The next morning...
"Good morning, Jug.". I rubbed at my eyes vigorously, gently twisting and stretching my back while Jug stroked my hair away from my face from behind me. Sleeping on top of him on the couch had become a routine for the past week. In the beginning, the mere remembrance made me blush furiously, but with a few days to grow accustomed to it and Jug's constant reassurance that he was comfortable and more than happy to help. I'd found that sleeping alone only made things a lot worse than they were with Jug's round-the-clock comfort. It felt pathetic that I needed it to begin with, but I found it better and easier to just accept it and move on. Besides, I can't say that I minded it, either.
I was exhausted. Every night, I'd end up waking up at some ungodly hour due to another one of my horrific nightmare-flashback-memory things. Jug knew without me having to explain further that it surely had to do with my past with my mother, but I still hadn't told him in depth, nor was I anywhere near ready to tell him the entirety. However, my mind churned and rumbled, frustrated that he'd been so quick to help, and yet, I've only managed to tell him so little.
He deserved at least a little more detail.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty. You get enough rest since you woke up lasts night?", he asked with compassion, as he did. His arms around me along with his cheek on my hair, engulfing me in what seemed like everlasting warmth, coerced me to confide.
"Jug... I'm not ready to tell you everything about my mom.".
"Betts, I told you that you didn't have to. It's okay. I'm not going to pressure you.". He spun me around in his lap to face him, his cozy half-smile right there to greet me. I needed that last boost.
"I-I'm not ready to tell you everything, but I want to tell you some. I know you'll deny this, but I owe it to you. It's unfair for me to rely on you to miraculously heal me when you don't know the depth of my trauma. I-I also think I owe it to myself to relieve some of what I've been bottling up and saving for myself to painfully re-devour.". And just like that, I'd felt like a weight had been lifted, or at least a portion of one. I still had a few hundred tons to go, but it was a start.
Confiding in a loved- no, in a trusted individual is step towards healing, right?, I thought.
Jug sat with an open mind as a sympathetic expression, pride gleaming in his eyes as I knew he was pleased with my progress. Though I'd still been hurried deep in my own grave, we were slowly digging me out. Even a little bit of development had proven to be a celebration in its own for the two of us.
"I-I can't say what happened exactly, not yet, but I can say that my mom hurt me. Not only would she seriously verbally abuse me, but she found her own means of inflicting ph-physical harm on me as well. T-That's what my n-nightmares are about; I keep having f-flashbacks of her abuse. That might sound silly, and you might think I'm just doing this for attention or some shit because I'm not the only one who has been physically abused, but t-that's why I'm so damaged. I'm sorry. But, hey, now you have a relative idea of why I'm so screwed up.", I said, chuckling humorlessly at the end, followed by a grimace.
Confusingly enough, Jughead's expression wavered between upset and ecstatic, his lips curving upwards and downwards every other second, but his eyes remained tearful either way. He finally managed to find a spot in the middle in regards to his mouth, clearing his throat hoarsely before speaking in a tone that didn't match his half-sorrowful face.
"Oh, Betts, I'm so sorry that happened to you, but in no way do I think you're an attention seeker, nor do I think you're damaged in any way. What you've gone through is traumatizing on its own, and being here with me, telling me about it it's incredible and shows how strong you truly are. Just because you're hurt or you cry or you experience trauma doesn't make you damaged. Your circumstances are far from normal, and you've been extraordinary for working with me to get better. When this all began, you were reluctant to even speak to me. Look at how far you've come.". He finished his statement, and his famous smile from before cracked through not a moment later.
"On the bright side, I'm so proud of you for getting through that without crying. You've never done that before.".
