Tension was in the air at the kitchen table. The sounds of forks and spoons scraping the plates compensating the usual morning family antics and conundrums. The latter of which was very important to Luna. It was around the time where she and Lincoln would play 21 Questions on what meal their mother would prepare for the day. They divided it into three meals with seven questions each. They would sit beside each other, snickering with each other and if they were right or wrong. The results were mostly in her favor, the latter of which give pocket money for concessions after school. Most days, she waited for Lincoln by the school and share concessions with each other. As they walked side by side, they used their remaining seven questions on tonight's dinner.

She played with her food. She wasn't hungry. She poked at her now lukewarm grits. The color matched her feelings as it wasn't the same when Lincoln was sitting beside her. There was no guessing. There was no hints. Just an empty space at the dinner where Lucy was using to prop her legs. She slid the plate to the side. She wasn't hungry.

"Not hungry," questioned her mother as she stared at her daughter's plate.

"Not really," she said faintly. She did not want to look at them in the eye. At moments when she glanced at the missing seat, she felt a lump in her throat.

I am tired of the sorries. I am tired of the excuses. I am tired of you. If you don't want to spend time with me, then just say it.

Was I a filler until she came into your life?

Say it Luna. Say that, "you don't want to spend time with me because my girlfriend is more important than you."

I hate you.

Fuck you, too.

I hate you.

Fuck you, too.

She never meant to say those harsh words. She was consumed with grief, frustration. She didn't have time to register in her head of the situation. She wanted everything to slow down. She wanted time to process the words. Earlier that day in the kitchen, she told Lincoln about cancelling the affair at the concert. Her intent was to surprise him with a better concert. But before she had a chance to explain, he lost it.

Even if Lincoln was in the wrong on how he responded, she was still consumed with guilt. While the entire family made their pact of the silent treatment, she was lost in confusion. She thought of this punishment was too harsh for Lincoln. However, she wasn't doing anything in aiding in his defense. Was she upset with him on his harsh words? Was she upset on his attacking her girlfriend?

Was she upset on his telling the truth?

Be as it may, she didn't tell her parents. In her mind, Lincoln was tough. He can handle it. He has been through tougher roads and he can survive this one. That was the excuse she gave herself. That was the excuse she accepted. She just hope it was a valid one.

For compensation of her route, she made Lincoln his favorite soup.

That evening, Luna went to a show with Sam. Sam got tickets from an ex-boyfriend and wanted to take Luna on a date. Plus, she thought it would relieve some tension away from her. The venue was at a college in Detroit. It was a private affair. She didn't have a clue that SMOOCH was performing. Despite the excitement, she still couldn't get her brother out of her mind. She couldn't tell Sam. She went out of her way to cheer her girlfriend up, she thought. She put on a plastic smile to enjoy the concert. It wasn't bad. She enjoyed it. However, it would have been better if she didn't have to go home to Lincoln. When she got into the Porsche, she saw Lincoln staring at them. She tucked her lip, masking the pain.

I wish you were never my sister, you fucking cunt.

She covered her mouth. A vile taste entered her throat. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to cry. The entire time her thoughts remained on Lincoln. Seeing Lincoln leaving earlier was the straw that broke the camel's back. He looked like a sick puppy. No one welcomed him. He was alone.

I wish you were never my sister, you fucking cunt.

It was noticed from the family as they stared at her. She peered at them before looking back at the missing chair. Her father put down his newspaper. His face displayed sternness. The atmosphere was already tense and he already knew the reason. Now it was time to vocalize it.

"Look, I get the hint." He spoke in either direction. It was not directed at Luna. She knew that even he can't look at anybody in the eye. It was safe to say that it was very harsh of what they did. "Do you think I enjoy sending Lincoln like this? Do you think I enjoy seeing my son think he has no allies in the world? Of course, I don't. He needs to learn when you make discouraging remarks, it is going to have consequences."

