A Dark House ( Inadequate) Edited

by DarthSidious04

Orignal credits go to Yaridovich23 ( Original Author) and Suom, the author of the edited version shown here. Anyway, this deals with Lincoln being depressed to the point where he begins, and attempts to commit suicide...

1. Chapter 1

Lincoln Loud stared at the family trophy case. He looked at Lynn's various sports trophies, Lana's pageant ribbons and trophies, awards Lucy won for her poetry at school, then at his own section, home to one dinky trophy that his sisters made for him following that video incident. It was a nice gesture, and Lincoln really did appreciate his sisters' gift at the time. But looking back at it now, it just made him feel empty. Yeah, he fixed a bad situation, but it was one HE caused out of greed and stupidity. He opened up the case and took the trophy out, looking it over. "Most Improved Brother, huh?" Lincoln muttered. Did he really improve? At all? Even after this he kept messing up; that whole "perfect picture" mess and that situation with the earbuds only proved that Lincoln only cared about himself; and couldn't do anything right.

He looked back up at the trophy case, feeling a twinge of envy in his mind. It seemed like all of his sisters were so much better than him. Lisa has a PhD and a Jr. Nobel Prize, Lynn will probably be a professional athlete, and even Lucy was a good poet and is already smarter than him. Even Leni, despite her lack of intelligence, has her looks, fashion know-how, and was able to make a seemingly professional bed frame in under a day, all by herself! What did Lincoln have? Nothing. A love for comic books, a coin collection that everyone thinks is stupid, and a tendency to piss off all his sisters at once. Did he deserve this trophy? No, he didn't. He slammed the case shut, which luckily no one seemed to notice, probably due to all the other noises being generated throughout the house. Lincoln then stomped into the kitchen and threw the trophy into the trash.

He shuffled out of the kitchen, suddenly feeling completely drained. A nap sounded nice, if he was able. He made his way through the living room, where Luan was watching some comedy and laughing loudly while Lori was texting, most likely Bobby, on her phone. Neither of them glanced at him as he slowly made his way up the stairs, his legs feeling oddly sore. Lincoln noticed he had been feeling strange for a while now. It seemed like no matter how much sleep Lincoln got, he never felt rested. He had odd aches and pains too, usually in his limbs. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice he was about to run into someone until they spoke up. "Lincoln, are you not watching where you're going?"

"Huh? What?" Lincoln finally noticed Lisa not a foot away from him. She was writing formulas on the wall as usual, despite Lincoln's reminders that Mom and Dad hate it when she does it. "Oh, sorry, Lisa."

"No harm done, I suppose." The younger Loud responded with a shrug. She glanced Lincoln over a couple times before speaking. "What seems to be bothering you?"

'Jeez, was it that obvious?' Lincoln just shook his head. "It's nothing, Lisa. Just tired is all. Think I'm gonna take a nap." That wasn't entirely a lie; that's really what he was doing. Yet, he felt like there was something more wrong with him, but he just didn't know what. Not that he'd mention it. Why burden his family more than he already does?

Lisa didn't reply right away. She stared at her brother, as if trying to figure something out, she didn't change her usual bored expression. After a few seconds she shrugged again. "Fair enough."

That was odd. Well, whatever. Lincoln internally shrugged and finished the walk to his room, closing the door behind him. He looked around the messy abode of his. Usually he kept it somewhat neat, but he just stopped caring recently and left things wherever. He stripped down to his undies and plopped down on the bed, entering a troubled sleep. Somehow he managed to sleep through all the usual noise that the house and its residents generated, all the way until dinner time, several hours later. It wasn't until there was a knock on Lincoln's door that he finally stirred and woke up. He opened his eyes to the door already opened and Luna standing in the doorway. Why bother knocking if they were gonna come in anyway? "Yo, bro!" Luna said, sounding kind of annoyed. "Didn't you hear anyone calling? It's time for dinner!"

Lincoln sat up groggily. He grasped the side of his now-aching head. He felt an odd pain in his gut as well, a sickly pain. He felt if he tried to eat a full meal, he'd just throw it back up. "I...I don't think I'm up for it," he admitted.

A flash of worry went across Luna's face. "You feeling alright, Lincoln?" She sounded concerned and took a step towards her little brother.

Lincoln kind of shrugged. "I think I have some sort of flu or something, I dunno. I didn't feel so hot yesterday either."

Luna frowned, worried about her only brother's health. She approached him and put the back of her hand against his forehead and waited a moment. "Hmm, you DO feel a bit warm, bro. Not a doctor here, but it doesn't seem too bad." She backed up towards the door. "I'll just tell Mom and Dad the sitch, okay? Get better soon, dude." And with that, she gently closed the door and went back downstairs.

Lincoln let out a tired sigh and fell back onto his pillow. He felt kind of bad for lying to his sister. Well, there WAS some truth to what he said. He hadn't been feeling well the previous day. What he didn't tell her was that he felt the same way the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that...and so on. It had started about two months ago, around the time with the whole trophy case incident. Since then, Lincoln just didn't feel like himself. He started to feel slower, sluggish. He didn't feel any pleasure or joy from things like comics or watching his favorite T.V. shows. He felt so sad and empty all the time; and kept blowing off Clyde and Ronnie Anne to be alone, which put a strain on both of those relationships.

His sisters didn't seem to notice.

'Why would they? Why would anyone notice you going through problems? You're not worth the attention.'

Either way, he put on a brave face in case any of them saw the change. He didn't want to risk worrying them. It was just so strange, he didn't seem sick. He never threw up, nor did he have a fever or anything. It was unlike anything he had felt before. Maybe it was some sort of puberty thing? He didn't really know much about that, especially in boys since all he had are sisters. And there was no way he was going to ask his parents. Way too embarrassing! He sighed again and closed his eyes. He'd figure this out later, he supposed. For now, he needed sleep.

Lincoln managed to sleep all through the night, but was awoken rather early by Luna's music, like he tended to on the weekends. There was an odd sensation in his head as he sat up. It wasn't a pain; it was almost like a pressure, as though someone with large hands was squeezing his entire head. He felt like this every so often, usually when he felt especially stressed. He tried to shake the feeling away as he got dressed in his usual attire. He gazed into the mirror before he left his room. He looked terrible. The usual eye bags he had were more pronounced, and he had heavy shadows under his eyes. He didn't even remember when he first started to get them. Had no one else really taken notice to them?

'Why would they notice? You are just a waste of space anyway.'

After berating himself, Lincoln made his way out of the room into the music-filled hallway. It was oddly empty; seems like most of his sisters were downstairs. He hadn't bothered to look at the exact time, so he had no idea what they'd be doing. He was about to head to the bathroom when a somewhat whiny voice rang in his hear. "Liiincoln!"

This made Lincoln jump, turning to the source of the voice to see Lola standing there, grinning wide with her disturbingly white teeth. "Ah! O-Oh, hey Lola. You kind of startled me there."

Lola didn't pay attention to what Lincoln was saying, instead grabbing his hand, trying to drag him to her room. "Come on, Lincoln! I need a butler for my tea party!"

Lincoln would usually humor his little sister. He wouldn't admit it, but he liked how he looked in that suit she got Dad to get for him. But he was just not feeling it. The pressure on his head started to build. "Lola, I'm really not in the mood right now. I was just about to-"

Lola stopped and turned around, stamping her foot. "No! You're going to be my butler!" She glared daggers at her older brother.

Normally, Lincoln would buckle under that look, but not today. "Lola, really. I'm not up for it today." Didn't she remember him not even eating dinner?

'Like she even noticed you were gone. No one missed you last night.'

"I'm not telling you again, Lincoln! You're gonna be my butler and like it!" Lola retorted, making a grab for Lincoln's hand.

Lincoln moved his hand away faster, however. Suddenly, something snapped. One second, Lincoln was just tired and felt sluggish. The next, he suddenly felt a fury boiling in his gut. "FOR GOD'S SAKE! I SAID NO!" He yelled in Lola's face, and did something he had never done to Lola. With all his might, he pushed at his little sister, causing her to fall on her rear.

It wasn't that the shove or the impact really hurt. It was the yelling and emotional pain of how Lincoln just treated her. Lola's lip started to quiver, and before Lincoln could say anything, she started to bawl. Lola had quite the lungs, as it managed to drown out Luna's music, stopping the musician's playing. She stuck her head out into the hall. "Yo, what's going on?"

Lincoln tried to stammer out an answer, but Lola beat him to the punch. She pointed at Lincoln. "L-L-Lincoln yelled a-at me and th-then PUSHED me!" She yelled, running to Luna and hugging her leg.

Lincoln looked down at Lola in a startled manner before looking up to glare. "Lincoln?! What the heck, bro?! That's not cool at all!"

All of the anger had left Lincoln's system by now, replaced by fear. The boy started to sweat nervously as he tried to explain himself. "W-Well, I mean...I didn't...I wasn't..."

"What's going on? I'm trying to do my nails!" An annoyed Lori shouted from her room. She came out into the hallway, glaring between Lincoln and Lola. Before anything could be said, Lincoln made a mad dash for the bathroom, the door ajar and thankfully empty. Lori wasn't paying attention to Lola's exact words, but managed to piece together that Lincoln did SOMETHING wrong and tried to make a grab for him. She missed by a hair, and Lincoln ran into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. Right after, there was a pounding from two sets of fists. "Lincoln Loud, you get out here right now!" Lori yelled through the door.

"Come on, open up!" Luna added. "This wasn't cool of you, Linc! You gotta come out!" The two of them kept pounding on the door.

Lincoln let out a groan and slid down against the door to the floor. Why did he do that?! He'd never shoved one of his younger siblings before!

'How could you do something like that? Hurting someone smaller than you? What a terrible person you are.'

