Too Much to Handle
None of his siblings, with the exception of those who already knew, expected Lincoln to say he had been attacked, they knew it had to be something serious for them to be downstairs this early on a Saturday, but this was worse than any of them could've imagined. Their brother, their only brother, was attacked by someone at school, they couldn't understand how anyone could do such a thing to Lincoln.
"Wait, you were what?!" Luan asked in a panic.
"Like, does that mean someone hurt Linky?" Leni asked with tears welling up in her eyes.
Lincoln looked down at his feet, "Yes." Lincoln answered his older sister.
Luna crouched down and wrapped her brother in a hug, "It'll be okay, bro." Luna assured her brother.
All of Lincoln's sisters, with the exception of Luna and Lori, let out an audible gasp, when they were told something happened to Lincoln at school, they didn't think it would be anything like this. They didn't know how bad it was though. The rest of Lincoln's siblings thought he had gained a new bully at school, which wasn't entirely wrong, that had been threatening him, or, something worse, struck him. Every one of Lincoln's sisters were shaken by this information, Lori and Luna may have already known, but that didn't make it any easier to hear it again. It would never be easy to hear. None of his sisters that had just learned of what had happened knew how to process this information, all, except for one; Lynn Loud Jr. had her head bowed slightly, with her fists clenched as tight as she could clench them. Everyone had at least a thousand thoughts running through their minds, except for Lynn; the only thing Lynn was thinking about, was how she deal with the monster who hurt her brother. Lynn decided not to waste any time and walked over to her brother, her fists still clenched.
"Who?" Lynn asked Lincoln.
Lincoln broke away from his hug with Luna and looked at his sister, "What?" Lincoln asked.
"Who did it?" Lynn asked more fiercely.
Lincoln took a step away from Lynn, "Lynn, please just…" Lincoln tried to request before he was cut off by Lynn.
Luna stood up, "Hey, LJ, just take it down a notch dude. This isn't the right way to handle this." Luna pleaded.
Lynn took another step towards her brother, "Tell me who did this." Lynn demanded.
Lincoln started to breathe heavily and kept backing away from Lynn, "Lynn, please, you're…" Lincoln tried to plead with his sister.
Lynn had finally reached her breaking point, "Tell me who it was that hurt you Lincoln!" Lynn demanded.
Everyone in the house was shocked by Lynn's outburst, they understood her frustration, but didn't agree with how she was handling the news of her brother's attack, the rest of Lincoln's family felt the same way, but this wasn't the way to get answers.
Lori stepped between Lincoln and Lynn, "Lynn! You need to calm down! You're scaring Lincoln." Lori explained.
Lynn looked up at her older sister, "I want to know her hurt him! And make sure they never do it again!" Lynn exclaimed.
Lincoln just looked on as his two sister were glaring at each other in frustration and anger, tears started to well up in his eyes, he wanted to tell his family, but this wasn't what he wanted to have happen. He started wondering if he should've told anyone in the first place: Lori and Lynn looked like they were about to fight, the other girls looked confused and worried and he didn't know what to do. All Lincoln felt was guilt and regret wash over him, the tears that had started to well up had begun to fall down his cheeks and he couldn't help but lose his balance and fall to the ground crying. He just wanted everything to stop: everyone's worried looks, all of the murmuring in the distance, his sisters fighting and, what he desired most, his own pain to all just stop and go away forever. He was scared, but this did not go unnoticed.
Luna had only taken her eyes off of her brother for a minute, but that was enough time for her not to notice what had just happened, she was about to break up her sister's pointless argument, when she heard a faint whimpering. Luna looked over and saw that her brother was on the floor, crying silently to himself, in a scared state over everything that was going in front of them. At that moment, Luna didn't care what her sisters were doing or what they would do, she only cared about her brother and why he was in the state he was it, Luna's big sister mode kicked in and she went directly to her brother's side. The only thing that mattered was Lincoln and his well-being, nothing and no one else in the entire world mattered to Luna right there and then, except her baby brother. Nothing. Not. A. Damn. Thing.
Luna knelt down and put her arm around her brother, "Yo, bro, what's wrong?" Luna asked her brother in a panic.
