As I looked at Peter as we entered his room, I thought everybody could hear my heart pounding. Then he called me a Goddess, and I swore it would pound right out of my chest.
As Nick took me to where they trained, I couldn't get him off my mind. His hair, it had been washed and had a healthy shine. His face had little to no swelling left, and limited bruising, and he seemed to be more with it and mobile- he just seemed to be doing so much better. My mind traced back over the too recent memory of when I first met him- when I thought he would die in my arms as I tried to hold his blood in his body. It sent a chill down my spine.
"Hey there Ruby!" Clint's voice jolted my brain, and brought me suddenly back into reality, "How are you doing?"
"Hey Clint, I'm doing well." I quickly replied- my voice surprising me by being so even and steady despite where my mind had just wandered to.
"I'm real glad to hear that. Is your dad around here somewhere too?" He asked, jumping right passed me and to the point.
"Oh, yes, he's talking to Peter right now." I said, feeling my face get warm.
"Yeah, Tony kicked us out when Peter called Ruby a Goddess," Nick said with a laugh, "it apparently made him uncomfortable."
Clint stifled a laugh himself as my face blotched with hot red embarrassment. "Where are you guys headed?" He asked after containing himself.
"The training room, apparently." Nick said
"I was about to head that way myself, I think Nat's there." Clint said, and turned to walk with us.
Nat was there, mid routine. Her body shined from the layer of sweat that had glazed every inch of her visible skin, and she had headphones in her ears. She saw us almost immediately despite her concentration, and took both headphones out of her ears and grabbed the punching bag she had been wailing on, steadying it. "Hey guys." She said, not even slightly breathless.
"Hey Nat." Clint and Nick replied in harmony, and I just smiled. "We are gonna teach Ruby some of the basics, wanna help?" Clint asked.
"Is Tony here?" She replied, clearly having no interest in helping me train, but having a huge interest in my dad.
"He's talking with Peter." I said before either of them could reply.
"Well, then I will just jump in line behind Peter to talk to him." She said, tucking her headphones into her pocket and quickly heading for the door.
Clint grabbed her arm as she went to walk by him, "Nat, don't do it." He growled, trying to not be loud enough for me to hear, but failing.
She yanked her arm from his grip, "Don't act like this is an ok thing, Clint." She snapped. They stared at each other for another brief moment before she walked out.
"What's not okay?" I asked after an uncomfortable silence, but I had a feeling I knew the answer.
They both turned and looked at me, "It's not what you think kid. It's not really you she has a problem with, it's all on your dad. She doesn't think your dad's ready to take this on." Nick said.
"Either way, Ruby, it's not her choice to make. Your dad loves you. He'll make it work." Clint said. "There are more comfortable workout clothes in the locker room, why don't you go change."
I went into the locker room and found my size. The clothes were easy to move in and so very breathable, but they were gray- boring. Even the shoes- gray, but they were 'barefoot shoes' they protected my feet but didn't restrict movement. I had heard of them, but never even seen a pair. They were the most expensive shoes I had ever seen, let alone wore. I walked back out, Clint and Nick had also changed clothes. "We'll start out with some simple self-defense." Clint said.
They would talk me through it, then slowly go through the motions, then faster, but still being talked through it, then it was the real deal. The first two things they showed me, Clint would slam his body into me as Nick coached- he knocked the air from my lungs- disabled my arms, and pinned me, but the more we did, the more I caught onto it, and despite my aching body, the more I was enjoying it.
I don't know how many different things we had tried, but I was getting good at it, really good, so Clint took it up a notch. He grabbed my arm, pulling it back hard. My heart thumped just as hard in my chest, as I went to fight back against him, something in me snapped. I felt what I can only describe as searing heat shooting through my body to where Clint had a hold of me. Clit let out a loud 'Ow!' and released me as he shook his hands.
"What happened?" My dad's voice surprised me.
"We must've built up some serious static, because I just got shocked." Clint said then looked up at me, "Did you feel that?"
