WARNING: The rape will be mentioned in this chapter; nothing too graphic will be included. If this is hard or upsetting for anyone please don't read.
Author's Note: Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all those who have served, are currently serving, or have family who have served or are currently serving! Sorry, I didn't post earlier, but this weekend (for me) consisted of some much-needed family time.
Monday may or may not be my new post day, I'm not sure yet. I hope you're all staying safe and healthy. As always thanks for the comments,
reviews, favorites, follows, votes, and so much more!
Enjoy!
Song (On Wattpad): I'll Be There by Jess Glynne
Chapter Five: I Need to Report A Rape
"Bad things can happen, and often do-but they only take up a few pages of your story; and anyone can survive a few pages."
― James A. Owen, The Barbizon Diaries: A Meditation on Will, Purpose, and the Value Of Stories
"I...I need to report a rape."
Trudy stood there shocked not knowing what to do. She prayed she hadn't heard Sylvie right. "Umm...I'm sorry. What did you say?" She hesitantly asked as she leaned her head down and zoned in on Sylvie's lips.
Sylvie let out a slight hiccup as more tears pushed their way to the surface. Matt pulled her in closer to him and gently started rubbing circles on her back.
"I said...I need to report a rape."
Trudy's face immediately paled at hearing that. She looked at the bruised and beaten young women in front of her and quickly gave her a sad, sympathetic look. "Okay, hon. Just give me a few minutes and let me make a call."
Sylvie nodded and stepped closer to Matt. She felt like this was the hardest thing that she had quite possibly ever done in her life.
They waited for a few minutes while Trudy was on the phone. Time seemed to stop and freeze while the two of them were standing there. They saw lots of Officers and personnel they knew, walk by them and give them both questioning and tender looks as they noticed Sylvie's battered face.
Every look and sad smile they received made Matt want to wrap Sylvie in his arms and shield her from the world as long as he could.
"Okay," Interrupted Trudy as she set the phone down and turned to look at Sylvie and Matt. "I just got off the phone with Detective Burns and he said that he's able to talk right now, so I'll lead you two to him"
Sylvie nodded and sent a quick prayer up to God that her legs would move before they started following Trudy down a hall and to a clump of desks.
"Detective Burns." Called Trudy as she came to stop in front of his desk. "This is Sylvie Brett and Captain Matt Casey from FireHouse Fifty-One."
Detective Burns, who looked to be a small, boney middle-aged man, looked up from his demanding paper on his desk and stood up as soon as Trudy said his name. "Thank you, Platt. I'll take it from here."
Trudy nodded and led Sylvie and Matt to where they could sit before she turned and started to make her way out of the room.
"Thank you, Trudy." Whispered Sylvie before she sat in one of the chairs Trudy had directed them to.
"Anytime, Sweetie. You two let me know if there's anything else I can do, okay?"
Sylvie and Matt both nodded before they saw her walk off and they turned their attention to the distracted looking detective in front of them.
"Okay," Started Burns before he cleared his desk and pulled out two new-looking pieces of paper, "Platt told me that you, Ms. Brett, need to report a rape. Is that so?"
Sylvie took a breath before she nodded her head and spoke up, "Umm...yes. I need to report a rape that happened to me two days ago."
Burns shook his head and began writing things down, "I'm sorry to hear that, Ms. Brett. Would you like to report this to me alone?"
Sylvie looked at Matt and quickly shook her head, "No, I'm fine. Thank you. He can stay. I want him here."
Matt turned his head to Sylvie and gave her a tight smile before he grabbed her shaking hand and held it as tight as he could without hurting her.
"Okay, then. Ms. Brett, please tell me the full story as well as a name and anything else that can be used to identify the assailant."
Sylvie felt tears starting to bubble in her eyes, "Ummm...okay. On Saturday night, I...went out for drinks with this guy that I had met at my gym. At the end of the night he insisted on walking me up to my apartment, and when I wouldn't let him in the door, he pushed himself in and knocked me to the ground."
Matt's knuckles turned red from the squeezing he was doing to the other end of the armchair as he heard her tell the story. He felt his heart start to beat so fast he thought it might jump out of his chest.
"And he raped you while you were knocked out on the floor?" Asked Burns as he kept his eyes glued to the form he was filling out.
Sylvie curses herself for the tears that spill out of her eyes. "Yes, I believe so."
Burns nods and returns back to the paper in front of him. "And, why didn't you report it right after it happened?"
"I..ugh...I don't know."
Burns rudely rolls his eyes before he turns his attention back to his papers, "Okay, do you have a full name of your assailant?"
