Through Their Eyes
Second Year
Lisa
Lisa sat there, looking at her latest invention. If revealed to the world, it would mean at least two million lives annually would be saved guaranteed, and at least twenty million annually would have more than a ninety percent chance of survival with access to it, something she could make possible with what amounted to a flick of her tiny childish wrist.
And every part of her, despite her knowing just how childish and mean it was to even consider it, wanted nothing but to hide it away.
Keep it, to be certain, in case her family or their friends needed it. But for the rest of society? The same society that had shown its true face to her and hers this past year?
"Screw them," she grumbled, and tucked the invention away inside a secret safe inside her safe house.
Yes, it was childish, but after the childishness of the world being unleashed on her brother?
Screw them.
Of course, the moment her sister sibling units found out about the invention and her choice, let alone Lincoln, she knew her course would probably be reversed. But for that one single moment, all she wanted was to be as mean and vindictive to the world and its people as the world and its people had been to hers.
"If Lincoln can't even go outside without his hair dyed and a hoodie on, then why bother helping those animals?" again, if they'd heard her speak that way, Lisa knew there would be trouble. Not the shouting kind, no. Worse trouble.
The guilt kind.
It started about two months after the event. Lincoln had finally been able to go outside after some minor complications, contracting the flu right after fighting off the B virus, and came back home with a black eye. Apparently some kids had taken umbrage with him, and though first Luna, then Lola and Lynn Jr. took umbrage with them in turn, that didn't seem to stop anything.
Soon, Lincoln could feel the stares on him, and retreated back into the house where he stayed when he wasn't visiting his friends, wherein he'd have to be driven by Lori or their parents. School had become more than a nuisance, chasing him off despite his best efforts to power through. Though it took some work and a load of help on Lola's part he'd finally gotten the hang of home schooling. Ever since then he seemed to have relaxed a little, which made his sisters rather more happy, Luan especially.
But it pissed Lisa the hell off.
Why help those who behave in such a barbaric and irrational way, after all? she grumbled as she looked at the bank of cameras, observing her family as she did at times from afar.
She felt vindicated in her choice as she sat there, watching her family like some avian protectively observing its chicks, though why she felt that way even she couldn't quite explain.
And as she sat there, watching one camera and two particular subjects caught within its view, her mind slipped to that other thing, that niggling thing in the back of her mind that had slipped in alongside the fallout of that awful week.
What had been bothering her was that, by about the first week of the second month, she'd spotted Luan and Lincoln holding each other's hands unbidden, easily slipping theirs into or around the other's at all sorts of times.
Lisa, when she realized it, had tried telling herself it was just their way of reassuring the other in this, one of their most trying moments of their lives.
Yes, reassurance. Completely understandable, given all they'd gone through. Scientifically speaking, it wasn't to be unexpected.
However.
She sat there in her chair and tried to tell herself, with little belief in her own words, that the kiss they'd shared on camera just now was nothing but a filial expression of chaste, non-romantic, and utterly platonic love.
Luna
In the wake of the whole of that hellish week, Luna knew that things would probably be different. Gone was Luan's normal behavior, her usual pun-flinging completely absent the moment Lincoln's, "Grocery Store Encounter," occurred when that had been one of the few things left in the wake of her first encounter with that asshole. In it's place was a subdued, nervous, and frustrated young girl watching as her brother was tormented by a bunch of limp-wrist losers who, if put in his place either time, would probably have clutched their pearls and fled.
Luna rarely touched her guitar following that trip. After playing so hard she snapped several strings and nearly cracked her axe on the floor, she figured it was for the best. They weren't made of money, after all.
Of course, unloading on Chunk came with its own set of problems, primarily that it wasn't like he got paid to listen to her family's issues.
He, of course, noted it was just one of the many things he provided for free as her roadie.
"You okay?" she recalled asking Luan as they sat outside the hospital, taking in a breath of fresh air after getting their shots while the family either comforted Lincoln or helped with paperwork.
