Chapter 11.

The couple spent the rest of the day together. They ventured downstairs, Lauren cooking them both some food, which Joey, who had lost his appetite, managed to force down. They then lay on the sofa together and watched TV for the rest of the day. Just before Oscar and Abi were due home from school Joey asked if they could go back up to his room. Lauren knew he wasn't ready to face people yet and he certainly wasn't ready to deal with an excitable four year old boy. So they went back up to the bedroom.

Joey lay on the bed, his head on Lauren's chest again as she held him in her arms. "Do you want me to contact your work, Joe?" she asked him softly.

"I don't want them to know what happened to me..." he murmured.

"You've got to tell them something, baby... and you said the bouncers saw anyway..."

"I can't..." he said, panic building in his voice.

"Then let me..." Lauren told him. "What about your mum? She'll be worried about you..."

"She'll be fine."

"Joe, the police turned up on her doorstep asking to speak to you yesterday... she's going to be worried."

"I can't..." he whispered again.

"I'm not asking you to..." she said, "I'll do it... it's fine." She reassured him. "Why don't you give me their names and the numbers and I'll call them in a little while... and you can get some sleep while I'm doing that."

"Will you stay here? While I'm sleeping..." he asked.

"If you want me to. Once you're asleep I'll go and make the calls and then I'll come back here. You'll never even realise I've gone..." she told him.

"I want you here..."

He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and turned it on, ignoring the beeps as messages came through to him. He found each of the numbers in his phone and Lauren made a note of them in her mobile. He turned his phone off again once she was done. He didn't want to speak to anyone now... well, except for Lauren. "Sleep now, Joe." She said, kissing the top of his head and brushing her fingers through his hair. He kept fighting to keep his eyes open even though she could see he was still exhausted. She heard the front door open and close and knew her brother and sister were home. She hoped Oscar was quiet so Joey would be able to get some sleep. She glanced down at his face and his eyes were finally shut... a full thirty odd minutes since he'd first started trying. She moved him slightly so she could get out from beneath him and then quietly left his room.

She went into her bedroom and started making the calls. The call to his boss was relatively simple. It transpired the police had been in contact with him already, obtaining CCTV footage for the night to try and get some clearer images of the group as they left the club. The bouncers had been interviewed as well. Joey's boss reassured her that they had no intention of letting Joey go... if he wanted to return to work at any stage they would find him some shifts. In the meantime there was no rush for him to go back and he would still be receiving his wages. He asked that Joey contact him in a few weeks and they could then discuss what he wanted to do and if he wanted to go back and the timing of his return. Lauren thanked him for being so understanding and he asked her to pass on his best wishes and also his apologies that this happened to him at his club. They would be reviewing their security arrangements in light of this situation over the coming weeks so something like this never happened again. The call ended not long after that.

The second call Lauren found more difficult. The call was answered quickly and Lauren knew his mum had been waiting beside the phone. "Joey?" a female voice said as soon as she answered the phone.

"It's Lauren."

"Hello Lauren... Joey's told me about you..." she said and Lauren could tell just from her voice that she was smiling. "Do you know where Joey is?" she asked.

"He's here..." Lauren whispered. "He turned up here yesterday morning..."

"The police came yesterday... looking for him... Is he in trouble?"

Lauren swallowed, "Yes and no..." she said, knowing it was a confusing response. "They wanted to speak to him... but not because of something he did... more something that happened to him." She continued gently.

"Is he okay?"

"Not really, Mrs. Branning..." Lauren whispered.

"Call me Sarah, darling. Does he need me to come over there?"

"I don't know, Mrs... Sarah..." Lauren said, "He's asleep at the moment. I convinced him to let me call you to tell you everything because I knew you would be worried... especially after the police turned up yesterday..."

There was a brief pause at both ends of the line and Lauren mentally composed herself for what she was about to tell Joey's mum. "Tell me what it is, Lauren?" Sarah asked and Lauren could hear the worry in her voice now.

"Joey was attacked by a gang of guys he had thrown out of the club a couple of nights ago..." Lauren told her softly, knowing there was no way to sugarcoat these words and make them easier for her to hear. "He..." She stopped, hating that she was doing this and hurting his mother with her next words, "Two of the men raped him, Sarah... they raped your son..." she whispered and heard Sarah gasp at the other end of the line. "I'm so sorry..." she added, feeling awful.

"Is he okay? Did they hurt him?"

"He's pretty shaken up by it... there are cuts and bruises. He was examined by a police doctor and they've collected evidence, I guess... I don't know for certain, I was outside the room when we were there and I haven't pressed him for details. He hasn't mentioned any actual injuries."

"Can I come and see him?" she asked. Her worry for her son obviously overrode any concern she had about running into her ex-husband.

"I don't think he's up to seeing anyone at the moment..." Lauren admitted, "He's pretty upset by everything, obviously... and he's shut himself away in his room here... he won't see any of the family apart from me. Maybe in a few days..."

"I just want to see my boy..." Sarah said softly, "I want to make sure he's okay."

"I know... and I wish I could say it was okay for you to come over here, I really do... but I know at the moment he won't see you. I'll speak to him... and I'll try and get him to call you." Lauren took a deep breath, "This has changed him Sarah... in many ways he's still the same person but this has affected him."

"Can you keep in touch with me, Lauren? Let me know how he is?"

"Of course, Sarah. Do you have a mobile number and I can call you on that or send you a text message?" Lauren wrote down the number that Sarah gave her. "I'll try and contact you once a day... and as soon as I can get him to, I'll get him to call you..."

"Thank you, Lauren... and thank you for being there for him... I know he cares a great deal about you." Sarah said softly. "Do you want me to let Alice know?"

"Let me check with Joe first..." Lauren said, "I care about Joey as well... he means a lot to me."

"I know, dear... I can hear it in your voice." She said. "Look after my baby boy for me, Lauren."

"I will." Lauren promised her, having no intention of breaking it.

A/N: Lauren's conversation with Joey's mum was heartbreaking wasn't it? SEND ME A REVIEW. Back tomorrow…