I'm truly sorry for the long wait. I haven't given up on the story, I just struggled a lot to write this chapter. It's longer than the previous ones and it's kinda different too. This one is more focused on the case, there is not much of #Benstone in it, but it was needed to build the plot.
I hope you won't be mad for this. I promise to post the next one quickier!
It was in the early morning that Olivia received a phone call, letting her know about the new case. She had cursed her cellphone when the ring pulled her out of her deep sleep. Noah had been particularly difficult the night before as he didn't want to go to bed. He kept talking about everything and nothing, asking about stuff until it came to the only question Olivia would have never thought of.
He had asked her about Peter, and when they would see him again to watch fireworks. The question had surprised her. She'd never really noticed how much the moment of that night they all spent together had marked the boy's mind.
She had to admit it'd been a few days since she had heard anything from him outside of the work. He had remained neutral and distant at each of their encounters. She had, however, secretly hoped that he would have offered her new proposition to diner or something but all she had been able to get from him in recent days were only a few words of courtesy.
After having managed to get out of the bed and called the nanny, she took the road to the office. In no time she was walking in the precinct, dressed in a pair of black jean, white shirt and her jacket on. The team was already gathered in the squad room, in front of the white board and was waiting for her.
"Guys, what do we got here?" She greeted them quickly, going right to the point. She dropped her bag on a chair and took of her jacket as Rollins got up with some photography in hands.
"Mila Johnson, nineteen years old. One of her friends told us she confided in having been raped by someone on the college campus." She hung the portrait of the girl on the board.
"That's all we know?" Olivia was surprised about the few elements they had to start the investigation.
"Well, she didn't tell anything else to her friend. She said it happened a few weeks ago. She's staying at her parents since yesterday."
"So no rape kit, no call to the police or anything?"
Amanda shook her head.
"Alright, you and Carisi go to the campus and find out about her habits, if there's been a change in her behavior lately or if anyone could have seen anything." She paused, "I'm going to see Mila and try to talk to her."
"I can't believe there is another case like this." Carisi whispered to Amanda as they were walking a few feet behind the concierge of the residence. He was a bit mad and torn about that case. It felt like a feeling of déjà-vu, and it pulled him back a few months ago when this was his niece instead of that girl, Mila.
"Unfortunately, it happens more times than we can imagine in this kind of places." She whispered back, as they entered a long hallway. "You're good?"
He nodded.
"Here's her room. She shares it with another girl, Hailey. Since we're on holiday time, not a lot of students stay on campus during this period. For now, the room is empty." The concierge unlocked the door and opened it, letting the two detectives walk in.
"What can you tell us about Mila?" Rollins asked the lady.
"Oh, well. She's a brilliant student." The woman didn't seem quite cooperative and Amanda could feel she wasn't telling everything. She was nervous and playing with her hands.
"And? Is she the kind to get in troubles or does she have bad company?"
"No, Mila isn't the kind of girl who goes out often. She seems discreet and responsible. Her roommate, on the other side, is quite more disruptive."
"Did you hear Mila or her friends talking about an assault, a guy that could have been violent or disrespectful with her?"
"No, nothing."
"Alright…" Amanda paused, looking at her suspiciously.
"If you have no other questions, I have to go back to work." The woman told them, and Carisi nodded to her. In no time, she was out of their sight.
"Well, she's hiding things from us."
"At least, we can go through her stuff to find any evidence that could help us."
Amanda walked to the desk, several folders were scattered everywhere. She quickly went through the sheets but found nothing interesting. Carisi did the same on the side of the bed, her nightstand was tidy and nothing was there expect a few books.
"There's nothing more than school stuff here." She said as she was rummaging through the things in the drawers of the desk.
"No photos, no diary… There's nothing personal here."
"This is quite surprising when you think they spend most of their time on the campus, in their rooms."
"I hope Olivia will be luckier on this one."
Olivia had arrived at the Timmerman's house. She couldn't help but feel a deep disgust at humanity as she was climbing the stairs to the front door of the house. She had no choice but notice the growing amount of sexual assaults on university campus, and these crimes were becoming more common among teens and young adults. She pressed the doorbell and a few seconds later a woman that must have been Mila's mother opened the door.
