~The Girls~
The drive to Liam's farm could be described in two words: Wet and awkward. Lori was glad she had not expressed that thought outwardly to the others, lord knew that Luan would have a field day with it.
It was wet because it was still raining; outside of Vanzilla, the streets were beginning to look more like rivers. Lori wished their parents had let Lisa and Lana install the floatation system they were working on. A cartoon image of the van with giant raft like tires, floating down the street entered her mind. It was an image that was right up there with the one she had earlier, of seeing two of every animal on the side of the road, in a line to enter a new ark. That's how the rain felt.
The overwhelming feeling of awkwardness came from the silence and negative vibes between the majority of sisters and one Lynn Loud Jr. The others were still pretty pissed at her for her actions towards Lincoln and Lily. Lori still had some bitter feelings about the subject, but they were starting to give way to more and more concern over what Lynn's issue was. The girl always seemed to have a bug up her ass, but now that but had turned into a six-foot-long carnivorous worm that was slowly eating it's way out of Lynn's ass, putting the girl into major bitch mode.
As they were coming to the outskirts of town, more trees began to pop up, along with long stretches of green grass. A few scattered country homes loomed off in the distance, wood and barbed wire fences keeping them from the rest of the world. A few of them had large posts or wooden archways with family names carved into wooden planks. Lori thought back to a trip the family took to Texas just before their mother learned she was pregnant with Lincoln. The homes reminded her of that trip.
If not for the fact that Lori had made this drive a few times before, dropping Lincoln off or picking him up, she would have been a little worried, as it was hard to see the address numbers for the house that hung on the fences or archways. But having done this before, she knew a sure fire way to recognize Liam's family's farm.
They came up to a property that had a large wooden archway, standing about ten or fifteen feet tall, with the skull of a bull hanging above a sign with Liam's family name, O'Sullivan. Lori turned right and followed the dirt, now muddy, trail that led them towards the rear of the house. They passed a group of flag poles, flying special storm flags for America, Ireland, and Texas. Lori noticed there was nothing there for Michigan. The O'Sullivan's where a very proud and patriotic lot, loyal to the places their family had called home over the years.
Lori pulled to a spot in back next to a large white pick up truck with a camper. She assumed it was Mr. O'Sullivan's. As they parked the rain began to slow to a light drizzle, which Lori was thankful for, the last thing she needed was one of the kids running to Liam's porch, tripping, and sliding in the mud, all to avoid getting soaked by the rain.
They got out and walked to the porch, going up the steps and on to a wooden deck that appeared to run along the entire side of the house. Lori went to the door, rang the doorbell and waited, taking one of the glass casserole dishes from Leni. Liam answered the door and looked up at the smiling blonde holding his payment for covering for Lincoln.
"Well hello there, ladies, what brings Y'all over to my little slice of heaven?" He smiled through the screen door.
"Our dad said you did a favor for him and Lincoln and wanted us to deliver your payment," Lori said, looking down at the two dishes of lasagna in she and Leni had.
"Your dad's lasagna is right up there with my dad's barbecue ribs, " Liam said, smacking his watering lips. He opened the screen and started to take the dish from Lori's hands. "Let me go ahead and take those off your hands there," he walked back inside and set the first dish on an island in the center of the kitchen. "You ladies want any snacks or something to drink? We got fresh lemonade."
Lori looked back at the others, who all shook their heads no, "no thanks," she handed Liam the other dish. "But there is something we would like to talk to you about."
Liam came back out and motioned for the girls to have a seat.
The back porch was decorated with a rocking swing, a few chairs, with a table in the center, and some plants that hung from the awning that covered the deck. The twins and Lisa took the swing, while most of the others took the chairs around the table. Lori and Lynn chose to stand, the sporting teen leaning up against the railing that cut off the edge of the deck.
"So, what can I do for Y'all?" Liam said, knowing full well what they were about to ask him.
Lori looked Liam dead in the eyes making him take a step back, "tells us what you know about Lincoln."
