Never feel alone

Chapter 6

Callie

That night, Sophia put her plan to get Stef and Lena to love us into action. After dinner, Stef made popcorn, and everyone gathered in the living room to watch a movie. Apparently, it was Jesus's favorite movie, and he knew all the lines. He repeated them out loud along with the characters, just to annoy everyone. Finally, Mariana threw a pillow at him to shut him up. I'd never laughed so hard in my life.

Instead of snuggling with me, Sophia sat next to Lena. As the movie played, I noticed her lay her head on our foster mom's shoulder. Yawning, Lena wrapped her arm around my sister and stroked her hair. I felt a twinge of sadness. She wanted so badly to be loved by them, but I knew she was only setting herself up for heartbreak. I had a feeling that when this foster home came crashing down around us, it would be the hardest one to lose.

When the movie ended, Stef clicked off the TV. "Okay, my loves. Time for bed. All of you. You have school in the morning." The next day, Sophia and I would start school at Anchor Beach. It would be our eighth school in six years.

The others headed up to their rooms after kissing their moms goodnight. When they were gone, Sophia wrapped her arms around Lena and gave her a quick, shy hug. "Goodnight, Lena."

"Goodnight, sweetheart," Lena said, returning the hug. "Sweet dreams."

"You ready for your first night in your new room?" Stef asked her excitedly.

"Yeah," my sister nodded. "It's really great." Timidly, she hugged her. "Goodnight, Stef."

"Goodnight, honey," Stef replied. "Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite." She approached me next, studying my face carefully. "Goodnight, slug-a-bug."

"Goodnight," I nodded. I wondered if she was going to hug me, too. And even though I told myself I didn't want her to, I was happy when she did.

"Goodnight, Callie," Lena smiled. "See you in the morning."

"'Night," I said, before following Sophia upstairs.

Stef

"Sophia's a sweet kid," Lena mussed, putting the pillows back on the sofa. "So loving, and polite."

I crept down and starting picking popcorn off of the rug. Mariana had knocked Jesus's bowl off his lap when she threw a pillow at them. "She's a little love," I agreed. "And Callie is so kind to her. I wish our kids got along half as well."

I just feel so sad for both of them," Lena said, a sentiment she had repeated several times. Her dark eyes were damp. She looked down into her lap.

"I got Callie to open up a little today," I confided.

"You did?" Lena joined me on the floor and waited expectantly for me to go on.

"She told me that it was her last foster father who beat her. And that he died. He was driving drunk and he got into an accident."

"Wow," said Lena, shaking her head. "That's a lot for a kid to take in."

"Something about her story didn't feel... right, though," I admitted. "Like, getting her to tell me was almost too easy?" Callie had made it clear from the start that she wasn't a sharer. What would make her change so suddenly?

"You think she'd lie about something like that?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I had a feeling that at least some of her story was true."

"Why do you think she felt the need to lie?" Lena wondered. Sweet, trusting Lena, who always found the best in everyone.

"I think she's protecting someone," I told her plainly. "I don't know who, though. Or for what reason."