Authors Note: Alright. Let me start with saying how sorry I am for the lack of updates. I've decided to rewrite the whole story. Maybe rewrite's not the right word. I'm going to go through and fix spelling mistakes, and add minor details. You might not even notice. The only parts I will be completely redoing are the ones with Olivia. I want to add some more depth to those. I want to add a tiny bit more pain to Amanda's life. I hope you guys don't mind too much I'm rewriting, but I feel it could be better. It's the only way I can convince myself to continue on with this. And I really want to see it to the end for my loyal readers.

Also, no illegal sexual things will be going on in this fiction, or any other fiction of mine. Amanda will be completely legal before anything serious happens. Also, some contents of the story may be disturbing. Drug use, underage drinking, and younger/older relationship, and abuse are all parts of this story.

Thank you, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my original ideas and characters. All Law & order characters belong to dick wolf, etc. Empire State Of Mind goes to Jay-Z & Alicia Keys.

Chapter 1: Empire State Of Mind.

New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York

Amanda POV:

A deep frown graced Amanda Rollin's features as she was hustled through the crowded airport. This place was huge and she'd never seen anything like it. She was being bumped into and shoved far more frequently than she was used to, JFK was packed and these New Yorkers sure were in a rush. With a sigh, she hoisted her duffel bag higher up her back and made her way towards the exit.

Walking out the doors of JFK, she took in the scene that greeted her. Taxi's were bumper to bumper outside and she could hear horns blaring in the distance. This was gonna be a long day, and from the looks of it, it was only getting started. Amanda tried her best to move out of the way of the other people as she scanned the crowd for her mother. Her mom had promised to be out front when she stepped off the plane. She'd promised, and once more, Amanda was left disappointed. She couldn't see anybody that even resembled her mother.

Pulling her phone from her pocket she sent a text to her mother, letting her know that she'd arrived in the big apple and that she was out front.

It was hot day and Amanda was already starting to sweat a bit, pulling at the collar of her shirt, she shifted uncomfortably. She was feeling awkward just standing here, everybody was passing her and shooting her strange looks as they went. When she'd gotten no reply after 10 minutes of waiting, she sighed, pulled her Braves cap to the middle of her brow, hoisted her bag farther up her back, and prepared to cross the street. She couldn't just stand out there and wait for momma, she'd have a heat stroke.

She needed to find an air conditioned place to take a break. Lucky for Amanda people crossed the street together in big clumps, so she just went with the flow of people, and thankfully managed to make it to the other side without any trouble. When she stepped onto the sidewalk once more, she spotted a sign for a small café a little further down the street, she figured they had to have air conditioning and she could sit down, order a cup of coffee, and figure out what to do in a more suitable environment.

Atlanta and New York were two very different places. People moved so fast here, and Amanda knew she didn't fit in one bit. Luckily it seemed like nobody had any time to notice the blonde teenager who'd been dumped on her ass in the middle of absolute chaos that was New York City. She allowed herself to be carried with the flow of human traffic down the street, and then she practically dived into the open doors of the cafe, quickly removing her cap and smoothing her hair down.

The woman behind the counter had dyed bright red hair, was wearing a shade of red lipstick that wouldn't flatter anybody, and rocked a horrible cat shirt. The lady shot a not entirely unpleasant smile at her and waved her in, "Hey, welcome, what can I get for ya?"

Stepping up closer to the counter, Amanda took a closer look at the menu- her eyes nearly popping out of her head as she took in the prices. "Jesus" she murmured.

"Huh? Kid are you gonna order or not?" the woman drummed her nails (which were just as bad as her hair) against the register and gave her a forced smile.

Amanda decided to pick what looked to be the least expensive thing on the board. "Oh yeah, can I just have a iced coffee, please?"

"7 bucks even." Amanda winced at the price, but decided it was more trouble than it was worth to find another shop, so she dug a twenty out of her pocket and handed it over. A few minutes later Amanda was handed her drink and her change, with a mumbled thank you, she spotted a small table at the back of the semi- crowded restaurant. Keeping her head down, she pushed her way through the rows of tables and sighed with relief as she plopped herself onto the uncomfortable padded upholstery chair. She took a sip from her drink. It was almost worth that 7 bucks. Almost.