Sylvie freezes and tightly grips Matt's hand, "Umm...no. I only know his first name which is Owen. He...he never gave me his last name. I asked for it but he never gave it to me. I have his phone number."
Burns looks up at Sylvie and gives her a cold look that would make the devil sweat. "So you went out with a man not knowing his last name?"
Sylvie wanted to break down and cry right then and there, "Like I said before I asked for his last name but he never gave it to me. He always avoided the questions or just ignored it."
"Well, that wasn't very smart. Now was it." Mumbled Burns before he picked up his pen and started scribbling again.
"What was that?" Loudly asked Matt as he zeroed in on the rude, condescending man in front of him.
Burns looked and rolled his eyes again, "Nothing,"
They sit there for a few more minutes listening and answering questions before Casey starts to get really annoyed with Detective Burns.
"Have you slept with him before?"
Sylvie immediately shook her head and whispered, "No."
"Okay, do you sleep with a lot of men often?"
"No," Mumbled Sylvie so low that Matt, who was sitting right beside her, barely heard her.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Boldly questioned Matt.
"Mr. Casey, I have allowed you to stay in the room with Ms. Brett, but if you interrupt me again or question my more than capable abilities to do my job, I will have to ask you to wait outside."
Matt was about to say something else, but Sylvie quickly squeezed his hand and whispered, "No, please don't."
Matt's temper easily boiled down after seeing the scared look in Sylvie's eyes.
"Okay, if we can continue so that I can get home at some time tonight. "Ms. Brett, did you do anything that may have provoked the man that supposedly raped you?"
The statement was the breaking point for Matt, "Can we report this to someone else who actually takes their job seriously?"
"Mr. Casey, I am trying to do my job. But, if Ms. Brett would like someone else to take her case. I would be more than happy to hand it over to someone else."
Both men turn to look at Sylvie who is shaking in her seat.
"Sylvie?" Whispers Matt before he takes his coat back off and wraps it around her.
"I'm okay," She mumbles, "Detective Burns, I think I agree with Matt. I...I want someone else to handle my case."
Burns nods before he slams his pen down and stands up, "Okay, then. I'll get into contact with one of my colleagues tonight and have them get in touch with you first thing tomorrow."
Sylvie whispers, "Thank you." before she lets Matt pull her up and lead her out of the room and towards the entrance of the building.
"Asshole," Mumbled Matt as he threw one last look back at Detective Burns.
They were just about to walk out of the door when they heard their names being called, "Casey? Brett?"
They both turned and saw Hailey Upton and Jay Halstead making their way towards them.
"Hey, what are you two doing here? Is everything okay?" Asked Jay as he and Matt quickly shook hands as a greeting towards each other.
"Um..yeah we're good. I was just helping Sylvie do something."
Jay nodded and looked between the two of them, "Okay. Well hey, Casey do you think I can show you some pictures from a case we're working on upstairs? We think one of our suspects is setting fires in order to get his supply out on the streets."
Matt quickly looked at Sylvie to make sure she was okay with him leaving her for a few minutes.
"I'll be fine. Go ahead." Whispered Sylvie as she let go of his hand and pulled his jacket closer around her.
"Yeah, I'll wait here with Sylvie until you get back." Chimed in Hailey as she looked at the two people who were very hesitant to leave each other.
Matt nodded and quickly followed Jay up the stairs to the Intelligence Unit.
Hailey and Sylvie stood there in silence for a while before Hailey took a step in front of Sylvie and interrupted the silence.
"He do that to you?" She asked as she pointed to the bruises on Sylvie's face and neck.
"What?" Asked Sylvie shocked that anyone would think Matt would be capable of such a thing.
"Did Casey do that to you?"
"No. He would never do anything like this to anyone." Sadly answered Sylvie.
"Why were all here?"
Sylvie looked at Hailey and slowly slid her eyes to the floor. She was so ashamed but she knew that this was a step that she was going to have to get over. She had to tell the people around her whether she liked it or not. "I...I was trying to report my rape."
Hailey gasped, "Oh, Sylvie. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Choked out Sylvie as she took the tissue out of her pocket and started harshly wiping the tears away.
"No, it's not. Did you report it?"
"I tried but the detective I had didn't seem too interested in following through with it."
"Who was the detective?" Angrily asked Hailey as she was about to go and whoop some butt.
Sylve let out a small laugh at her friend's change in behavior, "Detective Burns."
"Ughhh," Grumbled Hailey. "I know him. He's new to the department and just trying to ride out his time before retirement. He hasn't had a solid case since he's been here."
Sylvie nodded, "Yeah, we asked for someone new to handle my case."
"Good. Maybe I can make a call and get one of my friends to take the case. I know some pretty good people from that department."
