Chloe had expected a lot on Aubrey's wedding day: tears, a sense of hollow acceptance, and to eat her own weight in icecream (which was incredibly cliché as Beca had pointed out, but she really didn't care). The woman she loved was marrying someone else, she had really missed her chance with Aubrey. Four years they had spent together at Barden, as Bellas, as roommates, as always something just shy of girlfriends. She'd had so many chances and then Aubrey had graduated, moved out of their apartment, and had begun a relationship with the man that her father had picked out for her. They had grown apart since Aubrey had began dating Mark, and Chloe had a sneaking suspicion that hadn't been Aubrey's decision, but there was nothing she could do about it. The only reason she knew that Aubrey was getting married today was because Beca had told her (the fact that Beca was invited and she wasn't had really stung).

Yes, Chloe had expected a lot of things on Aubrey's wedding day, but the one thing she hadn't expected? Well it was knocking on her door right now.

Chloe sighed heavily as she heaved herself off the couch, setting down the glass of white wine that she had just poured herself as she went. Her jaw dropped as she opened the door, emotion glittering in her eyes as they raked up and down the person stood in front of her. She looked incredible, the white dress tailored perfectly for her, highlighting every beautiful line of her, her long blonde hair cascading in flawless curls, the silver thread and beading woven into the bodice of the dress bringing out the sparkle in her blue eyes.

The perfection of everything else made her face jar even more painfully in contrast. Her eyes were red and puffy, her mascara run down her cheeks, bottom lip pulled tight between her teeth. But what made Chloe gasp, what made a ball of anger tighten in her stomach, was a newly forming bruise on her cheek.

"Aubrey… what- did he do that?!" Chloe tried to keep her tone level as anger began to burn through her. How dare he?

"C-can I come in?" Aubrey's voice was barely above a whisper as her eyes fell to the floor.

Chloe said nothing, gently taking Aubrey's shaking hands as she pulled her into the apartment, shutting the door behind them.

"Get it off me…" Aubrey mumbled, tugging at the dress a little as Chloe recognised the tell tale signs of panic attack beginning to swell inside her former best friend, "Just- just get it off Chloe. Please."

Her movements got more desperate as she began to try and tear at it, Chloe catching her hands in hers, "Alright, okay, I've got it Bree. Just bear with me a second okay?"

"I don't care if you have to cut it, just get it OFF!" Aubrey's voice had raised in volume and pitch as Chloe nodded, quickly moving into the kitchen and back again with a pair of scissors in hand.

Chloe cut through the silk fastenings of the bodice and into the skirt until the dress fell away from Aubrey's form and landed in a heap around her feet. Aubrey was shaking as Chloe caught her when her legs gave out, eyes not missing the bruises on her back in various stages of healing, or the huge and painful looking bruise that stretched up her left side and looked suspiciously, heartbreakingly like a boot print.

"I've got you." Chloe whispered into her hair as Aubrey began to sob, "I've got you Aubrey. You're safe now. I won't ever let him lay another finger on you again."

Aubrey turned in Chloe's arms so that her head could bury into her neck, not caring that she was in her underwear or that Chloe could see just how hellish the last three years of her life had been, she just wanted her to hold her, to feel safe for the first time in years. Chloe held Aubrey as tightly as she dared, wary of any pain she would inadvertently cause her, but determined that Aubrey would know that she was right here and she wasn't going anywhere. If she ever laid her eyes on Mark she was going to kill him.

"Thank you for being home." Aubrey whispered as her sobs began to subside.

"Of course." Chloe smiled softly, "What happened Bree?"

"I- he just- I-" Aubrey shook her head furiously, panic welling inside her again.

"It's okay." Chloe said quickly, "You don't have to tell me just yet. I'm going to go and get you something to wear, it's November you must be freezing like this."

Chloe moved to get to her feet but Aubrey clung to the front of her t-shirt, a lump forming in Chloe's throat. This was not the Aubrey Posen she knew, the strong, stubborn and confident woman she had loved for so long; she was in there somewhere, she had to be for Aubrey to have come here, but this woman that clung to her dear life was a stranger. Chloe cursed herself for not trying harder to keep in touch with her.

