The knock vibrated around the small apartment, making Chloe jump. Ange glanced at her, seeing her face even paler than it normally was, her legs shaking.

"I'll get it." Dom said, standing up and walking into the hall. Chloe looked up suddenly, seeking her mother's eyes, and found them.

"I'm here," Ange reassured her. "And Dominic's here too. You don't have to answer anything you don't want to." Chloe could only bite her lip anxiously and nod, hearing several pairs of footsteps on the wood-tiled floor.

She was still holding her mother's hand when they entered the room- her brother, and two police officers. They must be young, she thought, not looking much older than herself. One had long brown hair and one had a pixie cut, and both had removed their hats when they came in.

"Hello, Chloe. I'm Sarah, and this is Em. We're police officers from Holby Central. Your brother called us regarding an assault last night. Are you okay to talk to us?"

"Yes."

"Is this your mother?" The blonde lady gestured towards Ange, who nodded in confirmation.

"So. We can stop whenever you like, just let us know. You don't have to take this any further if you don't want to, but by doing this it means that you have evidence to rely on in court."

Chloe nodded.

"Can you tell us any previous knowledge you have of the man in question?" Em asked, taking out her notepad and poising her pen on the paper.

"We used to date. I broke up with him a few weeks ago, he didn't take it well. He asked me out for a drink last night, and I dont know. I guess I was in a bad place anyway, and I felt sorry for him, so I said yes." Chloe took a deep breath before continuing.

"But he didn't take me to a bar. We went back to his house. He kept giving me drinks, but he never had any alcohol himself. I was drunk by the end of the night, and then he tried to kiss me. I pushed him off, but he wouldn't get off me. He was holding me down, he's strong." Finally, her voice cracked and Chloe let out a sob. Ange couldn't help herself and reached out to pull Chloe closer to herself, rubbing her arm in comfort.

"It's okay. We can stop if you need a break." Em said, giving Chloe a gentle smile.

"No, no. If I don't get it out now, I never will." Chloe waved her hands in dismissal, and took a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

"He tried to get down my jeans. Well, he did, I guess. And then when he was trying to unzip his trousers, I kicked him and ran." She leant into her Mum, taking Ange's hand in her own. She linked their fingers together like she did when she was a child, running her fingers over her Mum's chipped nail polish. Ange squeezed her hand back, letting her know she was there before Em continued her questioning.

"Get down your jeans?" She asked questioningly.

"You know." Chloe motioned, making it clear she didn't want to expand any further.

"And what happened after you left?" Em realised that she wasnt going to get anywhere with that and moved the conversation on.

"I ran for a while. I didn't know my way around the area, especially not in the dark. I got to a street sign and I stopped. I called my- my brother and he came straight away." Chloe motioned to Dom.

"Would you, by any chance, still have the phone conversation saved?"

"Yeah, I have one of those apps that records conversations."

Dom brought out his phone, tapping a few times.

"This must be it."

"Are you okay listening to this, Chloe?"

Chloe nods.

Dom pressed the play button, and a static sound came into the room. There were shaky breaths and pounding feet, and what sounds like heavy panting.

"Chloe?" Dom's voice is confused.

"Can you pick me up?" Her voice is scared, and timid. She lets out a small sob after she speaks.

"Where are you?" Dom asks, and there are footsteps in the background.

"Corner of Smith street." Chloes voice is unsure.

"Should I call your Mum?" He questions.

"No." Chloe's answer takes a while, and there's a hesitant pause as if she can't decide what to say.

"I won't be long. Stay where you are, I'm on my way."

"Thanks. This will count as evidence that you were where you say you were."

"Chloe, has he ever done anything like this before?"

"Not like this, no."

"Okay. We're going to take your clothes back to the station and then we're going to try and chase any CCTV around the area, just in case anyone caught anything. We'll need to take some photos, too. Have you made your decision about taking this any further yet? You can come with us now, or drop in at any time today."

"Can I come later, please?" Chloe asked in a small voice.

"Of course." Em answered with a kind smile.

"Thank you, so much." Ange stood up as if she was going to shake their hands but just rubbed her wrists anxiously.

"It's fine, you're very welcome. We'll see you later." Sarah gave them a bracing smile, picked up her hat and walked to the doorway.

"I'll show you out." Dom jumped up, leading the two policewomen down the hallway. There was some murmuring, and Ange heard the door open and shut behind them.

"Was he in work?" Chloe's voice startled her. It was quiet but came out of nowhere.

"Chloe..." Ange trailed off. She didn't want to upset her even more.

"No. Tell me. Was he in work?" Chloe repeated; she needed to know.

"Yes." Ange answered finally.

"How? How can he just pretend like everything's okay? Like what he did was okay?" Questioned Chloe, shaking her head.

"I don't know." Ange shrugged. She felt useless; she wasn't able to give Chloe the answers she wanted.

"Was there nothing wrong with it? Am I overreacting, is this normal?" Chloe ran a hand through her hair, stressed.

"No. No, it's not normal." Ange tried to reassure her.

"Maybe he didn't realise. Maybe he didn't realise I didn't want to."

"Chloe, you told him no. He should have listened, and he didn't, and that's assault. He bruised you, sweetheart, he hurt you."

"He loves me."

"No, Chloe. He doesn't." Dom interrupted, making both of them look up.

"Look at yourself. This is not love." Dom leant forward, his voice cracking, and Ange felt tears well in her eyes. Chloe nodded numbly and sat back in her chair.

A few hours, and many tea refills later, the three were sat staring blankly at the television. Chloe was jogging her leg and Ange had been listlessly folding Dom's laundry, against his feeble protests that he'd do it later.

"Can we go now?" Chloe asked, her voice timid. Ange nodded in reply, climbing up from the floor and stretching her back.

"Shotgun." Chloe smiled faintly and Dom grinned back. The car ride was silent, each person consumed in their own thoughts until they pulled up outside the police station.

"I need to do this by myself. Can you wait?" Chloe was twisting her hands around her wrists nervously.

"Of course." Ange nodded and gave her an encouraging smile. She and Dom sat in the car and watched Chloe limp her way into the police station, pulling her coat tighter around herself.