𝒰𝓃𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓀𝑒𝓃 𝓖𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓽... ˖˚⊹ ꣑ৎ‎

𝓘𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝔂 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓰𝓰𝓵𝓮, 𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓿𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓸𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓶𝓮.

At 19, Ella was supposed to be living her best years, partying and making friends at university. Instead, she was silently unraveling. To the outside world, she was a happy person, always still smiling and energetic. Inside, the weight of depression was crushing her. She felt like a burden. Rather than let her loved ones witness the slow collapse, she pushed them all away, one by one.

Sometimes gently. Other times cruelly. She told herself it was to protect them.

"If I hurt them now, it won't hurt them when I'm gone."

By the time Ella hit her lowest point, there was no one left to call or text. When she started to climb out of the darkness, there weren't any open arms to return to. It was just silence. The hardest part wasn't the guilt. It was learning how to live again, with all the damage she had done and with no one to lean on for help.

And love? Love feels like a fantasy she no longer deserves or can get. Every time she starts talking to someone, Ella's attempts to protect those she cared about by pushing them away come back to haunt her, ending relationships before they can truly begin.

⚠️ Ｔｒｉｇｇｅｒ Ｗａｒｎｉｎｇ （ＴＷ）：
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Depression
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Suicide and suicide attempts
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Self-harm
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Sexual assault
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Emotional abuse
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Isolation and abandonment
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Grief and survivor's guilt
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Mental health recovery and relapse
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Toxic self-worth and self-destructive behavior
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ » Difficulties with intimacy and romantic relationships after trauma

One chapter is published every Saturday at 9 AM PDT.