~Skyla~
Skyla went in search of her friend. She had expected Kat to still be in the room when she went to get Lincoln and Lily and was surprised that she wasn't. Thankfully she is pretty quick with a little white lie when the need arose. Still, she tried not to make a habit of lying to her friends, it was often a very slippery slope, and she had already taken that nose dive off the cliff and into a pool of her lies more than once in the past; it was a pretty embarrassing experience she didn't want to repeat..
She walked downstairs and turned the corner into the dining room, passing the glass case her mother kept all of her porcelain dolls in. They all sparkled as if freshly polished, which meant her mother was into her summer cleaning phase. She loved to do a good deep clean on the house to clear out the dust and bad vibes from the previous season. She was either getting a late start on summer or an early start on fall.
She entered the kitchen to see Kat leaning against the counter holding a bag of cookies in one hand, while her other hand shoved the sweet treats into her mouth. Skyla knew that Kat would turn to the cookies when the nerves were taking hold. She went to cookies like a high school shop teacher went to booze.
Skyla went over and joined her friend, hopping up on the counter, something she hoped her mother would not catch her doing, "you okay Kitten?" She asked.
"I don't understand why I'm nervous," Kat said, a shaky hand moving up to stuff another cookie in her mouth.
"It's natural to be nervous when you like someone. Your brain likes to make you think of all the ways you can screw it up," Skyla told her.
"Not helping Sky," Kat munched on another cookie.
"What I mean is, your brain will try to trip you up," She said, as she kicked her feet, "it acts as the defense for your heart. The problem is, all the what if's sort of scare you."
Kat looked to Skyla, slowly putting another cookie in her mouth.
"Got your attention huh?" Skyla smirked and lay on the counter her nose now close to Kat's forehead, "so, with your brain scaring you into not trying for what you want, your heart comes back like a stubborn toddler in a toy store, saying that it wants what it wants."
"I feel like you are trying to tell me I am acting like a child," Kat said with a mouth full of cookie and a hand on her hip.
"Not at all, Kitten. You know me well enough to know I would just come out and say it. Now put the cookies down, it's time for your play date, and we don't want you getting a tummy ache." Skyla said with a grin.
"Now that I know was an insult," Kat said, sticking her tongue out at her friend.
Skyla jumped off the counter and put an arm around Kat, "come on Hun; we got guests, let's go greet them." Skyla started to walk her back through the dining room and up the stairs, taking the bag of cookies with her.
~Loud Sisters and Liam~
"I don't know what to tell ya, Lori," Liam rubbed the back of his head, "I have no clue where Lincoln is."
Lynn stood off in the corner, her temperature rising as she let the fire deep within boil her blood. She knew that Liam knew more then what he was telling them, and Lori didn't have the stomach to push hard enough to get the information. She was going soft, losing her edge and letting the family fall apart around her. The girls should have done like they always did once they suspected something was going on; kick in Lincoln's door then make him talk whether he wanted to or not. Instead, they were on a damn farm, feeding one of Lincoln's friends and trying to get the information by kissing his ass. This was bullshit, and she was getting tired of having to smell it.
"We thought he was coming over here to see you," Lori said as she crossed her arms.
"Well, might as well tell ya since ya can see he ain't around here," Liam said, "That was all a ... whatcha, call it? A ruse! That's it. A little diversion tactic to throw Y'all off his trail."
"Our male sibling must have deduced that we would involve ourselves in his course of action," Lisa stated.
Liam looked at Lisa then back to Lori then repeated the action his jaw hanging slightly open, "what she say?" the country boy asked, scratching his head as he tried to understand the resident genius of the Loud family.
"She said that he must have known we would meddle," Lori told him.
Liam nodded his head in understanding.
Lori couldn't say she was shocked that Lincoln would do something like this, or that he could. She was, however, a little surprised at how far ahead of her he was. Knowing that they would follow him, he set up a diversion and managed to get a hold of their father after Lynn had taken his computer and phone. He really was starting to live up to the name "The Man with the Plan."
"Okay, I'm tired of this shit," Lynn said, moving over to Liam. "I know you know more than you are letting on you little prick, so tell us or I will smack you face clean off."
