Ch. 5 – Later That Morning
As the day wore on, the people of Royal Woods were doing their best to go about their business. But for the residents of 1216 Franklin Avenue, their day had barely even begun. The only one awake at the moment was Lynn Sr., who was sitting at the dining room table with the morning newspaper in front of him. He had retrieved it nearly an hour ago, but he only gave an occasional glance at the front page as he slowly drank his coffee. The headline "20 DEAD IN MALL SHOOTING" and its accompanying photograph were, for now, all the information regarding the massacre Lynn Sr. could handle. Of course, he had more important things to worry about.
Last night he had called his friend and employee Kotaro. Among other things, they discussed the situation with Lynn Sr.'s restaurant, "Lynn's Table." It was very clear that for the foreseeable future, Lynn Sr. was going to be switching between visiting Lincoln in the hospital in Detroit and watching over the girls at home. The two men agreed that Kotaro would be in charge of the restaurant during this time and they would discuss future plans at a later date. Lynn Sr. spent the rest of the night packing his suitcase before going to bed.
Right now, he was expecting a phone call from Rita. The two agreed to meet up at the motel, where Lynn Sr. would give Rita the bag he packed for her last night. They would then stay with Lincoln at the hospital until visiting hours ended, after which Rita would drive home while Lynn Sr. stayed in the city. He had wondered where to stay for the night, but decided to discuss with Rita if he should stay at that same motel or one of those houses sponsored by the charity organization of a certain fast food chain.
Lynn Sr. mulled over his thoughts as he flipped the newspaper over and pushed it away. As he took another sip of his coffee, he heard a noise coming from upstairs. 'Sounds like the girls are waking up,' he thought. He didn't blame his daughters sleeping in this late. Yesterday had been a bad day, to say the least. He continued with his train of thought when a sudden feeling came over him. He listed carefully. Normally all of the girls would wake up at around the same time and form a line for the bathroom, making all sorts of noises all the while. But this time, the house was eerily quiet. It then dawned on Lynn Sr. that only one of the girls was awake, for now. 'Well, this is different,' he thought to himself. As much as he wanted to see what was happening, he decided it would be better if he waited. It wasn't long before he heard somebody walk across the landing and come down the stairs.
Lynn Sr. stood up as the footsteps came closer, preparing himself for what was about to happen next. A few seconds later, Lori turned the corner focusing on the floor. She had been doing this when she descended the stairs, but when she came into the dining room she looked up. It was clear to her father she didn't sleep well. Her hair was messed up and the bags under her eyes were noticeable. This gave Lynn Sr. the feeling the rest of the girls were no better. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Lynn Sr. went over to hug Lori without a word. Lori immediately accepted and hugged him back. The two held their embrace for a few moments, with only Lori's heavy breathing breaking the silence. Eventually, Lynn Sr. decided to say something.
"Rough night kiddo," he asked. Lori let out another sniffle before nodding into her father's shoulder. Lynn Sr. sighed before letting go of his daughter. One look at her face revealed the tears were still in her eyes. Biting his lip, Lynn Sr. quickly changed the subject as he glanced towards the kitchen. "I just made some coffee," he said. "Want a cup?" Lori let out a quiet "mm-hm" in gratitude as she followed her father into the kitchen. After getting Lori her coffee, the two returned to the dining room and sat down.
They started to chat, but all they could talk about was what happened yesterday. Lori first told her father about the phone call she and the others received from her mother. Lynn Sr. was not happy about the girls' behavior regarding the topic, but given what happened yesterday he didn't bother to discuss it. The subject changed to the events after last night's dinner. Lori was telling Lynn Sr. about the time she spent with the other girls when something from last night came to her.
"Hey dad," she asked. "Yes?" "Right after I left Lynn and Lucy's room I heard you answering the phone down here. Who was that?" Lynn Sr. inhaled deeply before answering. "Oh, that was Harold McBride." Lori's eyes widened slightly. She held her breath for a few seconds before asking her father. "What happened?" "He said that he, Howard and Clyde found out about the shooting on the news just before he called. When he asked about us, I told him about Lincoln." A sickening feeling came over Lori. "What did he say," she asked, almost hesitantly.