Lincoln looked up at Luna, "I…I…" Lincoln tried to get out, but couldn't through his sobs.
Luna got closer to her brother, "What's wrong Lincoln, you can tell me." Luna assured her brother.
Lincoln looked back down at the floor, "They're…they're fighting because…because of me." Lincoln managed to tell Luna.
Luna looked over towards Lori and Lynn, who were still glaring at each other, and a look of anger swept across her face. She looked back to her brother, "No, Linc, you didn't cause this static, but I'm going to finish." Luna exclaimed.
Luna stood up and walked over to Lori and Lynn, she put a hand on each of their shoulders and pushed them apart, stepping between them both, "Okay, dudes, that's enough!" Luna commanded.
Lori and Lynn were, along with everyone else in the room, were stunned by Luna's outburst, Luna was always the most laid back of everyone in the house, she lost her patience so little that, when it did happen, it was always a shock to the system for everyone in the house. The room fell completely silent, everyone waiting for the other to say something, but no one dared to utter sound while Luna was scathing like she was. After a few seconds, and some deep breathes, Luna had begun to settle to a more calm state, but that didn't mean Lori and Lynn were out of the woods just yet. Luna was about to remind both of them why there were downstairs, neither girl had yet realized the gravity of the situation they now found themselves in, something Luna was more than happy to remind them of. Those poor girls.
Luna raised her head and looked straight ahead, "Okay, look, I get it, I'm mad too dudes, but what the hell is fighting with each other going to get us man?" Luna asked.
Lynn looked up at Luna, "I just want to know who hurt Lincoln." Lynn expressed.
Luna looked down at her younger sister, "And going crazy on Linc is the best way to find out LJ? Not only did you go too far dude, but you scared Linc." Luna retorted.
Lynn's eyes widened, "I didn't…I wasn't trying to…" Lynn tried to get out, but kept stumbling over her words.
Luna knelt down and put a hand on Lynn's shoulder, "I know you didn't mean to scare him, and I know you're sorry, but you gotta keep a cool head man. For Lincoln." Luna expressed.
Lynn looked down at the floor and let everything Luna said sink in, she was right, going off half-cocked isn't the right way to handle this, or most situations for that matter, but Lynn just couldn't help it when it came to people hurting any of her siblings, "You're right, I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry." Lynn expressed.
Luna gave Lynn a soft smile and patted her on the shoulder, "Don't worry dude, we're gonna get everything sorted out, I promise." Luna exclaimed. That was one sister down, one to go.
Luna stood up and turned around to face her older sister with a scowl on her face, "I think you know what about to say Lori." Luna said.
Lori gave Luna a confused looked, "Wait, what?" Lori asked.
Luna relaxed her scowl, "It takes two to tango Lori, you know exactly how stressful everything is right now, and you had a hand in scaring Lincoln too. Just look." Luna pointed behind Lori as she explained the situation.
Lori decided to do as Luna instructed and turned around to where she was pointing, when she looked down and saw the state Lincoln was in, she gasped, "Oh, no, Lincoln." Lori said as she placed her hands over her mouth.
Lori knelt down in front of her brother and placed her hands on both of his shoulders, "Lincoln, I'm so sorry." Lori apologized.
Lincoln looked up, tears still in his eyes, "I'm…I'm sorry." Lincoln managed to get out.
Lori pulled her brother into a tight embrace, "No, it's not your fault Lincoln, none of this is your fault. I was trying to get Lynn to calm down and literally made everything worse, I promise that won't happen again, and that goes for all of us." Lori promised her brother.
The entire room was dead silent, no one knew what to say or do, some of them didn't even know what was going on at all, it has been less than an hour, and it feels like the whole day has gone by. This was not what anyone wanted to have happen; Lori, Luna and their parents knew this wouldn't be easy, but none of them thought, within the first twenty minutes, that everything would fall apart like this. The children's mother couldn't take it anymore, and she knelt down to where her oldest child and only son were, and wrapped them both in a tight embrace, no mother could stand seeing their kids like this. It looked like this was how the rest of the day was going to go, that was, until, a familiar voice broke the silence that had entered the room not too long ago.
