"You asked me before if, I um, had any friends." she started off. Her eyes stayed away from Olivia's, which made her relize this girl was afraid to tell her something. The detective just nodded a little, maintaining her look towards the child. But Taylor began to cry.
"What's wrong, Taylor?" Detective Benson asked her softly.
"I'm so sorry." Taylor managed to get out before breaking into more of a sob. Her face was now a waterfall of tears, which she hid within her hands. Olivia sighed lightly, as to not effect the girl in any way, but to let off some of her own anxiety. She knew that something big was coming soon, but she had to wait patiently to get it.
"Why are you sorry honey?" You didn't do anything wrong." Olivia said, reaching out a hand to rub on her back and comfort her.
"But I told you I didn't have any." she got out between sobs. "and I do. I have one." Taylor said.
"It's alright. Taylor, it's ok, just tell me about this friend." Detective Benson said gently, trying to make this conversation easier on her.
"I think you're going to get mad at me." she protested.
"I'm not going to be mad at you, sweetheart." Olivia re-assured her. This poor child.
"Then Mr. Stabler will." Taylor added. Elliot had interrogated her with Olivia when they had first met.
"Why would he get mad at you?" she asked Taylor, putting a hand on hers.
"Because, my friend is Lizzie" she said, looking at her waiting for a reaction. Olivia realized she was watching, so kept her thoughts short, and responded quickly to her problem.
"Don't you worry about it, alright? I'll talk to him and-,"
"No!" the 7 year old cried. "If you tell him, she'll get in trouble. I promised I wouldn't tell, but I couldn't lie." she admitted.
The Detective nodded gentley. "You're a very honest girl." she agreed. "I want you to worry about yourself, though. I'll take care of Lizzie, ok?"
Taylor was hesitant, trying to think if this would be the best possible solution. After a moment, she took a deep breath and nodded.
"Alright." Olivia continued, jotting down Lizzie's name on her yellow pad. "Is there anything special that Lizzie did? Something we need to know about to help you?"
"Well, we were playing hide and seek at school. It was my turn to hide. I hid behind a dumpster, near the fence. While I was waiting for her, I...I saw him. Walking by the school. He was staring at me. He did that almost everyday after that game. Lizzie kinda stopped playing with me when I was afraid that I'd see him when I was alone. I didn't tell her though."
Olivia's hand flew across the paper as she wrote down everything she could. When she finnished, the detective looked up. "Anything else?" Taylor shook her head. Wet red streaks from her tears still colored her cheeks. Taylor rubbed her eyes with her hands to dry them off. "Would you like to use the restroom and wash off your face, Taylor?" The girl shook her head, though, and soon Dectective Benson was walking her out the door, saying goodbye.