"Well, I told him Lincoln was in a coma and that he would likely recover, but he was still very worried. He said that they would be coming back to Royal Woods." Lori nodded again. But then she realized what her father had said. "Wait; 'coming back,'" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes. Apparently they were having one of their family vacations at the time. They should be coming home very soon." "I see," Lori replied. "Although, how soon are we talking about?"
"Very soon, apparently," said her father. "Harold said they were only going to Chicago." "Oh, there's my answer then." The two chuckled at Lori's comment. Then it was quiet again. It was during this time Lori had another question come to mind. Even though she felt like she knew the answer already, she still needed to ask. "Dad?" Lynn Sr. looked up to face Lori. "Did Mr. McBride say anything about Clyde?" Lori watched as her father looked away briefly to consider his thoughts. He looked back up a few seconds later. "Well, he did tell me Clyde had talked to Lincoln earlier that morning."
Lori's jaw slowly dropped as her eyes widened again. "He did?" Lynn Sr. nodded. Lori already knew what this meant. "How did he take it," she asked. "I don't know, Harold didn't tell me. Although I'd imagine he took it just as well as you and your sisters." 'That's one way of putting it,' Lori thought sadly. Lynn Sr. spoke again. "He also said that Clyde and Lincoln agreed to meet up when they got back." Lori let out a pained groan. "I can already imagine how he's feeling right now," she said as she rubbed her forearm. "And somehow I get the feeling they're going to come here when they get back." Lynn Sr. nodded in agreement. "I imagine they would."
Lori decided to change the topic. "Um, did you hear from mom?" Lynn Sr. shook his head. "Not yet. But when I do, I'll be heading back to Detroit to drop off some stuff for her." Lori nodded as she understood. "Is she staying there again tonight," she asked. "No, I am. She'll be home later tonight." "Oh, all right," Lori replied. "When are you going?" "Well, last night your mother told me she will call me this morning. When she does, I'll be heading out. Which means you're in charge until your mother gets back; unless, of course, you want to come with me?" Lori considered her father's offer momentarily. On the one hand, she was still worried about Lincoln. To her, the idea of him being alone in a hospital, in a coma, was almost unbearable; and just like her parents, she also wanted to be with him as much as possible.
But on the other hand, she knew her sisters felt the same. Even though they were literally with Lincoln at the hospital the whole day yesterday, it would still be impractical if they did it again. There were still some things everybody needed to do at home, so it would be better if only some of the girls went with their father. And even if any of them went with their father or not, somebody had to stay home to watch everyone. Lori already figured that she was going to be the one to do so now that she was home. After mulling over her thoughts, she turned back to her father.
"I'd love to dad, but I think I should stay here. Most of us had told our friends about Lincoln. And I think some of them might want to visit us. So, I'll stay here in case anybody does come. Although I'm sure some of the others would want to go if you asked them." Lynn Sr. couldn't help but smile. Unlike previous times when she was obligated to watch over her siblings whenever he and his wife told her to, Lori was actually volunteering to do it. The circumstances were obviously very different in this case, but he was proud of her regardless. "All right, Lori," he said. "If any of the others are up before I go, I'll ask them." He then looked down, catching a glimpse of his watch. "Although I think I better get dressed before your mother calls, just in case." Lori couldn't help but giggle. "All right; I'll wait for the others." Lynn Sr. nodded and went into his room to get ready.
In the meantime, Lori decided to wait in the living room. She put her cup on the coffee table and sat on the couch. It was very rare that anybody in the Loud House would find themselves alone with their thoughts while they were home, but when they did, they took full advantage of it. However, despite this rare moment of solitude, Lori's thoughts were anything but pleasant. They concerned the conversation she had with her father. Specifically someone they talked about.
Despite her concern for her brother and how her sisters were handling the situation, Lori thought about Clyde. Out of all the people they were friends with, Clyde seemed to have the best relationship with the Louds. It might be because he was the one who visited them the most, and as such could handle the usual havoc in their family better than anyone else. Lori could remember many of those visits, although her encounters with Clyde didn't always go well. That was because Clyde had a crush on Lori for a long time, and every time he saw her he would get so nervous he had a nosebleed and pass out. Lori couldn't even count how many pairs of shoes that were ruined from the blood.
