Chapter 4
"Can I help you with something?"
The girl standing in the doorway could have easily passed for an adult if not for her clothes and hair. She was wearing light blue jeans that were ripped and torn at the bottom, as a result of being too long. They were covered in writing, probably put there by her friends, and one of the knees was ripped. She wore a pink t-shirt over top of a black shirt with slightly longer sleeves. On her arms were grey and pink gloves the reached halfway up her forearms and had no fingers. Her hair was short and spiky, with straight bangs slanting across her forehead, and it was dyed a bright pink, though her dark brown roots were showing. The smooth skin of her tanned face was interrupted only but her bright green glasses that might even look professional when paired with the right clothes. Olivia suspected she was a fashion icon in her high school.
"Are you Evangeline Cadot?"
"Yes. Who are you?" Children in France learned their English from British teachers, resulting in a unique mix of the two accents. Evangeline had only the barest hint of French in hers, suggesting she had been very devoted to learning English. Her British accent, however, gave her away instantly as an immigrant.
"Olivia Benson. Can we talk?" She didn't want to reveal herself as a detective yet. She hoped to be invited in, but Evangeline only crossed her arms and continued looking at Olivia. Finally Olivia nodded and said, "I want to talk about your brother."
Her expression changed instantly from hostile to worried. "Etienne? Is he okay? What happened to him?"
"He's alright. But you mother…"
"She is NOT my mother!" She interrupted angrily.
Olivia nodded slowly. "Alright…Alicia has been leaving him home alone. I'm worried that their might be more going on than just late work hours."
"Stay out of it." Before Olivia could protest, Evangeline had slammed the door in her face. As a police officer she'd been treated that way before, but it still bothered her. Unwilling to just let it go, she started pounding on the door until Evangeline finally flung open the door. "What do you want?!"
"Why did you get emancipated?"
"How did you know that?"
"Tell me why. What happened?"
"Stay out of it! Leave Etienne alone!"
"If I leave him alone he's going to wind up dead in front of my door of starvation!" Olivia screamed back. Evangeline just shook her head angrily and slammed the door again. Olivia growled in frustration and left the building.
When she got back to her apartment, Gracen was playing a game of catch with Etienne while they sang various Disney songs in a mixture of English and French. "His mom still hasn't come?"
"No. I've been keeping an ear out for anyone coming down the hall but she hasn't come home yet." He tossed the ball to Olivia, who tossed it to Etienne. He seemed delighted by the new game.
"You really don't have to do this."
"Do what?"
"Play dad. He's not my son, you don't have to impress him to earn my affection."
"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not doing it to impress you. The little guy needs a place to stay and someone to stay with him, and I have nowhere else to go. Relax, Olivia, this has nothing to do with some sense of responsibility - I just love Disney songs." He began singing Hakuna Matata in English and Etienne joined him in French. Olivia joined in, but she dropped the ball when she heard a door slam in the hallway.
Glancing quickly at Gracen, she left the apartment, closing the door carefully behind her. The door to Alicia's apartment was open and she was raging in rapid French. Olivia couldn't catch every word, but she was saying something to the effects of 'I don't have time for these games, come on, I have to go to work!'. Nothing sinister, she was just looking for Etienne, but Olivia didn't like the thought of her yelling at him like that.
"Alicia?" Olivia called.
A few seconds later, Alicia appeared in her doorway. "What the hell do you want?"
"Etienne is in my apartment." Alicia charged towards Olivia's apartment, but Olivia blocked her way. "He was stuck in the hallway. If I hadn't found him he'd be passed out from hunger by now. What the hell were you thinking?"
To Olivia's astonishment, Alicia looked genuinely shocked and horrified. "What? What happened to the babysitter?"
"Babysitter?" This wasn't what Olivia expected. Alicia pushed past her into the apartment and scooped up Etienne. After a minute of more rapid French, she fished into Etienne's back pocket and handed Olivia the key that was inside.
"Go on, test it. It's his key to the apartment. You might want to get all the facts before you start accusing me of starving my child."
"Etienne, you told me you didn't have a key!" Olivia shook her head, looking down at the key and then back at Etienne, whose bottom lip was trembling dangerously, his eyes filling with tears.
"How many time do I have to tell you to stop lying?" She turned to Olivia. "I'm sorry he did this. But please, just leave us alone." She carried Etienne out of the apartment, taking her key back, and Olivia closed the door behind her.
Turning back to Gracen, he leaned forward and pressed his hands together as if praying and pressed his lips against his fingers in thought. After a moment of silence, he said, "What exactly did Etienne tell you?"
"That he gave his last snack to a friend, so he was hoping his mom would make him something after school, but she wasn't home and he forgot his key."
"So he definitely said 'I forgot my key'?"
"Do you think I just assumed that so I could bring him in here?" She asked angrily.
Gracen held up his hands in defence. "No, I just want to know if he was flat out lying or if you just lead you to that assumption without technically lying. But if he was lying, why'd he do it?"
"Something's going on over there. His sister left when she was ten and got emancipated just so she didn't have any ties to her mother."
"You sure she didn't just want to be more independent?"
"She's lived with her grandparents since she first ran away, and she still lives with them. She didn't want independence, she wanted to be away from her mother. I don't know why Etienne lied, but I bet he has a damn good reason." Olivia went into her room to grab her badge and gun.
"You're going to work?"
"I'm gonna find out what's going on. I'm sorry, Gracen…" Olivia tried to find a way to explain her feelings to him. The job was everything to her, and even though it wasn't actually a case, Etienne was a child who needed protection just like all the rest, and she couldn't stop until she got him the protection he needed. Words failed her, however.
Gracen stood up and grabbed his coat, handing Olivia hers. "I knew what I was getting into." He kissed her cheek. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."
