It was late one autumn night that Jay* finally accepted her five-year relationship couldn’t be salvaged. The streets that lined her suburb were still and empty, but inside her home the noise wouldn’t stop.
That night, Jay’s partner stood at the top of the stairs, furious and screaming, trying to get a reaction from Jay. As the tirade continued, Jay curled herself into a ball at the bottom of the stairs, attempting to make herself as small as possible.
“I couldn’t move, I was absolutely paralysed.”