"Uh, guys, I think I can speak for all of us when I say, this is getting a little scary. What's going on?" Luan asked with obvious concern in her tone.
Luna looked over at her roommate, "It's a long story, dude." Luna expressed.
Luan wasn't the only one wondering what was going on with Lincoln, everyone else in the room, who didn't already know, were all just as concern and confused as she was, this wasn't what any of them expected when they woke up this morning. After some time, and some coaxing from the patriarch of the family, Rita, Lincoln and Lori were able to compose themselves and make their way over the couch with the rest of the family. This was news that was best received while sitting. Lincoln sat down in the middle of the couch, with Lori to his left and Luna to his right, everyone did their best to huddle around, and sit on, the remainder of the couch, it was a tight squeeze, but no one seemed to notice. Once everyone had taken their place on, and around, the family couch, Lynn Sr. and Rita walked over and stood in front of all of their children, so they could begin to address everyone who was unaware of what happened to Lincoln.
"Okay, I know a lot has happened in a short amount of time, but there is something that you girls, minus Lori and Luna, need to know." Lynn Sr. informed the family.
"Like, what it is, dad?" Leni inquired.
Lynn Sr. looked over at Lincoln, "Something happened to your brother yesterday at school." Lynn Sr. answered.
Everyone turned their attention to Lincoln, "Yeah, dudes, something major happened to Lincoln." Luna confirmed as she looked down at Lincoln.
Lincoln looked downward to the floor, "Yeah, I, uh…" Lincoln tried to get out, but stumbled over his words.
It took so much for Lincoln to tell Lori, Luna, and his parents what had happened to him yesterday, but telling the other eight members of his family at the same time? It felt like that would be border line impossible. It did get easier for Lincoln to talk about what happened the more he did it, but that was in front of one person, two at the most, at a time, this was eight new people he had to reveal this to. The more Lincoln sat there trying to think of the right words, the harder it became to say anything; he knew his sisters were waiting for him to say something, but he couldn't figure out what to say. This, as much as Lincoln wanted it to, didn't go unnoticed, everyone around Lincoln was sitting in anticipation of what he was going to say, each one of his sisters looking more and more worried as the silence continued. It appeared that the entire room would stay silent for the remainder of the day, that was until Lincoln's father stepped in; seeing his son struggle this much was enough to break his heart and want to do whatever he could for Lincoln.
Lincoln's father walked up to him and knelt down to his level, "Son." Lincoln's father addressed while he placed a hand on his shoulder.
Lincoln looked up, "Dad." Lincoln finally let out, obvious pain in his voice.
Lincoln's father smiled at his son, "It's okay son, I know this has to be hard for you, and you've been through a lot. I can tell them if you'd like." Lincoln's father suggested.
Lincoln took in what his father said, having someone else tell them would be easier, having someone else go through all of this would be easier, every part of him wanted to tell his dad yes over and over again. But he didn't. Lincoln was scared and wished none of this had ever happened, but he knew hiding from it wasn't the answer; hiding would only allow his attacker to win. And Lincoln was tired of losing. Lincoln clenched his fists tightly and turned around, he knew it was time to be strong, and the best way to start was facing everyone and beginning to take back the control that was taken from him.
Lincoln looked at each on of his sisters, "No, dad, I can do this. I have to do this." Lincoln proclaimed.
Lincoln's father stood back up, "Okay, son, I understand." Lynn Loud Sr. expressed, with a small smile across his face.
Lincoln took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Okay, you all know I was attacked at school yesterday. But, with the exception of Lori and Luna, you don't know what exactly happen, or who attacked me." Lincoln explained.
"What happened, Linc?" Luan interjected.
"Yeah, like, who hurt you Linky?" Leni asked, almost on the verge of tears.
Luna stood up from the couch, "Okay, dudes, we won't get anywhere if we keep interrupting Lincoln. You all want to know what the damage is, and I understand, but you gotta wait for him to tell you" Luna explained.
"Oh, sorry everyone." Leni apologized.
"It's okay sis." Luna assured her sister. "You're good to go, bro. Just take your time." Luna instructed her brother.
