SetYourMindFree: I used my relationship, sort of: I based the two sisters on the fact that I wished I had a young sister, not an older brother.
Dr. Luka Kovac: I didn't even realize that was a real school!
Tara: what part made you almost cry?
A/N: this chapter is a bit more intense, mostly I put my frustration into it; curse you failed relationship!Classes were just about halfway underway when Elliot and Olivia arrived at the university that Amy attended. Discovering that her friend had no classes that day and could not be found in the library studying like she normally would have, they checked the next logical place- her dorm room.
"Dorm three-fifteen." Olivia knocked on the thick wooden door.
A girl answered the door in her early twenties, who looked somewhat perplexed by the detectives' presence.
"Sara Solomon?" they both presented their badges and introduced themselves.
"Yes, can I help you?" she couldn't begin to understand why they would want to talk to her, but she invited them in anyways. "Did something happen?"
"Early this morning your friend Amy was attacked as she left your dorm." Elliot said.
"What! Oh my god, is she okay?" Sara's voice was now frantic.
"A little shaken up, but we came to talk to you. Can you tell us what her state of mind was like?"
"She was happy, for once. I haven't seen her so happy since, well I can't remember."
"Did she seem distracted?" Olivia asked.
"No, she was anything but. Though, she did mention something about a guy she met. Said that he really freaked her out." Sara replied thoughtfully. Elliot and Olivia exchanged glances.
"Did she mention where she met him or what he looked like?" Elliot inquired.
"At some club we used to go to, The Palace. She joked that they must have let out the 'Freaks R' Us' convention."
"Alright, thank you Miss Solomon." Olivia said, nodding.
Both detectives were about to leave when they turned their attention back to Sara, for she had called out to them.
"Make sure that you catch the bastard that did this."
That day, after school, Elliot went to pick his daughter up at school. Of course, she was walking with Jaden, the two of them were always seen together inside and outside of school.
"Hey Daddy!" Kathleen greeted, surprised, " I thought mom was picking me up." Elliot sighed.
"We've got to talk Kathleen." Kathleen instantly knew that something was up.
Not wanting to over stay, her welcome or get in the way, Jaden quietly slipped out without being noticed.
"What's wrong?" Kathleen asked, climbing into the passengers' seat. She had a bad feeling as to why her father had come to pick her up, and not her mother.
"I'll explain on the way." Elliot said, buckling his seatbelt.
Kathleen and her father walked through the doors, and all eyes instantly fell upon them. Kathleen grew increasingly uncomfortable, which her father had easily picked up on. Elliot gently guided his daughter over to where detective John Munch sat at his desk. The interview room wasn't the most welcoming, but it would have to do.
"So what can you tell me about your friend, Jaden?" Munch asked.
"Well, she's a hell of a skater." Kathleen replied slowly.
"Have you ever seen anything out of the ordinary?" Kathleen stared at him for a moment, then, deciding Jaden's best interests were at heart, she replied,
"Well, the other day in class, we were all talking about who our hero's are, and when she had her hand up, her arm was covered in bruises."
"Did she say who her hero was?" Munch asked, trying to make it easier for her. Kathleen nodded.
"A reporter named Sarah Logan."
Just hearing that name brought back all of the painful memories.
"John, do you think she's being hurt?" in all of the years that Munch had known Kathleen, she had never once called him by his first name, not even when he had insisted upon it.
"I don't know," he replied truthfully, "but the best thing you can do is be there as her friend."
Kathleen only offered a smile at her father's co-worker. She wished that none of this were happening, that it was all a horrible dream.
"Alright, I'll take you back to your dad. You did great."
Munch never had children, so whenever Elliot had brought his kids in, he ended up treating them like they were his own flesh and blood. Out in the squad room, Elliot held his daughter in a loving and protective embrace.
Night had quickly descended upon New York City. Jamie and her sister were just returning from their mall trip. Instead of finding her father drunk and alone, he was actually sober for once, and had company. In the living room, her father and a thirty-something old man were sitting on the worn couch. She knew right away what was to come from this.
"Jamie, why don't you go play upstairs for a bit." her little sister skipped upstairs, leaving Jaden alone with the two men.
"Looks like you've got a visitor, you better not screw this one up, you stupid slut!" her father got up off the couch and pushed his daughter hard enough that she landed on the other.
Jaden's night wouldn't come to and end for several horrible and painful hours. Her father had turned his own daughter into his personal slave. Every now and then, she would be forced to prostitute herself. Her father got a real kick out of that. In a room, down in the basement, the man roughly pushed her roughly down onto a bed. She tried her best to not let her fear show.
"Pretty name you've got there, Jaden." he pointed to the patch on her jacket, a gift from her boyfriend Andy. His voice wasn't angry like her father's voice had been.
"Th- thanks." she had half a mind to run the other way but she knew the ramifications of that action.
Sitting on the bed next to her he began to run a hand though her soft hair. Occasionally, he would brush her cheek. Something seemed different about this guy- he wasn't as violent as the others were. The man had brought with him what looked like one of those old fashion medical bags. What the hell is this guy into? Jaden wondered as he dug around. He pulled a small syringe and filled it with a clear liquid. At that point, Jaden tried to bolt the other way, but his arm caught her waist, pulling her close to his body. He spoke kindly to her, which was the sick part of it.
"Where are you going? The fun has only begun, you don't want to miss out on the fun now do you?" he then again threw her down on the bed and startled her by placing his legs on either side of her hips, pinning her to the bed.
"No, please don't." Jaden whispered.
