A/N: Hello everyone. I know, I know it's been more than a year since I last published anything! I'm afraid it's because of the usual reasons; writer's block, lack of motivation, real life, and in my case family emergencies and COVID. I don't mind telling you I'm glad to get this chapter finished, and I would like to give a special thanks to J. Tom for beta reading it. The help is much appreciated! I will admit, I tried to publish this chapter a few days ago since it has been two years since I first uploaded it to this site, but once again the aforementioned reasons prevailed. I would also like to thank all of you for having an interest in this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and here's hoping I'll be more frequent in publishing future chapters!
Ch. 8 – Word On The Street
It was just another day in Great Lakes City, which began like it would in any other city. Some people woke up to start their day while others came home after working the night shift. As it was early summer, everyone was looking forward to enjoying the pleasant weather. That is, until the usual urban heatwaves later in the season made it almost unbearable. But hey, that's life in the big city.
Among those to start their day that morning was an extended Latino family who lived in an apartment above a Mercado, among them being a young girl. Ronnie Anne Santiago woke up feeling excited. She had been looking forward to this day ever since the schools in the city had closed for the summer a few days ago. It was going to be the first summer get-together for her and her friends, and they had planned to go skateboarding at the local park.
Ronnie Anne was so excited, in fact, she didn't realize just how early she'd woken until she saw the time on her alarm clock. She groaned slightly. 'Aw man. It's too early,' she thought. She had hoped she slept in just a little bit, like any kid wanted to do every day in the summer. She sat up and rubbed the last bit of sleep from her eyes. "Well, since I'm up, might as well get breakfast," she said to herself. Then she chuckled. "No doubt Abuela's cooking already." That was absolutely certain. Ronnie Anne's Abuela Rosa was in charge of the food for the entire Casagrande family, and no matter what she would always be available to fix anybody something to eat. And it was always a meal, NEVER a snack. Ronnie Anne laughed. She always found it funny when she thought about it.
Ronnie Anne got dressed a few minutes later and made her way to the door. Unfortunately, just as she opened it she found herself being knocked to the floor and bombarded with a series of licks to the face. "LALO!" she exclaimed as the bull mastiff expressed his usual display of affection to the girl. Lalo greeted everybody he met in this manner, but for some reason he seemed to do this to Ronnie Anne the most.
Lalo stopped licking a few seconds later and he stepped aside to allow Ronnie Anne to sit up. She couldn't help but smile seeing the dog's face. "Good morning to you too, boy," she said as she gave him a hug. Lalo gave her a happy "ruff" in reply as he nuzzled his head against hers; his own way of returning the embrace. When Ronnie Anne let go, Lalo walked off in the direction of the living room. Ronnie Anne laughed as she stood up and followed him, albeit at a much slower pace.
On her way she took in everything that was happening. Tio Carlos was reading a book as he absent-mindedly walked down the hall, Tia Frida was taking pictures of Carlitos doing baby things, Carlota was in her room deciding which outfit she would wear today, CJ was playing one of his pretend games, and Carl was in the bathroom fixing his hair. Ronnie Anne just rolled her eyes after she caught a glimpse of Carl. 'Typical,' she thought to herself. Eventually, Ronnie Anne reached the living room, which was separated from the kitchen by a wall with a transom window. Sure enough, Abuela Rosa was still cooking breakfast. Sergio, the family parrot, was with Rosa, keeping her company. Ronnie Anne let out a contented sigh. It was just business as usual for the Casagrande family.
She savored the aroma of the food and let it out with a sigh before looking up to the window. "Morning Abuela," she said to Rosa.
"Ah, Buenos Dias, mi hija," Rosa replied when she turned and saw Ronnie Anne, taking note of her cheerful demeanor. She smirked. "You sound happy this morning. What's going on?" Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes. She knew how Rosa could be when she spoke in that tone of voice. But she blew it off as she walked to the dining table. "Sid and I are going out with the others later."
Rosa's eyes widened. "Oh, that's right! You've been talking about that for a while. That's happening today?"
"Yep," Ronnie Anne replied. "Sid will be stopping by later. We're gonna meet up with the others later."
"That's nice," said Rosa. "When is she coming by?"
