Chapter Seventeen: Home Sweet Home

                                    

                                          
Callie's POV
The sun was spilling gracefully over the window sill and stretching across Mariana's half of the bedroom when I woke up. In the sliver of light, I could see little specks of dust dancing in the sun's ray. 
                          
The morning felt calmer than usual and the air was fresher. Maybe this was because I'd slept for sixteen hours, after having spent most of my nights i peacefully restless at the motel. But maybe it was because I was home, and I once again had a sense of security and safety. I hadn't felt like that since my second month here, which was when my guard had finally come crashing down.
                          
Mariana was sitting up on her bed, scrolling through her phone. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she looked intently at the screen, which she did when she was really focused on something, and that was usually only when she was on Instagram™.
                          
She glanced at me for a quick second, and then did a double take when she saw that I was awake.
                          
"Finally," she said, sighing. She clicked her screen off and looked at me with dismay. "I don't know how you managed to sleep that long. I could never do that."
                          
I smirked, still groggy with sleep in my eyes. I leaned forward, propping myself up with my good arm. My mouth was gooey and moist, and tasted like rotten milk. I suppose that's what I got for sleeping so long.
                          
"So . . ." Mariana eased herself into what I could tell was a fragile topic that she was afraid to speak of. Her mouth was twisted to the left side of her face and she looked at me with pleading eyes. "You and Brandon, huh?"
                          
"Oh, geez," I murmured incoherently as I wrapped my legs criss-cross. "Close the door."
                          
Excitedly, Mariana bounced up and darted to the door, shutting it ever-so-gently. She practically threw herself into the wall as she ran to my bed and sat on the other end of it like she was getting ready to watch a good movie.
                          
"So how was he?" She asked instantly.
                          
"Ew," I said, making a face. "Mariana, I'm not telling you that."
                          
"Why not?" She asked disappointedly.
                          
"He's your brother, that's weird."
                          
Mariana raised her eyebrows at me. "Like you have room to talk about brother and sister boundaries."
                          
I rolled my eyes, partly because I was annoyed, and partly because she was right. At this point, I'd been involved with three of my foster brothers, two from the same home, but only one of which that actually mattered. Speaking of which, A.J. had finally moved in with Mike, which was a relief, not only for me, but I knew for Brandon as well.
                          
"Fine," I said under my breath. I rolled my eyes again and suppressed a little smile. "He was good."
                          
Mariana giggled. "How long was it?"
                          
"Ew, no, no, no."
                          
She boggled her eyes, amused, and bellowed a laugh. "No, not his thing. I mean how long did you guys do it for?"
                          
I breathed a sigh of relief I'd never felt before, and the screaming in my head faded. "Oh. I don't know, twenty, maybe thirty minutes."
                          
"Wow," Mariana said, either impressed or surprised. "With me and Wyatt, it was just . . ."
                          
She stopped herself when she realized the territorial grounds she was crossing, and looked down at her hands.