Suzy collapsed onto her bed, her heart heavy with sorrow. She stared at the ceiling, her mind racing. "What just happened? What went wrong? What was that for?" she wondered aloud, her voice barely a whisper.
A single tear escaped her eye, rolling down her cheek. She traced the path of the tear with her finger, her touch gentle and comforting. She glanced at her finger, now stained with her tears, and a bitter chuckle escaped her lips. It quickly turned into a forced laugh, a desperate attempt to mask the pain. But the dam broke, and the tears flowed freely, streaming down her face.
She let herself cry, her sobs echoing through the silent room. She had held back her emotions for a while since she left Ryan's study, bottling them up until they threatened to consume her. Now, she allowed herself to feel the pain, to let it wash over her.
"Crying isn't a sign of weakness," she whispered to herself. "It's a sign of strength."