He clutched his hair with both hands and shut his eyes tight. The pressure was building stronger and stronger, and the pounding got louder and louder. "Stop it! Leave me alone! Please!" He shouted, not even really thinking before he spoke.

"We're not going to just leave you alone, Lincoln! Come out before we go get Mom and Dad!" Lori retorted, jiggling the handle fruitlessly.

Dang it, why was he freaking out so badly? Lincoln felt like if he opened that door, all Hell would break loose and he'd be beaten to a pulp.

'You'd deserve you. You know you deserve all the pain.'

Lincoln shook those bad thoughts away. He breathed in, then exhaled. Nice, slow, and deep. "O-Okay, I'm opening the door." Lincoln slowly unlocked the door and opened it, seeing a pissed off Lori and Luna, and a sniffling, calmed down Lola holding Luna's hand. He also noticed Lucy peeking out from her and Lynn's room, watching from afar.

Lori cleared her throat, crossing her arms. "What exactly were you thinking, Lincoln?! You're too old to be doing stuff like this! Shoving a little kid like that!"

Normally, Lola would protest, but she wasn't in the mood. Luna spoke up for her. "What's been going on with you, Lincoln? I know you haven't been feeling well, but this is pretty weird for you."

Lincoln clenched his fists, staring down at his. "I...I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what came over me."

"Well don't tell that to US." Lori said, pointing to Lola. "Say that to HER."

Lincoln got down on one knee, eye-level to Lola. "Lola...I'm sorry about pushing you like that. I really didn't mean it. It was just...in the heat of the moment. Can you forgive me?" He opened his arms up for a hug.

There was a pause. "It's...okay, Lincoln." Lola said and shuffled over and gave her big brother a hug. That was oddly...easy to get. No stamping? No yelling? Did he really freak her out that much? Either way, Lincoln returned the hug.

Lincoln frowned. It felt so...empty. Normally a hug, any hug, from his sisters just felt nice. This didn't feel like anything. Why was that? "I'll make it up to you, I promise. Okay, Lola?"

"Yeah...okay." Lola muttered. She broke off the hug and shuffled back to her room, seeming to want to get away from Lincoln.

Lincoln looked up at his two older sisters, who still looked peeved. "Okay, what is going on, bro?" Luna asked. "You've been acting weird the past couple of days, especially last night at dinner." She tried to look stern, but a look of worry shown through. "Are you okay?"

No, he wasn't okay. Something was wrong, and Lincoln had no idea what.

'But you won't tell them that. They don't really care, they're just being polite.'

"I'm just under the weather. I lost my temper, that's all. Really." Lincoln lied. Why didn't they notice he's been suffering for months? Do they really feel so little of him?

Lori scoffed, uncrossing her arms. "I don't even have time for this. Good enough answer, I guess." She said. "Later, twerp." And with that, she went back into her room.

Luna sighed as she watched her uncaring elder sister leave the situation, then she looked back at Lincoln. "You...sure you're okay, bro? This is so unlike you."

'Don't say anything. Don't be a burden more than you already are. JUST. LIE.'

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah...Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about me, Luna."

Luna looked like she wanted to say something more on the subject, but changed her mind. "Well...okay. Just be careful over that temper, bro." She warned as she went back to her room. By this point, Lucy was gone too. Lincoln let out a tired sigh, before a shiver reminded him what he was doing before Lola came at him. He quickly closed and locked the door.

Ah...sweet relief.

Later in the day, Lincoln stood there, glaring at the trophy case. He hated it. All it did was served as a reminder of how all of his sisters were better than him. Why did he have to be the worthless runt of the family? It just didn't feel fair. And yet, he felt guilty for feeling this way, as he loved ALL his sisters. Feeling so negative about them just made him feel like a jerk! What was it that made him so worthless? Lincoln was so caught up in his self-hatred, that he didn't notice Leni next to him, calling his name until she shook his shoulder a bit. "Lincoln!" She called.

Lincoln jumped with a yelp, turning to his sister. "Leni! Oh, wow. You scared me!" Kind of weird how it seems everyone but Lucy has been doing that to him today. "Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to check on you! You were standing still for so long, I thought you were taking a nap!" She explained in her usual idiotic way. "What were you doing?"

Lincoln resisted the urge to sigh at Leni's thought process. He gestured to the case. "Just...looking at the trophy case, that's all." Just thinking about how terrible he was. How everyone would be better off without him.

"Oooh! They're all so pretty, aren't they?" She looked over the case, not seeming to notice the absence of Lincoln's trophy. Lincoln honestly wasn't surprised. That's something Leni would forget.

"Uh...Yeah. I think I'm gonna just leave you to that." Lincoln said as he shuffled away. He received no answer from the entranced Leni.

Things were uneventful for the next few hours. Lincoln felt that, at dinner, Lola was avoiding him. Wouldn't make eye-contact, talk to him, or throw food at him when the nightly food fight occurred. Had he really scared her that badly?

'See what you did? Why do you have to mess everything up?'

On the way to his room later that night, he was stopped by Luan. "Hey, Lincoln! I got some new material for you!"

Lincoln sighed, turning to his "comedic" sister, flashing him a metallic grin. "I...Sure, let me hear it." He felt so heavy, so exhausted. He just wanted to sleep.

"What do you call a fake noodle?" Luan asked, her grin getting wider as she awaited an answer.

Lincoln didn't want to do this. He gave a small shrug. "I-I dunno. What do you call a fake noodle?" He could've figured out the punchline if he really wanted, but he just didn't have the energy right now.

"Oh, come on! Really?" Luan asked. "An IMPASTA, of course! Get it? Get it!?" She asked with a laugh. The smile melted into a frown when she saw how stoic her brother was. Nothing? Not a laugh? No groan? "Lincoln? You okay?"

Lincoln stared down at the floor. No, he clearly wasn't. What was so wrong with him? "I-I'm just tired, I guess...I'm going to bed..." He turned and went into his room before she could respond, shutting the door behind him.

Luan was worried now. Luna had mentioned something being off with Lincoln. Was something wrong with him and Clyde or something? "Well, I'll just have to fix that, won't I?" Luan thought aloud. No Loud would be so sad. Not on her watch! And she knew just what to do...

Lincoln barely slept that night. What little he did was plagued with nightmares; though he couldn't recall what they were about. He jerked awake at five in the morning. Why did he do that? He never woke up so early. He tried going back to sleep...tossing in turning for a half hour before he gave up. "Guess I'm getting out of bed..." He sighed. He got dressed and quietly went downstairs. No one in the house was awake this early in the morning. Lincoln didn't know what to do with himself so he decided to lay on the couch and stare at the ceiling.

He barely moved. He just stared. He didn't even feel hungry.

'What's the point of eating? What useful activities are you using that energy for?'

He just thought to himself as he stared. God, he felt so worthless. What was he even doing here? He doesn't belong, and he knows it. Everyone knows it, even if they wouldn't admit it. Every Loud child was Mom and Dad's pride and joy.

Except for Lincoln…

All he did was take up space. Take up money. Take up food, water, electricity. What was the point of staying there? He was the worst of the bunch. Useless. If one of his sisters was up this early, they'd be doing something productive. Lynn would be out training for some Big Game, Luna would be writing music, and Lisa would be experimenting. They were all just so superior, and it made him feel like dirt. Lincoln had no doubts that Lily would grow up to be far better than he ever would. He looked towards the front door. Maybe...He should just leave. Who would REALLY miss him? He slowly got off the couch, staring at the door. He could just...keep walking. He'd figure out the rest later. He approached the door and reached for the knob.

Lincoln nearly jumped a foot in the air when he heard a "Lincoln?" from behind him. He let out a short yelp of fear and turned to see his mother standing behind him, looking tired and curious.

Lincoln froze in place. He felt his heart pounding against his rib cage. He totally forgot about his Mom. He should've remembered she got up around this time.

'STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!'

He had to think of a lie and think of it quick. Luckily, thinking on his feet was one thing he could do right. "I...Thought I heard Cliff meowing at the door. W-Was just gonna let him in..." Lincoln lied.

Mom arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Then who is that?" She asked, pointing to a corner of the room.

Lincoln cringed and turned to see Cliff snoozing in the corner of the living room. How had Lincoln missed him!? Can't even spot a cat right... "Uh...Oh. Must have been...a stray or something...I...uh..." He didn't know what else to say...

"Come to think of it, what are you doing up so early?" Mom asked, crossing her arms. "I've never seen you out of bed at this hour." She seemed concerned all of a sudden, taking a step towards her son. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

'Don't say anything. She's exhausted and is about to have a long day of work ahead of her. How selfish could you be?!'

Lincoln tried to keep from shaking, a mixture of so many emotions bubbling up inside of him. "It's nothing, Mom. I...I just couldn't get back to sleep." He gave her a tired smile.

Mom studied Lincoln for a few moments. Lincoln hated it when she did that. He swore she had some sort of freaky Mom Sixth Sense or something. "Well...okay. Just try and take a nap later or something, okay?" She said. Lincoln was about to sigh in relief when he was caught in a hug. "If something is troubling you...you know you can always tell me, right?" She whispered.

Lincoln had to fight back his tears. Why did the hug feel so EMPTY? Why couldn't he FEEL? He wrapped his arms around his Mom. "I-I know, Mom. But everything is okay, I promise..."

This seemed to put his mother's worries at rest. For now, at least. She let him go and made her way to the door. "Alright, Lincoln. You behave yourself, okay? I love you, so much." She said as she left the house.

"...Love you too, Mom..." Lincoln whispered to himself. He shuffled over back to the couch and collapsed on it. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he was soon asleep.