The 'customer' ignored her plea. He stuck the needle right into her hip, making her cry out in pain. A few tears of pain escaped her frightened eyes. Again, she tried to move, but this time she found herself to be immobile- the drug had taken its full effect. Jaden closed her eyes and began to silently sing 'Hallelujah'. As a young child, her mother would sing it to her as she fell asleep. Right then and there she wanted nothing more than for her mother there singing to her. Even though she was unable to move, she could tell that her jeans had been removed. He placed a cold, dead hand on her stomach as he kept her pinned. Nestling his face in her neck, she felt two small, but equally painful pricks. The bastard bit me! Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a small pocketknife.
"You'll come to know me as V.W." he whispered into her ear as he readied himself and unzipped.
The drug might have kept her in one spot but she could still feel pain as the blade cut into her flesh. Upstairs, Jamie played in her room, unaware to the horrors that went on downstairs.
Even though the drug had finally worn off and she was able to move her body again, her whole body was a bit on the numb side. This V.W. person had long ago left, but Jaden needed some time to emotionally pull herself together. She struggled to find her baggy jeans. Giving up she grabbed a short skirt lying in the dirty clothes pile and slowly made her way up to her room where she would again cry herself to sleep. Just as she rounded the corner to go upstairs her father grabbed a hold of her and slapped her so hard across the face that it echoed.
"One more screw up and I'll make sure that Jamie understands what it's like to be real woman!" she knew exactly what he meant by that.
Once inside her bedroom she couldn't stop thinking about what her father had just said. That was it. She had enough. Tonight she would leave it all behind, but she wouldn't be going alone, she would be taking Jamie with her. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to her. There was only one person she knew she could go to. Kathleen. Picking up a large duffle bag she began to fill it with clothing and a few personal items, then she proceeded to move to Jamie's room. Slowly dialing Kathleen's cell number, Jaden tiptoed into her sister's room and began to back a bag for her.
"Kathleen, I know that it's late, but I need you to meet me at my house. Go around to my bedroom window, there's a ladder hidden under some leaves I'll explain it all later." She spoke softly in hopes that she wouldn't wake her sister up. She failed in doing so.
"Jaden, what you doing?" she asked, coming out of her sleep.
"Shh, we're going away." Jaden held a finger to her lips as she checked the time on her cell phone. It read one-fifteen A.M.
"Is daddy coming too?" Jamie enquired, this time a bit more quietly.
"No, sweetie, just you and me." Jaden replied, searching the room for another t-shirt.
"Can Mr. Flopples come too?" Jaime asked, holding up her bunny. Jaded grinned tiredly.
"Of course he can." she moved to the closet and came back with a pink coat and a small pair of sneakers that looked like they were ready to fall apart.
Helping her sister get dressed, the two of them quickly sneaked over to Jaden's room, careful to not alert their father. Now all they could do is wait for Kathleen to come get them. Jaden took one last look around her room making sure she hadn't forgotten to pack anything. Leaning against a wall and her pillow was a teddy bear that looked like a cheap knock off of the Care Bears. How could she forget to pack Mr. Ted-Ted when it had meant so much to her? Grabbing it gently, she hugged it before packing it into the bag. She had everything ready- her clothes, her sister, and her prized skateboard. Not long after she closed her bag, she could hear someone calling her name, then the sound of leaves being brushed aside. Peering over her window, Jaden could see Kathleen setting the ladder up.
"I'm going to throw our stuff down first, then Jamie's going down." Kathleen stood there holding the ladder thinking, wow, it must be bad if she's bringing her sister.
Jamie was reluctant to go for, she feared that she would fall on her way down the ladder. It took much coaxing from both older teens for her to finally climb down- Jaden, on the other hand, had no problem whatsoever. Before they left, both girls took a last look at their house before following Kathleen, leaving the horrible home, hopefully forever. Jaden was truly grateful for Kathleen's help.
"I hope that I didn't wake your house up, I'm sorry I brought you out of bed." Jaden apologized as she grabbed onto her sister's hand. Kathleen smiled gently.
"It's okay, I was up anyways. Let's just hope that my dad isn't going to be up, but once we explain it to him, he'll understand."
Now that they were on a street lit by lights, Kathleen noticed it all. The bruise under Jaden's eye, the bite mark, the spot of her face were it was red from her father, but what had frightened her the most was the fresh blood that stained her skin.
The three of them walked about half way when Jamie grew tired with every step that she took. Not wanting to make her sister walk, Jaden piggy backed her the rest of the way to the Stabler's house. Even though she had snuck out the window, Kathleen had brought the house keys along with her. Unlocking the door, they entered the silent house. Kathleen slowly pried Jamie off her friend's back and laid the sleeping child on the couch. They had successfully got Jaden out of the house and into a safe place without being noticed, or so they thought they had. The living room lights flicked on and there stood Elliot, looking very intently at his daughter. Through his sleepy state, he couldn't see Jaden, since his daughter was standing in front of her.
"Kathleen, what are you doing sneaking back into the house at this hour of the night!" he demanded. Kathleen sighed.
"Daddy, we have to talk." her tone was soft. She knew once her father saw Jaden's current state he wouldn't be that mad at her.
"You're damn right we do! For starters, you're grounded-" his daughter cut him off.
"No, we have to really talk." She stepped aside letting the light shine of Jaden. Elliot's eyes traveled to where the blood was caked on her inner thigh. His eyes began to well up, but he remained composed. He knew that she was safe now. Her little sister came out of her sleep, only to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. Naturally scared, she clung to Jaden. Jaime also noticed the blood.
"Jaden, you've got a boo-boo!" her sister's comment wanted to make Jaden cry.
Elliot stood there taking it all in. He knew that he had to do his job and bring her to Mercy General, but first he would make two phone calls, one to his partner and the other to someone who was just as important, if not, more so.