That evening the house felt too quiet.
Jay had been holding everything inside for days.
The mocking.
The scolding.
The confusion.
The constant feeling that whatever she did was wrong.
Her chest felt heavy.
So heavy that she couldn't breathe properly.
Finally she picked up her phone.
There was only one person she felt safe calling.
Ella.
Jay typed a short message.
"Can you come home?"
Ella replied almost immediately.
"On my way."
An hour later…
Ella knocked on the door.
Jay opened it.
The moment Ella saw her face…
Her expression softened.
Jay's eyes were red.
Her cheeks were wet.
Ella stepped inside quietly.
"What happened?"
Jay tried to speak.
But the moment she opened her mouth…
Her voice broke.
And suddenly she started crying.
Not softly.
Not slowly.
She cried like someone who had been holding pain for too long.
Ella immediately pulled her into a hug.
"Hey… hey… it's okay."
Jay held onto her tightly.
Tears kept falling.
"I can't do this anymore, Ella…"
Ella gently rubbed her back.
"Then tell me."
"Tell me everything."
They sat on Jay's bed.
Jay wiped her tears but they kept coming.
Her voice trembled.
"I don't understand what I'm doing wrong."
Ella stayed silent.
Letting her speak.
Jay continued.
"He mocks me for everything."
"For how I talk…"
"For what I like…"
"For even the smallest mistakes."
Her hands trembled slightly.
"If I wear something simple… he says I look boring."
"If I dress nicely… he gets angry."
"I don't know what he wants anymore."
Ella clenched her fists quietly.
But she didn't interrupt.
Jay looked down.
"He laughs when his friends make fun of me."
Her voice cracked again.
"And yesterday…"
"I was crying in college."
Ella's eyes softened.
Jay whispered,
"And he scolded me."
More tears rolled down.
"He said I was embarrassing him."
Ella moved closer and held her hand.
Jay looked at her helplessly.
"I feel so small, Ella."
"So stupid."
"Like I'm always doing something wrong."
Ella shook her head immediately.
"No."
Jay's voice broke again.
"But he says I'm childish."
"He says I need to grow up."
Ella squeezed her hand.
"Jay… listen to me."
But Jay continued crying.
"I try so hard to be good for him."
"I try to change things."
"But nothing is enough."
Her voice became softer.
"I miss who I used to be."
Ella's heart ached hearing that.
Jay wiped her tears again.
Then she whispered something very quietly.
"I miss being happy."
The room fell silent.
Ella slowly hugged her again.
This time tighter.
"You don't deserve this, Jay."
Jay buried her face in Ella's shoulder.
"I don't know what to do."
Ella gently stroked her hair.
"You're not alone."
Jay cried quietly.
Because in that moment…
The only safe place she had left to share her pain…
Was Ella. 💔