Addison is a school teacher living in New York when she becomes a victim of rape. The Special Victims Unit tries to connect the dots of the crime, leading back to a prominent family of the city. Sonny Carisi is the lead detective on her case, and th...
Sonny double parks the car across the street from the building. As we get out of the car I say to them, "I'll be right down" to try and get some time to myself.
"Yeah, sure," Sonny says back to me, fine with waiting at the car.
I nod, thanking them and quickly cross the street between cars coming by. I hurriedly unlock the front door and take the elevator up the 4 floors to mine. Once up there, everything is eerily quiet to me. I sigh as I enter into the entry hallway and take the 20 or 30 steps to my front door. I unlock it and move through it quickly, feeling wrong being there. I stuff random things into a duffel bag. It's mostly clothes, a pair of running shoes and some toiletries. I walk to the elevators quickly but stop before hitting the down button. I eye the old women's apartment who called the police, to begin with. She was nosy, not just that night but most days, but she cared. I don't think she had many people in her life and just wanted someone to say hi to. I backtrack to her door and knock on it gently. As I do, it pushes open just a little and I freeze, not sure what to do, "Mrs. Blaine?" I finally call inside the darkened apartment. There is no answer and I continue moving inside, calling out to her, "Mrs. Blaine, it's Addison from across the hall." I identify myself so I don't startle her. "Mrs. Blaine, are you okay?" I call as I approach the end of the entrance. My heart is beating faster with every step I take. I turn the corner to the kitchen and my stomach churns inside of me.
"Addison. Addison, what's wrong?" The voice is low. Sonny and detective Rollins are in the elevator when it opens, their feet visible from my hunch, halting to a stop when they see me.
I keep myself hurled over, trying to breathe, "she's--she's--" I point down the hall with shaking hands.
"Ok. Calm down. Stay right here." Detective Rollins puts her hand on my back, bending down to look and see if I understand, "Carisi, call for backup." She orders out and the two of them leave me in the hall to go investigate. I keep myself focused on breathing and trying to remember how I ended up in front of the elevator when I was just in her apartment.
As I wait there my mind flashes with everything that just happened. Mrs. Blaine on the floor, blood pooling around her body. I couldn't tell how she died, just that it wasn't natural. I stumbled down the hall I came through. I feel my stomach dry heaving with nothing to cough out and I stumble into the wall. I pick myself back up, trying to see straight and exit the door that was opened for me to go into. I sway over to the elevator, needing to get away, "Addison?" Sonny's call grabs my attention and I turn to see him coming towards me, "let's go downstairs." He suggests and I agree, pushing the button to go down.
We get outside and the winter air calms me. I let the wind whip through my hair and I breathe. Since my rape, this frigid air has been one consistent thing. When it hits me, it helps get me out of a bad state of mind and has grounded me back to reality a few times now. I embrace it and unzip my jacket, stuffing my hands into my jean pockets, "she's dead, isn't she?" I ask Sonny now that I am sitting in the back of the car and looking up to him.
"She is. I'm sorry." He returns sadly.
I shake my head not wanting to believe it, but I know what I saw "who would do this?" I choke out in a whisper.
"We're gonna find out." He says back. The faint sounds of sirens are now directly next to my ear and an unmarked vehicle pulls up in front of the apartment. Another 2 cop cars show up behind it soon after, "stay here." Sonny directs and shuts the door.
I keep my eyes trained at the scene unfolding in front of me, fascinated by all the different bodies moving around. There are people with cameras, medical equipment, notepads, evidence bags, and lights rotating in and out of the building. Traffic is stopped from coming down this street. I don't know how much time passes when the body of Mrs. Blaine is rolled out on a gurney, covered in a sheet by 2 men and a women. I fold my eyes and apologize, knowing this can't be just a coincidence, "Addison, I need you to get looked at by this medic, okay?" Detective Rollins asks gently.
"What? Why?" I argue, not wanting someone to look me over, not wanting to be examined by someone else again.
"Stay here." She holds up a finger and leaves me again.
"What were you doing going in there?" Sonny asks me when he and Rollins walk to the car together. They both stand outside the back door looking down at me. Sonny's blue eyes searching for something in mine.
I shrug, "I was about to leave but I wanted to thank her." I tell them.
"Thank her for what?" Detective Rollins asks.
"For calling you guys. I would've tried to push it away, acted like it never happened. I wanted to thank her for being strong enough to do something for someone else." I explain, "I knocked on the door but it was already open a bit, I thought maybe she was hurt or something." I continue on looking mostly at Sonny but occasionally glaring at Detective Rollins, "so I called out to her, expecting a reply but didn't get one. I noticed her body and all the blood when I turned the corner." I shudder at the memory flooding back into my brain.
"Did you touch anything while you were in there? Did you go to her?" Sonny questions me.
I shake my head, "no, no I didn't go to her. I uhm, I think I freaked out, stumbled out of the apartment." I try to recall it again.
"Okay, well-- there's some blood on your shirt, a uh cut on your head. Can you tell us how you got that?" Detective Rollins asks and points to both things on me.
"What?" I look down at what I'm wearing and see some blood splattered onto my clothing. "Wha-- what's happening? I-- I don't know how that got there!" I semi yell out, my breathing picking up.
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"Addison, this medic is gonna look at the cut on your head. Okay?" Sonny asks quietly, another man appearing next to him with a red bag in his hand. I sort of nod, or at least I try but I'm more focused on trying to remember how I got hurt and how this blood got on me. "I'm right here." He adds, once the medic is kneeling in front of me and flashing a light into my eyes.
