away // brallie

five

callie's perspective

My eyes peeled open on Sunday morning to a knock on my bedroom door. I knew who it was, so I sprung right out of bed and made it as quickly as I could. I ruffled my hair to make sure it looked somewhat presentable before my "foster mom" came in and yelled at me.

She banged harder this time, "Callie Jacob, get your ass up! You've got chores to do and breakfast to make!" She yelled, and I opened the door. Her brown eyes had dark circles dragging under them, and her lips were noticeably chapped with cracks cutting through them. She never took care of herself, and it was so obvious. 

I walked past her, "Yes, ma'am." I mumbled, starting by washing all the dishes from the previous day. The water was hot, stinging my hands. She said that if my hands weren't bright red by the time I finished the dishes,  she would smack me. So, I would rather have tingly hands than a tingly face. This was absolute hell, and I didn't even know how she was still allowed to foster kids after how horribly she has been treating me. Maybe she hasn't done it in a while. I finished washing, drying and putting away the dishes. The stout lady came over to me, glancing evilly at me, then grabbed my hands very vigorously. I winced the slightest bit, but then she dropped my hands and walked back into her room. I heard her bed creak when she fell back into it. I knew exactly what she wanted me to do. I was now her slave and I was going to have to make her breakfast in bed. I huffed, then put the pan on the stove and waited for it to heat up. I pulled out my phone, and I had a couple missed calls from Brandon. It made my lips curl up a little bit, knowing that he was back at home, happy with his family. 

I heard a loud snore, so I knew that the lady was asleep. I was going to make breakfast for myself instead, and that bitch couldn't stop me now. I was 100% certain she was hung over, because there was a whole case of empty beer bottles in the recycling bin. I knew she was drinking last night, but I also knew if I tried to stop her that I could get hurt. I toasted some bread and put some jam on it, and pulled out a chair and sat down to eat. There was nothing like the crunch of toast in an actual hell hole. My phone buzzed, and it was Brandon calling again. I slipped out the back door quietly, looking behind me to make sure she wasn't following me. I pressed my finger to the green little button on my phone, and raised it to my ear. 

"Hey, Brandon, uh, what's up?"

"Come out the front door."

There was no way he could have found me, but I came back inside and walked through the small house, the phone still pressed up to my ear, and opened the front door. There he was, standing there. Even though it has only been two days, it was still hard to believe he would actually be there. 

I started running towards him, "Brandon!" I called, and he starting running for me as well. He was at the end of the driveway, which wasn't very far.

He caught me as I collapsed into his strong arms, "Callie, did you expect I would be able to find you in such a short amount of time?" He asked rhetorically, and I squeezed him in my arms tightly. 

I rested my head in the crevice of his neck, "I can't believe you are here. How, how did you find me?" I questioned, trying to catch up with myself. My breath was quick and my heart was racing. 

He pulled a phone, not his, out of his pocket, "Stole Mom's phone and tracked yours down with that silly app she has. I left mine at home so she wouldn't find me. I was so surprised when you still had your phone." He rambled, not letting go of me. 

I sighed, "I'm not really allowed to have it. I was supposed to turn it in to this lady, but she didn't know about the rule so I just kept it. I'm surprised Moms didn't notice I still had it on." I said, rocking back and forth with Brandon.

I heard the door open and large footsteps behind me, "Callie, what the hell do you think you are doing?" It was the stout lady, and oh boy was I in trouble.

Brandon grabbed my hand, "How much stuff do you have in there?" He asked panicked.

I shrugged, "Some crappy clothes I don't even like and a water bottle, why?" I asked. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to his car.

He opened the his door, "Get in! Quick!" He yelled, so I hopped into the passenger side, and he slammed his foot the to petal before I could even buckle myself. I quickly clicked the buckle into place, and Brandon drove as fast as he could out of the neighborhood. There was no way she would be following us, but I turned around to check anyways. Her car was not following us, so I sighed in relief. Brandon's face was white, and I could tell he had never had such an adventure before. 

His frown turned to a grin and he laughed, "We did it! I can't , I can't believe I just did that!" He exulted, the grin only growing on his face. I turned on the radio and blasted the music, and we danced while Brandon just drove down the road in a straight line, not even caring where we were going. I was just so happy to be out of that place. 

But then reality hit like the bat to the ball. I laced my fingers through Brandon's, "Where are we going to stay, love?" I asked, and his cheeks were all red and his face was just plain old happy.

His eyes lit up, "My dad is out of the country for a month for some work offer in Brazil, and I have a key to his house. I could just say I need to get out for a bit. It's a short term solution, but we can figure something out long-term." Brandon said, almost like he had it all planned out before he came and got me. 

I squeezed his hand with cheer clouding my features, "Okay, that works. Just don't put yourself at too much of a risk for me, okay?" I said, and he bobbed his head up and down, gazing at me with his piercing green eyes. "Eyes on the road, sir." I teased, and he jerked his head back to the road, a blush creeping up on his cheeks.

He pulled the car over into the emergency lane. We were practically in the middle of nowhere at this point, but that's what technology is for. 

He unbuckled his seat belt, and leaned over and unbuckled mine, "Come on." He said, climbing into the back seat of the car. He laid down, gesturing me over.

I climbed back, "Are we-" I started, but she shook his head. He gripped my hips and pulled me down on top of him, our lips meeting. He grabbed my bottom lip with his teeth, moving his hand under my shirt and tracing my back. His hands were cold, making my back arch. He kissed me slow, but rough, bringing his hands back to my hips and grasping them intensely. I crashed my hips down onto his.

Sparks were flying, and there was nowhere else I would rather be.