3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3) Aftermath Part 2

The schoolyard was empty. Now that the long weekend had begun, everyone had left the vicinity. Lincoln didn't know why he was there. He had just wound up there after he had finally run out of breath and then begun to wander aimlessly around town. His nose had stopped bleeding and he had wiped the blood onto his shirt sleeve before it could dry. But the flow of tears had yet to stop. Because the pain was still there.

It wasn't the pain from the fall down the stairs, or the pain from when Lori had shut the door on his fingers. This was an emotional wound. A wound that was wide open and oozing. But unlike a flesh wound which oozed blood out, this one seemed to be oozing something into him; fear. And this fear sparked another negative feeling inside of him; doubt. Doubt in himself as both a human being and member of his family. It made him feel ill. It made him feel numb. It made his brain barrage itself with questions. And it just kept making the tears spill.

Lincoln took a seat on the steps leading to the school's front entrance. His thoughts were weighing him down and he just couldn't think straight at the moment. Taking a couple minutes to rest would hopefully help him clear his head. But he found that this did little to help him. He only ended up becoming lost in his thoughts, and losing track of time.

-Loud House-

Lynn jr. was running low on ideas of where to look. She had tried all of Lincoln's favorite places. But the comic shop, hobby store, arcade and park were all dead ends in her search. She had encountered some of Lincoln's friends, but none of them had seen him since school the day before. And she hadn't heard from her father at all, so that could rule out that Lincoln had run to see Clyde.

Letting her instincts guide her, Lynn found herself at Flip's Food & Fuel. She doubted she would find him there, but she refused to leave even a single stone unturned. After setting her bike on its kickstand by the door, she rushed inside and unfortunately didn't see her brother there either. There was only a couple of middle and high school students stocking up on soda and snacks. But maybe someone had seen him. It wouldn't hurt to ask. Unless you were asking Flip, in which case be ready to part with your money.

But before Lynn could approach the money grubber or any of the others in the store, another person came through the entrance. Lynn recognized her roller derby teammate and friend Polly Pain immediately. The girl had a sense of urgency about her which caught Lynn's attention.

"Lynn!" Polly called out, approaching her friend. "Glad I found you. Rusty said that you were trying to find your brother."

"Did you see him?" Lynn asked optimistically.

Polly nodded. "Yeah, a little while ago. He looked pretty down, and kinda beat up too. It also looked like he was crying. What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Not really, some messed up stuff happened to him earlier and he ran off. But I can explain later. Where did you see him?"

"At school. I would've gone over to talk to him, but...I'm not really good at emotionally stuff. Besides, I kinda got the feeling that he had a lot on his mind. So I just left him alone. Then I got a call from Rusty and he asked me if I had seen him. He told me that you were looking for him. When I saw you on your bike I followed you here."

"How long ago did you see him?"

"I dunno...ten minutes maybe?"

"Then maybe he's still there!" Lynn said, feeling renewed hope. "Thanks Polly, I owe you one!"

Lynn gave her friend a quick hug and then ran back outside and hopped onto her bike. She sped off towards Lincoln's school, paying just enough attention to her surroundings to keep herself from being reckless. As she drew near the building, she could see someone sitting on the front steps. She knew it was him, the white hair was a dead giveaway. Relief washed over the athlete and she dismounted her bike and proceeded the rest of the way on foot.

"Lincoln!"

Her voice caught his attention, snapping him from his melancholic thoughts. He didn't move from his spot and looked back down at his feet as his sister approached. Lynn wasn't surprised to see that he was still upset and she couldn't blame him for it either. She couldn't imagine how he felt, or what was going through his mind. But it wasn't going to stop her from trying to help him feel better.

"Hey," She said, kneeling down next to him. "It's okay little bro. Dad took care of Lori, she won't do anything else to you. He's looking for you right now, like I was. I'll call him and he can come take us home, okay?"

