I Guess I Need My Life to Change

"Good morning!"

"Josh go back to sleep" Faber moaned stuffing his head under a pillow.

"Hey that wasn't me!" Josh defended.

"Callie?" Faber said jumping up. The girl was still sleeping beside him, one hand resting on his chest and her curly black hair entangling her face.

"No it was me." the voice said. Faber looked up and groaned. "Red why are you here?"

"Uh because it's 2 in the afternoon, and you missed practice."

"What day is it?" Faber asked drowsily.

"Monday the 22nd, the first day of Christmas break, now get out of bed. And you better introduce your friend to everyone else." Red said eyeing the sleeping girl beside Faber.

"Hey she was my friend first!" Josh yelled and Red snickered and left the room.

"Go get washed up" Faber said to Josh and he scampered out of the room. Faber slowly stood up so he wouldn't wake Callie up. She looked so peaceful, he got dressed in some clean clothes and brushed his teeth. He walked out into the Kitchen where all his friends were sitting. Red had a ridiculous smirk on his face, Meghan was playing with David's hair and Krikit and Josh were playing with Patches.

"Good morning," Krikit said almost too happily, "Where's your lady friend?"

"She's still sleeping." Faber responded going to the cupboard and getting some cereal.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Meghan asked giddily.

'No we just met," Faber sighed annoyed with the questioning.

"Sleeping together on the first date." David laughed shaking his head. Faber shot him an 'I'm going to kill you' look and he stopped laughing.

"She's my friend!" Josh yelled and everyone looked at him.

"Really Joshy, how'd you meet?" Meghan asked.

"I found her at the park and I took her home." Josh said proudly. The group looked to Faber.

"You took a homeless girl home?" Red asked.

"Yep."

"And you're okay with this Faber?"

Faber sighed "You have no idea how persuasive Josh can be." He said and the group laughed

"Well what's her name, where is she from?" Meghan questioned hoping the couch and sitting next to Faber.

"Her name's Clandestine." Josh announced.

"Isn't that a clothing brand?"

"Yeah it is, but that's her name. I call her Callie for short." Josh told them. "I'll go wake her up so you guys can met her, she's really pretty!" Josh gushed excitedly and ran off to Faber's room.

"She doesn't talk." Faber told everyone "I'm just warning you."

A few moments later Josh re entered the room pulling the girl along with him. She was far too skinny, her hair was different length's suggesting she cut it herself, and was messily strew about her face. Two rings stuck out of her bottom lip and the looked swollen and infected. Her nose was slightly crooked suggesting it had been broken a few times. She stared at the new group of people and they stared back at her. She tried to back away but Josh pulled her forward.

"It's alright" he whispered to her "These are some of my friends." Josh pointed to each person and said his or her name.

"Callie," he stared "This is Red Bull, Krikit, David and Meghan." Callie nodded and the group waved back at her.

Krikit stood up and walked around her in a circle. Callie clenched her fists and kept her eyes on him.

"What happened to your face?" He asked her touching her scar. Callie raised up her hand to punch him, but dropped it when he touched her face. A tear slid down her cheek and she ran out the door.

"KRIKIT! YOU ARE SO INCONSIDERATE SOMETIMES!" Meghan yelled following the girl outside.

"What did I do?" Krikit asked shocked.

"Callie come back!" Josh yelled running out the door.

"Hey how was I suppose to know she was sensitive about it?" Krikit asked

Faber and David shook their heads and followed their friends out the door.

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One thing Callie had always been proud of, were her strong legs. She could run for miles and never get tired, and she was positive she knew the park a lot better then the people following her. She ran for a long time until she reached the old bridge where she used to sleep. The city didn't use it anymore.

It was an old wooden thing with a roof, it could still support everything, but the city said it was too hideous and out of the way of everything else, so they built a freeway instead. That was when Callie had first run away. She remembered a little more of it now, she first ended up at the park in the center of the city. From there she spent a few weeks on the street, learning how to take care of herself and so on. Sometimes she would get food at the homeless shelters, but when she gave herself piercings and some tattoos they told her that if she had money for that she had money for food and turned her away. That's when she found the bridge, it was sheltered from the wind and from peoples view it was the perfect place for her. She stocked up on canned food, and bought some blankets with the little money she had left, and set up a living area in the bridge. It was dark and dusty but she managed, no one had ever found her, and ever day her identity slipped further and further from her mind.

