Macabre Moocher (NEET Lucy)

"H-hey, Lucy."
>"Hey, Lincoln."
"S-so, I met up with the family today."
>"How was that?"
"We got to talking and, well, they said I should..."
>"That you should what?"
>Lincoln stared at the usual indifferent grimace on Lucy's face.
>He knew what he should have said, but he had already lost what little motivation he had.
>"Lincoln?"
"Nevermind, it's not important. Pizza for dinner sound good?"
>"Sure."
>As Lincoln shuffled away, he could hear the sound of Lucy turning the television back on.
>He sighed heavily as he realized how miserably he failed, and how upset everyone would be when they learned about it.

>Lincoln couldn't help but stare at the clock on his phone, trying to keep from dwelling on his immediate future.
>He knew what was coming, but he didn't need to dwell on his already foregone tongue-lashing.
>As he languished in self-loathing, the sight of his order brought him back to his senses.
>"Getting the reuben special again? You could try ordering something new once in a while."
>Lori sat herself down at the vacant side of the booth and met eyes with Lincoln.
"Guess I just like to stick with what I know."
>"As long as you're not enabling Leni degrading herself downtown, I don't really care what you spend your money on."
>Lincoln shared a small laugh with Lori, until he saw the look on her face sour.
>"So, how'd it go yesterday?"
>Lincoln froze for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.
>Lori's frown worsened as she saw his hesitation.
>"You did actually talk to her, didn't you?"
"I did...but I never got around to bringing it up."
>"..."
"Lori-"
>"Didn't we just have a discussion yesterday as a family about you finally telling Lucy to get off her ass?"
"It's not as easy as you think it is, Lori."
>"Oh my god, are you really doing this?"
"Come on, Lori, I can't just-"
>"She's literally been mooching off of everyone after Mom and Dad kicked her out of the house, and here you are making it worse!"
"That's not fair, Lori!"
>"Unless you lay down the law with her, she's going to keep sponging off of you until you're as far gone as Leni."
>Lincoln relented as he let Lori's words of wisdom sink in.
>She was right; he just needed to buckle down and tell Lucy.
"Okay, I'll do it as soon as I get home."
>"You better."
>As Lincoln returned Lori's faint smile, he prepared to grab his sandwich.
>"Aren't you forgetting something?"
>Lincoln looked to his sister again, her palm outstretched.
>"Just because you're my brother doesn't mean you can be a cheapskate."
>Grumbling, he pulled out a five and handed it off.
>"Thanks, and good luck, Lincy."
"Yeah..."

>The keys jingled against the lock as Lincoln opened the door and made his way inside.
>Like clockwork, Lucy was there on the couch.
>Watching one of her supernatural romance shows.
>Taking a deep breath, Lincoln moved in closer and sat on the edge of the couch.
>His presence had shaken Lucy out of her haze.
"Lucy."
>"Welcome back, Lincoln."
>Lincoln turned around made the best effort he could to face her.
"Lucy, we need to talk."
>She stared back at her brother for a good while, until she eventually paused the show.
>"Okay."
>Taking steady breaths, Lincoln parses out his thoughts and steadily gets his message out.
"Lucy...I think you need to get a job."
>His words were met with silence, until Lucy turned her head back to the television.
>"I don't exactly have much to put on a resume, you know."
"Even so, you've been living here for a few months, and I don't want to just have you wear a groove in the couch."
>"Are you kicking me out?"
"N-no! I'm not going to just throw you out on the street, but I want some effort from you."
>Lucy turned herself back to Lincoln slightly, still unsure of what to do.
"It doesn't have to be fancy, but I want you to try, Lucy. Please."
>As he waited for a response, Lincoln held his breath subconsciously.
>Once Lucy set down the remote, he let his breath go.
>"Alright, I'll try to look for a job."
>Lincoln smiled as he heard her response.
"Thanks, Luce. I'm glad you're understanding where I'm coming from."
>Lincoln pulled her in for a hug, and held on tightly.
>Maybe there was hope for Lucy yet.

