A/N Wow, I didn't expect people to like this story as much as they are. Seriously, 21 Reviews, 21 faves and 32 follows?! Anyways, I thank everyone who's reviewed, followed and faved so far! The plan for this story, as it stands, is an update every Saturday, every one to two weeks. Most of the story is planned out (as in, I've written the chapter first drafts), but editing is a tedious process. This chapter was extremely hard to write, but I think it came out nice.
Anyways, R&R!
Chapter Two: Finding A Sister
"Ugh…" The young boy groans, as opens his eyes… only for the blinding sun above him to force them shut.
In a daze, he holds his arm up to block on the star, while he tries to get to his feet… only for shooting pain to well up in his leg, causing him to fall to the ground, "What… what's going on?" Panic fills his body as he painfully looks around.
Just a few yards away is the burning wreckage of two cars- one of which he was no doubt in a few moments prior. Around them is IS-85… oddly deserted given the time of year. It is as if the world around him is in its own bubble.
"Lincoln!" A soft, feminine voice weakly calls out.
He painfully looks up, towards the source. "L-Liberty?!" He spots his sister leaning up against the car door. Somehow having freed herself from the belt that held her in place, yet from what he can see, the flames would reach her soon.
"I… I have to save her!" He thinks, the adrenaline in his system forcing him to his feet. With a painful limp, he pushes his way to the car- yet the distance seems to grow with each step- as if for every movement he makes, the world pushes him back two!
And soon enough, the world around the young boy begins to go dark, as he falls to the ground, the loud voice of his twin echoing in his mind.
"Lincoln!"
"G'ahh." Lincoln lets out a loud gasp, as his eyes are forced open and he quickly sits up in his bed. In a panic, he takes a quick look around round, breathing in and out as he does so.
Soft moonlight illuminates the orphanage bedroom, just as it has done for countless years. Slowly, he gazes out the window and takes in the calm night, "Everything's fine… everything's fine."
"I'm… I'm in my room… Nothing bad will happen here." He turns to the young girl sleeping next to him, "And Liberty is ok… she's ok…" He breathes a sigh of relief, before lying back down, and putting his arms around his sister once more.
"Everything's gonna be fine… everything's gonna be fine." He shuts his eyes once more, "Just remember the summer in the hills… Those hazy days…" And with fear filling his expression, he drifts off once more.
Later…
*Ring!* The old analogue alarm clock goes, before a hand smacks it asleep.
"Ugh…" Lincoln groans, before releasing his sister from the bear hug he had held her in, though she doesn't stir from her slumber. "Morning already?" He glance as the clock, hoping that he had made mistake, "Seven-thirty…" He sighs in defeat, before turning and hoping to his feet.
Soft sunlight filters through the old orphanage windows once more, bringing a soothing warmth to the rather cold room. For a moment, the young boy takes in the heat- letting it bring a soft warmth to his injured skin. "Ok Lincoln, today's the day." His gaze falls upon his sleeping sister, "Today, we get adopted."
The boy then carefully leans over and shakes his sister, causing the young girl to stir from her own slumber. "Mornin' sis."
*Yawn* She tiredly opens her eyes, "Mornin' bro." before sitting up in the bed and facing her brother, "No late night scavenging, huh?"
The boy smiles, "Nah, it's interview day. We need to be full awake and as healthy as possible if we want to make a good impression!" He rubs the back of his head, "Plus, we don't need a repeat off the time I robbed someone, and they came to adopt a kid the day after."
Liberty chuckles, before she continues, "Do you think today's the day? The day we get adopted? " Her voice fills with a child-like hope.
"Who knows? We can only dream, sis." Lincoln then turns around and stretches "Now, come on. You know the deal. First we get washed up, then we get our nice clothes on."
The girl nods, "Course bro-bro." She hops next to him, "It's been five years! We both know what to do when the parents come around!"
The boy simply chuckles. "Of course she knows. She is my sister after all!" Then, with a soft smile, he looks at her, his sister. No matter what would happen today, as long as she kept smiling, the boy knows that all would be all right. "Just gotta keep her smiling. Everything is gonna be all right."
"Yeah, yeah." Lincoln chuckles, "Just makin' sure you remembered. After all, it's been a few months." He then grabs his towel and nice clothes, before motioning his twin to do the same, "Now come on sis, we've gotta get ready and help the others too."
"You got it bro." Liberty nods, before grabbing her own clothes and towel, and heading out of the room.
