Chapter One: Rage And Regret

It was a typical Friday afternoon at twelve sixteen Franklin Avenue. The Loud kids got home from school about an hour ago and so the chaos was in full swing. Lori was texting her boyfriend as always, Leni was reading through her latest fashion magazine, Luna was jamming on her electric guitar, Luan was downstairs preparing for her next comedy act, reciting her usual jokes with Mr. Coconuts, Lynn was shooting hoops from her bed while Lucy was hiding in the vents and writing poetry. Lana was feeding her exotic pets while Lola was karting up and down the hallway. Lisa was once again absorbed into her latest science experiment while Lily was playing with her stuffed animals. And then there was the middle child and only boy.

Lincoln was relaxing in his room, laying on his bed and reading the latest issue of his favorite comic book series. While he enjoyed spending time with his sisters, both his older and younger sisters, every now and then he just wanted some peace and quiet, alone in his room with a good comic. This issue was something he was waiting to read for awhile now. The last issue ended on a cliff hanger and Ace Savvy in a tough spot which really put Lincoln on the edge of his seat. And now he was going to find out how he was going to get out of this one and resolve the story that had been building for six issues straight. But while Lincoln was laying back and reading through each page, there was a fight brewing just down the hall.

[Lori And Leni's Room]

Now at first, things were actually pretty chilled between the two oldest Loud sisters. Lori and Leni have always gotten along for the most part. However when Lori got up to go get a snack she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze turned to their shared closet and she noticed a new top. And not only that but it was one she saw last time she and Leni went to the mall.

"Leni, what is this?" she asked her.

The sixteen year old looked up from her magazine for a second to respond. "What is what?" she asked.

"This." Lori answered holding up a cyan green sleeveless top still on it's hanger.

"Oh M Gosh, isn't it cute? I got it last time we were at the mall." she said with her bright and bubbly smile. "I also had a coupon and got it fifty percent off. That's like, almost half the price." she said, not knowing that it actually was indeed half the price.

Lori growled and stomped angrily. "Dang it Leni!" she snapped.

"What?" she asked surprised and with her smile vanishing just as quickly as when it appeared.

"I was going to buy this shirt the next time I went shopping at the mall with you." she told her sounding angry.

"I'm sorry Lori I didn't know." she said in defense.

"You are always doing this! Every time I see a shirt or skirt I really like you have to be the one to buy it first." she continued in her berating of her younger sister.

Leni started to get very defensive and got up from her bed to get up in her face. "Well what about you? You do the same exact thing whenever I see some lip gloss or eye liner I really like." she snapped back.

Tensions between both teens were rising quickly and this didn't go unnoticed by the others. As Lori and Leni started accusing one another of one thing or another, the other girls started gathering around outside of their room to see what was going on.

Luna let out a tired and annoyed sigh before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ugh...here we go again." she said while the rest of them rolled their eyes.

[Lincoln's Room]

The eleven year old was just getting to the good part when Lynn kicked his door in and Luan blew a whistle which startled him, causing him to shriek and jump from his bed before comically falling to the floor. He stood up to see Luna, Luan and Lynn with a very crossed looking Lori.

"Sorry Bro, Sister Fight Protocol." Luna told him.

Lincoln face palmed and looked at them rather annoyed. "Seriously?" he asked back with an irritated expression.

"Sorry Lincoln, but you know how this works." Lynn replied.

"Yup, now put an egg in your shoe and beat it." Luan told him looking dead serious at first. She then burst out laughing at her own joke while her brother and sisters only groaned and rolled their eyes. "Get it? But seriously, get out." she finished.

Lincoln sighed in defeat and stepped past Lori who entered his room and headed downstairs. Now Lincoln loved all his sisters to death and while there was some little things about each of them that he thought was a little annoying he had no real problem tolerating these little things. However this was something that bothered him to no end. The "Sister Fight Protocol" that they all came up with was really inconvenient for him most of the time. Every time one of his sisters were having a fight with one or another and needed a place to cool down they all had no problem booting him out of his room, baring him from the kitchen, living room or even the bathroom, no matter how badly he may need them and he never had a say in it.

