With the sudden disappearance of her husband, the loss of her two sons and her mother, Jessica Kent and her daughter Isobel move back home to Smallville with her brother Clark. As they settle into their new life, Jessica and Isobel discover secrets...
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Jess
It had been a bleak two weeks since Bruce vanished without a trace. I found myself at the factory every day, desperately hoping for any sign of him. Gordon had discovered Bruce's wallet at the scene, handing it over to me a few hours ago.
I sat in my room and all I could do was stare at it before I finally was hit with the notion that my husband was gone. He would've come home by now and nothing would've stopped him from doing that.
Distraught doesn't even begin to cover it.
Lois knocked on the door and when I didn't respond, she opened the door and walked in. "Hey." She greeted me lowly, kneeling in front of me. The dead-eyed look I gave her must have shocked her. "Jess?"
I sucked in a deep breath and released it shakily. "You know... for a second there..." I felt my bottom lip begin to quiver. "I was really really happy." Then the flood of tears I had been holding back came rushing through. I collapsed in her arms, hiding my face with my hands.
Just when life was inching back to normal, I now had a husband who was presumed dead and a teenage daughter giving me the silent treatment. And here I sat, at my new dining table, with my fixed kitchen because I needed something to do when I wasn't at the factory, surrounded by people pouring into my house for a wake – a gathering for a man who hadn't been found.
I clutched the pearl necklace that Bruce had given me, a family heirloom that once belonged to his mother, and sighed. As the door to the dining room creaked open, I didn't bother to look up. "Whoever is in here needs to leave," I mumbled, sniffling and wiping my face with a tissue.
"You never were good at funerals." I spun around in my seat to find my mother, Martha, standing there with a sad smile. "You get that from your father."
"Mommy..." I whispered, fresh tears rolling down my face.
Mom approached, and I rested my head on her stomach. "I know, sweetie." She ran her hand over my hair. "It's okay to cry." Her other hand patted my shoulder gently. "The tears let the heart heal."
My mother's comforting presence brought a mix of solace and sorrow. She settled into the chair beside me, offering a gentle embrace. "You've been through so much, my love," she whispered, her voice a soothing balm.
I looked up at her, my eyes still swollen from the tears. "I just can't believe he's gone, Mom. It's like a nightmare I can't wake up from." I rubbed my forehead. "First Jason, then Dick, and now Bruce?" I began to sob again. "I can't keep doing this... it's not fair."
She squeezed my hand, a gesture that spoke volumes of the unspoken bond between us. "Life has a way of throwing us into storms we never expected. But remember, even in the darkest of nights, stars shine the brightest."
Her words, though comforting, did little to alleviate the ache in my chest. "I don't know how to go on without him, Mom. Everything feels so empty." I wiped my eyes, most likely stained with my mascara. "He would've come home by now, and his GPS is offline."
