Lena POV
January 19th
"Do you know what date it is?" Stef asks me as we wait for the kids to come downstairs with their backpacks
"It's the 19, if I am not mistaken," I reply after thinking about for few seconds
"Good!" Stef nods back "Do you know what happened on this day?"
"Uh!" I squint my eyes and raise one of my eyebrows at her "Is this a trick question?"
It definitely wasn't any of our anniversary dates – not the date when we met, not our first date, not our first night spent together, not our first vacation, it was no one's birthday and it definitely wasn't our wedding anniversary as well. That much I knew.
"No, a simple one," Stef says tossing her gym bag over to her other shoulder as she shifts on her other leg
"Okay. Let me think about it. Lets see..." I concentrate real hard to think of something "'Born in the USA' by Bruce Springsteen peaked at number 9 in the charts in '85!" I say with a smug look on my face
Stef laughs back "How can you possibly remember that? You were 10!"
"I liked that song!" I grin back at Stef "I was dancing to it non-stop!" I do few dance moves to tease Stef "Mom was going crazy!"
"Anything else? Maybe something in more recent years?" Stef asks walking over to the front doors to open the doors for the boys, who all came down at the same time
"No, nothing comes to mind," I reply after a while, when Frankie and Mariana comes down the stairs as well. We walk out of the house together. I wait till Stef locks the doors.
"Want a hint?" Stef asks when we start to move towards our cars. The kids had already sat in my car, ready to go to school, except for Frankie, who was driving with Stef this morning.
"Sure, tell me!" I say, when we stop at the hood of my car
"Think about the last year,"
"Last year?" I say to myself while I think about it "-Oh! OH! Ooh-no!" I exclaim out loudly, when I remember the events that took place last year.
"There you go," Stef leans towards me and places a quick kiss on my lips "Try not to ground her this year!" When Stef pulls out of the kiss, she waves at the kids in my car "Love you all, my babies! Have a good day!" Stef walks to her car after she receives waves back
A loud honk sound snapped me out my thoughts "Mom!" Jesus had leaned over to the driver seat and pressed his hand to the steering wheel "Come on! We need to go! I can't be late! Coach wanted to have a meeting before classes!"
"Coming!" I turn and walk to drivers doors
It was the class before the lunch break. I had decided that it was the best time to check up on Callie. After last year events, I simply wanted to make sure that she was doing okay. Maybe there was something, someway I could help out.
I made my way to the classroom and waited in the hallway for the bell to ring. My timing was great and I didn't have to wait long. Some 20 seconds after I walked to the classroom, where Callie was having a class, the bell rang out. Students started to walk out, one by one. Each one greeted me, when they saw me standing by the doors. But I didn't see Callie.
Either Callie had walked pass me unnoticed or she was not in her class at all. When I peaked in the classroom, I was the teacher. She was standing by the whiteboard, cleaning it off from all of the formulas and text that she had written on it during the class.
I walk inside the classroom towards the teacher "Danielle?"
"Ah, Lena," the teacher smiles at me and stops what she was doing "What can I do for you?"
"Was Ms. Scott in the class?" I ask looking around the now empty classroom
"No, she was absent today," she tells me as she continues to clean the whiteboard
"Thank you. That's all I wanted to know," I smile back and walk out. I hurried back to my office to check what classes she had before the one that ended 3 minutes ago. The other teachers confirmed it – Callie was absent from today classes. No one had seen her.
I pulled out my phone and called her. It didn't go to voice mail or anything, she simply wasn't picking up. I tried calling Amy as well, but I knew she wasn't going to pick up even before I pressed the call button.
I grabbed my purse and walked over to Monte's office. She was sitting at her desk, writing some papers.
"Monte," I peak my head in, she raised her head up from the documents "I need to run out for an hour. Is that okay?"
"Will you back for the meeting at 3?"
That was almost 3 hours away "Yes, I will back for the meeting!"
"Okay," Monte smiled at me before she looked down to the papers
I waste no time, I head straight to my car. My pace was faster than usual. When I walked out to the yard, I noticed Jude talking to Connor. He is her brother, he could know something – I think to myself before I walk over to Jude.
"Jude!" I call him aside for a minute "Have you heard from your sister today?"
"No. We spoke yesterday. I haven't seen her today," Jude says and then becomes suspicious himself "Is she in some sort of trouble?"
"No," I reassure him "Callie is not in any kind of trouble. I was just looking for her, I wanted to talk to her about something," I explain right before the bell rings, indicating the next class is starting
"I need to go," Jude says tossing his backpack over his shoulder and then running off along with Connor. I wait till he walks back in the school till I turn and walk to my car.
