. Slowly, she explained how Liam came back into her life, about Sarah, and how he'd been stalking her. Leaving out, of course, the details about her and Brandon's relationship. When they got home, she and Stef told Lena her story together. When she left their room to go to her own, Brandon stopped her. "Come outside. I want to show you something." She really just wanted to be alone for a while, but she followed Brandon to the backyard, and he led her to the tree. "Surprise! I told you I'd do it."
Studying the tree trunk, Callie grinned, giving Brandon a hug. He'd scraped away some bark from the tree, then etched the words; "Brandon Loves Callie" into the wood, framing it with a crooked heart. Their earlier conversation seemed so long ago, she could hardly believe it had only been a few hours. "Thank you," she told him. "It's... beautiful." Now, when she saw the tree from her window, she'd feel love instead of fear. She took Brandon's hand in hers. "I have a surprise for you, too. Liam won't be harassing me anymore..." They sat down under their tree, and she recounted the arrest in full detail. Brandon especially liked the part where she kicked Liam in the balls.
To Be Continued