Every time he tried voicing his opinion they always told him off, to mind his own business or that it was simply a sister thing and to just deal with it. But what could he really do about it? He was literally outnumbered ten to one and his sisters were as stubborn as stubborn could possibly be. He reached the bottom and decided to get comfortable on the couch before he continued his reading. Once he plunked himself down and picked up where he left off he had completely forgotten his sister taking over his room again. He would continue reading for several more minutes until his dad would exit his bedroom with a load of laundry in his arms. Lynn Sr. saw his son relaxing on the couch and walked up to him but made sure that he didn't startle him.

Lincoln felt his father's presence and looked up to see him. "Oh, hey Dad." he greeted with a smile.

"Hey Son, catching up on some reading?" he asked him.

"Yup. Newest issue." he answered turning back to his comic.

"Did you finish all your homework?" his father asked.

"Haven't done it yet." he answered not turning away from the pages. "I don't have a whole lot, just a bit of math and a history report." he told him.

"All the more reason for you to get it all done now." he replied making his way to the basement door where he was going to do his and his wife's laundry.

Lincoln turned to his father in response. "But it's not due until Monday." he replied.

"Lincoln you know the rules. Homework is done first, then you can play or read comics." he father told him.

"But Dad." he tried to argue.

"No buts." he replied calmly but firmly. "Go do your homework. Once you're done you're free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day." he ordered before closing the door behind him as he headed downstairs.

Realizing that there was no winning this one he headed upstairs to do as he was told. He arrived at the very top and turned right towards his room, walked up and tried to open it only to see that the door was locked. That was when he remembered Lori was still in there.

He knocked a few times to get her attention. "Go away!" he heard from the other side.

"Lori I need to get something." he told her.

"Go away! I want to be alone!" she replied from the other side.

"Lori please?" he asked.

"Go away Twerp!" she yelled a little louder. "Sister Fight Protocol remember?" she reminded him.

"I know, I know." he replied. "I agreed to stay out of it from now on and I don't want to bother you, I just want to get my homework. I'll be in and out." he promised.

"I said go away! You can do your homework later!" she yelled from behind his door.

"But Dad told me I have to get it done now." he whined. "Lori if I don't get it done soon I'm going to get in trouble." he protested.

"I don't care, that's your problem now go away!" she yelled just a little louder to really make her point.

This was getting really frustrating for him. He wasn't asking for anything unreasonable here. And besides, now that he really thought about it Lori was being completely unfair. She got really mad at him every time he so much as stepped one foot into her bedroom but not only was she allowed to go into his at any time she felt like it but she could boot him out just because she needed a place to cool down while having a fight. He knew he agreed to just stay out of this but she wasn't really giving him any options.

"Lori if you don't let me in I'm going to go get Dad and tell him that you won't let me into my room." he warned.

"Seriously Lincoln?! You're resorting to tattling on me?!" she replied sounding really angry.

"Hey I'm not the one who's keeping you from going into your room to get something you need am I? This is my room and I need to get something out of it and you're not being fair to me. All I want to do is come in for two seconds, grab my homework and then I'll leave you alone. Is that really too much to ask for or am I going to have to go get Dad and let him sort this out?" he asked crossing his arms.

He didn't hear anything for several moments and wondered for a second how she was going to respond to that. He then heard the click of his door unlocking and he took that as a sign that she gave in. He opened the door to let himself in but what he didn't know was that Lori was fuming. She really didn't want to lose to her brother and as soon as she saw he was coming in, she decided to get some petty revenge and kick the door with full force and her weight behind it. This was bad news for Lincoln who's right hand was in the way and his fingers got caught in between the door and doorframe. He instantly felt the sharp pain shoot up his arm and he let out a loud cry before yanking his hand back and sticking his fingers under his left arm.

"That's what you get you little snitch!" Lori said with malice before locking the door again.

That was the final straw. He tried being nice, he tried offering her a way out of getting in trouble and he was more than happy to leave her be if he was just allowed to do his homework. And this is how she reacts? Taking a glance at his fingers, she even broke the skin and they were bleeding a little bit in between the highest and lowest joints on all four fingers. Completely uncalled for. He didn't care anymore, she needed to be told off and he was going to hit her where he knew it was going to hurt the most. He huffed a couple of times and took a deep breath before he let loose.

