Hi everyone, chapter 9 of this story is finally here! I just want to thank you all so much for the strong words of support. The past six weeks have been a real hassle for me, and my mind had been busy with other important matters. But thanks to God, I was finally able to get chapter 9 done. It took a lot of thinking and struggling, but I hope you all like the chapter!

During the time that the Loud parents held their serious talk with Lynn Jr., eight-year-old Lucy Loud had been asked to spend some time in her older brother Lincoln's room. This was a moment she had been anticipating during the past two days as she wanted to get to know her brother better and share with him a little about herself.


Lincoln was laying down in his bed, eating some cheese balls while watching some TV. He was catching up on the latest from his favorite cartoon, unwinding after a wild day. Nothing else in his life had been more frightening than being nearly beaten to death by two teenage boys. And nothing had felt worse than being belittled by a member of his new family. But at the end of it all, Lincoln had been glad everything turned out alright. His life had been spared and he was now in good standing with his athletic sister.

Lincoln was now preparing to go sleep. He felt worn out after his crazy trip to Dairyland and just wanted to relax. But as he turned off his TV, he heard a knock on his door that indicated that his day was yet to end.

Upon opening the door, he found himself face-to-face with his younger sister Lucy. Normally Lucy would be the type to appear out of nowhere and scare the heck out of whoever she wanted to talk to, but being the first time she'd formally get to talk with Lincoln, she felt like she needed to be more courteous with her approach.

"Hey Lucy," Lincoln smiled. "What's up?"

"Mom and Dad asked me to stay in your room for a little bit while they talk with Lynn about something. Mind if I come in?" Lucy asked.

"Not at all Lucy, make yourself at home," Lincoln replied, standing aside to let his sister in.

"So," Lucy began as she took a seat next to Lincoln on his bed. "We haven't really gotten a chance to talk with each other much have we?"

"Um, no, not yet," Lincoln said.

"Well, I was kinda hoping that we could get to know each other a bit better."

"You mean you want to have some one-on-one time?"

"Yes. I'd love to get to you know some more and chat with you a little bit."

"Sounds good to me," Lincoln said. "What kind of things do you want to know about me?"

"Well to start, I suppose maybe you could tell me a bit about who you are and what you like."

"Um, okay. Well, I'm Lincoln, and I really like reading comic books, especially the Ace Savvy comic book series."

"Huh, that's interesting. No one in our family has ever shown interest in comics before. Yet again though, you're the first boy to ever come alive in this house so I guess it's not much of a surprise."

Lincoln let out a quick chuckle. "Heh, well I guess that makes sense."

"So you're into comic books, what else do you like?"

"Um," Lincoln stumbled, struggling to think of something more interesting than his obsession with comic books. But ultimately, he found himself blurting out, "I also like playing with my Ace Savvy action figures." Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the thought of her older brother playing with what she deemed as "dolls".

"Yeah, I know," Lincoln said, blushing a bit from embarrassment. "But the Ace Savvy action figures I have are special limited-edition collector's toys. So they really mean a lot to me."

Lucy continued to giggle, struggling to maintain composure. "I'm so sorry Lincoln, hahaha! It's just that I can't believe you actually play with dolls."

"It's okay Lucy," Lincoln chuckled weakly. "I get it, but like I said these are collector's toys and they mean a lot to me."

"No, I get it too," Lucy admitted. "And I guess you're still not too old to be playing with action figures."

"Thanks Lucy. I'm glad you understand. Well, aside from action figures and Ace Savvy, I'm somewhat into reading books, especially science fiction and a bit of poetry."

"Gasp," Lucy replied. "Did you say 'poetry'?"

"Um, yes. I like reading some poetry."

"Lincoln, poetry is my life!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly. "I literally love poetry! It helps my soul feel free from all of the thoughts that wander around in the depths of my mind."

"Wow," Lincoln said. "Sounds like you really like poetry."

"I do. I have this journal that I write poems into every day. It helps me express any feelings that come to mind."

"Well that's good," Lincoln said. "I'm glad to see you like writing poems."

"Indeed. Want to hear a few of my poems?"