"Okay." Chloe murmured into her hair as she wound her arms around Aubrey once more, "I'm not going anywhere. We don't have to do anything until you're ready."

Chloe's phone beeped and she glanced it, Aubrey still curled tightly against her. It was a text from Beca.

BECA: Is Aubrey with you? I don't want to interrupt I just need to know she made it to your place in one piece

That was how Aubrey had found her address. Beca had given it to her as a place of safety. Chloe reached over to her phone and quickly fired off a text response to Beca before silencing her phone.

CHLOE: I've got her, she's safe now. Ttyl x

Chloe could feel Aubrey shivering in her arms, frowning softly as stroked her arm gently, "I really want to get you in something warmer Bree. Will you come back to the bedroom with me so I can find you a hoodie or something?"

Aubrey nodded softly, letting Chloe pull her to her feet and guide her to her bedroom. She sat on the edge of Chloe's bed, looking at her feet as she heard Chloe shuffling through her drawers. She didn't know how this had happened, how things had gotten so messed up that she had ended up here like this.

"Here." Chloe's tone was gentle as Aubrey lifted her head again, drawing strength from her friend's impossibly blue eyes as her gaze was full of nothing but loving concern, "Put these on and then we can do whatever you want, whatever you need okay?"

Aubrey nodded slightly, sniffing a little as she looked down at the clothes Chloe had placed in her lap. A soft smile tugged at her lips as she recognised the hoodie, looking up at Chloe again.

"This is mine…"

Chloe blushed a little as she shrugged, "Is it? Must've gotten mixed up with my stuff when I was packing to move."

Aubrey knew it was a lie but she let it slide, sliding the green hoodie over her head with a wince, before pulling on the loose sweatpants. Her heart swelled a little as she realised that Chloe had picked clothes that weren't going to cling painfully to her body. Chloe had always looked after her so well. Chloe said nothing as she sat next to her on the bed, waiting for Aubrey to give her some kind of indication as to what she needed next. Aubrey leant against Chloe, her head falling gently onto her shoulder as she winced again. A comfortable silence settled around them, Aubrey feeling herself begin to relax for the first time in… god she didn't even know how long anymore.

"He was kind at first." Aubrey mumbled, feeling Chloe tense slightly but grateful when she said nothing, "He was sweet and charming and he swept me off my feet. But we got nine, maybe ten months in and I- I loved him but I wasn't in love with him. I had a lot of time to just… think about things over the holidays, you remember that I'd dislocated my shoulder when I fell from the obstacle course at the Lodge?"

Chloe nodded softly, grateful that that injury at least and the excuse that had gone with it were legitimate.

"I realised a lot of things. Things I should've said years ago… but when I told him about it…" Tears welled in Aubrey's eyes as she shook her head a little, "He got so angry. Told me that I was wrong, that I was- I was disgusting for even thinking that I was. That was the first time he hit me. He bounced my head off the wardrobe door and almost wrenched my shoulder out of the socket again."

Aubrey bit her lip as the memories of that night flashed in her mind. Chloe tensed more as she clenched her jaw in anger, doing everything she could to keep her breathing calm and level so that Aubrey wouldn't know just how furious she was with him, she didn't want Aubrey to think she was angry with her.

"He- he spent the rest of the night- well let's just say it was a really bad, really long night. But the next day, even though I was ready to pack up and get the hell out of there once the aspirin had kicked in and I could move, he was just so… apologetic and teary and I really thought it was a one off Chlo. I was so stupid and I believed him-"

"No." Chloe cut in, shaking her head furiously as she lifted Aubrey's head from her shoulder so she could look her in the eye, "You are not to blame for this, for any of it, do you understand me? This is all on him."

Aubrey's nostrils flared slightly as tears ran down her face, her head once again moving to rest on Chloe's shoulder, this time pressing her forehead against it as she let out a deep shuddering sigh.