"Lincoln...? Lincoln?" Lincoln felt himself being shaken, someone calling him. "Lincoln, what are you doing here?" Lincoln let out a groan and opened his eyes to see Lynn standing over him, looking confused. "Bro, why are you sleeping down here so early?" She asked.

Lincoln sat up, rubbing his burning-tired eyes. "I couldn't get back to sleep this morning...just hung out here..." Lincoln mumbled sleepily. What did she care anyway? This didn't intrude on her life.

Lynn tilted her head in confusion. "Uh...Alright then. But hey, since you're down here, let's go play some soccer or something!" She pumped her arms. "Whooo!" This caused Lincoln to flinch. "Ha! Two for flinching!" She gave her bro two punches to the arm like usual...except he didn't react. Like, at all. "Dude, what's up with you?"

The punches hurt, as they usually did, but Lincoln just couldn't bring himself to really react to the blows. He got off the couch, suddenly shaking. "Just...God, leave me alone, Lynn!" He snapped, a rage coming out of nowhere. "Why can't you just keep your hands OFF of me?!" Did she just enjoy hurting him? That had to be it. Before Lynn could respond, he stomped up the stairs to his room, leaving a shocked and somewhat hurt Lynn behind.

Lincoln almost slammed the door behind him, stopping just in time when he recalled he didn't know what time it was exactly. Who knows who was still sleeping? Don't wanna wake anyone up. He let out a sigh, it felt like all he did these days, and collapsed on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Great, first Lola and now Lynn he's gotten angry at. Who is he gonna snap at next?

'You are just a terrible brother. Wouldn't surprise me if you picked on Lily next.'

Lincoln shook those thoughts away. He glanced over at his comics. Didn't even feel like touching them. He didn't feel like doing ANYTHING. And so he didn't, he just stared at the ceiling...and stared...and stared...

No one came to check up on him. It's like they were avoiding him. Usually he couldn't get a moment's peace, but now he wished someone would come bother him. Wishing for someone to take note of his absence and check in on him.

'They're just happy to see you gone. If they even notice your absence.'

Lincoln didn't bother to shake away those thoughts. He knew they were true. He took his Bun-Bun and curled up on the bed facing the wall and just sobbed his eyes out. Unseen, unheard, unnoticed.

Sleep eventually took over him again as he cried himself tired. He slept for hours, it was late afternoon when someone finally knocked on his door. "Hellooo~?" a voice rang out from behind the closed door. Lincoln jumped up, startled and letting out a chirping cry. "Aha, I heard ya! Can I come in, Linc?" Lincoln recognized the voice, it was Luan.

He rubbed at his eyes, both to get the sleepiness out of them and to get rid of any potential tears he left behind. "Uh, yeah...C-Come in, Luan." He was rather thankful she didn't use a knock-knock joke this time. The door swung open to reveal a beaming Luan, with her hands behind her back.

"Heeey, Linc! I thought I'd find ya here! Haven't seen you all day!" She said. So, she did notice. Did anyone else notice, or even care that he hadn't left his room the entire day?

Lincoln held back the urge to let another sigh out. He gazed up at Luan. "Yeah. I've just...been in here. Was there something you needed?" That had to be it. Some sort of favor.

'You're not worth the energy otherwise.'

Luan's grin widened. "Guess what I have here for you!" She never brought random gifts like this. Was this some sort of prank? A pie to the face, perhaps? Lincoln simply shrugged. "Ta-daaa!" She revealed the item; a brand new Ace Savvy comic! It was still in its plastic wrapping too! "I'm pretty sure I got the right one. The guy at the store said it just came out yesterday, and I haven't seen you in your undies in like, a week at least!"

Lincoln gaped at Luan, standing up. Did...she really go out and do this for him? He shakily reached over and took the comic, staring at it for a moment before looking up at Luan. "I...Luan...Thank you. But...why?"

Luan's grin shrank a bit. "Can't I do something nice for my brother?" She knew SOMETHING was eating at him. Something was wrong with him and she wanted to try and fix it. Even now she could tell, his eyes were red from crying. She knew that look.

Lincoln stared at his sister for a second, then wrapped her in a tight hug. "Thank you, Luan!" He sniffed. "It's great, I love it! A-And you were right, this is the brand new issue!" He actually felt a surge of life and excitement in him for a moment during this time.

Luan chuckled, patting her brother on the head. "Hey, it's no big deal. Don't sweat it! What are good COMIC sisters for? Get it!?" And there was the pun. Lincoln groaned lightly, music to Luan's ears. The hug soon separated. "Well, I'll leave you to it! Later, Linc!" She said, closing the door and skipping away. There! That oughta help Lincoln feel better!

Lincoln smiled, looking down at the comic. She...She really did this for him? He kept staring...and then...he felt nothing. No urge to read. No urge to even take it out of its packaging. The hug he gave felt just as empty as the rest he's had recently. He felt sick, heavy. He placed the comic on his dresser and crawled back into bed. He turned towards the wall again and just stared off into space...void of the happiness he wished was back again.

It was hours later that he moved again, when Mom and Dad called throughout the house that dinner was ready. It was at this time that Lincoln realized how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten since dinner last night! He slowly made his way downstairs and to the kids' table, where he silently waved at everyone and sat to eat. Lola seemed back to her normal self, so Lincoln had to deal with five sisters throwing food around. Like the night before, he didn't really react to the chaos and just ate slowly. What he didn't notice was Lucy staring at him at several points throughout the meal. Mostly because of her hair. After dinner, Lincoln took it upon himself to watch Lily, taking her to his room. Aside from a greeting when he first arrived, no one spoke to him at all through dinner. He supposed that was fair; he didn't say anything either.

He sat on the edge of his bed with his baby sister on his lap, who was happily babbling and making other baby noises. "Hey, Lily, you enjoy your dinner? Was it yummy?" He asked, speaking in that typical "talking to a baby" tone. She sputtered half-formed words in response, happily playing with one of Lincoln's polo buttons. He had to keep up a happy appearance for Lily especially. She was just a baby, after all. "What do you think of your brother, huh? Is he the best one you have?" He joked, trying to cheer himself up. Lily cooed and patted Lincoln awkwardly on the face. "Heh...I thought so." It wasn't really working. At least he was making Lily happy.

"Lincoln." A monotone voice called from right next to him.

"Ahh!" Lincoln and Lily shouted. Lincoln hadn't noticed Lucy sneaking right up next to him, as non-reactive as ever to startling her siblings. "Geez, Lucy. Can't you knock when you want to come in?

"You didn't close the door." She replied, pointing to the wide-open door, just as he left it.

"Oh. Shoot. So, did you need something?" Lincoln asked, bouncing Lily on his knee, making her break into a giggling fit.

Lucy sat next to Lincoln, staring straight ahead with her hands folded in her lap. "I wanted to talk to you...about your behavior lately." She stated simply. No beating around the bush with her, huh? "I've noticed a number of changes."

Lincoln stopped his knee bouncing, to Lily's confusion, as she looked back and forth between her two siblings. "What...What do you mean?" Lincoln asked. Had she actually noticed? Had she noticed how his mind had taken a downward spiral?

Lucy turned to her elder sibling. "I noticed your moody demeanor, lots of sighing. You've been spending a lot of time in here instead of with everyone else. I know what's going on."

Lincoln's eyes nervously widened. She...She really DOES care. Lucy saw into his mind and saw his pain when no one else did! "Well, go on, tell me!" He said.

Lucy gave a very small smile. "You're becoming like me. You're embracing your inner goth. I don't usually show this much emotion, but I'm proud you've taken this path, Lincoln." She said, placing her hand on Lincoln's shoulder.

Lincoln's heart sank. Oh. She really didn't get it. Lincoln didn't want to hurt her feelings.

'That's surprising, you seem to be on a roll with that.'

Defeated, he gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Y-Yeah, Lucy. You got me. You're totally right." He said.

Lucy's small smile widened a bit. "Glad to hear that, brother. I'll lend you some of my books later if you want. We can even hang out in the vents and write poetry together."

Lincoln had to resist the urge not to yell out that she was wrong. Instead, he nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. We'll have to do that sometime." With a hug, Lucy silently left the room, seeming to be in a better mood than usual. Lincoln let out a sigh when she went into her and Lynn's room. Dang it, why did he get his hopes up? What made him think an eight year-old would understand? Lincoln went to Lily and Lisa's room and put Lily in her crib with a peck on her forehead, and he went back into his own room and got ready for bed. It was so early, but he didn't feel like doing anything else. He shut the door, stripped to his undies, and had a night scarce of sleep.

It rained through the night, so in the morning there was fresh mud to be played in. Not much to his surprise, he was lacking in sleep again. After staring at a wall for about twenty minutes and finally willing himself to get out of bed and get dressed, Lincoln went downstairs to see Lana, about to head outside. She stopped when she heard Lincoln reach the bottom of the stairs. "Hey! Lincoln, come play in the mud with me!"

Lincoln looked down at his younger sibling, beaming an incomplete smile at him. She really wanted him to play outside with her? She never really asks. Wonder what made today so different...? He really wasn't in the mood, heck he hadn't even had breakfast yet and he actually felt hungry right now! Still, he'd feel bad if he turned her down. He gave her a small, false smile. "Yeah, sure. Let's get out there, Lana!"

With a whoop, Lana charged out the door, practically belly flopping onto the nearest pile of mud. "Come on in, the mud's fine!" She called.

Lincoln took the calmer approach and walked over to the pile of mud Lana was in, sitting down in it. He'd have to get changed after all of this. What a pain. He watched as Lana made mud angels with a sincerely amused look. "You really like your mud, huh?"

Lana giggled, already covered in the brown substance. "You know it! MUD FIGHT!" She yelled, throwing a glob of mud, hitting Lincoln square in the face, getting a lot of it in his hair. Well, now he'll have to shower too.

