Opposites attract

(18)

The audience clapped as the girls made their way on, Ellen gave them both a hug before they sat on the couch. 'So girls' Ellen started 'it's so lovely to see you again but this is more of a serious subject we're going to address today right?' The girls nodded slightly looking at each other as Lucy spoke 'right, it's something that we both decided we need to speak out about' Ashley nodded in agreement before looking over at Tyler slightly who nodded and then she looked back at Ellen. 'So we're discussing, domestic abuse with you both' Ellen stated. A few gasps and whispers were heard through the studio audience, Lucy reached over and squeezed Ashley's hand before she spoke 'yeah, I mean I was in abusive relationship 3 years ago, obviously Ashley and I have know each other a long time and I confided in her after a rough night but I mean' she looked at Ashley who then took over speaking 'I actually just recently got out of an abusive relationship, I had kept my mouth shut for at like 2 years but I got taken to hospital one night and they called Lucy so she found out that way. Um..' She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. Ellen listened to the two of them 'that must be so hard, I can't even imagine, so I know you want to share your stories so go ahead', Lucy slightly nodded at Ashley who nodded back before opening her mouth 'well like I said mine was a lot more recent that Lucy's, um my relationship was great before it started as most are, and it started off really small petty things, it was very verbal at the beginning, telling me I'm not good enough, I didn't deserve him y'know all that usual stuff, and then one night I had actually been out for dinner with shay and I got back to my apartment building and he was waiting for me and he was not happy to say the least' she took a breath and looked at Tyler for encouragement before continuing 'that was the first time he got physical with me, I lied when I went into work that day because I was filming so they saw the bruises anyway after that things just got worse and worse and without going into too much detail it became both physical and sexual' another gasp was heard from the audience as Ashley bit her lip hard tears forming in her eyes 'like I said, I ended up in hospital one night and I ended up telling luce, and I thought everything would get better but I made her swear not to tell so infact it just got a lot worse, I told Tyler about a week ago after an incident where Tyler had dropped me home and he was there waiting, but yeah Luce?' Ashley looked at Lucy who had tears falling down her cheeks 'sorry, I've never heard you tell it like that before' she wiped her eyes before continuing 'Basically it was the same sort of thing, I was really busy with work and he got really jealous and tried to take it out on me, honestly I was lucky, I got away without a lot of serious damage because most of the time he was drunk or high so I had a slight upper hand but yeah there was one night where he threw me down a flight of stairs in my apartment building and they're like concrete steps so I was knocked out for like two days and when I came round I called Ashley and told her everything and yeah, I mean it was honestly one of the most terrifying things and I get nightmares til this day but the reason that Ashley and I wanted to be so open with you and with your viewers was because there are so many women and men who are hiding because they're scared about coming forward about domestic abuse and honestly so were we' Lucy said 'yeah' Ashley continued 'I was honestly petrified of telling Tyler but it was the best decision I ever made because he's now able to protect me and he's supporting me through everything and it's crazy how much one persons support can help you. We also wanted to be someone who you could identify with and know that it does get better and you can get out'. The audience started clapping as the two girls smiled slightly 'so Ashley' Ellen said 'are you and Tyler a couple?' Lucy and Ashley both laughed as Ashley looked at Tyler and he shrugged 'he's a very very good friend' she laughed slightly before looking back at Ellen who rolled her eyes 'that means yes' she said directly to the camera 'well thank you girls so much for coming in and speaking about something that is so difficult to talk about, we really appreciate it' she finished her show before the cameras cut, both girls gave eachother a hug before hugging Ellen, Tyler came and took Ashley's hand and all three of them went back to the green room. 'Hey' Tyler said 'I have good news' the girls looked up at him 'the police have arrested both Chris and Ryan, it's done', they took a breath in before they both started crying, tears of relief ran down their faces, they did it, it was finally over.