Picking Up Shattered Pieces

Chapter 2

“What would life be like with Robert? I would probably hate it. I just wish I was adopted already. Why do I always have to be the one to have the adoption problem? Not that I want Jude to have to deal with this, but I just want this to be over. I love the Fosters. I need to stay with them. With Jude. With the family that I truly love. The one I feel truly accepted in.” Callie thought.

She was pulled out of her thoughts, again, this time by Lena. They were sitting in the car, in the parking lot of Anchor Beach. Lena and Callie had been sitting there in silence for about 20 minutes, until Lena tapped Callie on the shoulder. The woman knew that Callie had been intensely daydreaming recently, though she didn’t know why, since the fundraiser ended.

“You okay, Callie?” Lena asked her daughter.

Callie just nodded. “I’m going to go to class.” She said, quickly getting out of the car and rushing inside the school.

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The entire day, Stef thought about Callie. She wondered what Callie was thinking about every time she zoned out. She knew she had to talk with Callie about it, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to push the girl. Stef thought about how Callie managed to get through school without getting caught daydreaming in class.

“Stef, you okay?” Mike asked. The two were in the car, making quick rounds.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Stef answered. Mike knew Stef’s mind was elsewhere, but he chose to let it go.

“Want to stop somewhere for a snack or just head back?” Mike asked the woman.

“Doesn’t matter.” Stef said, looking out the window. As Mike continued to drive, the woman kept her gaze outside. Soon, they were back at the station, and the two got out of the car.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Stef?” Mike asked, concern in his voice.

“I’m fine.” Stef answered again, before walking inside to finish her work.

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Callie was glad she had a free at the end of the day. She was getting bored of sitting in class listening to lectures. She decided to go visit Jude to see how he was doing. She knew that she would see him after school ended, but she was visiting him because she was scared for herself and the situation with Robert. Callie stood at the door of Jude’s classroom, quietly watching the boy. Out of the corner of his eye, Jude saw Callie standing outside. He excused himself from the class and walked outside to meet her.

“What’s up, Cal?” Jude asked. Callie hadn’t visited Jude since his first day at Anchor Beach.

“Nothing. I just wanted to see if you were doing okay.” Callie lied. She felt bad for lying to her own brother, but she didn’t want Jude to deal with the pain she was feeling inside.

“Callie, I know something’s wrong. Just tell me. You don’t have to keep secrets anymore.” Jude said, seeing the sadness in Callie’s eyes. After a minute of silence, Jude said, “Is it family stuff?” Callie just shrugged. She didn’t want to tell Jude what was really happening, and she wouldn’t. She would make up a thousand lies if it was necessary, but she wanted what was best for her brother, even though he was already adopted. “Not with the Fosters.” She answered.

“So the Quinns? What about the Quinns?” Jude asked. He cared a lot for the person who protected him his whole life, and he wanted to do the same thing that she did for him, for her. Jude wanted to know that Callie was safe, and that everything was okay. But he wasn’t so sure.

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Author Note: This is only part 1 to the Callie part of this chapter. Just fyi. Sorry if this is going a bit slowly for you, I am trying to set up some things before Callie tells people about the adoption papers. Thanks for reading!