Chapter 22.

Callie

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked around, a little confused. Then I remembered where I was and how I got there. I was still in Stef and Lena's bed, because I got sent home early from school. I peeked at the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that it wasn't quite four-thirty yet. I climbed out of bed and went downstairs.

I could hear Stef and Lena talking in the kitchen, and from their voices, I could tell they were discussing something important. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but I lingered in the kitchen doorway anyway, my curiosity piqued.

"She wouldn't even listen to me," said Stef, shaking her head. "She just hung up on me. Which supports my theory, by the way."

"So, she doesn't even know her father's dead?" Lena asked, frowning.

I stood there still, wondering what they were talking about, when Stef glanced over and saw me. "Callie?"

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I just needed a drink, and I heard you talking. I didn't want to interrupt..."

She nodded, then pulled out the chair next to her. "You're old enough to hear what's going on, sweetie. Have a seat."

I sat down, feeling like I was a part of some special club, just me and them. It felt good. "So what's up?" I asked.

"Well, I located Brian's daughter," Stef explained. "Unfortunately, she wouldn't talk to me and doesn't seem to know that Brian is dead." She studied my frown. "But don't you worry, love. You know me well enough to know that I'm not gonna give up that easily."

"I know," I smiled.

"I'll do whatever it takes," she promised. "Even if I have to go find her personally and camp out outside her door."

I laughed at the idea of that. I knew she was joking, but I believed she really would do that if it came down to it. I got up and poured myself a glass of juice, then sat back down. Sipping it, I gave my foster moms a sober look. "So, are you gonna tell Bill what I did?"

"What did you do?" Stef asked me.

"I fell asleep in class today and got a discipline slip," I reminded her.

"Didn't I already tell you not to worry about it, honey?" Lena asked me.

I nodded. "I was just worried. If Bill thought we were having problems here, he might..." My voice trailed off. I couldn't finish my sentence; it was too painful. "I just don't want to mess things up. He said this home was our last chance."

"Baby," Stef sighed, laughing a little. She took my hands in hers. "You worry much too much. You're not in trouble, and we're not gonna tell Bill anything."

I felt Lena's hand on my back. "I wouldn't even call your falling asleep in class a discipline issue, honey."

Stef was still holding my hands in her lap, and she pulled me closer and hugged me. "Someday soon, you won't ever have to worry about social workers again, my love."

I nodded, resting my cheek on her shoulder, trying to imagine what that would be like.

One Week Later

"I'm so nervous," Sophia whispered, leaning against me. "I feel like I'm gonna puke."

"Please don't puke on me," I teased. Lena had pulled some strings and found us a new therapist right away, a woman named Rita Hendricks. Now, Sophia, Stef, and I sat in the waiting room, waiting for our first appointment with her.

"Aren't you nervous?" my sister asked me.

"A little," I admitted. "But hey- I'll be right there with you, like always. So don't worry."

She nodded. "I know."

Stef reached over from her seat and petted Sophia's hair. "Callie's right. And I'll be right out here, waiting for you, too."

I watched my sister breath out a sigh of relief.

A few minutes later, a heavy-set woman with dark hair and glasses came out to the waiting room. "You must be Callie and Sophia Jacob," she said.

We nodded.

"Hi," she said. "My name is Rita Hendricks"

"Nice to meet you," said Stef, reaching out to shake Rita's hand. "I'm Callie and Sophia's foster mom."

"Nice to meet you too," Rita smiled. "I'm excited to work with the girls." She clapped her hands together. "So, who am I seeing first?"

"First?" Sophia squeaked. "I thought we were going in together."

"I think it's best to talk to you each individually," Rita said. She had a blunt, honest-even-when-it-hurt personality, I could tell that right away. "Sophia, you're the youngest, and the youngest never gets to go first, so how about we change that today? Why don't you come on back with me?"

Sophia turned to Stef, giving her a panicked look. Her face had gone pale. She reached out and grasped my hand. "I don't want to go in without my sister."

"I don't bite," Rita promised. "You'll be okay."

"Callie has been Sophia's security for a long time now," Stef said quietly.

"I appreciate that," the other woman nodded. "But even so, I'd like to get to know the girls one-on-one."