"Sure! That would be great!"

"Alright," Lucy said, bringing out her small chapbook. "Let's see what I can read…ah yes, here's one of my favorites. I call it, 'An earth in despair'."

"The earth calls its babies for help

Every day, the earth suffers from diarrhea

Constipation

Headaches

And anxiety attacks

So much corruption

So much crime

This planet cries for help

"Somebody help me! I'm dying!"

"Please darlings, help me!"

But all the little darlings do is keep hurting the earth

With every killing of a tree

With every wildfire spawned by an ignorant fool

With every piece of litter and toxic chemical placed in the crisp H20

The earth keeps getting sick

The earth is now between life and death

The babies know this fact

But still, they go on with their harming

The earth is now weak

Someone please help this single sphere with life cure its illness

Before its too late

And all life becomes no more"

Lincoln was astonished by Lucy's ability to play with her words. Since the wording wasn't too difficult, he was able to deduce that Lucy wrote this poem in concern about the environment. He let out a quick applause, saying, "Wow Lucy, that was very deep."

"Thanks older brother. But I should tell you that in the world of poetry, when people want to commend a poet, they don't clap."

"Oh," Lincoln said.

"Yeah, what we do instead is snap our fingers like this," the goth said, snapping her fingers a few times. "It's just so that we don't make too much noise and disrupt the poet."

"Ah, that makes sense. Sorry Lucy, I'll make sure that doesn't happen again."

"Don't worry Lincoln, it's not like you knew that before," Lucy smiled, patting Lincoln's shoulder. "How about I read you a couple more of my poems?"

"I'd love to hear some more of your incredible work!"

"Very well."

Within the following thirty minutes, Lucy read five more of her poems to Lincoln, with the latter snapping his fingers whenever he heard a line he enjoyed from the poems, as well as at the end of each poem. By the time Lucy had finished sharing the poems she had wanted to read, a knock was heard on Lincoln's door.

"Come in!" Lincoln said. The door opened to reveal the Loud matriarch. "Hey guys, how's everything going?"

"It's going great Mom! Lucy was just reading some of her poems with me and what can I say? She's practically a natural when it comes to writing poems." Lucy smiled at her brother's compliment.

"She's definitely a really talented writer," Rita said. "Did you know that she's the president of the writing club at her school?"

"Aww, Mom," Lucy giggled.

"Wow, you're the president of your school's writing club?!" Lincoln asked Lucy, shocked.

"Yes, and I really love it! I get to work with kids who need to free their souls from a lot of thoughts. It's really fun." Lucy responded.

"I bet it is," Lincoln said.

"Well I'm glad to see you two getting along very well," Rita chimed in. "Anyways, I just came here to see how everything was going and to tell Lucy that she can go back to her room now."

"Awwww…" Lincoln and Lucy both said in a sunken tone.

"Sorry guys, but it is time for bed anyways, so I think it's best that you two get some good night's rest. You know, children who don't get at least eight hours of sleep have problems staying awake during the day and doing things. You two wouldn't want to have these problems, would you?"

"No Mom," the goth and white-haired boy agreed.

"Good. I'll leave you guys to tell each other 'good night'. I'll be back in a moment Lincoln."

"Alright Mom!" the two said before Rita nodded and left.

"Well Lucy, thanks for the fun time. You're a really good writer and I can easily see you becoming a famous poet."

"Aww, thanks Lincoln. It was nice having this time to ourselves. If you want I can give you some advice for writing poetry. You too could have a hidden voice that just needs help coming out."

"I'd appreciate that Lucy. Well, anyways have a good night! I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Hold it right there Lincoln," Lucy said, holding out her right hand. She then grabbed Lincoln's head and pulled it towards her so she could plant a soft kiss on his left cheek.

"Have a great night Lincoln. I love you so much."

"Aw, I love you too Lucy," Lincoln said, blushing a bit.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Lucy said getting off her brother's bed and leaving his room.

"See ya!" Lincoln waved. He then finished up with his pre-slumber activities and finally turned off his room's light and snuggled himself within his sheets. But he was again interrupted by his mother who had returned as she had said a moment ago.

