Echoes of Summer
((I had a young Lena headcanon lurking on my hard drive for forever, but like most of my ideas it very soon became story-length. Dedicated to @ohhsoadorkable because every time I see you react to Lena feels I’ve been just “oh, just wait til you get a load of this one”.))
Summary: When Lena is eight years old, she spends the summer with her aunt. When Lillian Luthor visits, she makes some unpleasant discoveries. [Warnings for child abuse & poisoning]
Lillian knows something is wrong the moment she finds Lena asleep in the library. The girl is situated on the bench of the bay window, as she often is, but the book splayed open in her lap lays forgotten, her head tilted back against the wall in sleep.
Lena doesn't nap.
It is the one thing she and Lillian seem to share: their sleep patterns are sparse, whereas Lionel and Lex would layabout for hours if they had half a chance. To the untrained eye, Lena is a girl in the throes of a summer haze, but Lillian notes her sallow skin, the deep bruises under her eyes, and the sharp angles to her face and shoulders. She's lost weight since she’s come to stay with her Aunt Lucille.
She looks nothing like herself, and thereby nothing like her mother. That is Lillian's second clue that Lena is unwell.
"Lena."
The call of her name does nothing to rouse her. Lillian crosses the room, and places her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Lena."
Lena stirs, but it's not until Lillian is forced to give her shoulder a shake that her eyes flutter open. Lena bolts upright when she recognizes the figure standing over her.
"Mother?"
The girl hastily scrubs the sleep from her lashes. Then her gaze turns upwards, hooded with guilt for having been caught sleeping. Bright eyes cloud with exhaustion, and in one Lillian spots the vivid stain of a burst blood vessel.
Throughout her close study, Lillian keeps her features carefully neutral. Eventually, Lena looks away, staring nervously at the book now gripped tightly in her fingers.
"I didn't know you were coming," Lena murmurs.
"Nonsense. I notified your Aunt Lucille weeks ago." Thin shoulders lift almost imperceptibly, defensive against the scold. Lillian ignores it. "Dinner is nearly ready. Clean yourself up and meet us in the dining room."
"Yes, mother."
When Lena joins them at the dinner table, her posture is uncharacteristically stiff. Her back is ramrod straight, without any trace of the slouch Lillian has frequently scolded her for. Lillian watches as Lena stares at her soup, silent until Lucille glares at her from over the rim of her wine glass.
"Not good enough for you, girl?"
Lucille is in fact Lionel’s cousin, older by ten years but looks twice that. Her fingers fuss with the silverware without a cigarette between them, and decades of chain smoking seems to have permeated every inch of her, from the ash blonde of her hair to the graying pallor of her skin.
The gravel in her snarl grates sharply, and makes Lena squirm in her seat. Lillian catches the movement with a sharp eye. Lena isn't prone to fidgeting, Lillian has made sure of that. Her back is straight but her shoulders bow forwards as though trying to curl in on herself.
"I spoke to you, girl!"
"I'm not very hungry..."
Lillian sets her wineglass aside. "Don't be rude, Lena. Eat your dinner."
Lena's lips twitch, pulling down at the corners. Her hand reaches for her spoon, with all the solemn pomp of a man climbing the gallows.
While they eat, Lillian and Lucille speak of everything and nothing of importance. Lillian watches Lena silently sip her soup from the corner of her eye. She finishes her meal as instructed, but it takes her nearly half an hour. She then sits and listens as expected while Lillian and Lucille continue to exchange pleasantries.
Within minutes, Lillian sees Lena's discomfort. The fidgeting increases, and a hand presses to her belly.
"May I please be excused?" Lena blurts. Her eyes remain glued to the table, glistening with tears. Lillian pauses, watching as Lena's shoulders rock forwards in a way that doesn't appear to be voluntary. When she nods, Lena exits the room at a walk, but with enough urgency for Lillian to know something is wrong.
"I tell you Lillian that girl has been an ungrateful wretch from the moment she walked in the door!" Lucille started in immediately. "Absolutely appalling! I don't know how you deal with her--"
"Excuse me." Lillian tosses her napkin aside and rises to follow Lena's path out of the dining room and up the stairs. As she nears the room assigned to Lena, she hears the pitiful sound of retching still yards away.
She finds Lena in the bathroom, heaving over the basin of the toilet. Scooping Lena's long hair out of the way, Lillian takes in the sight of tears pouring down flushed cheeks and the pink tinge of the water in the bowl. Rage sparks deep in Lillian's chest as the water gets darker with every lurch, even after Lena's stomach is empty. Lena sobs between spasms, sniffling pitifully.
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