Lincoln looked to Luna, "Thanks, Luna. Okay, here's what happened yesterday." Lincoln began to explain.
Lincoln began to unfold, what can only be described as, a tale of the worst nightmare anyone can experience, with each new detail of yesterday's events, each of Lincoln's sisters were becoming visibly shaken by what they were hearing, his younger sisters didn't quite understand what was going on, but knew it wasn't good by everyone's reaction. Lincoln had to pause and regain his composure every so often, he was ready to be strong, but even the strongest would struggle with what he's gone through. After what felt like an eternity, Lincoln had finally revealed every horrible detail of his experience to his siblings, to say everyone was shocked would be an understatement. The room fell silent once Lincoln was finished, no one knew what to do or what to say, that was until Leni stood up from the couch and made her way over to Lincoln.
Leni walked over to Lincoln, "Lincoln?" Leni said with tears streaming down her face.
Lincoln looked up at his older sister, "Leni?" Lincoln responded.
Leni, quickly, wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him as tight as she could, "I am, like, so sorry Linky." Leni managed to get out between sobs. Leni may not be the brightest, but she understood the severity of what had happened to her brother.
Lincoln returned his sister's embrace, "It's…It's going to be okay Leni." Lincoln promised with tears falling from his eyes.
Everyone looked on as the two siblings sat in the floor in a tight embrace, no one knew what to do, or what to say for that matter, and, if they were to be honest, they wanted to do the exact same to their son and brother. If you would've given her the option, Leni would've stayed there forever hugging her brother and making sure no one would ever hurt him again, he was her little brother. Her only brother. It was the hardest thing for everyone else to witness: seeing two people they love more than anything hurt so much through the selfish actions of someone else, through the actions of a monster. No one wanted to break Lincoln and Leni's embrace, but there was still the matter of what to do now that everyone was up to speed, something that Lori was able to remind her parents.
Lori walked over to her parents, "Mom, dad?" Lori asked.
Lynn Loud Sr. looked up from his own embrace with his wife, "Yes, Lori?" The father responded.
Lori wiped away a few tears, "I…I know everyone is literally a wreck right now, but we do still need to go to the police." Lori pointed.
Lynn Loud Sr. looked in front of him to see all of his children, each one looking more hurt than the last, "You are right sweetie. We need to get ahead of this, we can't let her get away with this." Lynn Sr. proclaimed.
Lori gave her dad a weak smile, "I'll get Luna, and we'll get everyone ready." Lori affirmed.
Lori walked over to Luna, who was hugging both Luan and Lynn, "Luna?" Lori asked.
Luna looked up to her older sister, "What's up, sis?" Luna responded, tears streaming down her eyes.
Lori took a long look at Luna, "Guess it never gets easier to hear, no matter how many times you've been told." Lori said mentally.
Lori took a deep breath and exhaled, "I know there's a lot going on right now, but we need to start getting ready." Lori expressed.
Luna was confused at first, but it finally sank in what her sister meant, "Yeah, yeah, you're right, dude. I'll give ya a hand." Luna said as she broke away from her embrace with her sisters.
Lori, nor Luna, wanted to rush their siblings, they had just been given some of the worst news someone can receive, and, if they had it their way, they'd just stay at home with everyone making sure they're safe from anything that could hurt them. They needed to be proactive though, they needed to get help from the authorities as soon as possible, and, to do so, it required everyone to momentarily switch their focus. Lori and Luna began expressing to their siblings the importance of getting ready as quickly as possible, it hurt to hurry all of them along, but there was something of higher importance that needed to be done. After some coaxing, and some begging, Lori and Luna were able to get everyone upstairs to get ready, except for the two siblings who seemed to form an unbreakable embrace. Lori and Luna looked at each other, neither of them wanted to be the one to break up Lincoln and Leni, but it had to be done, no matter how hard it was going to be.
Luna looked over to Leni and Lincoln, "Hey, sis, you take Lily upstairs and get her ready. I'll take care of Leni and Lincoln." Luna proclaimed.
Lori looked at her sister, "You sure Luna?" Lori asked.
Luna didn't move her gaze from Lincoln and Leni, "Yeah, I got this, sis." Luna exclaimed.
