A Little Problem-Chapter 2

>”Think fast, Lincoln!”
>Okay, no problem.
>You've been at this for at least a good hour now.
>There's no way that you'll screw this up.
>And you're on the ground.
>Everything hurts.
>”Whoa, you alright?”
“I think I've got dirt in my tonsils.”
>After coughing up some bits of grass, you make an effort to roll yourself over.
>Were there always this many stars visible during daytime?
>”I've got you, Linc.”
>You're soon assisted onto your feet, and brush off the majority of the lawn from your clothes.
“Alright, I think that's my limit for extreme frisbee. How about we just relax for a bit, Lynn?”
>”I think it's probably for the best after that wipeout. Don't want to see you hospitalized, after all.”
>”Kids, come and get lunch!”
>Wait, it's lunchtime already?
>Guess it must have been more than an hour.
>”Looks like you picked the right time to take a breather. You think you can make it in without falling down?”
“Rather not take the chance.”
>”Fine. I'll be a good sister and carry you in, big baby.”
>You and Lynn share a small laugh as she takes your arm and wraps it around her.
>It's a fairly big effort, but you manage to make it inside.
>Before you even make it all the way in, you can already smell the juice.
>Your stomach rumbles at the looming prospect of lunch.
>The sounds of the usual bustling become clearer as you make your way to lunch.
>”Hey, that's my glass!”
>”Nuh-uh, yours was the one with the scratched side.”
>”Girls, calm down, there's plenty of lemonade for everyone.”
>Looking on as you come in, you see all of your sisters enjoying themselves quite thoroughly.
>”Man, I could go for a cold glass of that!”
>Finally, Lynn lets go of you as she lets her excitement get the best of her.
>It's nice to see these normal things once in a while.

>”Goodness,Lincoln, look at the mess you've got on you.”
>Looking to your mother, you give her a slightly pained smile.
“Yeah, extreme frisbee will do that to you.”
>”I swear you kids are going to turn the backyard into a wasteland.”
>Pushing your way through the crowded room, you pick up a sandwich and go to town.
>It could use a little more mustard, but pretty great otherwise.
>In the middle of your nosh session, you see your mother looking around the room.
>You're not the only one who takes note of this, and Lana takes the initiative to mention it.
>”Something on your mind, Mom?”
>”I have this odd feeling that I'm forgetting something, but I can't quite put my finger on what.”
>”That would be me.”
>Your mother seems ready to jump out of her skin as Lucy appears out of nowhere.
>”Oh, Lucy, I should have guessed.”
>Not paying much mind to anything else, Lucy makes a beeline for the fridge.
>As she rummages around inside of it, your mother gets an odd look on her face.
>”What are you looking for, sweetie?”
>”Found it.”
>Lucy gently checks the door closed as she walks off with a jar of horseradish to the counter.
>”Are you going to put that on your sandwich?”
>”Yes.”
>”I thought you didn't like horseradish.”
>”I don't.”
>After you watch half the jar pour out onto the sandwich, you start to lose your appetite.
>”I'm going to go eat this outside.”
>Lucy shuffles past your mother as fast as her legs will carry her.
>”Bring the dishes back in when you're done.”
>The room stays quiet until the sound of the back door shutting puts them at ease.
>”Are we sure we should keep letting her stuff herself like a turkey?”
>Having broken the ice in the worst way possible, everyone in the room turns to stare down Lola.
>”What?”

>”Not cool, dude.”
>Lola, shocked at the reaction, shrugs her shoulders and chokes down her current bite of sandwich.
>”It's a legitimate question. Every single day she finds something new and fattening to eat. Some of that stuff we don't even keep in this house.”
>”Lola, that's enough, dear.”
>”You too, Mom? I thought at least you would be on my side. She's been blowing up like a balloon for months! If she were to enter a beauty contest right now, the only thing she'd walk away with is a blue ribbon at the county fair.”
>The sour expression on your mother's face tells Lola she's about two more words away from a grounding.
>Realizing what's about to come her way, she clams up and goes back to munching on her sandwich.
>”Whoa, that conversation got a little too 'heavy' just now.”
>The tension from before is replaced with a collective groaning as Luan laughs herself into a hiccup.
>Having already had your fill of food for now, you quietly bus your dishes to the sink and slink out of the room.
>You spare no time in heading back outside, quickly catching up to Lucy.
>Slowly walking down the steps, you carefully set yourself next to her to not further agitate your pained body.
“Hey, Lucy.”
>”Hello, Lincoln.”
“So, is there any particular reason you're eating outside?”
>”Lisa said I should be getting a bit more sunlight so that I wouldn't have a vitamin deficiency.”
>The end of her sentence is punctuated with a large bite of the horseradish-drenched sandwich.
>Even the smell of it is almost too much.
“Is that really good at all?”
>”Honestly, no; but it's the only thing that's been on my mind all day. Well, except for the desire to eat some grass.”
“I'm starting to get concerned with Lisa's methods.”

>”I trust her. She's been helping us for quite a while now.”
“Yeah, I know, but she's also just a bit too into the whole 'mad' aspect of science. We both know that from experience.”
>Lucy sets the plate down on the step beside her, grabbing your hand.
>”It's not so bad. I've got you watching out for me, after all.”
>Feeling complimented, and slightly embarrassed, you can't help but smile.
“Guess not.”
>”Oh.”
“What?”
>”I felt the baby move.”
>Lucy takes your hand and slides it onto her belly.
>You don't feel anything at first, but then you feel the small movements.
>It fills you with a sense of wonder and joy.
>Judging from the look on Lucy, you'd say she's feeling the same thing.
>”It's always a great surprise whenever she does this.”
“She?”
>”Lisa decided to take a look at it to make sure that there were no noticeable physical deformities, and then she told me it was a girl.”
>A girl.
>So, that makes her your daughter.
>An entirely new feeling rushes through you.
>Not wonder this time.
>You feel...accomplished?
>No, that's not right.
>It's happy, but not excited.
>...Content?
>Yeah, content seems like the right word.
>Sitting next to Lucy, you don't bother to pay attention to reality anymore.
>Lucy's not your little sister, and you're not her brother.
>You're just two people happy to feel the kicking of your beautiful little girl.
>The scene is just completely serene.
>Then you feel reality scraping its way back into your mind.
>Your previous feelings give way to melancholy.
>Lucy looks so happy right now.
>Heck, you're pretty happy too.
>And that's just the problem.
>This kind of happiness won't last; for either of you.

>A more solemn visage returns to your face.
>You slowly slide your hands back away from Lucy.
>She looks back to you, confused at your actions.
“Lucy, you're happy with your life now, right?”
>”I don't really have any complaints.”
“So...you don't mind the way that things have gone?”
>Lucy turns her head away from you, gazing out at nothing in particular.
>”Lincoln, for the past few months I have had to deal with odd food cravings, soreness in multiple places, and an inexplicable desire to sit with Lori as she watches Lifetime. There has been nothing in my life that's compared to the suffering I've had to endure before any of this, by a very wide margin.”
>Turning back to you, you see the biggest smile you've ever seen on Lucy's face.
>”Having a child is the greatest thing to ever happen to me, and none of this would have been possible if it wasn't for you. Thank you, Lincoln. Thank you, so much.”
>Lucy's arms wrap around you as tightly as they possibly can.
>You can't help but laugh as you return the gesture.
>Leave it to Lucy to describe something that way.
>”I picked out a name, you know.”
>Hold on a moment.
“What?”
>”Yeah. I found it in this new online novel I've been reading.”
>Taking a moment to slightly back away from Lucy, you look her squarely in the face.
“Lucy, don't you think that might be a...bad idea?”
>”What do you mean?”
“I mean, you don't really want to name her. You might get...attatched.”
>Lucy stares back at you from under her bangs, her face back to her usual frown.
>”I'm not dumb, Lincoln. I know that we couldn't keep her. I just felt...like she needed a name. Something to show that we cared enough about her to give her one.”