Sylvie smiled and thanked God that she had good friends like this. "That would be really helpful. Thank you."
Hailey shook her head and grabbed another tissue off Trudy's desk for Sylvie, "You don't have to thank me. Are you sure you're okay, though?"
Sylvie waited a few seconds before she answered her friend, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay," Softly answered, Hailey not wanting to push Sylvie any farther than she had to.
It wasn't too long after that, that Matt and Jay made their way down the stairs and to the front entrance where Sylvie and Hailey were standing. They all said their goodbyes and were on their way in no time after that.
"Hey, do you wanna grab a bite to eat or anything?" Asked Matt as he slid into the driver's side of his truck and started the engine.
Sylvie shook her head before she whispered, "No, thank you."
The drive to her apartment was filled with nothing but silence. Both were too busy thinking about the day, the attempted reporting, and so much more. Neither of them knew what the fallout from all of this would be.
Sylvie stared out the window the whole time. She couldn't help but think that maybe Detective Burns was right. Maybe she did provoke him. Maybe she wore the wrong thing that night and made him think that's where the night was headed. She didn't cause it to happen. Did she?
Sylvie wanted to jump for joy when she noticed that Matt had pulled into her apartment's parking lot. She was so ready to crawl into her bed and put this day behind her, but she knew that wouldn't happen because falling asleep was like winning a million dollars on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
"Matt, thank you for everything today." Whispered Sylvie right after Matt parked the truck and she took off her seat belt. "I don't think I would have had the courage to try and report it without you."
Matt felt his eyes soften as he stared at the beautiful, bruised, and broken woman in front of him. "Sylvie, you are one of the strongest people I know. You would have reported it regardless of what I did."
"I'm not so sure of that." Mumbled Sylvie before she reached for the door handle and suddenly stopped when she noticed that Matt had flung his seat belt off and was taking his keys out of the ignition of his truck.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
Matt looked up and answered her without skipping a beat "I'm coming up with you until Foster or Cruz get here."
Only after he said that did Sylvie finally look around and notice that neither Foster or Cruz's car was there.
"Oh, Matt you don't have to do that. I'll be fine."
Matt looked Sylvie up and down and knew immediately that he was not leaving her alone. Not after her time in the park today. "Come on, I'm sure you're ready to settle down for the night." He said before he jumped out of the truck and made his way around to help her.
Although she really wanted to be alone, there was something about being with Matt that just made her feel...normal.
The walk up to her apartment felt like it took forever, but in reality it only took three minutes and forty-two seconds. It was silent like the car ride, but you could tell that both Matt and Sylvie were happy to be somewhere for the day where they wouldn't be looked at and judged.
Sylvie held her breath as she unlocked the door. She felt that as soon as she opened the door he would be standing on the other side waiting for her. But he wasn't, and as soon as she saw that was true she let go of the breath she was holding and opened the door wide enough for Matt to slide in after her.
After she locked the door and double-checked that it was locked she turned and froze when she saw it.
Matt noticed immediately that she wasn't moving and that she was just staring at a spot on the floor. "Sylvie? You okay?"
His voice pulled her from the sinking water immediately, "That's where it happened."
"That's where what happened?" He asked, genuinely confused by what she said.
"That's where he raped me." She said as she continued to burn a hole through the cold, hell looking spot right in the middle of the floor.
Matt wanted to puke after he looked at the spot and an image flashed through his head. He didn't know how she could be here and relive everything.
He broke from his torture by breaking the silence and walking into the kitchen, where he started opening the fridge and going through the cabinets.
"What are you doing?" Quietly questioned Sylvie as she shuffled behind him still wrapped in her tear-soaked clothes and his jacket.
"I am making us something to eat. I know you have to be hungry because you didn't eat breakfast this morning at the firehouse and I'm pretty sure that you haven't had anything all day."
Sylvie smiled at how sweet he was before she took a closer step into the kitchen and shook her head, "Matt, you really don't have to do that. I'm fine, and I know that you're probably ready to go home, we had a pretty busy shift yesterday."
"Well, if you're not hungry can I at least make something for myself."
Sylvie sighed at his stubbornness before she nodded her head and turned to go in the direction of her bedroom.
"Hey, if you want you can take a bath or a shower while I'm making the food."
Sylvie turned and was about to argue before she realized that he was right and a bath sounded amazing after the day she'd had. "Do you need any help cooking?"
Matt shook his head and started cracking eggs into the heated skillet, "No, take your time."
Sylvie nodded and quickly gathered her clothes before she locked herself in the bathroom. She cried as she shed her clothes and stared at herself in the mirror. Almost every part of her body was still covered in bruises. They all seemed to grow and become more and more tender as time went on.