Despite that, he got along well with everyone, especially Lincoln. The boys had been best friends ever since they met while Trick-or-Treating all those years ago. They were so close they considered each other brothers. It made sense. Clyde was an only child and Lincoln was the only boy in a house full of girls. It also helped the two had similar interests so they always had things to do together, even getting the girls involved in several occasions.
As Lori remembered those times she began to realize her father was right about something. Considering how close Clyde was to their family he would have taken the news of Lincoln being shot just as well as they did. Scared, sick with worry and having that same nagging feeling of 'what if' deep down; Lori was still going through those feelings now and she realized Clyde must be going through the same thing. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. If the McBrides do visit, Lori decided she had to talk to Clyde. Reassure him Lincoln will be okay. She was already doing that with her sisters after all, so why should doing the same for her brother's best friend be any different?
Lori remained in that position for a good long while, and it seemed like nothing could break her from her thoughts. But soon, something did. It was the unmistakable sound of footsteps from somebody walking across the upstairs landing in the direction of the stairs. The noise made Lori look up and face the stairs as the footsteps got louder and started coming down.
A few seconds later, Luna appeared. Like Lori she was still dressed in her nightclothes and disheveled from the lack of sleep. She was moving very slowly, looking down sadly at the steps all the while. When reached the floor Luna stopped and looked over to see Lori staring at her from the couch. The two sisters stared at each other, taking in each other's appearance. Eventually, Lori stood up and went over to Luna and hugged her. Neither of them needed to say anything.
They held their embrace in silence until Lori spoke up. "You OK, Luna," she asked. Luna just shook her head slightly, clearly still upset. Holding the embrace, Lori spoke again. "Dad made coffee earlier. Do you want any?" Luna didn't say anything at first, but after a few seconds she let out a sniffle before turning to Lori. "All right," she said quietly. Lori nodded and they went to the kitchen.
The girls decided to sit at the dining room table. After taking their seats next to each other, the sight of the newspaper caught Luna's attention. It was still face-down. "Is that today's," she asked, pointing at it. "I think so," Lori replied. Whether it was instinct, or not wanting to take Lori's word for it, Luna grabbed the paper and flipped it over. Immediately the headline was in full view for the girls to see. They also saw the photograph, which showed the outside of the mall with many emergency vehicles in the parking lot. Lori and Luna stared at it in silence for a few seconds before the latter put the newspaper back on the table face-down in disgust. Luna groaned and shook her head. "How can someone do something like this," she asked. Lori sighed. "I don't know Luna. I really don't know." Lori paused to sip her coffee. "And honestly, I don't really want to think about that right now." Luna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me neither."
The two shifted their conversation to other matters, starting with Luna giving Lori a recap of the conversation the former had with their mother at the hospital. Afterwards, Lori began telling Luna about the conversations she had with the rest of their sisters when she checked on them. "So right after I left Lynn and Lucy I went to check on Luan." Luna nodded. "Oh yeah, she told me about that." "She did," Lori asked, raising an eyebrow. When Luna nodded again, another question came to Lori. "I'm guessing she told you about her conversation with Benny?" Luna sipped her coffee before replying. "Yeah she did. I also told her about the talk I had with Sam."
"Oh that's right; I wanted to ask you about that but you were in the shower. How did that go?" Luna paused as she took another sip of her coffee. "We pretty much had the same conversation as the one Luan and Benny had," she said. Lori nodded slightly as she let out a sympathetic "hmm." The two continued their conversation before Luna had a question come to mind.
"So, how long have you been down here," she asked. "For a little while now," Lori replied. "Right after I came downstairs I had a talk with dad." Luna's eyes widened slightly. "Oh that's right; you said he made the coffee. Where is he anyway?" "He's in his room," Lori said as she gave a quick glance over her shoulder, "getting ready to go." Luna gave Lori a slightly puzzled look. "Go," she asked.