“We can't just give her a name, Lucy. People would realize that it was one of us.”
>”I mean a first name only. I'd never risk putting her, or either of us, in harm's way for the sake of my desires.”
>Yeah, she certainly made that clear at the clinic.
>”I'm sorry if I made you upset.”
“Lucy, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not upset; just concerned. I don't want you to get hurt at all.”
>Hearing those words puts her mind at ease as the smile comes back to her face.
>”Thanks for looking out for me.”
“That's what brothers are for.”
>Lucy casts a downward glance as her pale skin flushes red slightly.
>”Would you like to hear what I decided on?”
>Thinking a bit on it, you're not really sure anything bad could come from this.
“I'd love to.”
>Lucy's face glows an even deeper crimson as she pulls you in close.
>As she whispers the word into your ear as if it was the last thing she'd ever say, all you can do in response is make a bewildered expression.
“That's your choice?”
>”Yeah. So, what do you think?”
“Why a Spanish name?”
>”No, it's not Spanish. It's Latin.”
>Latin?
“Just what kind of book is that?”
>”It's this really great novel about this amazing vampire queen who blends into Roman society and how she spreads vampirism throughout the ancient world single-handed. She's extremely beautiful and has completely white hair.”
“White hair?”
>”Yeah. I just thought it was a fitting name.”
“Wait, did Lisa tell you that she going to have white hair?”
>”Well, not exactly, but Lisa said there's a high chance for it to happen due to us being so closely related and her not bothering to really change it.”
“Wouldn't you prefer her hair to be black?”
>“I wouldn't mind if she did have white hair. It would make her look more like you.”

>There goes that blush again.
>You're gonna get stuck looking like you have permanent sunburn if this keeps up.
“Well, that sounds pretty nice to me; don't know if she'd appreciate it.”
>”If she ever got to know you, she'd realize how lucky she is to be special.”
>Hearing that sentence rubs you the wrong way, if only for a little bit.
>Special might be the wrong choice of word to use considering the circumstances of her birth.
>While you're dwelling on the thought of what could go wrong with the already sketchy dealings you're suffering, you hear the sounds of Lucy resuming her lunch.
>Feeling about ready to lose yours, you decide to say something to keep your mind off of the horror beside you.
“Man, it's a good thing everyone thinks you're just getting fat.”
>Wow.
>That didn't just come out of your mouth, did it?
>Lucy continues to eat away at her sandwich, disregarding what you just said.
>”Better than the alternative.”
“Yeah, that's for sure.”
>You let yourself heave a relaxed sigh, glad you dodged the bullet you shot at your own foot.
>Still feeling a bit guilty about nearly insulting Lucy, you put your arm around her shoulder.
“Though if that was true, it wouldn't stop me from loving you, Lucy.”
>Lucy stops halfway through her current bite as she matches your own red tone.
>”Y-you're making it hard to eat.”
>Under her attempt to finish the sandwich, you can see the beginnings of a smile line up on her face.
>You move in closer to Lucy, prepared to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
>Before you can seal the deal, you feel a very painful tug on your arm.
>”Lincoln, car, now.”
>Without being able to get a word in edgewise, you're dragged off while struggling for balance the entire way.

>”It's a nice day for a drive, don't you think, Lincoln?”
>You pay no mind to your sister across from you.
>You've got more pressing matters on your hands.
>Or your wrists, to be more specific.
>”Taking a quick drive always helps me to focus on things and clear up my mind.”
>As you try to sooth the soreness, you make every attempt to not make eye contact with Lori.
>”It's not nice to ignore your big sister, you know.”
“Neither is trying to break my arm.”
>”Like it's my fault you decided to drag your feet.”
“I couldn't keep up with you!”
>Lori doesn't bother to respond to your retort.
>Instead, she keeps her eyes focused on the road.
>You look through the windshield and see you're pulling into a mostly empty parking lot.
>Lori makes no attempt at a soft stop, nearly slamming you into the dash.
>As she puts Vanzilla in park, she turns her full attention back to you.
>”Lincoln, do you know who I am?”
“What?”
>”Do you know who I am?”
“...am I supposed to say no or-”
>”For Christ's sake, how many sisters do you have?”
>You're still really confused about what she's trying to do.
“10.”
>”And which one am I?”
“You're Lori?”
>”Yeah, I'm Lori. Your oldest sister. Do you know who I'm not?”
“Do I know-what?”
>”I'm going to tell you who I'm not, Lincoln. I'm not Leni. I'm not Luna. I'm not Lynn, Lola, Lana, or GOD FORBID Mom or Dad!”
>Lori undoes her seatbelt, pressing herself further into your face.
>”Do you understand, Lincoln Loud? I'm not any of them. Do you know what they all have in common? They don't know anything about any of this, and it's a damn good thing they don't!”

“Lori-”
>”Can you imagine what it would have been like if I actually was one of them? If I wasn't the one who walked out first?”
>Oh.
>Now you're starting to understand what she's getting at.
>”For weeks I have been trying to help Lucy not get caught up in anything, which has seriously put a dent into my time spent with Bobby! Yet, no matter how hard I try to keep my siblings out of trouble, SOMEONE just keeps putting them back in that position!”
“Lori, listen-”
>”No! I'm not going to just 'listen' to you until I've literally drilled this into your thick head, Lincoln! You could have been caught by anyone right then and there, and what would you have done if they had seen what you did? Do you think the twins wouldn't run screaming to Mom about watching your little stunt? Or that Lynn wouldn't start beating the shit out of you?”
>Even if she's trying to make you go deaf with her yelling, she's yet to not make a valid point.
“I-I didn't think-”
>”What a surprise.”
“Hey!”
>”It's not like you're doing yourself any favors! You've gone above and beyond to prove you've surpassed Leni in being an utter idiot!”
>That last one was just unnecessary.
“You know that there's no reason to be using Leni like that.”
>”And you know that you're not supposed to put your dick in your little sister!”
>Realizing that there's no real arguing with Lori, you cross your arms and look out the window.
“I get it; bringing me all the way out here to yell at me. If you're done, can we go home?”
>”Oh no, we're not going home.”
>...
“What do you mean?”
>”I'm not taking you home, Lincoln.”
>Your eyes go wide as you watch Lori start up the engine.

“Lori, we're going home, right?”
>”I'm going home.”
>You start to sweat a bit as you see Lori driving without a second glance at you.
>She can't possibly mean that.
>Right?
“Okay, you can turn around now, Lori.”
>Your only response is the same silence that she began earlier.
“L-Lori, this isn't funny.”
>”...”
“Lori, please talk to me!”
>No matter how much you plead or beg to Lori, she just doesn't respond.
>If she would just talk to you, you'd calm down.
>But she's so damn insistent on giving you the cold shoulder.
>All she needs to do is tell you she's going to kick you out of the door in the middle of Detroit.
>Or take you to the police.
>Something to tell you what she's planning to do to you.
>As you begin to hyperventilate at the thought of all the other terrible fates waiting for you, you curl up into a ball.
>You don't know how long you stay in that pose, but when Vanzilla comes to a complete stop, you realize that you're extremely stiff.
>”Okay, we're here.”
>After making yourself limber again, you look out the window and see a familiar building.
“The arcade?”
>”Yeah, the arcade.”
“Wait, this is what you meant when you said I wasn't going home?”
>”Duh.”
>Before you can put in another word, she hands you a fairly large stack of bills.
>”You're going to go in there and have fun.”
“Why are you giving me all of this money?”
>”Because you're going to stay there until you run out of money.”
“There's got to be some sort of catch.”
>”No catch. Just go in there and enjoy yourself.”
>Something inside of you tells you that Lori's not telling you something.
>On the other hand, free money.
“Fine, I'll go.”
>”Good.”

“And there's absolutely nothing else you're not telling me?”
>Lori puts on a tender smile as she moves in closer to you.
>”I just want my little Lincy to do something he enjoys.”
>Pulling on your shoulder, she move you closer to her until your foreheads meet.
>”Without him being a little sister-fucking piece of shit that can't keep his hands to himself.”
>There it goes.
>Before you can get in a word, she pushes you out of the door and starts to drive off.
>Geez.
>Well, not much you can do besides go in.
>As you walk across the street and into the building, you bump into someone by complete accident.
>”Hey, watch where you're-”
>When the person you bumped into turns around, you recognize them instantly.
>”Oh, it's you. Glad to see you finally made it here.”
“Huh?”
>”Don't act like you're not late.”
>Late?
>”But don't worry, I'm not gonna hold it against you. Come on, we've got an entire afternoon to burn.”
>As you watch Ronnie Anne walk off, you have the gears begin turning in your head.
>Lori didn't just send you here to keep you away from Lucy because she saw you two together.
>She went ahead and planned you an entire day with Ronnie Anne.
>That's what she meant when she said she didn't want you around.
>She's trying to get you to not only be around Lucy, but not even think of her like that anymore.
>As you look at the wad stretching your pocket, you can tell she must have been saving up for this for a while.
>Possibly weeks.
>Not wanting to make a scene in one of your most traveled hangouts, you follow behind Ronnie Anne.
>Still, you can't help but realize how played you've been.
“Dang it.”
------

