The principal decided to send Calvin home for the remainder of the day but agreed not to suspend him. Elliot and Olivia were making their way back to the precinct when Calvin's school called.
"I was afraid of this," Olivia confessed to Elliot.
"That kid has a lot of anger inside him," Elliot replied.
"He has every right to be angry!" Olivia snapped, getting defensive.
"I agree Liv," Elliot said, trying to calm her down. "Maybe I could help him out."
"Well, you do have anger issues," Olivia teased.
Elliot gave her a crooked smile before continuing. "He can work out with me. You know, lift some weights, hit the punching bag, I can get him in the ring, teach him how to wrestle. Maybe that will give him a positive way to channel some of that anger."
"Really El?" Olivia exclaimed, excited. "You'd do that?"
"Of course," Elliot answered.
"I would really appreciate that," Olivia told Elliot as they pulled up in front of the school.
"Hey Kiddo," Elliot said as Calvin got in the car.
"Hi," Calvin said nervously.
Olivia turned around to look at him but he kept his eyes in his lap. "What happened Calvin?"
"I don't know," Calvin's voice cracked and he began fidgeting.
"Well something must have happened, right Buddy?" Olivia asked. "I can't imagine you beating on somebody for no reason."
"It's embarrassing," Calvin whimpered.
"Well it's just Elliot and I Honey," Olivia said, reaching her arm back and patting the side of his leg. "You can tell us."
Calvin slowly lifted his eyes up to look at Olivia and then over at Elliot. "When I... sometimes... it's just..." Calvin let out a frustrated sigh and hung his head again. "The guys in gym class make fun of me sometimes. You know, in the locker room, when we have to change."
"I see," Olivia said. "When is the next time you have gym class? Do you have it tomorrow?"
"No," Calvin said, "I have art class tomorrow."
"Ok, I'll tell you what. You don't worry about gym class right now. I'm going to take care of it. Tomorrow I'll talk to your gym teacher and the principal or whoever I need to and we're going to get this worked out. Ok?"
Calvin nodded his head.
"Calvin," Olivia said, waiting for him to look at her. "You know you can tell me anything, right? And if you don't want to tell me because you're too embarrassed or something, you can always talk to Elliot. Ok?"
Calvin smiled at Olivia before turning and looking out the window. "Olivia," he said, a couple blocks later. "I'm sorry," he confessed, almost sounding as if he was going to cry.
"It's ok Honey. Everything is going to be ok," Olivia said as Elliot parked the car at the precinct. "Let's go inside as say hello to everyone. I've still got some work to do, and I'm guessing you have some homework."
Olivia sat Calvin down at her desk. He listened to his mp3 player and worked on his homework while Olivia and Elliot finished out their work day. Olivia invited Elliot over for dinner that night. They had dinner together a lot since Kathy had left and taken the kids. Olivia really wanted Elliot to be a part of Calvin's life too, especially since he didn't have a good male role model to look up to. Elliot talked to Calvin about working out with him. Calvin was really excited Elliot had asked him. He wanted Elliot to take him that night but it was getting too late so Elliot promised to take him Saturday morning.
Friday went smoothly, with no phone calls from the school. Olivia had a meeting with Calvin's gym teacher and the school principal about Calvin being bullied in the locker room. She decided not to tell them what Calvin had been through only a month earlier. No one deserved to be bullied and she didn't feel it was any of their business at that point.
Elliot picked Calvin up early Saturday morning and took him to the gym at the precinct. After they stretched, he and Calvin lifted weights, then they moved on to the punching bag. Elliot helped Calvin with his rhythm and technique. He taught him how to protect his face and position his body to lessen the impact of the other persons blows. After Calvin was worn out Elliot sent him to the shower. The precinct had separate shower stalls so Elliot thought Calvin would be comfortable showering there.
Elliot got out of the shower and headed to his locker to get dressed. He called Calvin's name but got no response so he headed over to the corner where Calvin's things were. He found Calvin sitting naked on the bench with his clothes folded neatly next to him.
"What's wrong?" he asked Calvin, surprised to find him like that.
"I'm ready," Calvin said quietly. "Please don't hurt me."
"What?" Elliot asked, completely confused.
"I'll do whatever you want me to do to you," Calvin told Elliot.
"What!" Elliot said, completely shocked. He didn't mean to sound angry, or scare Calvin. He handed Calvin the pants that were next to him on the bench. "Let's get you dressed." Elliot pulled Calvin's shirt over his head and helped him get his arms in the sleeves.
Tears had welled up in Calvin's eyes. "I'm sorry," he told Elliot, almost in hysterics. "I thought that's what I was supposed to do. The guys at school told me that's what you're supposed to do. They said that's why guys take showers together." The tears were streaming down Calvin's face. He sat back down on the bench, fully dressed and curled his upper body into a ball.
"Calvin," Elliot asked, very concerned. He knelt down in front of Calvin and tried to look into his eyes. "Did they touch you? Did they make you touch them?"
"They made me do it Elliot!" Calvin screamed through his tears. "I didn't want to! They made me do it!" Calvin started crying so hard he couldn't speak anymore. He was gasping for air between sobs because he could hardly breathe. Elliot sat next to him on the bench and held him. He was completely shocked about what Calvin had just told him. He held Calvin tightly in his arms and let Calvin cry it out while he attempted to process what he had just told him.
Calvin's crying eased and his body began to go limp in Elliot's arms from exhaustion.
"Calvin, have you told Olivia?" Elliot asked him, already knowing the answer.
"No!" Calvin screamed, starting to panic again. "You can't tell her!" he insisted. "She'll find out how bad I am and she won't want me anymore. She'll send me away. I don't want to go away again. Please!" he sobbed.
"Shh. Shh," Elliot patted Calvin's back, trying to calm him down before he hyperventilated and passed out. "Calvin you're not bad. None of this is your fault. Olivia is not going to blame you and she isn't going to send you away. You've gotta believe me" Elliot told him firmly but lovingly. "We're going to have to tell her."
Calvin calmed himself down and was able to stop crying, mainly because his body was too exhausted to cry anymore. Elliot stood him up and helped him put his jacket on.
"Elliot," Calvin said softly as they were walking to Elliot's car. "I'm scared."
"I know," Elliot told him. "Hang in there Bud. We're going to get through this. I'm gonna help you. Olivia will help you. We'll be there for you every step of the way."
"Will you tell Olivia?" he asked nervously.
"Yah. I can do that."
By the time Elliot pulled up in front of Olivia's apartment Calvin was sound asleep. Between working out and the intense emotion he had worn himself out. Elliot decided not to wake him. He carried Calvin up to Olivia's apartment and tucked him into bed.
"What happened?" Olivia whispered. "Why is his face all red? You didn't hurt him, did you?" Olivia poked at Elliot, not overly concerned.
"We need to talk Liv." Elliot said, walking out to the living room.