"Don't forget to say 'good night' to your mother son!" Rita said, placing a soft kiss on Lincoln's forehead.

"Sorry Mom! Almost forgot. Good night Mom, I hope you have a good slumber," Lincoln said, returning the kiss.

"Thanks sweetie. Sleep well!" the matriarch said as she left Lincoln's room and closed his room's door.


Suddenly, he woke up only to see the bright fluorescent ceiling lights dawning on his pupils. He glanced over at the digital clock to the right of his floor mattress. The time read 7:30 AM. It was time for him to get ready for school lessons starting at 8 o'clock sharp. However, this time around, he felt unusually tired. He decided that grabbing five more minutes of rest wouldn't hurt…

"LINCOLN!" a female voice exclaimed.

Lincoln immediately sprang up like a terrified cat. "Mrs. Jackson!"

"Lincoln! It's 8:10 and you're not in class!"

"Mrs. Jackson, I'm so, so, so sorry! I was just feeling very tired! I woke up at 7:30 but I just thought sleeping an extra five minutes wouldn't hurt! Please you gotta understand!" the six-year old white-haired boy explained.

"No Lincoln! There are absolutely no excuses for why you didn't make it to your class on time!" his adoption center caretaker said.

"What do you mean? I didn't mean to fall asleep on purpose!"

"I said NO EXCUSES!"

"But Mrs. Jackson…"

"NO! NOW BE QUIET AND STAY RIGHT HERE! I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"

The younger Lincoln immediately complied, watching as his caretaker disappeared into a nearby closet. What could Mrs. Jackson possibly have in store for him?

Two minutes later, the woman returned with a somewhat thick wooden block in her hand. "Alright Lincoln, you already knew this. 'No excuses' means no excuses! You understand me?"

Lincoln gulped, knowing where this was headed. But an idea sprouted in his mind.

"Yep, I understand Mrs. Jackson." Suddenly, the white-haired youngster began to run away.

"Oh no you don't you little rapscallion!" the caretaker shouted as she took off after him.

For Lincoln, his attempt to runaway only lasted a short fifteen seconds as his caretaker was quite a quick runner. One she caught up to him, she grasped onto him and pulled him up onto her arms. She then began to carry him back into the dormitory.

"Nooooooo! Somebody help! HELP!" Lincoln yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Be quiet!" the caretaker said giving Lincoln a thump on his forehead. "You're such an annoying child! No wonder your parents never wanted you!"

Lincoln's heart shattered upon hearing those words. He began to wail uncontrollably.

Mrs. Jackson then slapped Lincoln's left cheek. "SHUT UP AND STOP CRYING!" Then she took Lincoln into the same closet where she had gone to retrieve the wooden block and locked the door behind her.

"Let's see you try to run away now!" she said with an angry expression on her face. "You know the rules! You are to be in class and in your seat at exactly 8 AM on Mondays through Fridays! And look at you, sleeping on the job!"

"I said I was sorry!" the six-year-old wailed.

"Sorry is just for losers like you. And do you know what disobedient children like you get at this center?"

"No? What?"

"A lesson that they'll never forget," Mrs. Jackson said, patting the wooden block on the palm of her left hand.

"Oh no…" Lincoln muttered.

"'Oh no' is right!" Mrs. Jackson said. "I've got the wrong tool for the job. This job requires more appropriate tools," she added, putting away the wooden block. She then glanced over at the top shelf in the closet and grabbed a water hose. Lincoln now realized how deeply in trouble he was. He had only seen the hose be used once in his lifetime, on a boy eight years old. Apparently his caretaker had gotten infuriated with him for accidentally spilling his cup of coffee. All he remembered from that was hearing the boy's caretaker telling the other caretakers in the center that he had to "give him the right dose of education".

Now Lincoln shivered. The hose was now confronting him. Could anything help him in this case?

Lincoln thought so, and he quickly looked around in the closet. He spotted a thick wooden block to his left and decided to quickly grab it and fling it to his caretaker.

Mrs. Jackson only laughed. Due to Lincoln's young age, he didn't have the muscle yet to be able to throw objects with power. The wooden block simply flew in the air for a brief second before hitting the floor in front of the caretaker's feet.

