12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12) Attempting to Reconcile Part 1

Lori lifted the lid of the washing machine and reached inside. She began to grab the many socks within and gently shook them out one at a time. Next she handed them to Luna who tossed them into the dryer. The two then repeated their actions over and over until all of the load had been transferred from one machine to the other. It was ridiculously tedious and Luna was just glad that it didn't take any longer than it did.

"Sheesh, do you really need to do this every time you do the laundry?" She asked her older sister.

"No, not every time." Lori replied. "I try to let the socks pile up so I can just do them all in one load. And you haven't even gotten to the fun part yet. Just wait until you have to sort out which socks belong to who."

"Wow, sounds fun." Luna deadpanned. "I can't wait to start that."

Lori smirked. "We'll do that part together. Maybe we can make a game out of it and see who can match the most pairs?"

"I think I'd have more fun doing my homework." the rocker said, a smirk of her own appearing. "That almost sound like an idea our 'rents would think up."

"Ouch. Was it that lame?" Lori joked.

"Yeah, but at least you're trying. I can swing a few points your way for that."

"Thanks. So, is there anything that you want to talk about while we work on the laundry? Maybe something that you want to say to me that you couldn't say in front of Mom?"

Lori poured in a cupful of detergent and started to grab various pieces of clothing to toss into the washer as it filled with water. Luna hopped up onto the dryer. She leaned back, propping herself up with one arm while laying the other across her lap. There was a somewhat playful glint in her eyes when she face Lori.

"I dunno. Are you sure you want me to do that? I can be pretty harsh when I want to be."

"So I've noticed." Lori stated. "But if you still have something to get off of your chest, then go ahead. Just keep it down so Mom doesn't hear you, okay?"

"Gotcha."

Luna took a moment to think. There wasn't really too much regarding the recent events that she hadn't already addressed. And certainly not anything that she'd worry about saying in front of their mother. But she did have something else she wanted to bring up. Something that had been on her mind for a long while now. Bothering her like an itch that wouldn't stop.

"There's one thing I want to ask you. And I want you to be totally honest with me when you answer it, alright? I don't care how much I might not like what I hear, just say it the way it is."

Lori nodded. "Got it, no sugar coating the truth, right?"

"Bingo." Luna said. "If you gotta be harsh, then be harsh. And I'll do my best to keep my cool no matter what. If I don't, then I'll go tell Mom myself."

"Careful, you might make it a little too tempting for me to resist." Lori replied teasingly, allowing herself a small giggle. "But seriously, don't worry about it. Whatever it is you want to ask me, I doubt I'll need to be harsh when I answer. So what is it that you want to know?"

"What are we to you?" Luna asked. "Me, Leni, Luan, Lynn, Linc and all the little dudettes. How do you see us? Because sometimes, I feel like you have something against us. Like we're all just problems that you have to put up with."

A look of shock came to Lori's face briefly and then turned into one of shame. She set down the shirt she had just been about to place into the wash and stepped over to stand in front of her sister. Luna thought for a moment that Lori might have found the question to be on the offensive side. It hadn't been her intention for it to come out that way, but it was becoming obvious that was the case as she saw her sister's expression become dead serious.

"You aren't entirely wrong, Luna. I do have to put up with all of you. But it isn't because I see you guys as problems. I'd say...all of you are more like a responsibility. Even if Mom and Dad are home, I still feel like I need to be ready for whatever craziness any of you could cause!"

"We can't be that bad." Luna calmly defended.

"Says the girl who blew out the power for every house in a three block radius." Lori countered. "In fact, while we're talking about you, let me just point out that out of all of my siblings, you frighten me the most."

"Say what?" Luna blurted out in complete shock. "You're pulling my leg, right?"

"No. No I am not. You, Luna Loud, have terrified me on many occasions. Care to guess why?"

Luna could only shrug. Aside of how she had been treating Lori since yesterday, she couldn't think of anything she could have done that would actually frighten her older sister. She always thought of herself as a laid back, cool sister. Until somebody went and pushed her buttons, that is. But that didn't happen often enough to make anybody afraid of her, did it?

"Let me tell you." Lori said. "Once, I had a sweet, beautiful, little sister named Luna. She was literally the text book definition of a wallflower. She was kind, polite, and so shy that she couldn't even use a public bathroom unless someone she knew went in there with her."

A fierce blush came to Luna's face. "T-that was back in first grade!"

"Yeah, and second, third, fourth...and fifth. Or did you forget about the time that you dragged Luan away from her friends during lunch because you were about to wet yourself?"

"Actually, I did. Thanks for the reminder." Luna mumbled. "So is there a point? Because I don't get how I scare you just because I was a little different when I was younger."

"A little different?" Lori echoed. "No, Luna. Try completely different in literally the blink of an eye. One day you were suddenly wearing a completely different style of clothing, you were behaving differently and had went and had most of your beautiful hair cut off! It was like a total stranger walked into the house and said that she was my sister! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get used to that?"

Luna shook her head. "Sorry, sis. Haven't a clue. It didn't even cross my mind back then to be honest. I was more worried about how Mom and Pops would react. Luckily they were pretty chill about it."

"Maybe when they were around you they tried to be." Lori said. "But anytime that they'd go out and leave me in charge from then on, they'd always tell me to keep tabs on what you'd do, whether or not you'd go anywhere and to keep track of how long you were gone. They...they were worried that you might start doing stuff."

