Chapter 11
The drive wasn't too long despite both Shay and Chilli's needs to stop multiple times. Mostly for jerky, sometimes for chips, a few times for liquid refreshments but mainly for candy. It was like going on a road trip with two six year olds.
They decided to take two cars considering they couldn't all fit in one and it was an unspoken safety plan anyway. Erin, Stella and Chilli arrived first and by instinct, Erin made sure to check out the owners and the cabin before she let anyone else in. Gabby, Shay and Sylvie arrived half an hour later only to realize that the others had already taken rooms. They left the master for Sylvie and Stella knew that it was going to be the bunch of them switching out frequently to stay with Brett.
Stella, by instinct, met the second car when they arrived and grabbed Sylvie's bags before leading them inside.
Sylvie greeted each of them in a very "Sylvie-ish" way before taking in the place. It was nice, and as much as she hated to admit it, having a cop there was definitely helpful.
"This place is beautiful."
Gabby smiled, coming up beside her and rubbing her back. "We thought you might like it."
"How much do I owe you guys?" Sylvie jumped a little, nervous.
Gabby pushed a piece of hair behind her ear before smiling. "Nothing, sweetie. It's covered."
"No, I can't let you-"
Erin cut her off, smiling at her and meeting her eyes. "Voight covered it."
Sylvie went to object before Chilli grabbed her arm and lead her over to the sofa. "So, even though we're out in the woods, we've got Netflix, YouTube, everything." She smirked, looking over at Shay. "And I'm pretty sure Shay has enough tequila to knock us all out for the weekend."
Sylvie couldn't help but smile as she looked around at the others. "Thank you."
Stella was the first to jump over to her, letting her know what everyone was thinking as she placed a kiss to the top of the blonde's head. "You are more than welcome, sweet girl."
They spent the next couple of hours watching 'Scream' on Netflix although Sylvie pointed out within the first few episodes that it was Piper who was the killer. None of the others complained, happy that Brett was actually focusing on something else.
Eventually she stood up, albeit very slowly and very painfully but she forced a smile through it all
"I'm going to go lay down." Sylvie kissed Gabby's cheek first followed by Stella's. "Thank you for this."
Sylvie blew kisses to the other girls before quickly escaping to her room. Gabby wanted to follow but both Shay and Erin stopped her. "She's okay."
The other girls crashed back on the sofa and watched a movie although Erin couldn't help herself but follow up on Brett's case. After a couple of hours, she had some new leads on where Harrison might be but she knew that her team was on it. Her attention needed to be on Sylvie.
When the scream came from the master bedroom, no one really knew how to react. Erin instinctively reached for her gun and Gabby and Stella tried to force their way into the room despite Shay and Chilli physically holding them back. Sylvie was hiding cornered in the closet.
Erin cleared the room as fast as possible after noting that it was just Sylvie having a night terror. Stella burst in first but only because Shay had a tighter grip on Gabby. It only took Gabby under thirty seconds to break away.
Erin stepped out of the room, meeting up with Shay and Chilli. Honestly, none of them knew what to do except keep the door adjacent and pray that the two brunettes would have some luck.
"Hey. Hey, sweetheart, you're okay. It's just me, it's Stella. Gabby is at the door and everyone else is in the living room."
Sylvie eventually met Stella's eyes and instantly hugged her hard. She sobbed into her shoulder, breaking both Stella and Gabby's hearts. Through sobs, Sylvie whispered. "I want to be clean."
That was enough for Gabby to enter the room fully and squat down beside the both of them. The others knew to stay out and Shay even closed the door for some privacy. "I know, baby."
"Why?" Sylvie cried. "Why me?"
Neither Stella nor Gabby had an answer so they hoped that their embrace was good enough. They hugged her gently whilst Sylvie gripped back with a death-grip.
It took around half an hour for Gabby and Stella to coerce the young blonde out of the closet and onto the bed. Stella handed her a bottle of water and some pain and anxiety medication. Sylvie looked at the pills reluctantly before handing them back. The girls looked confused but obliged.
It took another hour to convince Sylvie to come out of the room. She had a death-grip on both Gabby and Stella's hands but the other girls didn't push when they saw the three emerge.
After greeting the others politely- Brett always tried to be polite- Gabby lead her to the closest bathroom after Stella grabbed her some clean clothes out of her bag. Ironically, Sylvie had packed two of Antonio's CPD shirts and Stella figured she would be most comfortable in one of them.
Gabby helped Brett shower, much to the blonde's objections. However, she knew that Gabby wasn't going to leave her alone and she was honestly too weak to shower by herself.