"So, you thought you could hurt me with this? Let me show you how it's done!" She then grabbed the wooden block and launched it with force at Lincoln's face, hitting Lincoln square in the nose. He immediately began to wail once again.

"Oh don't worry Lincoln, that's just how you do it with a block. Don't you want to find out how it's done with the hose?" And before he could react, Lincoln found himself being grabbed by Mrs. Jackson and taken to a chair at the end of the small room. She strapped Lincoln to the seat with a piece of rope she found in a nearby shelf.

"This is how it's done!" were the last words Lincoln heard before a loud snapping noise boomed in that tiny closet.

"WAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" the white-haired boy loudly cried.

"SHUT YOUR UGLY MOUTH!" Mrs. Jackson said, continuing to whip the innocent boy with the hose.

Inside Lincoln's classroom in the adoption center, the teacher and the students couldn't help but take note of a loud crying coming from nearby.

"Mr. Benson, what's that noise? It sounds like a little boy crying!" a girl stated.

Knowing very well that such crying was extremely rare in the center, Mr. Benson quickly concluded that one of the children was getting the hose.

Trying not to cause any panic in his students, Mr. Benson replied, "Don't worry about it. Someone probably just got hurt. The nurse is probably taking care of it right now."

"Um, okay," the girl said fully believing his explanation.

"Alright, now focus on your reading," he said, returning to his desk.

Lincoln had now been hit thirty-four times with the hose. Mrs. Jackson's right arm was extremely worn out at this point, and her left arm didn't have as much force as her right arm did.

"You're very lucky that my left arm sucks at hitting. Or else this would go on all day. Now you stay in here and think about what you did!" Mrs. Jackson said, exiting the closet and locking the door.

Lincoln now laid down on the floor. He sustained heavy bruises and was bleeding in many parts of his young body due to the extreme force of the hose beatings. He cried weakly, not because his injuries didn't hurt (they were the most painful in his life thus far). He was just too beaten up to be able to wail.

"Help," the six-year-old whispered. "Help...me...please..."


Lori Loud had been busy away with her slumber, not being in the slightest way disturbed. The Loud residence was quiet, and everyone was having a peaceful rest.

Suddenly though, Lori's ears began to twitch. She perceived a loud yelling noise coming out from the hallway. Lori finally opened her eyes a tiny bit, realizing that something had disturbed her rest. She tried to listen closely to any sounds emitting from the deepness of the night. She looked around her room for any suspicious movements. She glanced over to her sister Leni, thinking that perhaps she had been the one who had let out a yell. But after observing her surroundings for a bit, she concluded that Leni hadn't caused any trouble. She was snoring peacefully on her bed. Lori didn't hear any noise while she scanned her surroundings so she decided to shut her eyes once more.

Ten seconds later, another loud yell echoed throughout the hallway. This time, a male voice yelling "NOOOOOOO!" could be somewhat heard following the yell.

Lori once again opened her eyes. "What the heck?" she whispered to herself, confused. "I better go see what's going on." She then put on her blue slippers and decided to venture out to the hallway.

She stood outside for about a minute, once again scanning her surroundings for any trouble. But she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She heard no screams. Not even a whisper! Lori began to conclude that her mind was playing tricks with her and she turned back towards her bedroom.

But as she was about to go inside, she heard a clearly audible yell followed by intense sobbing. Lori then realized that her brain was playing no games at all. She then listened attentively to the source of the crying and heard it coming from Lincoln's room.

"Oh my God! Lincoln!" she exclaimed in worry, quickly rushing to her younger brother's room. She burst his door open to reveal the eleven-year-old male sibling twitching his arms and legs wildly in his bed, sobbing uncontrollably.

Rushing over to his bed, Lori began trying to get Lincoln's attention, "Lincoln! What's wrong?!"

Lincoln continued to twitch and sob, not responding to Lori's words.

She tried again. "Lincoln, Lincoln! Wake up, wake up!" But to no avail.

