In Shallow Waters
Chapter 7
"I'm starving, Liv, can we go now?" Amanda whined, sounding like a bored and cranky child. They had dinner plans at a newly opened restaurant and they were already running late to make their reservation due to a paperwork build up that had to be completed before the end of the day. Amanda had just finished her stack of files on her desk and made her way into Liv's office to see if her girlfriend was nearly done with her massive pile.
Chuckling, Liv flipped her file close and looked up at the annoyed blonde standing in front of her. "What are you, five?"
Pouting, Amanda leaned against her boss's desk and sighed. "I'm so hungry my stomach is eating itself."
"That's impossible, honey, but yes, I am finished so let's go and get you fed so you won't pull a tantrum." she winked, stood up and grabbed her belongings.
The sun had set and darkness surrounded the city, only the streetlamps and lights from shops, restaurants and cafes were lighting up the damp streets from an earlier heavy shower. It was cold but not freezing, although Amanda shivered underneath her thick coat, her hands tucked into the deep pockets and the zipper pulled all the way up to her chin. At least Liv had been sensible enough to wear gloves and a scarf, which made Amanda wish she had done the same this morning when they had left the apartment.
"I told you to wrap up, honey." Liv suddenly uttered as if she had read Amanda's mind. "You're gonna catch a cold one of these days."
Rolling her eyes, she glared at the taller woman walking beside her. "Yes, mommy!"
After having starters, main course and dessert, they were both about ready to explode and Amanda leaned back in her chair, hands on her stomach and rubbing gently over her full belly. "God, I look like I'm about seven months pregnant... with twins... big twins." she moaned, "It's hard to believe how hungry I was only an hour ago and now all I want is to lie down and not move for the night. Even breathing hurts. Why didn't you stop me from finishing every meal?"
Liv just chuckled, folded the linen napkin and placed it neatly on the table in front of her. "Oh, so it's my fault that you feel so bloated?"
"Bloated?" the blonde repeated, snorting at the remark. "Bloated doesn't even come near what I'm feeling. Try inflated, expanded, stretched or even pumped. I'm not gonna eat for the rest of the week."
"Always so dramatic. You'll be hungry again by the morning, honey." she chuckled and straightened up on her seat. "You ready to go? I already took care of the bill."
Amanda frowned in surprise. "You did? When?"
"You were too busy eating, my lovely. I'm just glad that I was able to satisfy your hunger. Come on, let's walk home... or should I say, let's roll home." snickering she held her hand out for the younger woman to take and pulled her out of her seat. "We'll take it slow, I promise."
The temperature had dropped a couple of degrees during their stay in the restaurant but Amanda was too full and uncomfortable to notice. Liv, on the other hand, did and drew her shoulders up to her ears, shivering slightly. "It's getting colder." she stated as she slipped the gloves onto her hands.
"Hmpf, I have an extra layer of fat on me from dinner so I'm nice and snug. You should've eaten more, Liv."
"Always the comedian." Olivia leaned down and claimed her girlfriend's lips in a soft and loving kiss before slipping an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Keep me warm then. As my girlfriend it's your duty to provide your significant other with anything that she might need."
"Anything?" Amanda questioned.
"Anything." they both giggled and continued down the street, arms still wrapped around each other for extra warmth. It was just after nine pm and the city was still buzzing with activity everywhere, people dining, drinking, having coffee with friends, students taking evening and night courses, men in suits hurrying to get home to their wife and children after a long day at work in the city that never sleeps.
Amanda groaned loudly when she could finally make out the apartment building in the near distance after almost twenty minutes of walking. "Thank god, we're here. I'm about to die." Liv just rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's dramatic behavior and pulled her along the sidewalk. Just as they rounded a corner, something, or rather someone, ran straight into the two women, causing them to gasp and take a couple of steps back in surprise and watched as the other person fell backwards onto the wet ground.
"Wow, easy!" Liv said as she approached the young girl trying to get back up onto her feet. "Here, let me help you. Are you okay?"
The two women gasped in unison as the girl brought her head up and a large bruise covered her left eye and cheek. She was only wearing sweats and a thin hoodie, socks but no shoes. "Hey, what happened, sweetie?" Olivia kneeled down next to the teenager, reached out her hand to touch the swollen cheek but the contact was not welcomed as she pulled away and began to crawl backwards, her back hitting a brick wall behind.
"I'm sorry. I... I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'm sorry!" she pleaded with a shaky voice, her eyes full of fear and pain.
"It's okay, honey." Amanda chipped in and took a step closer, her full stomach was now suddenly forgotten. "What are you doing out here with no shoes on? What happened to your face, honey?"
Liv had already taken her coat off and held it out for the girl who reluctantly nodded and gave Liv permission to drape it across her shoulders for warmth. "Where are you headed?" the brunette asked as she helped the young girl to her feet, holding onto her for support.