>*thump*
>*thump*
>The last toss of the ball fell just short of the wall, rolling off to the side of the bed.
“Dang it.”
>After jumping off of the bed, Lynn took the opportunity to stretch out her other muscles.
>It'd been a while since Lincoln flaked on her, after all.
>Just took off with Lori to go hang out with Ronnie Anne.
>Lynn didn't really bother to take it to heart, though.
>Lincoln did spend the greater portion of the morning doing what she had asked him to, after all.
>But she felt it would have been nice to at least be given some warning.
>Finished with her stretching, she sat herself back on her bed and resumed her previous activity.
>For all of about seven seconds.
>Her impatience got the better of her, and the final toss of the ball bounced it squarely out the window.
>”Ow.”
>Lynn sighed and flung herself off of the bed once more, proceeding out of her room without a second thought.
>As she made it down the stairs and through the house, dodging the usual chaotic actions of her sisters, she couldn't help but wonder who she actually hit with the ball.
>Having darted out of the backdoor, Lynn surprisingly saw her roommate nursing the top of her head.
>The fact that her dreary little sister was outside in the sun honestly surprised her.
>Once she realized that she was also holding her ball, the rest of her mind went blank.
>She quickly ran her way to Lucy, eager to repossess her object of interest.
“Hey, think I could get that back?”
>Looking up from her occupied palm, Lucy focused on her sister's outstretched hand.
>Not wanting to have the ball anywhere near her, she handed it off without protest.

“Thanks. Sorry for nailing your noggin, Luce.”
>”It's fine.”
>With her ball again in her grasp, Lynn was free to head back inside and resume her attempt to break her record.
>Yet she couldn't help but think again on how odd the whole situation was.
>Lucy wasn't one to stay outside for long.
>Unless it was dark.
>But it wasn't even close to night, let alone dark aside from some clouds.
>There wasn't much else left to debate on; this was weird in a definite non-Lucy way.
>Lynn decided she needed to prod a bit further and see what was going on.
“Come to think of it, I never expected the person I hit to be you. What are you doing outside?”
>Lynn couldn't see it under her bangs, but Lucy's eyes opened a tad from the surprise.
>”Just getting some fresh air.”
>Fresh air?
>Another flag raised itself in Lynn's head.
>Curious to see what else she could find, Lynn sat herself beside her sister.
“I thought you liked the dusty places like the attic.”
>”It's not that I don't like it, but even I need some sun every now and then.”
>Sun?
>For the person who'd blot it out if she could?
>The flags just kept on piling up in her head.
“Aren't you afraid that you're gonna turn into ash like Edwin or something?”
>”I'm not a vampire, Lynn. Yet. Besides, it's...healthy.”
“Healthy?”
>”A little bit of it is good for you, right?”
>Lucy's words were true.
>None of this was weird information; Lynn knew all about maintaining good health.
>The fact that her gloomy little sister was concerned about it in the slightest was the weirdest thing she'd heard yet.
“I'm not a genius by any means, but even Leni could see something's not right here, Luce.”

>”Not right?”
“Duh! I know you too well to brush it off. There's something wrong here, but I can't exactly place my finger on what.”
>Lynn couldn't always read Lucy too well, but she could see a small change in her otherwise constant frown.
>She knew she could crack this nut.
>”I don't know what you're talking about, there's nothing wrong with what I'm doing.”
>Lucy was still playing the fool, but Lynn knew that all she had to do was press a little bit further to actually get what she wanted.
“Well, if you're going to be 'healthier', then you should-”
>An audible gasp erupted from Lucy as she felt Lynn's finger poke her taut belly.
“-do something about this, no?”
>Lucy quickly took her hands and pulled the hem of her shirt as far down as possible.
>Lynn's actions were rewarded with an ample amount of blush on her victim.
>”D-don't do that to me!”
>Lynn was quick to back off and adopt a neutral shrug, still holding onto her increasingly smug smile.
“I'm not judging you, Luce; it's not like you're the only one in the house who ever got a little chubby. Leni used to look like a marshmallow six years ago, remember?”
>”I don't remember stuff from when I was two.”
>It was a fair enough point, considering Lynn remembered little from that age as well.
>But Lynn wasn't going to stop her offense now.
>Not when her goal was so close.
“My point is, and I'm not looking to bring you down, but a gut like that isn't healthy.”
>Lucy's face kept turning further and further red.
>”Th-there's nothing wrong with it!”
>Lynn wasn't sure, but her gut told her she was heading the right direction for her answer.

>She'd found her target and wasn't going to stop digging until she found out what was up.
“Come on, you've been stealing shirts from Luna just to keep that thing covered.”
>Lucy's frown kept breaking down into an embarrassed grimace, furthering Lynn's assumptions.
>”Please stop.”
“All I'm saying is that you're not going to be doing yourself much good if you look like you're hiding a dodgeball under there.”
>Lynn couldn't help but continue her prior assault on Lucy's personal space.
>She placed her cheek upon Lucy's, surprised by the warmth radiating from her.
>Before she could push her away, Lynn gripped her shirt and quickly exposed her midsection completely to the world.
>Lucy's mouth gaped open again, without uttering a sound.
“See?”
>Lynn's latest attempt had definitely struck a chord.
>Perhaps a bit too much of one.
>Her support left her quickly, and she tumbled to the grass.
>Lucy had actually moved away from Lynn.
>Looking up at her little sister, Lynn could see the nearly complete redness of her sister's face.
>She almost looked like a tomato.
>”Lynn, j-just leave my belly alone! I'm taking care of it!”
>Without another word, Lucy left in a huff back to the house.
>Lynn couldn't believe it.
>She kept playing the words back in her head.
>Lucy said she was taking care of her belly, and that sent Lynn's face into a toothy grin.
>She was trying to actually take care of herself, and that left Lynn completely giddy.
>Lynn wanted to go after Lucy, let her know she would help her, but she knew that it wouldn't be good to do that.
>Giving Lucy some space was what she decided was for the best, especially after what she just did.
>But she just couldn't contain herself.
>Her sister was trying to stop being a butter ball, and she couldn't wait to help.

>Lynn's mind couldn't help but start thinking of things to get her little sister into shape.
>Dietary restrictions, exercise regimens, the works.
>Of course, expecting any of that to be easy for her to get through would be beyond crazy.
>But Lynn loved nothing if not the thrill of meeting a challenge.
>As she mulled over more thoughts of her new-found task, she heard the sounds of a familiar vehicle pulling into their driveway.
>Lynn didn't waste any time in getting off of the ground and making her way to the side of the house.
>Sure enough, Lori was back.
>A passenger door opening confirmed that Lincoln was also back.
>This pleased Lynn, because she definitely wanted her extreme frisbee partner back while there was time left in the day.
>While watching from the sidelines, Lynn noticed that Lincoln wasn't looking very happy at the moment.
>The fact that Lori dragged Lincoln off to do something for her didn't make that surprising.
>Yet Lori didn't seem to be in high spirits, either.
>As they fell out of Lynn's view, she walked towards the backdoor of the house.
>Best not to let them realize that she was spying on them from the shadows.
>Lynn went back in unnoticed, and quickly took to finding Lincoln.
>Her search wasn't necessarily a long one, as she heard a muffled conversation between Lori and Lincoln.
>There wasn't much to make out of the pieces she heard, except for the bit that Lincoln didn't try hard enough.
>But hard enough at what?
>It was in the middle of her eavesdropping that she caught herself with a round object as she walked.
>When she finally made contact with the floor, she looked back to see what had tripped her up.
>Unsurprisingly, it was Geo's hamster ball.
“Geo, you need to pay attention when you're walking!”
>He paid no mind to her hypocritical words and went about his way.

>In the commotion of her tumble, Lynn lost the ability to hear the conversation.
>She groaned in disappointment as she picked herself up.
>At least it wasn't hard to guess where her brother had gone off to.
>Lynn quickly ascended the stairs and hung a right.
>She was only a few steps away from Lincoln's door when she realized it wasn't fully closed.
>If there was ever someone who would always keep their door closed, it was Lincoln.
>Instead of kicking the door open like she usually would, Lynn peeked into his room from the ajar door.
>When Lynn saw him, he wasn't looking like his usual self.
>Lincoln was just flopped onto his bed, completely still.
>She couldn't even see his face, buried his pillow.
>The sight concerned her deeply.
>Lynn had never been particularly inclined to delving too deep into emotional stuff, but that didn't mean she would leave her little brother like that.
>Stepping back from her partial intrusion, Lynn knocked on Lincoln's door in a further departure from her usual habits.
>It took a few seconds before she finally got herself a response.
>”Come in.”
>Having gotten permission, she entered with the usual confident smile she had with her.
>She knew there was something bugging him, but she didn't have to let him know that instantly.
>Lynn pushed the door open and saw that Lincoln at least moved his face from the pillow.
>As soon as she could get a full view of Lincoln, she feigned mild surprise at his current state.
“Geez, you look awful.”
>”I do?”
“Yeah. What did you do?”
>”Oh, nothing really. I'm just sort of tired, I guess.”
“Really?”
>”What?”
“Don't give me that, Lincoln. I might like sandwiches, but that doesn't mean I want your bologna.”