"Not for a while," said Ronnie Anne answered. "I actually got up earlier than I wanted 'cause I was so excited," she added as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Ah that's all right; you have every right to be! It's the first little get-together for you and your friends for the summer," Rosa said. A sudden thought came to her. "Speaking of which, what have you got planned today," she asked.
"Oh, you know, the usual," Ronnie Anne said. From her tone of voice, Rosa knew exactly what she meant. "Skateboarding?"
"You know it," Ronnie Anne replied quickly. "Well," Rosa continued, "you will certainly need all the energy you can get today. Here, have a seat. Breakfast will be ready soon." Ronnie Anne did not hesitate to take a seat at the table next to the transom. But then she realized something. She had not seen her brother or Abuelo Hector yet. "Hey, Abuela," she asked.
"Yes Nieta?"
"Where are Abuelo and Bobby?"
"Oh, they went downstairs to get the Mercado ready," Rosa explained. "They should be back up in a few minutes." "All right," Ronnie Anne replied. Sure enough, Hector and Bobby came into the apartment about five minutes later. By that time Rosa had finished breakfast. She announced the food was ready and everyone else came to the table. What followed was a typical breakfast at the Casagrande table; loud discussions coupled with enjoying Rosa's cooking. The only person absent was Bobby and Ronnie Anne's mother Maria. She'd been working the late shift at the hospital and wouldn't be home until later.
When breakfast was over, everyone went their separate ways. Hector and Bobby went back down to open the Mercado, Rosa and Frida started with washing the dishes, Carlos went back to reading and the kids went to do their own things. Ronnie Anne went back to her room to get her skateboarding gear ready. When she finished, she decided to spend the rest of her time waiting by watching TV.
She had just tuned into a channel when Sergio landed next to her. "Hey Sergio," she said. "Hey," Sergio squawked in return. "So, you and your friends are getting together today, huh?" he asked. "Yep; Sid and I are gonna go when she gets here," Ronnie Anne said. "I thought I watch some TV in the meantime." Sergio nodded in reply. Then he saw the TV was airing a luchador match. He stared at the screen. Something about it seemed familiar. "Wait, haven't we seen this before," he asked raising an eyebrow.
"We have," Ronnie Anne replied. "It's one of La Tormenta's old matches, but it's a really good one," she added. "I never get tired of watching it." Sergio nodded. "Yes, I remember," he said as he recalled when he and Ronnie Anne first saw it.
The two sat on the couch and kept watched the show for the next hour. Soon, La Tormenta's match ended with her winning the fight and the show moved on to the next matches. It was almost time for the final match when Sergio turned to Ronnie Anne. "So, uh, when did you say Sid was going to get here?"
Then, as if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Ronnie Anne perked up immediately. "That must be her now," she replied as she jumped off the couch. She called out a quick "I'll get it" as she went to answer the door.
Sure enough, when Ronnie Anne opened the door Sid Chang was standing on the other side. "Sid!" "Ronnie Anne!" The girls exclaimed as they gave each other a hug. After breaking the hug, Ronnie Anne saw that Sid was wearing her helmet and pads and had her skateboard by her side.
"So, are you ready to go," Sid asked excitedly. "Yeah, just a second," Ronnie Ann said before dashing to her room. She came back a few seconds later wearing her helmet and pads and carrying her skateboard. "Let's go!"
The girls quickly made their way downstairs to the front entrance of the building. Their friends Casey, Sameer, Nikki and Laird were waiting outside on the sidewalk. The kids spent a few minutes greeting each other before jumping on their skateboards and riding to the park.
The group spent the rest of the morning skating, all the while talking about their plans for the summer and boasting about their own or trash-talking each other's skateboarding abilities. They continued until around mid-afternoon. At that point, they decided to leave the park to get some lunch.
When they reached the sidewalk, Ronnie Anne spotted a food truck across the street. She became excited when she recognized the vehicle. "Hey guys," she said to the others as she pointed in the truck's direction. "Look who it is." Everyone looked and their eyes widened. "Oh cool, Gabby's here!" Sid exclaimed. The rest of the gang voiced their excitement before they all hastily crossed the street.
