Other Half

Telling

"We're here" Lena called Stef as she pulled into her driveway.
She hung up and looked over sympathetically at Callie and Brandon who were sitting in the backseat looking very confused.
"Is mom okay?" Callie spoke up. It was weird that she had someone else bring them home. Even if they had work, they would always take time off to go pick them up.
Lena nodded her head and gave a slight smile as Stef walked out of the house. Callie and Brandon got out of the car and slowly walked up to their mom. She looked tired and like she had something important to say.
"So, I know this is sudden but, dad and I have something we need to talk to you both about. Come on, let's go inside" Stef extended her arms. Callie ran quickly beside her and grabbed onto her arm. She looked scared and like she wanted to cry. Already. And she didn't even tell them yet but she knew they already knew what was going on. They were smart and anyone can sense how bad their relationship was from miles away.
Brandon walked slowly trailing behind with a scared expression. Stef waved bye at Lena and she drove off.
They entered the house and Mike was already sitting down on the couch waiting.
"Hey" he tried to sound happy but his tone gave away his real feelings.
"Hi dad" Brandon said going up to him and giving him a hug. Callie joined in and stef watched. Part of her wanted to pretend like this all was a joke and go back to the divorce attorney and tell her to reverse it and that she didn't want to ruin her family. She already put up with 12 unhappy years alongside Mike. What's so bad about another 12 ? For the sake of her children. She so badly wanted to but, she didn't.
"You guys can sit down right here and just listen to what I'm gonna tell you and then if you have questions or want to say something you can ask after ok?" Stef said as they obeyed and sat down on the empty couch together. They watched as Callie and Brandon held hands. Stef looked over at Mike and noticed he looked away. He must have seen it too. This reminded them of the old days, Stef was glad they had each other and didn't go through everything alone. They were so young to be dealing with so much already. Stef hoped this would be the last hurdle they needed to jump over.
"Well, there's no easy way to say this.. you two know your dad and I have been going through problems and haven't been on the same page recently.. well, we have made the decision it would be best to get a divorce" Stef said slowly as she nodded and looked at both of them intently.
Callie looked over at Brandon with a blank expression and he gave her the same look back.
"But-" Stef interrupted,
"That does not mean you guys will be in the middle. You do not have to worry, we have a plan where you would get to see and stay with both of us" Stef looked at Mike and he nodded,
"Yes, we love you both and your mom.. we... think that this is the best decision for you two" Mike said looking at them and then down.
Stef noticed he was nervous.
This was a hard bandaid to rip off and Stef knew Mike wasn't as ready as she was still but she was glad he went along so well and took everything good.
"So? What are you two thinking?" Mike said interrupting Stef's thoughts.
"Are we going to have to move schools?" Callie said afraid.
"No, honey you will go to the same school" Stef gave a reassuring smile.
"Are we moving houses?"
"No Cal, I will be here in this house. Dad will move to an apartment close by" they both had a lot of questions and Mike and Stef wanted to make sure they answered them all.
"Is it because of Ms. Adams?" Brandon said after a short few moments causing them all to look over at him shocked.
Callie in particular looked at him horrified. The kiss was a secret she told to him in private. He could feel her eyes on him but he refused to look over instead he watched as Stef took a breath and sat up straight..