Keeping Her Safe

Chapter 9

Olivia and Fin stood around outside the precinct bathroom, scowling and staring down at their shoes. Will had been in there for a long time, and while Olivia could tell he was no longer throwing up, she could still hear loud, shaky breathing from outside. The walls were a little too thin for her liking.

Olivia didn't know what to think when it came to this kid. He was so kind and well-liked according to his teachers, but that little outburst he'd just had was anything but. He had been described as calm and mild-mannered, but he had just yelled at them like a lunatic just because she had assured him Kayla's assault wasn't his fault.

Olivia was suspicious at this point; but she also couldn't help but feel like Will would never be capable of anything like this. He just seemed too...innocent. For now, all Olivia could do is wait outside the bathroom door and hope the kid would be alright.

And that's just what she was doing when Kayla Stone stormed into the squadroom, looking more frightened and nervous than ever before. Not even after her assaults did she look that terrified.

She spotted Olivia quickly and ran right up to her, and Liv could already see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Kayla," she said softly. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"No," Kayla said, her voice trembling. "I'm not okay."

"What happened?"

"Will texted me, and he sounded so...just- what did you tell him?" she asked, still shaking like a leaf.

"Honey...he knows about the rapes," Olivia said calmly. "We had to talk to him, he could provide us with some important information about the man who hurt you. We had no idea until just recently that you two even knew each other."

"So he...he knows?"

"He does," Olivia said.

"How- how could you?!" Kayla said, suddenly getting emotional. "He was never supposed to find out!"

"Kayla, I'm so sorry," Olivia said. "We never would have said anything if it wasn't vital to the investigation. We think the man who attacked you might also be after your boyfriend. We had no choice but to question him. But I promise you, Kayla, this will all be worth it. We're going to find the man who assaulted you, honey, no matter what it takes."

"I don't even care anymore," Kayla said emotionally. "I'll drop the charges."

"Kayla," Olivia said, more than a little surprised. "I know you're upset right now, but you don't mean that. I know you want to find this man just as badly as we do. Before he hurts any other girls."

"You don't understand- you don't know what this is going to do to Will," she said .

Olivia sighed. "I know this can't be easy for him. But he's going to be okay, Kayla, trust me. It might take him a while, but he'll be okay. I've working with hundreds of victim's friends and families. He's not upset at you, he's only upset that somebody hurt you and there was nothing he could do about it. But he's going to be okay, Kayla, once the shock wears off he'll be just fine."

"You- you still don't understand," Kayla said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Will's not like everybody else."

Olivia gave her a kind smile. "I know, sweetie," she said. "I know how hard something like this can be for someone as sensitive as he is. But if he ever needs to talk to someone about it, I'm always here, Detective Amaro is always here, and Dr.Huang is always here if he wants to get some counseling. But he's not alone in this, and neither are you. Remember that."

Kayla only started crying even harder. "You still- you don't understand!" she said, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Please, talk to me Kayla," Olivia said. "What is it that I'm not getting?"