This time, Lori yelled, "LINCOLN!" and shook him a bit violently. He finally woke up, springing wildly into a seating position in his bed yelling out "HELP ME!" But instead of seeing his former caretaker's face in that small tiny closet, he found himself in his new room. Not only that, but he spotted a clearly concerned Lori standing to his right.

"Lincoln! Are you okay?" she asked, a bit more calmly since her brother had awaken.

All Lincoln managed to say was a weak "No" before breaking into tears. Lori felt her heart sink as she heard him cry. She couldn't help but instantly sit down on his bed and bring him into a tight, heartwarming hug.

"Awww, my poor little brother is upset!" she said in her mind. "But what could have made him this sad?"

Lori gave Lincoln some time to cry himself out. He clearly needed some time to let his feelings out. Lori only held her embrace ever so tightly as Lincoln continued to cry, until eventually he started to calm down.

"Lori," the boy then spoke, his voice quivering.

"I'm here for you little bro, anything you need, just tell me," Lori said sweetly, breaking her hug, but keeping her left arm on Lincoln's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry for what just happened, I didn't mean to disturb your sleep," Lincoln said sullenly.

"There's no need to be sorry Lincoln. You are literally in need of help and I wouldn't just pretend like you didn't let out those loud screams. You didn't disturb me at all. After all what kind of sister would I be if I didn't come to help you?"

Lincoln sighed. "You're right Lori. Thanks for coming to help me, I really appreciate it."

"Anytime bro. Do you feel comfortable enough to tell me what happened?"

"Well," Lincoln stumbled, not wanting to remember those horrible images. "Um, it was nothing really, just a nightmare, that's all."

"Lincoln," Lori spoke a bit sternly. "You were literally yelling for help! That couldn't have just been a simple nightmare. I know it's more than just that."

"Uh, no, really, it was just a stupid nightmare. Nothing serious."

Lori shook her head, not believing a single word her brother was saying. "Lincoln. You and I both know that a simple nightmare wouldn't have caused you to scream crazily like that. You were literally squirming around in your bed when I came in. Please, just tell me what exactly it was that you dreamed about. I know it's not going to be easy for you, but you'll feel a bit better by talking to someone. I'm your big sister and I really care about you. I want to help you feel better so please, just tell me what happened."

Finding comfort in Lori's words, Lincoln finally decided to give in. "Okay, I'll tell you. Only because I don't want you to stay worried and because well, I guess I could feel better too."

"Thanks Lincoln, now please tell me what you saw in that dream of yours," Lori said, caressing her brother's face in a comforting manner.

"Well, I saw myself waking up in the adoption center, where I was living before. I looked over at the clock that used to be next to my floor mattress and saw that the time was 7:30 AM. It was a weekday and I had school at 8 AM in the center."

"Okay," Lori said to indicate she was listening. "Go on."

"So in that dream, I felt tired and very sleepy. I said to myself that sleeping only five more minutes wouldn't hurt. But it turns out that my caretaker was waking me up at 8:10."

"Yikes," Lori said.

"My caretaker was this woman named Mrs. Jackson. Let's just say that she wasn't a very good caretaker at all."

"I see," Lori said.

"And when she woke me up in my dream, she started yelling at me because I had failed to make it to class on time. I tried explaining to her that it had only been an accident and that I hadn't meant to oversleep. I tried to apologize but she continued to yell at me, saying that there were no excuses. She then went into this small closet and came out with a thick wooden block in her hand."

"Oh dear," Lori said. "Then what happened?"

"I tried to run away, but I didn't make it too far. Mrs. Jackson ran faster than I could and grabbed me. I started to cry for help and Mrs. Jackson hit me in the forehead and told me to shut up and that I was so annoying. She took me into the closet where she had gone inside earlier and placed me on the ground."

Lincoln's voice began to quiver again. "Then she told me that she needed to use more extreme measures to help me learn my lesson. So she put away the wooden block and took out a hose."

"A hose?!" Lori asked in shock.

"Yep, this thick water hose. That's when I tried to save myself by grabbing a nearby wooden block and throwing it at her. But in the dream I was about six years old I think, and of course, how could a six-year-old possibly have the strength to throw something with force? So the block barely flew in the air and fell to the ground, next to Mrs. Jackson's feet."