She reached the bridge and climbed in through the small window on the side. Surly the group of people would never find her here. Although she missed the one who called himself Faber, and Patches and little Joshy. He was the first person to take real interest in her and care for her for as long as she could remember. Callie tried to pull herself through the window but lost her grip and fell into the icy water below. She tried to scream but she had forgotten how to use her voice.

"Callie" someone called over the crashing waves. She tried to make a sound but nothing came out.

"Oh my god. She's in the water!" A girls voice called out "Someone help her!"

Callie heard a splashing noise and something tugged her underwater. Her lungs screamed for air, but the temperature of the water didn't let her muscles move. On the brink of death, Callie saw an angel, a dark angel with jet-black hair covering his face, and dressed in a sea of black clothes. He pushed Callie out of the water, and pushed air into her lungs, she breathed in and stared up at the people around her. Her eyes stung and her head spun.

"My angel," she managed to say before passing out.

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"Guys we have to get her to a Hospital." Faber said picking Callie up in his arms and carrying her down the street.

"Faber you're going to get hypothermia." Krikit told him referring to his wet clothes. "You were an idiot for jumping in the water. She homeless nobody cares about her!"

"Krikit you really need to learn to shut your mouth." David said

"I'm sorry that some of us sill value human life." Faber growled at Krikit. He had reached his house at this time, Callie hadn't run very far, He crawled in the backseat of his car, "Someone get it and drive." He called out. Red sat beside him and Meghan and David crawled in the front seat. Meghan swerved out of the drive way almost hitting Krikit causing him to scream profanities at her. She smiled and opened the door for Josh to jump in the car.

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked teary-eyed playing with Callie's hair.

"I don't know buddy." Faber told him ruffling his hair.

The group rushed into the Hospital and explained what had happened, the doctors took Callie away to be treated and sent Faber for a check up. He was too nervous to sit still, but the doctor told him he was fine. He ran off to find the others. They were sitting in the waiting room with worried looks on their faces. A nurse came out and asked them some questions.

"So you don't know her name?" She asked them.

"No we call her Clandestine." Josh told her,

"Oh I remember her, she was here about 6 months ago, mumbled something about Star's. Anyway, she had a nasty cut on her face, all the way down her cheek to her shoulder bone. Pretty girl, didn't tell us how it happened or who she was. The doctors started calling her Clandestine, because of the sweater she had on. Anyway we stitched her up and were going to call the police to she if we could find a missing person who matched her descriptions but then she just disappeared." The nurse shrugged

"Is she going to be okay?" Faber asked her.

"She should be." The nurse answered, "We had to clean up her lips, they were awfully infected from those stupid rings, and she has a broken arm, but no Hypothermia thank goodness. If it weren't for you young man, she would have surly drowned. Her body can't take as much as ours can. Many homeless people have this condition; it's from lack of proper nutrition and too much stress. But if you have been taking care of her, if you just sign this sheet she can be released by tonight."

"Really that's it?" Meghan asked.

"She was such a sweet girl," The nurse responded. "Kept telling me how much she hated hospitals. She was deathly afraid of needles. I'll give you some medications and you can take her away from here, we cant do much more anyway."

"Oh thank you!" Josh said hugging the nurse, she smiled.

"Wait I just have one question." Red spoke up "Did you ever find a missing persons that matched her?"

"Well for a while we thought she was that Starr Kennedy girl that had disappeared. But due to the stitches and swelling we couldn't really tell. And her hair was black; although apparent she had died it. Such a shame, Starr was such a nice young lady, her father works here you know. I hope she turns up one day." The nurse said sadly shaking her head. "But just sign this sheet and I'll go get your friend."

"Alright" Faber said scribbling his signature at the bottom of the clipboard. He gave a sideways glance toward Meghan.

"It can't be her, could it?" She asked close to tears, David wrapped his arms around her.

"No it's impossible," Red commented "She could be anywhere in the world. If she wanted to run away why would she stay in the city."

"I guess you're right," Meghan sniffled. "I can't be her, it's not her"

"Yeah." Faber agreed, although he didnt fully believe it.