'Just play along, Lincoln...' he thought to himself. He really was NOT in the mood for this, but he didn't want to hurt the feelings of any more of his sisters. He had done that enough recently. "Alright, you asked for it!" He scooped up a handful of earth chocolate and flung it back at Lana, hitting her dead in the chest, which she didn't seem to mind at all. The two got in a small mud fight, which had an abrupt end when, at one point, Lincoln dug his hand into the mud and felt a sharp pain in his palm. "AUGH!"

Lana stopped, looking a bit concerned. "Whoa, what was that? You okay, Linc?" She asked.

Lincoln looked down at his hand to see a gash in it which was leaking blood. "What the hel-heck?!" He grunted, wincing at the pain. He carefully, with his other hand, dug into the mud and pulled out a sharp, broken stick. "Ah, there's the culprit..." He muttered, suddenly feeling a rage rising within him.

"Man, that must've hurt!" Lana said nonchalantly, all concern seeming to have vanished. "But the war must go-"

"No, you idiot!" Lincoln snapped without thinking. "I'm not gonna get mud in an open wound like this, are you crazy?! Do you not even care that I got hurt?!" He demanded, glaring daggers at his little sister.

Lana seemed hurt and shocked by this. Her eyes started to water a bit and she looked at the ground. "I-I'm sorry, Linc...I..." She started, but trailed off.

Lincoln stood up, still glaring down at Lana, rage clouding his mind. "Whatever. Just stay and play in the mud. Or don't. I really don't care." With that, he turned and marched into the house, clutching his hurt hand. He made his way to the kitchen, where Lynn was eating one of her many subs.

She noticed Lincoln's injury, and walked over to him as he ran it under some water, wincing as he did so. "Whoa, Linc. What happened?" She asked, sounding concerned.

Lincoln had closed his eyes. Like she really cared. He winced heavily as he rubbed drying blood away from his wound. To his surprise, it felt NICE...the pain. He felt. Normally he was so numb, but now he could feel.

'This is good. You deserve to be hurt anyway. It's a win/win.'

He deserved the punishment for being such a waste of space. Lincoln was so deep in thought, he didn't even answer Lynn, forgetting about her until she put a hand on his shoulder. "Huh?! What?" He asked, snapping out of his trance.

"I asked what happened to your hand. You okay, bro?" She eyed the wound. It wasn't as bad as all the blood made it seem. It'd heal over time without an issue. She still felt the need to ask, however...

Lincoln glanced over at his older sister, his rage still going strong. "Why are you asking?" He asked simply, now even more annoyed that she ruined his train of thought.

Lynn looked surprised. "What do mean 'why'? I'm asking because I care about you, bro!"

Lincoln let out a laugh. A dry, dead, almost hollow laugh. "That's rich, coming from you." He wiped the wound clean. Clean enough, he supposed. Who cares? And started to dry off. "Remember last year, when you broke my arm?"

This caused Lynn's jaw to drop open in surprise. What was he GETTING at? "What does that have to do with it? That was an ACCIDENT, Lincoln! It's not like I hurt you on purpose!"

Lincoln turned and glared daggers at Lynn. He wasn't even really thinking straight anymore. He was just so mad. So empty, and so TIRED. "That didn't stop you from hurting me. Picking on me. Nearly breaking my leg a mere month after getting out of that cast. You don't care about hurting me as long as it isn't TOO serious."

Lynn was in shock...but then turned to anger. How could he possibly say that to her? She was just BONDING with her brother! Was that so wrong? Her hand clenched into a fist, ready to give Lincoln a black eye...when she realized it would be proving his point. Little did she know, he WANTED her to hit him. He wanted to feel the pain. To feel something again, at least. Instead, she just babbled something, unable to come up with a clear response. "I...But...You..."

As she tried to form a sentence, Lincoln wrapped his hand in a wrap. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You don't care." With that, Lincoln stomped his way upstairs to take a shower, leaving a teary-eyed Lynn behind him.

As he showered, Lincoln mentally beat himself up. By the time the shower had started, he had calmed down and realized just how hurtful his words were.

'You just can't stop being horrible to your sisters, can you? Hurting two of them in one day. You deserve all the bad things that happen to you.'

Lincoln sighed to himself, before realizing that he was gonna ruin the wrap he put on. Should've showered first. Can't even do that right.

He removed it and set it aside to throw away after the shower. He looked down at his scar, his mind going back to pain. Maybe that was it. That's what he was missing. He felt alive...felt something aside from anger, sadness, or just emptiness. It was something more, something pleasant, and he needed more of IT and...No. No, that can't be right. That can't be healthy. He was no expert, but that seemed obvious enough. Wait...maybe writing poetry with Lucy could help vent his frustration out. He quickly finished his shower, threw his wrap away, and got changed. He unlocked the door and was about to open it when a thought hit him. What if Lynn was out there? Better use the vents...Lucy was probably there anyway. With that, Lincoln entered the metal veins of the house, crawling along until he heard a "Sigh." Turning the corner, he found Lucy sitting with some papers scattered about. "Oh. Hi Lincoln." She said when she saw him.

"Hey, Lucy. Mind if I join you?" Lincoln asked. "I was hoping to write some poetry. Get some stuff off my chest." Maybe feel a little less worthless.

Lucy handed Lincoln some paper and a pen. "Sure. Sounds like a blast." She said, sounding as enthusiastic as cardboard. Lincoln took the items and began writing, trying to find out where to start. Trying to put his feelings into words. He eventually had something.

"Can I read what I got?" Lincoln asked. Lucy wordlessly nodded. He cleared this throat.

"Empty body; yet with stress.

Empty body; just so worthless.

Empty body; the useless spawn.

Empty body; better off gone."

He looked at Lucy. "Was that okay?"

Lucy stared at Lincoln. "That...That was so dark. It would make me shed tears if I had enough feeling to do so." She said in her usual dramatic way. Lincoln should have expected something like that. He also should have expected that he didn't feel better at all.

"Thanks, Lucy. I...think I'm gonna head out. I haven't even eaten breakfast yet; I'm starving." He said, maneuvering past his sister.

"Wait. Lincoln." Lucy called out.

"Yeah?" He answered. Did she notice the feelings he wrote down? He assumed she thought they were just being dark for the sake of it.

Lucy hesitated for a moment. "Do you think you could take something from Lori's room for me? I think she stole my black nail polish. I need it back."

Lincoln rolled his eyes at this. Girls and their nail polish...What was the point? Either way, he nodded. "Sure thing. I'll go right now." He wasn't sure why SHE couldn't do it, but whatever. With that, he made his way back to his room and out the vent, then down to Lori's room. The door was ajar. He peeked in, seeing Lori texting while facing her window. Yes...Perfect. He snuck through the room in a way that'd put Solid Snake to shame, approaching all of Lori's dumb girly things. He started searching around for black nail polish. Gosh, there was so much stuff here! What was even-AHA! There! Lincoln grabbed what he was looking for...and accidentally knocked over a perfume bottle in the process. It hit the floor, the top coming off and the perfume spilling all over.

Lincoln cringed, hoping it wasn't heard. But it was. Lori turned around, seeing Lincoln; then the mess he made. "TWERP!" She yelled, stomping over to the cowering Lincoln. "What the heck did you just DO?!" She pointed at the perfume. "Do you REALIZE how expensive that was?!"

Lincoln was terrified now. His breathing quickened, his heart raced; banging against his ribs. "I-I'm sorry...I w-was...Lucy's polish...I..." He managed to sputter out.

"Haven't I told you a thousand times not to go in my FUCKING room!?" She snapped. Lincoln REALLY knew he was in trouble now. Lori usually managed to hold back on her swearing in front of her younger siblings, even when upset. She must have been literally furious to let an F-Bomb slip. "Why can't you do what you're told!? What's WRONG with you?!"

Lincoln was now shaking, fearing that Lori was going to beat him up. "I-I...I'll save up...buy you m-more...I...I'm sor-"

"THAT ISN'T THE POINT!" She roared. "God, all you ever seem to do is FUCK things up, Lincoln!" That hit Lincoln like a sack of hammers. "I HATE dealing with you every day like this! When will you LEARN not to constantly mess things up!?" Lincoln was tearing up now. "God, I really wish I just had nine sisters! Things would be SO much easier!"

That was it. That broke the dam. Lincoln whimpered as tears slowly fell down his pitiful face, openly sobbing, losing his grip on the nail polish and letting it drop to the floor. Lori was panting angrily...then stopped. It suddenly hit her, what she had just said. She reached towards her brother, the notion of which causing him to flinch and sprint right past her. He didn't notice her calling his name. Didn't notice Luna right outside the room, having heard anything. Didn't notice Leni in the hallway greeting him. His head was buzzing with so many horrible thoughts, replaying every word his sister had just uttered.

He reached his room and slammed the door, then blocked the door off with his bed with much straining. Stupid lock never worked. He sat on the bed, his whole body wracking with sobs, convulsing in newfound sadness. She was right. She was completely right. Useless. Worthless. They were all thinking it. All of them. He knew it. HE KNEW IT. He had to disappear, just be gone. Vanish, POOF. He wanted to just melt away. Just crumble to dust. He wanted to DIE.

'What are you waiting for?! DO IT!'

Lincoln hastily and semi-consciously rummaged through his desk, pulling out an old-fashioned pencil sharpener. He started smashing it against the desk, denting the plastic and knocking the blade within loose. He needed this. He had to do it. Wanted to. To make everything BETTER. He got the razor...trembling as he raised his arm...