Lincoln's eyes now began to water. "And then Mrs. Jackson told me that she was going to show me how to correctly throw the wooden block and she grabbed the block and threw it hard to my nose. That's when I began to cry again, and then she said to not worry because she was going to show me how to hit with the hose. Then she grabbed me...and strapped me to this...this chair in the back of the closet. And then...and then….." Lincoln's voice began breaking.

"And then she hit me thirty-four times with that hose!" Lincoln finished, now breaking down into tears.

"Oh Lincoln! I'm so sorry that you had this nightmare!" Lori exclaimed, once again bringing her brother in for a tight embrace.

"Mrs. Jackson was right, I am a horrible boy! Just look at me…" Lincoln cried.

"Lincoln! You are not a horrible boy! And Mrs. Jackson was so wrong," Lori consoled, realizing now that Mrs. Jackson had in reality been abusive to Lincoln in the adoption center. She felt her blood boil in anger, wishing she could give that no-good so-called "caretaker" a piece of her mind. Heck, she wished that she could literally pulverize her into dust.

"Mrs. Jackson was so wrong to say those nasty things about you. She literally never deserved to be your caretaker! She's a no-good piece of sh—piece of trash!" Lori said, nearly spitting out a cuss word.

She then continued, "Lincoln, I think your dream has to do with the bad experiences you went through in the adoption center, and believe me when I tell you that I'm so deeply sorry that you had these bad experiences with that so-called caretaker. I wish I could have been there to protect you from that cyclops."

Lincoln once again found comfort in Lori's words and wrapped his arms around Lori's body. "Thanks big sis," he said between tears. "That means a lot to me, and I really love you."

Lori smiled at her brother's sweet words. "I love you too Lincoln, and I really care about you. There's no way I'd ever wish for something bad to happen to you and again, I'm so sorry that you had this nightmare. You didn't deserve to have those memories upset you. You're a good kid and believe me, in this house, no one gets hurt."

"You really mean it?" Lincoln asked, now facing Lori's eyes.

"Of course," she answered, delivering a soothing kiss on his forehead. "Now, how about I get you a glass of warm milk to help you fall asleep, and if you want, I'll stay with you so that you feel comfy and safe. How does that sound?"

"I would love that. Yes, please!"

"Alright," Lori responded sweetly. "I'll be right back. You just lay back down and pull your blanket over you," she finished, kissing Lincoln's right cheek.

"Thanks," he said, feeling better. Two minutes later, Lori came back with the glass of milk.

"Here you go Linky, drink up."

"Thanks so much Lori," Lincoln replied, taking the glass. He felt his body relax as he drank that warm milk and felt it flow through his throat and into his stomach.

Once he finished drinking, Lori took the glass and placed it on his desk. "Was it good?" she asked.

"Oh yes, it felt great," Lincoln said. "I feel much better now."

"I'm glad to hear that," Lori smiled. "Now scoot over just a little bit please!" she requested sweetly. Lincoln smiled, making room for his big sister to get onto his bed.

The time was now 2:25 AM. The night wouldn't be over for a few more hours.

"Good night Lori. Thanks for everything, you're an awesome sister and I'll never forget this moment," Lincoln said, yawning. He then eased into his bed and shut his eyes. Within ten minutes, he had fallen fast asleep.

Lori had remained awake to make sure her young brother successfully fell into a peaceful sleep. "Good night Lincoln, sweet dreams," she whispered, softly kissing Lincoln's forehead once more. She wrapped her arms around him and soon fell fast asleep.

Alrighty! That concludes chapter 9 of "The Loud Crush". Again, my deepest apologies for the long delay. I have just been going through a lot lately, but I think the creative writing classes I'm currently taking at my university are finally helping get my gears going. That said, I will try to update this story as often as I can. I won't give a time frame as I'm afraid of not fulfilling my deadlines, so I'll update this story on an as-much-as-possible basis. I hope you liked the turnout of this chapter and I look forward to writing more. That said, this is Erik from EAP715, signing off. God bless! :)