"That was what he and I talked about," Lori explained. "He's getting ready to join mom at the hospital." Luna let out an "ah" as she understood. "When's he heading out," she asked. "Whenever he hears from mom, apparently," Lori said. "I don't know if he has yet, but he said he'll leave when he does." "All right," Luna replied. "Did he say anything else?"
Lori quickly gave Luna a recap of the conversation she had with their father, including the offer he made to her. "Are you going with him," Luna asked. "No, but I said if the others wanted to go he could ask them." "Oh all right," Luna replied before taking another sip of her coffee. "What about you Luna," Lori asked, "do you want to go with him?" Luna thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah, I think I'll stay here. When I talked to Sam she said she might stop by. I want to be here in case she does." Lori nodded. "Yeah I agree. I actually told dad I wanted to be here in case anybody shows up. I mean, we all told our friends what happened to Lincoln, so I don't doubt any of them would want to come see us." Luna could only nod. "That's for sure. And it's not you and me either, right? I mean you said the others talked to their friends so they would probably come here too, right?" Luna paused, expecting Lori to respond.
When Lori didn't say anything however, Luna looked to her. "Lori?" It was at that moment Luna noticed. Lori was covering her mouth with her hand and she had a look of concern in her eyes. Luna was confused, but also slightly worried. "Yo, Lori? You with me sis," Luna asked, waving her hand in front of Lori's face. "Oh, sorry," Lori said as she shook her head. "I just remembered something else dad told me earlier." "What was that," Luna asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Last night when I was checking on the others, I heard the phone ringing."
"Oh yeah, I thought I heard it when I was in the shower," Luna replied. "Did dad tell you who that was?" A sad looked crossed Lori's face as she nodded. "Yes. It was the McBrides." Luna gasped when she heard that name, her worry intensifying. "What happened," she asked. Lori quickly told Luna what their father had heard from Harold McBride, including what she knew about Clyde. When Lori finished, Luna shook her head in dismay. "Oh man, poor little dude," she said sadly. Lori could only nod in agreement before they both fell silent.
A moment later, Luna looked up. "Hey, Lori?" Lori looked up. "Yeah?" "I just thought of something. If Clyde knows, what about Lincoln's other friends?" Lori gasped. "I-I don't know." "Do you think Clyde reached out to them," Luna asked. Lori thought for a moment. "I'm not sure about that. I mean, you know how much of a nervous wreck he can be. He's probably too upset about Lincoln." Luna let out a small hum as she considered Lori's answer. "That's a good point," she said. "What about Ronnie Anne? You did say Bobby told his family what happened."
"Maybe," Lori replied. "But I don't know if she has their numbers." "All right; but how else could they know," Luna asked. Then, as if by magic, another possibility came to mind for both girls. Right after exchanging a look, they gave a quick glance at the newspaper. When they faced each other again, Luna spoke first.
"Lori, you don't think…" Lori sighed and bit her lip. She still didn't want to look at that article, but she hated not having an answer to Luna's question even more. Lori sighed before answering. "There's only one way to find out," she replied. Luna grabbed the newspaper and laid it out face-up. They scanned the front page, not finding anything. Then, Lori saw something. "Look," she said. Luna looked to see Lori was pointing to the notice under the article, which mentioned it continued on another page.
After looking over the said page momentarily, the girls still didn't find anything. Lori finally let out a sigh. "Nothing," she said sadly. Luna closed the newspaper and placed it back on the table face-down. "Well, if they didn't find out yesterday, they will soon," she said. Lori nodded.
"And I have the feeling we'll be hearing from them very soon." "That's for sure," Luna replied. Then another thought came to her. "Hey Lori?" Lori looked back to her sister before responding "yes?" "How come there weren't any names in the paper?" Lori thought for a moment. "I literally have no idea," she finally answered. "Maybe they're still trying to find names?" Luna shrugged in response before another thought struck her. "Oh Christ."