"Yeah, I did. Weird." I said as I rubbed my arm where he had just held it.
"Yeah, I saw it, it looked like a couple of mini lightning bolts," Nick said, "It had quite the shock."
"Are you both alright?" Tony asked.
"Fine." Clint said, and I nodded in agreement with him, "I think that's enough for today anyhow, I'm whooped and your daughter apparently controls electricity." Clint said with a laugh, "But really, you did fantastic, Ruby."
"Thanks." I said, still shocked at what had just happened.
"Tony" Natasha's voice caught us all off guard, "I finally found you. Can we talk?"
"Ruby, why don't you go change and hit the shower, alright?" Clint quickly told me, but his eyes didn't leave Natasha.
I took the hint and went to change and shower. I found myself again, wondering what I had done. "You didn't do anything, Ruby. Remember what Clint told you? Natasha is just a bitch." I whispered out loud to myself.
I decided I didn't want to just sit there, so I finished up and went back out, where I could hear muffled yelling. I walked towards the hall where the yelling was coming from.
"Natasha, this is none of your concern!" My dad yelled as I rounded the doorway.
"Hey!" Clint yelled at the sight of me.
They all turned to face me, "Hey, Ruby," My dad started, his voice shaking and his face red, "Why don't you go to your room and wait for me there, okay?" He was trying so hard to sound calm and collected.
"Okay." I said, trying to not sound curious about what they were very clearly fighting about.
I quickly let them be and began making my way to my room. I was just about to turn the knob when Peter's voice startled me. "Hey!" He said excitedly.
"Peter! You're walking!" I said.
"Oh, yeah, I can walk. Just a little unsteady, but no big deal. How about you? How do you feel?"
"Really well, actually. I'm still sore, banged up, but I heal pretty fast." I said, smiling.
"Me too, but that has more to do with Spiderman." He laughed, his laugh was so beautiful.
"You being Spiderman has something to do with how you heal?" I asked.
"Yeah, it like mutated my DNA. Plus, the doctors here, they're really good. They know lots of stuff on 'experimental to the real world' drugs." Peter quickly replied.
"Oh, gotcha." I replied, not really knowing what to say, "Well, I'm just glad you're better."
"Thanks, same to you." Peter said, then an awkward silence fell over us. "Listen, I was wondering… Would you want to, maybe, go get some food or like watch TV sometime… I mean, if you like food, or TV, or if you're not busy or anything." Peter began rambling.
"Like on a date?" I cut into his rambling.
"Oh! Yeah… like a... Like a date." He said as he ran his fingers quickly through his hair and leaned onto the wall. "Like, if you don't want to, that's cool. I'm sure you're busy, and I get that, I get busy too sometimes. Highschool, Spiderman, ya know, I get it- but like, if you ever get hungry, and there's no one to like feed you or eat with-" Peter began rambling again.
"Peter, I would really like that." I said, trying to save him from the word vomit he had induced.
"Really? You would like that?" He asked, his eyes wide, shocked.
"Yeah, I would." I said and smiled.
"You would what?" My dad's voice caught us both off guard and made Peter jump. He walked up beside of me, wrapping his arm tightly around me and putting himself slightly between Peter and me.
"Go out to get food sometime with Peter." I quickly said.
"If that's alright with you, of course, Mr. Stark." Peter barely managed to choke out.
Tony said nothing. Silence- tense silence- filled the area between the three of us. "Peter, I'll get back to you on when, okay?" I said
"Yeah, sure, of course. Just call, or I'll be here." Peter said as he hobbled away.
Tony turned and looked at me once Peter had disappeared down the hall, "Did that just happen, or did I imagine the whole thing? Please tell me I imagined it."
"What's the big deal? It's just dinner, maybe a movie. I almost watched him die- I held his blood in, I think the least he could do is buy me some food, right?" I said nonchalantly.
"Uh-huh, that's all right? Doesn't mean anything, not a date, not your boyfriend, none of that nonsense." Tony replied.
