The Melody We Make (Brallie FanFic)

21. Somebody

Callie was in Brandon's room gathering up clothes for him to go home in and a few things to make his stay at the hospital over the next couple of days a little more bearable. She picked out his dark blue sweater running her hands over the fabric, smiling at the hope she had felt when he'd worn this to Family Day at Girls United and how foolish their plan seemed now. 

She let herself remember for a moment, his closeness. She was surprised when she saw him climb out of the family car. They had barely so much as looked at each other-- because if they had...if people had seen them together, everyone would know. Everyone would know how they felt.  Looking back it seemed that no one knew. Brandon played nice that day, he asked the appropriate questions and aside from their moment alone in the kitchen-- he kept a fair amount of distance. 

Even after that day Brandon and Callie had done their part. They had kept a distance from each other, everyone assumed that whatever had gone on between Brandon and Callie was nothing more than a rush of emotion, a mis-step of teen angst that everyone would sooner forget.

Callie fingered the sweater, letting it sift through her fingers, she couldn't help but allowed herself to feel hope. She and Brandon, for so long they had been hopeless. For so long, Brandon had only been as close as the weighted space between them. Callie's feelings for him had only been as real as the knot in her chest. Yet now, it all seemed to be so much more, to mean so much more.

"Callie?" Callie jumped slightly at the sound of her name. She shook her head out of the daze she had been in and turned to find Jude was standing at the door to Brandon's room. 

"Hey Jude," she gathered the sweater and a pair of jeans for Brandon before busying herself looking for more to put in the bag she was bringing to the hospital. Jude loked at what she was doing curiously,

"We aren't leaving for another hour right?" 

"Yeah," Callie responded, "I was..." she felt herself starting to smile, she wanted to say excited. But she thought better of it, "I just wanted to be ready to go," 

"So you and Robert are getting along pretty well,"  Callie was surprised, Jude generally edged toward not talking about the Quinn's if he could at all help it. 

"What makes you say that?" Callie asked, smirking slightly, she was so relieved that all of this awkwardness with Robert was beginning to go away, and she was glad that it was beginning to show outwardly

"Its just," Jude shrugged slightly unsure of how to wager his next few words, "The other day, when Robert showed up... before he got there you were quiet and terrified, but after he came, you just, it was like you could finally break"

"I don't see how that means we're getting along well..." Callie zipped up Brandon's bag, she scanned the room for anything else he might need, 

"You never got to break," Jude laughed in a small way, "I mean you went nuts a few times that's for sure but you never got to break down," Callie looked at him quizzically, "All that time growing up in whatever foster home we had, I remember you protecting me, ALL I remember is you protecting me, no matter what it was," 

"Jude you were a little--"

"No Callie, you were raped, by Liam, and all I could do was-- I couldn't protect you,"  tears began to form in Jude's eyes "I didn't take care of you," Callie made her way to Jude

"You didn't have to," she said pulling him in to a warm embrace, "Stef and Lena they-- they take care of us,"

"Then why didn't you break in front of them at the hospital?" Jude challenged her, "I think maybe you just need Robert in a different way,"