AN: A second chapter in a row for your viewing pleasure. Ok, I've fallen in love with this bunny instantly, and I think you will too. Is it wrong that I rate it as high as the actual characters in this story?
And "Coming to America" is on right now, so remember kids, "There's a fine line between love and nausea"!
*
The Holden's neighbors described a quiet family that kept to themselves. The man who called nine-one-one said it was the only time he had heard raised voices. No one saw much of Sara, but apparently when they did she usually had an armful of library books. They couldn't get names of anyone she might hang out with, because the tenants had never seen her with anyone.
When asked about Eric Holden specifically, people sounded impressed. Commented on his nice clothes and lamented that his wife could leave him to raise their child all alone. While no one appeared to know him very well, they all agreed he was a good guy.
School revealed a slightly different side. Sara was a model student in some classes, albeit a very quiet one, and in others she was continually disruptive. Those teachers expressed their sympathy for Mr. Holden having to keep coming in for disciplinary meetings.
The whole thing left Olivia wondering where the teachers had gotten their degrees and how they could so completely miss the signs they were supposedly looking out for.
None of the teachers could come up with anyone she hung out with. According to them, she was always alone. There had to be someone, Olivia was sure of it. But as far as these boys her father had mentioned... she wasn't seeing it. Hyper sexuality was a common symptom of sexual abuse, or the polar opposite. If she was seeing anyone, she wasn't hanging out with them during school hours.
The rape kit had found the telltale signs of rape, and spermicide but no semen. CSU had found no used condoms in the apartment. But the age of the bruises showed that they were only a couple hours old at most when Sara was examined, all but proving that Eric Holden was the only one with the opportunity to cause them. The sheer mechanics ruled out a potential defense that she did it to herself.
It was falling together, Olivia kept reminding herself.
When they had finished the round of questioning, Olivia took Sara back to her apartment to pick up some of her things for her placement in child services. She'd be staying at one of their shelters until something more permanent came up.
Olivia hadn't taken the decor in during the raid. The Holden residence was clean, not much in the way of furnishings but what there was was tasteful. She wondered who it was supposed to impress since she didn't see many visitors coming in.
They passed by the bathroom, and Olivia had to swallow the lump forming in her throat. The door was shut, as she had requested, but she knew that it still remained as it had been the previous night. She watched Sara's gaze linger on the door until she gently pushed her forward. As they entered the girl's room she felt their collective breaths exhale.
She was surrounded by dragons. Statues adorned each dresser, and any flat space that had enough room to hold something did. Big dragons, little dragons. Four legs, two legs, even one wyvern. Feathery wings, leathery wings. Some protected magical artifacts, others guarded treasure. Olivia shook her head at the last assessment, the baubles were just a distraction. What these dragons really guarded was the occupant.
Looking back at Sara, the girl walked with more confidence than Olivia had seen from her previously.
"I see you like dragons too," Olivia said.
Sara smiled, picking up a small statue of three hatchlings crawling all over each other. "Yeah. They're all magical and wise, I like that."
"Just get some clothes and some stuff you'll want for a week or so. You can pick up more when you're settled up more permanently."
"Ok." First thing Sara did then was to grab up the knit bunny from her bed and stuff it in the crook of her arm absently. She went from drawer to drawer, stuffing clothes into the suitcase while the bunny remained pressed to her side. It was once a deep purple, faded with age, with a graying tummy. Stuffing poked through the yarn in some places, with a large spill of the white fluff forming the tail. It wasn't much longer than Olivia's hand, not including the droopy ears that nearly doubled its size if they had been pulled straight. Pieces of fishing line stuck out from the black nose to form whiskers.
The tattered child's toy should have been ugly, but its worn appearance somehow made it adorable. And it made a striking contrast to the beasts guarding the room.
"How long have you had that?" It looked like something a grandparent would make, so she wondered where Sara would come across such an heirloom.
Sara pulled the bunny from its perch and held it in both hands. "Oh, this? I've had it like two years."
"Really? It looks a lot older than that."
"A friend gave it to me. It was his when he was a kid." Sara looked down at the doll with obvious fondness. Olivia couldn't help but smile at the gesture.
"He must really like you to give you something like that," Olivia said.
"A.J.? No, not like that. He's my best friend. Well... he's my only friend."
Olivia sat down on the edge of the bed. "Is there anyone you have been 'like that' with?"
Sara hugged the bunny to her chest until she made herself wince. Her lip quivered as she spoke. "Not 'like that'. Not boyfriends. I used to let boys have sex with me, but I stopped."
"It's ok, Sara. I'm not trying to judge you. I just need to ask these things so your dad can't hide behind lies. How long since you stopped?"
"When I met A.J. He helped me. We met freshman year." Over a year, so that was taken out of the equation.
The way she spoke of A.J. made it clear that even though she denied anything beyond friendship, it was quite safely nestled in the realm of possibility. They'd have to talk to the kid and see what else he may be able to enlighten them with.
Aside from basic necessities, Sara only packed some books, and of course the bunny. When she finished, she turned to Olivia. "Dad won't be locked up for the trial, right? He'll just be walking around."
"When he goes to arraignment tomorrow they're going to set bail. He'll have to pay to get out, but he won't be allowed to come anywhere near you. The prosecutor will make sure you get an Order of Protection, which means he'll go back to jail if he tries."
Olivia could see that the arrangement wasn't ideal for Sara, and she agreed. Sadly the law wasn't on their side.