Gabby was the woman who owned the food truck, which served hot tamales. Some time ago Ronnie Anne told her friends all about how she and her family had discovered Gabby's truck and the delicious tamales she sold, and how they had tried to keep it a secret from Rosa since they thought the truck's tamales were better. Only for Rosa to reveal she gave Gabby her tamale recipe in exchange for discounts at the tool store which was owned by Gabby's husband Jack. Since then, the Santiagos and Casagrandes had become good friends with Gabby. Ronnie Anne introduced her friends to Gabby and they got to know her well too. When they reached the truck, the kids all greeted Gabby enthusiastically before ordering tamale. It only took a few minutes for the tamales to be ready and the kids began to eat.
The kids took a moment to savor the delicious flavor of the tamales. It was little wonder why. While Gabby simply prepared the treats, it was Rosa Casagrande's recipe which made them so popular in the first place. It was clear to everybody who ate them that they were the best tamales in Great Lakes City, even though only a select few knew they were Abuela Rosa's cooking.
Ronnie Anne couldn't help but smile as she and her friends reengaged in conversation. So far her summer break was going great. Right now she was hanging out with her friends, her favorite people other than her family. They spent their day enjoying their favorite activity and were now enjoying good food and even good music coming from the radio inside the food truck. It may have been kids' stuff, sure, but to Ronnie Anne it was all she could ask for. Everything was going all right.
At some point, the music stopped and the station went to a commercial break. Hearing this, Gabby decided to tune the radio to a different station. Whenever Gabby tuned the radio, she would pause for a second or two to listen to what was playing; just to hear if there was a station playing something that was easily tolerable to everyone within earshot. The radio Gabby had in the truck was an older model, so it let out an alternating pattern of static and whatever was being broadcasted on the respective stations at that very moment.
The act of changing a radio station was a simple, mundane one; one which few people would pay attention to when it was happening. That was certainly the case for Gabby as she did just that. And when she tuned into yet another station, the sound of a voice was heard letting out a partial sentence.
That was when everything changed.
"~~~ reports of shots fired at Royal Woods ~~~"
Ronnie Anne immediately stopped eating as her eyes went wide in surprise. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? In a shocking move by her, she dropped her tamale and whipped around to the truck. Then she jumped up and grabbed the edge of the counter, pulling herself up to stick her face to the window.
"Gabby, wait!" she exclaimed.
"What?! What is it?" Gabby asked, surprised by Ronnie Anne suddenly appearing in the window. "Turn back to that station!" Raising an eyebrow, Gabby reached to turn back the knob.
Ronnie Anne's friends meanwhile exchanged a bewildered look before gathering behind her. "Ronnie Anne? What's going on?" Sid asked. But Ronnie Anne didn't say anything. She just kept staring into the truck, but Sid could tell she had a very worried look on her face, which both confused and worried Sid and the others. Then, a voice was heard saying "…who is reporting live at the scene" was heard on the radio.
"That's it!" Ronnie Anne shouted as she recognized the voice. Still puzzled, Gabby let go of the knob and stepped back to allow Ronnie Anne to hear it better. The rest of the kids moved closer to the truck to listen too, as another voice was heard.
"Th-thank you," came the shaky voice of a woman. It was a voice which Ronnie Anne hadn't heard in a while, but still recognized almost instantly. It was the voice of Katherine Mulligan, the field reporter from the Royal Woods News Station. "Th-this is Katherine Mulligan reporting live outside the Royal Woods Mall. F-for those who are just t-tuning in, earlier today a gunman had opened fire inside the building."
The report came as a shock to the others when they heard it. Then Sid gasped when she realized. "Guys," she whispered to the others making them face her. "Royal Woods: that's where Ronnie Anne used to live!" The rest of the kids winced as they turned back to listen to the radio. Ronnie Anne meanwhile was horrified by what she was hearing. Her hands were shaking and her grip on the counter had loosened. Miss Mulligan continued with her report.
"… police officers have entered the building a few minutes ago. We have received reports that they found about ten bodies. So far, we haven't…" There was a sudden pause and some incoherent conversation was heard in the background, making everyone listening even more anxious. Then Miss Mulligan spoke again. "Correction, this reporter has just received confirmation that the gunman is among the dead. There are no further details as of now, but those of us here will be…"
At this point Ronnie Anne couldn't listen anymore. She let go of the counter and dropped to the ground. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She frantically looked through her contacts before finding Lincoln's number. She quickly pressed the call button and put her phone to her ear. "C'mon Lame-O, pick up!" she said to herself as she listened to the ringing. Unfortunately, the call went straight to Lincoln's voicemail. Ronnie Anne cursed to herself in frustration and worry as she ended the call and put her phone back in her pocket. Just then, she felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder. Ronnie Anne whipped around to see Sid and the others staring at her with worried looks on their faces.
