Fin was so concentrated on Amanda he didn't notice they were getting company until Amanda froze mid step in the middle of the corridor. He looked up at her and then followed her eyes down the corridor. "Jade." He heard her whisper as he laid eyes on the group coming at them. Nick came walking down the corridor followed by Amanda's parents and two unknown women. As they got closer there was no guessing who of the unknowns that was Amanda's sister though. Even though she looked more than five years older, more than ten to be honest, the family resemblance was there. The only facial detail separating them other than the age difference was the nose. Her sister had clearly inherited the father's slanting nose while Amanda had her mother's button nose. They had the same blonde hair, Justine had let hers grow out wilder though. Justine's face got a happier tone once she saw her little sister. There were no rushing down the corridor throwing herself around Amanda's neck but she clearly looked happier once she spotted her.
Amanda looked more shocked than happy though Fin noticed as he felt her grip loosen around his arm and he looked over at her. He still took a few steps away as Justine got closer and raised her arms as to hug her sister. No one said anything for a while. Everyone around just watched the two sisters hug. Liv felt some happiness as she saw the reunion and hoped maybe Justine could be the support Amanda needed but wasn't getting from her parents. Nick felt as though he was intruding but still couldn't take his eyes off them. Fin felt a bit worried about Amanda's initial response but hoped the visit would do her good. There was no one that didn't understand by now just the length Amanda had gone to to protect her sister. Her love for her was infinite. To the point she'd sacrifice herself to keep her unharmed.
To a passing stranger this would probably look like a happy family reunion. Maybe that's what Cheryl saw as she stood just a step behind the two. But to Amanda it didn't feel like one. Her gut was turning, her mind grinding and her skin started to crawl.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered into her sister's ear. Justine picked up on the fear in her sister's voice and let her go slightly so she could look her in the eyes. "You shouldn't have come here," Amanda whispered but Fin could hear her and Liv felt something was wrong.
"I wanted to see you," Justine whispered back. Her hands were resting on Amanda's arms and now she put one hand on her sister's cheek in a sweet gesture.
"You should go back. Go back home Justine." Amanda's voice got a bit higher with the frantic that started to pour out of her body. She saw Liv take a few steps to them and she took a step around Justine so to hide from Liv and Justine's hand fell from her face.
"Go home Justine." Amanda said so everyone could hear her. Her parents had no idea what was going on with their otherwise so composed daughter and they stood paralyzed in the corridor.
Justine shook her head as she wasn't following.
"Go home. Right now. Turn around and go home." Amanda was getting very agitated very fast. Fin and Liv were right there and Amanda grabbed a hold of her sister's arms. "Go. Run Jade." Amanda pulled away from Fin's hand as he reached for her and she pulled her sister with her around. She'd let go of the IV stand but the line pulled it after her. Justine looked anxious.
"Run Jade!" Amanda said out loud and pulled her sister with her to get away from Fin and Liv who stepped in to calm her down. Nick came around on the other side of the corridor and blocked her way though. Amanda looked wildered as she looked around for a way out with her sister. When she saw no exit she got panicked.
"They'll get you on drug charges Justine. You have to run now." Amanda stepped right into her sister's face. Fin got a hold of Amanda's arm.
"No I'm clean. I promise." Justine turned to Fin and pleaded.
"It's okay Justine. We're not here about any drug charges." Fin tried but Amanda kept insisting she had to run. Justine looked over at her parents and then over at her counselor who'd stepped up to them on the other side to be of assistance if needed.
"They're lying. You have to run Jade." Amanda managed to scream with her hoarse voice.
"Calm down Amanda." Liv tried as Fin placed his hands around her waist and tried to wheel her in. Amanda tried to get away without letting go of her sister but Fin didn't budge. Liv tried to get her to release her sister by putting her hands over Amanda's and carefully bending them off.
"No." Her hoarse scream sounded down the corridor as Fin and Liv managed to get her away from her sister.
"Nick will you get them to a room." Liv hinted with her head towards Justine and her counselor as she held on to Amanda's wrist so she wouldn't manage to grab a hold of her sister again.
"No. Don't." Amanda screamed and got even more agitated. She fanned around with her arms and legs and Liv lost her grip. The IV tube got ripped from her arm and the stand fell to the ground as Amanda's leg hit it. Fin had her deadlocked though. She didn't seem to want to injure someone but more just reach her sister. Nick guided Justine and her counselor further down the corridor. Amanda just screamed and as Liv was positioned right in front of her and looked her straight in the eyes she saw it. This wasn't detective Rollins. This wasn't the detective who'd worked by their side for almost a year. This was a child. This was fourteen year old Amanda so desperately wanting to have her life and her sister back. It tore Liv's heart apart as the screams got even more desperate.