And a few minutes later, Liberty is in the shared bathroom, getting ready for the day ahead of them.
Lincoln calmly sits by the door, listening to his sister's sweet singing, " My Small Horsie! My Princess Pony, come with me, into mystery! The world around here is not what it seems! With friends all around you, we'll find all there is to know!"
The boy smiles, "That's the spirit Liberty," He closes his eyes, "Just stay perky, and everything will be fine."
"Hey Lincoln…" Liberty whispers, causing the boy to hop to his feet, "Yeah Liberty?"
"Could we… you know… share the tub?" She goes, her voice filling with uncertainty, "You know… to save water?"
"Ok sis." He opens the door, revealing Liberty; standing in the shower, with the only thing hiding her body is the steam.
"You know, we're gonna get too old for this one day." Lincoln takes off his clothes and gets in the tub with her.
Liberty nods, "Yeah, we will be, one day." She looks into his eyes, "But for now, it's not weird."
"Heh, always share everything." Lincoln chuckles, running his hand through his sister's soft hair as he does so, "Would you like me to brush your hair sis? It looks like you haven't done that in a while."
She nods, "Cause you're the only one who knows just how to do it right bro."
Her brother then grabs the nearby hairbrush, and begins to stroke Liberty's long, white locks as they share the shower. "And if anyone asks, we were just doing this to save time and water…" He looks at his sister's soft smile and features so similar to his own, "But… when you're in a world that doesn't understand you… you tend to latch onto whoever does… and Liberty doesn't like closed spaces that much."
It takes them close to half an hour to finish cleaning off; though understandable given the extreme amounts of dirt they have to scrub off. After that, they dry themselves and dress themselves in their "nice clothes"; matching orange polo's that Mrs. Sherman had purchased on sale. Before giving them to the twins, she mentioned the matching shirts would make them look cuter.
"Ok, ready for this Liberty?" Lincoln forces his head through his simple orange polo.
"Yep, let's go help the others." The girl then steps out of the room; with her brother following close behind. It takes them a moment to reach the small room across the hall from their own- that of the young orphans. They quietly walk inside, careful not to awaken the two young children inside.
"Ok Stacy, it's time to wake up…" Lincoln whispers, waking the young three-year-old up. Liberty responds by doing the same with the boy she shares the room with. After that, they get them cleaned up and dressed, before they do the same with the other children. Yes, it's a slow process, but in order to increase the chances for adoption, it's necessary.
Once they finish, they send the young children downstairs for breakfast, before standing at the top of the stairs.
"Always together?" Lincoln turns to his sister with begging eyes.
"Always together." The girl repeats, returning the sentiment.
And with that, the air around the twins begins to warm up, and they descend the steps and into the main foyer.
Breakfast on interview day is quick, with both Mr. and Mrs. Sherman leaving the kids to eat without them while they add the final preparations for the perspective parents.
That leaves the older kids to serve the younger, though given that they've had this job countless times before, Lincoln and Liberty have an easy time getting it set up. And so, they serve the kids and herd them into the living room, before running to see how many people have come.
"Wow… this is more than usual." Liberty whispers, clutching Lincoln's hand as she does so.
Lincoln smiles, "No doubt some of us aren't gonna be staying her long." From what the twins can see, there are about ten couples standing by, simply waiting for their chance to meet the child or children Mrs. Sherman brought them for.
"I sure hope so…" Liberty nervously grabs her arm. Yet, Lincoln immediately puts his arm around her, "Don't worry sis, everything's gonna be all right." Then he looks around, "Now, we just have to find where Cristina is…"
"She's right there bro." Liberty points at the young, red-haired girl… who just so happens to be standing next to the doorway with her trusty clipboard in hand.
The twins turn to each other and nod, before walking over, "Mornin' Cristina."
"You're late!" She almost shouts, "Do you know how hard it is to keep things moving around her with ten kids under the age of five?!"
"Yeah, cause we just herded everyone into the living room…" Liberty looks away, almost as if ashamed.
"Ok?" Lincoln goes, "That's why we're here."
Cristina facepalms out of annoyance, "Whatever you two. The first one up is Chandler." She begins writing and mumbles, "But given his personality, I doubt he'll get very far."
"Aren't you up today, too?" Lincoln tilts his head, "You seem a bit… over exerting yourself."
