Excerpt from Take It Back by Kia Abdullah, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Artemis House held not only the sexual assault referral center but also the Whitechapel Road Legal Center, both founded with family money. Seven years in, they were beginning to show their lack of funds. The carpet, once a comforting cream, was now a murky beige and the wallpaper curled at the seams. There was a peaty, damp smell in the winter and an overbearing stuffiness in the summer. Still, Zara's colleagues worked tirelessly and cheerfully. Some, like she, had traded better pay and conditions for something more meaningful.

Zara maneuvered her way to the Lincoln meeting room, a tiny square carved into a corner of the pit. She carefully set down her armful and divided the folders into different piles: one for cases that had stalled, one for cases that needed action, and another for cases just starting. There she placed Stuart's latest addition, making a total of twelve ongoing cases. She methodically sorted through each piece of paper, either filing it in a folder or scanning and binning it. She, like most lawyers, hated throwing things away.

She was still sorting through files when half an hour later she heard a gentle knock on the door. She glanced up, taking just a beat too long to respond. "May I help you?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, I'm Jodie Wolfe. I have an appointment?"

"Please come in." Zara gestured to the sofa, its blue fabric torn in one corner, exposing yellow foam underneath.

The girl said something unintelligible, paused, then tried again. "Can I close the door?"

"Of course." Zara's tone was consciously casual.

The girl lumbered to the sofa and sat carefully down while Zara tried not to stare.

Jodie's right eye was all but hidden by a sac of excess skin hanging from her forehead. Her nose, unnaturally small in height, sat above a set of puffy lips and her chin slid off her jawline in heavy folds of skin.

"It's okay," misshapen words from her misshapen mouth. "I'm used to it." Dressed in a black hoodie and formless blue jeans, she sat awkwardly on the sofa.

Zara felt a heavy tug of pity, like one might feel for a bird with a broken wing. She took a seat opposite and spoke evenly, not wanting to infantilize her. "Jodie, let's start with why you're here."

The girl wiped a corner of her mouth. "Okay but, please, if you don't understand something I say, please ask me to repeat it." She pointed at her face. "Sometimes it's difficult to form the words."

"Thank you, I will." Zara reached for her notepad. "Take your time."

The girl was quiet for a moment. Then, in a voice that was soft and papery, said, "Five days ago, I was raped."

Zara's expression was inscrutable.

Jodie searched for a reaction. "You don't believe me," she said, more a statement than a question.

Zara frowned. "Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

The girl curled her hands into fists. "No," she replied.

"Then I believe you." Zara watched the tension ease. "Can I ask how old you are?"

"Sixteen."

"Have you spoken to anyone about this?"

"Just my mum." She shifted in her seat. "I haven't told the police."

Zara nodded. "You don't have to make that decision now. What we can do is take some evidence and send it to the police later if you decide you want to. We will need to take some details but you don't have to tell me everything."

Jodie pulled at the cuffs of her sleeves and wrapped them around her fingers. "I'd like to. I think I might need to."

Zara studied the girl's face. "I understand," she said, knowing that nerve was like a violin string: tautest just before it broke. If Jodie didn't speak now, she may never find the courage. She allowed her to start when ready, knowing that victims should set their own pace and use pause and silence to fortify strength.

Jodie began to speak, her voice pulled thin by nerves, "It was Thursday just gone. I was at a party. My first ever one. My mum thought I was staying at my friend Nina's house. She's basically the daughter Mum wished she had." There was no bitterness in Jodie's tone, just a quiet sadness.

Excerpted from Take It Back by Kia Abdullah. Copyright © 2020 by Kia Abdullah. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.