Sophia sat stone-still; she could be stubborn when she wanted to be, and I could tell Rita wasn't going to take no for an answer. Before it became a battle of wills, I took my sister's hands in mine and looked her in the eye. "Listen, Sophie Bug. It's going to be okay. I know you can do this. You're braver than you think. So brave. And if I see you do this, I know I'll be able to do it too. So, can you just go with it for me?"

Her face softened. "I guess so. For you."

"Good girl," I nodded, hugging her. "Hey, I love you."

"I love you too," she said. "Thanks, sissy."

"No problem, baby."

So, Sophia followed Rita to her office, turning to give Stef and I one last, unsure look. Once she was gone, Stef moved over a seat, so she was sitting next to me. "You are so amazing with her."

"It was nothing," I said. "But thanks."

"I'm sorry, honey," she apologized. "I didn't know Rita was going to separate you two."

"It's okay," I shrugged. "She has to grow up sometime. I mean, what am I am I going to do? Go along on her honeymoon?"

Stef laughed, patting my back. "You always know what to say to her, though," she said. "You must be pretty nervous, yourself."

I shrugged again. "I'll be fine."

Stef put her arm around me and pulled me closer. "You and I are a lot alike. You know that?"

I looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

She nodded, smiling. "We always have to be strong for everyone, we have to hold everyone up. And that's okay. Just remember that there's nothing wrong with not being strong sometimes. It doesn't make you weak. Not at all."

I sat still, taking in the meaning of her words. She tilted her head down and kissed my forehead. "Want to take a walk down the hall with me and get a soda?"

"Sure," I said. "That would be great." Lena didn't allow us to have soda very often, so as Stef and I went to the vending machine to get drinks, it felt almost sinful, in a good way, sharing another secret with my foster mom. I chose orange soda, and she chose diet cola. We went back to the waiting room and sat down.

I opened my can and took a slow sip; the carbonation tickled my nose. I wanted to make it, and the moment, last. I felt Stef put her arm back around me. The weight was comforting. I allowed myself to rest my head on her shoulder. We didn't talk, we just just sat there like that, her brushing her fingers softly up and down my arm. Stef and I didn't always need words, I'd discovered. We had a sort of silent understanding. It scared me sometimes, because no one had ever known me so well, and it also made me love her even more.

At last, Sophia and Rita came back out to the waiting room. It was my turn. Before I could go, Stef hugged and kissed me. "Good luck, slug-a-bug," she said. "I love you." Her green eyes locked with mine, and I got the feeling she was hoping I'd finally say it back. But I went mute.

I looked down, ashamed. "Thank you."

I turned and followed Rita. Her office was kind of cluttered- games, books, CDs. It was nothing like Dr. Kodema's neat, tidy office. But Her diplomas hung on the wall, showing her qualifications. I sat down on the couch. Her book shelf was crammed with psychology books, with titles like The Angry Child, Overcoming Incest, and When Parents Divorce. I read the titles to myself. My eyes fell on one book, Healing After Abuse. My fingers itched to pick it up and thumb through it, to find answers in it's pages, though I doubted it had anything to help me in it. I was a lost cause. But still, I was curious.

Rita and I went over the formalities quickly. My medical history, blah, blah, blah. By now, I could recite my medical history without even thinking about it. Then, Rita threw me a curve ball. "Why don't we start by telling me about your family?"

"My family?" I wasn't expecting her to ask me that. "There's not much to tell," I said nervously. "My mother's dead, my dad's in prison. It's just me and Sophia."

"I don't mean your biological family," she said, as if it were obvious. "I mean your foster family."

"Oh," I nodded. "Well, I have two foster moms. Stef and Lena. And they have two sons and a daughter."

"Are you happy with them?" she asked me. "I hear they're planning to adopt you. That's pretty cool."

I mulled over her question, trying to stall. There was nothing I hated more than being put on the spot. "I am happy with them," I finally said. "They don't treat us like foster kids, like some families do. Sophia loves them to death."

"Do you love them?" She watched me intently, waiting for an answer. "I just noticed that when your foster mom told you she loved you back in the waiting room, you didn't say anything back."