>”I mean it, I'm just tired.”
“Yeah, and Luan's jokes are actually funny. Got any more lies?”
>Lynn gave Lincoln a smug grin as she brushed his deflections aside.
>Lincoln closed his eyes and dragged his pillow over his face.
>”Close the door.”
>Realizing she'd caught what she was fishing for, she kicks the door closed behind her.
>She hopped up next to his feet, and kicked her legs as she awaited his return to the conversation.
>Lincoln took his time slipping the pillow from his face, barely keeping it from his chin.
>”Lynn, you won't repeat any of this, right?”
“Do you really need to ask, Lincoln?”
>”Lynn...”
“Fine, fine; I promise I won't.”
>”Thank you.”
“Now will you tell me what's got you looking so out of sorts?”
>”...Well, to put it bluntly, I think Lori's attempting to run my life for me.”
“Lori's doing what?”
>”I mean, I'm not saying this for sure, but it's sorta feeling like it.”
“Why do you think that?”
>”Because she made me go on a 'date' with Ronnie Anne.”
“I thought you two were just friends now.”
>”We are! Or, I mean, I wanted it to be simple like that.”
“So that's what you were doing today with Lori?”
>”Kinda.”
“Wait, why is Lori doing anything with you? The last time I saw you two alone, she looked like she was going to turn you into another human pretzel.”
>”I don't know.”
>Lincoln tossed his head to stare off of the bed, gazing at nothing in particular.
>”I don't know anything, anymore.”
>Lynn began to get more concerned with Lincoln after seeing that he had only seemed to get worse as their conversation lingered.

“Geez, you're starting to sound like the tub of darkness herself.”
>”Lynn.”
“Aw, you know I don't mean it like Lola. I'm just concerned about my little bro getting pushed around.”
>Lincoln smiled at Lynn's genuine words, and she gladly returned it.
“Yeah, I won't let anyone push my best bro around. Your big sis'll send anyone packing.”
>”Lori is our big sister.”
“Still pretty sure I could take her in a fight.”
>The two siblings shared a silent moment, before they both began to burst out into a raucous laughter.
>Lynn finally caught a glimpse of Lincoln's happy face for the first time in their conversation, which instantly warmed her heart.
“You seem to be better now, huh?”
>Lincoln stemmed his laughter, but still holding onto a subdued chuckle.
>”Maybe just a little.”
>Lynn gave Lincoln a her own chuckle as they let the atmosphere lighten as much as possible.
>Then Lincoln gave Lynn a slightly curious look.
>”Hey, Lynn?”
“Yeah?”
>”I know this is a bit late to be asking, but why exactly did you come into my room?”
>Lynn took her hand and slapped it against her forehead, continuing to feign her lack of prior knowledge that Lincoln was melancholy.
“Dang it, I let that completely slip by me when I came in.”
>”Don't worry, we all have our own little Leni moments.”
“For sure. But...”
>”But what?”
“Well, this is kind of a really odd thing, but I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.”
>”What's odd about that?”
“Well, it's about Lucy.”
>”Lucy?”
>Lynn quickly scanned the room, looking for any signs of her furtive sibling eavesdropping on them.
>Finding nothing, Lynn leaned in close to Lincoln and put her hand to his ear.
“She's finally tired of being chunky! She wants to get in shape; can you believe it?”
>Lynn's whispers left her lips giddy as she spoke.
>The same couldn't be said for the expression on Lincoln's face, however.

“I know it's pretty surprising, but it's not that much of a shock, is it?”
>Lincoln, attempting to play off his look, played up his ignorance and gave Lynn a quizzical stare.
>”Don't take this the wrong way, Lynn, but that doesn't sound true.”
“Doesn't sound true? Are you saying I'm a liar?”
>”No, just, Lucy would rather keep something like that secret and bury her emotions out back with Dad's old shovel.”
“First time for everything, right?”
>”I...guess?”
“Come on, Linc, have a little faith in your sister.”
>”If you say so. Why are you telling me this anyway?”
“Even Leni could figure that one out, Lincoln.”
>”Wait, you don't mean-”
“Every team needs a coach, and every coach needs an assistant.”
>”You can't be serious.”
“I know, you're not the first thing most people would think about when it comes to physical fitness, but there's more to sports than just effort. Strategy is key to any victory, and that's where you come in.”
>”Strategy?”
>Lynn groaned as she fell into a lean on the wall
“Ugh. What I'm trying to say is, I need you to help me figure out how to get Lucy invested. If anyone understands how she ticks, it's you. Well, you or the bats, but I'm not Lana so I don't have a rabies vaccination.”
>”So...you do want me to help get Lucy to exercise?”
“You're one of the best people I could ask for to make a gameplan for it.”
>Lincoln nervously smiled at Lynn, trying his damnedest to conceal his true feelings.
>”What kind of brother would I be if I said no?”
>Lynn gently slugged her brother's shoulder, giving him a slight grin.
“Good to hear, Lincoln. Now, I'm gonna head out and start brainstorming some ideas.”
>”Okay. Have fun with that.”
>Lynn, feeling that the matter was resolved, jumped off of Lincoln's bed and slowly made her way out of the room.
>She triumphantly hummed as she walked back to her room, blinding her to the slight sounds of her brother's panic behind her.
------

“What does it take to actually get something done in this house!?”
>Lynn kicked off her shoes angrily in no particular direction before flopping onto her bed.
>There hadn't been a moment's peace for her for two weeks!
>If it wasn't something her older sisters were bugging her for, it was her younger sisters.
>Except, unsurprisingly, Lucy.
>The one person she NEEDED to actually interact with.
>She'd spent so long with Lincoln making sure that everything would be perfect when she finally confronted Lucy.
>There was still probably chalk dust under her fingernails.
>Yet one of that mattered if she couldn't even find herself a free moment to do something about it.
>What was the point in making a great game plan if the other team never shows up?
>Lynn wondered how something so simple to ask for could be so hard to find.
>Everyone just cut into her time without any regard for the fact that she had other things to do.
>Meanwhile, her sister just kept getting bigger with each passing day.
>Looking for an outlet to push her frustrations out of her mind, Lynn looked to the nightstand next to her bed.
>Funnily enough, her favorite ball was actually where she left it for once.
>Lynn grabbed her ball and began to toss it at the wall.
>It seemed it was the only thing she could do to keep her calm.
>And who knew how long that would last.
>Any moment now, someone would come and get her attention for something.
>Lynn's tosses began to pick up steam as she let the pent up feelings out with each impact.
>Why was she always the one getting called on to do something?
>Sure, she was definitely the most physically capable, but there were other people in the house to rely on.
>Like Lincoln or Luna.
>Especially Luna.
>Lynn had never seen Luna doing something important in her entire life.
>How come she wasn't being pressed into service like her?

>While Lynn focused on angrily lashing out at Luna in her thoughts, her attention was divided.
>In that instant, Lynn's arm failed to move at the right time.
>Her ball had nothing to stop it, and she had nowhere near enough time to react to it.
>The impact made a loud thump through the room as it bounced off of her eye.
”Dang it!”
>Lynn rubbed her injury softly muttering profanities under her breath as she got off of her bed.
“Where the hell did it go?”
>Lynn quickly took to trying to see if it had landed on her side of the room.
>As hard as she looked, she found no trace of it.
>Since it wasn't over there, there was only one other place it could be.
>Lynn groaned as her eyes lazily drifted towards Lucy's side of the room.
>She hated having to dig things out from under her bed.
>It always ended with her touching something horrible, or weird, or horribly weird.
>But she wasn't going to let her ball stay under there and get possessed or something.
>As she stood up to walk to Lucy's bed, her foot caught on something.
>To her surprise, one of her dad's golf clubs was there.
>When did she even take it?
>She shook out the thought from her mind as she picked it up and made her way to the other side of the room.
>As she knelt down, she thrust the club underneath the bed, gently trying to feel around for something that resembled her ball.
>There were many things under there, and was she ever glad that she was using her dad's club.
>Her face lit up as she felt a round object under Lucy's bed begin to roll.
>She wasted no time in pulling it out.
>Shortly after she was met with a large black mass flapping around the room.
“Fangs! You know you're supposed to sleep in the attic!”