The next minute or so was a blur. Pain. Cutting. Blood. Banging on the door. Pleading. Crying. All outside noises melted into one as Lincoln looked down at his arm. Blood was running down it. Lori was banging on the door with Luna, trying to get in. He realized he couldn't do it. He couldn't kill himself, he was too scared. Lincoln stared at his left arm, right below the shoulder were several jagged, random cuts. He didn't even remember making them all, there had to be half a dozen.

He felt sick to his stomach. He dropped on his knees, dropped the blade, and emptied his stomach in his trash can, letting out loud retching noises. He was sobbing hysterically between his gags, tears and snot dripping down his face and into the can. His sobs throttled by his suffocating throat. "Lincoln?! Lincoln, what was that?!" He heard Luna calling from the other side of the door.

"Lincoln! Please, open up! I'm sorry!" Lori called after. It sounded like she was in tears as well. Why would she be in tears? All she did was tell the truth.

Lincoln was trembling, he felt like he was going to die. Die. Die. Die.

'Why didn't you die?!'

He didn't know what to do. Why did he do this?! "GO AWAY!" He screeched with brief clarity. He didn't even think before he spoke. It just exploded. "GET AWAY FROM ME! NONE OF YOU CARE! NO ONE DOES! NO ONE! NO ONE! NO ONE!" He screamed, so loud that, unknown to him, the entire second floor heard it. He knelt there, panting into the can of his tears, blood, and puke. His mind went blank. The stress was breaking his mind, his body on the verge of collapsing under the stress.

There was silence from the other side of the door, that is aside from Lori's sobbing. After a few seconds, Lincoln thought he heard talking. Something like "Not feeling well...stressed about something...leave him alone for now..." Another pause. Lincoln heard Luna's voice. "Lincoln...? We're gonna leave you alone, okay? Just...come out when you're ready, bud..."

Footsteps retreading. Silence. Lincoln remained there in that exact position for a good five minutes, trying to stop shaking. Trying to ignore the pain in his arm. The wound had stopped bleeding out, but his arm was COVERED in blood. Why did he do that? What was he thinking?

'Why didn't you cut lower?'

After a few seconds, he knew he'd have to clean up now...Luckily, getting injuries was nothing new in the Loud House, so he kept some standard medical gear in his room. But he realized he had no water to clean himself! He sighed, getting some tissues and started spitting. It took forever, but he finally managed to get the blood off of him. He'd have to make sure to get rid of the bloody tissues later. Next came the wrapping bandages. It was awkward, but he managed to cover his wounds. But God that was painful...Just moving his injured left arm was terrible and caused a nauseating pain to shoot up his spine. He threw the bloody blade in the trash can and lied down on his bed, just staring at the ceiling. Much to his despair, it HAD worked. He FELT when he was cutting, when he was hurting so bad. Even as he lied there, the pulsing pain was like life coursing through his empty veins. He didn't move from the bed until he heard the call for dinner. Moving his bed back into place, he slunk his way downstairs. He avoided the "grown-up" table room, and went straight to the kitchen.

The kid's table as well as the five children there were dead silent. They quietly ate their dinner, not even looking up at Lincoln. What...Oh. They must have heard him yelling. And he was right. They did, and all of his older siblings did too. Lincoln kept the silence as well, sitting down at his place at the table, picking at his food. Eating slowly. Trying not to show the pain in his arm. The silence could be cut with a knife, it weighed down on the six children like anvils. When Lincoln eventually finished his meal, he stood up to leave. For the first time since he arrived, someone talked. It was Lucy. "Lincoln. Mom and Dad want you to stay here when you were done."

Lincoln felt his stomach drop. It was probably about the incident with Lori. Or maybe with Lynn...Or Lana...Or Lola...

'You've really messed up now, you worthless brat.'

He gulped audibly. "Th-Thanks, Lucy..." She didn't respond. He sat back down and waited until everyone from his table left. The kids from his table looked at him with what seemed like pity as they left, except Lucy of course due to hair.

He kept waiting, and eventually he heard Mom call from the living room. "Lincoln? Honey? Come in here, please." She sounded upset. Worried even. Lincoln, with his knees shaking, walked into the living room where Mom, Dad, and Lori were sitting on the couch.

Lincoln walked around so he was in front of the three of them, sitting on the floor. Mom and Dad looked concerned, and Lori just looked miserable with pink, puffy eyes. Lincoln stared at the floor. He didn't like seeing those faces. "Am...Am I in trouble?" He sheepishly asked. He felt an immense guilt in his chest. This was all 'his' fault. If he could've just measured up to his sisters, none of this would have happened.

Mom and Dad exchanged surprised look. "No, no of course not!" Dad insisted. "We...Just wanted to have a nice, calm chat about the...incident earlier." He glanced over at Lori, who looked down at the floor as well. "Lori has some things to say to you. Isn't that right, Lori?"

Lori nodded. She went over and sat in front of Lincoln, who froze in place. She placed a hand on his shoulder, his good one thankfully. "Lincoln...I...I'm so sorry about what I said." She said softly. "I didn't mean what I said. I was just so mad...I w-wasn't thinking..." She started to tear up, the suddenly pulled Lincoln into a hug. "I love you, Lincoln...I really do..."

Lincoln started to sob into Lori's shoulder. As usual, the hug felt so empty. Emptiness. "I...I love you too, Lori..." He replied, returning the hug. "I'm not mad at you or anything...I'm really not..."

The two held each other for another minute or so before separating, with Lori returning to the couch. Mom then spoke up again. "We wanted to talk to you about that too, Lincoln...We've talked to several of your sisters...They told us what you were yelling earlier..." She sounded like she was going to cry as well.

Dad had to finish for her. "They told us about how...angry you've been lately. With Lynn, and Lana, and Lola...What's going on, Lincoln? What's wrong?" He asked softly.

Lincoln started to get nervous. He told himself to lie...and just keep lying. "...I'm...I'm just not feeling too well...Think I have a-"

"Lincoln, stop!" Mom suddenly snapped. "We can all tell there's something more to it! Please...Just tell us the truth!"

Lincoln started to tremble, curling up in on himself. "I...I don't know what's...what's wrong with me..." He muttered.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Luna and Luan were snooping, or about to at least. "Is this really a good idea?" Luan whispered, not wanting Mom and Dad to hear. "I feel bad about this." Mom and Dad had told all the siblings that they, Lori, and Lincoln needed to have a private talk downstairs. Naturally, this meant everyone else crowded at the stairs, just out of sight to listen in. Luan and Luna had talked earlier about looking through Lincoln's room to see if they could find SOME clue as to his problems. They had snuck away from the group soon after Lincoln, Lori, and their parents had gathered.

Luna whispered back. "There's something really wrong going on here. We have to make sure..." Luna opened the door slowly and snuck in with Luan.

Luan quickly noticed the comic she bought him. "Huh...He never read this comic I bought him..." She sounded kind of hurt about that. She noticed how messy the room was. Lincoln was never the cleanest of the siblings, but this was a bit much...And there was medical wrap on his bed. That was odd...

"Oh my fucking God..." Luan heard Luna mutter, caught off-guard by the urgency in her hushed voice. "C-Come look..." Luna was standing over the trash can, looking in. Luan came over and looked, and then her jaw dropped. The color drained from both sisters' faces as they saw the puke, the bloody bandages, and on top of it, the bloody blade.

"H-He...There...There has to be s-some other explanation f-for this...right?" Luan asked, starting to tear up. "I-I dunno, maybe he..." She trailed off.

Luna placed her hand on Luan's shoulder and shook her head in a resolute and concerned manner. "Luan...No...We have to tell Mom and Dad about this..."

As this was going on, Lincoln was continuing his explanation of his situation. "I don't know what's wrong...I just feel so empty and worthless a-all the time..." He started to tear up. "Nothing helps...I just always...always want to just sit and literally do nothing..."

The three oldest family members shared worried glances, with Mom speaking up. "How...How long have you been feeling like this...?"

Lincoln brought his knees to his chest, and wrapped his arms around them, hesitating at first to speak before quietly continuing. "A-About two months..."

"And why didn't you tell us? That's something to worry about!" Lori exclaimed, now feeling much worse over yelling at Lincoln. She, as well as the parents, also felt guilty for never even noticing this...

Lincoln paused before replying. Tears were streaming down his face. "I didn't want to be any more of a burden..." He whimpered, curling in further. "I'm so sorry...I'm just a burden to everyone here..."

The three family members before him were shocked. Mom also had tears streaming, while Dad was trying to put on a brave face. Before either could reply, there was a shout from the staircase. "MOM! DAD!" Luan and Luna came stomping down, followed by the rest of the sisters. Lincoln's teary gaze shot up and saw that Luna was holding his trash can, causing Lincoln's heart to sink down into his stomach. The smell of his puke started to fill the room.

"What?! Girls, what's going on?!" Mom asked, wondering what they were doing with those objects. "We're in the middle of something important! And...what is that SMELL?"

"This is more important!" Luan replied, ignoring the smell questioning. "We...We found some proof in Lincoln's room of some SERIOUS problems!"

"You gotta listen to us! Please?!" Luna added. None of the other sisters really knew what Luan and Luna were getting at, they just followed because they were told to.

Dad sighed. He was really hoping chaos like this wouldn't have happened now, but he supposed he had no choice. "Okay girls, go ahead."

Luna walked over and placed the trash can in front of her parents and Lori. "Look! This is Lincoln's trash can! H-He...God..." Luna wasn't able to continue, she just looked over at her brother with tear-filled, pitying eyes, as did Luan. This caused him to bury his face in his knees, clutching the sides of his heads, panting heavily and wishing he could just sink through the floor and into oblivion.

Mom, Dad, and Lori looked into the can, their faces going completely white. "Is...Is...Lincoln..." Lori managed to fumble out, looking over at her brother. Good God. It turned out it was possible to feel even guiltier than she already had.

