Lincoln was torn in two. One half of him wanted to forgive his family in time and love them more than ever, but the other half was a greater force. It was so strong that he could only barely regard his sisters and parents as family at all, as he felt that they didn't value him. And it was more than just the bad luck fiasco. And although the odds were stacked against the Loud family, there were still two possible outcomes the trial would end with, and both seemed to have pros and cons to them.
If by some miracle, or as chance would have it, Lincoln's parents were either found innocent or allowed a second chance to return to polite society, be it by the whims of fate or otherwise, the first and foremost thing the family would do is pull themselves back together and get a second chance with the white-haired boy as well. ...Or would they? Given the nature of the Loud family in Lincoln's eyes, would it also be a chance for any of them to possibly exact their revenge? Lincoln tended to be blamed for a few things he had either no control over or what his sisters did and in the case of the latter, he was just a patsy to them, so there was always the chance that his family would simply try to make his life a living hell all over again. And although Lincoln had his time to mentally recover, he was still very afraid to take that chance. What more could happen to him?
And of course, if Lincoln's parents were found guilty, which seemed all but legitimate at this point, the boy would undoubtedly be separated from them and perhaps his sisters, in which case a new life for him would begin. The case against his parents would stand as an example of what families should and shouldn't do, regardless of how many kids they raise, and if Lincoln was to be adopted into a new family, hopefully whoever took him in would treat him a lot better. The families of Clyde and Max seemed like potential candidates and what helped were that the boys were an only child each. And obviously, the downside to that would be Lincoln casting away most if not all of his family, just as they casted him out. He'd be no different than them. Of course, the court might see things a little differently than two wrongs not making a right.
Lincoln was by no means flawless, but at the same time, his reasons and motivations behind his larger mistakes were likely because he felt that he had to try just to stay in other people's good books as well as earn his family's love, as he believed it was the position he was in rather than just be loved for who he was beginning at his birth. Most of his methods just happened to fall through thanks to poor planning and perhaps not always being the smartest kid on the block. And the downsides to both outcomes were locked in an epic battle - he didn't want anything bad to happen to his family despite the recent maltreatment, but at the same time, he didn't want to get on their bad side. But if he was to testify against his family, it wouldn't be out of revenge. Worse, it would be because he was scared of them. He didn't want to lose them, but at the same time he didn't want to be used by them. His thoughts were a train wreck. Lyra and Max felt terrible for him. What's more, even if Lincoln wanted to save his family regardless, there was probably no way even his pleas could save them from the grip of the state law and whatever sentence the court would plan. And as wicked as it might be, it would be done under the guise of being in the boy's best interest, but also to uphold the state law and set an example. But what he didn't know was that if there was one person who would be pleading in all of this, it was surprisingly to be Lynn Jr., his sister that supposedly started this mess that called itself the big luck fiasco. Yes, she had come to the realization that her stubbornness and pride had finally gone too far and it cost her Lincoln and what could be the rest of her family. So she would plead to take the most savage sentence the law had to offer, to throw herself at the mercy of the court. What she would give to hold Lincoln in the biggest hug she could bestow upon him rather than beat him black and blue for the umpteenth time.
It was the day for Max to leave the child care center and Lincoln was able to get acquainted with his new friend's parents. Mind you, the only thing they knew about Lincoln was the half a month of abuse from his family.
"Is that him?" asked Max's mother, Lina.
"Yep!" Max replied. "This is Lincoln, my new friend." Lincoln and Max's father, Shawn, shook hands while Lina hugged him.
"Our son told us about your history of... abuse..." said Shawn. "We're so sorry."
"I'm sorry if my story scared you," said Lincoln.
"You may say that you own up to part of it," said Lyra. "But all you wanted was some time off and to yourself because you were overworked. Did you know that being overworked can be detrimental to your health?"
"Oh, I hope this poor boy's family wasn't trying to work him to death," said Lina.
"Same here," said Lyra.
"Welp, time for us to go," said Shawn.
"Bye, Lincoln!" said Max, the two boys sharing a quick hug. "I'm glad I got to meet you. We'll meet up again sometime, I know it!"
"Yeah, I'm sure we will," said Lincoln. About a half-hour after Max and his family departed, Officer Schoffner arrived to inform Lincoln of the situation with his family.
"Looks like you're doing just fine here," she said to the boy.
"Lyra's very nice," said Lincoln.
"And Lincoln's been very good," said Lyra.
"I suppose you can figure out why I'm here, though," said Schoffner. "Lincoln, your family is being put on trial. It'll begin in a few days." Lincoln gulped, knowing that he couldn't remain at the crossroads of his own emotions and inner struggles forever. "I talked with the receptionist," Schoffner went on. "If you'd like, you can continue to stay here for as long as the trial goes on. By technicality, your parents have not lost custody of you, but I hate to say that there's a strong possibility they will after this."
"Where will I go then?" asked a worried Lincoln. "I'd have to be put in some foster home with people don't love me." Lyra put her hand on Lincoln's shoulder and shook her head.
"That won't happen, Lincoln."
"Huh? It won't."
"It won't." Lyra smiled sweetly at Lincoln. "I promise." Officer Schoffner scratched her chin in thought. Could the whims of fate be spinning towards another spoke of the wheel?