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...
Taken aback by his friend's question, Mark knew he might try something.
For the first time since Callie and Arizona had broken up and as one of the only common friends the two women both still communicated with, Mark felt it might be the perfect timing to open their eyes. He was so certain that his friends were soulmates, but he had never really learned what had been the breaking point in their marriage, or how they ended up divorced.
« Right it was Robbins you were right. » He replied nonchalantly. « Why do you even care? "
« Stop that Mark, you know that I will always care. » Callie punched his arm again. « I always have. »
« I know... » Mark knowingly nodded.
« So, did she mention me? » Callie insisted.
« Maybe. »
« You know we talked? Well, it'd be more accurate to say that I talked to her.
She wasn't really talkative. » Callie regretted. « I hadn't see her in a while. She was so on edge, so distant... »
Mark didn't say anything, he decided to let Callie talk.
« And she knows about... Well she thinks that she knows... But, how could she? Do you think she looked in my file? She heard I had an appointment? »
« No, you know she wouldn't do that. » Mark reminded Callie.
« But how in the world could she… »
« I knew too... » Mark cut her off, fearing she was about to going in circles and might ending by blaming her ex-wife. « I knew before you told me. »
« What? » Callie gulped, totally shocked by her friend's revelation. « What's going on? Nobody could… what happened? Did a nurse talked to you? Did you cheat on Lexie with my OBGYN? »
« Blake was telling everybody, apparently, behind your back. And your kids heard it too and then they told Arizona. » Mark explained. « Your girlfriend wasn't shy about it, believe me. I'm sure that half of the staff know that you are trying. »
« No... Penny wouldn't do that. I told her I wanted to keep it between us and wait for it to be real. We weren't supposed to tell anyone before the end of the first trimester... » Callie retorted.
« When are you going to stop putting her on a pedestal Torres? She's always been a pest. She was already intrusive the first time you introduced her to me. I've never been able to stand her. She's so fake and arrogant nor does she care about you. She's just so pleased to be in a relationship with a nationwide known surgeon who is making big change in the ortho field. That's the only thing that matters to her. » Mark said, knowing he was hurting her. « And what about you? What are you doing with her? She's everything you have always hated; negative, opportunistic, jealous. You just wanted to prove yourself you can get back on track and she was there, begging for attention. You're trying so hard to show the world that you have a perfect life. But it's just a facade and you know it. You have to get out Callie, because she's totally controlling of your life, and you're so afraid to fail another relationship you're letting her take what she wants from you. »
Callie was stunned by Mark spontaneous peach. He must have been thinking about it a long time as he was so sure of each word that he just said. Each word said was like a slap to the face
« Do you even love her? » Mark questioned. « Do you really love her? Or are you just in love with the idea of being love?"
« You're wrong. She would never do that. Not on purpose. » Callie shook her head in disbelief. « She loves me. She's making me happy... »
« Really? You're happy? You have not even mourned your past life. You haven't properly mourned the loss you have been through. And I'm not only talking about Terry, Callie. » Mark sadly said, causing Callie to start to cry. « I'm talking about your whole life, and in it, there's your wife. You weren't able to deal with your loss. And look where you are now. »
« You have no idea what you're talking about Mark... »
« I know! » Mark snapped. « I really tried to, but how could I know when neither of you would tell me what make you split up? »
« It's none of your business... » Callie retorted, hurt by what her friend was insinuating.
« I could have helped you. I could have done something to protect your family. » Mark said, as he cried too.
« No Mark, it was impossible. Arizona was mad at me and I was so mad at her... » Callie tried to explain, but she didn't want to go too far.
« About what? It wasn't your fault or hers if he died! He was sick... »
« I... I can't talk about that! » Callie yelled. « I can't! »
« Why! What was the problem? » Mark yelled back. « Tell me what happened! »
« She was mad at me for too many reasons, but she was also disgusted by herself... » Callie confessed, making things harder for Mark to understand.
« Tell me Torres... »
« I... When we learned about Terry's condition, there was some options we should have considered. » Callie tried to explain « We knew he would die. It was for sure. But the doctors proposed us a therapeutic abortion. »
« Oh... » Mark simply say. As a surgeon, he knew the two mothers had probably been given different choices, but when hearing it from Callie was maybe the beginning of a deeper explanation.
« Arizona agreed to that. She was repeating what the specialist told her, that having Edward syndrome meant he was incompatible with life. » Callie bitterly remembered. « He could have die at any moment in her own belly and it could have been a danger for Olivia. Which is something that Arizona didn't want. But I didn't think the same way. I wanted our family to be whole... Maybe I was just being selfish, but I wanted to see him, I just wanted to meet him. And so, we were butting heads because we were in complete opposition. »
« I'm sorry Callie, I had no idea... » Mark stated sadly, his voice breaking.
« I insisted, and we argue over it. It was the beginning of the end. It was awful, and we have said things to each other I never think I'd tell her one day. She said didn't want to face another loss. She told me that, she even begged me not to let that happen again. » Callie explained. « And then one day, she took two weeks away from us. She left one morning without telling anyone where she was going. I was so mad and scared. And then, one day she was back, and she told me she was okay with my point of view. »
« What happened next? » Marks asked, not aware Arizona had disappeared during her pregnancy.
« When the babies were born, she became ultra possessive toward Terry. She wouldn't leave him, even sleeping with him in her arms, remember? » Callie continued.
« Yeah... »
« She was totally focused on him, she barely looked at Olivia and Travis. I'm not even talking about me. All I wanted was for the five of us to spend as much time as we can. We didn't have a lot of time, which we knew, but it wasn't possible. » Callie cried. « When Terry passed away, things worsened so fast. She reproached me about things and I did the same back. We were just screaming at each other all day and night. Olivia was having trouble eating and Travis was having nightmares. All whilst Arizona was shutting everybody out. And I had just lost my son... »
« I just wished I have been there for you. » Mark said. « No one is blaming you here Callie. »
« I am! Because I didn't ask for help and I bailed. » Callie stated. « I bailed because I wasn't able to face everything. So, I left home and stayed a hotel room for the three weeks after Terry's funeral. Arizona didn't even try to contact me. I have to deal with my job, my kids and my depressed wife who wouldn't talk to me. »
« I'm so sorry Callie... » Mark regretted. « But you loved each other, right? How did you ended up divorcing just a few weeks later? You could have go to a therapist or something? »
« I made the call. Nobody was happy. I pushed her too hard, I gave her an ultimatum to show up at my room and to talk to me, to try to figure things out. And she never came. » Callie confessed. « So, I went to our home, and I confronted her. Telling her I needed her and that I wanted to do everything I could to save us. She just told me she hadn't been able to save our son, so she wasn't worth fighting for. She expressed to me that she couldn't even look at me because it was my fault as I insisted that we should continue with the pregnancy, which resulted in her losing another person she loves »
« She wasn't thinking straight, she was just lost, and sad. » Mark tried to say.
« So was I Mark. » Callie cut him off. « And I couldn't face it. I knew she didn't meant it, but in a way, I was scared she would leave me one day or another. So, I made the call. I decided to leave her before she left me. Then, a month later, while she was trying to get back to me step by step, I... » Callie stuttered « I sent her the divorce papers... »