"Lori! You are the worst person ever! I have no idea what Bobby sees in you but I'm guessing it's either because he's stupid or has very low standards! I know this because if I were him, there's no way I would ever date a girl like you! Someone who acts like a spoiled little brat!" he yelled with as much anger as he could put in his voice. Now he couldn't see what was going on behind the door but Lori's anger was already reaching a boiling point. The seventeen year old was gritting her teeth and her face was turning red like a cherry tomato. And yet her brother continued to push her anger button. "I hope one day Bobby wises up and ditches you for someone else because you don't deserve someone as nice as him! I think he can do much better than you! Definitely someone much nicer, much prettier and much better than you in every way! LIKE CAROL PINGREY!" he screamed.

Once he had finished giving her a piece of his mind he turned and made his way to the stairs so he could go get his dad. However he heard the door unlock and open. When he turned he went pale instantly. Now Lori has always had a short temper. She developed an anger issue when he was around six years old. And she was really good at striking fear in you when she got mad. But all the times she got mad in the past were nothing compared to how angry she was now. Lori looked furious on an apocalyptic level. In the past she used to warn him that she would one day twist him into a human pretzel. He was beginning to instantly regret his choice of words because now she looked like she was ready to actually follow through on that threat.

The eleven year old tried to turn and run but she moved with such blinding speed that when she tackled him to the floor he almost folded in half. She then flipped him over onto his back, grabbed hold of his shirt in an iron grip and hoisted him up off the ground. Her eyes were practically glowing red from fury.

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" he started shouting and trying desperately to free himself.

"NO! SHUT UP!" she screamed with a violent shake.

Lincoln quivered in her clutches and his eyes started to water. "You're hurting me." he whimpered.

"Do you wanna know what I think of you Lincoln?!" she asked yelling at him. "I think that you're useless, obnoxious, pathetic, disgusting and the most miserable disappointment for a human being ever!" she yelled shaking him with each insult she hurled at him. "All you ever do is get in the way, never mind your own damn business, mess everything up for everyone and cause way more trouble for us than you're worth!" she continued before shoving him back towards the stairs. He only barely managed to maintain balance before she continued. "I WISH OUR MOTHER NEVER GAVE BIRTH TO YOU! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT AN ACCIDENT!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

She then proceeded to slap him across the face with such force behind her strike that he tumbled over the edge and down the stairs. Two thirds of the way down he was hitting steps in bad ways that twisted joints in ways they weren't meant to then fell the rest of the way landing hard face down on the floor. The whole house was completely silent after that as Lori stood at the very top looking down at her brother. At that very moment the rage that had completely consumed her had vanished in half a fraction of a second. Now she only stood there in complete shock and disbelief in what she just did and what just happened. She also felt her blood run cold when she realized she was being watched. She glanced to her left and right to see all her sisters.

The girls were all staring at her with eyes as wide as dinner plates and their jaws hanging wide open. They all heard what she said and they all saw what she did. They all then dashed over to stand next to her at the top of the stairs to look down and see what became of their brother who was still laying face down and sprawled out on the floor. Luan looked over at Lori briefly. Her expression was one of both shock and heartbreak.

"Lori, how could you?" she asked shaking her head slowly.

"I...I-I-I-I..." she stuttered before gulping, her throat feeling really dry suddenly. She looked back down at her brother as beads of sweat were rolling down her face. "L-Lincoln?" she asked, waiting for an answer. When she didn't get a response her heart started thundering against her rib cage. "Lincoln please?" she asked just a little bit louder.

Time moved very very slowly at this moment. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours and her vision narrowed exclusively on her brother who still hasn't moved. Suddenly he twitched and started to move around on the floor. The girls then heard him gasp loudly and cough a few times after taking a deep breath. Apparently the force of the fall knocked the wind out of his lungs and now he was breathing again. He struggled to move himself but when he tried pushing himself up he felt a sharp pain in his right arm and let out a yelp in response. He managed to sit himself up using his left hand and when he turned around all his sisters let out a terrified gasp. Lori brought her hands up to cover her mouth after seeing his face.