Lori nodded, "Okay, Luna, just be careful." Lori expressed as she picked up Lily and made her way upstairs.
Luna walked over to Lincoln and Leni and knelt down, "Hey, dudes?" Luna asked.
Leni looked up, heavy tears streaming down her face, "L…L…Lu…Luna." Leni managed to get out.
Luna wrapped Leni and Lincoln in a tight embrace, "I love you both, so much. I know everything is really hard right now, but I need you two to go upstairs and get ready." Luna explained.
Leni buried her head in Luna's shoulder, "B…B…Bu…But." Leni tried to get out.
"I know you're hurting, sis. I am too. But we need to get ready, we're going to go see the fuzz and get Lincoln some help." Luna explained.
Leni looked up at Luna with a confused gaze, "H…Ho…How is…How is fuzz going to help us?" Leni questioned.
Lincoln looked up, tears streaming down his face, "She means the police Leni, and she's right. We should get ready to leave." Lincoln proclaimed.
Leni looked down at Lincoln, "But…But I…I don't want to let you go." Leni expressed.
"I know, but this is something we really need to do. Please, go upstairs and get ready. For me?" Lincoln pleaded with his sister.
Leni looked to Luna, who nodded, and then back to Lincoln who had a pleading look on his face, "O…Okay Linky. For you." Leni gave in reluctantly. She gave Lincoln a quit embrace and hurried up to her room.
After Leni had made her way to her room, Lincoln sat there on the floor, waiting for everything to sink in, and gaining the strength to get up and make it to his own room, but it felt like he had was attached to a ten-ton weight, and couldn't move. Luna noticed that her brother wasn't moving and was about to ask him what was wrong, until she noticed her parents were still in the room. Lori did say they needed to make sure everyone was getting ready.
Luna stood up and looked to her parents, "Mom? Pop?" Luna asked.
Rita looked to her daughter, "Yes, sweetie?" Rita asked.
"I know this is difficult for everyone, but big sis said we should all get ready. I was thinking, maybe, we should call and the station know that we're coming." Luna suggested.
Lynn Sr. started thinking about what Luna said, "You're right Luna. Good thinking." Lynn Sr. complimented his daughter.
After some deliberation, it was decided that Lynn Sr. would call the local precinct while Rita would get herself, and make sure the others were, ready. Luna volunteered to help Lincoln up to his room and make he, and herself, were ready as soon as possible, to which the parents were more than willing to oblige. Both Rita and Lynn made their way to their bedroom to complete their assigned tasks, which left Luna alone with Lincoln, almost as if someone planned for this outcome. Luna looked down at her brother who still hadn't moved, she still had a job to do, but she was going to make a quick detour in the process of completing her task, one detour that would be more than worth it.
Luna walked over and knelt down to meet her brother's eyes, "Lincoln, you there?" Luna asked.
Lincoln blinked a few times, "Yeah, I'm here."
Luna placed a hand on each of Lincoln's shoulders, "Good." Luna said with a smile.
It didn't take long for Luna's smile to disappear, the tears started falling down her face as she pulled her brother in for a tight embrace, Luna thought she had been cried out, but she was wrong. And she could her brother felt the same way, she could feel a wet patch form on her neck where Lincoln had begun crying again, Luna knew there would be a point where they both would be able to move and they wouldn't feel this amount pain, but that day wasn't today. It took a few minutes, but Luna was able to stand herself, and her brother, up and make her way upstairs, Lincoln in tow, to get ready with the rest of her siblings. It took a little time for everyone to get ready, but, after some time, everyone, including Lincoln, were by the front door waiting for their parents. And, as if on cue, Rita walked out of her and her husband's bedroom, dressed and ready to go, and ready to make sure that each one of her kids were ready as well, keeping track of eleven kids was difficult, but Rita managed it like a professional. That only left the Lynn Sr., who was currently on the phone finalizing everything with the precinct's Special Victims Unit division.
"Okay, okay, thank you so much. We will see you soon. Goodbye." Lynn Sr. responded into his cell phone.
Rita looked over to her husband, "Everything okay, honey?"