I shrugged my shoulders, "I think that'll depend on how dinner goes. What'd Natasha want?" I asked as I turned more towards him- defensive from his questions and his tone.
"You can't just change the topic like that, Ruby. I'm trying to talk to you about this, you just got here, you can't just do whatever you want." He snapped.
"I may have just got to you, but I'm not a baby. I'm 16, I'll be off to college, or something, in two years." I snapped, "Just because I just got here, to you, doesn't mean that my life just started." The words burned my mouth, I knew I was being harsh to him. I knew this wasn't on him, and I had just gotten here, but after basically taking care of myself for so long, I wasn't ready to just be treated like a child.
His shoulders slumped slightly and he looked away. "Alright." He said dryly, "You're right, I guess."
I knew I had hurt him, but I was being honest. I wasn't a baby, even if he had just met me. I wanted to be his daughter of course, but I certainly didn't think after taking care of myself for so long, I could just flip a switch and be controlled. He didn't tell me what Natasha had said, but after that, I didn't want to push it.
The ride home was silent. Neither one of us found it in ourselves to say a word, and I went straight to my room and called Peter later that night to finalize our dinner plans. Friday- two days to figure out what to wear.
Around then, there was a knock at my door, I quickly put down the book I had started and told them to come in. Tony opened the door, looked around the room before his eyes landed on my bed- but not meeting my eyes. "Hey." He said, I could still tell he had his guard up with me- he was still hurt by my words. In that moment, a vindictive thought crossed my mind 'Oh, how the tables have turned on who is hurt by the others words'. I shook the thought away immediately, I didn't want him to hurt.
"Hey." I replied.
"Listen, we need to talk. I know that this is going to maybe be upsetting, and believe me, I wish there was a way around it, but this, I think this is going to be the best way." Tony started.
"Tony, what is it? You're scaring me." I said quickly, my stomach flipping in my stomach. He was going to send me back, I could feel it, I knew he was going to.
"We have to have a press conference. If we try to keep you a secret it is not going to be a secret forever and when it gets out it will be ugly. Not only that, but I don't want you to be a secret. So, I think we should get ahead of it, and call a press conference, and show you to the world." He said.
My stomach settled some. "Are you sure?" I asked, "That makes it pretty permanent. And what if it hurts your image or something?"
"Ruby, you ARE permanently here, in my life. And if it hurts my 'image', let it. All that matters is you. Don't you want to be here permanently?"
"Of course I do, but…" I trailed off, not sure how to say what I was thinking.
Tony came into my room and sat on my bed, right beside me, but still didn't look into my eyes. "But what Ruby? Do you not want to be here? Please, just tell me."
I let silence fall on us for a brief moment, then sucked in a large breath. "I know that not everyone is on board about you keeping me- about you being my dad." I said.
Tony sucked in a breath and let out a long sigh, "Natasha said something to you I take it?'
"No, not really, but it's pretty obvious. Am I wrong?"
"No, you're not, but you have to understand, it's not you Ruby, it's all me. She's worried about you. She knows what I do, and she knows what it could possibly be like for you having me as a dad doing what I do. However, it is none of her business. None at all."
I nodded my head slowly, unconvinced. I didn't want to get attached just to have him change his mind.
"Listen, Ruby, I am going to put you and your needs first, always. If one day you look at me and ask me to hang up the suit, that'll be that. I'm going to do my best to balance you and Iron man- the Avengers, but if I feel like it is preventing me from being the best dad I can be to you- that'll be it. YOU are first Ruby. You are my child and will always come first." He said, being very firm. I could feel that he was growing tired of reassuring me very quickly.
"Okay." I said with a nod, not wanting to start a fight.
He gave me a brief side hug, and as his hand touched the skin on my shoulder, I was suddenly filled with concern for Thor who I hadn't even been thinking about. "Alright, well, I have some work to do then I'm going to bed." He said.
I nodded, then as he stood up my mouth began working faster than my brain, "Is everything with Thor okay?" The words fumbled out of my mouth.
Tony spun around, brow raised- his face puzzled. "Why do you ask?"