"Away." she mumbled, looking behind her shoulder as if someone was following her. "I... I have to go." she stuttered and began removing the coat that Olivia had just placed around her but the brunette quickly stopped her.
"It's okay, keep it on, it's cold." they could see the girl was slightly swaying on her feet, her reddish hair was disheveled and her body looked malnourished and too skinny underneath the baggy clothes she was wearing. "What's your name, honey? I'm Olivia and this is Amanda."
The blonde smiled reassuringly at the girl, hoping to ease her obvious fear and tension. "Audrey, Audrey Davis."
Liv nodded, keeping a calm and comforting smile on her face. "Okay, Audrey. Where do you live?"
Immediately the girl became uncomfortable and began to shake her head violently, looking over her shoulder repeatedly and her green eyes welled up with tears. "No, please... please, you can't take me back there... you can't... I won't go back." she started to make a move for it but Liv stepped right in front of her to stop her from going anywhere.
"Go back where, honey?" she questioned as gently as she could. She didn't receive an answer and she threw a glance at Amanda who was observing the girl with a worried expression and then back at the girl. "It's okay, you can tell me."
"My... my foster family. Please, I can't go back there, don't send me back." she desperately cried, the tears now falling down her bruised face and she shivered from the chill in the air.
"Did they hurt you, honey?" Amanda stepped in, tilting her head downwards so she could look at the girl who seemed to be frozen on the spot, gaze fixed on the ground in front of her. The silence said it all and they didn't need a verbal confirmation to understand what was going on. This child was being abused and simply tried to run away.
"Okay, sweetie. We're gonna take you to a hospital to make sure you have no other injuries." the older woman decided and looked around to see if there was any taxis nearby.
"NO!" the girl yelled and, again, made an attempt to escape which didn't work and Amanda was the one to stop her this time.
"Honey, calm down. We're here to help you, we're police officers. See?" she held her badge out for the teenager to look at and Olivia did the same in hopes that it would calm the frightened child.
"Oh my god! You're gonna take me back... you're... you're gonna make me go back to that place. Please... I... I don't want to... you can't make me!" screaming, she began to trash around, trying to break free from Olivia's hold on her shoulder but there was no use since the brunette was much too strong for her and she gave up after only a few seconds. "Please, let me go." she whispered and her weak and vulnerable voice tugged at the detective's hearts.
"Okay, okay, easy! No hospital, okay. I promise." Liv soothed and gently stroked the girls back, feeling her protruding spine underneath her fingers. "Why don't we get out of the cold for a bit and we'll see were to go from there, okay? We only live a block away."
"Yeah," Amanda added, "come on, let's get warmed up. I don't know about you but I could use a big cup of hot chocolate."
As the three of them stepped inside the warm apartment, Frannie instantly trotted towards them, sniffing the air and studied the newcomer thoroughly before licking the gils hand. Audrey gasped and stepped back, afraid that the dog might hurt her.
"This is Frannie Mea. She won't hurt you, I promise." Amanda said as she rubbed the dog's head affectionately. "See, she's as friendly as they come. Frannie, this is Audrey." The pitbull cross started to wag her tail and she spun around on the floor once, her tongue hanging out, wanting to play. "I'll play with you later, girl, okay? Now, go to bed."
Obediently, the dog flopped herself down on her soft bed, sighed but kept her eyes open to see what was going on around her. Liv gently guided Audrey to the couch, told her to sit down while she replaced her coat with a thick and warm blanket. "Where were you running to, honey?" Liv questioned as Amanda made herself busy in the kitchen, making hot chocolate for them all.
"I... I don't know, I... I just ran, I guess. I didn't really have a plan figured out. I... I just had to get away." she shivered underneath the blanket, her teeth shattering and her face flushed.
Carefully, Olivia leaned down and touched one of the girl's feet and removed her soaked socks, alarmed at how icy her skin felt. "Oh honey! You're absolutely frozen." she held the feet between her palms, rubbing them gently, then she disappeared into the bedroom but came back a minute later with a pair of wolly socks. "Here, sweetie, can I put these on you?" Audrey nodded weakly and sat in silence while the detective carefully slid the warm socks onto her chilled feet.
"Three hot chocolates." Amanda announced and placed three cups on the coffee table in front of them, the smell hitting their nostrils and the blonde gently handed her a cup. "Careful, sweets, it's hot."
A couple of minutes were spent in silence as they sipped their tasty drink, Frannie looking slightly jealous but didn't beg since she knew her master wouldn't give her any type of chocolate no matter what. "Where are your parents, honey?" Olivia broke the silence and noticed a wave of sadness cloud the girl's green eyes.
"They're... they're dead. They died when I was six, I'm fourteen now. Been in the system ever since." the warmth from the cup was soothing and she could feel herself slowly starting to warm up but, as she gradually began to get her body temperature back to normal, her eyes started to droop slightly, feeling exhaustion taking over her senses.
