Sorry for the delay... sorry, sorryy...
"I'm not going to go!" Helena almost shouted at the door frame, hugging Jaçques with her left arm. Her backside still hurt just thinking about the spanking her mother had given her early that morning. She hadn't talked to her all day, and she had heard her again making a date to go out with that Bruce. The only time she had talked to her was to inform her that Barbara was going to take care of her tonight.
Selina didn't pay attention to her, as she continued applying lipstick in the mirror of her room. She wore an incredible black, floor length dress that highlighted her slight curves, it was fastened around her slender neck, leaving her shoulders bare.
Helena looked away and later returned her gaze to her mother. "Did you hear me? I'm not going to go."
Selina pressed her lips and checked her make-up. She smiled and raised her brow, she had to admit that she looked really stunning. She stood up and turned to her side to look at her incredible body in the mirror. She was ready. She took her coat, her bag and a small back pack that had Helena's clothes. She walked to the door.
"I'm not going to go!" the kid growled again.
Selinan kneeled in front of the girl, fixing her eyes on the brunette's. Helena couldn't avoid feeling intimidated by her look. It wasn't her usual warm gaze. This one was cold, and firm. The blonde smiled and talked to her softly, "You know that I always get whatever I want want; in one way or another. So, I'll let you make your choice, how do you want to do this? Do you want me in a good mood or a bad mood? And you know how my bad moods are…."
Selina put her keys inside of her bag. She didn't like to be tough with her child, but she needed to do it, to prevent her from continuing her tantrums. She accepted that she had spoiled her too much, and she was in time to fix it before she turned uncontrollable. She was in the living room with Alfred, giving him instructions. He listened to her with his hands behind his back.
"I really appreciate your help, Alfred," she said.
"It's a pleasure, madam."
"She is in a really bad mood, I spanked her today." The blonde shook her head.
"I imagine she must have done something quite nasty."
"She was having another tantrum..." Selina moved her head. In some way, she knew it was her fault, "I have spoiled her so much."
"I warned her not to annoy you or she will have me to deal with tomorrow morning."
"If you warned her, she must really be in a bad mood."
"Alfred, she can't force me to do whatever she wants by blackmailing me. She needs stop these childish tantrums."
"Good point, Miss Kyle."
"Leslie says she is jealous, but… that is not an excuse. She is now in her room."
"Jealous?"
"Yes, because I go out. She needs to learn. I'm her mother, I love her, but there's no way I'm going to let her rule my life. She knows it, she tried to do it the other day, and she knows I hate it." She looked at him trying to understand, "She has never done this before."
"Kids are demanding often."
"I hope I don't need to spank her again. I hate doing that. Thanks, Alfred." She heard the door bell, "He is here, see you later. And remember, Helena, be good or you will face me tomorrow!"
"She can't hear you, she is in…"
"She can, believe me." Selina winked, "Night."
"Night, have fun." Alfred closed the door. He heard Helena's room door opening and a few seconds later the girl ran toward the balcony window. Curious, he followed her. The girl looked down to the street. She watched her mother step inside an elegant limo. She tried not to cry; she was leaving with him. After a few seconds, the vehicle moved down the street.
"Miss Helena, would you like some dinner?" Alfre asked her.
"Why does she want to go out with him?" Helena asked in a low voice.
"Excuse me?"
The girl didn't answer, she just turned and ran toward her bedroom. Alfred followed her silently. She had left her door half-opened and the light off; he opened it slowly. She was removing her blankets and, taking her black cat, she moved under them. Selina was right, she was annoyed and jealous.
"Miss Helena, it's just eight, don't you want to watch TV? I know your mother prohibited it, but we can keep the secret." The girl just turned to her side. He tried again, "Or perhaps you would be interested in playing cards. I can prepare a nice dinner for you."
The little child didn't answer. Alfred understood and shaking his head, stepped back slowly. "I'll be outside. If you need anything, I'll be there."
He didn't close the door, but left it half open.
He was at the kitchen watching TV. The silence in the house was troubling him. He stood up and went to check the little brunette; she had been quiet all evening. Walking silently toward her room; he stoppedby the door, and looked inside, curiously. He could hear a low purr. He moved a bit closer and saw the little brunette rocking lightly on her bed, hugging Jacques.
He was moving back when he suddenly heard her speaking softly. "Why doesn't she go out with me? Why does she need to go out with him? She is my family, why does he want her? He has his own family."
Alfred frowned and moved his head to one side. Helena moved her cat back and brushed his head feeling a knot in her throat and tears falling down her checks, "I heard that when moms marry again, they don't love their children as much as when they are not marry. I don't want her to love me less, I love her so much."