"Ronnie Anne, what's going on? Are you OK?" Sid asked. But Ronnie Anne was too concerned to talk. "Guys," she said shakily, "I'm sorry, but I need to get home!" With that, Ronnie Anne jumped on her skateboard and skated away as fast as she could. Her friends just stood there, confused. Yes, it was a shock to hear that a mass shooting happened in Ronnie Anne's old hometown. But why would she react like that? Whom did she try to call just now? And why was she so upset that she needed to go home?
The answer came a few seconds later when Sid finally figured it out. "Oh no," she said as a wave of terror broke over her. The rest instantly picked up on her frightened tone. They now knew something was wrong. "What is it, Sid?" Nikki asked in a worried tone. "Yeah Sid; what's goin' on?" asked Casey, sounding just as concerned. The rest of the group asked what was wrong too before Sid finally responded. "I just realized," she said shakily. "When she was on the phone; she just tried to call him." "Tried to call who?" the others asked, confused but still worried. "Her friend; the one who still lives in Royal Woods. Lincoln." Casey, Sameer, Nikki and Laird's eyes widened. Sid and Ronnie Anne told them stories about Lincoln. From what they heard, Ronnie Anne considered Lincoln as much as a friend to her as Sid. And they instantly realized what Sid meant just now.
"Sid," Laird said as he looked to her. "You don't think…" he trailed off, but Sid and the others knew what he wanted to ask. "I really hope not," Sid replied, her voice full of concern. "C'mon, let's go!" she said. Without hesitation, she jumped on her skateboard and skated away. The rest didn't need telling twice. They jumped on their boards and skated after Sid, in the direction of the Casagrande Mercado.
For the people of Great Lakes City, life continued on as normal. Everybody went about their business doing what they always did every day, whether they were locals doing their jobs or tourists taking in the sights. But for a select few, the flow of their day was very suddenly and very briefly interrupted by a young girl skateboarding past them at such a speed the only image they saw of her was a purple blur.
It was probably the fastest Ronnie Anne ever went on her skateboard. Every time she passed somebody, whether it was someone on the sidewalk or cutting off an unsuspecting driver while crossing the street (which miraculously didn't result in her getting run over), she was met with a quick and expected response of angry shouting. What they said exactly, she didn't know and didn't care. The only thing she did care about was getting home.
When she couldn't get a hold of Lincoln, Ronnie Anne got so worried she wanted to get home as quickly as possible. Since she couldn't reach him via cell phone, she figured she could try to video call him on her laptop. It was the usual way they've kept in contact since Ronnie Anne moved to Great Lakes City, and every time they called one another this way they always answered. Ronnie Anne only hoped that would be the case as she skated.
The trip back to the building really only took a few minutes, but to Ronnie Anne it seemed like ages. All she wanted to do was get to get home, and she didn't slow down even when she jumped off her skateboard, ran into the front door of the building and up the stairs to the Casagrande apartment.
Ronnie Anne nearly threw the apartment door off its hinges as she ran inside and down the hall to her room. When she got to her room she slammed her door shut, tossed her skateboarding gear to the side and frantically searched for her laptop. After finding it and turning it on, she sat down on her bed. She opened the video call app and clicked the call icon for Lincoln's computer. Ronnie Anne could only watch anxiously as the app continued ringing. Unfortunately the ringing stopped about a minute later, indicating Lincoln wasn't near his computer.
"NO!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed as she slammed her laptop shut. She laid back on the bed and slowly curled into a fetal position as her breathing quickened as her concern grew considerably. She was almost about to have a breakdown when…
"Ronnie Anne?"
Ronnie Anne turned to see her mother Maria standing in the doorway looking slightly worried. Without a word, Ronnie Anne leapt from her bed and hugged her. Now Maria got really worried. Ronnie Anne never showed this kind of affection voluntarily unless she was upset about something. And from how fast she got up to hug her just now, Maria knew right away Ronnie Anne was really upset.