"She really can't get this agitated," Nurse Cheryl complained. "It's not good for her," she continued but didn't seem like she knew what to do about it. Other nurses and people had gathered in the corridor to watch the commotion. Fin started to move backwards to her room so she wouldn't be so exposed to their looks. He kicked away the IV stand who laid in the way. Liv tried talking Amanda down but to no use. Liv saw the frantic looks on the parent's faces and turned to them
"We got her. Don't worry. Get out of here for a while." Jack collected his ex wife and pulled her down the corridor to where they'd just arrived from. Fin had reached the door and pushed it open with his back. Amanda grabbed a hold of the door frame though and held on for dear life as she continued screaming her sister's name. Before she'd gone back and forth from Jade and Justine but now it was constantly Jade.
Liv helped bend Amanda's fingers off the frame and they could finally disappear into the privacy of her room. Cheryl came after them and continued her nagging about how she needed to calm down. Liv turned and looked her straight in the eyes as she said
"You're not really helping right now. Let us deal with her. Okay?" Liv tried to sound softer as she finished and she nodded at the nurse who finally gave her a nod in reply and then turned to leave. Fin had backed down to the wall and tried to get her down on the floor with him. Liv came forward and sat down by their side. She couldn't be of much help right now and just watched as Fin as carefully as he could put her to the ground. Amanda's screams had lowered but tears were still streaming and she had a face that still tore at Liv's heart.
Once on the ground Amanda fought to get loose and ended up in the corner by Fin's side. She turned her back to them and buried her face in her arms as she bent forward. Her hair had gotten loose in the turmoil and fell forward and the patch at the back of her head became more prominent. Fin stayed put and just made sure she did the same. He took a few deep breaths as things finally seemed to calm down. He met Liv's eyes and she tried a smile at him. She too had to take a deep breath. That had been intense. She raised her eyebrow and nodded at him. He closed his eyes briefly and nodded back to her. He had her. Liv should go deal with the sister. She reached out and touched his arm before she stood up and carefully backed out of the room. She told a nurse outside to make sure no one went in there for a while and to tell Cheryl the same. And to get the guards back on duty. Liv made her way down the corridor to find Nick and Justine.
A nurse further down the corridor told Liv where the other detective had taken the two ladies. Liv followed her directions and soon found them. Liv was relieved to find the room calm and the people in it somewhat at peace. Nick actually looked like the one most anxious. He rose as soon as Liv entered and seemed very relieved to see her. Justine and her counselor sat on a couch by the wall. Liv stepped to them with a smile on her face and extended her hand to Justine who sat closes to her.
"Hi there. I'm Olivia Benson."
"I'm Justine," the blonde said and sounded just like Amanda. On a day when she wasn't hoarse and frantic that is.
"So nice to meet you Justine. Hi. Olivia." Liv took the counselors hand.
"Corinne. We spoke yesterday," said the brunette with the big brown eyes and sincere smile on her lips.
"So that was a bit intense," said Liv as she sat down on a chair across the table from them. Nick sat down next to her. She could see he'd fix them some water that sat on the table between them.
"How is she?" Justine asked with worry in her voice.
"She settled down. She'll be okay." Liv reached for a water bottle and took a zip straight from it.
"Why didn't she want me here?" Justine asked next and Liv looked at her seriously wondering just how sincere she could be. Justine looked very composed. Not at all as Liv had pictured her. She figured maybe the medication made her relaxed but she could see honest concern in her eyes so she wasn't all jaded. Liv looked briefly at the counselor and then back at Justine.
"I think it's because there's some things Amanda doesn't want you to know."
"What?" Justine wanted to know. Liv's eyes went by Corinne again and this time the counselor nodded at her as a go ahead to whatever she was thinking.
"You know that it was Eric that attacked her right?" Justine nodded.
"Was it cause he wanted to know where I was?" It was Liv's time to nod. The room was silent for a while until Justine spoke again.
"What else did he do to her?" Justine suddenly said. Liv had underestimated Justine. Liv took another zip of the water and then put the bottle down on the table. She looked at Justine and told her
"He raped her." Justine's face didn't change much but her eyes dropped to the table. Liv wasn't sure how to proceed. Corinne watched Justine closely.
"Are you okay Justine?" Liv asked and got eye contact with her again. Justine nodded briefly.