"No... no one took an interest in, "She writes more notes down, no doubt hiding the pain she feels, "But don't worry about me. I can handle dealing with all this stuff like I usually do."
"And what about Lincoln and I? When are we up?" Liberty speaks up. Her body fills with a desperate desire. No doubt out of all of the children, she wants to be adopted the most… hopefully they would be able to take both her and her brother.
Cristina flips through the clipboard, "You're the last ones up." She looks at them, "That means you've got three hours to get ready."
Lincoln facepalms, "Seriously?"
"Then why are we flippin' late?!" Liberty throws her arms up in surprise.
"First, watch your language." Cristina goes, pointing her pencil at the girl as she does so, "And what's the problem? You need to direct the younger kids remember?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." The twins respond in unison.
"You know, I've always wondered if you had twin telepathy." Cristina shakes her head, "Whatever." She points to Lincoln, "Make sure you get the boys ready, Adrian's next."
Then she points to Liberty, "And you need to get the girl's ready, Stacy goes after him."
"Aye, aye, captain!" Liberty goes.
"And I need you to make sure everything's all right with boys." She points her pencil at Lincoln.
"Ok then." Lincoln shrugs, "No problem.
"Good luck." Then she points towards the stairs, "You know what to do." And with that, the twins salute, before turning and rushing up the stairs.
Now, getting twenty children younger than the age of nine, ready to meet a perspective parent is no easy task. After all, first they have to deal with the little balls of energy running away from them every time one of the twins tries to put them in their good clothes or give them a wash!
And yet, the duo has done this very job so many times prior that it's second nature to them. If they were not around, this would definitely not flow as easily.
The twins work harder than most, following the same rhythm as they run upstairs or into the living room, grab the called for child, make sure they're ready, and rush them over to the main officer. No doubt the system they employ took years of practice to perfect, and it shows. Once Cristina calls out a name, neither twin wastes time, and neither feels tired after each run. Good, given they do it for several hours.
Later...
After the younger kids finish their interviews, Cristina walks over to the twins and declares, "Ok Lincoln and Linka, it's your turn." She smiles at them, "Good luck."
"Thanks Christina" Liberty goes, while Lincoln simply nods, before they approach the main office.
"You ready for this sis?" Lincoln turns back at Liberty, a soft determination filling his face.
Liberty nods, "You know it bro." The two place their hands in each other's before both taking deep breaths and stepping inside the room.
"Ahh here they are!" Mrs. Sherman greets, motioning towards the duo as she does so, "These are Lincoln and Liberty White, the orphanage's star twins!" Her voice is filled with a motherly excitement, "Say hello you two!"
"Hello…" Liberty nervously greets, putting her hands behind her back as she does so.
"Sup." Lincoln finishes, loosening his stance."
"Hi there." The perspective father, a light-skinned man with dark brown hair, stands up and turns to the kids.
"You must be the wonderful twins Mrs. Sherman was telling us about!" The perspective mother, a young woman with light skin and soft brown hair as well,no doubt married to the man, speaks up, simply turning in her seat while the man approaches them.
Lincoln steps forward, "Yep! We're the twins 'round here!"
"That's right!" Liberty takes a shy bow. "And we're here to please!"
"From what we've heard, you two are quite the interesting characters." The man takes a knee in front of them to get a better look.
"Why don't you tell them about yourselves?" Mrs. Sherman suggests, "After all, I'm sure you two are extremely interesting!" Though, she can feel her heart race as they look at the two children.
"Well… ok then, it couldn't hurt…" The young boy moves to speak, but hesitates. Holding his hand in front of him, before recoiling and rubbing his chin.
"Well, I like Princess Pony. I enjoy swimming, dancing and singing and I just love animals!" Liberty speaks up, exaggerating her motions as she does so. "I hope I can be a vet or a doctor one day!"
"Yep… as always sis." Lincoln mentally adds, before he shrugs, "I'm more of an outdoorsy guy myself. I'm not really sure what I wanna do when I grow up."
"You wouldn't believe how amazing these two are! They're always helping out around the house, and they're great with children!"
Lincoln speaks up again, "I always help the little kids go to sleep!"
"And I help cook their meals!" Liberty adds, excitement filling her voice.
The twins come closer to the perspective parents, eager as ever to get adopted..
"Now kids, calm down!" Mrs. Sherman chuckles, motioning them to stand back as she does so, "They're very energetic children."