How she wanted to punch the corpse when she heard her sister whisper, weaker than she'd ever heard her before, "Yeah, just fine."
"Well, least ways someone is," when her sister looked at her, Luna did her best to crack a joke. "Hey, that shot hurt, Lu!"
She'd hoped to get at least a snort, maybe hear Luan crack a better joke, though that was a faint hope at that moment. Instead, her little sister just tucked into her shoulders, pulled her jacket a bit closer and nodded quietly. "Uh-huh."
Luna hoped this wasn't permanent. To see her little sister eye every car in the parking lot, to know that pulling her close, trying to reassure her might even do any harm at all if it reminded her of that horrid moment, made Luna herself miserable.
And yet, if she'd expected things to never go back to normal, Luna was over the moon that she was wrong there. Sure, it didn't happen overnight, nor did things go exactly back the way they were prior, and Lincoln being ill twice one after the other didn't help matters, but after a short time, barely even a month at that, Luan and he both seemed to perk up.
Which was good, Luna thought, given how Lincoln was treated by a not insubstantial subset of Royal Woods when he could finally go outside again.
"Now get outta my sight before I ring hell's bells with your face, ya dang wankers!" Luna hollered after the two teens, waving her fist while holding her beloved axe with all the intent she could muster to break it over their heads. Behind her, Lincoln stood in shock, both at the behavior of the two kids after they'd knocked him down and kicked his knee, and the sudden rescue by his elder sister.
It nearly broke her in two to hear Lincoln say, when she'd finally calmed down and turned to him, "You didn't have to do that, Luna," in a quiet voice.
Not because he was chastising her.
Not because he was angry, or happy, or embarrassed his sister had to save him of all people, or any of that, either.
No.
She knew why he said it.
Because, if it got out that she was his sister, it could cause trouble for her, too. Who wanted to be known as his sister, especially after what he'd done?
She did. That's who.
"Ah, quit it, Linc," she ruffled his hair. "Though, ya should probably try avoiding unnatural hair colors from now on. Blokes who do that are just screaming, 'Look at me!' and all that jazz."
He tried to smile as he said, "Duly noted."
His old wardrobe was gone soon after that, replaced by darker, more subdued colors to avoid attention. Not only did he dye his hair, oftentimes brown to blend in with the rest of the family, but sweaters, black pants, and even boots were soon the only things he wore about town, his usual attire kept for around the house, if even that.
Luna knew why he didn't wear it often anymore. She'd seen the watchful eye as he went about the house in even just his orange polo, constantly watching the windows in case someone, somehow, noticed him and put two and two together.
It hurt to see her brother like that.
A prisoner in his own home.
But still, it was Luan who did him the most good, and that, frankly, surprised Luna to no end. Where no one else seemed able to get him to open up or calm down, both he and that black magic woman seemed to almost gather strength from one another, to feed not on each other's fears but to chase them away so that relatively soon after that week of hell he began taking the bus to places like Hazeltucky or Huntington Oaks where, thankfully, no one knew him and he could be at peace.
It was Luan who would, as much as she felt able, fill the family in on how Lincoln was doing, careful never to divulge things said in confidence, not even to Luna. And that surprised the girl in question even more than everything else!
She and Luan told each other everything, after all!
Didn't they?
Of course, Luan had her own issues to deal with. She never quite seemed to feel totally safe after that week, so that even six months later she was still careful not to walk near cars no matter where she went, especially not if someone was inside, and even cutting back with Funny Business Inc. when either their parents or Lori weren't available to drive her anywhere.
Luna was sure this was part of the reason Luan eventually followed Lincoln into homeschooling, even if that was a rocky road to start with.
And then April Fools rolled around, and Luna never could have imagined being pissed off so royally about that day.
Not because Luan was especially heinous, no.
Luna was pissed off because Luan wasn't her normal self at all.