She was thankful that the running water in the bathtub drowned out the sound of her wailing so that Matt couldn't hear it. He had been so good to her today and she knew that she didn't deserve it. He was too good for her.
Matt was so busy in the kitchen trying to make something edible for the both of them that his thoughts had no room for the detailed murder he had planned Owen. If he stood still for too long he would hear her voice and everything she had described to that asshole of a detective.
A couple of minutes later, Matt had just plated the food when he heard the bathroom door slowly unlock and creep open. He froze when he saw her tiptoe out in a long CFD t-shirt and matching sweatpants. Even with a face full of bruises she was still one of the most beautiful people he had ever seen in his life.
"It smells good in here." Commented Sylvie interrupting Matt from his gazing.
"Umm...yeah thanks. I wasn't sure what you were in the mood for so I just went with breakfast. Scrambled eggs, the way you make them at the firehouse, with toast and a couple of pieces of bacon which I'm pretty sure are from Foster's private stash."
Sylvie let out a soft giggle that immediately wrapped around Matt's heart and gave it a squeeze.
"Matt, you didn't have to do all this. You've already done so much today."
"Sylvie, please. You know if I could do more I would. I just can't believe that this…"
"Don't," Interrupted Matt before he could finish. "Let's just eat and pretend it didn't happen for a while. Please?"
Matt nodded and grabbed silverware for the both of them before he sat next to her and they started eating.
They were eating for about five minutes before Sylvie sat her fork down and lifted her head to stare at Matt. "How am I going to tell everyone?" She quietly asked hoping that he heard her and she wouldn't have to repeat it again.
"I thought we were pretending that it didn't happen."
"You can't pretend real life. Can you?"
Matt slowly shook his head and also sat down his fork before he picked up his water and took a sip of it. "Well, you at least have to tell Boden since you tried to report it and are going to report it."
"How, though? How do I tell people this?"
"How did you tell me and Upton?"
"...It just came out." She whispered before she picked up her fork and started pushing around the remaining pieces of scrambled eggs.
"Then do that. Let it come out however you want."
"You've got an answer for everything." Smiled Sylvie at Matt from across the table.
Another five minutes after that, they were both finished eating and just sitting at the table talking with each other. Sylvie tried to get up and get the plates off the table, but Matt had already gotten up and was making his way to the sink.
"You should let me do the dishes. You made the meal, Matt."
"Nah, Sylvie I've got it. You go lay down. You're probably exhausted. I know you didn't get much last night."
Sylvie nodded and was about to walk to her room when the idea of loneliness suddenly made her want to crawl in a hole and die.
"Are you staying the night?"
Matt looked up from the dish in his hand and shrugged, "Well, I'm staying until Cruz or Foster get home, so yeah that might be all night. Is that okay?"
"Matt, you know you don't have to do that. I'm sure you would like to go home to your bed."
"Sylvie, I promise it's no problem for me as long as you're okay with me sleeping here."
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine with it. I was actually wondering though if you'd come and get in bed with...with me. I just...I don't know I feel safer with you here, Matt. And, if you don't want to, that's totally fine, I know it's weird and…"
"Sylvie," Interrupted Matt from her rambling, "Go get in bed, I'll be there in a few minutes."
Sylvie smiled and nodded her head before she quickly walked to the front door to make sure it was locked then headed for her bedroom. She was under the covers and laying on the left side when Matt made his way into the room.
He stopped by the foot of the bed and took his boots off before he pulled the covers back on the right side and slid in. Sylvie had her back to his so he just laid on his back and reached over and turned the lamp off so they were in complete darkness.
"Matt?" Whispered Sylvie into the black filled room.
"Yeah, Syl?"
"Is it okay...if I...If I lay on you? I just like I said...It makes me feel safer."
Matt smiled and lifted the cover so she could slide over, "You never have to ask."
Sylvie breathed a relieved breath before she rolled over and laid her soft, still slightly damp head from her bath, on his chest. He smelt so good and made her feel so safe.
They both fell asleep minutes after the shift in position.
Sylvie thought that she could never be touched or held by another man, but there was something about Matthew Casey that just always made her feel safe, protected, and so much more.
What are your all's thoughts on Detective Burns? Lol, I feel the hate for him coming from miles away.
What did you think!? Again, sorry for any typos, misspellings, or anything like that. I write late at night with no glasses on, lol.
Sorry, it was posted so late for you all. This weekend was all about family for me. But, I hope you all have a good week!
Thanks again for reading and the support!
Stay safe and healthy, everyone! I will see you next week!
