Olivia Benson's Niece

Untitled Part 17

Olivia met Ms. Jackson in the hallway and stuck her key in the key hole.

"I tried opening it, but it's too heavy."

"It's okay. I got it from here, Ms. Jackson. Thank you."

"Call me and let me know she's okay."

Olivia nodded and braced herself using all her weight to push the door open. Rae wasn't that heavy so it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Olivia crossed the threshold and saw her niece lying on the floor still dressed in her school attire, coat and book bag. She immediately closed the door behind her and dropped to her knees flipping Rae onto her back. Her first instinct was to panic but what good would that do? Just think, Olivia. Think, she thought. She brushed the wet sweaty hair from her face and felt for a pulse on her neck. She let out a shaky breath upon realizing she was alive, just passed out. Olivia tried to shake her but that didn't work so she slapped her face lightly. "Rae, wake up." When that didn't work she scrambled over to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl and filled it with ice cold water. She walked back to Rae and stood over her. "I'm sorry, honey," she whispered and dumped it on her face.

Rae immediately shot up gasping for air and after realizing where she was, she burst into tears. She and Olivia made eye contact and Olivia dropped to her knees cradling her and holding her head close to her chest. "You're okay," she cooed. "I gotcha." Olivia felt the heat radiating off her so she helped Rae work out of her soaked coat and school shirt, leaving her in her tank top. Rae reached for Olivia again and Olivia wrapped an arm around her smoothing her wet hair down with her free hand.

"I said I didn't want to!"

"What happened?"

"I-I..." she sobbed. "I told you I didn't wanna walk home from school."

"But why? You've lived here your entire life. New Yorkers walk everywhere." Rae didn't say anything. She sat there as her tears soaked her aunt's shirt and Olivia cursed under her breath as the realization hit her. She couldn't believe it took her so long to connect the dots. All the signs were there, her asking about Erica, their victim, the nightmares, her not wanting to walk. She must've been raped walking somewhere too. "It happened to you too," Olivia breathed as more of a statement than a question. Rae didn't say anything but the silence gave it all away. She clung to Olivia so tightly it almost scared her and in return Olivia held her tightly as her body was wracked with sobs.

The eldest brunette bit her bottom lip in attempt to stop herself from crying but the way that Rae was wailing, she couldn't help but to let a tear or two slip down. She'd never seen someone so heartbroken, so sad, so hurt before in her life. "Is that why you kept asking about about the girl you saw at the precinct?"

"Mmhm."

"And that's why you didn't wanna walk home? Because you were raped?"

Rae hesitated and then nodded. "On my way home from school too."

"My god." She held her niece a little tighter. "Baby if I had known that I swear I wouldn't have made you walk. I had no clue."

There was a moment of silence as their thoughts carried them away, neither of them wanting to say anything. Olivia felt so guilty because Rae had practically begged not to walk home, but Olivia pushed her. Rae felt so open and exposed, but felt so much better at the same time. She had just disclosed one of her deepest darkest secrets and she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Can-can I tell you about it?" asked Rae.

"Sure, but only if you want to. You're not obligated."

"I know, I just... wanna get it off my chest for once. I-I wanna get in the shower first, though. I'm all sticky."

"Fine. Are you hungry?"