Not full 20 minutes later, I pull on their street. I slowed down the speed of the car, when I saw their house from distance. When I was two house away, I saw a person stand in the front of the house on the lawn. Callie and Amy looked similar from distance, both brunets, slightly curly hair, same build. I have never been able to tell them apart from a distance.
When I got another house closer, I could distinguish that it was Callie, who stood in front of the house, her head down. Callie was standing with hands in her sweat pant pockets. Duke was sniffing around, trying to find a spot where he could do his business. Right now, it doesn't seem that Callie has noticed me driving up to their house.
I pulled my car in the driveway, behind their car. Callie was standing there, she still hadn't noticed me. She was looking down to the grass, but her look seemed so distance, almost like she was looking through, like she was completely zoned out or something. This was a state, that I had never seen her in before. The not knowing what had happened, what had caused this – scared me, made me nervous and a little bit anxious.
I got out of the car. The sound from me closing the car doors, must have snapped Callie out of her deep thoughts. Her head snapped up to me. She was finally looking at me.
"Lena-? Uh..." She pulled her hand out of her pocket and run it through her hair as she watched me walk closer to her "What...uh, what are you doing here?"
"You weren't at school and didn't answer my calls. I...I wanted to check in with you!" I was on the lawn now. Duke, who was now done with his business, ran towards me, wiggling his tail, barking excitedly. He jumped around me, asking me to pet him. I greet him, petting him for a very short time, but then return my attention back to Callie.
"Is everything okay, Callie?" I ask cautiously taking few more steps towards the girl. Duke ran back to Callie and sat right next to her feet, he pressed his side to her leg.
Callie looked back to the house "I'm...I'm good," she got out not too convincing, when she looked back at me. I saw that Callie was holding back tears in her eyes.
"Yeah?" I ask back innocently, just wanting for her to confirm it. What I didn't know was that it would make Callie lose it in front of me.
"No!" she shook her head as two tears dropped down to her cheeks "I don't know how to help her! She is not allowing me to help her!"
"What happened, honey?" I was now standing hand reach away from Callie
"Duke got in Markus room yesterday. He ransacked and chewed a lot of Markus stuff!" Callie said as the tears started to stream down her cheek "Mom was furious! She wanted me to get rid of Duke!" Callie gestures to Duke, who in the brief second that I looked down to him, looked up to us "Mom is not...she is not...she is not doing so good!"
Callie ran her hands over her cheeks as the tears kept streaming down. She hiccuped "I don't know what to do, Lena!"
I took another step closer and pulled Callie in a tight hug, letting the girl cry about it "Shh...It's going to be okay, love!" Callie held on to me and cried for some few good seconds. I whispered sweet nothing in her ear as I held the crying girl.
"I couldn't leave her alone, Lena! I would not have be able to study anyway...if I went to school," Callie said as she pulled out of the embrace a minute later
"It's okay, honey," I placed my hand on her upper arm and ran it gently down to her hand "One missed school day is not the end of the world," I reassure her, not wanting to get her even more stressed out, than she already was
"Can we go inside?" I suggest glancing to the house "We could talk about it for some more if you want to..."
Callie nodded her head back, she looked down to Duke and told him one strict command "Home!" Duke run to the house first and sat right in front of the door, looking back to us, waiting till we come as well
"Wow...you have really trained him well,"
"Mom did this one. She also taught him to walk in a leash. I only have taught him to sit and shake," Callie explains while we walk to the house
When we walk inside, the three of us head towards the kitchen. Callie offers to make me a tea. I declined this time, so we just sat down at the table. Duke sat down next to the table, by Callie's feet and put his head in her lap. He really was sticking close to her today, almost like he is afraid if she leaves, he is going to be left alone forever.
"Mom wants him gone," Callie told me again, when she looked down to Duke and ran her palm few times over his head
"She is upset, Callie. Your mom didn't mean it,"
"Upset doesn't seem to be word that describes her, Lena. You didn't see her yesterday," Callie looks straight to my eyes "Enraged – I think that's the word that describes her now"
"Your mom is human," Callie averts her look down to the table as she drags her finger over the wood table, when I spoke up "She is allowed to break down and cry, and grieve, and be as angry or enraged as she feels! Amy is emotional right now. The timing of the event probably added to her emotions. The 19th January will always be a hard day for your mom...same as August 5th is hard for you and Jude. All you can do, is be there for each other!"
"But that's the problem! If previous years she has allowed me be there for she, then this year she is locking me out! Mom had never hid in Markus room before, like she is doing right now. She hasn't allow me in the room with her! My mom is not talking to me! In the last couple of hours she has said to me either – go away, get out or leave me alone! That's it!" Callie spoke in passionate tone, gesturing with her hands a lot, her features told me exactly how concerned she is about her mom
"What would your mom do?" I ask her one simple questions. But this one simple question gave Callie an answer, what she has to do, few short seconds later. The revelation was seen in Callie's face right before she got up from the chair, jumped over Duke and ran towards the stairs.
