Callie's POV
Brandon and I have been living with Stef and Lena for a few weeks now, and I can tell that they've really changed their minds about us. Brandon is still a little sensitive about the whole thing, but I've been working on getting him to come around. To be honest, it feels great to be back in this house. I like having my old room back, and Jude is so happy to see the two of us back in this house. I wish Brandon would get on board, but I know it's going to take some time. His moms hurt him, and he needs time to get over it. I know he only moved back in with them because of me. He does everything for me, and I feel bad. It seems like I never consider his feelings; we're always making decisions based on my feelings and what I want. Stef and Lena kept their word about Zeus, and he loves having a huge yard to run in. He's tearing everything up, but it's easier to keep track of him with seven of us around compared to the three people we had at Mike's. Since we moved out of Mike's apartment, he and Brandon have been hanging out a lot more. They go out every Wednesday night, and Brandon seems happy about that. Last night Brandon told me that his dad is considering fostering a boy he met during an investigation. His name is AJ and Mike really likes him. Brandon isn't totally supportive of the whole fostering thing, but it's only because AJ is our age and Brandon doesn't think it's worth fostering him when he'll be eighteen soon. I haven't met him yet, but Mike wants all of us to meet him soon. Brandon and I both have the night off, so the family decided to go out and do something. It really feels great to be back.
Brandon's POV
"Where are we going tonight?" I ask my mom as I walk into the kitchen. I'm still not crazy about living here after everything my mom put Callie and I through, but I'm trying to make the best of it for Callie's sake. I don't want to ruin her chance at having a family again, so I have to put on a happy face and pretend that everything's great living here again. It's not that it isn't great living here again. I love being back home, but I can't get past what my moms did to us that easily. It'll take me a while to trust them again. "Your brothers want to go to the beach to play the games and go on the rides. They're having the carnival thing this week, and they've been asking to go," she replies. "Sounds good," I say. I haven't been to carnival since I was a kid. When Jesus and Mariana first came to live with us, we used to go to the carnival every year. The carnival comes once every year and always stays at the beach for a week. We used to go every night, and it would drive my moms crazy. We never wanted to leave, and they had to drag us out of there when it was closing time. "You guys haven't done that in a while. It brings back a lot of good memories," my mom says. "We're not doing this," I reply. "We're not going to bring up old memories to avoid the fact that we aren't talking." "I'm sorry," she says. "It's fine," I reply. "I'm gonna go find Callie and see if she's almost ready." Callie and I are meeting up with Robert before we go out tonight, and she's been nervous about it all week. She wants to meet up with him to talk about the adoption papers and about meeting her sister Sophia. I leave my mom in the kitchen and take the stairs two at a time to Callie's room. She's standing by her mirror rubbing her nose when I walk in, and it's the most adorable thing I've ever seen. "Hey," I say, knocking on the door quietly. "Come here," she says, opening her arms when she sees me. I walk into them and hold her close. "You okay?" I ask. "Yeah," she replies. "Just nervous." "You'll be fine," I say. "We're telling him you don't want the papers signed and about meeting more of your family. You'll be great. Just remember that he's lucky to have you in his life, not the other way around." She pulls back from our hug and smiles at me before pulling me in for a kiss.