"What gives, man?" Luna asked when, fully suited up and ready for the worst, she and the rest of their siblings and their parents noted that the whole house had remained, to put it bluntly, whole.
But Luan, at first at a loss for words, eventually sighed and shrugged. "I just-" she paused briefly, "couldn't think of anything, that's all. Creative slump, I guess."
That absolute asshole!
Never in a million years did Luna think she could want April Fools back so much! But to think that jackass managed to steal something that made Luan happy from her, Luna was this close to yanking Lucy aside, pulling some of that hoodoo séance stuff and whacking the bloody bastard with a silver-plated axe to send him straight on by hotel California and right smack dab in the middle of a lake of fire!
That is, if he wasn't already there by now.
She was pretty sure he'd be a first class ticket holder to that destination, though.
"Okay, that oughtha do it," she checked her jacket that night, made sure one last time that her boots were properly muffled. It'd been a week since the anniversary of the incident, and since she was feeling better about it Luna figured a nighttime escapade or two, and a battle of the bands in particular, was just the way to lift her spirits. "Now, all I have do is get downstairs, maybe say bye to Luan and Linc-" she looked at the bottom bunk, noted her sister wasn't there. "Figured they'd still be watching their movie. And after that I'm done and outta here!"
The plan set, she hurried for the stairs, taking care not to make any noise as she went.
Which was good, she realized, when a strange noise caught her attention and made her bend down to get a look.
Her eyes bulged.
Then her hands began to shake and wave uncontrollably.
Moments later, her body seized up, and it was all she could do to guide herself carefully down to her knees as she watched what was taking place in the living room mere feet from their parents' bedroom!
Oh, no… no way, what the hell is this! What? No… no, her mind couldn't comprehend it, but try as she might she couldn't look away! There was no way in hell her brother and sister were doing that!
She didn't just see it!
She couldn't have!
They were not in a full on make-out session downstairs! Why were they not watching their movie!
Okay, her mind caught itself, wrong question.
Which was true. The correct question was; why were they doing that!
Luna watched as Luan sat there under the blanket, Lincoln beneath her, his head held lovingly in his older sister's hands while his roamed somewhere under the blanket, both so feverish and focused in their affections that Luna was certain, at any other moment, she should've considered investing in chap stick futures.
But this?
The only future she could see was so totally, wickedly gnarly and bad, man!
But what the hell could she do?
Lori
"You're literally sure it's nothing serious?" Lori was worried as she sat there with Bobby, both lovebirds discussing potential future plans, some of which may have actually been serious, when her mother called.
Bobby, curious and a bit concerned since he could have sworn he heard Lincoln's name come up, mouthed, "The guy okay?"
Lori nodded, which made Bobby's shoulders sag in relief.
He really was such a sweetheart, Lori thought. Such perfect daddy material!
Not that she was thinking of that yet!
"Well, if Luan's gonna be there," she stopped and changed directions mid-sentence, "I guess you're right," she couldn't help the smirk. If there was an emergency, it'd be just as likely her pranks caused it.
Lori's face fell then. For that brief moment, she'd almost forgotten what their family had gone through. Had, for that one single moment, thought things were the same as always.
Dang, what a dose of Boo-Boo Bear love and affection couldn't do, she didn't know!
Lori felt Bobby's arms wrap around her and she leaned into him as she and her mother finished up.
"Don't worry. I'll be there as soon as I can. Love you, too. Bye," she sighed as she hung up the phone.
Bobby gave her a squeeze before asking, "Need a ride?"
Another sigh escaped her lips. "If you would?" then, to explain, because she felt the need to, she said, "Lincoln's at home. Apparently, he was literally at a friend's place when he suffered a major headache. Mom's on her way back to work now and Luan said she'd be there, but she figured he might feel better if I were there, too."
"Eh, don't worry about it," he pecked her temple, gave her a squeeze. "Besides, we're still on for Friday night, right?"
