Fragile (Broken #2) SVU

Chapter Twenty One

**Amanda's POV.**

When I arrive back at Liv's apartment, I expect her to be doing one out of two things.

One; tearing up the place, desperately trying to find some shred of a clue of where Sky might be.

Or two; staring blankly out the window.

I am surprised to find her not doing either of those things. Instead she is patting down Elliot's shirt, her eyes red and puffy.

"Urm, am I interrupting something?" I say, walking in, averting my eyes towards the ground.

They both turn towards me at the same time, sheepish expressions on their faces. They stand there - hands behind their backs - like a couple of naughty school kids.

"Elliot was just leaving." Olivia says, ushering Elliot towards the front door. "I'll see you later."

Elliot doesn't say a word as he disappears out the door and around the corner. Olivia tucks her hair behind her ears and sits down on the couch. I follow and take a seat next to her.

"So what was that all about eh?" I ask, a playful glint in my eye.

"Shut it." Olivia says before punching me on the arm.

For several seconds, I forget Sky is missing. It's nice to see a smile on Olivia's face for a change. That despite everything that has happened she is still there deep down inside.

"Here, I picked this up from your mailbox." I say, handing her a brown evenlope with the words 'CONFIDENTAL' written on the front.

Olivia takes the letter and rips it open, making a face when she sees it's from her credit card company. Liv's face drops as she scans down the bill, taking in sharp intakes of breath as she gets towards the bottom.

"What is it?"

"There are some charges on here I have no idea what they are." She says, handing me the paper.

I clock the charges before typing the company name into Google. It only takes me several seconds to find out what the company is.

"Liv, it's a site that sells weight loss aids like diet pills and stuff."

She stares at me with confusion in her eyes before she storms off in the direction of Sky's room. I follow her, worry rising in my chest, anxiety crushing my lungs together.

"Liv, calm down, this isn't helping." I say, as Olivia rips Sky's room apart.

She starts chucking things into a pile of the floor. Diet pills, hunger suppression patches, diaries, weighing scales, measuring tape, chewing gum. I stare in shock as Olivia collapses to the floor, a look of defeat glinting in her eyes.

"How did I not notice this?" She says, half whispering, half shouting. "Why am I such a failure of a mother?"

"Don't say that." I say, kneeling down beside her. "You're not a failure of a mother - that girl knows how much you love her. You know better than anyone that sexual abuse survivors do desperate things so they can cope."

"I know you're right," she sobs. "But it's my kid Amanda and I don't know how to help her."

I take her hands in mine and grip them as tight as I can. I know there aren't any words to help her feel better but I know I have to keep her calm and focused. I know better than to keep her away from the investigation, it'll only spell disaster.

"Why don't we drive around some of the red light districts. If anyone knows where a back street abortion clinic is it'll be them. I suspect that will be Sky's next move."

Liv nods at me and I see the spark and determination appear back in her eyes. I help her to her feet and we head out towards my car.

********************

The stares from girls on this street make me feel uncomfortable - but I keep reminding myself we're doing this for Sky. I'm not a stranger to red light districts, however, they're not my favourite place to search for witnesses, especially when the girls aren't forthcoming.

I park up the car a few streets away and after bundling up in my winter wear - we head back. Olivia is quiet and I don't exactly have the words to help her feel better. We could cut the silence like a knife. I almost don't notice the shifty looking girl staring over at us.

"Olivia." I say, pointing in the direction of the girl. "She looks like she might have some information that could help us."

Olivia nods and I start walking slowly over towards the girl. I speed up when I notice her on her way down a dark alleyway, like she doesn't want to talk to us

"Hey." I yell, grabbing the girls arms. "We'd like to have a word if you don't mind."

I wave my police badge in her face and she sighs, her shoulders tense.

"We're looking for this girl."

I show her the picture I keep in my pocket, and I know immediately by her facial expressions she's seen her before.

"Look, I don't want any trouble." The girl says, her hands shaking. "But I did see her. A few hours ago I took her to a place that could fix her problem."

Rage builds inside me but I'd promised myself I'd stay calm. Getting angry and losing my temper wasn't going to get anyone anywhere.

"It's about 3 blocks away. The door is red, can't miss it. It's the only red door on the block."

There isn't any point in me arresting her, and we now have information about Sky we can work with.

The girl walks away and Olivia looks like she's about to cry. We don't have anything to say so we start walking in the direction the girl pointed.

We are bringing Sky home.