Tears to cry | Tina and ella
“Hey… this may come as a surprise…” Ella said gently, holding the glass of wine out as though it were something delicate, something that might fracture if offered too quickly. “But James sent me.”
The words settled into the quiet room and stayed there.
Outside, the evening pressed softly against the windows, the last light fading into a muted blue. Inside, everything felt suspended — as if time itself were waiting for permission to move again.
It had only been a few hours after James had left for the week, but his absence already carried a strange weight. Earlier, when he had found the house wrapped in silence and something unspoken lingering in the air, a quiet fear had crossed his face. Not anger. Not disappointment. Just the fragile understanding that whatever stood between him and Tina had become thinner than either of them wanted to admit.
And Ella, who always noticed the smallest cracks before they split open, had not been able to stop worrying since.
She stepped further into the room, her movements careful, respectful of the heaviness she could feel but not name. The glass of wine remained in her hand for a moment before she set it down within easy reach, a small offering of comfort in a space that didn’t seem ready to accept comfort yet.
“Dandelion’s at Sally’s for the night,” she said softly. “So… we can talk. Or not talk. Whatever you need.”
The silence that followed was long, but not empty.
It carried too many things inside it — fear, exhaustion, questions that had no gentle way of being asked.
Ella drew in a slow breath, steadying herself against the quiet. “Do you… need a hug?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. There was no answer in words, only the stillness of the room and the feeling that something fragile stood at the edge of breaking.
Ella closed the distance anyway.
She wrapped her arms around Tina with careful warmth, holding on without expectation, without urgency — the way you hold someone when you know words won’t mend what’s hurting, but presence might keep the pieces from falling any further apart.
“I’m here,” she murmured softly. “You don’t have to be strong tonight."