The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona

How To Save A Life Part II

Callie's POV:

"Ari, let's get you changed into something more comfortable than your jeans, okay?"

I was trying to get my sister into some of my comfortable clothes, so she could sleep in garments other than her jeans and blouse she wore over to our house that morning. Since Ari and I are usually the same size and almost the same height (my sister is an inch shorter than me) I knew my clothes should work for her.

Ari was a shell of herself at that point in the evening after she witnessed Renee and her ex-wife seriously making out on the treehouse porch. I'd estimate that Renee and her date were only visible for a few minutes, but that was all it took to make my sister snap. All she could do was cry and stare at the wall since she saw Renee's risqué liaison with her ex-wife.

"Ari, do you want me to help you get changed?"

"No, I can do it, I just need a moment to catch my breath."

Normally she would have said that figuratively, but I knew she meant it literally, with the waterworks she'd been spewing since seeing the backyard PDA.

I had already changed myself, when I went to grab clothes out of our walk-in closet. I also made sure we had water on our bedside tables and a couple boxes of facial tissues between the upstairs bathroom and guest bedroom.

Once Ari was changed, I turned down the bed and tucked her in on the left side. I, of course, crawled into the right side, but had myself slightly propped up so I could talk.

"Ari, now that you've had some time to digest what you saw in the backyard, we should talk. Sister to sister, Torres to Torres, Queer to Queer. I shouldn't need to remind you, but I know you better than anyone else in this world."

"I know Callie, I know. But that's also what makes me hesitant to talk to you, I don't want you to judge me for my faults."

"Why would I ever judge you for your faults? We all have them, nobody is perfect despite what our parents tried to program us to believe growing up. I get what you're saying though, because a year and a half ago when Arizona and I started to get back together, I was afraid to talk with her about my faults, too. We never want the people we love and admire to ever think less of us."

"Exactly, Callie. From the moment I started my epic downward spiral last year, before the car accident, I remember realizing I suddenly didn't care what anyone thought or said about me. All I cared about was getting drunk and tuning out. I knew something was wrong, but my Alcoholism prevented me from seeing the bigger picture that I now see again since rehab."

"So then, tell me what you are thinking..."

"Callie, I've already caused enough damage for the night and don't need to torture you any further. Besides, you have a wonderful wife and two little girls that need you downstairs. I can wait."

"Everyone downstairs is doing fine and Arizona already knows that I'm having a, 'sleepover,' with you, tonight. So, no excuses, spill it. There's no sense in keeping this to yourself, it's only going to get worse."

"God, do I ever want a drink right now!" Ari started sniffling again as I patted her on the back. 

"Well, we both know that's not going to happen, so why don't we talk instead? It won't have the same instant catharsis you're looking for, but in the long run, it will help."

"Sigh, well, what am I supposed to say? I'm heartbroken that Renee was clearly going to have sex with her ex-wife. I know I have no leg to stand on here, but it crushed me to see her with someone else tonight. Logically it makes me sound like a two-faced asshole, but that's how I feel."