AT that moment, Alfred understood what was happening. The phone rang and called his attention. He went to the living room to pick it up. Maybe it would be good have a little talk with Selina Kyle, the child was misunderstanding things in some way.
"Kyle residence, good evening. Alfred speaking."
: Alfred, evening, it's Barbara Gordon. :
"Miss Barbara, it's a pleasure."
: Selina asked me to call you; she told me you were going to baby sit Helena. :
"Take care of her, Miss Barbara," the old butler answered.
The redhead chuckled. : Yes, take care. And I promised her I would call you to see how it was going. :
"Well, she is in a bad mood."
: What did she say:
"She hasn't said a word, she just went to her room and is on her bed with her cat."
: The tantrum is a big one, eh:
The old man gazed toward the corridor, "Maybe it is not exactly a tantrum, Miss Barbara, maybe it is fear."
:Fear: The comment surprised the red head.
He removed his eyeglasses and cleaned it with a handkerchief from his pocket. "Yes, fear that her mother will find someone and that she would not give her as much time as now, and fear that she will love her less than now. I think that the feeling is normal in children."
Barbara thought that was absurd, the love of a mother for their children was always the same. : That is ridiculous, she told you that:
"Well… not exactly, we can say I overheard when she was talking with her pet. She asked him why he wants her family."
The young crime fighter moved her head back against her headboard, moving her hand through her hair; she understood the feeling of the child and it was something she wasn't expecting; she had lived through the terrible experience of losing her mother and father. Luckily her uncle, James Gordon, had taken care of her with great love, in a way he had filled all her solitude and sadness with his big heart.
:Miss Barbara: Alfred asked, after a long silence.
"Don't leave her alone, Alfred. She won't say it, but she feels alone." She knew that Helena was a spoiled child, and it was hard for the little brunette, who was used to be the focus of attention of her mother, to understand. Selina could be really hard with her when the kid used up all of her patience. Helena was impulsive and usually didn't stop to think. She just let her feelings control her reactions. She shook her head, feeling bad for the kid
The tall blonde had never felt more pissed than at that moment. She took her keys from her bag and opened the door. Her eyes moved around her house looking for her child. She was in very big trouble. She closed the door, slamming it with force. The woman that cleaned the house walked out of the kitchen almost immediately, cleaning her hands with a cloth.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Kyle, something wrong?"
"Helena, where are you?" Selina shouted, putting her coat over the chair.
"She is in her room, she ate a few minutes ago and…"
Selina walked, fuming, toward the bedroom, leaving the woman with the words in her mouth. She opened the door of her daughter's room and glared at her. She was playing on the floor. The woman stood up in front of her and showed her some papers.
"What is this, Helena?"
The girl raised her eyes and moved her head back again to her toys. "A paper."
"The principal called me, you haven't done homework in two days, I asked you and you told me you didn't have homework. She tried to punish you by not letting you go outside at recess time. Then, when you weren't happy with that, you shouted at her?"
Helena didn't look at her and kept playing. Selina angrily took her by her arm and forced her to stand up. "I'm talking to you, and when I talk to you, I like you to look at my face."
"Mom!" The child pushed herself back.
"Why did you lie to me? I hate when you lie to me!" The blonde crossed her arms waiting for a response. If her daughter was trying to challenge her, it wasn't the smartest idea of her life. "I'm waiting, Helena." The brunette just sat on the bed and lowered her head. Selina looked at her silently. "Why did you shout at your professor? You never shout, she told me that you threw your notebooks on the floor, why?" The blonde began to feel exasperated. Helena kept silent, closed in her own world. She walked to her and stood a few steps next to her. "Helena, look at me."
The child turned her head to the side, avoiding her mother's look.
"Helena, I'm not going to ask you again, look at me."
Slowly, the child raised her eyes to her.
"I want you tell me what is happening to you. Now. I'm not in a good mood, you lied to me, you shouted at your teacher and had a big tantrum, throwing your books to the floor. You have never done anything like this, now explain this mess to me."
Helena just lowered her head again.
"All right, wanna play? I'll play your game. You are punished all this week. I don't want you to leave your room, no movies, no TV, no toys." She turned and went to the door, "Samantha, pick up all of Helena's toys and lock them inside the closet!"
Helena growled and, turning, she let herself fall over her mattress without saying a word. She raised her arm and pulled Jacques against her.
Barbara walked out of the principal's office of the New Gotham Elementary School. It was early, eleven thirty. It had been many years since the last time she had been there. She hadn't planned on visiting the place, but Selina had asked for her help. She had made a fast trip to Metropolis, taking the morning flight to close the sale of a property that she has there. She had planned to return on the afternoon flight, but unexpectedly, the principal of the school had called her on her mobile. Helena was in trouble, she had a fight in school, and she had been expelled for the day.
