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she thought was right. Fighting against her own fears, against whatever
hatred, fear, judgement, and other past hurts plagued her. She was fighting
for herself.
Romi thought Kiera was fighting for them too, though she stayed silent,
giving them both time to process their thoughts. She’d had a few days to
think over what she wanted to say. She wasn’t sure she’d actually get a
chance to say it or not, and even though she was terrified when the words
were coming out, she got them out anyway. They needed to be said, but
Kiera was still processing everything.
“I’ve thought about telling my parents for years.” Kiera’s voice shook. “I
mean, I knew when I was a teenager. I guess it just got easier to hide over
time. I got better at it. I didn’t want to, but somehow I always found myself
doing it. My family is really conservative, like I said. I’m an only child. I
know they think being gay or transgender, a lesbian, bisexual, all of it, that
it’s wrong. They believe that marriage should be between a man and a
woman. I was always so scared that I’d disappoint them.”
“You could never disappoint them. I’m sure you couldn’t. You’re
amazing!”
Kiera’s nostrils flared. “Thank you for saying that. It’s very kind.”
“But it’s true! You have to know how insanely amazing your life has
been! You’re incredibly successful. You’re independent. You’re this strong,
inventive, innovative person, and you’re young! You’re someone that young
girls and young women could look up to.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen myself that way. I guess I have imposter
syndrome or whatever they call it. You know, where you no matter what
you do and how much money you make or whatever, you still feel like you
haven’t made it or that you don’t deserve it somehow.”
“I’ve heard of it.” Romi took a chance and caressed Kiera’s hand
comfortingly with her index finger. “It’s hard. All of this. It’s hard because
there are so many unkind people out there. People who just believe that hate
