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Stef POV
Day 1 - July 7th
When I unlocked the house front doors, a ray of sunshine instantly hit my face and a light, cool breeze of wind moved my hair lightly. I closed my eyes and just for a second enjoyed the morning.
"Everything alright?" Lena asked walking up to me
"Yes" I say happily turning to her "Enjoying the beautiful morning"
Lena instantly smiled to me and leaned in for a kiss. It was a tender, soft kiss that left me wanting for more once she pulled away.
"I will go check if the kids are up, you start getting the stuff to car" I nod back in agreement and head out
I toss the keys up and catch them in midair. With a small bounce in my step I walk up to the car. First off, I needed to get Frankie's seat from Lena's car to my. I once again check if the spare tire is okay, if the tools are all there, if there is a first aid box. After that I start to get all the stuff and bags and carry them out to the car and start to arrange them in the trunk.
I had no idea what time was, but Brandon and Jesus walked out of the house greeting me.
"You need any help mom?" Jesus asked walking up me first
"What I need is a bigger trunk for this car…or less kids" I said turning to them and wink at them. We hear a car pull up to the house and when we all turn to look at the street, we see it is Amy and Callie.
Amy was out of the car first and she was walking towards us with a small bounce in her step, she looked excited and happy "Morning" she extended her arms to both sides and looked up to the sky "What a lovely morning to start the trip, right?"
When she was up to us, Amy patted B on his shoulder "You two look like you just got out of the bed"
"It is too early for you to be this cheerful" B mumbles back, watching closely how Amy was beaming of joy. I looked over to the car and saw that Callie was very slowly walking over to us. She was dragging her feet, her hands were in her hoodies front pocket, head was down.
"Callie looks excited" I said sarcastically nodding to her
"Don't" was all that Amy said before she bent down to pick up the two tents. I grab the rest of the stuff that was on the ground and followed Amy to the back of her car. Amy opened the trunk and started to lift the bags in.
"What did you meant by that?" I ask handing her one of the bag
"I mean…" Amy was speaking in a hushed voice "Callie is furious with you two, so don't piss her off even more" she turned to get the next bag from my hand
"You two as in…me and Lena?" I get out slowly to clarify. Amy only nods back.
"What did we do?" I ask confused. Last I saw her was yesterday and she seemed perfectly okay with me and Lena. Nothing pointed out that we had done something to upset her.
"Right now, you are the source of her anger. Try not to poke the beast, okay?" She took the last bag and set it down on top of the other bags. After that we once again go over the map and the rout we are going to take.
When we walk back up to my car, the other kids had joined them. Lena was locking up the house and then walked around it, to make sure all the windows and doors are locked tight.
Amy waited till Lena walks up to the rest of us and then claps her hands, getting everyone's attention "Okay, folks. Let's get the trip started! To the cars!"
Mariana raised her hand up, Amy looked confused at that gesture "Yes, Mariana?"
"How are we driving, I mean...the seating? How are we sitting in the cars?" Mariana asked what other kids were thinking as well. I hadn't thought about seating, I was thinking we would probably switch it up along the way, so we don't get bored with one another.
That's when Callie said harshly "I'm not driving with those two" and nodded towards me and Lena and gave us an angry look. Lena looked to me confused. Callie turned the next second and walked to their car and slammed the doors close once she was in. She left us all stunned.
Amy laughed awkwardly and pointed after Callie "I'm gonna...need some time alone with her. We have some stuff to talk about" Amy then quickly turned and followed Callie to the car
"Get in the car kids" Lena said and went to get Frankie situated in her seat. I was standing still where I was, watching how the two of them quickly drove away.
Lena walked back to me and placed her hand softly on my upper arm "Do you have any idea what was that all about?"
"Apparently, she is angry with us" I said turning to Lena, who now looked surprised
"What did we do?" Lena asked confused once the surprise moment passed
"...I thought you would know" I said honestly
Callie POV
"Will you slow down, please?" Mom asked from the next seat "You are going way over the speed limit, if you keep it up like this, I will take your license away from you again!"
I took my foot off the gas pedal and slowed down. I tightened the grip on the steering wheel just to keep my anger in place.
"Thank you!" Mom said relieved and then used the tone of voice that told me just how disappointed she was with me "You were very rude with them"
"I have my reasons!" I snap back and reach for the radio, to turn up the volume. A moment after I turned it up, mom reached for it and turned the radio off completely.
"I was talking to you!" She said very sternly, telling me that we will have this talk
"Well, I don't want to talk!" I reply harshly concentrating on the road
"I'm sorry, but you have to!" Mom put her foot down "I am not saying you can't be angry with them, you have every right to be angry, but you still need to respect them. The way you treated them this morning – is not acceptable! You hear me? I have raised you better than that!"
The anger inside me took over "You haven't raised me! I did it all by myself…you haven't done nothing for me! Not one single thing!"