>Checking herself once over to make sure there wasn't a bite or scratch to be found, she slowly fumbled with the wedge again.
>After bumping up against Lucy's coffin a few more times, Lynn touched something else round.
>She pushed down on it to test for give, but found little.
>Taking her time to make sure she didn't pull out another disappointment, she slowly raked the hopeful object out.
>As she did, she caught a couple of other objects as well.
>She'd definitely need to put those back in after.
>After the last few inches slid into view, Lynn's face lit up.
>She had succeeded in finding her ball.
>Quickly tossing the club and ball back over to her side of the room, Lynn prepared to shuffle what was removed back under Lucy's bed.
>As she was about to, she was distracted by the appearance of the random small box.
>Curiosity got the better of her, and she picked up the box.
>She shook it, testing to see what could possibly be inside of it.
>As she did, one of the ends came loose and out popped a very plain cardboard notebook with a blank cover.
>Lynn was quite surprised.
>Her sister buying something this bland was unheard of.
>And her leaving something completely blank was even more unheard of.
>She had to know what the deal was with this.
>A slight bit of hesitation overcame her, but she shook that off in a heartbeat.
>The mystery was too much for her to overcome.
>She could barely contain her desire to flip open the book.
>As she opened it, her curiosity turned to confusion.
>It was blank.
>As she flipped through the book, every page was the same.
>Not a single bit of it was written on.
>Lynn frowned as she put the book back in the box.
>As she did, she noticed that it wasn't going back in correctly.
>Looking inside of the box, Lynn saw something more.
>She saw a pen askew in the box.
>As she tapped at the box to shake it loose, the pen fell on the floor.
>Then a light came from it.

>Lynn picked up the pen, and then the light had switched off again.
>Looking over the pen, she saw that her hand had hit a small button.
>Pressing the button repeatedly had the exact effect Lynn expected of it.
>After a few seconds of clicking the light on and off, it dawned on Lynn that the pen and the book were connected.
>Taking the light to the book, she ran it over the cover and actually saw the faint outlines of something.
>It was too bright to make it out properly.
>Stealing another glance at the door, Lynn quickly rushed to close the curtains and took the pen's light to the book.
>There it was.
>Writing.
“I wish I could show you this myself. Huh. Wonder what this is all about?”
>Flipping open the book to it's next page, Lynn saw that the book was covered in writing.
>Lynn slowly traced along the first page's writing, softly speaking every word.
“Despair.
I accept my fate, a lonely one.
A true relationship never begun.”
>Lynn paused as she finished the poem.
>Why would Lucy bother hiding this?
>It didn't seem so different from her other stuff.
>Hoping that something else would come along to shed proper light, Lynn flipped a few more pages down and selected another poem.
“Chaff.
Before we met, already departed.
Never believe that you were discarded.
Chaff.”
>Lynn cocked her head as she ruminated on the poem.
>It seemed more like a conversation than anything else.
>Well, as much as a poem could be a conversation.
>Skimming a few more pages down, Lynn chose to start from a middle poem this time.
“Dreaming that we could meet; let out a sigh.
A sad wish of a hopeful lie.
Dreaming.”
>Lynn tore into the book, reciting poem after poem.
>It all seemed too off.
>Too cheerful.
>Too talkative.
>Too...personal.
>How was that even possible for Lucy to do?

>When Lynn finally touched on the last few pages of the book, the poems disappeared.
>In their place was...a letter?
>Lynn didn't bother to read anything out this time.
>She simply let the voice of Lucy echo in her mind.
>”Did you like the poems? I spent many nights sleepless just so that I could make them exactly how I wanted. I hope they express just how much I thought of you. I know that it won't have the same impact as if I were to talk to you myself, but I wanted you to at least feel some of the love I had for you.”
>Lynn's hand twitched in a motion to close the book.
>She'd gone far beyond violating her sister's privacy at this point.
>She didn't even know what she was reading, but she knew it was never meant to see anyone's view but who she was writing it for.
>Yet, she still couldn't bring herself to stop.
>”I know that you might hate me, but I understand. How you must feel is...awful to say the least. To think of how you could be left alone like that. I'm sorry. I truly am. I know that I'd have loved to have known you more and for far longer. I hope that you feel the same.”
>Suddenly, footsteps broke the silence in Lynn's room.
>Her panic had made her ready to bolt at the sound of someone touching her knob.
>But as they walked past, she let out her breath and quickly dove back into her reading.
>”It might not be much to go off of, but I make poems and I'm learning how to draw. It's not that great, but I'm getting better. I still need to learn proper anatomy, but I did a few sketches. Its just a couple of ways you might look when you're older.”
>Looking to the page beside it, Lynn saw sketches.
>Sketches of a girl with dark clothing and colorless hair.
>It wasn't the best, but Lucy wasn't half bad at what she was doing.
>However, the question remained: what was all of this?

>”Hey, Lynn are you in here?”
>The sound of footsteps making their way back to her room had sent her into a panic.
>They were coming too fast for her to react to properly.
>She was stuck in the middle of the room, without much of a place to hide anything.
>If she threw the book under the bed, Lucy would know she had read it without it being in the box she had left it in.
>But if anyone saw her with it, they'd end up telling Lucy what happened when they got curious themselves.
>As the doorknob jiggled, Lynn simply put the two objects behind her back, hoping it would be enough to escape unnoticed.
>Waiting for the door to creak open fully, Lynn shook like a leaf as she held the hot item behind her back.
>But everything calmed down once she saw who it was that opened the door.
>Standing there was none other than Leni.
>Lynn couldn't have hoped for a better intruder.
>”Oh, you are in here. Like, could you do me a big favor and help me move some logs into the house?”
“Logs?”
>”I was going to make some Hawaiian shirts, but I realized I needed to make some tikis first, otherwise it wouldn't feel authentic enough.”
>Having heard enough of what Leni's prattling was necessary, Lynn looked out to the freedom behind her.
>All she had to do was get out of her room and find somewhere dark to finish reading the book.
>So, Lynn thought up a plan to get her past the ditzy blonde in front of her.
“Uh, that all sounds good, but could you answer a question for me first, Leni?”
>”I guess.”
“Okay. So, I've been wondering: how can feet smell if they don't have noses?”
>Leni froze in place, her mind blown by the quandry of life that Lynn had put in front of her.
>As she gazed into the vast emptiness of her mind in search of the answer, Lynn quickly sidestepped her elder sister and made her way out the door.

>There was no good place for her to stop, hearing the sounds of her siblings running amok as per usual.
>She just had to keep going fast, hoping no one would spot here.
>Luckily, everyone was too distracted by their own agendas to take much notice of Lynn skulking through the house.
>As she finally saw the haven she so desperately needed, she felt her foot stop on a familiar round object.
>Too late to readjust her weight, Lynn flung Geo off into the distance as she went tumbling.
>Clutching the contraband into her chest, Lynn rolled to keep them from flying away.
>Unfortunately, the door she expected to stop her gave way, someone having left the door improperly closed.
>Lynn tumbled down the stairs, hitting every single step on her way to the bottom.
>Once she connected with the last step, Lynn's body hit the concrete floor with a loud smack, which brought back that tension in her at full force.
>Scrambling to pick up herself with her battered arms, Lynn scurried deeper into the room like a rat.
>She couldn't hear anyone coming into the basement, but that didn't mean she was out of the fire yet.
>Carefully slipping her items underneath a box, Lynn moved as fast as her likely concussed brain could send out the signals.
>No one was coming down to check on her from the looks of it.
>Just to make sure, she trekked up the stairs slowly.
>The sounds of the house were oddly silent.
>As if they had all left at once.
>Then Lynn heard the distant soft tones of the ice cream truck's jingle.
>She couldn't have nearly broken her neck at the right time.
>Shutting the door behind her to close out the most light that she could.
>With that out of the way, Lynn made a beeline once more for the book, frantically digging it out of her hiding spot and crawling under the workbench to have a fast place to hide should she be discovered again.