"What is it," Lori asked, concerned when she heard the worry in Luna's tone. Luna looked up and asked "you don't think anyone from the media is going to visit the house, do you?" A worried look crossed Lori's face. "Oh God, I don't know." Lori thought for a few seconds before turning to Luna again. "I mean, anyone would think the police would have told them that; especially since they literally came here first." Luna considered Lori's words before nodding.
"That's a good point, but what should we do if they do show up?" Lori hummed as she mulled over Luna's question. Eventually, she looked up and said, "Well, if they do, we just tell them the truth. Lincoln was at the mall, he'd been shot and he's in the hospital. We'll leave it at that. And if they ask about his condition we'll tell them he's in a coma." Luna nodded. "OK," she said. "Should we tell the others when they get up?"
"We'll have to," Lori said. "And now that I think about it we'll have to organize a meeting. It'll be easier that way." "All right," said Luna. "So, what do we do now?" Lori looked down briefly before saying "Now, we just wait and see if anybody does show up."
Then, as if on cue, the sound of a car was heard outside. The sound of squealing brakes signaled the car stopped in the street in front of the house. Lori and Luna exchanged a look of surprise and concern. That can't be the media already, can it? Lori was seated closer to the window so she got up and went to look outside. When she saw the car she gasped. "What is it," Luna asked, even more concerned from hearing Lori's reaction. Lori looked back and pointed outside. "Look," she replied. Quickly, Luna got up and joined Lori at the window. She was just in time to see the occupants, whom were an elderly couple, step out of the car. Luna recognized them immediately.
"Oh my god," she exclaimed as she turned to Lori. "How did they…?" "Mom; she had to have told them," Lori interrupted making Luna look away in realization. The two took another glance out the window. They watched the couple for a few seconds before Luna asked "Should I tell the others?" Lori faced her sister and responded "Tell dad first, I'll go out and talk to them." "OK," Luna said as she nodded. As Luna went to their parents' room, Lori went to the front door.
As she went outside, the elderly man called out "Lori!" "Pop-Pop" Lori replied as she ran up to her grandfather, who immediately pulled her into a hug. As she wrapped her arms around him, Albert looked down at Lori and asked "You OK sweetheart?" Lori took a breath said "Not really" as she shook her head. It wasn't just about Lincoln she was not okay with. In truth, at that moment Lori didn't even think about her grandparents (and how they would react) until now, and she felt guilty for not doing so sooner. As she shared a hug with her grandmother, Lori looked to the ground and said "I'm sorry."
Albert and Myrtle exchanged a slightly surprised look. "Sorry? Whatever for," asked Myrtle. Lori let out a sniffle before responding "For not thinking of you two sooner. I just…" Lori didn't get a chance to say anything as Albert interrupted. "It's all right kiddo, we understand. You were just worried about Lincoln." Lori just nodded. She stayed in her grandmother's embrace for a few seconds before breaking off. When she did, Albert said "Speaking of Lincoln, did you hear anything more about him?" Lori shook her head. "Not since we were at the hospital yesterday." Her grandparents' faces fell.
Then Lori remembered. "But dad is going back there today." This got the elderly couple's attention. "He is," asked Myrtle. "Yeah; he's going to pick up mom too. He said she was supposed to call him to come get her. He hasn't left yet." Albert nodded. "I see," he replied. "Come on, let's head inside. I think I better have a word with him." This made Lori exchange a look with Myrtle. Somehow they both knew what Albert had in mind.
A/N: Hello everyone! Here's a little Easter present for you all! I know it's been a while since I uploaded anything for this story. It's funny; ever since I discovered this website I always wondered why it took writers so long to publish new chapters. Well, I completely understand now! Writer's block is no joke, and it was especially difficult for me since the only exposure I've had to The Loud House is from fanfiction, as I've mentioned before. Regarding this chapter I apologize if it seemed like filler, but I can only put in so much to make the story flow easily. I hope you enjoy it regardless.
Another thing; thank you for reading this story in the first place. I appreciate all the support and feedback. Speaking of feedback, I mentioned in another Author's Note that I'm open to beta readers; and I feel like I'll need the help for the next few chapters. If anyone wants to help with this story, feel free to PM me. Once again, thank you for reading and Happy Easter!