The man rubs his chin, "I see. But by the sound of it, it'll be nice to have them around."
"She's not wrong." Lincoln goes, while Liberty shrugs.
"Who's smarter?" The woman puts her hands on her sides and smiles, while she speaks with a joking tone.
Lincoln motions towards liberty, "She is, have you seen what those IQ tests said about her and her potential?!" While he thinks, "And how little they said about my average IQ…"
Liberty pats his back in response, "He more street smart."
"Which is why I'm the one that protects her most of the time" Lincoln pulls her into a headlock and affectionately nuggies her.
"Heh, who's older?" The man smiles, while he speaks with a joking tone.
Lincoln proudly motions towards himself and steps forward, "I am!"
"Big brother, Linky" Liberty rests her head on his shoulder.
"Little sister, Libby" Lincoln rest his head on hers, before the twins give a pseudo-hug.
"Adorable aren't they?" Mrs. Sherman leans back in her chair, silently hoping the sight of cue children would be enough to persuade the parents.
"Heh quite." The woman chuckles, while the man simply smiles, "How about we talk about some paperwork and go from there?"
"Ok children, run along now. We'll call you later." Mrs. Sherman declares, motioning them to leave with that.
The twins look at each other and nod, before turning and running outside.
The man and woman recompose themselves, while Mrs. Sherman interlocks her hands, "So, what did you think?"
The perspective parents look at each other with nervous expressions filling their faces. Yet, without a single word, Mrs. Sherman knows what they would say.
"We can only take one."
A few minutes later, the twins rest under the peach tree in the backyard, just like they were the day prior.
"Do you think it worked Liberty?" Lincoln's voice fills with worry; "I mean… we've tried that act so many times before…"
"All we can do is dream, Lincoln" she takes her brother's hand in her own as they look up into the sunset sky. "All we can do is dream."
Soft silence begins to overtake the two as they wait. Uncertainty fills their minds while fear fills their hearts.
"Do you still have your locket sis?" Lincoln finally asks.
"Yeah… I never let it go." Liberty then shoves her hand in her blouse for a moment, before pulling out a small, heart-spaded, brass locket.
Lincoln looks at the container and sighs, "Do you remember mom and dad?"
"Do wolves live in packs?" Liberty responds, giving a soft nod as she does so.
"Heh of course." Uncertainty fills Lincoln's expression as he leans back, "Do you remember the song she used to sing?"
"Yeah…" she nods.
"Stand together like we're rocks in a wall…" He starts.
"Growing stronger everyday even more." She responds, leaning up against her brother as she does so.
"Stand together in the eye of the storm and show the whole world who we are, Oh!" The boy continues, his voice filling with both energy and hope.
"Keep on walkin' to the sound of the drums, feel the fire run through our lungs!" Liberty's voice, too, fills with a life unexpected from her situation.
"Find our treasure in the light of the sun." The twins sings together, "And show the whole world who we are, oh!" Before they both break into a nostalgic laughter.
"I can't believe I still remember that." Liberty whispers.
"I can't believe it's been five years since we last heard her sing that…" Lincoln looks away.
Liberty places her hand on his cheek and turns him to face her, "Come on bro, don't be so hard on yourself!"
"Yeah… but you know it's hard to, especially when you don't even have a really home." Lincoln sighs, "Do you have dreams sis?"
"Yeah, I plan to open my own pet day care one day" She looks up into the afternoon sky, the mix of purples and blues giving the world a soft, almost hopeful gleam to it. "How about you bro?"
"I hope to..." He hesitates, "You know... I'm not sure."
"I don't know why, but I can see you being a famous author one day" Liberty smiles, leaning in closer to him.
Lincoln chuckles, "Heh, yeah, maybe." He looks out into the setting sun, its gleam now turning the sky a dark red, "Do you remember... when 'it' happened?"
"How could I forget?" Liberty looks in the same direction, tearing up as she does so "We were both there…"
"Our brother... sister...mom and dad..." Lincoln starts tearing up as well.
Instinctually, the duo pulls each other into a soft, caring hug.
"No matter what, we'll find our home, together." The boy whispers, his voice filling with a fatherly softness.
"Finding a place." Liberty smiles nods in agreement, "Together."
They hold together in that hug for seemingly hours, before Lincoln breaks it with, "Hey, I got five bucks from yesterday… wanna go get ice cream or something?"
Liberty hesitates for a moment, before smiling and nodding, "Yeah, I think I'll like that."