Callie's POV
I squeeze Brandon's hand one more time before walking toward Robert's house. He asked us to meet him at his house since his wife and daughter are both off doing their own things for the day. His house is huge, and it makes me feel out of place for a few seconds. What would've happened if he had known about me and we lived here? Would I still know Brandon? Would Jude still be living with me? Stef and Lena live ten minutes away from Robert's house, so it's not like it's hard for me to come over here. But I have to wonder what life would've been like for me had I known about him sooner. Brandon stands behind me quietly as I knock on the door, and I feel his hand rest on my lower back. I don't know what I would do without him here. He makes me calmer. Robert opens the door a few seconds later, and he's all smiles when he sees us standing behind the door. "It's so good to see you again," he says. "You too," I reply. He holds the door open for us so we can walk in, and I place my jacket on the coatrack above my head. "You have a beautiful house," Brandon says as he kicks his shoes off. "Thank you," Robert says. "It used to be my grandfather's house, and my father gave it to me when I was ready to start a family." My heart sinks when he makes that comment, and Brandon notices. He grabs my hand, but I pull away and pretend it doesn't bother me. He didn't know about me when he started a family with his new wife, so I can't really be mad at him for that. But it still hurts to hear him say that. "Thanks for meeting up with us today," I say. "I figured it was time to talk about the adoption." "Yes," he replies. "I'm fine with whatever you want to do. If you want to be adopted, then I'll sign the papers. It'll be hard, of course. I know we just met, but I was being honest when I told you that I want to get to know you and have you in my life. You're my daughter, and I want to make up for all the years I've already missed with you." I look over at Brandon and he just nods his head, agreeing with what Robert said. Brandon has always been supportive of my decisions, even when they weren't what he would've chosen. He's always the one who knows what I'm going to choose before I do; he knew I would choose him over adoption eventually, but I took longer to realize that like always. Even if I had gotten adopted before I found out about Robert, if the judge would've let it slide and put my adoption through, I still would've chosen Brandon. It's always going to be Brandon, and it always has been. "I don't want you to sign the papers," I say. "I want to be in your life as well as Brandon's life. I want to get to know your wife and daughter. They're my family too, and I'd love to meet them if you would be okay with that." "They want to meet you too," he replies. "They aren't here today because they didn't want to ambush you. I wanted to make sure you would be okay with meeting them before you came over with them here. I'm glad that we're all on the same page." "Me too," I say, smiling. "What's wrong son?" Robert asks Brandon. "You look like you ate a lemon." "I just want to make sure that you're being serious about being in Callie's life," Brandon says. "Callie has a long history of people coming into her life only to abandon her later, and she was hurt by those people. I don't want to see her get hurt again. You seem like a really nice guy, but I just want to make sure that you don't plan on hurting Callie." "You must really love her," Rober says. "I really do," Brandon replies. "I would do anything for her, and I need you to know that. If you plan on abandoning Callie sooner or later, just get out now before she's hurt." "I don't plan on hurting Callie," he says. "I never knew about her, and I regret not being in her life. I don't care if she has a past or not. It's all in the past, and this is her future with me. I want her in my life, and I want her in my family's life. I plan on making the most of whatever time we have left together. I'm glad to know that she has someone like you taking care of her, and now it's my turn to take care of her as well. We're doing this, and you can be by her side every step of the way. You aren't going anywhere, so this is all for you too. I promise I won't screw it up."
Brandon's POV
The ride back to my moms house is quiet as Callie and I think about what happened tonight. I really like Robert. I have since the moment I first met him, but I needed to know that I can trust him when he says that he wants Callie in his life. I needed to know that I can trust that he isn't going to leave her. Everyone Callie has ever cared about has left her, and I didn't want him to be another person to let her down. I've let her down so many times before, and I don't plan on doing that ever again. I know how much it took from her to let me in and trust me, and I can't ever explain to her how happy I am about that. "Do you really think this is going to work out?" Callie asks when we're almost home. "Your moms hate Robert, and I don't want to cause problems with them again." "Don't let what my moms think about Robert persuade you out of this," I reply. "Robert wants to get to know you, and he told you that tonight. I think you should take his advice and be part of his life. He's trying here, and I think you should try too. I know it's hard for you to trust men, but he's someone you can trust. He's boyfriend approved." Callie's face lights up when I say that, and I know I've convinced her. She always listens to my opinion, even when I don't have a good opinion to give her. "Well if things with Robert don't end up working out, I'll still have you, right?" she asks. I pull into my moms driveway, turn the car off, and pull her into my arms. "You're always going to have me, no matter what happens," I say. "I love you so much, and I'm whole when I'm with you. I don't feel as empty when I'm with you. You make me a better person, Callie. You push me to be the best that I can be, and you never let me give up. I need someone like you in my life. I knew it from the first moment I laid my eyes on you. I love you, and I always have. It's always going to be you, forever." Tears are running down her cheeks, and I wipe them away before new ones can form. "You have no idea how happy you make me," she says, resting her forehead against my own. She has no idea how happy she makes me, but I don't tell her that. The next words that come out of my mouth aren't planned at all, and I wasn't expecting to say them for another few years or so, but they come out, and I don't regret them at all. "Marry me, Callie."
A/N:
Hey guys! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update; I've been super busy with work and getting ready to go back to school! I want to thank you all for your views and feedback. It means so much to me that you like the story! I promise that I'll try to update more than once a week from now on; I know you all probably want to read more! What did you all think of the ending of this chapter? It was pretty random of Brandon to suggest that, wasn't it?
