Chapter 10. (warning: this chapter contains some violence)

Callie

"My little sister," I sobbed, running my fingers roughly through my hair. My chest felt tight and my mind raced. I knew it wasn't the time to have a panic attack, but I couldn't help it.

Stef came over and put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, love," she said. "We will find Sophia." She tried to hug me, and I pulled away. She gave me a hurt look.

"Why couldn't you have just left things alone?" I cried. "Everything was going good. You should have just minded your own damn business!"

"Callie, please. Calm down," Lena said. "She couldn't have gotten far."

"You don't know that," I countered. I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. "It's my fault. My baby sister is sick and scared somewhere, and it's all my fault!"

"How is it your fault, Callie?" Stef asked me.

"I don't want to talk about it," I snapped. Without looking back, I tore down the stairs and out the front door. As I ran, I heard my foster moms calling me.

I ran until my lungs burned, and I didn't stop until I got to the school. I doubled over, leaning on a bench until I caught my breath. I had to think like my sister. Where would she go? I had to find her before she got abducted or worse. She was only twelve, and she didn't have any money. On top of that, she had a fever.

I remembered that Taylor lived near Anchor Beach. Sophia had pointed her house out to me once. She might have gone there. I sprinted to the house, limping slightly because I had a cramp in my thigh, and rang the bell.

A woman answered. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Is my sister here?" I panted. "Sophia? She's friends with Taylor."

Taylor's mom shook her head. "I'm sorry, honey. I think your foster moms called just a minute ago, but Sophia isn't here."

"Thanks," I said, my stomach dropping.

"Would you like a drink of water?" she asked.

"No thanks," I said, hurrying off the way I'd come.

As I walked, it started to rain. Perfect.

I tried to think of more places Sophia might have gone. Places she liked. We were new to this neighborhood. Maybe she went somewhere we used to go? I thought of the park our mom used to take us to when we were little. It was a long walk, but I decided to check there anyway as a car pulled up beside me.

"Callie!"

It was Stef and Lena. I kept walking. But the car stopped, and Stef got out and caught up with me. "Callie," she said. "You're not going to find her on foot. Get in the car and we'll drive around and look for her. Brandon and Jesus are already out looking."

I paused. Stef had tears in her eyes, just like me. "Please, love?" she pleaded. My heart softened, just a little.

"Fine," I said, climbing into the back seat.

"Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Lena asked me. "You know her best."

"There's a park about a mile and a half from the school," I told her. "We went there with our mom when we were little. Or she could have gone to the drop-in center."

"We'll check both places," Stef promised.

It didn't take long to get to the park by car. When we pulled up to it, I hopped out before the car even completely stopped. "Sophia?" I shouted, looking around. It was raining harder now, and my hair was plastered to my face.

"Sophia!" I ran to the metal tunnel thing and looked inside, but she wasn't there. Disappointed, I turned away, as fresh tears filled my eyes.

"No sign of her?" Stef asked.

I shook my head. "I was sure she'd be here." Stef hugged me, and I didn't push her away this time.

"We'll check the drop-in center," Lena said. "And if she's not there, we'll call the police."

"No!" I said. "No cops."

"Come on," Stef urged. "Let's get back in the car. I'll call Mariana. Maybe she came home by now?"

I was about to walk away when a flash of red caught my eye in the distance, under the wooden bleachers near the baseball diamond. Sophia's jacket was red. With a fresh surge of energy, I ran toward her, my feet slipping on the wet grass. "Sophia!"

And there she was, huddled under the bleachers, hugging her knees. She was dripping wet. "Callie," she sniffled, jumping up and throwing her arms around my neck.

"I'm here, baby," I said, hugging her so tight that I lifted her off the ground. I kissed her face over and over.

"You shouldn't be here," she said, her voice hoarse. "I'm in trouble."

"I don't care," I told her. "If you're going down, I'm going down with you."

"How did you know I was here?" she asked me.

"It was just a hunch," I explained. "Mom used to take us here. I knew it was a place where you would feel safe." I hugged her tighter as Stef and Lena reached us.

"Sophia!" Lena cried. She was sobbing so hard her shoulders shook. "What were you thinking, sweetheart? You shouldn't even be outside. You're sick." She felt her forehead. "My god, you're burning up."

"You know what I did," she wept. "I heard you talking. Bill's gonna take us away, now. He's gonna separate us."

"That's not true, love," Stef said, kneeling down in the soggy grass and hugging her. "You heard some of what we were talking about. But you didn't hear all of it."

"I didn't?"

"No," said Stef, shaking her head. "You didn't hear the most important part. Bill asked us if we wanted him to take you. But we told him no."

"You did?"

Stef nodded. "We told him we didn't want you to leave. Because we love you. Both of you." She kissed my sister's hot cheek. "Will you please come home with us, baby?"

Sophia looked to me, then back at Stef. "I love you guys too," she sobbed, her face crumpling.

"Let us take you home," Lena begged. "You can take a nice, hot bath, and I'll tuck you into bed. And we'll take you to the doctor first thing in the morning. Okay?"