Maria returned the hug and led Ronnie Anne back to her bed to comfort her. She broke the silence as she stroked her daughter's back. "What's the matter?" Ronnie Anne took a moment to get her breath back. When she did, she looked up to her mom. "I just tried to video call Lincoln mom. But he's not answering," she said sadly. Maria sighed. "Oh, it's all right honey. I know how much talking to Lincoln means to you, but maybe he's a little busy right now. I mean, you know how his family is. He probably got held up with…"
"What? No! Mom you don't understand," Ronnie Anne interrupted. "I was with my friends when I heard what happened in Royal Woods. We just bought tamales from Gabby when I heard it on her radio. I tried to call Lincoln but he didn't answer his phone. So I came home to get a hold of him here, but he's still not answering." Ronnie Anne paused to get her breath back before continuing. "I don't know what's going on mom. I'm really worried about him."
"Wait, hold on a minute," Maria asked as she raised an eyebrow. She was still worried, but was slightly confused. "What do mean 'what happened in Royal Woods?'" Ronnie Anne looked up in disbelief. "Wait, you don't know," she asked. Now Maria was realized something was wrong and her concern grew. "Know what?" But before Ronnie Anne could answer, there was a shout from the living room.
"AI YI YI!" Maria and Ronnie Anne exchanged a look. They knew that voice. "Dad," Maria called out to Hector as she looked into the hall. But Hector didn't answer. Instead he called out "Everyone! Look at this!" Maria and Ronnie Anne looked to each other again before the former exited the room. Ronnie Anne followed, but she lagged behind. She wondered what could have made her Abuelo shouted like that. Then she heard everyone else's voices coming from the living room. Most of them either gasped or said something she couldn't make out. Ronnie Anne nervously continued down the hall.
When she reached the living room, she saw everyone was sitting on the couch (and in her grandparents' case, their chairs) looking at the TV. From the looks on their faces, it seemed to Ronnie Anne they had just seen something shocking. Then, Frieda noticed Ronnie Anne standing nearby. "MI HIJA!" Frieda exclaimed as she quickly got up and went to Ronnie Anne. "Quick, you need to see this!" Ronnie Anne didn't get a chance to reply as Frieda grabbed and dragged her to the couch. It was only after Frieda whipped her around that Ronnie Anne finally saw what her family had been seeing. In what was probably the first time ever, the Casagrande family was watching the news. On the screen were images of chaos outside the Royal Woods Mall with the news banner reading "10 Dead In Mall Shooting" as Great Lakes City's news reporters made comments on the footage.
As she watched, Ronnie Anne got the feeling someone was staring at her. She turned in the direction to see Maria looking right at her. 'Is this what you were talking about,' she mouthed to Ronnie Anne. Ronnie Anne could only nod in reply before looking back to the TV, but she only managed to watch for a few seconds before deciding to sit on the floor by the end of the couch. She looked around the room. It was surprisingly silent as everyone was too stunned to say anything, for the most part. She saw Rosa was saying something to herself (most likely some kind of blessing), and Carl was watching the TV with what looked like a look of fascination. Ronnie Anne scowled at her cousin. 'Little jerk,' she thought to herself. A sudden movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned to see what it was.
It turned out to be Bobby, who had walked up next to her. He was leaning against the wall and looking down at his phone with a worried look on his face. He sighed and put his phone in his pocket. He saw Ronnie Anne looking up at him when he did, so he sat down next to her.
"You OK Nini," he asked quietly. Ronnie Anne opened her mouth to answer, but closed it when she found she couldn't say anything. All she could do was shake her head as Bobby put an arm around her. She leaned into her brother as he gently tightened his grip on her. She normally didn't like to receive affection in front of other people, but right now she needed someone to lean on and she didn't care who noticed. But everyone else in the room didn't anyway since they were still glued to the TV. Ronnie Anne remembered Bobby had been looking at his phone before he sat down. It suddenly dawned on her why.
"Bobby?"
"Hmm," Bobby replied as he turned to face her.