"Hello, I'm Lieutenant Olivia Benson. I'm in charge of the investigation as part of your daughter's aggression." She paused, as she could feel she wasn't really welcomed. "Um, may I come in so we can talk?"
"No, no. My daughter is resting. I don't want any fuss in her life. She has already gone through a lot. Leave us alone, please."
The woman was closing the door but Olivia managed to put her hand in the way and blocked it.
"Please, I know this is a hard time right now. But I really need to talk to your daughter. If you want justice about whoever did this to her, you have to let me in." The woman was broken and her eyes were red and swollen. "Please, let me help you."
After a few more seconds of hesitation, she slowly opened the door again and finally let her come in.
The house was spacious and luxurious. It was also strangely empty and a little cold. Olivia hadn't really had the time to venture more as the mother led her upstairs to her daughter's bedroom.
She nodded to the woman, thanking her as she left them alone. She stood there, silently before speaking. The brown headed girl was sitting on her bed, her arms encircling her own body as she was looking through the window.
"Hey, Mila?" The girl turned her head and looked at Olivia, who was standing at the threshold.
"I'm Olivia Benson. I-um, I'm here to talk about what happened to you on the campus."
"I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was cold, and she turned away her head again.
"I know, I know." She walked slowly in the room.
"This was a mistake, nothing happened."
"That's not what your friend told us."
"I shouldn't have told her anyway."
"Do you know who did this to you?" Olivia was standing at the edge of her bed. She was trying to elaborate an eye contact with her.
"No."
"Do you remember anything?"
"No."
"Mila, if you don't tell me what you know I won't be able to help you."
The girl looked straight ahead, she didn't say a word, didn't glance at Olivia. She knew she wasn't gonna be able to have anything from the girl seeing her resistance. She sighed, and took out a card from her jacket.
"Alright, here's my card." She handed it to her but as the girl didn't move, she put it down on the bed. "If you remember anything, even a small detail, just call me."
Olivia walked back to the door. She didn't want to push her, she well knew there wasn't anything to win from acting like that. Although she was hoping Mila would somehow change her mind and talk to her before she left the room.
"It was a cold night."
The voice's girl stopped her and she turned back to her. The girl had brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"I didn't want to…" The tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes and her voice was suddenly shy and shaking. "I said no, I wanted to leave and go back to my room."
"Where did it happen?" Olivia's voice was so soft and caring.
"At a stupid sorority party. My roommate convinced me to go with her."
Olivia approached her until she was next to the bed and sat on the mattress.
"I never go on those stupid parties, I never liked it. But I wanted to prove her I could have fun too." She paused. "He wanted to show me something upstairs. I shouldn't have followed him, I'm so stupid."
"Hey, hey. You're not stupid." She put her hand on her arm and stroked it gently with her thumb. "This isn't your fault, Mila."
"Of course, it is. What kind of girl is stupid enough to not see it clearly?" The girl jerked and Olivia withdrew her hand. She couldn't fight the tears back as they started to stream down her face.
"Do you know his name? Do you know him?"
The girl looked at Olivia with a frightened expression. She just shook her head and didn't say anything.
"Mila, this is important."
"I'm not telling you his name."
"Alright, it's okay." She paused. "Just let's keep talking about what happened next okay?"
She nodded, and swallowed the lump in the back of her throat.
"I thought we were going on the rooftop, but then he grabbed my hand and pulled me in a room and closed the door. It happened so quickly I didn't have the time to say anything."
"He led you to his bedroom?"
"He started to kiss me. I-I didn't know what to do so I kissed him back." She paused again. "Suddenly, I just felt him pushing me on the bed behind me and that's when I realized what was happening."
"Did you tell him to stop?"
"Yes, I did. Several times."
"And what he did?"
"He kept going. He said- he said I was gonna thank him for this later."
She brought her hands to her face and hid behind them. She was feeling so ashamed and heartbroken.
"Mila, you will have to come with me to the police station so that we can take your deposition."
"No, no I don't-" She raised her head, not agreed at all with what Olivia just said.