Lincoln nodded, remaining silent. Lynn called their father and gave him the good news. He asked to speak with Lincoln briefly, but the boy hardly spoke back. And once the call had ended he returned to being completely quiet. Lynn sat next to him, not really sure what to do or to say. He was sitting perfectly still and being so quiet that it was starting to creep her out a little, as well as make her worry about him again. But fortunately he finally spoke up again after another minute of silence.

"Do you think she was right about me? All those things she called me, are they true?"

"What?! Are you joking?! I ought to punch you for saying something so stupid! But you've already been through enough today so I'll forget about it."

"But..."

"But nothing! What Lori said to you was a load of bullcrap and you're wrong to believe her. Now stop talking about it and come here. You need a hug."

Lynn pulled her younger brother in close and hugged him tight. Not as tight as she usually would, but enough to let him feel secure. She continued to hold him until their father arrived. With him was Mrs. Loud, who he had picked up from work after Lynn had called him. The two rushed over to their children and Lynn jr. moved aside so that they could have their turn hugging Lincoln.

"Oh, sweetie, there's dried blood on your face and your shirt! Rita exclaimed. "And your nose is looking a little swollen too! Does it hurt honey?"

"A little." Lincoln admitted quietly. "It stopped bleeding just a little while ago. But my fingers still hurt. Especially if I try to bend them."

He showed his parents the hand that Lori had slammed the door onto. The knuckles between his metacarpals and proximal phalanges were turning purplish and the skin had broken on all four fingers. The blood had started to dry on the index and pinkie, but it was still fresh on his middle and ring fingers.

"That doesn't look good." Lynn Sr. observed aloud. "Hang on, I'll get the first-aid kit out of the van."

As one can imagine, for a family as large as the Louds, a first-aid kit is an absolute necessity. And like Vanzilla, the first-aid kit it contained was a big, old and highly relied on piece of equipment. Inside of this mini-trunk was an assortment of everything that the parents of the thirteen member family could need. And it had proven to be a wise investment over their many years of child care.

Lynn Sr. retrieved a set of bandages for Lincoln's knuckles, as well as alcohol wipes and some antibiotic ointment to clean and treat his still open wounds. The boy winced as his father cleaned his fingers, but didn't complain. He was less worried about the stinging sensation he felt and still more concerned about what was waiting for him back at home. Even if he was safe from Lori, he still knew about the other problem: his room. The image of what he had seen was still fresh in his mind as well as what had occurred afterwards. To have to return to it, the thought made him want to cry all over again. He just couldn't understand how Lori could go so far. Unless...

"Does Lori hate me?"

Those four little words carried a big impact for the other Louds. It was a question that Rita and Lynn Sr. never would've wanted to hear and it only made them all the more upset with their oldest child. Lynn jr. shared that sentiment, her own anger bubbling up to the surface. She stood back up and turned to face her brother, barely able to keep herself from shouting.

"Lincoln, who cares what she thinks? I already told you once and I'll say it again. Everything she said to you earlier was a big, stinking pile of bull..." she trailed off, noticing the disapproving glances of her parents and quickly rethought her wording. "...-oney. Just a load of baloney and you'd be crazy to believe any of it. None of it's true. Even if she said it a million times, she would still be wrong. You are not a mistake."

"She called him a what?!" Rita asked, anger entering her voice.

Lynn Sr. sighed. When he had called his wife he had left a vast majority of the details out. Not that it would matter how Rita found out the full story. She would still have been just as mad regardless. And since their daughter had already brought it up, it was only sensible to tell Rita the whole story just as he had heard it himself.

By the time he had finished, his wife was absolutely livid.

-Loud House-

It had taken a lot of will power for Lori to remain in the kitchen corner once she had heard Lana announce the return of their father, sister and brother. She had been worried about him ever since he had run off. Guilt was eating away at her insides and she wondered how he'd react to seeing her again after all she had done. But that feeling was quickly enough replaced with fear when she heard what Luna said next.

"Hey Lori. Mom's home too. And she looks pissed."

Seconds later the front door opened and Rita Loud entered the house. Behind her came Lynn Sr. and then Lynn jr. and Lincoln. The other Loud children all gathered around, crowding Lincoln and overwhelming him with questions of concern. Lynn Sr. began ordering them to let him have some room. Rita however, was more interested in the only one of her children who wasn't currently with them in the living room.