"There's more I have to tell you," Liv said honestly. Justine looked scared but still as though she wanted to know. Corinne put her hand out and Justine immediately took it and squeezed it. Liv looked at Corinne who met Liv's eyes and nodded.
"It's okay. You're here to help your sister right Justine?" Corinne said and Justine nodded. "Go ahead Olivia." Liv was happy the counselor was there.
"Do you remember a weekend when you came home from college? It was just weeks away from your 20th birthday. Your parents were going out and they left you alone with Amanda. She was fourteen. You were going to plan your birthday party. Do you remember?" It looked like Justine was thinking hard.
"I remember my birthday party. I'm not sure about that weekend though."
"Okay. You'd promised your parents no drugs in the house and Eric was banned but when they came home they found him there and you were passed out on a couch."
"I don't remember that," Justine whispered.
"Your parents found Amanda in their bedroom. I'm sorry to have to tell you this Justine but Eric had raped her." Justine immediately looked up at Corinne who just held her eyes with her own. Liv could see tears in Justine's eyes.
"Your parents decided not to call the police. They covered it up. They didn't tell anyone what had happen."
"Why wouldn't they call the police?" Justine said without letting go of Corinne's eyes.
"They wanted to protect you. And Amanda. They didn't want anyone to find out about your drug habit and they wanted to save Amanda from getting a reputation."
"They acted wrong." Liv wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement but agreed with her.
"Yes they acted wrong. They let Eric get away with a horrific crime."
"He would have gone to jail."
"Yes he would have."
"He deserves to be in jail."
"Yes he does," Liv agreed again with Justine. Liv thought about starting to ask her if she knew where he could be at but Justine went first.
"I was jealous," she said with a lowered voice.
"What?" Liv asked. Justine let go of Corinne's eyes and looked over the table at Liv.
"I was jealous. After he'd met her the first time he told me she was like a younger prettier version of me. It made me jealous. Every time we'd seen her he kept telling me how pretty she was, what a gorgeous face she had, an athletic body and things like that. I should have known but I was just jealous."
"Don't blame yourself Justine. Your parents were the adults here."
"But she was just fourteen. I was her big sister."
"Were. You still are her big sister Justine."
"He was my first. And hers. That's just sick." Justine looked back at Corinne as tears started to dwell over and Corinne nodded at her. "I think I should have known. He had a photo of her in his wallet." Corinne put her other hand over Justine's as well and held on to her tight.
Justine looked back at Liv. She looked guilt ridden.
"Why didn't she tell me?" she asked but Liv couldn't answer that.
"I don't know Justine. Your parents never talked to her about what happen. They just covered it up."
"Just so no one would know about my addiction." Justine looked down, shame weighing heavy on her shoulders.
"And to keep Amanda from getting a reputation. And probably cause they themselves couldn't handle it being a public issue." Liv tried to ease the sister's burden. Justine looked back up and starred intensely at Liv.
"You didn't know either?" she asked and Liv shook her head. "Did it happen often?" she asked and Liv could feel Nick's eyes on her as well.
"We don't know. Yet," she answered sincerely. Both Liv and Nick knew Amanda would have to give a full statement once this got to court. No one knew, or wanted to think about, what toxic web that would untangle.
Liv gave Justine some time to collect herself and then went over to the task at hand.
"Do you know where Eric could be hiding out here in New York? Does he have any friends or family around here?" Justine shook her head.
"No family. But I thought hard during the car ride over here and I remember that his friend moved here a couple of years ago. Dale Harris."
"Was Dale a drug addict too?" Liv asked and Justine nodded.
"Yes. All of Eric's friends have some kind of substance abuse. And knowing Dale, it's not 'was', he probably still is." Liv asked Justine what type of drugs Eric and his friends used to do and got a long list from her. They also got a list of Eric's closest friends. The once he himself called his inner circle. Liv also asked if Justine knew of any crimes Eric had committed and she did. They had broken in to stores and homes and taken items that they later could sell to get money for drugs. Eric was smart though, he only took a few things so at times people didn't even know they had been burglarized.
Justine didn't know anything about the store robbery in Druid Hills that happen just about the same time as they first started dating. Liv didn't go into the grim details of that robbery. Justine did tell them though that he never carried a gun during robberies. Maybe because he learnt a lesson back in 1997 Liv thought to herself. Justine did know that he could handle a gun though and it wasn't impossible that he could be carrying a weapon around. They got back to Eric's friend Dale and learnt he'd moved to work in a bar that his relative owned. Liv mentioned the bar Amanda had met Eric at and Justine thought it sounded familiar but wasn't completely sure it was the same one. They rounded off the interview and Justine asked if she could see her sister.