>Lynn wasted no time in flipping back to her spot at the end of the book, and picking up her reading where she had left off.
>”I'm sorry if none of these end up actually looking like you, but I didn't have much to go off of except for what we look like. For all I know, this won't be anything close to what you look like. You could look more like your father than-”
“Wait, what.”
>Lynn looked at the sentence again.
>She had to read it multiple times just to make sure that she had actually seen what she had read was actually on this weird book.
>But it was there, no matter how hard she tried to see if she had made a mistake and misread the sentence.
>There was no denying it.
>Father.
>That was the actual word that Lucy had used.
>Lynn brushed it aside.
>She couldn't accept that this had been real.
>This was likely just some sort of weird fanfiction that Lucy had made up about her and Edwin having some sort of weird vampire kid or something.
>Or half-vampire.
>Lynn didn't know what the hell she was supposed to call it.
>She may have listened to Lucy talking about her weird goth stuff, but most of it went in one ear and out the other.
>All she knew was that this wasn't real.
>There's no way it could be.
>Which made it a lot less terrible for her to read through it.
>”-me. You're pretty likely to inherit a fairly even mix of our looks. Although, we're pretty similar looking so there's likely not to be much of a difference either way. Unless you inherited my skin color. That would be pretty different. Your father's a lot less pale than I am.”
>Lynn stared at the book for a moment.
>Edwin was definitely not less pale than Lucy was.
>Okay, so this wasn't about Edwin.
>It was about someone else.
>There was that werewolf, right?
>That was probably it.

>”I haven't told you much about him, have I? Well, he's where you're getting that hair color of yours from. He's got snow-white hair. He's had it for as long as I can remember, and from what I've been told that's what you're going to have when you're born. Or you could have pitch-black hair like me, but I wouldn't count on it. You'll probably have my eyes, though. They're really blue. Sorry, I got off track. If there was anything to tell you about your father, it's that he's a really sweet person. I don't think that I've ever been able to be described as a normal person, but he never made me feel that way. He was always really nice and understood me more than anyone else has; even if he still does freak out when I sneak up on him.”
“...”
>”He'd sometimes joke with me about how if he'd dye his hair, it'd turn back to white in a day. So, that's why I drew you with white hair. He's also probably where those freckles of yours are going to come from. We've both got a strong track record of freckles in the family, but I don't personally have them. We've also got a lot of names that start with an 'l' as well. It's why I named you Lupa to continue with the trend. Unless the family that adopted you has changed your name to something else. Even if they did, it wouldn't make a difference in how much I still love about you. How much we both love you. If it weren't for circumstances beyond our control, we would have kept you. Wherever you've ended up, we both hope that you have a good life.”
>The last part of the page was simply two generic figures hugging one more drawing of the girl.
>There was nothing else, save for the back cover.
>Now, Lynn was many things.
>Sporty, competitive, short; all terms that easily applied.
>However, she was never referred to as smart.
>She knew it, her friends knew it, her family knew it.
>Book smarts weren't her thing.
>Yet she wasn't an idiot.
>That's what she would need to be for her to not realize what she just read.

>So many things were wrong that Lynn couldn't decide on what to be angry about first.
>The deceit was one of the high priorities at the moment.
>He led her on for weeks.
>Lincoln knew everything, and then he...
>He...
>He played her like a damn fiddle!
>He knew that it wasn't Lucy being overweight at all.
>Everything he did was simply to waste her time, and keep her away from Lucy.
>Because...
>Lynn couldn't continue the thought in her head.
>She was bent over already trying not to lose her lunch on the ground.
>With how much she played with Lana, she had seen some pretty gross stuff from the family's other tomboyish daughter.
>But this?
>This was beyond anything she'd known.
>It felt vile.
>Disgusting in every possible way.
>She began trying to think of other words that she'd heard her smarter siblings use just to be able to complain about her discovery longer.
>Yet as she stared at the book in front of her, she realized there was no time for dwelling on this now.
>The family was outside, but they'd soon run back in after getting their ice cream fix.
>Lynn gritted her teeth and scooped up the book, running herself up to her room before she could stop to think about it any further.
>She sidestepped Leni as she entered the room, dodging the small puddle of drool pooling by her feet.
>Luckily, the box was still where she left it.
>Lynn quickly stuffed the pen and book back where they belonged, and threw it under the bed where she found it.
>Her breathing was heavily labored.
>Whether it was from the pace at which she ran to her room or from the hard time she was having processing what she found out, she had no idea.
>It was in all likelihood both.
>She could still feel the sensation of her stomach doing backflips inside of her.

>It got too much for the jock eventually, and she knew that she couldn't keep it inside any longer.
>Grabbing Leni on her way out, she set her sister against the wall and beelined for the bathroom.
>At the first sight of the porcelain, she dove straight towards it and let everything go.
>Her feelings finally manifested in the form of a puddle of half-digested meatball subs filling the toilet bowl.
>Long after her stomach had given up it's contents, she continued to dry-heave.
>Once she had finally run out of breath, Lynn let go of the toilet and slumped down to the floor.
>Now that she had nothing left to distract her, Lynn folded her arms, hugging them tightly into her body in an effort to calm down.
>What she saw had shook her, but she was Lynn Loud.
>She could come back from anything that life threw at her.
>Even something like that.
>Once her breath had steadied back to a normal pace, she looked to the ceiling and stared into the small mold patches growing on it.
>How?
>How could everything that had been happening over the past few months gone so unnoticed?
>How did Lincoln and Lucy manage to pull the wool over everyone's eyes like they did?
>Why did no one suspect anything?
>Or maybe there had been people who had suspected there was something wrong.
>Like one of their older sibling.
>Like Lori.
>As the thought hit Lynn, she realized why Lincoln was upset at Lori all those weeks ago.
>And why Lori had been treating her little brother like crap for as long as she had been doing.
>Lori knew.
>She fucking knew the entire time.
>Or she at least had a pretty accurate suspicion of what had actually happened.
>She wanted to get Lincoln away from Lucy.
>That's why she sent him on that date with Ronnie Anne.

>Lori knew that Lincoln had been to every base there was on Lucy.
>Lynn hadn't been the only one to realize it.
>But that only bothered her more.
>How could she be the second person to figure it out?
>She lived with Lucy for crying out loud.
>How was she so blind?
>And how did Lincoln and Lucy even get away with this?
>When did they get together and do the actual deed?
>She'd have woken up if they were in her room.
>And everyone would have heard them if they were going at it in Lincoln's room.
>Those walls are the thinnest in the entire house.
>Thinking on it, Lynn realized why it was that she never heard Lincoln's bed creaking in the night.
>Why do that when you've got something better?
>Lynn's mind wandered over to the prospect of telling Lori.
>Giving her the actual evidence.
>Then she decided against it.
>Lori wouldn't do anything, even if she had concrete proof.
>She'd been trying the soft approach, trying to get Lincoln to focus his unholy sexual desires onto someone that wasn't his little sister.
>Lynn was acutely aware of just how well that plan was working.
>No.
>If Lynn was to actually do something, she would have to do it on her own.
>Telling someone would just lead to them running straight to their parents.
>Like they'd ever believe that it wasn't just Lucy being a weird little kid.
>Anyways, she didn't even quite know what to do with the information she had now.
>Listing off the possible actions in her head, most of them either ended with someone in prison or in the ground.
>Mostly Lincoln, but also her.
>Then she thought back to how her siblings would rat the two of them out.
>How easy it would be to deny what they did to their parents.
>And how easy it was for them to deceive everyone else.
>That idea finally pegged down what Lynn was going to do.
>She was going to make them tell her what they did.
------

>”Guys, has anyone seen Hops? I can't find him anywhere.”
>”The one time I actually have a use for your pets and you go and lose them. Typical.”
>More useless chatter.
>That's all Lynn heard.
>It wouldn't bother her on any other day, but she had something to do.
>And she'd much rather hear nothing but silence.
>”Forget it, Lana! I'm not going to wait around while you waste my time looking for your frog. I'm going to go the mall with Lori.”
>”But I can find him! He can't have gone very far. HOPS!”
>A sad ribbit escaped the mouth of the not-so-missing amphibian.
>Lynn simply reached into her pocket and fed him one of Lana's crickets.
“Sorry pal, but you gotta stay here with me for a while.”
>Lynn sighed slowly as she stewed in her boredom.
>Waiting in the attic was something her roomie was more suited to.
>The cramped space just didn't suit the athlete.
>She wanted space to run around, jump and scream.
>But she could do none of those things in there.
>All Lynn could do was wait in silence for the siblings to depart from their home.
>One by one.
>Until the only ones left were her targets.
>Her sick and traitorous brother, and her lying pervert of a little sister.
>How could they do that?
>And with each other?
>It's not like there wasn't other people to go after.
>Lincoln was constantly pining for or being set up with multiple girls.
>What made him go after Lucy of all people?
>Or...was it the other way around?
>Was Lucy the instigator?
>She was into dark and creepy stuff, and this was definitely both.
>”This is bad! I can't find him anywhere! I'm gonna go look for him at the creek.”
>Lynn casually rolled her soccer ball under her foot, content to hear that her plan was working.