Her mother looked, but put her head down. She tried to eat her food, but her hands were too shaky to consume. She put it down in defeat.

"Lincoln needs to learn his lesson. In the long run, he is going to come back to his senses. He is going to apologize on what he has done. The sooner he does this, we will take him in open arms." He hit his head on the table. His voice alerted the girls that he was absolute with his decision. "Until then, we have to remain harsh. Even if it hurts us. I will not raise my family in an intolerant household."

Weakly, Luna spoke. "Aren't we too harsh? Lincoln hasn't done any of this before. Can we go easy on him."

"No," said her mother. She didn't look up. It looked she spoke more to the grits and eggs than to them. "Listen to what your father says. I don't like it, but Lincoln needs to be taught a lesson. A message for the rest of you guys on what happens when you disrespect somebody."

"Mom, Dad," said Luna, her voice crackled. "He is eleven. Don't you think he is at that stage he needs to understand these kinds of things?"

"Luna, what I said is final," said his father. He returned to his newspaper. "And I don't want to hear another word of it. He must learn a lesson. He must learn a lesson." He took a breath. "Now finish up and get ready for school."

Luna wanted to scream from the top of her lungs. She wanted to explain the truth. Mom! Dad! Lincoln yelled those words at me because he was upset of not spending time with me! He is tolerant! He is aware of my lifestyle. He supports it. He was upset that I have not done my job of being a big sister. It is not his fault. It is not his fault. I am sorry that I caused this. Please Mom! Please Dad! Cut him a break.

Those words would never reach to them. When she finished her thought process, her parents left the kitchen table. She watched her mother cleaning the dishes and her father going to work. The siblings headed to the living room where they retrieved their backpacks. Leni urged Luna to get going on. She sighed as she prepared to head to school.

Luna walked with her sisters as they made their usual route to school. She kept her pace, but she thought of Lincoln the entire time. I tried to speak for you, bro. I tried, but nothing came out. I don't blame you at all for it. You wanted my precious time. If you could have waited a few more seconds, then maybe…

"Luna, snapped out of it," said Lori. "We are at our sister's school. Now say goodbye to them." She waved goodbye to Lisa, Lola, Lana, and Lucy before going with the others to school. It was convenient that the junior high and the high school was close by the corner store. She wanted to get a piece of candy to give to Lincoln during lunch. She knew she wasn't supposed to skip school. But, she needed solace of making peace with her brother.

He may have been in the wrong of those harsh words, but my brother is my everything. I love him and I am going to make sure that I will show him my love.

She told the girls to keep going as she went to the corner store. She pushed the door and nodded at the clerk. She left her backpack by the door to not let the clerk think she was stealing. She scanned the candy aisle to find a treat to give to him during lunch. She found his favorite candy and took it to the register. She paid in cash and thanked the clerk. She put it in her backpack and left the store. She was a few steps from the store when she got a phone call from Sam.

"Hey, babe," said Luna. "I was wondering when you might…"

"The call has been stolen."

Luna paused. "Your car was stolen?"

"Yes! I came outside and saw all of my stuff out of the car."

"Oh, shit! That is terrible! You called the police?"

"I did. They are on the scene. I am not coming to school today. Can you do me favor and cover for me?"

"You know I will, sweetheart. Is there anything I need to do?"

"Nah, it's cool. Just stay beautiful."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you."

"Oh, one more thing, Luna."

"What is it?"

"Tell Lincoln that I really want some one-on-one time with him. I really think we should talk, between us."

"I agree."

Luna hung up and walked to school. The thought of her girlfriend's car stolen was strange. Then yet, her neighborhood was not the safest. Also, it was a rarity of a sixteen year old girl driving a Porsche. She kept her calm as she hurried to get to class.

