ODE

Chapter 2

"Fuck!" Lena flutters with her eyes, willing the headache away. At this point she’s not even sure what causes her migraines anymore, they’re just always there like a constant companion.

Lena forces herself out of bed and enters the bathroom for a quick shower. It’s going to be a very long day.

She takes a deep breath before turning the key in the ignition. According to Maps, it’s only a three hour drive. For three hours and twenty minutes straight, she stopped to grab a bite once she realized she hadn’t eaten since the morning before, it’s completely silent in the car. She doesn’t even bother putting her usual playlist on, her brain keeps reciting the entries and Lena’s almost sure she knows them all by heart by now.

Eventually, she reaches the large grey building that marked her destination. It stands tall against the clouds and Lena shivers just thinking about living there. It reminds her of the Luthor Estate and how she felt that very first day. She’d felt so small and alone, so absolutely terrified. Those exact same feelings are weighing down on her shoulders all over again.

She parks her car in a visitor’s parking spot and walks through the large uninviting doors. She’s met with a reception counter and an older woman, named Corrie according to her nametag, behind an outdated computer. It’s clear that the building hasn’t seen an update since the early 2000’s.

“Name?” Corrie asks, without looking away from her screen. She absentmindedly hands Lena a clipboard with a pen attached. Lena raises an eyebrow, but writes her name in the next available blank space. When she’s done, Corrie takes the clipboard back and glances down at it.

“Lena Byrne? Alodie family of yours?” Corrie squints up at her. “Actually, I can see the resemblance.” She adds with a somewhat friendly smile.

Lena silently stares at her, the joy she feels at the realisation that her mother is in fact still alive rushes through her body. She realizes it’s probably better not to reveal too much and slips her well-practiced mask back on.

“Where can I find her?” Lena asks instead.

“Room 53, just down the hallway. Oh, and take this. Just clip it on.” Corrie hands her a red badge with a large V on it, before turning back towards her screen.

Lena blankly looks at the badge in her hand before attaching it to her coat.

“Thank you.” Lena offers quietly, already looking towards the long white hallway on her right. Her heels click against the tiles, making a couple of surprised heads turn in her wake. She spots room number 33, 40, 50… Lena rounds a corner and halts her step when she reaches the door she’s been looking for. Room 53. With a shaky hand, Lena knocks on the wooden door and exhales deeply before slowly pushing it open.

The room is as bland as the hallway, all white with a few hideous abstract paintings hanging on the walls. It’s small, but it appears to have everything a person could need. A lone chair is placed in the middle of the room, with its back to the door. Dark, greying hair is the first thing Lena sees of her. Her mother. Carefully, Lena approaches the chair and walks around to finally face her. She’s met with green eyes, much like hers, but they’re vacant and far away. Lena takes a deep shaky breath.

“Mom?” Lena tries softly. Alodie’s eyes shoot up, meeting Lena’s unsure gaze.

“It’s me. It’s Lena.” Lena adds quietly.

Something sparks inside the woman’s eyes, but it dims as quickly as it appeared.

“Can you play some music, love?” Alodie requests, nodding towards the record player on the table, her Irish accent warms her up inside. The vague familiarity makes Lena’s heart ache.