Liam saw that the young bull known as Lynn was looking like she had seen a mess of red, and it was all painted on him. He quickly sidestepped her as the enraged athlete lunged for him. Lynn nearly took the whole table over as she fell into Liam's seat. She turned to see the small country boy standing near the steps that led down to the yard. She flipped the chair over and started to run for Liam, who yelped, and ran as fast as his little legs could take him, heading for the barn.
Lori stood in stunned silence, like the rest of the girls, watching as Lynn ignored the stairs and jumped from the deck to the ground, rolling with her momentum and back to her feet to continue her chase.
Liam ran like his life depended on it because in his mind it did. He was a tough kid for his age, and a Junior Rodeo Champion, but Lynn was an athlete of another caliber. She trained day in and day out, working in martial arts, baseball (before being banned for life), football, and other types of highly competitive sports. Between the added age, experience, amount of training, and best not forget the height and weight, she was better than him. If she caught him and this turned into a fight, well he didn't want to think about it. But he didn't tie up bulls by overpowering them; he outsmarted them.
Since they were on his farm, he knew the lay of the land, as well as where to lead Lynn. Her raging temper was another way he had the edge over her. Once the switch in Lynn's mind was flipped, and she was in full on rage mode, she was blinded to everything else. He knew just where to take her.
The door was open just a crack, and it took Liam a few seconds to put on the breaks and skid to a complete stop. Once he slid into the door, he quickly opened in the rest of the way, just as Lynn was nearing him. He disappeared into the barn, letting the darkness swallow him whole. As Lynn dear closer she slowed down and began to inch towards the open door, not sure what was waiting for her on the other side. There was a loud "Ba-Caw!" that came from the darkness, and soon Liam came out as well, flanked by a group of giant roosters, each one nearing Lynn in size and ferocity.
"Sorry to do this to ya, little lady," Liam said, a look of remorse and relief battled across his face.
"D-Do what?" Lynn asked, her nerve wavering. " You don't think I can handle a few chickens? I can kick a chicken's ass." She said, more convince herself than Liam.
"These ain't chickens darling," Liam told her. "These are Brahma roosters, and giants even by that breed's standards, and these boys are as mean and as cold as a mother in laws kiss."
One of the roosters cawed and snipped at Lynn with its beak, making the girl jump back a few inches. She scattered, running back towards the house, the largest of the roosters chasing her. It let out a mighty cry, one that gathered the attention of the girls on the porch; they'd been arguing who should go and rescue Lynn now all craned their necks to look out in the direction of the noise. It wasn't long before they saw Lynn running for her life from a chicken that was nearly the same size as her.
"Dude! Look at that thing!" Luna yelled, her jaw dropping.
"What is that?" Luan asked. "I mean I like a big c ...MPRH!?"
Lori's hand was quick to silence that that sentence. Sure, her and the others had used inappropriate language around the little girls before, but they had not brought up the topic of sex. The last things she wanted was for Lana, or god forbid Lola, asking her questions as to why Luan liked a big cock, or what that even meant.
Lori leaned in close and whispered in Luan's ear, "finish that joke Lu, and I will take away you and Luna's little pink friends for a couple of weeks," Lori gave Luan a cold smile, "and you can explain to Luna what happened and why."
Luan swallowed as she weighed her options. She hated having her jokes cut off like that, but then she knew how bad Luna could get if she lost her little toy. She begrudgingly nodded in agreement with Lori.
Liam slowly walked back to the porch and watched with the others as Lynn ran from the rooster like Tom would run from Spike on those old Tom & Jerry cartoons. Just like that cat, Lynn thought herself all tough and brave, until someone or something bigger and badder came along and put her in her place.
"What is that?" Lola asked, giggling as Lynn pleaded with the bird, then tossing rocks and pebbles at it.
"That's Chuck Norris, our biggest of the Brahmas we got on the farm," Liam told her leaning against the railing and watching Lynn run past the porch. "We call him Chuck Norris because he can kick any animals ass on the farm. One time he even whooped a wild dog that came a calling for some of the chickens in the coop. Ol' Chuck there pecked the hell outta that mutt, and sent it whimpering away."