"Okay," she said.

They began to walk toward the car, when Stef turned back. "You coming, love?"

"Yeah," I said, hurrying to catch up.

An hour later, Sophia was asleep in her bed, and I was on the couch, bundled up in Stef's soft blue bathrobe, drinking a cup of tea while my pajamas warmed up in the dryer.

My foster moms came to sit across from me. "Are you warm enough, love?" Stef asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks." I cleared my throat. It felt scratchy. I wondered if I was coming down with whatever Sophia had. "Look. I'm sorry I yelled at you before. It wasn't your fault. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine." I looked down into my mug, my cheeks burning with shame.

"We understand," she said. "It was scary when Sophia was missing." She tilted my chin up to look me in the eye. "Callie, why did Sophia feel she had no choice but to run away. What happened was just an accident, wasn't it?"

I shivered, even though I was was wrapped in fleece. "I don't want to talk about it."

"That line isn't going to work this time," Lena said softly. "Whatever it is, you can tell us, honey. You can trust us."

Stef nodded. "You're not alone anymore." She cocked her head to the side and her green eyes shone with tears. "You'll never be alone again."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew the truth," I said quietly.

"We want to know so we can help you," she said. "We just want to help you. But we can't if you don't let us."

A lump had formed in my throat. "I'm too scared."

Stef grabbed one of my hands, and Lena took the other. "Whatever you have to say, whatever you have to tell us, we are behind you, one-hundred percent," she told me, kneading my palm. "But you have to open up to us."

I choked on my tears, gasping for breath, and Stef moved closer to me and put her arm around me.

I knew I had no other choice but to tell them the truth. I had nothing else to lose, anyway. "We were living with this guy named Brian," I began, my voice shaky. I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself. "I also had my first boyfriend. His name was Ben. I sneaked out to meet him one night, and when I came home, I couldn't... I couldn't find-"

"Keep going, honey," Lena gently urged. "You're doing good."

"I couldn't find Sophia," I went on, closing my eyes so hard I saw green spots. "I caught Brian molesting her. He was on top of her."

I paused to wipe my tears on my sleeve. "He touched me all the time, but I'd always kept her safe. I couldn't let him do that to her, too. I tried to get him away from her, but he kicked me in the stomach. So, I ran and got a baseball bat, and I hit him with it."

"You're doing so good, baby," Stef whispered in my ear, patting my hand.

"He got up and started beating me," I told them. "I yelled for Sophia to go hide, but she wouldn't leave me. It was like she was frozen. She said she was going to call the cops. But Brian got there first. He pulled the phone jack out of the wall and broke it, and then he started hitting me again. Sophia was crying and screaming for help, and he had me pinned down on the floor. He said he was gonna kill me."

I took a shallow breath. "Sophia got his gun out of the drawer and pointed it at him. Next thing I knew, it fired, and Brian was dead. Sophia killed him." I shuddered. I could almost feel Brian's warm, sticky blood on my arms, soaking into my shirt.

Finished with my story, I broke down, drained and exhausted. Stef took me in her arms, rubbing my back and rocking me, and I hid my face against her chest. I felt Lena sit on my other side and stroke my damp hair.

"My brave little girl," Stef said softly.

"I'm not brave," I said, looking up. "None of it would have happened if it wasn't for me. I knew it was a bad idea to leave Sophia home with Brian, but I did it anyway. Don't you see that it's all my fault? My little sister could go to jail because of me."

"It's not your fault, baby" she said.

"Yes, it is."

"No it's not," she soothed. "Teenage girls will sneak out to meet boys, Callie. They shouldn't have to worry about if their siblings will be safe at home."

"Stef is right," said Lena. "If Brian wanted to hurt you or your sister, he was going to do it eventually anyway, whether you sneaked out or not."

"He was supposed to protect you girls," Stef went on. "He was supposed to keep you safe. It was his job. No one is to blame for his actions but him."

They hugged me tighter, so I was sandwiched between them. And even though the future was uncertain, I felt lighter than I had in a long time. But there was something I still had to know. "Do you still want us now, knowing what we did?"

Stef and Lena looked at each other for a moment, and I held my breath.

"We will always want you," Stef promised me, planting a kiss on my cheek. "Don't you worry about that."

"But what about Sophia?" I asked. "You can't let her go to jail. She's just a kid. She didn't mean to kill him."

"We will do whatever it takes to keep her here with you. With all of us," she assured me. "Sophia did what she had to do to keep the both of you safe. It was self-defense."

"But I'm afraid," I told her quietly.

"I know you are," she said. "But you don't have to face it by yourself. You have us. You have your family."

I nodded; my throat was hurting worse. "Can I go to bed now?" I didn't care that it was only five o'clock.

"Go ahead, sweets," said Lena. She kissed the top of my head. "I'll bring your pajamas up in a minute."

I went upstairs to my room. Sophia was curled up on her side under the covers, sound asleep. Someone had placed her Barbie doll next to her on her pillow. I crawled into my own bed and closed my eyes.

To Be Continued