"What are your foster parents names?" Liv wanted to know and threw a glance in Amanda's direction, both worried for the girl's well-being and her emotional state.
"Hank and Susan Samuels." her voice was more of a whisper and she drained the last of her chocolate, placed the cup on the table and pushed the blanket that was wrapped around her shoulder away. "Thank you for the hot chocolate but I better go now." her words slurred as she spoke and, when she made an attempt to stand, her knees buckled and she would've hit her head on the coffee table if Liv hadn't been quick enough in her actions and caught her falling half way.
"Whoa, sweetie?!" she immediately felt the heat radiating from Audrey's skin and she placed her palm on her forehead and then her cheek, gasping at the sudden change in temperature. "My god, she's burning up. Call a bus, we have to get her to a hospital right away."
Olivia knew she was breaking her promise by taking her to see a doctor but there was no other way to work around this. By placing the petite frame back onto the sofa, Liv hoped that she could at least make her as comfortable as possible while they were waiting for the paramedics to show up. Copper hair had fallen over Audrey's flushed features and Liv gently brushed them to the side, stroking her face with her cool fingers, providing some sort of comfort for the girl.
"They'll be here in a few minutes." Amanda informed and watched as the maternal side of Liv appear, right before her eyes and she felt a slight tug in her chest but, why?, she didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that she knew what a great mother Olivia would be if given the chance and the opportunity to raise, care and love a child. It made her suddenly think about their future and how uncertain everything really was. Nothing was ever set in stone and no one could predict the future and it made Amanda feel slightly panicked and flustered.
"Amanda?" Liv's voice brought her out of her thoughts. This was not the time to be thinking about having kids or not. "Could you bag her socks? The more evidence, the better."
Almost five long hours into the night, a doctor approached the two detectives, both slumped down on each chair, trying to stay awake after a long day of hard work and spending hours at the hospital, waiting for an update on Audrey. Amanda rested her head on Olivia's shoulder and their hands were clasped together, fingers intertwined.
The doctor cleared his throat as he stood in front of them. "Detectives?!"
They both quickly snapped out of their sleepy state and got to their feet. "How is she?" Amanda asked, worried for the girl's injuries and her fever induced mind.
"Well, she came to as we lifted her onto the bed and began kicking and screaming, didn't want anyone to touch her so we had to administer a sedative into her drip. We did a rape kit, as you requested, and we did find evidence of recent sexual assault and sent the kit to the lab. She has a pretty high fever, bruises on her face and inner thighs and some old fractures on her ribs that must've healed themselves over time. She's also dehydrated, underweight and malnourished. We'd like to keep her here for a few days to pump her up with some vitamins and fluids. She's still sleeping but should come out of it soon enough. You can see her if you'd like. Second door to you right." he pointed down the corridor. "Please, let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, detectives."
"She has been abused for quite some time." Amanda whispered, wrapping her arms around herself to keep a sudden chill from getting to her bones. "How did this happen?"
Olivia sighed, moved closer to the blonde and kissed her gently on her cheek and pulled her in for a brief hug. "We know how it happened, honey, we just need to put a stop to it. She's out of there now, they can't hurt her anymore." she informed, running her knuckles down Amanda's soft cheek. "Come on, let's go and see if she'll wake up for us."
Audrey looked so small and fragile all tucked in underneath the blankets of the big hospital bed. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was nice and even, her skin pale but cheeks flushed from the high temperature. "She looks so small." Amanda murmured as she walked up close to the sleeping child. Something stirred inside of her as she looked down on the beaten form and she could feel anger and sadness wash over her, making her feel heavy and almost limp. Who could ever do such a thing to a child?
"I know, sweetie. She'll get better with time and counseling. We'll make sure she gets a good home with people who will love her." she wrapped an arm around Amanda's shoulders and pulled her close to her side. "She's gonna be okay."
"I hope so." the blonde sighed in defeat. "I know how the system works and, a lot of the time, it doesn't work at all. Kids are, and always will be, placed in homes where they won't get the care and love that they deserve. She won't be placed in a foster home after this. They'll put her in a crappy overcrowded group home with older girls, and possibly boys, and she will turn invisible to the society."
Olivia easily picked up on the sadness in Amanda's voice and sadly knew she was speaking from personal experience and it pained the older woman that her girlfriend had gone through such a traumatic childhood without the love and support that every kid should have. Kissing the top of her head, Liv turned in the embrace, allowing them to face each other, and spoke softly in a sincere voice. "If that's true, then why don't you look in the mirror and tell me what you see?" she asked calmly, firmness lacing her tone. "When I look at you I see a beautiful, strong, kind and resilient woman who wakes up and go to work every morning, to protect and serve innocent people on a daly basis, someone who would rather risk her own life to save others and I see someone who is cabable of everything that's good even though she had a very rough and dark childhood. I see you, Amanda, and we will find someone who will see all those things when they look at this child. I promise."