I squirmed in my seat. My face got hot. "I- I guess I do. Yes." I sighed. "I want to say it back, but I can't. When I try, I just freeze up."

She nodded. "I see. Has it always been difficult for you to tell people you care?"

I thought about that. "Yeah."

"Why's that? Do you know?"

"I dunno," I shrugged. "I guess I feel like, what's the point? Everyone I've ever cared about leaves me. Except Sophia, and if we don't win our court case, she'll be leaving me too." My eyes stung as I spoke, and my throat tightened. But I would not cry in front of this stranger. Not now, not ever. "It's just easier not to get close to people."

"That way, you never get hurt," Rita finished.

I nodded sullenly

"Could it also be that part of you is worried that if you tell someone you care, they suddenly won't feel the same way?" she asked. "And that might hurt more than having them leave?"

I winced. She'd struck a nerve, big time. It was almost as if this nosy, pushy woman could read my most personal, darkest thoughts. It left me feeling naked. "I guess so."

"In your heart, I think you know that won't happen," Rita told me. "It's always a gamble to invest your emotions in someone else. But in the end, you just have to give people a chance."

"Look," I said. "I do love Stef and Lena. I want to tell them, but I can't right now. I- I'm too scared."

She smiled and nodded. "That's okay. When you're ready, you'll be able to tell them."

"Hey, did she ask you about Brian?" I asked Sophia when we got home. My first meeting with Rita had left me emotionally drained. I sensed that my sister felt the same way, judging by how quiet she was in the car.

She shook her head. "No. Did she ask you?"

"No," I said. My past foster homes hadn't even come up. Weird.

"She'll probably make us talk about it next time," Sophia shrugged.

"Hey, girls!" Stef called from upstairs. "Can you come up here for a minute?" She's rushed upstairs as soon as we got in the door.

"Yes!" I answered. "Coming!"

When we got to the upstairs hall, Stef, Lena, and the other kids were standing outside our closed bedroom door. "Come here," said Lena. "Both of you. And close your eyes."

My sister and I shared a confused look. "Okay." We squeezed our eyes shut.

"No peeking," Stef said, taking our hands. I heard the door open. Finally, she said, "Okay. Now you can look."

I opened my eyes, blinking against the light. "Surprise!" everyone shouted.

I was looking at our room. It was finished. And it wasn't just that that walls were all done, either. Our beds were made up with brand new bedding. Sophia's comforter was sprinkled with periwinkle and purple flowers. Mine was a geometric pattern, periwinkle against white. Sheer curtains hung on the windows, blowing forward in the light breeze. A pretty throw rug was on the floor between our beds. And there was a second nightstand on my side. Each nightstand had a brand new lamp on it. And everything complemented our freshly painted walls.

"This is so awesome!" Sophia cried, hopping up and down.

"I'm glad you like it," Lena smiled. "Everyone pulled to get it together while you girls were gone this afternoon."

Sophia threw her arms around Lena, then Stef. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Thanks, everyone," I said. I couldn't help but smile. The room was beautiful. Happier than I'd been in a long time, I reached out to hug my foster moms.

Stef (The Next Day)

I came through the back door, thumbing through the mail. Junk, junk, bills, junk. The last piece of mail in the stack was from our lawyer. I felt my heart pound as I slit it open with my thumbnail. My hands shook as I unfolded the letter. As I read it, my stomach dropped. We had a court date. It was scheduled in two weeks.

I sat down, and tears filled my eyes. I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this. But it did.

I had to talk to Brian's daughter. I had to find Laura. There just wasn't enough time to wait around anymore. The girls' futures depended on them. Feeling a surge of boldness, I took out my cell phone and dialed Lindsey's number. It rang and rang before going to voice mail.

"Lindsey," I said, trying to keep my voice steady through my tears. "This is Stefanie Adams Foster. I need to talk to you about your father. You don't have to worry about him anymore, if that's what you're afraid of, but I need to speak to you. I know you don't want to talk to me, and I don't mean to bother you, but I'm desperate. My daughters need your help. Please call me back at-"

Suddenly, I heard a click, and a female voice spoke on the other end. "Your daughters. Did he hurt them?"

To Be Continued- I love Rita's character, so she just had to be in this story. Were you surprised to see her?