Mom simply broke down sobbing while Dad looked up at his son. "Lincoln...Is this really what it looks like...?" He asked.

"What is it? What's going on?" Lola asked, trying to approach the can, but Luan held her back. "I wanna see!" No one but Luan and Luna had seen what was in there until just now, and it was probably best that way.

"Some sort of dark secret...but what is it that would be in a trash can...?" Lisa muttered to herself, trying to figure it out.

Lincoln just curled up tighter, digging his nails into his scalp, refusing to talk, hyperventilating almost furiously. "Lincoln, answer me!" Dad demanded, finally breaking down as tears rolled down his pale face.

Lincoln didn't answer. His resolve broken, he uncurled himself. His entire being felt numb, more than usual. He felt like he was in a dream, almost. He also knew it wasn't, and that he had to face the music. He had no choice. He COULD try and run, but Lynn would catch up to him easily; that is if no one else managed to stop him on the way to the door. Their stares were getting to him, and in response he tried backing away softly, aiming for any enclosed space to slink away to, but to no avail. He slowly took his shirt off, revealing his bandaged arm to everyone, wincing when his shirt dragged along his wounds. Everyone in the room gasped, gazing at the bandages, dried with blood. "I..." Lincoln uttered. "I-I..." He couldn't choke anything else out. He just pushed himself away from everyone until he was up in a corner of the room, staring at everyone.

"Oh my God." Lynn said.

"What...What happened?" Lana asked.

"Lincoln...Jesus..." Luna gasped out. She knew he had cut, but not THAT much...

Mom started bawling heavily now, unable to take seeing her baby boy like this. Dad was speechless too. It was up to Lori to speak for them. "Lincoln..." She was also tearing up, her voice filled with disbelief and sorrow. "Tell us that this isn't what it looks like...Please..."

Lincoln stared at her, and after what seemed like an eon, he found his voice. "I...I-I was trying to kill myself." He blurted out, turning his gaze downward while doing so.

Everyone understood that, aside from Lily. Even Leni got the depth of the situation. The room was silent, everyone was staring at Lincoln. Eyes wide. Jaws open. Lincoln looked back and forth between them all, as if trying to record each of their reactions for later pain. Why was this happening? He wasn't even thinking, he just SAID it. Now they knew. Now they knew he couldn't even kill himself right. Luna was the first to act, slowly approaching her brother. He looked up at her, seemingly terrified of her approach, as if expecting her to slap him senseless. Instead, she got down on her knees, pulling her brother close and wrapping her arms around him, trapping him in a constricting hug. "I'm so, so sorry, bro..." She said into his shoulder, which was already getting wet with her tears.

Sorry...? Why was she sorry? She didn't do anything wrong. Lincoln couldn't comprehend what was going on right then. One by one, the sisters approached Lincoln and joined in, forming a group hug as Mom and Dad watched. "What...What are we going to do...?" Mom whispered.

"I don't know, honey...I don't know..." Dad replied.

So many thoughts were swimming around in Lincoln's head right now. Why was this happening? Why was everyone being so nice to him? How could they be so nice to him? He convinced himself that they all hated him, so what was all of this for? He just wanted to be accepted, but now he was more of a freak and an outcast than ever before. Feeling that, Lincoln broke down sobbing, saying "I'm sorry." over and over again. His pathetic worthlessness was the only real thing in his mind.

After all the children had been cried out, Mom and Dad told them to go upstairs. They had to talk to Lincoln alone. As usual, they hung out near the top, listening in. They all had to console each other silently as they listened in. The parents had Lincoln sit between them, Mom holding her baby boy close to her. "Lincoln...Why are you feeling this way?" Dad asked. "What's so wrong that you wanted to die, son?"

Lincoln didn't want to answer. He didn't want to talk. He just wanted to curl up and rot away on his bed. "I don't want to say." He knew his sisters would be listening in.

"Please, son, this is important..." Mom said, holding herself together. "We want to help you, but we have to know what's wrong first."

Lincoln stared down at the trash can in front of them, his hands clenching into fists. He might as well come clean, they weren't gonna let him go otherwise. Tired of fighting it, Lincoln flatly confessed. "...It's...I just feel so worthless. All my sisters...they're all so successful, so much BETTER than me. It just made me feel so useless next to them. Nothing I do, have done, or will ever do will compare to them. I'm useless."

No one knew how to respond to that. Mom and Dad exchanged worried glances while the sisters cringed on the steps. What are you supposed to THINK about something like that? After a pause, Dad placed a hand on his son's head. "You're NOT useless, Lincoln. We love you and your sisters equally." He placed his hand on Lincoln's shoulder, gripping it to try and comfort the boy. "And...And you shouldn't feel that way about your sisters, champ. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. You and your sisters are no different."

Lincoln didn't even reply. He was so drained. So tired, and empty, something which his mother seemed to notice. "Perhaps...You should go to bed, dear. I'll properly fix up your bandages, and you can head up, okay?"

Lincoln nodded numbly, steadily standing up. "...Am I in trouble?" He asked. It felt oddly silly to ask, but he felt he had to. But he knew he was obviously in deep trouble with everyone.

'You messed everything up. Can't even die right. What good are you?'

"No, no! Of course not!" Dad said. "We...We're just not sure where to go from here. We'll have to talk about it tonight and tomorrow, just your Mom and me. And we'll go from there, okay?"

Lincoln nodded again numbly. "Okay..." After a pause, he hugged his dad tightly, who returned it. After separating, Mom and Lincoln went to the kitchen to get him properly wrapped up. "I know you girls are listening." Dad said sternly once he was alone. "Come down here. We need to talk..."

Later, after the cleaning and re-wrapping, Lincoln went to bed, missing the conversation Dad had with his sisters. He was lying in his underwear below the covers, staring at the ceiling. He majorly messed up. He ruined EVERYTHING. Everyone must have hated him now. How could they not? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Lincoln. Can...Can I come in?" Lucy's voice rang out from the other side. For once, her voice had emotion, sadness. Not her usual dramatic kind, but a genuine, broken sadness.

Lincoln was too exhausted for it, but he found himself replying with an "Okay, come in." anyway. Lucy opened the door, quickly shutting it behind her. She had a pillow in hand, seeming paler than usual. "What is it, Luce...?" He asked nervously. He wasn't sure what he should be saying to her.

"Can I sleep in here with you? Please?" Lucy asked, sounding desperate. "Just for tonight, I promise." She assured.

She sounded so needy, but Lincoln didn't have the heart to turn him away. "Sure, of course." He said, scooting over with a wince. That damn arm...

"Thank you, Lincoln." Lucy said, climbing in next to her older brother. She turned so she was facing him and latched onto him, holding him as if he'd fade away if she let go. "I know I don't say it often. To you or anyone. But I love you, Lincoln." She muttered into his neck.

Lincoln was shocked, and confused. Was she saying this because she meant it? Or was she just doing so out of pity. Either way, he knew how he felt about her. "I love you too, Lucy." And after that, no more words were uttered. Lucy fell asleep soon after, leaving Lincoln to remain awake throughout the night. This gave him a lot of time to think. About the situation, about the future. What was he going to do? What were his PARENTS going to do? Lock him up somewhere? This was his entire fault. If only he was a better person, a better sibling, none of this would've happened. If only he wasn't so...inadequate. Unbeknownst to the little goth, her brother would find no peace in the darkness, both in his room and in his mind.

When it was morning, around seven, Lincoln tried to get out of bed. Except Lucy, still asleep, wouldn't let him go. She had held onto him all night. "No...Linc..." She mumbled lightly. Was she...dreaming about him? The events of the previous night must have really gotten to her. Over the next hour, he tried a few more times, finally managing to pry himself from his younger sister without waking her up. He managed to sneak around her on the bed, getting off of it and getting dressed.

Oh-so-quietly, he left the room, closing the door behind him. It was at that moment he noticed two things for the first time that morning. One was how QUIET the house was. It was never this quiet this early in the morning. The second was more obvious, Lynn standing outside of her and Lucy's room, tossing a small rubber ball in the air and catching it over and over. It was pretty odd to see her standing THAT still. Was...She waiting for him? She looked over at Lincoln, smiling a bit. She seemed exhausted, heavy shadows under her eyes. Seems Lincoln wasn't the only one to not get a lot of sleep. "Mornin', Linc." She greeted.

"Um...Hey, Lynn..." Lincoln awkwardly greeted back. He really didn't know what to say to her. With the revelation of how he felt of her and his sisters. It was easier dealing with Lucy, she was asleep within minutes after the two were together after the incident. He didn't know what else to say, so he just stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Going down for breakfast?" She asked awkwardly. It seemed she was just as uncomfortable as Lincoln was.

Lincoln stared at her, her smiling at him. Despite everything he said to her. The things he said last night, the sins he committed. He closed the gap between the two, hugging his older sister tightly. "I-I'm so sorry, Lynn..."

Lynn was taken aback by this, but returned the hug, gently rubbing her brother's back. "Shhh...It's okay, Linc. You've got nothing to be sorry about..."

Lincoln shook his head. "That's not true...I said such horrible things...Last night...and to you in the last few days..."

Lynn sighed, separating the two so they could look into each other's eyes. "Lincoln, really, don't worry about it. I know...things have been going wrong up here." She tapped the side of his head. "I know you didn't mean those things, right?"

Lincoln nodded. "O-Of course not! I love you, Lynn. Nothing could change that!"