"Oh my gosh." she said very quietly.

The first thing they all noticed was the blood. Both his nostrils were bleeding and it was dripping down onto his shirt. His lower lip was also busted which caused a small stream of blood to trail down the right side of his chin. But the worst of it was he had a nasty looking cut above his left eyebrow which caused a steady stream of blood to trail down the left side of his face. Lincoln's expression was one of dizziness and disorientation. His head was aching and every couple of seconds he would inhale through his nose, making a sniffling noise. He brought his left hand up to hold his head which was hurting but when he did he felt the warm wet feeling. He then brought his hand down and held it out in front of his face to see why his fingers were wet.

After his vision came back into focus he looked shocked to not only realize that he was bleeding but also to see how much blood there was. He then looked back up at his sister who was still standing at the top of the steps and his expression told her everything. He was horrified that his big sister was capable of doing something like this to him. And he was heartbroken that she actually would do something like this to him. His lower lip started trembling and tears began welling up in the corners of his eyes. He broke eye contact with Lori, looking down while gripping his right arm which hurt really badly. His left leg was also hurting too.

"I know you just wanted me to leave you alone. (Sniff)" he sobbed. "And I know I made you really mad at me just now. (Sniff) I didn't want to get into a fight with you Lori, I just wanted to do my homework. (Sniff)" he whimpered as he felt another wave of pain rush up his right arm. "But did you have to shove me down the stairs? (Sniff) Lori I think I broke something." he cried as he clenched his eyes shut.

"L-L-Lincoln I wasn't trying to...I-I didn't mean..." she replied struggling to form words.

However her words fell on deaf ears as her brother finally started crying. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he started bawling loudly. The rest of his sisters started waking up from their state of fear and shock. Lynn was the first to react when her fingers curled into fists and she clenched them so tightly that her joints were popping and her knuckles turned white. The young athlete's face twisted into one of anger as she turned and shoved Lori back as hard as she could.

"What the hell is wrong with you Lori?! You just hurt my Baby Brother!" she screamed.

And that was when the dam finally broke. Lori barely had time to react before she found herself with her back against the wall while Luna, Lynn, Lola and even Lisa were all yelling and looking furious with her. All she could do was hold her hands up like she was afraid that at any second they would stop shouting every insult that came to mind and just start hitting her. At the same time Leni, Luan who was holding Lily, Lucy and Lana all ran downstairs to their brother's side and did the best they could to comfort him. Leni let him lay into her and she held him in her arms while he sobbed into her shoulder. Luan, Lucy and Lana only sat around him not knowing what do which really upset them. They could tell he was really hurting.

Even Lily tried to help. The baby girl could only pat him on the head, trying to comfort her brother the best she could. Now all this chaos wouldn't go unnoticed for long and it certainly didn't. Up until this point Lynn Sr. noticed some yelling while he was doing laundry but it was very muffled and he was kind of used to hearing the kids making loud noises. They weren't the Loud Family for nothing you know. But there was something different about the yelling he was hearing now. Lots of anger and that set off a lot of warning bells for him. The family patriarch ran up stairs and burst through the door into the living room.

"Girls! What the hell is going on here?!" he yelled loud enough to get everyone's attention. But the sounds of sobbing got his attention and when he saw his son he panicked. "Lincoln!" he shouted and ran to his boy. He couldn't believe seeing all the blood on his face as his son only cried while he brought his hands to his face for a closer look. "What happened here?! Who did this?!" he asked yelling and looking around at his daughters.

He got his answer from the family tattle tail. "Lori got angry and Lincoln and pushed him down the stairs!" Lola shouted as loudly as she could while pointing at her older sister accusingly.

"SHE DID WHAT?!" he shouted looking up at his oldest child.

Lori tried to say "I didn't mean it." but it came out so quietly it was barely above a whisper.

Her father glared at her angrily for a brief moment but then turned to his son and his expression changed to one of concern. "Son, I'm taking you to the hospital. Are you able to stand?" he asked.

Lincoln tried to get to his feet but he felt the same sharp pain in his left leg that he felt in his right arm and let out a cry as new tears streamed down his cheeks. "No no no no no! It hurts too much! It hurts!" he wailed.

