Olivia startled awake from her deep sleep, something felt desperately wrong. She got up from her bed and checked her whole apartment, nothing was out of place or out of sorts and she frowned slightly. She knew that she was overly paranoid; her job had made her that way over time but still, this niggling feeling was not going away. She made a pot of coffee and sat down, her phone making a loud buzzing sound and making her yelp in surprise. She glanced down at the text message and frowned, a protective instinct filling her entire body.
"Aunt Liv, can I come over? I need you x" The text was from her 20 year old niece, Caitlin. Immediately the hairs on the back of Olivia's neck stood up; something was wrong with her little niece, the closest thing she had to a daughter. She was her brother, Simon's only daughter and they'd gotten close very quickly. She felt guilty though as she'd not actually seen the young woman for over 2 years; life had gotten in the way, what with Caitlin at college and Olivia working all the hours she was doing... she was damn sure going to make time for the young woman, especially when she needed her!
"Of course you can, honey. Do you need me to come get you? X" Olivia quickly responded back, impatiently waiting for a response. It was now 4:00am in the morning and the thought of Caitlin being hurt or upset was making her chest ache. She didn't have to wait for very long and when she saw the next text, she was up and out the front door in seconds.
"Yes, please. I'm at Hudson... Aunt Liv hurry! X"
That was all it took to send Olivia rushing to her car and speeding off, her heart was in her throat for the entire drive. It felt like it took hours but in reality it was only 20 minutes or so and she threw herself out of the car and dialled her niece's number.
"Aunt Livvvvv! Help!" Caitlin sobbed down the phone, she couldn't even speak properly because she was crying so much. Olivia shushed her softly, trying to keep her calm so that she could find out where she was.
"Honey shhh. I'm here, I'm outside in the parking lot. You're safe, baby. Aunt Liv's here... shhh!" She soothed softly, a sad smile formed on her face when Caitlin wept for her. Once she had ascertained where she was, Olivia made a beeline to her. She was close now, she could see a small figure sat on the sidewalk and she had to do a double take; Caitlin had always been petite but she was healthy, now she looked skinny, pale and really unwell. This just heightened her protective instincts.
"Caitlin!" Olivia called out gently and her head snapped up, she crumbled when she saw her Aunt. She held her arms out to her and Olivia picked her up off of the floor, inspecting her for any damage and she swallowed thickly seeing the huge black eye and her ripped skirt.
"Aunt Liv, you came!" Caitlin wept pitifully and Olivia had to swallow back tears, she felt so guilty! She should've tried harder and made more of an effort, the fact that her niece thought that she might not come to her broke her heart. She pulled the frightened kid to her chest and stroked her hair, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her training as a Detective went out of the window, she was an Aunt and her baby niece needed her.
"Of course I came... oh honey, I'm so sorry! Come here! Are you sore? Where does it hurt?" Olivia whispered, cooing sweet nothings into Caitlin's ear. She took all her weight when her legs gave out and crouched down with her, rocking her back and forth on the ground.
"My face, my thighs and... I can't say it! Please!" Caitlin sobbed and she didn't need to, Olivia had figured it out just by looking at her and her eyes filled with tears. She took off her warm sweatshirt and put it on Caitlin's body, trying to keep her warm and provide even just a tiny bit of comfort.
"Oh, my sweet girl. I am so sorry... Aunt Liv is so sorry that this has happened to you. We will wait until you're ready before we proceed with anything, ok? Come on honey, we need to stand up and get you back to mine. It's so cold... you're going to freeze, sweetheart!" Olivia spoke calmly and Caitlin mumbled to her, making Olivia's eyes fill with tears.
"It hurts between my legs but can you carry me? I want you to carry me Aunt Liv!" Caitlin was in such a panic that she didn't even register that Olivia had already picked her up and was holding her tight to her chest. She whimpered and sobbed on Olivia's shoulder, trying to pull herself even closer to her Aunt.
"I've got you, my darling. You're safe now... hush..." Olivia cooed, walking back towards the car, protecting the young girl from any prying eyes and trying to keep some of her dignity intact. She placed Caitlin in the car and buckled her in and got into the drivers seat, pulling away quickly and keeping one hand on her niece's.
"We're going to get you back to mine and we will go from there, we'll get you some hot cocoa with extra marshmallows and into some fresh pyjamas. How does a hot bath sound?" Olivia whispered, not even thinking that she should take her niece to the hospital. The only thing going through her mind was making her feel safe, clean and secure, this was personal.