It was impossible for the blonde to get back and she had asked Barbara to go to the school, talk with the principal, and take Helena home. Selina was really concerned about her child's behaviour; she had been trying, unsuccessfully to talk to her, but she remained closed in her own world.
The redhead closed the principal's door, it hadn't been a nice conversation, the woman was really angry at the little brunette; she had broken the nose of one of the boys in a higher grade and sent him to the infirmary. Apparently, she was in a line and he pushed her to theside. Helena just jumped on him and hit him roughly. The boy's friends had tried to help him. One of them had a black eye and another had a busted lip. The manager of the cafeteria and one of the assistants had to take her far from the boy.
It was hard for the manager to think that Helena alone could have done all that damage and her idea was that she had provoked a big fight between all of them, but Barbara knew it had been just her and her strength, a really amazing strength. She looked at Helena who sat sprawled on a chair, waiting for her with her gaze lost on the floor.
"Let's go, Helena." She walked toward the parking lot. The child took her backpack and followed her. Barbara knew the school wasn't a good place talk. The trip to Barbara's home was silent. Barbara gazed at her a few times during the drive home. Helena sat silently, staring out the window.
They arrived at the redhead's house almost half an hour later. The child walked without saying a word toward the guest room with her school bag on her back. Barbara went toward her bathroom and took out some gauzes and alcohol.
When she walked inside the guest room, Helena was seated on the bed with her hands crossed next to her knees. She looked sad. It seemed as if she was waiting for Barbara to scold her. Barbara sat next to her side and gently moved her hand to take one of the child's wrists. Helena moved her hand back instinctively.
"Hey easy." Barbara didn't release her, "Let me look." She slowly pulled her hand to her and checked it. She had a few bruises and small cuts on her knuckles. She took the gauze and put it on her skin. Helena growled and tried to move her hand back, but Barbara kept her still.
"I know, it hurts, but we need clean it to avoid any infection," she said. "That guy had a bad time, uh?... You are angry, why?"
Helena didn't say a word and just looked at her other hand. Barbara gazed down at it.
"We need to clean that one too, ok? Why don't you want to talk? You always talk so much.." The red head noticed the brunette just moved her head down.
"You mom is worried about you. She said she has never seen you like this." She finished cleaning the hand and took the other one. "I saw the kid you hit. You were very angry, as I can see. You hurt him. That was not good, Hel, you know you are stronger than he is. Why did you do that? You could have hurt him quite seriously. And I don't think you hit him just because he pushed you. I think you took your anger out on him, you are angry at your mom, no?"
Helena pulled her hand back, growling. Barbara raised her brow, she had touched the point. She put the gauze on the night table and looked her. "Why are you angry with her? She loves you so much. I think that it would be much better if you talk, Helena, your mom is not happy with this. You know today she took a quick trip to Metrópolis. She was in a meeting when the principal called her," Barbara looked for the sad blue eyes hidden behind black bangs, "Is it her trips? She needs to work to earn money and give you the best. Or is it because she goes out at night?" The redhead began to circle her slowly with questions, already knowing the answer, but she was trying to get the little girl to talk about it. She heard just a light growl.
"Is that the thing that annoys you? That she goes out?"
The kid growled again and climbed on the bed, turning her back to the young crime fighter. "Why does that bothers you now? She has done it before, she has many friends. She deserves a bit of fun, and she is never far from you; she always keeps an eye on you." The redhead tried to push her a bit, remembering Alfred words, "Is it Bruce? He loves your mom, he would never …"
"Leave me alone!" the little brunette shouted suddenly, covering her ears with her hands. Why was her mom giving him more importance than her? Maybe Jenny was right and she preferred be with Bruce rather than her. She hadn't spanked her in a long time. And lately she had been spanking her. She felt her heart ache, was her mom feeling less love for her? Maybe she was thinking about marrying him.
"Helena, Selina loves you so much, you are just jealous of him, but she would never choose him over you…" She touched the girl's back.
Helena angrily pushed her hand away. She crawled back. "I told you to leave me alone!" Little feral eyes glared at the red head.
"Hel, calm down!" The violence in the brunette was something she never expected.
"I don't want to talk to you, go away!"
Barbara had planned to go back to work to the library after taking Helena to her home, but after seeing her reaction, she figured it wasn't a good idea to leave her alone. She made some phone calls and stayed at her home, working, waiting for Selina to arrive in the afternoon. Anyway, she couldn't concentrate very well on her work thinking about Mr. Freeze's next move. He hadn't appeared in a few weeks and that wasn't a good sign. The phone rang; she blinked before extending her arm and picking it up.