Once they were done, they emerged to see the others preparing breakfast for dinner. They couldn't exactly order take-out where they were so it was better than nothing. Gabby helped Sylvie to the sofa whilst Stella and Shay went to join them.
Sylvie leant her head against Stella's shoulder whilst Gabby did the same with Shay. Chilli and Erin were "cooking" waffles but half of them were turning out either burnt or undercooked. Eventually Gabby took over and had breakfast/dinner ready within fifteen minutes, perfectly cooked.
They all sat at the table and despite being handed a waffle, Sylvie wouldn't eat it. In fact, the second the smell of maple syrup hit the room, Sylvie dashed to the bathroom. Both Gabby and Stella instantly stood up to follow but Shay moved first. "I've got it."
When she found her, Sylvie was bent over the porcelain toilet bowl dry heaving. There was nothing but water in her stomach to throw up anyway. "You're okay."
Shay grabbed a wet washcloth before bending down beside Brett, holding back her hair and placing the washcloth against her forehead. Eventually, Sylvie leant back against the wall and allowed Shay to wipe her face clean. She hated being so vulnerable but she was too weak to handle it herself.
"Thank you."
Shay smiled, continuing to wipe Sylvie's face. "You never need to thank me, gorgeous."
Sylvie couldn't help but smirk, trying to find a way to forget about things. "Are you coming on to me, Leslie Shay?"
"Trust me, honey, you're too innocent for my type."
Sylvie forced a small smile before whispering. "I won't ever be innocent again."
Shay reacted instantly, taking Sylvie's face in her hands and forcing the younger blonde to look at her. "Sweet girl, I promise you that no one can take your innocence away from you. You are innocent."
"Doesn't feel like it."
Shay brushed her hair back. "Maybe not yet. But I promise you, girl, that you will always be too innocent for my type."
Shay knew from Gabby's experience that they wouldn't feel "innocent" again, but at least she could try to make a joke to lighten the mood.
It took a few moments but eventually Sylvie laid her head on Shay's shoulder. The older blonde groaned after a few seconds. "You, girl, need to brush your teeth."
Sylvie, playing along and glad that someone was helping her take her mind off of everything, gently slapped Shay. "Hey, you're the one who followed me in here."
Shay stood up and helped Sylvie up. "And I'm going to be the one who helps you brush your teeth too."
After ten minutes of teeth brushing and face washing, Shay lead Sylvie out to the others. They were watching "27 Dresses" and Sylvie knew that it was only for her. The rest hated romantic comedies.
Sylvie crashed against Stella the moment they reached the couch. Gabby instantly curled up against Shay and Sylvie knew that what had happened was taking a huge hole on her brunette friend.
Chilli and Erin were playing poker- no money involved, just peanuts. Eventually Chilli stood up and grabbed six glasses, two with water for herself and Brett, and the others with tequila to help them "relax".
Sylvie jumped up and downed both Gabby and Stella's drinks before reaching for Erin and Shay's. Stella stopped her before she could reach them and Sylvie basically broke down, unable to stop as she sobbed in her hands.
None of the others spoke up; no one knew what to say.
"I hate him." Sylvie suddenly spoke up. She looked at the floor before looking at the girls. "I don't like hating people but I put all my hate on him and now… Now I'm too sore to barely stand without assistance, I'm nauseous all of the time, I can't eat… and I can't get clean. How do I get over that?"
No one knew what to say. It was silent for a moment before Erin spoke up.
"Sweetheart, you will get passed this. You're so strong. And you have all of us and more to remind you of that."
Sylvie forced a smile through tears and grabbed Gabby's hand. Everyone knew that it was fake but they let it slide.
After a while, Sylvie stood up. "I'm really tired."
Everyone forced a smile and Stella nodded. "Go lay down, babe. One of us will be in there soon with you."
Sylvie nodded and squeezed Gabby's hand, allowed Stella to kiss her cheek, before quickly heading back to her room.
"She needs to talk to someone." Chilli spoke up as soon as Sylvie was out of earshot.
The others once again agreed but had no idea how they were going to convince the blonde. It was Erin whom eventually came up with an idea. "Olivia and I speak. Olivia Benson. After Nadia… I was a mess and she was the only one I could talk freely to. I could give her a call?"
Gabby exchanged glances with the others, silently asking their opinions. She knew Olivia and she knew how great she was with victims but the last thing Sylvie wanted was to be treated like a victim. She wanted to be a survivor.
"Call her."