>As the sounds finally died down, Lynn placed her ear to the door.
>She heard no sounds of the chaos the family was known for.
>Everyone was gone.
>Save for two.
>And that's exactly what she was waiting for.
>Lynn held her breath as she waited for the sounds of footsteps to gently shuffle down the hallway.
>Lincoln's steps would be the only audible ones, after all.
>And he'd be as loud as he wanted to be, because there wouldn't be anyone else home.
>It's not like his sister Lynn had told her family she was going to go hang out with her friends on an all-day biking expedition.
>Or that the previously mentioned activity was a complete lie designed to get everyone to let their guard down and enable her to catch Lincoln and Lucy red-handed.
>It'd be especially ridiculous to think that she'd slowly be descending from the attic, quietly making her way downstairs and searching for her target.
>At least it would have been if she hadn't done exactly that, and was watching the two sinful siblings sitting together on the living room couch.
>”What should we watch?”
>”I heard that there's going to be a Tim Burton marathon today. We could watch that.”
>”As long as they're not showing Frankenweenie.”
>Lynn's slow march towards the unsuspecting pair was muffled by the sounds coming from the television and what she suspected was their complete inability to take their eyes off of each other.
>It was as if Lori and Bobby were sitting right there on that couch.
>But watching them being lovey-dovey was less sickening by miles.
>Lynn stopped herself just before she reached the couch proper.
>While she wanted to get up close and personal, she realized it wasn't the smartest thing with what she would be pulling.
>She slowly stepped back and propped herself on the wall, her mostly empty duffel bag crumpling between the space.
>Lynn took in a deep breath from her nostrils and straightened her face, staring right towards Lincoln and Lucy.

“Hey.”
>One word was all it took for Lynn to scare the absolute crap out of her younger siblings.
>Lincoln and Lucy looked as if they were about to jump out of their skin when they heard her.
>Their attention quickly shifted from the television to the girl off on the other end of the room.
>Neither of them had anything to say, though.
>All they could do was stare in silence.
>It was left to Lynn to break the ice in the room.
“Enjoying your movie?”
>Lincoln nervously clutched at his arm, trying to keep his expression as subdued as he could.
>”Hey, Lynn. Uh, weren't you supposed to be hanging out with Polly and Margo today?”
“That's what I said last week, isn't it?”
>”Then why are-”
“Is it not obvious that what I said wasn't true?”
>Cut off mid-sentence, it took a moment for Lincoln's head to catch up to what he heard Lynn say.
>His cool was certainly starting to melt away.
“Do you know what that's called?”
>Lynn slowly reached into her bag and pulled out one of the knickknacks that belonged to her mother.
>In this instance, a Zippo.
>It was fairly old, but still worked.
>From looking in old photos the family had in the attic, the kids knew that their mom had a smoking habit when she was young.
>She seemed to quit, as they had never seen her smoking before.
>But this lighter was too full, and in too good a condition for that to be true.
>Their mother likely used it when they weren't looking.
>After all, it's okay so long as no one finds out that she's still continuing to smoke.
>That's probably what she thought.
>”Lynn, why do you have a lighter?”
>She gave them no response, and merely started to flick it open and close it in succession.
>”Lynn?”
“I'm waiting for my answer, Lincoln.”

>Lincoln couldn't help but start to sweat.
>”A...lie?”
“Yeah. It's a lie. I'm pretty sure that you're quite familiar with lying, aren't you?”
>”I don't know what you mean.”
>Lynn's other arm rose from her side and pointed directly to Lucy.
“I'm pretty sure we talked about something a while ago, Lincoln. It had to do with Miss Spooky right there. You know, that thing where you and I spent quite a while talking about getting something done.”
>The uncomfortable look on their faces had broken through their feigned innocence.
>Lucy had even begun to bite her lip in her anxiety.
“Speaking of which, I have been seeing a lot less time on my hands lately. Almost as if, oh, I don't know, like someone had been doing everything in their power to keep me busy and away from Lucy. But it's not like that's true, is it? It's not like my brother had been lying to me this entire time, pretending to help me while being a roadblock every step of the way. No. Because for him to do that, there'd have to be a reason. A reason for him to WANT to keep me away from our 'overweight' sister.”
>Lincoln's mouth began to slowly open as he began to tremble in his seat.
>Lynn could tell that he had begun piecing it together.
>”I don't know what's going on with you, Lynn, but no one's lying to you about anything.”
>Lynn's face betrayed a small amount of surprise.
>She had all but forgotten that Lucy was capable of talking.
>Yet it vexed her that she had lied to her as well.
“Oh. Okay. If that's the truth, then I guess it's all just in my head. I'm just going crazy for no reason at all.”
>Her outstretched arm dug right into her bag, and clutched at a rather mundane looking object.
>When she pulled it out, it proved to be anything but to the raven-haired girl in front of her.
“Hey, crazy people are into arson, right?”

>”Lynn, where did you get that.”
“Oh, this? Don't worry about that. You should really be more worried about your crazy older sister who's about to burn this book. That's a really bad fire hazard, you know.”
>Lucy pushed Lincoln out of the way, clutching at the arm of the couch.
>Lynn had finally gotten the reaction that she had been searching for from them.
>This was the undeniable truth that she'd been right this entire time
>”Don't you dare.”
“What? It's not like there would be anything important in this. It's totally fine if I burn this, because it's not like it's full of important secret messages or something. That's impossible, right? There's nothing on these pages at all and there's no possible way that this completely BLANK book could have every single one of its pages already written on.”
>The Zippo's flame came to life, and was held mere inches away from the pages of the opened and seemingly pristine and untouched book.
>”I mean it, Lynn.”
>Lynn's face began to take on a more sneering look as Lucy's fingers dug deep enough into the couch to rip at the fabric slightly.
“Are you saying you don't want this to be burned? That I'm not actually crazy and that there's something actually important to you in this book?”
>”Put that lighter away, now!”
“Tell me, then! Tell me that I'm not crazy and that you two have been lying to me, Mom, Dad, and everyone else this entire time!”
>”Lynn, put that away! You're gonna start a fire!”
“I won't need to if you two tell me the truth, Lincoln! Tell me the truth right now!”
>”Lynn, stop!”
>Without a word, Lynn brought the flame to the book, close enough for it to actually start to light.
>It was then that Lucy jumped from the couch and tackled her elder sister to the ground.

>Lucy and Lynn were no strangers to fighting.
>The two of them tussled all the time.
>Sometimes Lucy won, and sometimes Lynn won.
>Lucy mainly won because she persevered against Lynn's superior strength in a battle of attrition, not because she had anywhere near the same strength.
>But that didn't explain what was happening to Lynn.
>Lynn was completely powerless to stop Lucy's onslaught.
>Every strike from her fists met Lynn's face directly.
>Nothing was held back.
>This wasn't two sisters fighting each other in a squabble over something dumb and likely petty.
>Lucy was doing everything in her power to hurt Lynn.
>Lynn could certainly feel it.
>Her face had already begun leaking blood.
>The taste of copper had spread in her mouth at a rapid pace.
>Not to mention the back of her head.
>Every punch was sending her skull crashing into the wall.
>Lynn actually started to see stars from her barely open eyes.
>Then she realized that there was something odd.
>Her arm felt a lot warmer than usual.
>She saw Lincoln running towards the both of them.
>And Lucy withdraw from her beating.
>Their mouths moved, but she couldn't tell what they were saying.
>A high pitched whine was drowning them out.
>Then, out of the corner of her eye, Lynn saw that Lucy's dress was currently on fire.
>Which meant that the book had actually started to burn and neither of them noticed until it what too late.
>Seeing it meant that Lynn was likely on fire as well.
>Lynn could do nothing about her current situation, however.
>She could feel the dark haze of unconsciousness begin to take hold.
>Before she fully slipped under, Lynn saw Lincoln coming back with the fire extinguisher and dousing the flame which had managed to spread to a greater portion of the living room before he attempted to contain it.
>And then there was nothing but darkness.