"Is Lynn going die?" Leni asked, a little worried about her sister.
"Nah, he will give in once he feels he put her in her place."
"Man, that thing looks like it might devolve back into a T-Rex at any second," Lana was leaning forward wanting a better look at the massive rooster.
"Scientifically impossible dear sister, for you see... " Lisa began to explain in her lecturing tone holding a finger in the air before getting cut off.
"I'm aware of the that Lisa. I'm not a dummy," Lana rolled her eyes shaking her head, "I was just trying to convey my feeling of surprise by the size of the rooster trying to eat our sister."
Lisa started to speak, but Lana quickly cut her off, "That was also hyperbole, now moving on; the others are also aware that my comment was not intended as being, in any way, a factual statement. Being so particular on the practicality or even possibility of my words being literally true, is pedantic, to say the least, if not arguably pretentious." With that, Lana turned her attention back to the chase as Lynn dove under a trailer full of firewood only to be chased out again.
The other girls, and Liam, all turned to Lana and looked at the handy girl with utter surprise. To say they were stunned by the six-year old's comments would be an understatement, to say the least. This was the same girl who once commented that she wished they had chocolate and strawberry flavored boogers. Now she had put Lisa in her place, almost talking down to the genius.
"Well, uh, yes ... " Lisa said her eyes wide, mouth slightly opened and arms hanging at her side.
Lynn found herself surrounded as she slowly backed away reenacting a scene from that dinosaur movie Lincoln had been watching downstairs with their father while she waited for Margo's parents to pick her up. Lynn backed up bent over arms outstretched until she felt the hard bark of a tree on her back. The roosters did remind her of a pack of raptors as they slowly moved forward. 'Caught between a cock and a hard place.' Lynn thought she was sure Luan would be proud of her for that pun while Lori would threaten to take their little friends away.
"So," the athlete started to say, "I don't suppose you chickens would be willing to let a girl off with a warning would you?" Lynn gave the roosters her best puppy dog eyes.
"Ba-Gok!" Chuck Norris cried.
"Heh, didn't think so."
Lynn quickly turned around and began to climb up the tree, Chuck Norris pecking at her butt and legs, making her cry out in pain. She shimmied herself to a low branch and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Uhhh, Lynn?" Liam called out from the porch. "Chickens can fly short distances."
"Fuck me!" Lynn yelled, just as Chuck Norris flew up to the branch and started to peck at her hands, sending her crashing to the, luckily, soft ground below.
"Ummm, Liam?" Leni decided to try a much more subtle approach. "You sure you don't know anything else about Lincoln and where he is?"
Liam looked to Leni, those soft blue eyes like an ocean of calm and comfort. He would hate to stare into those eyes and see and an ounce of pain, as Axel Rose would say. To be honest, he never understood why Clyde was so hung up on Lori; it was Leni that was the sweetheart of the bunch.
"I wish I could tell you Leni, I really do." He said to her. "But he didn't tell me where he was going." Which was actually true, Lincoln never told him where he was going to meet with these girls of his, just that he was going to. God, he loved loopholes.
"Well ... can you at least tell us what is up with him?" Lori asked putting her best puppy dog eyes on full blast. "We are really worried; he seems so sad lately."
Liam was surprised that it took the girls this long to notice his change in moods. The truth was that he had been like that for a while now. He could not place the exact moment when Lincoln started acting depressed, and he never did open up to him about it. Liam assumed it was because they were good friends, but just not the kind of friends who shared their inner demons. Though, he bet Clyde knew what was eating his friend.
"Wish I could tell you guys what was up with him. Whatever it is, it has been nagging at him for a little while now." Liam told them. "I'm a little surprised you guys are just now noticing."
"Do you know exactly how long he had been like this?" Lori asked.
"Nope, at least not when he started. I noticed it back around January or so." He told them. "But I can tell ya that it has gotten a little better once Lily moved in with him. He sure loves that Lil' spud."
Luna felt a tug at her heart from the green jealousy fairy that popped up in her life about the same time that Lily and Lincoln started to get really close.
