Friday, June 12, was the last day of school. When the clock struck 3, Lincoln felt none of the joy he had in years past. Luan was gone and the Loud house wasn't the same. A little of the life had left it. Though it had been nearly two weeks, no one had fully recovered. Luna, especially, seemed to be taking it hard. Over the past few days, she had become pale and withdrawn, dark bags under eyes. She wasn't sleeping, Lincoln supposed, and he worried about her.
That final day of school, Lincoln walked home with Lynn. Though she wasn't feeling up to sports the day of the funeral, she sure was now. As they walked, she tossed a tennis ball up into the air and caught it, at one point launching it into the distance and then running to snatch it out of the air. Lincoln secretly susped that she was throwing herself into sports to get her mind off Luan.
At home, Lincoln made himself a snack in the kitchen, ate it, and went up to his room. On his way, he stuck his head into Luna and Luan's room (just Luna's room now, he corrected himself with a heavy heart): Luna was sitting on her bed, strumming her guitar and looking off into space. On the nightstand were several cans. Coke. Monster. A plastic cup from Starbucks.
"That's a lot of caffine," Lincoln said.
For a moment he didn't think she heard him, then she turned to face him. "Yeah. I don't wanna sleep."
Lincoln blinked. "Why?"
"Nightmares."
The nightmare of several days ago came back to him. The burned man chasing him. He nodded. "Yeah, I've been having nightmares too. It's normal at a time like this, I guess."
"I don't like them," she said, and went back to her strumming.
Lincoln started toward his room, but stopped. Luna was trying to keep herself awake, which wasn't good. She needed her rest.
At Lisa's room, he knocked, and then went in. Lisa was standing in front of a table laden with beakers and test tubes.
Lincoln closed the door behind him and said, "I...I have something to talk to you about."
"Make it quick," Lisa said, "I am on the verge of a scientific breakthrough."
"Well," Lincoln said, rubbing the back of his neck, "it's Luna. She isn't sleeping and...I was wondering if you could give her a sedative."
"I've noticed Luna's aversion to sleep," Lisa said. "I was already thinking along similar lines. Sleep deprivation carries a host of negative side effects. Our parents have forbidden me from drugging our siblings, however."
"Please," Lincoln said, "she really needs to get some sleep."
Lisa sighed and turned. "Alright. It is for her own good, I suppose."
"Thanks, sis," Lincoln said.
"Don't mention it," Lisa replied. "Really. Not a word."
"No problem," Lincoln said.
Later, at dinner, Lincoln caught Lisa pouring a clear liquid onto Luna's plate when no one else was looking. She nodded, and Lincoln nodded back.