Lori smiled, at times ecstatic and at others glum that her boyfriend's family remained in Royal Woods due to what had happened when his mother had seriously considered moving them to the city prior.
Ecstatic, in that her boyfriend was still there.
Glum that it was in any way thanks to the hell her siblings had gone through that might have caused it.
This explained why she was so willing to look after Lincoln, to put up with Luan ever since; a bit of guilt mixed in with supreme gratefulness then decked out with a second layer of guilt due to that supreme gratefulness.
So on to home she was.
When she and Bobby arrived back to 1216 Franklin Ave, they parted ways and she slipped inside the house.
After about fifteen or so minutes standing on the porch.
And that after an hour's walk up to said porch. But she was sure not to be too loud, made sure the animals didn't go crazy, the door didn't slam, and she didn't call out to announce her presence. Instead, she scratched Charles behind the ear when he came over, then slowly made her way upstairs when it hit her.
Both her ears, and her nose.
That's kind of familiar, she thought of both senses. Off in the distance she could swear she heard a sound she knew, had heard many a time herself in her life, just never here of all places. And that scent. she knew that scent, too, but from where?
Then it hit her.
Her entire body went into alert mode.
Had someone slipped in? Were they, at this very moment, doing that to her sister?
And what of Lincoln?
Lori felt her stomach drop, then a fire blaze to life inside of same.
If that was the case, she'd rip the goddamned son-or-sons-of-a-bitch-or-bitches apart!
Going as quickly as she could, she balled her fists up, ready to pummel whoever thought to hurt her family! Each footfall she measured, every squeaky step she deftly avoided as she silently stalked closer and closer to the second floor landing, ready to maim, to beat, to kill!
"Lincoln!" it was barely a whisper, but it made Lori halt mid-stride like a god had flung a lightning bolt square at her feet.
First, that was Luan. Second was that, try as she might, Lori couldn't call the tone frightened, or scared, or even questionably miffed. Third?
Third was that, when she could finally move once more, reached the second floor and leaned over to look toward Lincoln's room, she saw it.
Both of them, Luan and Lincoln, her siblings, brother and sister, on the floor after obviously rolling off the bed, Luan on top of their brother, her skirt pulled up, her ass visible while his hands roamed underneath Luan's yellow hatch-patterned panties.
Lori finally shuddered. Then she flapped her gums wordlessly at the sight, her face paling as Luan lowered herself, had begun grinding him!
And her moans grew louder ever so briefly before becoming muffled again, her head ducking down out of Lori's sight.
Now their eldest sister could see that this was probably a continuance of earlier events if the partially darkened state of Luan's underwear was anything to go by.
Her siblings both began to moan now, Lincoln returning her affections even more vigorously, if that were even possible!
Through it all, Lori found herself unable to look away. It was so horrific to her mind that it should have been easy to, but it wasn't.
Not until Luan's moans began rising, signaling something so utterly wrong and terrible that, even in her current state, Lori couldn't imagine being audience to. And so, barely able to keep herself upright and just cognizant enough to remain quiet the eldest Loud sibling fled back down the stairs, out the door and off the porch just as her younger sister and brother reached the climax of their activities together.
And again, she shuddered at that thought while a haunting, 'Get it?' echoed briefly about her skull.
More shudders soon followed.
After more than a few minutes, Lori decided she'd risk going back in and had just turned the knob and swung the door open, her mouth following suit to call out if only to warn them she was there, when she came eye to eye with Luan.
"Oh, hey Lori!"
The girl was rather chipper, though Lori could understand.
And that made her cringe ever so slightly.
I so literally am not going there, Lori mentally chastised herself. Then she said, "Hey, Luan, how's Lincoln? Mom wanted me to come back just," Lori forced herself to calm down as she spoke," in case anything happened and you, um… needed help."