I rubbed the back of my head in nervousness, "I-I don't know, I just got a feeling that I should ask." I said.
"Just got a feeling?" He asked, pushing a little harder.
"I don't know, it just hit me. I felt like something was wrong, why are you pushing it so hard instead of just answering my question? Is he okay?" I asked, putting the ball quickly back into his field.
He shook his head slightly, like he was shaking his thoughts clear. "He's okay. He's going to come back soon. There are things happening in Asgard, things we can't explain yet."
"What sort of things?" I asked my stomach clenched- all I could think of suddenly was there being some sort of war and losing my dad after just getting him in my life.
"We don't know, not yet, but we think it may have to do with another galaxy- maybe not even purposefully. We don't know what all is out there." My dad said calmingly, "Don't worry, Ruby. It's an asteroid storm coming from nowhere- they're well prepared for this- everyone will be fine."
I gave him a slight smile- he had settled my nerves some. "Thanks." I said. He gave me a quick kiss on my head and then quickly left me alone in my room with my own thoughts. I knew, somehow, he had either projected his thoughts into me or I took them from him. I took in several long deep breaths trying to calm myself. "Ruby, calm down. You can't do this." I whispered out loud to myself, after a while I managed to convince myself that I was not crazy, and it was just some sort of weird coincident.
I finished the book I was reading and then went to bed. The next morning Pepper had me up early. "Your dad is at the tower, getting things ready. I have a nice dress picked out for you, and someone is coming over to do our hair and makeup." She said with a smile as she sat a plate of food on my lap.
"Why?" I asked as I picked up a piece of bacon and took a large bite out of it.
"Why? Why what?" Pepper asked, almost sounding offended.
"No offense, but I've never really wore makeup, and my hair is always the same, and I only like jeans and sweats and shorts- I don't really wear dresses. Don't you want everyone to see the real me?" I asked.
"Oh! Ruby, of course we want them to know you for you, but today is a little more formal. They'll get to know you gradually- today is like the interview, and you have to dress nice for those- ya know?"
I thought on it as I chewed on another piece of bacon. "Yeah, I getcha." I said.
She chuckled, "Well then, you finish your breakfast and jump in a quick shower, there is a robe already in there as well as a hair towel and regular towel, then come out and we'll get started. Sound like a plan?"
I nodded my head as I stuffed egg in my mouth and she smiled then left my room. I took a few more bites, but as nervousness set in I felt my appetite leave. I climbed into a shower, the knots in my stomach made me question if I would be able to even keep my breakfast down, and the hot water did nothing to help it.
After several long minutes I gave up on the hot water helping and quickly finished my shower. I dried myself off, threw my hair into the hair towel and wrapped it up, then slid the robe on. I looked at myself in the mirror- for the first time in a long time my demons didn't rear their ugly heads by giving me big bags under my eyes; however, my face was pale from the nervousness. I walked from the shower and Pepper stood waiting for me. "Good, you're all clean!" She said excitedly, "Let's get started on that girl time."
Two men waited for us in her office. They both wore black clothing with white aprons. We sat in chairs and they began playing with our hair.
"Your hair is so thick! All of these curls!" The one doing my hair exclaimed. "I think we're gonna keep them. I think I have the perfect headband for you. We'll just throw it up in a ball-bun and give you some pins and spray and slap that headband on you and send you on your way. How's that sound?"
"You're not going to straighten it or anything?" Pepper asked.
"Oh no!" He yelled and dramatically clutched his hand to his chest. "Look at all these beautiful exotic curls, they're so healthy and full, and look at how well they suit her, they are perfect!"
She stared at my reflection in the mirror, "You're the expert." She said with a shrug, and I couldn't help but feel a slight sting.
For Pepper, they did simple waves/curls, keeping it down. Her makeup, very professional. Light eyeliner, simple eyeshadow, and a lovely color lipstick. She was done well before me. Her dress was black and fitted, and as she sat back down to get her nails done I had just had my hair finished. My makeup was a bit more dramatic. Eyeliner and foundation thicker, eyeshadow a bit more dramatic- not subtle, and an ugly dark color painted onto my lips.
