Katherine led MJ to her couch, both of them sitting once she was off the phone with the emergency operator.
"I'm sorry Ms. Morgan. I panicked and you were the only adult I knew that lived close by."
"How did you know where I lived?"
MJ looked at her feet. "That day I ran into you and your boyfriend at the coffee shop... I kind of followed you. I was bored with reading and was curious since you said you lived close to school... I was only going to see which building you lived in, but then someone exited and I snuck in and saw you two enter this apartment. I'm sorry."
"It's ok. It helped to pass some time?" Katherine smiled, remembering how curious she had been at that age. She was pretty sure the she and her friend Erin had played PI's as children and not so covertly followed countless neighbors around the four block radius of Erin's parent's house, the bit that set between higher trafficked roads. "I'm going to call my friend Amanda, she's a detective and will hopefully be able to keep us updated on what's happening with your mom, ok?"
MJ nodded and Katherine pressed her contact for Amanda, feeling a bit relieved when she picked up after one ring. Amanda had been scavenging her kitchen for a late dinner, but assured her she'd be up stairs in a few minutes.
"Hey MJ, I'm Detective Rollins, you can call me Amanda, I'm a friend of your teacher's. Can you tell me what happened tonight?" Amanda sat in one of the chairs next to Katherines green table, taking notes on a small notepad as Katherine sat on the opposite side of MJ.
"One of my mom's..." MJ paused and then settled on the word her mother used for them, "friends... he sounded really upset and started yelling. I heard her scream and then what sounded like hitting... I got scared and ran to Ms. Morgan's."
"You heard this?" Amanda questioned.
"My mom prefers not to have someone over when I'm home, but when she does I either go to the coffee shop around the corner or if it's later, like tonight, I hide in the coat closet."
"What do your mom and her friend do together?"
"He's not really her friend, it's just what she calls them. There are a few that come around regularly, most of the time it's someone I've never seen before. Tonight's guy was someone new."
Amanda could assume what MJ's mother did with the revolving door of men so she decided not to push MJ for more on that at the moment. "So you saw him?"
"The door to the coat closet has a large gap between it and the door frame. It's dark in the closet so you cant see me but I can see out. He paced in the living room while my mom got the bedroom ready... I got a pretty good look at him." MJ nodded.
"Ok." Amanda smiled softly at MJ, slipping her notepad back in her pocket. "Can I use your bedroom to check in with Liv?" Amanda asked, directing that question to Katherine.
"Yeah... you called Liv?"
"Actually, Liv called me. Due to the nature of the case patrol passed it off to SVU."
Katherine exhaled and focused her gaze on the floor for a moment before looking back at her student.
"What is it?" MJ asked.
"I'm not sure yet." Katherine lied. Whatever information MJ would learn about the condition of her mother didn't have to come from her. There was a whole unit in the NYPD specifically trained to do just that and she was more than willing to let them.
"Do you think you'd recognize the man if you saw him?" Amanda asked as she emerged from Katherine's bedroom.
MJ nodded and scooted closer to Katherine on the couch.
YOU ARE READING
Moving Forward (Completed)
FanfictionKatherine Morgan leaves her emotionally abusive husband and moves from Atlanta to New York after visiting Amanda, her former college roommate. A Barba/original female character fic. Amanda Rollins is her best friend. Nick and Amanda are something. S...