She was sure she saw just a bit of apprehension in her little sister's face, and Lori so totally didn't mean to put it quite so honestly, but Luan covered it up well enough with, "He's still got a bit of a headache, but he's asleep now and I figured I'd get him some water for when he wakes up," Luan paused, looked closer at Lori. "Is something wrong?"
Yes. Oh so yes. A thousand and one things are wrong, and no way in hell am I speaking of any of them, she smiled, shook her head, shrugged. "Nah, nothing's wrong. Like I said, Mom just figured you could use some help—I mean, not that you need it—well-" she caught herself, sighed. Then, worried she might have tipped Luan off, she looked up and said, "Sorry, Bobby and I were kind of in the middle of something."
"Okay, way too much information, Lori," Luan held her hands up, bit her lower lip. "If you want, you can get going, I'll be around."
Lori shrugged. As much as she wanted to go, to get away now, she didn't dare. "N-no problem. He had things to do, anyways. So I guess I'll uh… be in my room. If you need me, that is."
"Sure thing," she didn't even wait to see Luan's face as they parted ways, and Lori almost would have thought she was imagining things if not for the all too familiar scent that assailed her nostrils as she reached the second floor.
Oh please, literally please let it return to normal before everyone gets back! Preferably everything!
Rita
Rita didn't say it, but she was relieved when Lincoln called her at work and asked if she or his father might pick him up. It hurt a bit to hear him say he could wait until they were off, that even now he tried to be considerate, that he felt it necessary, but she was relieved all the same.
Especially after the hepatitis situation.
So her boss understood when she requested a short time to attend to her son, and she was off quick as could be.
"You okay back there, Lincoln?" she risked a look in the rear view mirror at the boy, cringed slightly when he winced.
Lincoln had spent the night with the Spokes, and had been hanging out at the Gurdles' house with all the boys before the headache grew to be too much, and the resultant call was made.
He sighed, nodded slightly. "'m 'kay," he mumbled as he leaned his head gently to either side. He'd said he slept wrong on it, and she was sure that had a lot to do with it.
But the stress he was under sure didn't help matters.
Still. "If you'd like, I can call one of your sisters, have them come home and stay with you."
He seemed to pause at that. "Maybe Luan?" she didn't know why, but he sounded happy at that possibility.
And Rita also didn't know why, but there was some niggling little thought that worried her about that.
Then, all of a sudden, her worries seemed to dispel when he said, "Wait, maybe Lisa?" then he added quickly, "No, not Lisa."
"Why not?" Rita couldn't see the harm; Lisa, more than any of them, would be the better choice, she'd have thought.
He smiled ruefully at her. "I don't wanna be a guinea pig."
Oh. "Now why didn't that occur to me?" he snorted at her comment, then winced at the act.
Rita thought about who to call as they drove back, but while she knew in her heart that the best choice was probably Luan, she just couldn't work up to calling her fourth daughter.
I know it's silly, I shouldn't be worried about it! she didn't know why, couldn't explain it, never told her husband about it, but for some reason she was worried about the two and the inordinate amount of time they spent together.
Yes, she understood what they'd gone through and knew it had to hurt so much for the both of them.
But after more than a year neither had asked to get help, nor any counseling, and very rarely sought such a thing beyond each other.
Neither she nor Lynn pushed the issue, but she knew even her husband had his worries on the matter.
Not only was there Lincoln's problems with practically everyone, but then there was Luan's own issues, how her business had suffered so greatly now she had such difficulties going anywhere outside alone, without Lincoln, her family or her friends.
But especially without Lincoln.
And it was the same way with her son.
It couldn't be healthy for them to feed off one another like this. Could it?
Wouldn't it just cause more trouble later on when they couldn't rely on the other?
And what if one moved on but the other didn't?
"We're home," she announced as they pulled into the drive. She wasn't sure if Lincoln had fallen asleep, wasn't surprised to find he hadn't, and as she opened the door for him, said, "Once we get you inside, I'll call-" before a familiar voice cut her off.
