Please Remember Me

Chapter Forty

Hailey had finally broken through to Sage after compromising her own secrets and problems.

The girl was traumatized and scared, she didn't know what to do now that she had somewhere safe to go. Hailey went to visit her every so often to check up on her, it seemed like things were going well for Sage.

She had a new foster home, two lovely foster parents who were very patient and understanding with her.

She went to school and even started playing soccer. Hailey went to every single one of her games, the support that Sage needed was right there.

She just needed someone to show up and be proud of her for what she did.

And thankfully, Hailey did exactly that.

The blonde detective was still dealing with issues on her own, she loved having Hadley in her life.

It was like they had never been apart, they were roommates and shared lots of secrets and gossip between them.

Some talk was light hearted and fun, but then again each girl learnt the struggles of each other's lives.

Hailey remembered feeling her heart break into a million pieces one night while watching a victim talk to Hadley.

It had been a while since the Upton sisters had worked together.

Until the Intelligence unit caught a case that was tied with a MO from a suspect with the FBI. Hailey knew exactly who to call and Hadley was in the bullpen not even twenty minutes after.

There was another victim. A young girl. Couldn't have been more than seventeen, she was broken. Delicate. She had severe bruising on her face, neck and arms. Indicating she had been abused or beaten by a father, boyfriend or pimp.

It made the Intelligence girls blood boil, it was cases like these that really got to them. Hailey was prepared to take in what the girl had been through when Voight and Antonio came back from a trip to a CI but no one could've anticipated what they were about to hear.

Antonio came in first and exhaled really sharply, before looking around the room and sitting down. Voight put the girls photo up on the board.

"This is Kaylee Morales, 17. Where she was found is a common area for prostitutes and drug mules, and it turns out. Poor Kaylee has been a victim of this ring and has been living this life since she got surrendered to DCFS at age ten. She was ten when this started happening to her. We need to find something, anything. Now" Voight said with his usual tone, it was a bit more. Tense?

Everyone hated these types of cases as it usually made everyone just wonder what kinda people would have a kid just to let it get used and beaten for years.

It was quiet for a bit until Hadley finally spoke up.

"Hey Sarge, would it be alright if I talked to her first? I think I have something that might help her open up a little" She said. Voight nodded and signaled for Hailey, Erin and Jay to join her. Just to wait outside to see how this went down...

Hadley entered the interrogation room in the same manner that Hailey did, quiet. Soft. Careful. She was aware that Kaylee could be volatile and just downright scared.

"Hey I'm Hadley, you're Kaylee right?" the agent asked before the petrified teen turned and nodded slowly.

Hadley knew what she had to do, she reached for Kaylees hands and brought them close to her. She was soft spoken and gentle with her touch and words. Knowing all too well the pain that this girl felt.

"Can you tell me what happened to you?" Hadley asked softly, trying to encourage Kaylee to talk and tell them what had actually happened. Silence was so thick you could've cut it with a knife, but Hadley held her ground.

Still holding on to their scared victim.

After a while Kaylee spoke, more like a whisper.

"He raped me" she stuttered and Hadley squeezed her hands.

"It's going to be okay" the agent said before Kaylee spoke again.

"How do you know that? How do you get past all this pain? I'm stupid for asking this because you wouldn't know but how do I cope?" Kaylee asked Hadley who knew what she had to say.

"I would know actually" she said before she took a deep breath and exhaled sharply.

"I was raped multiple times when I was younger. All of them ended in me drugged, all by different guys. But the one thing I remember was the excruciating pain and the guilt that washed over me when I woke up. It's like I wanted to tear the skin off my body so bad that I took multiple showers a day just to try and wash the feeling of being dirty off. Trying to wash the feeling of their touch off me and off my body. It was horrifying. Waking up with all the blood and not knowing who I was anymore..." Hadley kept talking but outside Haileys heart had been ripped out of her chest.

She admired how strong and resilient her sister was from the moment she met her.

Little did she know what she had been through until then. It was like the saying 'You never truly know someone' Haileys heart ached for her sister and her emotions were swirling inside her.

All trying to battle and see which one she should be feeling. It was like she didn't know who she was anymore or how to deal with it all. So she decided she just wouldn't.

Plain and simple.

Bringing herself back to reality she was met with a weight almost toppling her over at her knees.

She looked down to see her goddaughter Hadley Mae.

"Hey Haddy!" Hailey said as she picked the little girl up and swung her around.

Earning a fair bout of laughter and giggles from her. Erin and Jay smiled at the sight of their daughter no longer being the scared, frightened kid she was when they found her.

Glad she was finally turning the corner and becoming the happy girl they wanted her to be. But what would it take to be able to keep Haddy safe and happy forever? And was it a challenge they were willing to partake in? Haddy was their pride and joy, she loved them and they loved her.

Still trying to figure out how to be a family, together.