The Past Within - Mialotte - TNN

You deserve to know

TW talk about abuse, self-harm, suicide.

One night, as Charlotte and Mia were relaxing on the couch together, the quiet hum of the television barely masking the tension in the room, Mia noticed a shift in Charlotte's demeanour. Charlotte seemed distant, her eyes clouded with thoughts that weighed heavily on her.

Mia reached out, gently placing her hand on Charlotte's. "Hey, you've been really quiet tonight. Is everything okay?"

Charlotte glanced at Mia, her eyes flickering with a mixture of vulnerability and hesitation. She opened her mouth to respond but found that the words caught in her throat. After a few moments, she took a deep breath, her fingers trembling slightly.

"It's just... there's a lot on my mind," Charlotte admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mia squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Whatever it is, we can face it together."

Charlotte looked at Mia, her heart swelling with both love and fear. She knew it was time to open up, to share the parts of her past that she had kept hidden for so long. With a deep breath, she began to speak, her voice trembling with the weight of her revelations.

"There's something I've been keeping from you," Charlotte started, her eyes filling with tears. "Things I've talked about in therapy, things I haven't shared with anyone until now."

Mia's gaze was steady and filled with concern as she listened. "You don't have to rush. Just tell me what you're comfortable with."

Charlotte nodded, gathering her thoughts. "I've struggled with self-harm. I started when I was a teenager. It was a way to cope with the pain and confusion I felt inside. I kept it a secret from everyone, including you."

Mia's heart ached at Charlotte's confession, but she remained silent, giving Charlotte the space to continue.

"And it wasn't just that," Charlotte said, her voice breaking. "There was my uncle... he was really smart and used to help me with my homework. But he also had a dark side. He was controlling and angry, and when he died, it was a relief in some ways because he couldn't hurt me anymore."

She paused, her tears falling freely now. "Then there was everything that happened when I was 19 going on 20—the assaults, the losses. It was the worst year of my life. I felt so overwhelmed, and I was studying and working part-time, trying to keep everything together."

Mia's eyes were full of empathy as she listened, her hand gently rubbing Charlotte's. "You've been through so much. It's incredible how strong you've been to get through all of that."

Charlotte shook her head, her voice trembling. "I don't feel strong. I feel like I've been hiding so much. I never really talked about how it all affected me until therapy. I thought sharing it with you might be too much, but I realize now that I need you to understand."

Mia moved closer, wrapping her arms around Charlotte in a comforting embrace. "Thank you for sharing all of this with me. I'm here for you, no matter what. We're in this together."

Charlotte clung to Mia, the weight of her confessions lifting slightly as she felt the warmth and support of her partner. "I'm scared, Mia. I'm scared of how much of my past still affects me and how it might affect us. But I want to be open with you. I want us to be able to face everything together."

Mia stroked Charlotte's hair gently, her voice soft and reassuring. "We'll face it together. You don't have to go through this alone. We can work through it, and I'll be by your side every step of the way."

As Charlotte lay nestled in Mia's embrace, the weight of her past seemed to lift slightly, but the journey to fully unburden herself still felt daunting. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts, before continuing with a deeper level of vulnerability.