I didn't mean any of that and it obviously wasn't true at all. One thing she clearly did, was raise me. She has taken on the parent role from the moment I stepped a foot in her home.
I didn't look at her, I try to act as if don't feel it, but I feel her hurt look she was giving me. There is a painful silence in the car. The guilt I feel, for saying what I said, is slowly forcing me to glance at her.
I was waiting for her to say something. Her left leg was bent up, left hand resting on left knee. Right legs was stretched out, right hand elbow was pressed by the side of window, on the door frame, and fingers were over her mouth. She gazed at me for few seconds before she glanced out the side window.
"Mom?" I ask warily as I kept looking to her time by time "Mom, I'm sorry" The silence was still there, she hadn't moved, she hadn't said a word "Please say something…Mom?"
"You know Callie…" She said very quietly, eyes still were focused out the side window "Sometimes I don't understand you. I really don't" She ran her tongue over her lips "People are trying to help you, but you…" she gestured with her left "You are pushing everyone away. And you would go to such lengths to do that. One way you do that is by using your words as weapons…"
"I said I was sorry!" I repeated just to make sure that she heard me say it
"Just be carefully who you keep pushing away Callie, because some people won't take being treated this way for too long. They are bound reach the place where they say to themselves – I don't deserve being treated this way. Not everyone is as understanding and forbearing. I know when anger or fear takes over, you say whatever insult is on the tip of your tongue. It is a defense mechanism for you..." Mom spoke very slowly, to accent how important it was
"I didn't mean what I said…" I said sincerely and peaked a look to mom, to see how she reacts
Mom turned her head to look at me and replied quietly "I know you didn't"
"Now, about before-" mom started after a small moment
"I know what you are going to say. You are going to say that I need to apologize" I said interrupting her, when I stopped at the red light "I can't do that…I don't feel like apologizing to them" I looked to mom, now finally for longer than a second "When I saw them this morning, I felt nothing, but anger towards them. I don't want to be anywhere near them for the time being…I need time and I need space"
"Your timing really sucks then, because we are having a week-long camping trip with them…as we speak. You can't avoid them forever Callie, you are going to have to talk to them sooner or later. And I do hope you talk to them sooner. I don't want this to ruin our camping trip"
"Later" I say and see the light tuning green. I step on the gas pedal and drive off "If anything, they should be apologizing to me"
"Why?" Mom asks quietly
"Because…it's their fault! It's their fault what happened with me, it's their fault that I was abused, it's their fault that I met Liam…"
"It's not their fault! They didn't place you in those homes, they didn't tell the foster parents to hit you, they did give Liam the idea to rape you! They didn't stand aside and watch as those people hurt you. Those people did it all on their own, because they were bad people! Lena and Stef had nothing to do with that!" it felt like mom was defending them
"Yes, they didn't give out orders, but it all started when they left me! They started it! They pressed the big red button on the console that started my 4 years in the foster system. It started with them when they left me all alone and took in only Jude!" I replied with raised voice
Mom replied instantly "If you are looking at it that way, then your dad did it. He was drinking and he sat behind the wheel. Or even better, you could blame your mom for this too. She wanted a night out and look what happened..."
"IT'S NOT MY MOM'S FAULT" I shouted back upset
"I was merely providing you with an example of how totally absurd your logic is, Callie! Stef and Lena are not at fault to what happened to you and neither are your birth parents. The people who abused you, who hurt you – it is their fault! It's the systems fault for allowing people like them to foster in the first place!"
"You are on their side!" I replied hurt
"I am not on their side! I am always on your side, you know that!" mom replied instantly, without missing a beat "But you are looking at this whole situation from only your point of view! You need to see the other point of view, Callie" Mom said back very calmly
"Which would be?" I ask back getting frustrated with her
"The foster parent side" she run her tongue over her lips quickly and continued quickly "You haven't even considered what it is like to be on the other of the system. You haven't thought about what their situation could have been at that time, what their situation at home was like. It is not as easy as you think, taking in a child...there are many aspects that you haven't even considered"
"I don't care about their stupid situation. Whatever their situation was, it was 100 times better than my situation!" I replied harshly back. This was just the start of our more than hour long discussion about this topic.
Lena POV
~3 hours on the road: First stop – Ridgecrest
Callie, Amy, Mariana and Frankie had all gone in the gas station to get some snacks and drinks and go to the bathroom. Stef was showing Jesus and Brandon the map in the car. I walked up to Jude, who was just pacing around the parking lot, stretching his legs.
"Can I talk to you for a minute, Jude?" I ask walking up to him. He doesn't stop pacing around, he nodded back as he kept walking over the cracks on the asphalt.
"It's about Callie" when I added that, he stopped pacing and turned to me. He looked worried about what I was going to say. I took a step closer to him.
