Disclaimer: Obviously, what you recognize, I don't own
Chapter 1 – Nothing to lose
Charli looked at herself in the grimy, cracked mirror. Stray strands of her long dark hair were stuck to her face with dried blood. She had dark circles under her eyes and her usually stunning face looked hollow and thin. She looked down, away from the reflection that was barely her own, and noticed her shaking hands. Tightening her grip on the edge of the basin she took one deep breath before tidying herself up and exiting the bathroom, looking slightly less lost than she had when she entered. After battling with herself for a few minutes she finally decided where she had to go. The busy train station around her had overwhelmed fifteen year-old Charli to begin with but now that she had a destination, her determination led her through the bustling subway towards a train bound for New York.
Three days later, she'd finally reached the city and, tired and hungry, she headed straight for a taxi. She pulled a scrunched up piece of paper from the pocket of her jeans and handed it to the driver before throwing her backpack on the backseat and climbing in after it.
The driver pulled up outside a nice, relatively new apartment block. Charli handed him the last of her money and headed nervously towards the building. Again making reference to the scrunched piece of paper, she noted the number 4B and began climbing the first few flights of stairs. Slightly dizzy from hunger, Charli reached the top and saw the door for apartment 4B before her. Suddenly more nervous than she had been at any other time before now, she took a few moments before mustering up the courage to knock. No one answered. She knocked again but there was still no answer. Damn it, she thought. She'd come all this way and no one was home. She probably didn't even live here anymore. At that moment, a nicely dressed older woman exited the apartment next door and headed towards the stairwell.
"Excuse me," Charli yelled. The woman spun around and looked at her intently. "Umm, I was just wondering if you could tell me whether or not Olivia Benson still lives here." The lady eyed her suspiciously before answering yes. "Could you tell me where she might be?" Charli asked hopefully.
"Do you know her?" The woman asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Yes. Well, no, not really. We're related." Charli stammered out, confused about how to answer.
"She works as a detective at the 1-6 precinct. You'll probably find her there." The woman answered finally after looking her up and down a few times. Charli couldn't blame her. She must have looked pretty terrible with the gash across her forehead, her ripped jeans and t-shirt that had become too big for her and her hair falling well past her shoulders in messy tangles. Charli thanked the woman and did her best impression of a friendly smile which the woman returned uncertainly. She then descended quickly back down the stairs, forgetting that she had no more money for a cab and no idea how to get to the precinct.
After roaming around the streets for about half an hour, still no closer to finding her way, Charli headed inside a small café to ask for directions. The waitress seemed to sympathise with the lost looking teenager and happily gave her directions before wishing her good luck. Now that Charli knew where she was going, she started to forget how tired and hungry she was and the nerves began creeping back. The only thing stopping her from turning back was the thought of what she would have to return to and how she didn't have any money to get there anyway. Before she knew it, she found herself standing outside the front of the 1-6 precinct, after following the waitress' directions exactly. Thoughts flooded her mind about what she would say. What if Olivia didn't want to know her? Where would she go? Charli had to steady herself on the railing of the stairs before deciding it was all or nothing and pushing her way through the front door of the precinct. Walking up to the front desk where a female police officer was seated, Charli could feel her whole body shaking with nerves.
"Umm hi," she started shakily as the woman looked up from the desk. "I'm looking for Olivia Benson. Is she here?"
"Yes, who will I say is looking for her?" The officer smiled but looked concerned about Charli's appearance.
"I'm her sister." The officer started to get up from her chair. "Wait, don't tell her that. Just say that I'm, umm…" Charli's mind went blank. She had to tell Olivia who she was herself. She didn't want this officer to announce it in front of everyone. The officer walked over and smiled gently at her. "Why don't you come with me and you can introduce yourself." Relieved, Charli followed the woman through another set of doors into what appeared to be the squad room. There were three men seated at different desks all involved in some sort of argument. A thin older man was saying something while the other two shook their heads and laughed. Seated at her own desk not far away sat a woman who Charli noticed at once. She looked as though she was listening to the conversation going on around her but stayed out of it, attending to a pile of paperwork on her desk. Charli's heart skipped a beat when the officer beside her put a hand on her shoulder and called out, "Detective Benson." Olivia's head spun around, along with those of the three men seated nearby. "This young lady is here to see you." Charli felt all eyes on her and was suddenly dizzy again as Olivia rose from her seat and walked towards her.
"How can I help you?" Olivia smiled.
"I, umm, well, I…" Charli couldn't think of what to say. Everyone was looking at her. She was terrified.
"It's alright. How about you and I go and talk somewhere privately?" Olivia smiled again and Charli just nodded. Clearly assuming that she was some kind of victim or something, Olivia led Charli to an interrogation room and took a seat opposite her at the small metal table.
"Alright sweetheart, why don't you start by telling me your name?" Olivia started, noticing that the girl in front of her was shaking and still looking terrified.
"I'm Charli." Looking up just long enough to catch a glimpse of the soft, concerned look on Olivia's face, Charli answered.
"Okay, Charli. Why is it that you're here?" She was so gentle, Charli thought, so chorused in how to treat terrified girls. How was it that she had ended up with an amazing sister like this? Suddenly certain that Olivia wouldn't want to know her if she told the truth, Charli began stammering again. After a minute or so Olivia rested her hand on top of Charli's shaking one and gently shushed her.
"It's okay. I want to help you, honey, but you have to tell me what's going on." Charli couldn't do this. Her sister was everything she had hoped she would be and everything that Charli could never live up to. She didn't belong with Olivia. She was too broken. Jumping from her seat, Charli practically ran for the door and threw it open. Olivia had leapt up right beside her and before Charli could run from the room she'd managed to get in front and was blocking the young girl's path. She looked down at the trembling girl. Charli was quite a bit shorter than her and was very thin. She looked like a small child staring up at her with tears in her eyes.
"Wait," Olivia said, returning to her gentle tone but still blocking Charli's path. "Sweetheart, just tell me what it is."
Charli breathed in shakily, she looked defeated. Then, in a soft whisper that matched her broken appearance she said, "I'm your sister."
Olivia was not expecting that. Her mind was swimming with questions. Without realizing, she had dropped her guard and Charli had slipped past her and out the door. Coming to her senses, she ran after the girl who claimed to be her sibling and shouted for her to stop.
"Charli, wait!" She didn't know what to think but she knew she had to stop this girl and get her to explain what was going on.
"Charli!" She called again as the teenager reached the squad room doors and made to throw them open. Luckily for Olivia, Elliot had been coming through the doors right at that moment. Charli, who had been reaching for the doors, was thrown off balance when Elliot pulled them open from the other side. He caught her quickly in his arms before she hit the floor and Olivia took her chance to race to the girl's side before she could get away again. As Charli tried to get up, tears began spilling from her blue eyes. Olivia grabbed her by the hand.
"Charli, why are you running? We need to talk." Charli noticed that Olivia didn't look at her the same as before. Her gaze was still warm and concerned but the detective element had disappeared. Something about this sudden change made Charli feel slightly less afraid. With neither of them paying any attention to the confused looks from around the room, she allowed herself to be again led away by Olivia. This time it was to a nicer looking room with no two way mirror and a couch instead of steel table and chairs. As Olivia sat down and motioned for Charli to sit beside her, new thoughts began racing through Charli's mind. Olivia hadn't let her go. She wanted to hear what she had to say. Maybe she wanted to know her, to understand why she was here. Maybe Charli would find a safe place after all.
A/N: Review, review. Please tell me what you think. I haven't written anything for ages so your thoughts would be much appreciated.