Lynn then moved beside him while Leni moved over so their dad could lift him up. "It's okay Lincoln, I gotcha." he said gently lifting him up into his arms. "The hospital is only fifteen minutes away, I'll get you there soon I promise." he told the boy who still sobbed in his arms.

Lori was on the verge of breaking down herself and tried to call out to him. "Dad?" was all she could say just loud enough for him to hear her.

Her father looked at her with an expression of pure anger. "LORI LOUD! YOU GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR ROOM AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING IT UNTIL YOUR MOTHER OR I TELL YOU OTHERWISE! NOW!" he roared. Tears poured down her cheeks and the teen ran down the halls to her room as she was ordered. He then turned to his third oldest. "Luna, go get her cellphone then meet me outside with Leni. I need to talk to you both briefly before I go." he told her as he turned and headed outside to Vanzilla.

[Lori And Leni's Room]

Lori was sitting on her bed hugging her legs to her chest and resting her head on her knees while she looked off to the side sobbing. She jumped when she heard her door was kicked in but didn't turn to see who it was. Luna who looked mad as hell stormed up to her big sister.

"Dad said hand over your cellphone. Now." she growled. Lori reached into her pocket and held it up without even looking in her direction and felt her younger sister snatch it harshly from her hand before she stormed out. "Bitch." she hissed under her breath before the brunette slammed the door behind her.

Lori could do nothing except cry now. She knew at this point she really messed up. She didn't need to have Lisa's genius level IQ to know that she was now in really really big trouble. But she didn't actually care about that. The grief and the guilt she felt from what she did to her little brother far outweighed any feelings of fear or dread she would feel knowing she was going to be punished later. At this point her parents could take away her driving license, her cellphone and ground her from anything and everything for months, years, the rest of her natural life and she wouldn't care. The pain she was feeling now knowing she hurt her little brother, to the point he had to be taken to the hospital was almost suffocating. Her guilt was eating her alive now.

[Outside]

Lynn Sr. gently laid his son down on the seat just behind the driver seat. Lincoln was still sobbing and clutching his arm and leg, trying to get the pain to stop. "It's okay Son, be strong we'll be there very soon." he promised.

Leni was already waiting outside and Luna came up after her brief trip to Lori's room. "Here you go Dad." she said handing him the cellphone.

"Okay Girls, I hate to put this on you but I need the two of you to watch the house while I'm gone." he said climbing in and closing the door. "Keep an eye on all your little sisters, make sure Lori stays put." he said firmly but calmly. "Unless she needs a bathroom break she's to remain in her room until your Mother and I come home to deal with her. I don't know how long I'll be at the hospital with Lincoln so just in case, go ahead and assume that I may not be cooking dinner tonight. We have plenty of leftovers in the fridge so just eat whenever you guys feel like it okay?" he instructed them.

"Yes Sir." Leni replied.

"You got it Pop Star." said Luna.

Lynn then started up Vanzilla and within seconds he was off. Both Leni and Luna as well as all the other girls from the living room window watched as he drove off. All they could do was hope that their brother's injuries weren't too serious. They were all worried sick and all they wanted was for him to come home as soon as possible. That and of course to see Lori get what's coming to her.

[Author's Notes] I've wanted to do a story like this one for a long time. Now before anyone points this out in a Review let me be clear. Yes, I was inspired by "Avoiding Estrangement" by The Overly Active Imagination. And before anyone asks, yes I was granted permission to use the same premise for my story so long as it wasn't exactly the same. If you read the first chapter side by side with mine you'll definitely see the similarities but I made sure to write differences too and I do plan on taking this story in a slightly different direction. I highly recommend checking out his story, it is very good and I would like to give a heart felt shout out to Overly Active Imagination and thank him for letting me do this story. If he has a chance to read it for himself I sincerely hope that he enjoys it too.

So how serious do you think Lincoln's injuries are? Feel free to take a guess and what do you think will happen next? I'm open to suggestions.

As always thank you all so much for reading my stories. Please leave a Review on what you thought of it and if you guys have any ideas you wanna share or simply wanna chat please shoot me a PM. I enjoy talking with my readers.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)