The girls stood around and pondered on their brother's condition for a little bit, trying to fix the new pieces into the puzzle, hoping for a more clear picture into the mental and emotional state of their brother. They were suddenly pulled from their thoughts, yanked from the mental calm and silent melancholy of their own inner sanctum, by Lynn's scream as she ran from Chuck Norris and the other roosters.
The girls and Liam all watched as the chase came to its climactic conclusion, ending with Lynn slipping on a fresh puddle of mud, which sent her into the pig pen. The poor girl landed head first, with legs sticking straight up like little twigs growing from a massive pile of shit.
With a final and mighty "Ba-gok!", Chuck Norris bopped his head at her, then turned around and kicked dirt at her. The rooster strutted away, the other roosters in tow, and made there way back towards the chicken coop.
"Now that's what I call a cocky strut," Luan joked, getting a roar of laughter from Liam.
"You may want her to shower before taking her home," Liam told them, calming down and wiping a tear from his eye.
"Was the pen full of ...?" Luna slowly covered her mouth.
"Yep," Liam said with a nod.
"Well, that seems like a shitty experience." Luan joked, getting another Laugh from Liam.
"I'll go get the shower ready and find her a fresh pair of clothes," Liam said, getting up and heading back in before stopping and turning back to Luan. "You're a funny one girl."
Luan turned to her sisters pointing at Liam. "See, HE thinks I'm funny. HE laughs at my jokes."
"He doesn't live with you!" Luna playfully shoved her sister.
~Skyla~
Skyla entered the room to find Lincoln and Lily in a very relaxed mood. She smiled to herself, as it seemed the incense and scented waters had done their work, the two seemed to be nearing the ledge of slumber, struggling to keep their balance. Lily looked much closer than Lincoln; the little girl seemed to be fighting the sandman tooth and nail, trying to stay awake so she could spend time with her brother and new friends. Lincoln appeared to be just calm, a goofy grin on his face. He reminded Skyla of that stoner who worked at the ice cream parlor near the park, the one who always a childlike grin of wonderment, as he looked up at the tv in the shop, watching reruns of Looney Tunes and Johnny Test.
Thankfully Lincoln had achieved his state of calm through a much more smiled upon means, calming scents.
"Look who I found?" Skyla said. "And she was kind enough to bring snacks." She shook the half-empty bag of cookies.
"Oh, wonderful!" Lily said, shooting herself awake. "Thank you, Katherine." She yawned, shook her head, and appeared a bit annoyed with herself for feeling tired. "I do apologize; I'm finding it quite hard to stay awake." She stretched.
"Actually, Lilybug, I should apologize. The spritz scents and incense were meant to help you relax; I think they have done a better job than I imagined." Skyla said. "Plus you have had a stressful morning little lady, what with Lynn threatening you."
"What?!" Kat yelled. "Lynn threatened you both?"
"I'm afraid so." Lily nodded, stick out her bottom lip. "She was just dreadful."
Kat went over and checked on Lily, seeing the bruise on her arm. She could feel her blood boil. She wanted to have a little chat with Lynn herself, maybe sneak out her father's brass knucks from his weapons case, use them as a conversation starter.
"Apparently she also threatened Lincoln with a baseball bat, nearly taking his head off," Skyla added.
"That girl is out of control," Kat said, trying to keep her composer.
"Apparently our sisters decided to ground us in a secret meeting that neither I nor Lily, were invited to," Lincoln said. "Lynn was given the job of keeping us detained and thought a baseball bat would make a good partner for the job."
"I never imagined I would ever feel that frightened by one of my own siblings. Simply dreadful." Lily shook her head. "Thankfully dearest Lincoln here is, as he likes to say, the man with the plan. He had emergency phones put away for just such an occasion."
"Didn't picture that particular scenario when I set up my plan, but it worked out for the most part," Lincoln said.
"It sounds as if you both had a very troubling day." A voice said from behind Skyla and Kat.
They all turned to see a man in the doorway, his shaggy black hair enhanced the round soft features of his face, while his easy smile lit the room with a further sense of calm. A black polo shirt hung loosely on his frame; half tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans that also appeared loose fitting. His relaxed look was completed by a pair of white socks with one black slipper and one red slipper like he had lost one of each pair and just threw those two together.
