away // brallie

two

callie's perpective

I don't know what I was doing to myself. This ought to get me in so much trouble that I just couldn't. Now, so many questions were running through my head as Brandon's soft lips grazed mine. How much trouble will this get me in? Do I love Brandon? His hands cupped my face gently; his gentle fingers sparking something inside me telling me that this was okay. Only when his hands left my face for a brief second did I feel this was wrong. I yanked at his shirt, implying that I wanted it off. His hands left my face for a second to slip his shirt off and unbuckle his belt, tossing both of the things to the floor.

This is wrong. Callie, you are going to ruin your adoption! It's in a week!

I pulled myself away from Brandon completely, pulling the towel back over my body, "I can't do this Brandon! I have my adoption in a week and this is surely get me sent back to juvy. I-just go!" I yelled. My voice must have hit home right in his heart, because his face went white and he slipped his shirt back on, running out of the room. I dressed myself, my thoughts still running wild in my head. Brandon did mean a lot to me, but as a brother. We were going to be brother and sister for sure. I hung my towel up and walked out of the room. But as I was coming out of the bathroom, Stef was rushing into Brandon's room like lighting chasing after the ground. I freaked, so I ran into my room and shut the door. I heard rapid breathing and yelling booing down the halls. I opened my door, and padded down the hall to the doorway of Brandon's room. There he was; brown hair flying in every which way, hands tugging at the messy hair, body shaking and rocking, tears flying down his face in countless numbers.

Then I realized what I had done. He was having a panic attack. Stef was yelling for Lena, who brushed my shoulder walking in.

Stef wiped her eyes, "Did he take his meds this morning?" She asked, concern deep in her voice. Her hands were trembling and her face was a flaming red. Lena paced frantically, them both ignoring Brandon currently in a huge panic. So, I walked through his doorframe and right over to him, Stef and Lena still shouting in a frenzy.

I sat down next to him and rubbed gentle circles on his back, "Shh. It's okay. Breath Brandon, breath." I said, taking deep breaths and hoping he would mimic. I could see his chest rise and fall in a pattern. Rise, 1, 2, 3, fall. I kept following his breaths and rubbing his back gently, and he seemed to fall back into a normal state shortly.

Brandon grabbed my hand, "I'm sorry." He said, his voice shaking. Waterfalls still streamed from his soft blue eyes, making the guilt inside my heart take over everything else.

Stef bent down next to us, and Lena stood behind her, "Did you take your meds today, B?' Stef asked.

Brandon squeezed my hand, "I did. Callie is going to make sure I take them every morning now." He answered, his words finally coming out in a neat string. I patted him once more on the back, then stood up and walked downstairs. I was greeted by Jude, Jesus and Mariana in the kitchen. They all were shoving food into their mouths so no one was speaking a word.

I pulled up a chair next to Mariana, "Hey, uhm, what's up?" I asked. Mariana set down her breakfast sandwich, and cracked a smile.

She stood up from her chair, "I'm just going to finish getting ready for school. Is Brandon alright? Did he have another fit?" She asked quite insensitively. Fit. That word rang in my head over and over until I couldn't take it anymore. It echoed deep inside me, building up an undeniable rage.

I smashed my hands onto the table, "Fit! Fit? It's a, it's a panic attack Mariana! He has an mental illness that takes time to heal, and respectively we should give him some time!" I shouted. The rage came out in a fit of anger. Fit. Fit. It no longer sounded like a word to me anymore.

Mariana flipped her hair, "He's had so much damn time, Callie! He has had this anxiety for years and then the depression! He doesn't take his meds for goodness sake! He always forgets. It's his own damn fault that he isn't getting better, so don't even try to defend him Callie. He's mental." She snapped, strutting out of the kitchen with enough sass for 50 people. I wanted to slap her across the face so damn bad. That attitude would never go away. Jesus and Jude just kept eating, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. I huffed, walking out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. Lena, Stef and Brandon were talking in his room, but it just sounded like white noise to me. Mariana had slammed our room door shut, but my bag was in there so I had to go in. I braced myself for her anger, and barged in. She just rolled her eyes with a sigh, so I grabbed my belongings and left. I peered into Brandon's room, and everything seemed okay. I sat down on the steps, because I didn't want to go back downstairs or into my room.

Brandon came out of his room, dressed and ready for the day. He was wearing a blue striped shirt with navy blue jeans and a black jacket. Handsome, as always. Then out of no where, he cupped my face and whispered, "Let's see how this goes." Before I could say what the hell are you doing, he had placed his gentle lips on mine for a soft and passionate kiss, so my hands somehow found their way to his waist, letting the kiss happen full on.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lena boomed. Brandon pulled away, whispering a sorry as he ran down the stairs. I bolted after him, padding down the stairs as fast as I could.

"We need to talk about this, all four of us."