Lynn Sr. looked over to his wife, "Everything is set up, the Captain and one of her detectives will be there to meet us when we get to the precinct."
Rita gave a relieved look, "Thank goodness, I was hoping we wouldn't have to wait long." Rita exclaimed.
Lynn Sr. walked over to his wife and embraced her, "Everything will be okay, we'll get this taken care of." Lynn Sr. reassured his wife.
Rita returned the embrace, "I know, honey. I'm just so worried." Rita expressed.
"I am too, dear. But we'll get through this. I promise." Lynn Sr. told his wife.
Rita looked up at her husband with a small smile and gave him a quick kiss, "I love you, so much." Rita expressed.
Lynn Sr. returned his wife's kiss, "I love you too, dear." Lynn Sr. expressed.
Lynn Sr. took one last glance into his wife's eyes and then to his children, "Alright, kids, let's head to the van. We've got somewhere to be." Lynn Sr. proclaimed.
Everyone made their way out of the house and to the trusty family van, Vanzilla, which had seen better days, but it had always been reliable when it came to getting the family wherever they needed to go. Lori opened the door and started directing everyone inside, this would normally start a debate of who is sitting where, but, given the severity of the situation, no one was willing to argue. Once everyone was in the van, Lori stepped in, she was about to make her way to the back, mainly to keep an eye on the twins, until she felt something grab her hand, keeping her from moving. When she looked down, she saw her brother's hand attached to hers.
Lincoln looked up at Lori, "Can you sit next to me." Lincoln asked his oldest sister.
Lori looked down at Lincoln with a warm smile, "You bet, Lincoln." Lori said as she sat down buckled her seat belt.
Lynn Sr. and his wife entered the diver, and passenger seat, of the van and started up the vehicle, it was going to be a short trip, but, to everyone in the van, it would feel like the slowest eternity. Lynn Sr. placed Vanzilla in reverse and exited the driveway, once he was situated in the right direction, he put the van in drive and made his to the Royal Woods Special Victims Unit precinct, one place no one in Vanzilla ever thought they'd have to go. As scared, and hurt, as everyone was, they were going to be in good hands: two of the best detectives had just been transferred to Royal Woods from Manhattan: Captain Mariska Hargitay and Detective Kelli Giddish.
Detective Giddish walked over to Captain Hargitay's office where the door was open, "Hey, Captain, early start for you too?" Asked Detective Giddish
The Captain looked up from her paperwork, "Oh, good morning Kelli. Yeah, gotta love these swing shifts." Captain Hargitay answered.
Detective Giddish let out a small snort, "You can say that again. So, do we have anything new for today?" Detective Giddish inquired.
Captain Hargitay stood up from her desk, "Actually, yes, I just got off the phone not too long ago with the father of the victim. Looks like their son was abuse by his teacher yesterday." Captain Hargitay explained.
Detective Giddish let out a sigh, "Same shit, different city. Do they have a name for this sick bastard?" The Detective inquired further.
The Captain looked down at her notes, "Yes, a Mrs. Agnes Johnson." Captain Hargitay answered.
A surprised look fell across detective Giddish's face, "Not too often we see a female predator." Detective Giddish expressed.
"I know what you mean, Kelli, but they're out there, and just as dangerous. Maybe even more so." Captain Hargitay expressed.
"Did they say when they'd stop by?" Detective Giddish asked.
Captain Hargitay looked at her watch, "They should be here soon, the father said they didn't live far. He also said that his family is quite large and may ask quite a few questions." Captain Hargitay explained.
Detective Giddish gave her Captain a determined look, "Well, Captain, let's go to work." Said Detective Giddish.
Okay, well, I need to start this off by saying I am so sorry for taking this long to update, I have been stuck with writers block and trying to balance so many other things. Between the pandemic, work, some family issues, and being in a very bad car accident, my mind has been focused on so many other things. That being said, I'd like to thank everyone for all of their positivity and willingness to continue to read my story, I didn't think I'd still be at it two years later and that people would still be willing to read it. I promise I will update a lot sooner than the last time, this story is very much alive and I plan on seeing it through until the end. Thank you all so much, and as always: follow, favorite, and review. You all are awesome.