"Mom?" why did her heart skip that beat? Rita wasn't so sure she knew, nor whether she wanted to know. "Is something wrong?" next came, "Lincoln? What happened?" her fourth eldest looked from where she stood halfway inside the house between the two new arrivals. "What's wrong?"
Rita held her hand up as she turned and offered a smile. "He just has a headache, Luan."
Her son made a show of grumbling as he tried popping his neck, "And Pompeii was just a little shake."
Luan, calmer now, snapped her finger, cringed at the sound that made, then said, "I got that reference," and chuckled softly as the family came inside.
Wondering, Rita looked at her daughter, arched an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing back so soon, Luan? I thought you had plans today?"
Her daughter shrugged. "My friends had to flake, and I didn't want to hang out at the mall alone, so I came back home."
That made sense. Even Rita knew that. But it still hurt to think Luan didn't feel safe enough to spend time out and about by herself. "I'm sorry to hear that, Sweetheart. I know you'd been looking forward to it."
But Luan just shrugged again and smiled as they helped Lincoln upstairs. "It's okay. Anyways," she looked to Lincoln then as he flopped face first down on the bed, smirked, "I can watch over Lincoln for you, Mom. Don't worry."
I wish I could not worry, but she didn't say that. Instead, what came out was, "Well, if you need to go somewhere just call me, or your father, or-" she paused a moment, yawned, then said, "one of your siblings. Or maybe Mr. Grouse."
"And then call Aunt Ruth or Aunt Shirley if you even consider calling Mr. Grouse!" Lincoln whimpered into his pillow, causing Luan and Rita to chuckle.
It was pretty well timed, she had to agree with Luan.
"Maybe I'd call Pop-Pop if that was the case," Lincoln gave his sister a thumbs up, Rita laughing at the behavior as both ladies left him to rest and went down the stairs.
After talking briefly to Luan, making sure she knew to call if anything happened, Rita hurried out the door and back into the car, and back to work once again.
Luan seemed so happy to see Lincoln, and the thoughts began to return almost immediately. Who's going to end up hurt first if one gets better before the other? Luan's always worn her heart on her sleeve, but Lincoln's just twelve!
Then, as she sat through a red light, she noticed a young girl about Luan's age as she went about working at a drive-thru on the opposite corner of the intersection.
That said, I guess things aren't all bad for them, and they weren't, if she were being honest; despite Luan's preferred work proving problematic, she was pursuing other avenues. Babysitting became a much bigger part of her life, for instance. And even Lincoln was pursuing his own ways to earn some money, studying different things he could do in his free time, drawing the portraits of the elderly at their grandfather's retirement home, helping them with their technology troubles, and more.
In fact, if she continued being honest with herself, the fact that Lincoln had to go to her and Lynn for help about filing taxes had filled her with rather more joy than she could voice.
On top of that, Luan was looking for other jobs she could do that worked with, not against, her problems.
Even better was that both kids' grades were excellent now that they'd gotten used to homeschooling!
So, she told herself as the light turned green again, perhaps things weren't as bad as she feared?
"Maybe they are getting better," she finally said as she came within five blocks of work, "and we just can't see it."
But she still had her doubts.
Which was why, though she'd never admit it, as she pulled into the dental office's parking lot she pulled out her phone and gave her eldest a call.
Lynn Jr.
Lynn's heart had to have stopped. It was the only logical conclusion after what she'd just borne witness to.
"N-no way," she slapped her free hand over her mouth, looked between the door she held shut (like they'd give chase if they'd even seen her) and Lucy asleep in the girl's bed. "What the heck! Why!"
She hadn't meant to be up at that hour and, honestly, would rather be in bed right now. Unfortunately, she was certain that bed would only bring back images she'd rather never see again.
That is, if Lynn were being truly honest with herself.
And she was.
She swallowed, squeezed her eyes shut, convulsed, then shakily and cautiously cracked open the door.