"Yeah, and it'll make the disappointment less painful when it finally does come." Lincoln puts on a pained smile, "Just like the last times… just like the last times." The twins then stand up and walk to the nearby ice cream parlor, a quaint building with a rugged interior. To most, it'd be the symbol of a small town's unchanging nature, but to the twins, it's a symbol of cheap ice cream.
"Hey dude and dudet." the young latino man greets, "What can I get for ya?"
Lincoln steps forward, "I'd like some strawberry ice cream please!" He turns to his sister, "How about you Libs?"
"I'll take chocolate." The girl nervously responds.
"Ok then..." The young man types in the order, "That'll be five dollars."
The male twin doesn't hesitate to pay him with the five dollar he had "acquired" the previous night.
After that, the young man makes two cones filled with the ice cream and hands it over to the kids.
"Just remember, everything is gonna be all right." Lincoln licks his ice cream, while Liberty smiles and repeats, "Everything is gonna be all right."
And with that, they walk out of the parlor without another word. Though, Lincoln can swear he has seen the young man serving them also working as a security guard and a pool lifeguard.
Later…
"Ok, ready?" Lincoln goes as they reach the group home they've called their own for five years at this point.
"As long as I'm with you bro, I'm always ready." Liberty places her hand in his, before they walk up to the door and open it.
Immediately, the sight of a few couples already bonding with their adoptive children greets them.
"Heh." Lincoln smiles, before walking over to a young boy, one of the ones he had helped that morning, "Congrats Billy!"
The boy hugs both him and Liberty, before going, "Bye Libby and Linky!"
Lincoln looks at the new parent- a young man- and smiles, before walking away. The twins repeat the process for the rest of the kids, making sure to note what beds would need to be made later.
With that, the old director of the home steps forward, "Liberty, Lincoln, come here please!"
"Well, it's the moment of truth." Liberty looks at him in worry, "You ready bro?"
"I'm always ready." Lincoln responds, and with that, the twins stand up and walk over to Mrs. Sherman.
The old woman motions for liberty to follow, "Lincoln, why don't you wait here for a second?"
Lincoln tilts his head in confusion, "Ok..."
"Wait, why does Lincoln have to stay behind?" Liberty tilts her head as well, though in the opposing angle to Lincoln's.
A worried expression overtakes the old woman's face; "The perspective parents just want to talk to you alone."
"Oh no… does this mean what I think it means?" she thinks, fear filling her expression.
"Come along now, we don't wanna keep them waiting." She continues, her smile no doubt hiding pain she knew all too well.
The boy takes a deep breath, before placing a comforting hand on Liberty's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go."
"Ok bro…" Liberty nods and follows Mrs. Sherman inside.
Lincoln listens by the door.
"Hello Liberty!" The man from before greets, his voice filled with excitement "How are ya?"
"Uh, I'm fine. What's up?" She raises an eyebrow.
"We've decided who we're going to adopt." The woman continues, making sure to hold her hands together in a rather hard position.
"Shouldn't my brother be here?" Liberty tilts her head in confusion, "You're adopting him too right?"
The parents look at each other and sigh.
"Liberty." Mrs. Sherman places a soft hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry…"
Lincoln's eyes go wide, "It… it can't be!"
"You going to adopt both of us, right?" Liberty looks up at her, fear filling her body, "I mean, we've been together for years!"
The man takes a deep, "I'm sorry Liberty but... we're only planning on adopting you."
"What?!" Liberty shouts.
"What?!" Lincoln shouts, though no one hears him through the door.
"I'm sorry but... we can only afford to adopt one of you." The man goes.
Lincoln leans in closer.
"Bu- but I can't live without Lincoln!" Tears because to fill her eyes, "I… He's my brother!"
"And I can't live without Liberty!" Lincoln shouts, his voice now piercing the door, though only a little.
"I'm sorry." Mrs. Sherman whispers, "But..."
But nothing!" Lincoln barges into the room, determination and fear filling his body.
"Lincoln..." Mrs. Sherman whispers, a pained frown forming on her face.
"You can't just separate us!" Lincoln shouts, flaring his arms as he does so.
Liberty nods in agreement, "Yeah! We've been together since we were born!"
The room goes silent for a moment, as the couple looks between each other, to the director, and then to Liberty. The mother then spoke up. "Liberty, honey, we're sorry, you're brother seems nice, but..." she began.