"Hello, father." Skyla went over and gave the man a hug.
"Lincoln, Lily, this is Shinjiro Miyamoto, Skyla's dad." Kat introduced them.
"Is this the little one you are always talking about?" Mr. Miyamoto asked his daughter, getting a nod. "It's nice to finally meet you Lincoln. My daughter and her friend have talked about you a lot since they met you."
Lincoln thought that was funny as they didn't really know much about him. Apparently, he was pretty decent at making a first impression.
"It's nice to meet you too Mr. Miyamoto," Lincoln said.
"It's a pleasure sir," Lily added.
Mr. Miyamoto walked over to Lily, reaching into the pocket on his shirt and pulling out a pair of glasses. He knelt down to her lever and motioned for her to come to him. "So someone hurt you, my dear?" He asked, inspecting her bruise.
"Yes, my older sister," Lily said.
Mr. Miyamoto hated to see a child injured, and one at the hand of a fellow family member just made him both angry and sad. He did not know the reason for the attack, but he hoped that the young lady would eventually find help dealing with her anger. Unleashing it on her family was going to do nothing but drive them away from her. In the meantime, however, he would help Lincoln by setting him up with a trainer if he wanted to learn Martial Arts. He had already contacted a friend of his who was willing to teach him.
"Well, I will have Akari run up with some salve that should help dull any pain as well as help with healing." He told them. "In the meantime, I suggest that you lay down and perhaps take a nap. You appear to be very tired."
"I'll..." Lily yawned, "manage.
Mr. Miyamoto smiled at the group and left the room. While most fathers would be concerned with a boy in their daughter's room, he knew his children well, raise them in an open and trusting house, so he knew that nothing funny was going on. Besides, she was still too young to do anything with a boy anyhow.
"You know he is right; a nap would be good for you. Can't keep fighting off sleep you know." Lincoln told his sister.
"A nap would be…" Lily yawned again, "…unnecessary…"
"Heh, you don't really need to worry sis, we'll hold off on having any fun till you wake up." Lincoln smiled at her.
"You can use my bed," Skyla offered.
"Or we could go out to the guest house around back," Kat said, looking to Skyla. "We can get noisy at times, and this way we won't disturb the rest of the house.
"But I haven't… Prepared the guest house like I have here," Skyla smiled. Earning her a knowing look from Kat. "Though I suppose I could always burn incense and spritz the guest house." Skyla smiled right back earning her a frustrated look from Kat.
Lily leaned into her brother, whispering into his ear. "These two appear to be acting odd. What do you suspect is the trouble?"
"You're the girl you tell me! I've learned the hard way not to try and guess." Lincoln responded, talking louder than he had intended to.
"That's right! You were behind the girl guru thing!" Kat exclaimed.
"Don't remind me." Lincoln sighed, feeling a familiar feeling of dread, panic, and downright depression due to the fall out of that incident. "Not my proudest moment." Lincoln hung his head in shame. To this day he was a pariah in large sections of Royal Woods Elementary.
"Can I ask what you were thin… OAF!" Kat once again found herself on the receiving end of a sharp elbow from her soon to be ex-friend. "Alright! You do that one more time, and I don't care how much Kung Fu you know, I will bitch slap you."
"Well stop being so blunt!" Skyla shook her head.
"Well ummm… To be blunt I was desperate," Lincoln said, that day once again flashed across the screen in his mind like a sad movie where you know the ending is going to suck, but you just can't turn your head to look away. "See, the original plan was that Clyde and I were going to sell chocolate pies. Went out and got the chocolate and the pie crusts with the funds the school gave us. But my sisters stole the chocolate and ate it. All of it. Every. Single. Bit."
This was apparently still a sore spot for Lincoln, as both Kat and Skyla could feel the tension in his voice, lingering on every word he spoke.
"Had to pay back the chocolate AND make enough to pass the class. My advice to others had been working wonderfully so why not? Of course, you know how it ended," He told them, "I had to humiliate myself to do that, and it was nothing compared to the teasing at home that went on for the next month or so."