"Lori Loud! Get your butt in here this instant!"

The very moment the command had been made, Lori scrambled from her place in the kitchen corner out into the living room. She stood before her glowering mother, hardly able to meet the older blonde's intimidating gaze. It also didn't help that the rest of the family was watching, some of them more eagerly than others.

"Do you expect me to apologize?" Rita asked flatly.

"W-What?" Lori asked in complete confusion. "You apologize?"

"Yes, me. Because apparently I did something wrong when I gave birth to your brother." Rita stated dryly. "That is what you said earlier, or did your sister and brother both lie to me when they told me that?"

Lori shook her head, too ashamed to admit it out loud. She was starting to feel more afraid of her mother and did not want to say anything that may further anger the woman. To anger her mother on any day would be like playing with fire. But at that moment, it would have been more like pouring gasoline onto an open flame.

Rita stepped up to Lori and took hold of the girl's ear. She tugged on it while pinching it firmly. Lori winced from the pain but didn't struggle. Although she did break eye contact with her mother.

"Look at me young lady." Rita ordered. "And let me make something perfectly clear. I do not consider your little brother, or any of my children for that matter, to be a 'mistake' that I need to apologize for. Regardless of anything any of you have ever done wrong, I would never say that. Even after what you've done today, I wouldn't dare think of it. But I am completely disappointed in you right now. And I haven't even seen what you've done to your brother's room yet. So let's head upstairs and see exactly how much damage you've done, shall we?"

Keeping Lori's ear in her grasp, Rita proceeded to go up the stairs with her daughter in tow. The rest of the children watched the scene with mixed reactions. Many of them were grateful not to be in their oldest sibling's position. They might have even pitied her if not for what she had done to Lincoln. Luna and Lynn however enjoyed seeing Lori receive what she had coming to her. The two brunettes watched smugly as Lori was taken away. This didn't go unnoticed by their father who turned to face them, a stern expression on his face.

"Do you two find something amusing about all of this? Because I certainly don't."

Both girls dropped their smiles and shook their heads. Lynn Sr. went to join his wife upstairs, making a mental note to speak with Luna and Lynn jr. later. Once he had reached the top of the steps he found Rita inside the scene of the crime with Lori. Rita turned to face him as she noticed him approach, a somber expression on her face.

"Well honey, it's just as bad as you described. But all the same it's still a shock. This is without a doubt the most damage done at once by any of the kids acting alone. What in the world were you thinking young lady?"

"I...I wasn't" Lori blurted out with a sob, tears once again escaping her eyes.

"Clearly." Rita flatly stated. "Well it's obvious that Lincoln can't stay here until further notice. So I think that it's only fair that you aren't allowed to have your room until then either, Lori."

"You're taking my room from me?" Lori asked in disbelief.

"Well what did you expect?" Rita replied. "You put a friggen' hole in the wall! I can see Mr. Grouse scowling at us from next door! We can't just yell at you and ground you when you've done something this bad! You crossed a line today Lori Loud and you will be punished properly for it. Now go up into the attic and bring down the air mattress that Pop-Pop sleeps on when he stays overnight. You'll be staying with your father and me in our bedroom until Lincoln has a room again. He'll be staying in your room for the time being."

Lori did as told and went up into the attic. She retrieved the mattress and brought it down into her parents' bedroom to set it up. After which she was permitted to get a few changes of clothing to keep downstairs since she would no longer have access to her bedroom for the time being. And once she had finished setting up her temporary sleeping arrangements, Lori was put back into the corner, in the living room this time. Mr. and Mrs. Loud had the rest of their children sit down, telling them they needed to talk about what had happened.

"I'm not happy about what happened today for obvious reasons." Rita said to them, her voice still carrying her angry tone. "And to keep what happened today from happening again, there's going to be some changes in this house. Because I know one thing is certain. And that is that Lori isn't the only one to blame!"

End of Chapter 3.