>Slowly sipping at his coffee, Lincoln enjoyed the silence downstairs.
>Lucy hadn't been on the couch for nearly a month.
>When he did see Lucy, she was usually exhausted.
>Lincoln didn't bother to ask what entry-level job she found, but he was glad that she found something.
>Holding the box tightly to his stomach, he was so happy to think of what Lucy would do when she recieved it.
>Really, she would have likely just packed it away after giving him a small smile, but that smile would be worth it.
>Besides, she deserved something for actually managing to get a real job.
>Setting down the cup, he held the box to his side as he made his way through the hallway.
>As he was about to reach Lucy's door, he heard muffled talking.
>It struck him oddly, since Lucy hadn't talked to anyone but him since she began crashing at his house.
>Sticking his ear up to the door, Lincoln could barely make out a few words.
>Reason being that they were interspersed with something else.
>It was the oddest sound.
>Confused, Lincoln decided to enter the hall closet and listen through the thinner walls.
>His heart sank as he began to actually put it all together.
>Lucy was talking not to just one person, but multiple.
>And she was moaning while she was doing it.
>He immediately flew back from the wall, shocked by what he just heard.
>Dozens of thoughts flooded his mind, and he couldn't think straight.
>Lincoln bailed from the closet as fast as he could, until he found himself out in the living room.
>As he finally began to calm down, he began to collect himself and realize what was actually happening.
>But he couldn't bring himself to go back there.
>Even so, Lincoln wasn't going to just ignore it.
>In his unsound state of mind, he decided to just wait for Lucy to come out.
>He'd confront her and get to the bottom of this.

>Looking at the digital clock near him, he realizes that it's been nearly an hour.
>Lucy had still not come out of the room.
>He couldn't bring himself to think about what might be going on in his spare room, and merely kept glaring at the clock.
>Each minute that passed was like torture.
>What would he even say after all of that?
>How does someone even approach that subject with their sister?
>Now he knew how Lori felt when she found out that Leni had been working as a stripper.
>As his uncertainty began to overwhelm him, he heard the sound of Lucy's door opening.
>He couldn't tear his eyes away from the way Lucy would enter his view.
>Once she finally entered the room, Lincoln couldn't help but immediately call out for her.
"Lucy."
>Her attention immediately turned to her brother.
>"Oh, I didn't realize you got home already."
"Could you come here for a moment, Lucy?"
>Lincoln could see the reluctance in her posture, yet she soon complied.
>Lucy sat on the couch, opposite to Lincoln.
>Replaying the sounds in his head, Lincoln immediately leapt at the matter that he had desired to confront.
"I heard you in there, Lucy."
>Lucy snapped back in her seat, shocked at what Lincoln just said.
"What were you doing, Lucy?"
>Try as she might, Lucy's mind failed to find any truly plausible excuse.
>At least one that wouldn't embarrass her further.
"Tell me the truth, Lucy."
>"...I was working."
>...
"You were what?"
>"I was just working, Lincoln, that's all."
"That's what you call work?!"
>"It's just-"
"Hold on, has that been what you've been doing the entire time since I've talked to you!?"
>Lucy can't help but blush as she turns her face away from her brother.
"I thought you had gotten an actual job, Lucy!"
>"T-this is a real job. Since I've started, I've almost made $6,000."
"How much you made doesn't matter; what matters is what you're doing is wrong!"
>"But-"
"You're as bad as Leni doing this! No, you're worse than Leni because you're doing it in my house!"

