Re: Dora and Addi
Another person's sobs broke through the deafening roar of her own heart in her ears. Perhaps it was because she was so used to listening for crying even during these hard times, the panic attacks, because the twins needed her, even when she felt like she was drowning in darkness. She felt like a failure so many times, when she had to let them cry for a little longer, because it was too hard to breathe, because she knew it would only upset them more. She didn't realize that the fact she managed anyway was a triumph and not a failure.
But it broke through her spiral, and her head turned to see a very distraught Addi on the floor of the porch. Right now she sympathized keenly with the other woman, even though she didn't know how things had turned out in the other room. She knew how upset she would have been, had she been proposed to after announcing her pregnancy. Addi was her, in this situation, in many ways. And underneath the Slytherin exterior lay the softness of a Hufflepuff heart, well hidden and protected as well as she could. It ached for the woman -- for the hormones, for the situation.
Somehow she managed to gulp in a soft breath, and though her legs felt like jello, she crossed the few steps and knelt next to Adelaide, a still-shaking hand rubbing down her back and wrapping gently over her shoulders. Her own lashes were damp, and she still struggled as her heart beat too fast, too hard, thoughts circling each other. But she at least had a shoulder that didn't shake too much, and she could offer that to lean against as the other woman's tears flowed. Her brother was so fucking stupid sometimes. For such a smart boy, he could be so incredibly stupid.