A Leap of Faith (Part 2)

Chapter 344 - Kara Talks with Ruby

Kara and Ruby are now sitting on a couch in The Tower, and Kara has very much noticed that Ruby is sitting really close to her. Kara finds this very understandable, as honestly even thought everything has turned out really well for Ruby, as she has got her birth mom back, with her other mom still being alive too, the teenager has still gone through a trauma. Even if the route cause of that trauma is 'fixed' that trauma still doesn't just magically disappear and go away, that's not how it works. It's honestly a bit like the stages of grief that people experience, there are multiple stages and there is no direct path to it. Kara knows this better than most people, due to all the trauma she has gone through in her life, which has resulted in grief. So, Kara can really sympathise with Ruby right now, and understand what she is going through. Kara just hopes that the fact she actually has more understanding than most people, means that she will be able to help Ruby through this, just by simply being here for Ruby, offering her support and any advice she needs, and just generally giving Ruby any affection that she needs. Kara knows that one of her big problems when she was going through all her grief, believing both her parents were dead, when she landed on Earth, was that all she really wanted was for someone to come up to her, and hold her, and give her love and support by continuing to hug her. However, that didn't happen for Kara, not because Jeremiah and Eliza didn't try, but because Kara was too terrified of accidentally hurting her two new adoptive parents if they were to hug her like that. So really Kara had to spend a lot of time crying, curled up in a ball, and all Jeremiah and Eliza could do was sit by her side, and only offer the physical contact of placing their hands on Kara's side or her back. It took Kara a long while to finally allow Jeremiah and Eliza to actually hug her, but by then her grief had mostly moved onto the acceptance stage of things. Although, Kara always thinks that the stages of grief are misunderstood by people who don't go through them, as grief isn't a straight line, and even if you reach the acceptance stage, that doesn't mean you are suddenly okay with everything. It just means that you have accepted that this is your reality now, and there is nothing you can do about it, and you will continue to feel sad always, it will just feel like it hurts a little less with time.

"Ruby, how are you doing?" Kara soon asks her niece-in-law, after a few seconds of the two of them just sitting there in silence.

"I'm...... okay...." Ruby says, in a slightly hesitant voice.

"Come on, Ruby, you don't have to do that to me, and pretend. I'm your aunt, that means you can tell me anything that's going on, with how you are feeling, or anything else, and that doesn't mean I will share it with your moms or anything. Anything you say to me will stay between us, unless I really think it's super important, for your own mental or physical well being." Kara says.

Ruby now remains silent, and bites her lip slightly at Kara saying all that to her.

"Ruby, I know even though everything has worked out well in the end, you still might have a bunch of negative feelings, and that is completely understandable, that is why I'm asking you." Kara explains.

"I...... I do....." Ruby soon says, after a few moments silence.

"Okay...." Kara nods, with a caring look on her face, "Can you tell me a bit more. How exactly are you feeling? What's going on in that head of yours."

"I..... I don't know..... It's confusing..... I...... I should be happy, all the time, because mom is actually alive, and she is perfectly fine, then my other mom is alive too, even if she is hurt right now. I got everything back that I spent the past few weeks thinking I would never have again....." Ruby begins.

"But?" Kara says, wanting to lead Ruby on.

"But..... I still feel angry, and upset, and annoyed, and..... scared. I'm angry that this is happening to us. I'm angry that mom let herself get hurt like she has, when she got hurt before you saved my other mom. If something had happened to her, then I would have lost both of them! So, I'm angry that mom put herself in danger, carelessly, and didn't think about what it would do to me." Ruby explains.