My dress was blue. Sapphire. Unlike peppers, mine was knee length, and poofed slightly out at my waist. My whole chest was covered, and small rhinestones littered the dress. "This is the dress?" I asked.
"You don't like it?" She asked.
"I look kind of childish." I said with a shrug, "It's like a toddler's princess dress, but instead of being pink, its blue."
"I think it looks nice!" She said.
I shrugged, "You're the expert, if you say it looks good, I believe you."
She smiled warmly at me, "You look great." She said, then handed me a pair of heels.
"Listen, I can't walk in those. I never really have." I quickly blurted out.
"You never wore any heels?" She asked, somewhat dumbfounded.
"Never." I replied. "Well, I mean, me and my friend Twyla did once at our group home, but they weren't ours. She was pretty good at it, but I wasn't."
She stared blankly at me for several long moments. "That's the first time you've opened up to me." She said, her voice hoarse. "You had a friend?"
I crossed my left arm across my chest and rubbed my right shoulder. "Oh, yeah, Twyla. She's my best friend."
"Maybe we could get permission and you two could have a sleepover here sometime?" Pepper quickly said.
I furrowed my brow as I thought back to the last time I saw her. "She ran away." I said, my voice catching. "Before I came here, she ran away from the group home to be with a guy- a guy who was bad news."
Peppers face fell, "You haven't seen her since?"
I shook my head, "Just once. She… She had track marks all up her arms, and the guys she was with… They weren't good." I said.
"Oh Ruby, I'm so sorry sweetie." She said and stepped closer to me.
I cleared my throat, "Don't we need to be there soon?" I asked.
"Oh! Yes, we do!" She said, and was about to take me to the car, "Are you okay to do this?" Her voice was full of sincerity.
"Yes." I quickly said, "But what about my shoes?"
"Don't worry, just wear them, I'll help you get used to them and you'll be fine." She said.
The ride there was filled with small talk, nothing too deep- which I was grateful for. As we pulled up to the Tower, pepper looked me directly in the eyes, "Listen, they will try to bully you, don't let them. If you don't want to say anything- don't say anything. Do you understand?"
I nodded quickly, and then as the car came to a stop in a parking space, Bruce and Clint were each at our doors. "This way, ladies." Clint said.
We were taken in a back entrance and taken through back halls to the press room. My dad was anxiously awaiting our arrival. He greeted Pepper with a kiss on the cheek, "How are we doing'" He asked.
"We're good, how are you?" Pepper asked.
"Oh, you know how the press goes." He said.
"Are they pretty crazy?" Pepper asked.
"They're critical, of course. They want to know what they're getting themselves into- if it's worth their time."
"Oh… It's worth it for them." Pepper said as she raised a brow.
"We're ready, Tony." Nick said, "Everyone is in there."
"Alright, I'll signal for you to come out, and we'll do the same for you, Ruby." My dad said, looking me dead in the eyes.
I nodded, and he quickly walked out on stage. Camera flashes flashed over and over as he walked out. "Good afternoon, thank you all for coming on such short notice. Before we get started, as always, I want to go over my basic rules again. Today we have a large announcement, this announcement is biggest to me and my future wife, Pepper Potts; however, this directly affects the avengers too. So, as always until we are finished, hold your outbursts of attacking questions until the end. If you can't do that- you will be escorted out because asking you to leave never gets the hint across. Pictures are always welcomed because I know- it's your job. Blatantly disrespectful or grotesque questions or comments will NOT be tolerated- especially this time. I will sick the Hulk on you and he may throw you out the window, and I promise, it is a long way down. So, without another rant from me, please welcome Pepper on to the stage to help me make this announcement." Tony was so to the point, I had read about him, and he took no nonsense from the press. Whether they had always been on his side or slandered him, they were always held to the same standard- no nonsense.