"Gordon here…."
:Barbara:
"Selina, hi…"
:What happened with Helena:
"She had a fight at school… seems as though a guy pushed her in the cafeteria and she hit him and his friend very roughly."
:I'm going to kill her. Did you scold her: Selina felt angry, why was Helena so obstinate in causing trouble lately?
Barbara hesitated a few seconds, it would be best to talk with her in person about the things she knew about Helena's behaviour. "Well no, I wanted to talk to you before."
:What did she say:
"Nothing, she didn't want to talk, she just closed herself up in my guest room."
The blonde rubbed her temples, trying to keep calm, her girl had used up her patience and she didn't know what to do. :I have a problem, the flight was cancelled. It's snowing terribly, I'm going to take a bus, but I probably won't arrive until tomorrow morning.:
"Snowing? In Metropolis.?" Mr. Freeze's name came to the redhead's mind immediately. But what was he doing there? Her thoughts were interrupted by Selina's voice. :I want to talk with Helena:
"Selina, don't be too hard…"
:Please, Barbara….:
The redhead sighed, but she decided not argue with her. She went toward Helena's bedroom. The girl was still on the bed, hugging her stuffed cat that surely had been inside her school bag. She felt sorry for her and wanted to know what to do to comfort her. She told her that her mother was on the phone. Knowing what she would hear from her mom, the child went to the living room with her head low. She took the speaker with both hands and, after looking at it in silence a few seconds, she talked softly, knowing she was in big trouble.
"…Mom?"
:Helena, what's going on you? You disappoint me so much. : Selina's voice was cold, the girl had broken all her limits. :Why are you doing all this, Helena:
The child remained silent, looking at the floor.
:If you want to hurt me, congratulations, you did it. I'm hurt, hurt because you don't talk to me, hurt because you are doing everything possible to make me angry with you.:
Helena felt an ache in her heart; she didn't want to hurt her, she just wanted her attention again, "…No, I love you mom."
Barbara sat at the dinning room, watching the child, who stood next to the phone table looking at her feet that she moved nervously from one side to the other.
:Stop, just stop, Helena: Selina sighed:I don't know what to think now.:
"I love you mom," the girl whispered again.
:Not this time: Selina interrupted her; she always used that melt her heart to avoid being punished. :Don't start with that, you always say it, trying to distract me.: She raised her voice :I'm not happy with you. What happened today at school, why did you hit that guy? You know you can hurt him seriously:
The brunette lowered her head. There was silence was on the line.
The blonde sighed, exasperated, and almost shouted. : Please, Helena, talk to me! Say anything. Why don't you want to talk to me? Why are you doing this:
The kid just bit her lips.
:Barbara shouldn't have to leave her work just because of you. I'm very embarrassed about this.: Selina couldn't hide her anger and frustration : Why do I need to apologize to everybody because of your tantrums? Next time, I'm going to leave you there and you must solve the problem alone. Do you understand:
"I'm sorry, mom…"
: I'm stuck in Metropolis now, but I'll be there tomorrow, and you and I are going to have a serious talk, I don't want your silence! If you don't want to see me more angry, it'll be much better if you and I talk about your behaviour.:
Helena felt a coldness inside her. "I miss you, mom…"
:Helena, please! I'm tired of your games! Be nice with Barbara, I don't want to hear her complaining about you tomorrow, you know my anger, Helena, and you know I'm not nice when I'm angry. See you tomorrow…:
"Yes, mom… I lov…"
The "click" of the line cut the girl's words. She stood in silence a few seconds before hanging up the phone. Barbara raised her head slightly, she could see tears in the girl's eyes. Helena's lip quivered and, ashamed, she went toward her room without say a word.
Barbara removed her eyeglasses, she wasn't good at talking with children, but she couldn't leave her alone. She guessed Selina had scolded her again. Barbara stood up and followed her. The room's door was closed, she opened it slowly. Helena was sobbing, hugging her pet on the bed. She felt sorrow for her, she was just jealous and she didn't know how to manage that feeling; she only had reacted by disobeying her mother.
Helena heard her opening the door and mumbled, "Leave me alone…"
"Hel, please don't cry. What happened now?" Barbara sat on the bed next to her.
"Leave me alone…" Ashamed, the girl didn't face her.
"What's happening, Helena? You are not like this. Your mom is worried about you."
"She is not! Go away."
"Of course she is worried about you, she loves you."
"It's not true!" the girl shouted, crying and turning to see her. Why she was bothering her? She just wanted to be alone. "Go!"