"I love you too, bro." Lynn replied, then stood by his side, wrapping an arm around her brother. "Now, let's go eat!" She exclaimed, practically dragging her brother down the stairs. Things went like this with Lincoln's other sisters the next few days. Mom and Dad were generally busy figuring out what to do with Lincoln, while his sisters were clearly overly nice to him. One other thing Lincoln noticed was that he NEVER had any alone time. That is, aside from when he was in the bathroom. Aside from that, there was always one sister with him! They would suddenly be interested in his interests, practically force themselves to participate in other activities, and every night a sister slept alongside him. The younger ones tended to claim nightmares, while the older ones claimed they fought with their respective roommates...despite there never having been any fights Lincoln could recall.

It felt...nice. Having so much positive attention. It started to help Lincoln feel alive again. Help him feel ANYTHING again aside from emptiness and despair. Yet, he couldn't help but feel even guiltier. He knew it was some sort of agreement among the sisters or orders from the parents for him to never be alone. They were practically babysitting him, and he felt more like a burden than ever because of it. They were afraid if they left him alone too long, he'd kill himself.

…They were right to fear that…

He kept having urges to just split his wrists open, but he never had the courage to do so in the few moments of solitude that he had, while looking down at his arm, further tempted by the scars that begged to be re-opened, further tempted by the skin that almost begged to be torn into; tempted by the voice of his inner demons.

'Too cowardly to do the right thing. How typical of you.'

A few days after the discovery, the parents confronted Lincoln in the living room. "Alright, son. We have a plan on what to do." Dad said, with a mix of sorrow and relief in his voice.

"We found a good doctor you can talk to. Someone that will be able to help you in ways we can't." Mom added. "I know it's scary to talk to a stranger about it, but he'll help you. We promise you that."

Unbeknownst to the loving parents, Lincoln felt sick at the news. He didn't want to see a doctor. Someone who'd call him crazy and pretend to care for his situation. And prior to hearing the news, he had looked it up; these people can be expensive! He was just making things worse for everyone. He felt compelled to lie, if not for his sake but for their efforts to not be wasted. "I...Th-Thank you, Mom...Dad..." Lincoln said, hugging both of his parents, who returned the favor. "When do I start seeing him?"

"Tomorrow, we were lucky to be able to get him to see you so soon!" Dad exclaimed.

Lincoln's heart sank when his father replied with somewhat noticeably fake enthusiasm, but he kept a smile on his face. He excused himself and went into the upstairs bathroom. He looked in the mirror, his head spinning with dreadful thoughts. Why now? This couldn't be happening? Why did he let himself lie like that?! He couldn't do this. He couldn't! He desperately needed a way out, unable to handle things anymore! He looked at himself, how pale and exhausted he was. He wanted to rest...He was so, so tired. At that moment, his mind went blank, leaving his senses all but working, as if something switched his mind off. He sighed, and, almost unconsciously exited the bathroom, heading down the hall and into Lily and Lisa's room. Lily was snoozing in her crib, while Lisa was writing something down in a notepad. "Hey, Lisa." Lincoln greeted with a strange, almost peaceful manner. "What are you working on?"

Lisa turned to her brother. One thing Lincoln had to appreciate about her, is that she managed to keep the look of pity out of her eyes. "Just...Some projects. Nothing that'd interest you, I'm sure..." She turned away. Ever since the reveal, she seemed nervous around her brother.

"You okay, Lisa? You seem upset about something." Lincoln asked. He had asked this before, but she always waved it away. But the sudden inquisitive demeanor caught the little intelligent girl.

It seemed...something today was different. Lisa sighed, putting her notepad away. "I'm...I'm sorry, Lincoln." That's all she said, she looked over to her brother with saddened eyes.

"Sorry? Sorry about what?" He sincerely had no idea what was going on.

Lisa approached Lincoln, giving him a hug. It was extremely rare for her to do this when it wasn't part of a group hug, so this surprised Lincoln. "I-I feel like I should have NOTICED what you were going through!" She exclaimed. "I know the symptoms of illnesses like this...but I didn't see it in you, and I should have!"

Lincoln looked down at his little sister, before returning the hug. "You can't be mad at yourself, Lisa. It isn't your fault." He patted at her head softly, his voice almost too soothing to believe. "You have to remember, as smart as you are, you're only four. You can't put burdens on yourself like that, okay?"

Lisa sniffled, looking up at her sole brother, a smile forming on her face. "Thanks, Lincoln..." She gave him one last squeeze before separating. "Do you perhaps think you'd like to see what I'm working on...?"

Lincoln shook his head lightly and smiled back. "Sorry, I can't. I have something I have to do, I just popped in to say hello. Maybe later today, alright?" He said, to which Lisa nodded. On his way out, he gave Lily a peck on the forehead, causing her to turn and babble baby nonsense in her sleep. A numb grin replaced his smile as he left.

'You disgust me.'

Lincoln made his way to the twins' room, where the two were managing to coexist and not fight. Lana was feeding Izzy while Lola was having a tea party with a stuffed bear. "Lincoln!" They both exclaimed when he came in, going over to give him a hug.

"Hey, guys! How are my favorite twins in the world doing?" Lincoln asked. The two hadn't fully grasped the situation of suicide, but they knew their brother was in trouble and tried to help him however they could!

"Goood!" They answered, again in unison.

Lola pointed to the tea party she was having. "You...Want to join me, Lincoln?" She asked. She had actually started asking Lincoln to hang out with her instead of demanding it. A welcome change, he had to admit.

"No, no! Play with Izzy and me!" Lana butted in, wanting the attention of her brother. The two glared daggers at each other.

"Easy, you two..." Lincoln said with a chuckle, patting their shoulders to pacify them. "I'm afraid I can't do either right now. I'm on my way to do something, just wanted to pop in and say hi. I'll play with you two tomorrow, okay?" He asked, kissing the two sisters on their crowns, removing Lana's hat for a moment before putting it back on her head. The two agreed, albeit sadly, and Lincoln left. The two pondered why their brother was acting so different now, but limited understanding and attention spans turned them back to their previous activities.

'Are the last words you're going to say to those two really going to be lies?'

Lucy wasn't in her room, and Lynn was napping when Lincoln checked. He didn't want to disturb his sporty sister, but he DID give her a peck on the forehead, very lightly. After that, he made his way to Luan and Luna's room. "Hey, bro!" Luna greeted as he stood in the doorway. "Come on in!" A short nod and soon Lincoln found himself at their door.

"Hey, Linc! What's up?" Luan greeted, flashing a metallic smile.

"Just coming in to say hi, is all." Lincoln said. "What are you guys up to?" He walked over to Luna, who was fiddling with her guitar.

"Nothin' much, just chilling." Luna answered. There was a pause. Tension was a bit high between the three the last few days. Mostly due to the snooping. "We...We are sorry we looked around in your room like that, bro."

"Yeah! We were just worried!" Luan added. "We just wanted to help..."

"Guys, don't worry about it!" Lincoln assured in the most saintly manner ever conceived. "I was never mad about that. Come on, small group hug?" He widened his arms as an offer, which Luna and Luan took. With that and a kiss to each of their cheeks, he made his way out, humming a faint but familiar tune that Luna once sang to him so long ago. The two girls glanced at each other, puzzled by their younger brother's actions. Luan softly smiled thinking maybe they did some good for him. Luna returned the smile with her own, and went to strum the same tune her brother hummed.

He knocked on Leni and Lori's door, which opened to a bubbly Leni. "Lincoln! Hey, what's up?!" Leni was even more clueless about suicide than the twins were, but she also knew, like them, that Lincoln was in pain. She had tried her best to make him feel better since that night.

"Just on my way to do something, thought I'd say hi." Lincoln responded, in a more laid back manner, unlike the manner he had prior. "Can I...come in?"

"Yeah, come on, twerp." He heard Lori say deeper into the room. Her words nearly broke his façade.

Lincoln went in, giving Leni a hug as he passed, which she happily returned moreover. "Just wanted to give you two a hug." He said, approaching Lori.

"...Really? That's it?" She asked, sounding unsure, with a hint of her usually snippy self. "Why?"

Lincoln froze in place for a moment, his inner self threatening to burst through and destroy his careful ruse, but instead gave her a sad smile, the only truth he could muster then. "I...I just appreciate what you two have done for me since...that night. Can't I thank you with hugs?" He asked.

This seemed to convince Lori, who admittedly smiled and hugged her only brother. "Yeah...Yeah, that makes sense. I love you, bro. You know that, right?"

Liar. No one says the things you had when they love. Lincoln couldn't help but love her anyway. "I love you too, Lori. You too, Leni." He said, with a voice that to the untrained ear was calm, but was really breaking. Lori looked at Leni, who had the brightest smile on her face that seemed to also melt away her own doubts. At the threshold, however, away from his two eldest sisters, and such warmth, he mouthed a miniscule and muted "goodbye".

With that, he exited the room and went into the bathroom, closing and locking the door softly behind him. He sighed and approached the mirror again. This was it. He had to do it now. He just wanted to sleep in eternal peace. Away from the hurt, away from the anxiety, to be done with being a burden, and to be done...being. He didn't even bother to hide it at this point by turning on the tub faucets as if he was taking a shower. Trembling softly, he dismantled one of the razors of the girls. It would have to do. He hoped his family would understand, if they could after the deed was done...

Lincoln found himself sobbing quietly as his blood started to pour from his wrists. It hurt so bad...but felt so good. He became dizzy, falling to the floor and slowly losing his wretched consciousness. Teary eyes blurred his vision as he came to stare at first the ceiling, his world still spinning. And then his gaze turned to the door behind his head as his heavy eyes began to close for what he hoped was the last time. He heard a gasp, a yell, the sound of wood splintering.

And then Lincoln's world went black.

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Voices. Beeping. Sterile smells. Sobbing.

Lincoln felt himself regain consciousness, but kept his eyes closed. That smell, those noises...he was...in a hospital? He felt drained, a prick in his arm. Felt like had been hit by a truck. Felt like he hadn't slept in weeks.