"It's okay, I'm gonna be with you all the time. You don't have to be afraid, I'm not letting you down."
"Will I have to face him?"
"Well, not for now. But it's a possibility."
"I don't want to."
"I know. Let's just go and we'll see for that later, alright sweetie?"
Peter arrived as quickly as possible. He had to close a delicate case and couldn't be released sooner. When he walked in Olivia's office, she had just left the interrogation room where Mila was sitting at the table.
"Hey, sorry I'm late."
"It's alright. I just finished taking her deposition."
"Did she give a name?"
"No, she still hasn't said it."
"We need a name, and we need it quick. Otherwise I won't be able to start legal proceedings against him."
"Yes, I know." She frowned. Peter seemed to be tensed, and nervous. He usually wasn't so impatient and demanding in this kind of cases. He had learned to trust her and let her lead difficult investigations like this one. And yet, his face was cold and tense.
"She's scared. I think she doesn't want to betray whatever the kind of relationship she thinks she has with the guy. I think they know each other better than she wants us to believe."
"Do we have witnesses? People who could have seen what happened?"
"Fin's working on it. It's not really easy to find someone who was sober enough to have seen something that night."
"So, we've got nothing."
"No, we do have something. We have her word, the most important part of the story." Olivia said, pointing out at Mila through the window. She couldn't believe he was downplaying the situation.
"I can't bring myself in front of the court with just the word of a young girl for a crime that occurred several weeks ago, for which we have no witnesses, no evidence, no name and with the victim who doesn't even want to cooperate!"
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Olivia couldn't hold back the words. He's been here for a few minutes only and he was being a total jerk. Peter clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, pinching the top of his nose. He sighed, trying to compose himself and cool down.
"Sorry, it's just been a rough week." He looked at her briefly, he didn't want to face her now. "Let me know if she ever says anything."
He was about to leave, but Olivia grabbed his forearm before he was out of her reach. He froze, feeling the warmth of her touch, even though there were clothes between their skins. He looked down at her hand, then he finally raised his gaze to cross hers.
"Are you okay?" She lowered her voice. She was more worried than mad, and something was clearly going on.
She was looking at him with the same look she was using when she was worried about something. He hated himself for making her feel that way but he just couldn't do otherwise this time.
He wanted to share all of his sorrows and fears with her. Whenever he was with her, she had this effect on him even though they hadn't known each other for a long a time. He felt that he could tell her everything, that she was ready to hear him. He felt safe with her, as if there were no secrets, no boundaries, and no judgements. But he well knew this was neither the time nor the place to do so. Instead, he just kept his mask on and his walls high.
"I'm good. You should go back in." He raised his chin towards the interrogation room, before leaving her office just quickly as he had arrived.
She watched him walk out. She was frustrated about what just happened because she wanted to help him, she wanted him to trust her and he didn't let her in this time. She could hardly deny the fact she liked feeling helpful, being there for him. She wanted to make him feel better, to take his pain away. But she couldn't do it if he wasn't opening himself.
She tried to get a hold of herself, and went back to the interrogation room. Mila was still playing with her hands nervously. She was looking exhausted and miserable. Olivia sighed as she took her chair and walked around the table. She put it down next to Mila's and sat.
"Mila, please. We are going around in circles."
The girl stayed quiet.
"Tell me his name."
"I can't." She whispered.
"You want him to win?" Olivia decided to try it another way. Mila looked up at her, surprised of the change in her voice.
"You want him to stay free, unpunished of what he did to you?" She shook her head slightly at Olivia. "Because this is what is going to happen if you don't tell me his name."
She could see the young girl slowly getting back to reason, but she still wasn't talking.
"Is it one of your friends?"
"No…"
"A random guy? Someone in your class?"
"He's in the year above mine."
"His name, Mila." Olivia took her hand in hers and squeezed it. The room stayed silent for long minutes, before the girl found the courage to finally speak.
"His-His name's Paul Bennett." Her voice cracked as she started crying.
"Thank you." Olivia murmured as she rubbed her back. Mila was completely out of strength, tired and broken. She could feel the sobs shaking her body as the young girl was trying desperately to muffle the cries in her hand.
To be continued…