>Lincoln sprung forward from his seat, coming far too close to Lucy for her liking.
"Did you think that this was okay? Decieving me into thinking that you got honest work?"
>"Lincoln, I tried! No one wanted to hire me without a reference."
"So you decided to become an online prostitute!?"
>Responding to Lincoln's level of emotion, Lucy rose from her seat to meet her brother's posture.
>"You wanted me to get a job, and now that I have one all you want to do is yell at me for having it. Why are you being so difficult?!"
>Something within Lincoln couldn't deal with the respone Lucy had given him.
>The lashing back, the lack of shame, and the lying brought out something terrible in him.
>Without thinking, he raised up his hand and laid a solid strike upon her face.
>The abrupt contact echoed throughout the house.
>Lucy stood still, shocked at what had just happened, and in disbelief that Lincoln had just done such a thing.
>Unable to control what his anger had boiled into, he struck Lucy again.
>This time, the power of it had sent her to the floor.
>Before she could muster the strength to prop herself back up, Lincoln descended on Lucy.
"You think that this is okay?! That no one cares what you're doing?! Fine!"
>Lincoln grabbed hold of Lucy's shirt and promptly removed it from her torso, nearly tearing it.
"If you're going to be a whore, you're going to be treated like a whore!"
>"Lincoln, what are you doing?!"
>Her words were silenced with another slap.
>Lucy began to tremble under her brother, unsure of what he was going to do to her.
"What, isn't this what you wanted? To be a piece of trash to be abused by any man that pays the price!?"
>Lucy had little resistance to Lincoln's continued assault, even as he rendered her beyond indecent.
>She was down to her panties, and nearly nude before her own brother.
>Whatever thoughts were in her head before were pushed aside as she cowered in fear.

>Her humiliation had not stopped, however, as she felt Lincoln's hand on her last scrap of clothing.
>As she realized what was happening, she slapped Lincoln's hand away as she began to panic.
>"Linc, stop!"
>As Lucy attempted to appeal to his sensible mind, he continued on until he tore her last dignity away from her.
>With Lucy lying beneath him, he reached forward and laid a hand on her breast.
>Lucy seized as Lincoln moves even closer to her.
"Is this what you want?"
>"N..."
"Do you want to be treated this way!?"
>"No..."
"Then tell me that! Tell me you don't want to be a whore!"
>"I..."
>Lucy could barely bring herself to choke out a word.
>She couldn't handle the reality before her.
>She didn't want to believe this was happening.
>Then she felt her stomach lurch, as Lincoln grasped hold of her most sensitive area.
>All previous sensations flew from her, and she pushed Lincoln off of her.
>Lincoln fell back, and felt his mind begin to come back to him.
>Looking at Lucy, he saw her struggling to stay upright as she tried to cover her form in front of him.
>Her eyes streaked down tears that ran black on her cheeks.
>Seeing her reduced to this, and at his own hand, Lincoln couldn't help but frown.
>Getting off of the ground, Lincoln moved to Lucy once again.
>As she prepared herself for whatever could come next, she raised her arms to shield herself.
>Instead of being struck or manhandled, she felt Lincoln's arms wrapped around her.
"I'm sorry, Lucy."
>When those words hit her ears, she grasped on tightly to Lincoln and bawled as hard as she could onto his waiting shoulder.
>Lincoln softly stroked her back as she embraced the tenderness of her brother coming back to her.
>"I don't want to feel that way ever again. I'm sorry, Lincoln. I'm sorry about everything."
>His heart hurt as he realized what he'd made her experience, but he knew that after this, he had finally gotten through to her.
>Now, they could both get her on the right track.

>Holding tight to Lucy, Lincoln felt more at peace than he had a few hours ago.
>It'd been ages since he'd shared a room with Lucy, but she'd refused to let him go.
>Looking down to his kid sister, he gave a light smile as he saw her relaxed next to him.
>"Can I ask you for a favor, Lincoln?"
"A favor?"
>"Do you think...that you could help me get a real job?"
>Lincoln smiled as Lucy had said something he didn't think that he'd ever hear from her.
"Sure, we can start searching tomorrow."
>Lucy sighed contently as she dug herself closer to you.
>"And Lincoln, I'm sorry for...everything. I see know how badly I hurt everyone else with my selfishness."
"It's okay, Lucy."
>"No, it's not. I...I made everyone's lives harder to make my own easier; I want to apologize, but..."
>Lincoln pushed a finger to Lucy's lips, cutting her off.
"Don't worry, I'll help you get back in touch with everyone. We all want to get back together with you, Lucy."
>Lucy repaid Lincoln's kind words with the smile he'd longed to see.
>It warmed his heart.
"Luce?"
>"Yes?"
"Chicken tenders for dinner, tonight?"
>"...with ketchup?"
>Lincoln chuckled lightly as he gently stroked her hair.
"Of course."