"Well...I guess, my work here is done," I say to myself as I slowly get up from the chair "Are you going to walk me out Duke?" I look down to Duke, who looked towards where Callie had ran off to
I crouch down to him, hold my hand out "Shake!"
Duke puts his big pawn in my palm "Good boy! You are such a smart dog!" I scratch behind his ears and pet him. In return Duke licks my face.
I hear Callie's footsteps running back in the kitchen. I barely managed to stand up and look towards he, when Callie threw her arms around me and kissed me on my cheek "Thank you! I love you Lena!" The hug was very quick, Callie ran back towards the stairs the next second
"I love you too!" I say to myself, still a little bit taken aback by the sudden affection from Callie. "So...you walking me out or not?" Duke barks once before the two of us walk towards the front doors
Callie POV
The answer to my problem was a simple one. I was too fixated on the fact that mom was not allowing me in the room, that I had forgotten what mattered the most. I had forgotten, what mom did and how she handled the situation, when I was hiding in my room, upset, angry or scared. The solution to my problem was hiding in plain sight. I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before!
"Mom?" I say quietly, but loud enough so mom would hear me from the other side of the doors
"Leave me alone!" I heard the harsh reply back. Before I spoke to Lena, the few times mom told me this – I walked away, leaving her alone in the room. But not this time. This time I know what to do.
"You know damn well I can't do that and I won't do that!" I reply as I take a seat down next to the doors. I hold my breathe as I listen to what will mom do. I was using her own tactics, her own words against her.
A little while later I hear footsteps in the room. I let out the breath that I was holding and smile to myself. It worked. Mom walked towards the doors and sat down on the other side of the wall.
"Duke chewed up his jersey," Mom sounded quite miserable, when she said that through the doors
"Mom, it's not Markus. You didn't lose him again!" I reply in soft voice as I look to my right side, to the doors that separated me from mom
"He must have bumped into the nightstand causing the picture frames to fall over and shatter..." Mom said through the doors in the same sad tone. I heard her voice crack at the end. I think I heard her sniff, she must be crying.
"We can buy new photo frames, mom. I can go an print out new photos of him, if you want!" I tried to rationalize with mom. I knew she was not thinking straight, her emotions had taken oven. She was, like Lena said, emotional.
"Duke pulled the blanket and sheet off the bed and destroyed his pillow," Mom continued. The bed was left the same way Markus had left it that morning. Mom hadn't even made it. It stood unmade. She left it unmade, because she still excepted for him to come home one day.
"You don't need Markus unmade bed to remind you of him. He lives in your heart, mom! All the memories you have of him - they can't be ruined or forgotten, because Duke ransacked his room! Same goes for Aaron. Your love for them will never be lost! I will always remember them as well! I will never forget them!"
Silence
Mom didn't reply.
I sigh and press my head back to the wall. I felt like I got defeated, like I didn't get through to her - I let her down. If it had been me on the other side, mom would had gotten through to me.
But a second later, I hear her move on the other side. When I look to the doors, I see how the door handle moves as the doors are opened. The doors creak open slowly. Without thinking twice about it, I crawl inside the room. I move to sit right next to her, our shoulders and arms touching, my legs were stretched out.
Mom was sitting with her back against the wall, legs bend, arms were pressed to her knees as she was holding Markus chewed up jersey in her hands. She was staring at the jersey, her thumbs were moving over the fabric, feeling it.
"I miss him...I miss both of them," Mom says in a whisper as she lays her head down in my lap. She pulls her legs up and holds the jersey close to her chest. I place my left hand on her upper arm and squeeze it a little.
"I know, mom. I miss them too," I say as I start to stroke her hair in soothing motion. In a little while, I hear that her breathing had even out. She fell asleep, with her head in my lap. Even though she's asleep, I keep on stroking her hair softly.
About some 20 minutes in mom sleeping, I heard how Duke walks up the stairs. Warily he peaks his head inside the goes around my stretched out legs. He curl himself up in a little ball and laid as close to mom as possible.
AN: So, if you have a good memory, the last scene between Amy and Callie might have felt familiar. Once upon a time I wrote similar scene for "Waiting for someone like you". I guess, in a way, I wanted to show how they are there for each other, how Callie can be there for Amy, like Amy has been there for Callie, and how Callie learns from Amy.
On a side note: the next mini-story will be the last one. Just a heads up, so you won't be completely taken by surprise.