The shocked expression that came to Luna's face brought Lori some comfort. Like her parents, Lori had also begun to think that her sister could very well have been participating in certain activities. And while she tried to convince herself that she was just worrying herself over nothing, there was always this one lingering doubt in the back of her mind.

"Please, Luna, I was honest with you. Now I need you to be honest with me. Have you done anything?"

"What?! NO! I'm not that type of girl! I haven't been fooling around, if that's what you mean!"

"Okay, okay. I believe you, Luna. But what about other things? You know, like..."

"Like what, Lori? Drugs and alcohol? I haven't touched the stuff!" Luna exclaimed defensively, crossing her arms. But after a moment, she began to calm down a little, a slightly guilty expression coming to her face. "Okay, except for one time when I was at a concert."

Lori's eyes widened. She could only stare silently at her younger sister as she absorbed that fact. And Luna could understand why. She could tell that Lori was afraid to ask her just what it was.

"I tried some beer. Only a little bit of it." She told Lori. "This older girl I met, a college student, offered me a sip of hers. So, I figured I'd give it a shot. They were selling the stuff for five bucks a cup, so I was curious to see what the bid deal was. But for what it's worth, I didn't like it. Way too bitter."

"It doesn't change the fact that you tried it in the first place." Lori stated frankly.

"Oh like you've never done anything that Mom and Dad wouldn't be proud of!" Luna snapped, regretting it instantly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that."

"It's alright." Lori assured her. "I probably would have snapped too, if you were the one lecturing me. And you know what? You're right. I'm not exactly able to say that I've never done anything that would upset our parents. It looks like it's my turn to tell you something that I haven't shared with anyone in our family."

Luna looked surprised for a moment, but then a wide smile slowly came to her face. She leaned forward and looked at her sister expectantly.

"So perfect, little Lori does have a skeleton in her closet. This I gotta hear. So, what did you do? Was it some 'alone time' with Bobby?"

"First of all, that isn't anyone's business except mine and Bobby's. I am a lady and a lady doesn't kiss and tell. Secondly, what I did is something that I'm literally ashamed of." Lori paused for a second, her eyes wandering to the wall. "I was over my friend Whitney's place for a party that she was having. Her parents were out of town and didn't even know that she was having people over. So it got a bit out of control. Some of the people she had invited had brought over others who hadn't been on the guest list. It started to get pretty noisy and eventually some of her neighbors called the police to file a complaint."

"Oh yeah, I remember everyone talking about that at school!" Luna interrupted. "But, what does that have to do with anything? It wasn't like you were the one who brought over all those uninvited people."

"I'm just about to get to that. It happened not too long before the police were called. Maybe twenty minutes or so, I can't actually remember. I was in the kitchen with Whitney, Becky and a few of our other friends from school. One of Becky's cousins was offering us some brownies that she had made. To be more specific, they had been made special. They were pot-brownies. And yes, I tried them."

Lori looked back at her sister. She wasn't surprised to see that Luna's jaw was hanging own so low that it was nearly resting in her lap. The sight would have been enough to make Lori smile under normal circumstances, but right then she couldn't manage it. The memory of that day was making her feel both strong regret and shame. It was definitely not her proudest moment.

"Some of the others grabbed one right away. But when it was my turn, I said no. And I said it again and again, because apparently Becky's cousin didn't seem to care that I wasn't interested. A couple of the others started to join her in coaxing me into having one. They even started to tease me too! But lucky for me, both Becky and Whitney had my back. However, this started an argument between Becky and her cousin. So I just grabbed one and ate it... and to tell the truth, I didn't handle it easily. You can probably guess what happened next."

Luna nodded. "You got baked."

"For a lack of a better wording, yes. But I did so under one condition. I asked Becky to record how I acted during that time so I could see myself. To see just what that stuff did to me. And I hated what I saw when I watched it!"

Lori clenched her right hand into a fist and she barely managed to suppress the urge to slam it against the wall. She clenched her teeth as well, feeling them grind a little as she tightened her jaw muscles. Hot tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she recalled the memory of that day.

"I looked like such an idiot!" she spat with mild self-loathing. "And if I were ever put into the same situation again with those same people, I'd refuse their stupid offer no matter how many times I got teased for it! I promised myself that I would never give into peer pressure again after that day! All it did was make me into a joke!"

The tears began to fall from her eyes. Lori quickly wiped away the moisture, trying to keep any more from spilling.

"Dang it! I told myself that I was done crying! At least until I got Lincoln to forgive me! Stupid tears, just stop already!"

Suddenly, Lori felt a pair of slender arms wrapping around her. As she removed her hands from her eyes, she found Luna against her, squeezing her tight and resting her head on Lori's shoulder.

"Let it go." Luna told her softly. "Don't hold back. If you need to cry, then just cry. I've got you, sis."

Lori felt the tears renew and this time she didn't try to keep them from falling. She returned the embrace, gently laying her head against Luna's.

"Thank you, Luna. You have no idea how much I needed this. And I'm not talking about the crying."

She let go after a few seconds, separating herself from Luna and stepping back over to the washer.

"Alright, as nice as that was, we need to get back to work. Would you pass me the stain remover, please?"

Luna nodded. "You got it, sis."

End of Chapter 12.