Callie's POV
The weeks after the camping trip are like all the weeks before. I go to school and work and then come home and spend all of my time doing homework, and, now that we're back together, sneak around with Brandon as much as I can. We spend every night together 'studying.' For the families sake, we tell them that we're studying or doing homework together. It starts out that way. We'll study for a little while, but it usually ends up in Brandon looking at me or touching my knee and then we're kissing. We haven't done anything more than kiss in the house because we're afraid that if we go any further someone will walk in and catch us. I want to tell everyone that we're back together soon, but right now I'm not ready to tell them. I want to keep it between Brandon and I for a little longer. Brandon is still in the band, but things between him and Lou are a little awkward. I tried going to one of his rehearsals a few weeks ago, but Lou kept throwing me death glares, so I never went back. Now I just listen to Brandon when he plays his keyboard at night. He still has a hard time playing because of his hand, but he tries. I've never seen him work harder than he does now to make music. I know he works hard and I'm proud of him. "So," Mariana says, shaking me out of my thoughts. We're sitting in our room after school, and I was zoning out of our conversation thinking about the past couple of weeks. "What do you think? Should I tell Brandon or should I let Mat tell him?" "I'm sorry, but I missed everything you just said. I was zoning out," I say. "Callie!" she yells. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I have a big test coming up and I'm stressing about it. I'm sorry. Can you just start from the beginning? I promise I won't zone out this time," I reply. "Okay, fine," she says, sighing. "I was telling you that Mat and I really like each other, and he asked me out the other night. He wants to go to the movies, but I haven't answered him yet. He's in a band with Brandon, and they've become really close. I don't want to ruin their friendship by dating Mat, but I really like him. I've never felt this way about anyone. But I'm afraid that if I start dating him, things between him and Brandon will become rocky. You know, I'm Brandon's little sister and Mat is like his best friend, and he's older than me. I don't want Brandon to freak out or anything. I just don't know what to do. I'm really torn." "Honestly, I would tell him that you want to go with him. If you really like him, then go for it. You can't hold your feelings back just because of what you may think others will think of you," I reply. "But what about Brandon?" she asks. "If you really like Mat, then I don't think Brandon will be upset about it. He cares about you, and he wants you to be happy. I know because I'm big sister, and if this was Jude, I would tell him to go after these feelings that he's having because I just want him to be happy. I know Brandon, and I know that he would just want you to be happy," I say. "Was this what it was like with you and Brandon?" she asks. "What do you mean?" "When you and Brandon developed feelings for each other, did you have to step back and ask yourself if was a good idea? Did you have to hesitate before acting on your feelings because you knew the consequences of being together? I know it's different for Mat and I than it was for you, but I have to ask myself if it's a good idea because of my brothers. Is that how it was for you too?" she replies. "Yes, it was. When Brandon and I realized we had feelings for each other, we did everything we could to avoid those feelings. I dated Wyatt, he dated Talya. I ran away after we kissed for the first time. We knew what would happen if we acted on our feelings, but at one point we didn't care anymore. We cared about each other so much that nothing else mattered. We just wanted to be together, so we just acted on it," I say. "But you guys aren't together anymore. He's with Lou now, and you guys aren't dating anymore," she replies. Oh honey, if only you knew how together your brother and I really are, I think to myself. "Only because of the whole adoption thing," I say. "Yeah but now you have Robert, and he wants you to go live with him. You could be together. If you really believe that the adoption isn't going to happen, or if you believe that Robert is going to take you in, then you guys could be together," she replies. "Maybe," I say. "But like you said. He's with Lou now," I lie. "Do you still have feelings for him?" she asks. "I don't know," I lie again. "I think that a part of me knows that I'll always have feelings for him, but I know that we can't act on those feelings given the circumstances." "What about Brandon? Do you think he still has feelings for you?" she asks. "I don't know," I say. "But I'll probably never know. He shut down any openings for us to get back together. He's with Lou, and I have to let him move on." "But if you like him, maybe you should take your own advice and go for it," she replies, smiling. "Don't change the subject to me," I scold. "We're talking about you and Mat."
