Undo Undo

Ctrl-Z. Line. Ctrl-Z. Line? Ctrl-Z. Line? Fuck. Ctrl-Z.

Lincoln sighed. His face bathed in the soft glow of the tablet screen, dark bags hung under his eyes after years of all-nighters. He needed to get this linework done or it was gonna be another earful from the editor. A sliver of light came through a crack in the blackout blinds of a nearby window, was it a full moon tonight? He didn’t have time to answer that. His phone was flashing at him, speak of the devil. He picked up the phone and swiped instantly.

“Hello? Tom? Yeah, I’m-“ Lincoln says into the phone while taking a couple more errant strokes on his tablet.

“Is this Lori Loud?” A decidedly tired woman said from the other end.

“Uh, no, this is her brother.” Lincoln said, placing the pen down. What kind of trouble has Lori gotten into?, he thought.

“Sir, we have been trying to reach your sister for the past day and we have been unable to reach her. This-“ The woman says before Lincoln interrupts.

“Oh, God, did something happen to Lori!?” Lincoln shouts over the phone.

“Not to my knowledge, sir. But I called this number as it was listed as an alternate, her daughter is in our hospital. We need someone here, as soon as possible.” The voice was getting a bit agitated, but maintaining a professional calm.

“What? Why? What happened?” Lincoln said, Loan was her name, right?

“Miss Loan, am I saying that right? Like a house loan?” The voice says a bit more unsure than it was.

“It’s pronounced Lo-Anne.” Lincoln corrects like he had been about 18 years ago. He had no idea where Lori had picked up that name.

“Alright, I’ll make a note here. Sir, the reason I called was that your niece had a panic attack during one of her final exams and during the attack, fell and hurt herself.” Lincoln could hear a pen running across paper.

“Why do you need me?” Lincoln said, it seemed like she could be released just fine.

“Someone needs to sign the forms and protocol is to release her into parental care.”

“B-but, I’m not-“ Lincoln begins before he is cut off.

“Sir, we’re gonna keep trying to contact Ms. Lori Loud, but, in the mean time, we need someone here to sign forms and make sure that girl doesn’t wake up alone.” The woman says a bit softer.

“Yeah. I get it. Where are you anyways? My sister and I haven’t been in much contact, recently.” Lincoln says as he opens up a travel site.

“The Miriam Hospital, in Providence, Rhode Island, sir.” The nurse says.

“Alright, I’ll book a flight for tomorrow. Thank you, good night.” Lincoln says, his exhaustion soaking into his voice.

“Uh, good morning, sir.” The nurse says before hanging up.

“What?” Lincoln says, he turns to the pulled blackout curtain on the window next to his desk. He throws it open to reveal a bright winter’s day, powdered snow cloaking his backyard. “Oh, for Pete’s sake!”

--------------------------------------------------------