"I should've left long before this Chloe…" Aubrey shook her head a little, "It just got worse. He- he hated that I was still in contact with you, with any of the Bellas so I just stopped getting in touch. The only one he let me keep talking to was Beca and that's just because she's already married to Stacie and he didn't see her as a threat. Stace wasn't allowed to come with her though, and yet… I still didn't leave him. What does that say about me?"

"That you were in an abusive relationship." Chloe tried to reassure her, finding it so difficult to keep anger from making her voice shake, "That he was a controlling bastard and you were trying to keep yourself safe and try and make it work. I know you Aubrey. You don't give up on anything, and this isn't any different."

"I stayed because I was scared Chlo…" Aubrey bit her lip, "Scared that if I left he'd find me, and it'd be so much worse…"

"It's okay." Chloe turned herself a little so she could carefully pull Aubrey into her arms again, "You don't have to be scared anymore Aubrey, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore, they'll have to go through me."

Aubrey chuckled softly in spite of everything, "It's been every little thing little lately. The slightest perceived mistake and he'd… he'd beat the shit out of me. And then today… all I'd said was that his tie was a little off centre and then the next thing I know I'm on my knees and my face is on fire. But Beca saw him, she saw him hit me... she's grown up a lot hasn't she?"

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked softly, trying not to think about how much she wanted to call Beca and get this asshole's address so she could beat the shit out of him for a change.

"The Beca I met in her freshman year would've flown at him and hit him, damn the consequences or the fact that she's half his size at best. But today she made it seem like she bought the idea that I'd tripped and he was helping me up until we were alone. She gave me your address and told me to get the hell out of there, right then, just go. Little Beca Mitchell saved me… who'd of thought?"

Chloe giggled softly, feeling some of her anger dissipate a little as Aubrey managed a little joke, "Don't call her that to her face, I have a feeling she might feel less inclined to help you in the future."

Aubrey smiled softly as she looked up at Chloe, "I'm sorry that I let Mark get in-between us. I've really missed you Chlo."

"I missed you too." Chloe cupped Aubrey's face in her hand, "And you don't have to apologise, I promise. It wasn't your fault."

"The- the thing that I realised?" Aubrey swallowed hard against the lump in her throat as she averted her gaze.

"Yeah?" Chloe frowned a little at Aubrey's stiffening frame.

"I- I realised that the reason I didn't love him was because- because I loved you. Because I've always loved you. I was just too scared to admit it. It seems so stupid to be scared of that now in hindsight…"

Chloe's breath caught in her throat. Aubrey loved her? More to the point, Aubrey had been hurt so badly and for so long because she loved her?

"Aubrey I'm so sorry." Chloe shook her head furiously, cupping Aubrey's face in her hands as she bit her lip a little, "I am so so sorry that he hurt you like this because of me. I- I should've said something to you years ago, I should not have let you graduate without telling you how I felt, if I had you'd have never ended up-"

"Hey, stop it." Aubrey frowned, "Please Chloe. Please don't blame yourself. I shouldn't have told you. God this is so not your fault. Please, please don't blame yourself."

Chloe felt guilt was through her as she saw the panic in Aubrey's expression, saw the way she flinched away from her a little. Dammit. She was making it worse.

"I'm sorry." Chloe forced a smile onto her face, "Ignore me, you know how dramatic I get. It's okay. You should've told me Bree, of course you should've. Because I love you too, and I am never going to hurt you or let anyone else hurt you ever again. Okay?"

Aubrey nodded a little, too overcome to manage anything else right now. Chloe let her slump into her again, holding her close as Aubrey wept into her shoulder. Chloe hated herself for letting Aubrey get so far away, so isolated from all of them. She made a mental note to thank Beca, to send her flowers, hell Chloe would buy Beca a new house at this point for working so hard to protect Aubrey as much as she could. She also pondered texting Lilly and leaving the rest up to her. She always did have a rather… unique way of making problems disappear.

"You're safe Aubrey." Chloe whispered into her hair, "We'll figure the rest of it out later, all that matters now is that you're safe and I have you."

"Thank you." Aubrey sobbed, "Thank you for always being there when I need you, even if it's been three years since I've seen you."

"I am always going to be here for you." Chloe promised her, kissing the top of her head, "Always Bree."