lula and albie: 15
dulcinea: 12
in which lula is struggling with her sexuality and harry tries to comfort her. lula's coming out story <3
little parts of this is written from personal experience so please be kind and please remember you are all so loved and so valid. this will always be a safe space for you!
harry's words to lula are some things i needed to hear from someone when i was fifteen and i hope they bring comfort to you as much as they did me.
cw: emotional distress, mention of internalised homophobia.
Harry
Lula hasn't been herself lately and it's really starting to worry me.
For as long as I can remember, her and Albie would both greet Edora and I as soon as they got home from school. Most of the time, we'd be in the kitchen so they'd both drop their bags at the door and head straight for the fridge for a snack. Each time this would happen, Edora would scold them, tell them that their dinner is 'soon' but actually wouldn't stop them from snacking. They'd sit with us for five minutes before they'd disappear to do their own thing.
Albie has continued this routine but since Monday, Lula has avoided any and all after school clubs and come straight home, heading straight for her bedroom. She's stayed there until dinner, which is when she'll show her face. We all try to talk to her but she has nothing to say. She knows we can see her red puffy eyes and her tear stained cheeks but will still insist she's fine and it's this that makes it known to us that she is very much not fine. Lula doesn't cry in front of us now that she's a teenager, always wanting to be the 'strong' one because 'people depend on her' and she doesn't want to be seen as weak. Of course we've told her that it's okay to cry and express her emotions, that it doesn't make her weak but I think it just makes her uncomfortable so for her to sit here with tear stained cheeks is a big deal.
After dinner, she'll disappear straight up to her bedroom until the morning.
I've tried to give her her space to process and figure out what she's dealing with but it's now Friday and nothing has changed. If she's not okay, that's okay but I don't want her to feel like she's alone; and if she doesn't want to talk about whatever is bothering her, that's fine too but I just need to let her know that we're here if she needs us.
Edora and I are sitting in the kitchen when the front door opens signalling the twins return from school. We both shared the same, slightly hopeful expression that she'll show her face today and we both sigh in disappointment when we hear heavy footsteps stamping up the stairs. Edora squeezes my forearm when I'm rubbing my face with both of my hands, unsure of what I can do to help.
"Hey." Albie mumbles as he drops his bag off down by the door. Automatically, we both know something is wrong when he doesn't head for the fridge. Instead, he takes a seat opposite us at the island counter and purses his lips at us.
"You okay, love?" I ask, my eyebrows pinched into a frown.
He looks around the room before he too is frowning. "Where's Dulcie? Is she okay? I heard she was sent home ill from school."
Edora nods her head. "In her room, she's okay. Just a stomach bug I think."
"Ah." He responds and looks down into his lap, letting us know that there's still something that needs to be said. Neither of us press him to speak, we just wait until he's ready. He picks at his fingernails before sucking in a deep breath and lifting his head to look at us. His eyes are watering and his lips form a tight line. "I know you guys have been giving Lula her space and I know she appreciates that but I think you should really speak to her. She's not okay."