And saw nothing.
Well, nothing besides for a darkened hallway and staircase. The very same one she'd just ran up, pale-faced and fearful of either vomiting or screaming. But she continued to stare, to watch, to listen. Why this was, she didn't know. Partly it had to be a disgusted fascination, she told herself in the back of her mind, but there could still be a chance she'd been found out, another part chimed in with right after.
And too there was a not too little part of her that hoped, prayed, demanded what she'd seen was all a dream, disturbing and conjured up by that all too alluring bowl of triple chocolate ice cream with white chocolate icing that Lincoln bought for them.
"I think I'm gonna barf!" she hissed as she left her vigil and dashed for the bathroom.
Thankfully no one interrupted her and the way was clear, but when she made it to the toilet, door shut and light on, nothing came out but a dry heave. When finally she felt it safe, she sat back on her legs and groaned, "Thanks a lot, guys. And my night was going so well!"
It had been, until just thirty minutes before. Not only did she win another roller derby game, she also won a raffle on top of that for a one-thousand dollar shopping spree at a new sports shop that opened up! She was sure nothing could ruin her night. Nothing on top of nothing!
"Worst! Mental! Image! Ever!" she somehow managed to keep from screaming, but she was sure her hissing could be heard at least several miles away. Pulling at her hair, she sat back against the toilet bowl and clenched up.
She, Lynn Loud Jr., actually, factually, clenched up scared.
Then, her mind went back, as though punishing her, replaying how it had all happened in slow motion.
All she'd wanted to do was get up, get a glass of water, then go back to bed. Simple. Easy. Relatable, though why it was the last one she wasn't exactly too sure, but it fit and so there it was. But as she walked out of the bedroom, she noticed something odd.
Lincoln's door was open.
Not by much, to be sure, but just enough that she could tell, thanks to her superior night vision (because she's Lynn Loud and that's just how the awesome one rolls, regardless what Lisa says) that he wasn't in bed.
"Huh, must need to whiz," she smirked to herself, then looked to the bathroom and saw two things: the first was that the light wasn't on, which stymied her (big word! And yes, she did know what it meant!) since Lincoln wasn't that stupid; and two?
Luan's and Luna's door was also open.
But Lynn's awesomely superior mind wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders then, and so she shrugged it off and walked downstairs.
When she looked in the living room, she saw nothing. Well, save for the couch, the television, and so on. Nothing out of the ordinary, though. This continued on into the dining room, then the kitchen where, as her feet smacked against the floor, she yawned and went searching for a glass.
"Huh, I wonder where that chuckle head is," she hadn't seen the two anywhere as she stood there in the kitchen, gulping the water down greedily. Her ears were perked up now, but even a cursory glance down into the basement revealed nothing. "Is he in the attic?"
Then, something occurred to her. "Or did Lincoln crawl in bed with Luan? Dude, so weak!"
Part of her wanted to go and roust the two, maybe poke Lincoln a bit. Sure, the guy wasn't as bad as he'd been after the incident, but part of her was just a tad worried.
After all, with how he retreated after the incident part of her worried he'd let the world steamroll him if this kept up.
And despite everything said about her, that would happen only over her dead and rotting body if Lynn had anything to say about it.
So, roust him it was, no matter whether Luan or the family took his side or not.
But when Lynn got up to Luan's bedroom, what she saw shocked her.
"Where are they!" she hissed under her breath, careful not to wake Luna as she crept over to Luan's bed and saw that it was, indeed, empty. Scratching her head, she crept out, checked Lincoln's bed and found it empty as well.
Now, rather than worried for Lincoln's future, she was worried for both her siblings' presents.
"Luan?" Lynn whispered under her breath as she crept down the stairs. "Lincoln? Yo, where are you two?"