The man finishes, "We can't afford to take care of both of you..."
Liberty can feel her heart break, while Lincoln can feel his sister's pain as his heart begins to break as well.
"I'm sorry." The director goes.
Pained tears begin to roll down the girl's cheeks, while the boy hardens himself.
"Now Lincoln..." The director goes, "You know people want to adopt her…"
"Oh, and am I, chopped liver?!" Lincoln shouts.
"Now Lincoln, calm down." The director orders, "You know people wanted to adopt you too but..."
"I'll calm down when Liberty reconsiders this! And if she leaves, I'll… I'll-" His eyes fill with tears, "I don't know what I'd do!"
"Knowing him… he'd go out and try to find me." Liberty grabs hold of Lincoln's hand.
The director's husband steps forward, causing a warm, commanding air to overtake the room, "Lincoln, you have to calm down"
Lincoln breathes heavily, a fire fueled rage burns in his eyes as he glares at everyone except Liberty.
The man places his hand on the boy's shoulder, immediately filling him with a child-like serenity, "I know this is painful. But we have to do what's best for Liberty." He looks the boy in the eyes, "You want what's best for her, right?"
"I... but... It's not fair!" Lincoln said tearfully.
"Life is strange Lincoln. Things may seem strange and unfair... but it may be for the best." The man responds… remorse, fills his voice, "You… you two have been here for five years…"
"Please don't separate us..." Liberty whispers, throwing her arms around her brother as she does so, "Yes, we've been here for five years but… but…"
"Liberty..." Lincoln whispers her name as she wraps her arms around his waist. He then turns his head towards the couple. "Why do you wanna take my sister?" he asks with a skeptical glare.
The perspective father responds, "We want to have a child of our own." He looks upon the girl's white hair, "And we want to give her a better life."
"Why can't you-" Lincoln starts.
"That doesn't matter right now." The man continues, his voice too filling with regret, "We just want to give her a better life."
"How about you guys take care of her and I watch over her like an angel then!" Lincoln stares the man in the eyes, his voice filling with his desperate plea.
"I'm sorry son, we can only take care of one child right now." His wife calmly answers.
"Then how about live in the attic or basement eating rats?" He continues, his determined voice filling with fear.
"I'm sorry, that would qualify as child abuse." The man responds;
"Watching her from the shadows?" He suggests, clutching Liberty even tighter than before.
"Now that just sounds creepy." The man goes, before giving a pained sigh, "I'm sorry, but we can't take you."
"If you can take Liberty, you can take me!" Lincoln shouts, flailing his free arm as he does so.
"Now son, I'm sorry, but we just can't afford it." The man places a hand on his shoulder, "We're new to this parent idea and we don't want to push too far. I'm sorry…" He looks away a shameful expression appearing on his face, "But we can't afford to take care of you both."
Lincoln then breaks their hug and looks around quickly, his heart racing, before he grabs a soccer ball, "Umm, I can play sports!" Then he tries to kick the ball… only for it to fly passed the woman and hit a nearby painting, causing it to fall to the floor. Then he turns and grabs a nearby piece of paper and grabs and scribbles down some random numbers, "I'm smart, I can uhh…"
The man takes a knee and holds Lincoln by both shoulders, "I'm sorry. As much as I would want to take both of you, my wife and I can only afford to take one of you in at the moment." He looks the young boy in eyes and continues, his fatherly voice filling with care. "You care for your sister right?"
Lincoln nods, a soft air filled with pain forming around him. "With all my heart."
The man takes in a deep breath. He had not been a legally registered parent for longer than ten minutes at this point, and yet he was being forced to break a young child's heart! Maybe that is why Lincoln and Liberty had not been adopted, despite being in the home for so long.
"I promise you, that if I can afford to adopt you later, I will. But at the moment, it'll be too much of a burden on us. We're new to this and we don't want to have our hands too full before we're ready for anything."
For a moment, Lincoln considers lashing out, releasing the pain building in his chest. Liberty is his twin sister. They had lived through everything together! And suddenly, this man stands before him with nothing more than a few papers standing between him keeping the last piece of his family.
"You want your sister to be happy don't you?" He continues, his voice filling with a fatherly care, while he leans in closer, "You know she's not happy here. She wants to go. And as much as she doesn't want to show it, leaving you behind is just as painful." He looks the young boy in the eyes with that, "I promise I'll take good care of her Lincoln. I need you to stay strong for her."
