Chapter 3
"Lena, Love," Stef said into her cell.
"Hi, how is everything with those kids?" Lena asked.
Stef chuckled nervously, "So that's the thing. How do you feel about fostering two more babies?"
Lena didn't say anything at first, "Well, uh, Stef. I don't know."
Stef sighed, "I know it's crazy, Lena. Uf you saw them you would do it too. They've had such tough lives, and it's Christmas and CPS wants to separate them." She explained to Lena.
"Separate them?" Lena asked, confused.
"No one on their list wants to take Callie. They have one home that is willing to take Jude, but not Callie." Stef told her.
"Which leaves Callie-"
"In a group home." Stef said, finishing Lena's sentence.
Lena paused, "When are the coming home?"
Stef grinned, "So I'll take that as a yes?"
Lena laughed, "Stef, you know how we are with kids. We're suckers for kids."
"True," Stef said, "Callie can come home today. They had her in the hospital over night for observations. She didn't have any broken bones, but it's bad." She explained.
"That's so awful." Lena said, her voice cracking.
"I know, Love. I'm going to get this process rolling. I'll see you at home, soon. I love you." Stef said.
"I love you too." Lena said, hanging up the phone.
"So we're getting a brother and sister?" Marianna asked.
"Yes," Lena confirmed, "So make some room in your room so we can get a bed in there for Callie."
Marianna gasped, "I have to share my room with some girl I don't even know?"
Jesus walked over to them, "Stop being dramatic, Marianna. Is sharing your room really the worst thing? It's Christmas, jeez."
"Thank you, Jesus. You have to make some room in your room too." Lena told him.
Jesus stopped in his tracks, "what?"
Lena nodded, "Twins, it's Christmas. These kids had a rough life. Please, is sharing your rooms that bad?"
They didn't say anything.
"Brandon?" Lena called.
Brandon emerged from the living room, his headphones around his neck, "yeah?"
Lena smiled at him, "Can you call around and get prices on twin sized beds? We need two." She explained to him.
He nodded, "Yeah, but what for?"
"New siblings." Marianna said, rolling her eyes.
Brandon's eyes popped, "What?"
Lena nodded.
"Well cool, I'm glad we can open our home for more people. Especially on Christmas." He said, smiling at everyone.
Jesus rolled his eyes and went upstairs.
"Thank you, Brandon." Lena said, smiling at him. She was so proud of him. He was always setting good examples for the other kids.
"You're welcome." He said, pulling out his cell phone.
Stef finished all the paperwork with Denise, and walked back into Callie's room.
"Are you two okay with this?" She asked, looking at the kids.
"We can go together?" Jude asked Stef, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.
Stef smiled and nodded, "yes."
Jude nodded his head, "then we're okay with it."
Callie didn't say anything, but she smiled at her little brother.
"Callie we get to go together. They aren't taking you away." He said, hugging her. Callie winced in pain, but didn't make Jude move. Stef noticed this. She noticed that Jude acted as if Callie we his mother. She wondered how long it has been like this. Jude seemed like a happy, friendly kid. Callie was much more reserved. She could tell that Callie had endured a lot throughout her life.
"I know, Bud." She said quietly.
"Alright," Denise said as she popped into the room, "Callie you are all set to go! You both are ready to leave with your new foster mom." She told them, holding both of their back packs in her hands.
Jude ran forward and took the bags, handing one to Callie. Callie took her bag, but winced from the weight. Stef walked over to her, reaching out to take it. The movement scared Callie, and she jumped back.
"It's okay, Love. I was just going to carry that for you." Stef said calmly, trying not to scare her.
Callie shook her head, "It's okay."
Jude looked from Stef to Callie, and then quietly moved behind Callie. Stef didn't know what to say or do. She could tell that Callie had been severely abused. She didn't want to look bad in front of CPS, so she didn't say anything.
"Alright, Kiddos. Let's go."
"Kids, they're here!" Lena called, as soon as she heard Stef's car pull up. The kids all rushed down the stairs, trying to get a peek at the new foster kids.
"What happened to her?" Marianna asked.
"Marianna!" Jesus snapped.
"Be polite." Lena reprimanded. Her heart felt heavy at the site of Callie. Stef walked in front of the kids, and Jude behind Stef. Callie had fallen back a bit, but was still moving. Lena could tell she was in a lot of pain. She could also see all the bruises along her body. Her face was swollen, and one of her eyes were black.
Stef walked through the front doors and motioned for the kids to back up. They moved back, and all stared as the two kids walked in.
Jude waved to everyone, "Hi." He said, smiling. The kids smiled back at him, and greeted him.
"I think I'm gunna like you, Dude." Jesus said, "Do you play video games?" He asked.
Jude looked confused, "Huh? No, I never got to. Can we?"
Jesus grinned and nodded, "Hell yeah!"
"Jesus! Language!" Stef said, giving him the warning look.
He laughed, "Sorry," and then motioned for Jude to follow him.
"Jude." Callie called, her voice hoarse.
Jude stopped, and turned to look back at her, "Yeah?"
"Be careful." She said quietly, looking around frantically.
Stef and Lena exchanged looks. Lena looked at Stef, her eyes watering. Stef knew that Lena could tell Callie was abused in her past. It was devastating.
"I will." Jude said, trotting after Jesus.
"Callie, this is my wife Lena," Stef said, pointing at Lena who smiled in return.
"And Marianna, and Brandon." She said, nodding to the other kids.
"Hi, Callie." Brandon said, exchanging his hand. Callie didn't shake it, she stepped back a bit.
"Marianna, do you want to show Callie where she'll be staying?" Stef asked.