>”Jesus Christ, how did this happen?”
>”Lynn's stunt is to blame for the premature onset of labor. The stress from it is what caused the membrane to rupture.”
>Lynn's eyes began to open as she reentered the waking world.
>Well, one of them.
>The other was too swollen to properly do it.
>”Don't worry, Lucy. Luan's got everything under control and we're all here for you.”
>”Oh God, I think my hand just broke!”
>As Lynn's hearing came back, she heard the sounds of Lincoln and Lucy crying out in pain, and saw Lori and Lisa wearing gloves while handling multiple towels and rubbing some gel on Lucy's exposed belly.
>Lynn's good eye wandered about, recognizing the place that she was in was Lisa's bunker.
>Although it was quite different from usual.
>The chair she was bound to was new.
>It had also been soundproofed and was full of medical equipment of all sorts.
>There was even a cot in the middle where a completely nude Lucy was apparently destroying the bones in Lincoln's right hand.
>”Holy shit, I can literally see the head!”
>”This is no time to panic, Lori! We trained for this! Push, Lucy, PUSH!”
>Lynn stared in complete surprise as she witnessed her little sister giving birth in front of her.
>There were many things she wasn't prepared to see or hear in her life, and this was likely one of them.
>Lucy began panting heavily as she let go of Lincoln's hand, allowing him to collapse onto his knees.
>Lori and Lisa breathed a sigh of relief.
>”After that, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be using an epidural when Bobby and I have children.”
>”I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a cast.”
>”Don't be such a wimp, Lincoln. You're going to need to do this again when you've got a wife. Now get up and cut the umbilical cord.”
>Lynn watched the scene unfold before her with a stunned gaze.
>None of them were acting as if what was going on was abnormal.

>It was as if this was...normal.
>She didn't know what to make of all of this.
>”Well, we definitely know it's Lincoln's kid. Look at that hair.”
>”Maybe I should have changed it when I had the chance.”
>”No. She's perfect just the way she is.”
>Lucy cradled the small baby to her chest, smiling at it.
>”Well, that's in no small part thanks to me. I'd say this is my best work yet.”
>”Stop tooting your horn, Lisa, you'll ruin the moment.”
>”She looks so peaceful.”
>Lincoln, still cradling his hand, smiled softly at the child and even placed out a finger for her to grab onto.
>The newborn latched onto it, eliciting a tear from her father.
>”As much as I hate to admit it, she's really cute.”
>”Just like her father.”
>Lynn didn't know if it was the possible concussion or whatever she had been doped with when she was unconscious by Lisa, but...she felt moved.
>Seeing her siblings coming together like this, it made her second guess her initial attitude.
>And they were right.
>Lynn's niece did look cute.
>Huh.
>Lynn was an aunt now.
>The thought felt weird to her.
>Weird enough for her to actually make a sound.
>Which caught the attention of her surrounding family members.
>Of which the eldest strode towards her.
>”Hello, Lynn. Welcome back.”
>Her jersey was roughly jerked forward, and pressed her bruised face within a hair's breadth of Lori's.
>”You know, it's been a while since we've just sat down and had a conversation.”
>The strained smile on her elder sister's face turned into a scowl in seconds.
>”Let's talk.”
------

>”Are we almost there?”
>”We should be arriving there in a few minutes.”
>Lynn stared out the window, watching the dark streets go by.
>It was the only thing she could do.
>Lynn didn't feel like she deserved to talk to anyone in the van.
>Especially Lincoln and Lucy.
>She could have gotten the two of them killed.
>Or her home burnt down.
>Thankfully, everything seemed to work out.
>The small sounds of the baby's cooing drew her attention for a moment.
>She too was a possible casualty.
>As unnatural as her birth conditions were, she still didn't deserve to die for it.
>Lynn sighed underneath her breath, thinking about what Lori said to her.
>About how messed up what she did was.
>She was right.
>Lynn understood even before she berated her how wrong her actions had been.
>Yet, why did she do it if she felt so bad now?
>Was it the anger at being deceived?
>Her disgust overcoming her familial love?
>Dragging her out of her thoughts, a hand rested on her shoulder.
>It was Lincoln's.
>He gave her a look, as if he didn't blame her for what had happened.
>And that only hurt Lynn worse.
>She didn't deserve the sympathy she was receiving.
>No.
>All she deserved was the hate that Lori and Lisa had made clear were hers.
>As well as the hate Lucy must feel.
>The book was ruined by her actions.
>Every effort she poured into it, gone.
>It was all Lynn's fault.
>She stepped all over her thoughtful gift to her firstborn daughter.
>Lynn turned from Lincoln and set her face upon the cold glass.
>After everything, she couldn't bring herself to accept his help.
>How could she when all she thought of was trying to hurt him and Lucy only a few hours ago?
>She rode along the rest of the way to their location in silence.

>When they finally stopped, the small congregation of the Loud kids made their way through the dimly lit streets to a rather imposing looking cathedral.
>Even as down on herself as she was, Lynn couldn't help but think on the irony of leaving the child in the place where they hadn't even been to in months, given the circumstances.
>They walked up to the side of the building, to where what looked like an oversized mail chute was placed inside of the wall.
>The family stared on in silence, as Lucy slowly walked towards it.
>Before she could place her hand on the hatch, Lincoln stepped forward and placed a hand on Lucy arm.
>”Hold on. I...I have something.”
>From his pocket, Lincoln produced a locket fastened to a ribbon.
>He placed it gently on the swaddled newborn's cloth.
>”I...I didn't know that you had anything planned, but I made this. I thought about what you said about her needing to know that we cared and, well this is what I came up with.”
>Lucy opened the locket and looked at what was contained within.
>She stopped for a moment, allowing a few tears to fall from her obscured eyes.
>”Thank you, Lincoln.”
>Moving her head from her child, she kissed Lincoln's cheek before opening the hatch and gently placing the child inside with the memento from her parents.
>With the deed done, the group walked away as quickly as they had come.
>Lincoln held onto Lucy and pushed her forward, knowing how hard it must have been for Lucy to do what she had.
>As they made their way back to Vanzilla, Lynn couldn't help but notice that Lucy's head hadn't lifted since she left the church.
>Lucy was always acting dreary and down, but Lynn knew that there was nothing usual about her demeanor.
>The five children kept their brisk pace, making it to their vehicle in record time.
>Lynn furtively filed into the middle seat, feeling that she had to do something to make it right.

>The silence gnawed at Lynn, making every moment of her time in the vehicle torment.
>Lynn was quite aware of how Lucy had only sunk deeper into her mood.
>Lincoln was right beside her, looking quite down himself.
>Lynn should have  been able to do something for them.
>After all, they wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for her.
>Everything was normal beforehand.
>Lucy wasn't even supposed to give birth until a few more weeks.
>If Lori hadn't abandoned Leni and Lola at the mall, the family actually might have found out.
>And Lori made it abundantly clear to Lynn why that was bad.
>She didn't even think about everything that could've come about from her impulsiveness.
>How the word getting out about it may very well have torn their family apart.
>Sure, Lynn still had a part of her that knew what went on was wrong and that she should probably beat the shit out of Lincoln, but if it meant hurting everyone else then she wanted no part of it.
>It was at that moment that Lynn broke the silence in the vehicle.
“I'm sorry.”
>Not a single word followed her statement.
>Obviously no one expected her to say anything.
“What I did was stupid. I really could have hurt all of you. I know it's not much just saying it, but I really do regret everything.”
>Lynn stared at the messy floor of the van, too ashamed to look her siblings in the eye.
>”It's okay. I know you weren't thinking straight at the time. I forgive you, Lynn. We all make mistakes.”
>Lynn's eyelids fluttered in disbelief.
>Surely she didn't hear-
>”Even if you did burn up the book, you're still my sister. I forgive you, Lynn.”
>Lynn raised her head as she felt their arms embrace her.
>The two of them actually had welcoming smiles.
>Lucy was still crying, but she smiled nonetheless.
>It touched Lynn to feel their love.


>”Just because they've said they forgive you, doesn't mean I have. I had to clean your mess up from your little stunt, and I've got an angry princess and a confused special needs child waiting back home for me.”
>Lynn couldn't help but laugh.
“I guess that's fair.”
>”It seems we're all back to normal, then. Relatively speaking, of course.”
>Lisa looked back to Lynn from her booster seat.
>”But remember that you're still on notice for mind wipe if you pull anything else.”
>Lynn looked to her younger siblings and wrapped her own arms around them.
“I think I'm past that now.”
>Lisa looked away from the back seat, leaving Lynn with her emotionally exhausted neighbors.
>Slowly, as the van made it's way down the road, they fell asleep one by one.
>Lynn hung on as long as she could, making sure they drifted off before her.
>She slowly let the sleep take her as well, falling into slumber while she held onto Lincoln and Lucy.
>Things likely wouldn't get back to normal again, but this was enough for Lynn.