Not in the living room, nor the dining room, kitchen, basement, or even the attic when she thought to double back and check that avenue. Worried and biting her lip, Lynn even stepped outside to look around, listened intently for either of them, but heard nothing save for the usual neighborhood noises. So she stepped back inside, shut the door, locked it, then wondered briefly whether the door had been locked previously or not before deciding that it had to have been. Worry now evolving to actual fear, she listened at her parents bedroom door, debated getting them involved, decided against it until truly necessary, then began doubling back around, checking all the places she'd checked previously once again.
It was as she walked out of the basement that she noticed the backdoor, and it occurred to her; she hadn't checked the back yard, had she?
And when she tried the door, she found something.
It was unlocked.
"Mom and Dad wouldn't forget that," she was sure she'd found something important as she turned the knob slowly and poked her head outside.
Almost immediately she noticed something.
Charles.
With a bone.
"Where'd you get that, boy?" Lynn scratched her head again as she stepped out and down the stairs, walked toward the dog who was, if possible, lovingly caressing the object of his current affections with his tongue. "And who the heck taught you that?" she arched one eyebrow and smirked at her lewd mind.
Then she noticed something else.
Her head turned to the garage and noted the sounds coming from it. "Huh? Did the dang raccoon fall through the roof again? Lana sure did a real bang up job if so-" Lynn stopped when she could have sworn she heard Luan talking.
And was that Lincoln with her?
What the heck? she listened for a moment, could hear something else. Was it panting? Well, that had to be Luan at least. And now it was Lincoln, too, she was sure of that. But what the heck could they be doing in there? Better check the window, maybe I can get a better view.
But, after slipping around and up to the window, Lynn found herself getting anything but.
'Get it?' Luan's voice echoed throughout Lynn's frazzled mind as she sat there in the bathroom replaying that torrid, grizzly scene unwillingly through her head. It was bad enough to think of walking in on either of her siblings having… relations. But at the same time?
With each other!
Seriously!
And she'd never be able to wipe the view of her sister's bare ass from her mind, would she?
Once Lynn managed to calm down, did one last round of shuddering and dry heaving, she flushed the toilet, washed up, and woozily made her way back to her bedroom.
Until, that is, she heard her siblings coming.
Worst way to put it! Lynn cursed herself out as she fled to her room, just managing to quietly shut the door as her siblings closed the distance. It was then that she heard them part ways, had heard them clear as day.
Very clear.
Will you two please stop kissing already!
Lynn's sleep was uneasy, understandably. But when she got up several hours later, had confirmed that Lincoln and Luan looked about as tired as her, though far too relaxed for her comfort, Lynn rushed to find Luna first.
"Dude, I don't wanna talk about it."
Luna already knew? Lynn was surprised, but undaunted. If Luna knew and didn't do anything about it, it had to be because she was a kinky rocker who liked the whole rebelling against authority crap.
"Authority? Hmm," Lynn knew it was risky, but who else could she speak to? Leni probably wouldn't get it and probably shouldn't get it, and Lucy, Lisa and the twins were out, so either Lori or Lily were the next possibilities before their parents were even considered, and Lynn had no desire to go telling her parents.
"So… what do you think, Lily?" she asked after confiding to the toddler when she came across the child first.
Lily, for her part, just laughed and filled her diaper.
Lynn wished her life were that simple.
After changing the diaper, she swallowed hard and made for Lori.
"Hey, Lori? Did you know Luan and Lincoln are-" but her sister shut her down before she could finish.
"I literally know already, don't say anything more, I don't want to think about it. Okay, Lynn?"
Even Lori knew Lincoln and Luan were having actual freaking sex in the garage and didn't think to tell Lynn?
"Actually," Lynn thought as she laid back in her bed while Lucy was out, "I'm kinda glad she didn't. Wish I was still ignorant!
"Well," she mused as she decided to just drop it for now, "at least I'm not the first to know how screwed up the family is."
Then, picking up her ball, she cocked her arm back and threw.
End of Second Year