Most of all he felt anger with himself. He failed, twice now, to end his life. He hated how he failed spectacularly without even trying. He wondered why he was saved. What good was he to the world, to his family? What...

Hm? Were those voices? He kept his eyes closed, but concentrated on listening. "I just don't understand..." It was his Mom. She was crying. "He was going to see someone, going to get BETTER. Why would he try this?"

"I don't know, dear...I don't know..." Lincoln heard his Dad reply. He wasn't crying, but it sounded like he was until recently, yet still strangely drained. He began to hear sniffles and murmurs elsewhere in the room. His sisters, perhaps...?

He didn't want to face them. He was so ashamed, for so many different reasons. The failure of a brother he was to his sisters, the disappointment of a son he was to his parents, all his shortcomings and sins buzzing in his mind would've spilled out if he had also hit his head in the bathroom. Could life be so cruel as to torment them with his almost believably immortal existence? Never more had he wanted to become as insignificant as the dust that floated in the sunlight.

Lincoln knew, however, he had to open his eyes eventually. With a groan, he opened his eyes, the ceiling lights hurting his weary eyes. He looked slowly at his dwellings; he was in a rather cramped room, given that his entire family was there. How they managed that was beyond Lincoln. It seemed like everyone's head snapped over at once to Lincoln, looking them dead in the eyes. They didn't say anything. All of them, even his Dad, had red, puffy eyes. Lincoln felt himself push back into the pillow he was propped against. No one said anything, so Lincoln felt he had to speak up. "What...What happened?" It was a genuine question! He had locked the door and everything!

Lori marched towards Lincoln, her face wearing a mask of fury as tears welled in her eyes. "What HAPPENED?!" She asked.

"Lori, sweetie-" Mom started.

Lori wasn't having any of it though. "What HAPPENED is that you tried to kill yourself! AGAIN!" She yelled, causing Lincoln to flinch, pressing back into his bed to make himself as small as possible. "How could you do this to yourself?!" She was right next to him. "Do this to US?!" Her voice melted into despair, as she hugged her brother tightly, crying into his shoulder. "W-We were so scared, Lincoln...scared of losing you forever..." Her cries softened into slightly hushed sobs, as did her arms around Lincoln loosen.

"...But why?" Lincoln found himself asking. Why would anyone care if he died? All he did, ALL HE DID, was take up space. He was a burden to everyone he knew.

There was a pause, the only sound being Lori sobbing. Luna was next to approach, a voice with less fury and more sorrow. "Why? Because we LOVE you, bro. No matter what, we always will!" She said, going over to his right side. First, she placed her hand upon his head, patting and smoothing his messed-up hair. "You are not a burden, but an inspiration, to me, to all of us. Don't you forget that, little bro." A few teardrops fell onto Lincoln's shoulder, as he turned to see a quivering smile from the fledgling rock star.

"We don't want you to leave us!" Leni exclaimed, joining in behind Lori, with even more crying than the first two girls. She brought Lily with her, who sat on her brother's legs, instinctively hugging one of them since there wasn't much room anywhere else. Surprisingly, she was not crying, one of the only times she would never, and cooed sheepishly while nestling her brother's calf. "We're so grateful that you try to help us feel better when we're down," Leni continued through her sobs. "And yet still...to think you were in so much pain...what kind of sisters are we to, like, not see it?" Leni wiped her tears, but soon more began to trickle down her cheeks, smudging her makeup. "We're horrible...we should be the ones apologizing...not you Lincy."

"I don't know what I'd do without you if you died! And I don't even want to think about it! EVER!" Lynn blurted, with noticeable frustration, as she went over. Briefly, Lynn raised her clenched hand, causing Lincoln to wince, preparing to receive the ol' "two-for-flinching". Lynn however restrained her instincts just enough to let her fist fall to the side. He had been in enough pain already, she thought. She let her head fall onto his right shoulder. Luna shifted her position to allow Lynn some more room beside Lincoln's head, and used her free hand to stroke Lynn's back for emotional support. "You will make it through this, like you always do. You're way tougher than this. I know it...you can't...Linc, you..." The roughest sibling spoke with a cracking voice on the verge of tears herself. "You're a stronger fighter than me when it comes to this..." she admitted softly but loud enough for Lincoln to hear.

"Please don't leave us..." Luan chocked out as she joined in, closing the gap between Lynn and Luna. "Life just wouldn't be fun without you. All the jokes, slapstick, funny sounds, and comedy routines I'd do would mean nothing if I never get to hear your laughs again..." Luan tried her best to keep a straight face amidst the somber mood and opened with a joke. "And besides, the whole house would be less LOUD if you were gone." It was such a poor joke that even she couldn't laugh it off, but somewhere deep inside Lincoln, he couldn't just leave her hanging, and struggled with a small chuckle. I suppose, he thought to himself, chuckling at the irony. The gesture, however, brought Luan to more tears as she joined in his short retort, eyes focusing on his fading grin.

"I don't want to lose my brother." Lucy said, sniffling as she sat by his free leg with a hand on his shin. Her sight was fixated away from Lincoln, and her long bangs clung slightly to her tear-stricken face. "Th-There was blood everywhere...I never want to see that again. Please never make us see that again, Lincoln..." Lincoln was surprised by the trembling from just her hand, and the shakiness of her concerned voice; however, what surprised him the most was how he could see the sadness shine through her slightly parted hair. He faintly saw a pair of eyes. Eyes truly filled with despair, the likes of which only thought to have existed in her morbid reading material, with mascara-stained tears that dripped down her cheeks, making her look like Brandon Lee in The Crow. It soon morphed into a mile-long stare into whatever abyss she might've known. 'What did she mean by "that again"?', he pondered wearily.

"Don't do that again, Lincoln!" The twins ordered in unison, climbing onto the bed as well, placing themselves closest to his center and burying their heads into his hospital gown. The twins gripped tight with no desire to let go, and even with his faint breathing, he could feel them quaking almost rhythmically with it. "We won't forgive you if you do!" Their tears made the gown slightly wet, but nothing was going to remove the two from their place. Although he could not see their faces, Lincoln could tell they would not be a pretty sight judging by the amount of tears and slimy mucus he was feeling on his stomach.

"Neither would I!" Lisa said, sounding uncharacteristically childish as she too got on the bed. Kneeling in front of Lucy, she clasped her hands around Lincoln's own. She carefully avoided the wrapping on his arm, though the sight of it somewhat gave her the strength to continue. "I'd rather turn you into Frankenstein's Monster with my own hands than have to watch you be lowered into the ground...or cremated! I promise you! So please..." Lisa shook her head, reeling at the thought of doing something like that to her only brother. "Just...say you want to live from now on..." Setting herself down alongside Lynn, Lisa sniffled, desperately trying to fight back the tears. Lucy, drawn to the change in the mood, which thankfully brought her back from her more horrid memories, picked up Lily and placed her and herself in between Lisa and the twins. Soon, the Loud sisters began to huddle in closer to their only brother, with almost no room left to move and break the bond they smothered Lincoln into.

Mom and Dad watched in silence at the scene, holding onto each other, wiping their tears away. Both parents gazed on with sad smiles as they tried to offer their own quiet support without having to break the touching sibling union. They looked straightforward at Lincoln, their eyes conveying the quiet parental love they showered him with since the day he was born.

Lincoln was in shock. These hugs...These hugs, he FELT. Could he really believe all those words? Did he really mean the world to them? Did they really all love him so much? Even when he was so awful to them for the past week? He felt another sensation after that last thought; clarity. Like the morning fog at dawn, the voice in his head subsided, melted by the rays of his family's compassion. God, what had he done? He made them all cry like this...again. "I-I'm so sorry..." He muttered tiredly. He wanted to hug them all back, but both of his arms were too sore to really move. Covered in bandages where he tried to end himself.

It was the parents' time to speak, however what they told Lincoln only filled him with more remorse. They retold the shocking turn of events that happened a few days prior to him being here. As it turned out, Lucy had watched him from the vents when he went into the bathroom, as unnerving as it sounded. She got there just in time to see him in the midst of cutting. After she rushed through the vents and yelled for help, Dad literally broke the door in, getting his only son to the hospital just in time. For the days he was unconscious, neither the parents nor the sisters ever left him alone, clinging onto the desperate hope that he would soon awaken, and despite the numerous times the staff had urged them to leave him be, or at the very least rest in the waiting area. Even during meal times, they never left his room save for the few times when some were tasked to get the food from the cafeteria.

After hearing the events that came about, Lincoln soon looked back at his decisions and actions that day, as well as his behavior since he first started to feel the way he did. How could he be so STUPID and selfish? How did he become so blind to it all? Their love for him was real. His fears, although still real, were unable to overshadow his rediscovered familial bonds. Soon, he allowed himself to feel again; allowed himself to cry tears of joy again. He profusely apologized to each of his sisters for his selfishness, and to his parents soon after. When the sobbing subsided, Lincoln resolved himself to try again. "Thank you all...so much" he softly muttered.

After everything calmed down, he and his parents talked it over. He would see a doctor for initial help and take medicine if need be. They assured him he was no burden, and that his family was there for him out of LOVE, not out of a begrudging obligation. Lincoln still felt sad over the next few weeks; the bouts of depression were hurdles he faced, sometimes in silence, other times unexpectedly. He had his days where he couldn't get out of bed and nights which he couldn't fall asleep, but a sister was always there to keep him company. The reassurance was helpful only to an extent, and he sometimes thought back on those times he felt like a real burden. However, there was no shortage of pep talk that had given him a lifeline when he needed it. He wasn't cured, not yet. He still felt like he was the runt of the family. He probably would for a while. But he knew his sisters and his parents would be there every step of the way to recovery.

To help him feel like he wasn't inadequate...