So here is the next chapter and it's an important one. Okay, in this chapter Lauren goes into detail about what happened to her. Before you start to worry (or choose to not read), I've kept the details brief and nothing graphic... This story is more about the aftermath of what happened to her than what actually happened.

Chapter 8.

Joey's in the kitchen when the doorbell rings. Lauren's in the bathroom and when he walks up to the front door he can see it's the police, one male and female officer. He opens the door and ushers them into the lounge, glancing around the square to see who's seen them at his door. He doesn't see anyone and he closes the door again quickly.

"Mr. Branning, we've come to take the rest of your statement regarding the incident the other night." The first officer says.

"Okay." He hears the door to the bathroom open and he glances towards the door, "I'll just be a second." He tells them, leaving the room and shutting the door behind them. He sees Lauren as she's about to walk into her room, "Lauren, the police are here to take my statement." He says to her softly, trying not to notice how she only has a towel wrapped around her body. The bruises he can see on her skin do help distract him from his thoughts slightly.

"Do they want to speak to me too?" she asks, anxiety written all over her face.

"I'll ask them when I go back in there." She turns to him and leans against his chest, closing her eyes briefly as she relaxes. She's seemingly unaware of her state of undress but Joey is ashamed to admit his body is beginning to notice. "Why don't you come into the lounge when you're dressed," he said and she nods her head, pulling away from him again. He walks back into to the lounge quickly, needing to put some space between them before he does something completely stupid.

*JL*JL*

Joey walks back into the lounge, finding the two police officers standing in the centre of the room, "Sorry," he said, "My cousin, Lauren Branning, is staying here a few days and I just wanted to let her know you were here so you didn't surprise her when she came in."

"Your cousin..." The policeman asked. "As in, the Lauren Branning who you found yesterday morning?" he clarified.

"Yes." Joey said, with no hesitation, "After she was released from hospital yesterday, I asked her if she wanted to stay here while she's getting better. She doesn't want to go home. She's had a row with her parents." He explained.

"I see."

Joey looked at the officer, "What do you mean by that?"

"It's just a little unusual for a victim of rape to be staying with a boy straight after she's out of the hospital." He replied, his eyes fixed on Joey.

"She's family." Joey said, "It's what family do for each other."

The door opened and Lauren walked in, dressed in Joey's tracksuit pants and hooded top. She took Joey's breath away. She walked over and sat on the couch, her eyes drifting over the other occupants of the room. "Is it okay for me to be in here?" she asked softly, sensing the atmosphere in the room.

"Yes, Lauren. We'll be able to take your statement as well if you're up to it." The policewoman said.

"Okay." She said quietly, looking as if it was as far from okay as you could get.

"Now, Mr. Branning..."

"Joey." He corrected. Mr. Branning just made him think of his father.

"Okay, Joey... From my colleague's notes, you were leaving work on the morning in question?"

"Yes. It was about three in the morning I guess."

"Was there anyone else around?"

"No. The street was deserted then I saw Lauren lying on the ground by the tube station." He glanced at his cousin and saw her staring at him. "I called 999 and asked for an ambulance and the police. I stayed with her, waiting for you all to turn up."

"Okay, well that sounds like we have all the information we need at this time. We may need to speak to you again in the future." The female officer said and turned slightly to Lauren, "Would you like some privacy when you give us your statement, Lauren?"

"No, it's okay." She replied. Joey didn't miss the shared look between the officers and it irritated him.

"Can you tell me about that day?" the police officer said.

"My day started with a huge row with my parents. They wanted me to stop drinking as much as I was." She winced at the words she'd just said, knowing that the results of the day had proved them right, "I started to leave the house and they... they made it clear that if I left, I shouldn't go back." Tears fell down her face and Joey reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "I left because I didn't think I had a problem. Now I guess, I'm not so sure..." she whispered. "I went to the Queen Vic first and had a couple of drinks before making my way into town..."

"You were alone?" the male officer interrupted.

"Yeah. I wasn't particularly in the mood for company." She paused slightly. "I went to several pubs and bars in town. At the last one there were some guys who started pestering me. I wasn't interested. I just wanted to drink... and I guess I'd had a few by then. I left the bar quickly and went to the tube station. The platform was pretty deserted and I thought I was okay, that I was alone. When the tube arrived I got on and again it was deserted. I sat down and everything was okay until the train started moving. The guys from the bar walked into my carriage and..." she sobbed as her words faded away. "I couldn't get away from them. There were too many of them and there was nowhere for me to go." She whispered and Joey squeezed her hand again, wishing there was some way he could make this all better for her. "The first one... he punched me in the face. I guess it kind of knocked me out a little bit because he was... on me the next thing I remember. I tried to fight him off me but he was really strong and so much bigger than me." Lauren proceeded to tell them about the rest of her ordeal and Joey listened carefully, setting his anger aside for another time because he knew that wasn't what Lauren needed from him now. "They got off the stop before Walford East," she finally said, "I dragged myself off the train and out of the station and I walked to my house but I couldn't get in, the door was locked and bolted. So I walked back to the station so I could get some money from the cash point and get a taxi to a friend's but I guess I collapsed outside the station."

"If we were to get you to sit down with a police officer, would you be able to help them come up with something we can use to identify these men?"

"I guess."

"We can come down the station tomorrow, if that's alright?" Joey volunteered, thereby informing Lauren he would be willing to go with her.

"That should be fine." The officers got to their feet and Joey followed suit. Joey showed them out of the flat and again he scanned the surrounding area to see if anyone had seen them. He saw one person. Sharon.

TBC

A/N: So there you have it. That wasn't too bad, was it? So now Joey knows exactly what was done to Lauren... Do you have any ideas how he's going to react? Send me your thoughts.

Now I've actually checked this time and tomorrow's chapter is longer and from here on out the chapters are all going to build from this point until the end of the story... so sit down and buckle up because it's going to be a bumpy ride. You've been warned... I'm cruel aren't I? :-)