Pepper squeezed my shoulder before walking out, cameras flashing as she walked across the stage to Tony. "Alright," Tony spoke again after kissing her and taking in a large breath, "Like I said, this is very big for us, but it first needs a little backstory: Sophia Silva was a lovely Brazilian native I met when I went back to Brazil for the first time since my parents had died 17 years ago. She lived in a very poor village, while I was there we had a relationship that got rather serious, and it ended right before I came back. I wrote to Sophia but never got any sort of reply. 13 years later she came to America, where she shortly thereafter died of glanders. However, she did not come alone, she came with her daughter. Her daughter was placed into foster care, and recently a social worker and Sophia's daughter came to me. Why? Because Sophia's daughter is my daughter. Please, welcome my daughter, Ruby Stark, to the stage." And there was my signal- a simple hand gesture.
My heart pounded so hard in my chest as I quickly walked across the stage into my father's embrace, watching every step out of fear that I may fall or twist my ankles in the shoes that were blistering my feet. The press erupted into chaos. As questions were flying at us, Tony quickly silenced them all with a simple hand gesture. "Questions are one at a time, or you can all leave." Tony was calm, but firm.
Silence quickly replaced the noise, and hands were raised instead. "You." Pepper said, pointing to one of them.
"Thank you, Ms. Potts. This question is for you and Mr. Stark- Are you planning on continuing your relationship and careers or are you looking into other options for Ruby?" The man asked. I was put off by the question- glad it wasn't aimed at me. Why couldn't I stay, the stay together and them continue on with their careers?
"Thank you for your question. Yes, we plan on being a 'both parents working' family. A two-income household." Tony replied, "How about you, ma'am?"
"Pepper, do you think you're ready for this role?" The woman asked.
"At first, I didn't think I was, but now, I definitely think I am." She quickly responded. "How about you, sir?"
"Ruby, did you know that the infamous Tony stark was your father all of your life or were you just as shocked as he was when the blood test came back?"
I cleared my throat, but it didn't stop my voice from squeaking. "I found out when my mother died 3 years ago. She told me while she was on her deathbed."
"Why did it take you so long to come forward? Weren't you afraid of deportation?" He quickly snapped back.
"One question!" Tony barked.
"It's okay." I said, "No, I wasn't afraid of being deported. My mother said I was the child of an American man, and we came here on legal visa, although not legally obtained. When she died, because there was no family to claim me, I was put into foster care, several of them, and eventually in a group home. I didn't think anyone would believe he was my father, so I just didn't tell anyone."
"Sir, how about you?" Pepper said, pointing to a man in a dark coat, with a hat pulled down over his head.
"We've heard of Thor suddenly going back to Asgard, despite his pledge to stay at Earth for the foreseeable future unless he is needed on his home planet, is there a reason for that?" He asked.
My dad raised his brow, "Uh, not sure what that has to do with this, but Thor went back because of a large volume asteroid storm, Asgard needed his assistance." He was clearly confused, "How about you, ma'am?" My dad said and pointed to a woman right up front in a wheelchair, and the other reporter I noticed made his way to the exit.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark. This question is for Ruby. Ruby, why suddenly did your mom decide to bring you to America after 13 years?" The woman said, pulling my attention back to the conference.
My mind flashed back to the memory- the last clear memory- before we made our journey to America. My heart pounded so hard in my chest I was sure everyone could hear it. "I- I don't know… I guess. She just, did. One day she woke me up early and said we needed to leave."
I felt my father shift next to me, he had not only just felt that I had lied, but he knew something was wrong with what I had just said. "I think that's enough questions for today." He said.
"Wait, Ruby," The woman shouted as my dad began to guide me and Pepper towards the stage exit, "What are the bruises on your face from that have been covered up?" My dad's body went rigid at her words, "Is the transition maybe not going as smoothly as you are leading us all to believe?" She finished, and I could feel the fury in my father's body.
"Both of you, go." He whispered.
