Close To Home
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine.
This story is rated T for mention of rape. Don't like it, don't read it.
Chapter 1: The Victim
Her shaking hand took hold of the wooden doorframe, holding her upright as her legs threatened to collapse under her.
She took the first step down the stairs of her school, moving her hand to the cool metal rail. She could barely stand, but she had to keep moving. She had to get away, no matter what the cost. She couldn't stay.
Her feet hit the flat sidewalk. There was no rail left. She would have to try to walk on her own now. She wanted to run, but her body refused to cooperate.
She hadn't taken more than a dozen shaky steps before she felt someone touch her arm. She jumped away and lost the tenuous balance she had kept. Her legs gave out, plunging her towards the unforgiving pavement.
Arms took hold of her, and she tried, weakly, to fight him off. No, not again, God, not again. She became aware that he was saying something, over and over.
"It's me. It's me. It's okay. It's just me."
The voice finally cut through her fog. It wasn't him. It was her brother. She stopped fighting and went limp against him, clutching at his arms for support.
"Dear God," she heard him say. "What the hell happened to you?"
"I was - it - I was just -" she choked back a sob. "I was raped."
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"You the officers from Special Victims?" one uniformed officer asked the two who had just climbed out of the unmarked car in front of the high school.
"Detective Benson. This is my partner, Detective Amaro. What have we got?"
"Probably nothing, but we figured we'd better call you in just to cover our asses. A senior punched out a teacher on his way out of school. School security called us, kid claimed the teacher he punched raped his sister. We think it's a cover but he's sticking to it, so we called you."
"Where's the sister?" Olivia pressed.
"Nurse's office. She was all over the place, freaked out when we got close to her, so we thought it best to isolate her until you got here."
Amaro noticed Olivia frowning and he knew why. The girl was practically a textbook victim profile but the officer was acting like there was no chance anything had actually happened to her.
"Liv, why don't you go talk to the girl, I'll talk to the brother, see what we've got."
She nodded. "Nurse's office is where?"
The officer pointed her in the right direction and she walked over to the door and tapped on it. "Hello?"
"Who's there?" The voice was weak, shaky.
"My name is Olivia Benson. I'm a detective with -"
"I know who you are," the girl interrupted. Olivia raised an eyebrow she was glad the young woman couldn't see. Had they had contact with this victim before?
"Can I come in?"
A brief pause. Then, "only you."
Olivia opened the door slowly, not wanting to startle her. As she stepped into the room, she got her first look at the girl huddled on the bed and her heart almost stopped.
"Oh my God."
Who is she? The only thing I'll say so far is that I wouldn't have set it up like this unless it was someone you might be able to guess (someone who's been on the show).
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