The realization begins to dawn on him. Everything they were saying, no doubt feels true. Lincoln's thoughts begin to race. Ever since they were children, he had taken the role as her protector, yet he had always relied on her for everything. Liberty could cook, and yet she is only ten years old. She could clean, do the laundry, she could even provide basic first aid! Heck, if memory serves him right, she is the second most trusted child behind Cristina!
"It's true... I want her to be happy." And so, with that thought in mind, Lincoln nods, before turning to his twin with tear-filled eyes. "She deserves better... Better than anything I could ever give her. She's smarter than me, she'll succeed at everything she does."
Wordlessly, the siblings fall into each other's arms, desperate for the moment not to end.
"So… I guess this is goodbye…" Lincoln whispers, Liberty holding on to her brother tightly, "You take care of yourself sis." The young boy's eyes fill with tears once more, as he holds onto her sister tighter, "You're going to do great things sis. You deserve more."
"But Lincoln…" She responds, "You're great! You, you took care of everything! I, I can't…"
Lincoln breaks their hug with, "I need you to stay strong. Please Liberty, stay strong for me." The boy begs, trying to hold it together, and yet finding himself crying into her shoulder as she did too.
"Remember that song?" Lincoln asks, his voice becoming more desperate. "You know? The last one mom sang?"
Liberty whispers, "Yeah bro, I remember."
"How did it start?" Lincoln asks, "Summer in the hills?"
"Those hazy days are to remember." Liberty continues, a nostalgic and hopeful air forming around the twins as she does so.
"We… we were runnin' still." Lincoln tears up more, while his voice fills with pain.
"Had the whole world at our feet." Liberty pulls Lincoln in tighter.
"Watchin' seasons change, all roads were lined with adventure." Lincoln's voice fills with hope.
"Mountains in the way, but didn't keep us from the sea." Liberty goes, she too strengthening their embrace.
"Here we stand up in arms." Lincoln starts.
"This is home, where we are." Liberty ends.
"Ever strong, in the world that we made." They sing together.
And with a loving and nostalgic tone, they finish, "I still hear you in the breeze, see your shadows in the trees, holding on, memories, never change."
The twins break down in tears with that, before finally breaking their embrace.
"You're going to do great things Liberty." Lincoln assures, looking into his sister's eyes once more, "I just know you will."
Liberty nods, "You too bro." Then, she moves her hands around her neck and unlatches a familiar hook, revealing the brass, heart-shaped locket. "Here, take it."
"Your locket?" Lincoln goes, before taking the object in his hands, "I- I couldn't…"
With pleading eyes, Liberty places it in his hand, and pushes it closed, "Take it, please… You need it more than me."
Lincoln hesitates for a moment, before clutching the brass container, "Ok..." Then, he hugs his sister once more. And with that, she walks over to her new parents, secures the bag she was given to go with, and nods, before taking her new father's hand in her own and walking away. She looks back at her brother one, final time, "Bye Lincoln, I promise I'll see you again."
She makes sure to wave goodbye before she leaves.
Lincoln waves goodbye in response, before clutching the locket once more. "Good… goodbye sis…"
A few, short minutes pass with that, with Liberty quickly packing the few trinkets she had collected over the years, before Mr. Sherman whispers something to her. After that, she leaves the home and drives off.
Leaving Lincoln to watch her go.
"Lincoln…" Mrs. Sherman walks over, and moves her hand closer to him, "Are you…"
Lincoln's hopeful smile fades with that, leaving nothing but a lifeless frown on the young boy's face, before he walks away, speaking with a lifeless tone, "I'm going to sleep."
Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Sherman chooses to object to the child's decision.
9 23-15-14-4-5-18 23-8-25 20-8-5-25 19-21-14-7 13-15-14-15-4-25.
A/N Before anyone flags me for using music, TheFatRat songs: "Monody", "Unity", and "The Calling" are copyright free. Also, credit for song lyrics goes to him. And don't worry, from what I've already written, I doubt I'll need to put this disclaimer up again.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed, and have a great Spring Break if it's that time of year for you! See ya guys in 1-2 weeks! I thank Wolvenstrom and Exotos for ideas, and Sunblast-X for helping me write some scenes! Also, I thank Mr. Dusk for pointing out flaws with the first chapter! Edits are complete! Also, opinions on this? I feel like the pacing was off and that I skipped too much.