Barbara frowned, was she really so blind for her jealousy? "She loves you, Hel…"
"Not true! Go away!" The girl emitted an strange inhuman growl; crying golden cat eyes glared at the redhead, who couldn't avoid feeling a shiver.
Encouraging herself the redhead tried to touch her arm, but the girl pushed her hand back with anger and stood up on the bed.
"Don't touch me!"
"Hel, calm down!" Barbara stood up, surprised.
"I don't need you! I don't need anyone!" Helena shouted.
The redhead took her by her wrist and Helena pulled her hand trying to free herself from the grip angrily; Barbara tried to calm her, she was out of control. She ducked to avoid a the girl's fist, and wrapped her arms around her waist. It increased the fury of the little brunette, who began to hit her with her hands, shouting at her to leave her alone.
"Helena… calm down!" Barbara hugged her and sat on the bed, trying to hold the girl, who was struggling like a wild animal, "Helena, please!" The redhead moved quickly and held her wrists, trapping the brunette's arms between hers and keeping her immobile. "Hel, please stay calm! I love you!"
"No, you don't!" Helena kicked in the air, frantically.
"I love you, your mom loves you."
"No, you don't! And not my mom either!" Helena continued kicking in the air unsuccessfully.
Barbara bent over with her, trying to keep her under her control, "Hel your mom loves you too, she loves you so much… Why do you think she doesn't?"
"Let me go! Let me go!" the brunette cried, burying her face on Barbara's chest, frustrated because she couldn't free herself.
Barbara talked to her softly "She loves you so much, Hel, you don't have any idea, if something happened to you, she would be crushed. She would die for you." Barbara put her hand on her head and began to smooth her hair.
"No, she doesn't…" The child stopped struggling and sobbed.
"She loves you so much, I love you so much." The young crime fighter kissed the little brunette's forehead, "I think that you are misunderstanding everything, Hel, your mom talked to me and she told me she is worried about you, very worried; because you just do things that annoy her, and every time she asks, you won't answer her. But you are her world, Hel, why do you think she would forget you?"
She began to rock her back and forth slowly, feeling her blouse wet with her tears, "Every time she talks with me about you, her face shines, did you know that?" the red head continued talking to her softly, after a few minutes she felt the girl began to relax and her sobs turned into light cries. She kept smoothing her hair, comforting her. Finally, there was a long silence,
"Why doesn't she go out with me?" Helena whispered, after a few minutes "Why does she need to go out with other people?"
Barbara smiled, resting her cheek on her head, "She likes go out with you, but, women always like the company of a man. Women and men usually love to be together, for that reason there are families."
"She is my family, I don't want anything else. I don't want her to go out with him."
"Him?"
"She always goes out with him..."
The redhead remembered Selina's dates were with Bruce, lately they had been frequent. "Why you don't like him?" She took a tissue f the night table and cleaned the girl's face.
"I don't want her to marry again."
"She is not marrying him, who told you that?"
The little brunette raised her head a bit. Wet blue eyes meet lovely green ones. "When a woman dates a man often, they usually end up married." She explained softly, "And when that happens, moms forget their kids."
"Who told you that?"
"Jenny…" Helena snuggled against Barbara's chest.
"Who is Jenny?"
"My friend:"
The redhead moved her head back to look her. "Jenny told you that when parents marry they don't love their children any more?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Helena, don't listen to those things."
"She told me her mom…"
"Hel, look at me," Barbara asked lovingly. The little brunette just raised her eyes. "Her mom isn't your mom. Every time you are sad she is sad, every time you are happy she is happy; you are the light of her world, never forget that."
"Why does she shout at me?"
"Your mom doesn't shout at you."
"She has shouted at me, she never did it before. She shouted at me today, I told her I loved her and she didn't tell me she loves me like she always does." Tears wet her sad golden eyes.
Barbara hugged her again. "She is so worried about you, she doesn't know what to do, and you don't talk to her. She feels frustrated because she doesn't know what happened to you. Why didn't you tell her what was happening?"
Helena remained silent.
"Talk with her, I'm sure she will tell you that she loves you so much and that she never would trade you for anyone."
"Do you think?"
"Yes, I'm sure…"
Barbara kept rocking her back and forth and brushing her hair; the girl relaxed in her arms; after a few minutes she slowly began to fall asleep. The redhead smiled, the kid was purring softly in response to her soft stroking. She rested again her cheek against her head. Suddenly, an unexpected movement caught her attention; Helena's right hand, the one around her waist, was rhythmically clenching against her, like a small cat. She laughed to herself and kissed the child's forehead again. The rhythm of the low purr and the kneading made her slowly fall asleep against the headboard of the bed.