"No," I quickly said, and pivoted awkwardly around him, my heel slipping ever so slightly, twisting my ankle a little bit. I pushed through it and walked back to right in front of where she sat, "How could you say that? My dad had no idea I existed, and I just show up out of the blue and you think he would take me from state care and beat me? My dad is great, he is a hero, he would never hurt me." The overwhelming aching I felt in my chest- the anger that I suddenly had, had tears in my eyes threatening to spill down my cheeks.
"Then please, tell us what they're from." She said.
"Another man. I ran away and my dad saved me from a bad guy." I said, not letting my mind flash back to that night.
"So, you ran away so soon?" She asked.
"You have no idea what was going through my head, what happened to me, what any of this is like, so you can't act like you know something you don't." I snapped.
"Alright Ruby, that's enough sweetie, you've said what you needed to." My dad said as he gently lead me off the stage.
I hadn't realized that the tears had overflowed from my eyes until my dad offered me his handkerchief. I took it quickly, wiping my face and smearing makeup across my face. I stifled a sob and sucked in a big breath, trying to get myself back under control. "Thanks." I managed to choke out.
"You did so great out there, kid. Better than at least half of my press interactions." He said as he placed a firm hand onto my shoulder, then pulled me into his chest. "Let's go home." He said.
This time he rode with us, and the ride was completely silent. I stared out the window, knowing that he would ask about what I had lied about, what the lady had said, and I knew I had to tell him. When we got back home I immediately took off the shoes my feet had been begging for me to destroy for hours, and went to my room to clean myself up. I changed into more comfortable clothes, throwing the dress in a lump on the floor. I laid down on my bed, curling into a ball, trying to straighten all my thoughts and emotions when a gentle knock came on the door, "Hey, can I come in?" My dad asked.
"Yeah." I said, my voice sounding rough and hoarse.
He came in and laid on his back next to me. "I'm sorry that it went like that today. I know how draining this all must be for you right now. It seems like one thing after another after you just had a huge change. I promise, it'll all settle down soon."
"It's okay." I said, not looking at him, "Sorry I cried."
"It's alright Rubes. You don't have to apologize." He said.
Rubes? What the hell? "Did I ruin your image?" I asked, deciding not to ask if he had just had a stroke or something.
He laughed as he rubbed his face, "No, you didn't ruin my image." He said, but I could feel that he wasn't finished, just trying to figure out how to put what he wanted to say into words.
"You want to know what happened, don't you?" I asked, my voice shaking and hoarse.
"I don't want you to feel like you have to, but Ruby, I have to admit, I am worried about you." I said.
I nodded, then as he went to meet my eyes I turned my head so I wouldn't have to look at him as I sucked in a deep breath. "I told you about the guy who gave me mom the time of day, the scientist. He was great for a while, he let my mom do the things women were supposed to do in the village instead of worrying about scavenging for food. But then he started getting drunk, beating my mom. My mom protected me, she always protected me, but one night instead of hiding like she told me to do, I came out. I hit him and beat him and screamed as well as I could for just being a kid, and it really pissed him off. He knocked my mom out and took off with me, ran into the woods. I remember him hurting me, but the harder I fought back, the more he hurt me, the fuzzier things got. There's a whole section I don't remember." I squeezed my eyes, tears soaking my cheeks and down my shirt, I sucked in another breath hard, my dad not moving. "When my mom found me, I was asleep, but the man, he was dead. She never told me exactly what had happened to him, just that he was dead. She told me once she thought she killed him, blinded by rage, but I think she may have been lying. We weren't going to leave, but people started asking questions, and my mom was afraid, especially considering she couldn't answer them. So, one night we took what little food and money we had, and we left. She carried me a lot, because the man, he really hurt me, but she was determined to get us out of there, and come here, to you. She told me that you would help us, but I never knew what she meant really. I had assumptions, like with money, but when she told me that, it seemed like maybe it had a deeper meaning." As I let out a long breath, it came out more of a sob, my dad grabbed ahold of me and pulled me into his arms.
"It's okay Ruby. No one will ever hurt you again." He said, his teeth clenched. I sobbed into his chest as he rubbed my back until exhaustion finally over took me.