"This way." Marianna said, annoyed.
When they started going up the stairs Stef turned to Lena, "What's up with Mari?"
Lena shook her head, "She doesn't want to share her room."
Stef nodded her head, "Oh, I see."
"Moms?" Brandon said, interrupting them.
"yes my Love?" Stef responded.
"I found two beds with mattresses, it's only two hundred for the two. If you guys need help buying them I have some money." He offered, looking between the two women.
Lena smiled, "Honey that's very sweet of you, but we won't take your money. Can you call them and ask if they'll deliver today? Where'd you find them?"
Brandon laughed nervously, "Um, on an online tag sale, nothing was open, and they're new." He told them, shrugging.
Stef laughed, "Well, it works for me. Thanks, B." Stef said, smiling at her son.
Brandon nodded, and smiled, "Of course."
"So this is my room." Marianna said, opening her door and walking inside.
"You mean our room?" Callie corrected, not in a rude manner.
Marianna rolled her eyes, "Yeah. This is where your bed will be. I divided up the closet for all your things.." Her voice trailed off when she saw Callie only had a backpack.
Callie looked down, "That's alright."
Marianna thought back to when she and Jesus were in foster homes. They didn't have much, a back pack just like Callie did. She remembered how holidays were the worst. She suddenly felt bad for being so rude, Callie was just like her. Marianna thought about how lucky her and Jesus were to land in such a wonderful home.
"You know, you can have some of my clothes. We look like we're the same size." Marianna offered.
Callie smiled, "Thanks."
Callie walked over to the empty corner of the room, and slid down against the wall. She was exhausted. She put her backpack beside her, and rested her head against the wall.
"Are you okay?" Marianna asked. She walked over to the door and closed it quietly so she and Callie could have some privacy.
Callie nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Marianna paused for a moment, "So... what happened?"
Callie opened her eyes and looked at Marianna, "our last foster father wasn't too kind." She said, chuckling. She tried to cover up her pain with humor.
"Jesus and I used to be in foster care." Marianna said, sitting on the edge of her bed.
Callie looked at her, "Really?"
Marianna nodded, "Yeah, and then the moms adopted us. They're our life savers. That was forever ago, but still. I know what it's like, so if you need some clothes or make up or anything, you can have some of mine." Marianna offered.
Callie smiled, "Thank you, I really mean it."
So there's going to be a time lapse here of a week, just so Callie and Jude are settled into the Fosters'
One week later
Callie sat in the bathtub, her head on her knees. Her body was still bruised in some areas, she looked like a mess. She looked at the scares along her body that previous foster parents had left. She tried to blink back her tears, but they still came. She was home alone, besides Stef, who had today off. The kids were at school, and so was Lena- at work.
Stef and Lena thought it would be best to start Callie off in school when all of her bruises go away, and Callie was okay with that.
Callie looked at her body, all the bruises, all the scars. She cried quietly, wondering what she had done to deserve all of this- but happy it was her instead of Jude.
She began to sob, and her breathing became ragged. She was having a full blown panic attack.
Stef, who was downstairs heard Callie and ran up the stairs. She pressed her ear against the door to confirm that she had heard Callie sobbing before knocking.
Callie heard Stef knock, but she ignored it. She couldn't think. She thought of all of the abuse, and she thought of Liam. So much was going through her head, and she was shaking and sobbing.
Stef opened the door and immediately grabbed a towel, draping it around Callie.
"Callie love, what's wrong?" Stef asked gently.
Callie jerked away, "I'm sorry, please don't hurt Jude." She pleaded.
Stef's heart sank, "Callie I'm not going to hurt you or Jude, no one in this house ever will." She said quietly.
Callie continued to sob and shake, not hearing Stef.
Stef put her hands on Callie's armpits and gently lifted her out of the tub. She didn't care that she got soaked in the process, she only cared about Callie.
Callie cried harder, trying to fight her way out of Stef's hold. Stef was sitting on the bathroom floor, with Callie in her arms.
"Shhh, Callie Love, it's okay." Stef cooed.
Callie stopped fighting, but continued to cry.
"It's okay, Love. No one will hurt you in this house, ever." Stef promised. She looked down at Callie's legs, seeing the numerous scars from abuse. She looked away, blinking back tears.
"Please don't hurt Jude." Callie said again.
Stef let Callie go, "We won't, I can promise you that."
Callie hugged the towel around her body, still shaking. She looked at Stef, who was sitting in front of her.
"Why do you care?" She asked, confused.
"What do you mean?" Stef asked.
"You aren't going to hurt us, and you're giving us a place to stay. Why do you care so much?" Callie asked.
Stef sighed, "Callie, you deserve to be safe. So does Jude. I knew we could give that to you, so we did." She explained.
Callie didn't say anything, "This is the first home we've been in that I haven't gotten hurt yet." Callie said quietly.
"Callie," Stef said, looking at the broken girl in front of her, "what happened in those homes?"
Callie shuddered, "A lot of things." She whispered. She looked at Stef, and lifted the towel so it showed her thighs. There were large scars, and burns all over her thighs and legs. Callie dropped the towel back over her legs and lowered the top so it showed her shoulders, which had the same scars. She turned around and faced her back towards Stef. She lowered the towel and showed Stef her bare back, scars coated her entire back. Stef felt sick to her stomach. Callie turned to face Stef again, but didn't meet her eyes.
"Callie, you're safe here." Stef whispered.
Callie looked up at Stef, her eyes flooding with tears.
Stef pulled her into her arms, hugging her tight.
"I won't let anyone hurt you, Callie." She said, holding her tight.