"Did they at least pay you back for the pies?" Kat asked.
"Heh, no, no of course not they nev…" He paused for a second. He didn't like talking bad about his sisters or the misadventures he had with them. It wasn't all their fault; he brought a lot of this stuff on himself. "Well never mind that, we just met I shouldn't be airing the family's dirty laundry. Also, I don't want you to think they are bad people or I'm some kind of saint you know?" Lincoln smiled at the girls.
Skyla was starting to put two and two together, the larger picture coming into view. Obviously, Lincoln wasn't a saint, heck who was? Everyone had that little devil and angel on their shoulder on a daily basis. Some listened to the devil more, while others listened to the angel more. Either way, there really was no such thing a bad person, just a person who made bad decisions. She was sure there were flaws that Lincoln had, just like she and Kat had. Still, it seemed like a lot of things had happened to him and he was bottling it all up. The problem with doing that was, like a bottle of pop, it can get all shook up, and when it finally comes out, BOOM! Emotional mess everywhere. The boy in front of them was beginning to show the signs of being a shook-up bottle of an emotional shit storm.
"Lincoln," Skyla laid a hand on his shoulder, "this is a safe place. Whatever is bothering you, whatever you have on your mind, you can talk to us. We understand that your sisters are not demons. We get that they make mistakes, just," she hesitated searching for the right words, "they are decent girls who sometimes do less than decent things to you."
As Skyla talked, Kat looked into his eyes, seeing the faint shimmer of tears stuck behind stubborn eyes. She wanted to hug him, tell him it was all going to alright, that she would be there to pick up the pieces if he fell. She wanted to do a lot of things, but she sat back and watched her best friend do something that she was still not cool with pulling Lincoln into a tight hug and rubbing his back. She could never bring herself to hate Skyla, she loved Skyla and trusted the Asian girl with her own life. Still, there was a bitter taste in her heart, one that found its way down to that little crack in her heart.
"Oh wow, your shoulders are stiff, maybe," Skyla said. "Maybe while Lilly naps we can work out some of that tension."
The Littlest Loud, who was already resting her head in her arms, stuck an arm straight in the air pointing her finger towards the ceiling. "No! No nap." Lily said simply; then her head fell back into the little cradle her arms made up.
"Why don't I tuck her into bed and Kat can help your stiff shoulders?" Skyla smiled back to Kat, who suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Well, I ummm…." Lincoln blushed.
"I well…." Kat blushed as well.
"Oh, come now Kat," Skya smirked. "You weren't like this at Burpin' Burger. I think he has earned himself a nice massage. Help him relax and forget about all his troubles ... or ... I could always relax him." She winked at her friend, knowing full well she would get the message.
"ONE MASSAGE COMING UP!" Kat made her way over to Lincoln, helping him to his feet and leading him to a corner of Skyla's room where a cabinet was built into the wall. She pulled a string coming from the cabinet, bring down a fold-out massage table.
"Well, that sure is handy to have around." Lincoln joked.
Kat helped him to lay down on the table, getting some essential oils and instructing him to take off his shirt. Then walked around and started to run her hands along his shoulders, neck, and back. About ten minutes later the boy was snoring softly.
While this had been going on Skyla had taken Lily to lay down for a cuddle session. Soon she was fast asleep in Skyla's arms who continued to stroke the little lady's hair.
"Okay, Skyla enough," Kat hissed in a hushed voice. "What are you up to? Tell me, or I'll hide your crystals and beads." Kat nodded around the room to her huge collection.
Skyla looked to Kat, the coy and joking nature that was there earlier and bled out, leaving behind a solemn look, one that made Kat step back. She had only seen her friend with that look a few times, and what followed was rarely pleasant.
"Do you trust me, Kathrine?" Skyla asked.
"O-of course," Kat said looking away.
"Because I really need you to trust me now," Skyla said. "I know you don't want me to trance him so soon, but he needs our help. And we need to help him because he is keeping a lot held back. It's not good for him or those around him," she nodded to Lily who muttered Lincoln's name in her sleep. "I need your help in getting Lincoln to let this out before something terrible happens."