"Do you have any idea why Callie could be mad at us?" I ask softly watching his features relax a bit. Jude shook his head back almost instantly
"She hasn't said anything to you?" I press on about the topic. Jude was the next person in line, after Amy, who would know why she was upset. But sadly, Amy hasn't told us anything either, beside what she told Stef in the morning.
"No" He replied looking up to me "Callie hasn't said anything to me"
I sight before Jude adds "She sometimes was angry with mom too. It usually didn't last long. They always seemed to be okay the next day. Maybe tomorrow she won't be angry with you" Jude added trying his best to comfort me
"Don't worry buddy" I said running my hand thought his hair "It is probably nothing. I hope you know, that nothing will change how we feel about her…we love your sister very much, even when she is mad at us" Jude nodded back understanding and continued to pace back and forth, avoiding the cracks once again
In the corner of my eye I saw that Amy and Frankie walked out of the gas station, hand in hand. Frankie was giggling at something Amy said to her. When I walked to Amy, Frankie run off to Jude and both of them started running around in circle, laughing along the way.
"Where are the girls?" I ask looking at the gas station behind her
"Buying some snacks for the road" She replied very casually
"Stef told me what you said to her, at the house. About Callie being angry with us" I said in more hushed voice. Amy straightened her stance and looked down to her feet, avoiding my look.
"I was thinking about it the whole drive here. Honestly, I have no idea what we did wrong. There is nothing, that we did or said to her yesterday or in the past weeks that could have possibly hurt her feelings" I said trying to catch her gaze
"Well, maybe you need to think harder. Or think further back" She said back when she looked to me. Amy wasn't angry with us, I think she was just saddened by the fact, that we didn't know what we did. What Amy said, made me think that whatever we did or didn't do, was hiding in plain sight, right in front of our eyes. And we both were overlooking it.
Again in the corner of my eye I saw the gas station doors opening, this time Callie and Mariana were walking out. They hand no snacks or drinks with them. Callie had a grip on Mariana's hand, she was basically pulling Mariana with her. Amy noticed my look and looked over her shoulder to the two girls on the other side of the parking lot.
The doors opened again and now, two rough looking guys walked out. They both had pretty long, messy hair that looked dirty even from where I stood. Both of them had beards and their clothes looked dirty. One of the guys was holding a six pack of beer in his hand, other had a can of beer that he was drinking right now. And the way they both were looking at Callie and Mariana, gave me chills down my spine.
What made it worse was what they shouted after both of them "You two would look nice next to me in my bed! NAKED" and the other added "We can show you both some good time!" The one who only had one beer in his hand, then started to show some very inappropriate sexual gestures towards them and both of them laughed after that.
We both hurried towards Mariana and Callie. Both of the girls looked horrified enough, Stef was out of the car too. Just standing there, watching the two guys walking away laughing, there was anger written in her face.
"You two okay?" I ask when the two girls are up to us
"Bunch of creeps…" Mariana said walking over to my side, I put my hand protectively over her shoulder as the 4 of us watch the guys walk to an old looking red pickup truck
"Did they do anything?" Amy asked worried looking between the two girls
"No, they just stared at us the whole time. Laughed and made sex jokes…" Callie said disgusted, it was shown on her features too, how grossed out she was
"I feel violated just by the way they looked at us" Mariana said and pressed closer to my side
Stef walked up to us at the same time Jude and Frankie did "They didn't touch you, did they?" Stef asked concerned
Mariana shook her back while Callie just snapped "We are fine! Can we please go?"
"Sure" Amy said putting hand around Callie and both of them walked to their car, Stef stepped up to Mariana and placed a kiss to her forehead and then ushered everyone back to the car.
~5 hours on the road: Close to second stop - Bishop
We were getting close to the next stop point – a small town called Bishop, when I noticed that Stef was constantly looking at the mirrors, with a worried facial expression. Her eyes kept darting from the road up front, to the left side mirror, to road, to right side mirror, back to road and then to rear view mirror. She was tensed up and she had that look in her eyes, that said something was wrong.
"Honey, what's wrong?" I ask placing my hand on her right leg
She didn't answer at first, she just tightened the grip of the steering wheel and then to my surprise, she slowed down the car significantly. Many cars honked at us as they drove pass, but Stef didn't seem to care about that. Something else was bothering her.
"Babe, what are you doing?" I ask when I noticed the speed she was driving at, was significantly slower than the allowed speed, almost half as slow
"Are we stopping?" Jesus asked from back
Stef speeded up 2 minutes later and caught up with Amy's car, her eyes kept darting to the mirrors once again
"Call Amy" Stef finally said, her tone of voice was very serious, her whole body was still tensed up
"What's going on?" Brandon asked from the way back
Stef glanced to me as I was dialing Amy's number. She extend her arm, I handed the phone to Stef once it was ringing. Stef took it up to her ear, few seconds passed till she said in the most serious tone ever
"We are being followed..." She paused for 2 seconds "The red-pick up truck from the gas station"