Later on that afternoon, she was getting ready to ditch class to go to Lincoln's school to give him his candy. She didn't mind for it was gym class. It was acceptable at the school for the girls to go to the bleachers and smoke cigarettes while the coach was looking on her cell phone. So, ditching school for twenty minutes wasn't going to hurt. She used the excuse of going to the restroom to her gym teacher. She wrote her a pass and she made her way to the restroom. She passed the restroom and made her way to the hallways which led her to the back. She only had a few minutes, so running to the school required much haste.

About five minutes into the run, she got a notification app from a news channel. She wasn't a big fan of the media, but she kept with the latest so she wouldn't get left behind. The notification app displayed breaking news. She stopped and opened the app.

There is a serious accident involving several vehicles on the M-80 expressway near the Royal Woods exit. Witnesses say a Silver Porsche failed to yield to oncoming traffic as the vehicle entered the freeway. The vehicle was struck by another vehicle driving a Ford F-150 in the opposite direction. The impact of the crash caused the Porsche to flipped over a couple of times before hitting a tree. The Ford F-150 rolled over before hitting another unknown vehicle.

The police are on the scene and they are telling us that this is a deadly scene. So far, we do have one causality. We are unsure from which vehicle. Channel 4 News will keep you updated.

Luna put her cell phone back into her pocket. She looked to it as coincidence because her girlfriend's car had the same color. She hoped that it wasn't the vehicle. She may not have thieves, but even they are valuable of life as well. She hoped that the victims were okay.

She was at the entrance of Lincoln's school. She knew that Lincoln wouldn't have easy access like a high schooler, so she had to check in at the front office. She went to the receptionist.

"Good morning, Ms. Houston," said Luna in a sing-song.

"Luna Loud," she answered in a plain voice tone. "I thought we couldn't get rid of you all. Here to bring back some hell."

She was tickled. "C'mon, Ms. H., I wasn't that bad."

"Very funny," answered Ms. H. "Here to check out some Loud's?"

"Actually, I was trying to see if I give this candy bar to Lincoln."

Ms. Houston left the desk and walked to the computer. She was typing some info before going back to Luna. "Weird. Everyone is here except Lincoln."

Luna was taken aback. "Can you see if he is in class. Just to be safe?"

"No problem," she said as she went to the intercom.

Luna received a phone call. It was from Sam. Luna walked away and answered the phone.

"Hello," she said in a whisper. "Right now is not a good time…"

"Luna," she screamed to Luna. Her voice was shaky. She was frantic. "Something bad happened."

Her first thought was the car crash. "Is it about your car."

"I am not worried about that, Luna, but yeah it is the car," she said. "It is not the car, but the person inside."

"Ms. Luna," said Ms. Houston. "Your brother didn't show up today."

Luna's breath became labored. She was panting loudly. She still had Sam on the phone. She can hear Sam calling for her name.

"Sam, don't tell me who you think it is. Please Sam, don't tell me who you think it is!"

"I am sorry, baby. I am really sorry."

"Please, no," she screamed. "Please no, no, no!"

Their call got interrupted when she saw it was her mother calling. "Sam, I got to call you back." She hung up on Sam and answered her mother's phone.

"Hello," she said with a shaky voice.

She heard the sobbing noises in her mother's voice. Luna crouched on the ground when knowing that the accident and the Porsche are relating to Lincoln.

"Your brother, Luna," she said. "Your brother, Luna. There has been an accident."

Ms. Houston saw Luna and came around to see the commotion. She saw Luna crouched. She saw tears flowing down her cheeks. "What's the matter, Luna?"

"My brother. My brother. He was...he...he was in a car crash!" She wailed loudly as she came to console Luna. She told one of the secretaries to contact Luna's parents.

"I am sorry, Lincoln! I am sorry!"

I am tired of the sorries. I am tired of the excuses. I am tired of you. If you don't want to spend time with me, then just say it.

Was I a filler until she came into your life?

Say it Luna. Say that, "you don't want to spend time with me because my girlfriend is more important than you."

"Lincoln!"

"Lincoln!"

"Lincoln!"