Once Olivia had parked up, she helped Caitlin out and got her up the stairs and into her apartment. She locked the door behind them and immediately Caitlin gripped Olivia in a tight hug, her sobs and screams were making Olivia's heart clench.
"I know baby, I know how much this hurts! I'm here... I'm not going to leave you... I've got you!" Olivia mumbled softly, hugging and kissing the young woman's pain away. Caitlin hadn't actually verbalised what had happened but she really didn't need to; she had seen this time and time again with survivors of sexual violence.
"I need to get clean... please can you help me get clean! I just want to be clean Aunt Liv..." Caitlin whimpered and Olivia nodded softly, moving them both into the bathroom and filling the tub up with warm water. A thought occurred to her, she needed to at least get some pictures of the injuries littering her niece's body.
"Caitlin... honey. Would it be ok if I took some pictures of your bruises? Everything is going to be ok... I want to get whoever has hurt you. Please can I?" Olivia whispered and Caitlin hesitantly nodded her head, allowing her Aunt to take pictures of her face, stomach, neck and legs. All the while, Olivia praised the young woman for being so brave and for trusting her enough to get in touch with her.
Once the bath was full, Olivia turned away to give her niece some privacy so that she could get into the warm and vanilla scented bath water. Olivia sat by her side and just spoke soothingly to her, helping her to wash her hair and body... God, she wanted to kill whoever had hurt the little girl... well, she knew that she was an adult but she would always be that big brown eyed little girl with dimples to her. Caitlin let her forehead rest against her Aunt's and she nuzzled their noses together.
"Hurts..." Caitlin whispered softly and Olivia stroked her now soft and damp curls, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. She just kept her in her arms, the emotions that this bought out in both of them was so overwhelming.
"I know, my little darling. You're being so brave! I know how overwhelming this is. Would you like me to call your dad?" Olivia spoke gently, alarm bells ringing when Caitlin very firmly shook her head and clammed straight back up. They sat in the bathroom for another hour or so before Olivia grabbed a big, thick towel and helped her out. She wrapped her up in it and rubbed her dry, the way she had when she was little.
"Missed you..." Caitlin whispered, blinking owlishly up at her safe place. It made Olivia want to cry; she should've been there more! She deserved better than this, so much better than this.
"I've missed you too, baby. Come on, let's get you into some pyjamas and we'll do your hair... maybe in those braids you like?" Olivia spoke gently and Caitlin nodded, allowing Olivia to get her dressed and her hair dried. She implicitly trusted her Aunt and Olivia felt so honoured that she did so, that in her most vulnerable moments she wanted her. Olivia sat her in between her legs and braided her hair, gently pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Don't go... I don't ever want you to go!" Caitlin said in barely a whisper, resting the back of her head against Olivia's chest and allowing her arms to wrap around her tight, keeping her safe from harm.
"I'm not going anywhere... it's ok. You're safe now!" Olivia cooed, picking her up into her arms as though she was lifting up a very small child. She made her way through to the kitchen and began to make some hot cocoa, Olivia always found that when something bad happened or that she was in shock that this would always help her.
"Sugar is always good when you're in shock..." Olivia spoke calmly and filled Caitlin's mug up with the thick, sweet liquid and dolloped handfuls of marshmallows on top. They made their way into the lounge and Olivia sat down, very gently putting Caitlin on her lap and wrapping her up in a blanket.
"Here drink up, sweetheart. It'll help soothe your nerves..." Olivia cooed, brushing her lips against Caitlin's forehead. She smiled encouragingly as she drank, taking small sips until she'd finished. Olivia kept her wrapped up and stroked her hair, her heart constricted as she looked down at the vulnerable kid.
"Aunt Liv..." Caitlin whispered softly, glancing up at Olivia and playing with her hair. Finding strength and comfort from her presence, she knew that she needed to just say it. Olivia looked down, giving her niece her full attention.
"I was raped... he.. I was raped!" Caitlin hid her face in Olivia's neck and Olivia just rocked her back and forth, anger filled her entire body. Whilst obviously she knew that something had happened, to actually hear her say that was devastating.
"I'm going to be here darling, every step of the way! I'll kill him... I'll kill whoever did this!" She whispered to the frightened young woman, she had no idea of the betrayal and the heartache that was coming her way.