Pulling her phone out of her jeans pocket, she rested her elbows on the table and held the phone directly in front of her face as she dialed her mothers number. She said a quick prayer to any God listening as she hit the call button and put the phone up to her ear. Amanda tapped her foot impatiently as she waited through the rings. Her prayers went unanswered and after a couple more rings it went to voice mail; Amanda didn't leave a message, her mother wouldn't check it anyway.

Why was she surprised? Her mother never had been a dependable person, she should have expected her mother to not show up, to leave her to fend for herself. Resting her head on her hand, Amanda sighed. She had 50, wait, 43 dollars to her name. That's all the spare cash her dad had shoveled at her when he kicked her out of the truck in front of the airport. Her dad must've been relived to get rid of her. He used to tell her, she killed his vibe.

She had the address to the apartment where Kim and her mother had been staying, but what if they weren't home? What would she do?

Amanda had no friends here, no other family besides her mother and Kim. Her only possessions were her ID and 43 bucks. She had a few pairs of clothes in her bag, along with her toiletries, but what would she do without a place to stay? She didn't really want to risk wasting her last few dollars on a cab, in case they weren't at the address, but what other choice did she have? She couldn't stand in front of the airport all night and wait for them.

Taking quick sips of her coffee, she sent a text to Kim, saying she was here and really confused. But to no surprise never received a response from her sister. Popping the lid off her coffee, she quickly gulped the rest down, and pushed her phone back in her pocket. Standing, she threw her cup in the garbage, and with a quick smile to the tacky barista, left.

Once she was back on the busy street, the sky had gotten darker, but New York had lit up. The city lights were blinding and so beautiful, she stood there for a solid ten minutes staring in awe at all the lights, walking dumbly down the street, her head turning every which way. This place was just starting to get a little better. Amanda slid her phone back out, and checked the time. It was a little past 8 PM, and it was already getting dark out here and fast. Amanda may have been new to the big city, but she wasn't stupid. It wouldn't be a smart move to stay out here this late. Amanda had heard the stories on television about New York. All the crime, murder, and rapes.

She watched as people hailed cabs and when she felt confident enough she stepped to the side of the road and held her hand out. A shiny yellow cab pulled over for her just a few minutes later. Removing her bag from her back she slid the bag in first and then climbed in after it.

"Where to, miss?"

She gave the cabbie the address Kim texted to her a few days earlier, and rested her head against the window as she watched the city flash past her. Amanda allowed herself a moment to relax. Luckily there wasn't as much traffic so it was a relatively short ride. When the car finally pulled over, Amanda looked at the meter, 20 bucks. She pulled the money out of her pocket and handed it to him. With a soft "Thanks," she grabbed her bag and slid out of the cab.

Looking up Amanda grimaced, the apartments she stood in front of were grimy and didn't look all that appealing. Looking at her phone she checked the building address once more and then pulled the front door open, scanning the apartment doors on the first floor she saw numbers like A-1. Looking down at her phone again, she checked the number she was looking for. C-11. Walking down the hall to the elevators, Amanda clicked the button and waited. When the elevator finally got there she stepped inside and looked at the buttons. Instead of floor numbers they had the letters of the doors on each floor. A was 1, B was 2, C was 3. She clicked on 3 and played with the pockets of her jeans as the elevator slowly climbed upwards.

She was nervous, she was scared, she didn't know what she was doing. Her dad hadn't wanted her around anymore, so he payed for a plane ticket and shipped her off to a big and frustrating city, a city that she knew next to nothing about. When she got to said city, her mother couldn't even be bothered to meet her at the airport? She didn't know how to feel about that, the ding of the elevator took her out of her thoughts and she slowly exited, scanning the hall. The floor was covered with a dirty green carpet, which looked like it held all types of bacteria, the paint on the walls were stained yellow and peeling a bit, and Amanda spotted a stray roach on the walls here or there as she walked down the hall, looking for C-11.

She passed C-2, C-3, She passed all the damn C's except the one she needed. C-11 turned out to be the last door at the end of the hallway, and she took a moment to relax before she raised her hand slowly, and knocked on the door. Amanda became more and more anxious as the seconds ticked by and nobody opened up, she knocked again, and waited..nobody answered. She tilted her head back, holding back the tears that were trying to escape, shaking her head she turned to leave when the door creaked open.

"Manda?" She saw her sisters blonde hair before she saw her face, "Manda! You're here!"

"Yeah, I'm here, Kim. I'm here."