"Did you manage to get a hold of Lori?" Bobby's face fell and he shook his head. "I've been trying for a while. I still haven't heard back from her yet." He started talking about how worried he was getting, but stopped when Ronnie Anne turned away and curled in on herself even more. Bobby responded by tightening his grip around his sister. He may have been known to be absent-minded, but he always knew when Ronnie Anne needed someone to be there for her.
The family continued watching the news report until a knock on the door got their attention a few minutes later. "Um, I'll get it," Rosa said as she got up. As she went to the door, everyone looked back to the TV. "Oh, it's you," Rosa said out loud. Everyone looked back to the door to see who was there. "Yes, she's right here," Rosa said as she turned and pointed behind her. "Come in, come in." Rosa moved out of the way to reveal Ronnie Anne's friends standing in the doorway. Ronnie Anne got up and went over to them, and as they came inside they instantly surrounded her in a group hug.
"We thought you could use some support," Sid said, finally breaking the silence of their embrace. Ronnie Anne smiled sadly. "Thanks," she said with a sight crack in her voice. It was times like these that reminded her Sid and the others were the best friends she could ask for. The rest of the Casagrandes knew this too, and they couldn't help but find this scene particularly endearing as they watched it play out (Frieda wished she had her camera right now).
A moment passed before Rosa cleared her throat politely. "Well, you kids make yourself at home. I'll… see if I can make something for you." Rosa made her way to the kitchen without another word. Ronnie Anne couldn't help but shake her head again as she remembered her thoughts from this morning. No matter what happened, Rosa would always make something to eat.
However, the heartwarming moment between Ronnie Anne and her friends was overshadowed by the tragic new report that was still playing on the TV. Realizing it would be a distraction at this point Hector picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Following an awkward silence that lasted for a moment, Ronnie Anne's friends decided to talk to her. They asked her about the relationship she had with Lincoln. Ronnie Anne had told Sid about it long ago, but realized she never talked about it with the others. Ronnie Anne told the others the same story she told Sid about how she knew Lincoln when she still lived in Royal Woods, and even told them that Bobby was dating Lincoln's sister Lori. Their conversation eventually led to the story of how Lincoln came to visit Ronnie Anne to celebrate their "prankaversary," and how Sid got in on the fun.
Eventually Rosa came out of the kitchen with a tray of food, which was quickly taken by everyone. As they ate, the rest of the Casagrandes told Ronnie Anne's friends stories about their own experiences with Lincoln and his family. These included the time when they temporarily moved in with the Louds in Royal Woods, the time they joined the Louds for Thanksgiving dinner and when the Louds visiting them on Christmas. As they listened, it became clear to Ronnie Anne's friends that both her and Lincoln's families had a close relationship.
During their conversation, one of the Casagrandes would occasionally try to contact the Louds by calling their landline and cell phones, but nobody would answer. Bobby also kept calling and texting Lori in very frequent intervals, but she never answered her cell phone either (which was very unlike her as Ronnie Anne explained to her friends). Because of this, everyone was getting anxious about what could be happening. But Ronnie Anne was the most anxious of all. Maria noticed this, and went to check on her.
"Are you all right sweetie," Maria asked. "No," Ronnie Anne replied shaking her head. "How long has it been mom?" Maria glanced at the time on her phone and said "A little over an hour." Ronnie Anne groaned. "This is ridiculous; shouldn't we have heard something by now?" Maria had to agree with her daughter. It was ridiculous not hearing from the Louds after numerous tries to contact them. "I know honey, I'm worried too. We can always keep trying to get a hold of them, but I think the only other thing we can do now is wait." Ronnie Anne sighed, as much as she hated to she had to agree with her mother. "I just wish someone would let us know sooner than later," she said. No sooner had she said that, it happened.
"NO!" A muffled shout had come so suddenly it made everyone in the room jump. Everyone looked around the room, startled. They suddenly realized the voice that shouted was Bobby's, and due to the muffling it sounded like it came from his room. Then Bobby shouted again. Everything he said was hard to understand, but from his tone it did not sound good and everyone got concerned. Maria got immediately rushed over to Bobby's room as everyone else slowly followed behind.
As Maria looked through the open door, she saw Bobby with a frantic look on his face as he held his phone to his ear. "Bobby? Sweetie? What's wrong?" At that moment, Bobby looked up and saw his mom coming in his room. He looked to his phone and said "Babe hold on a sec." He then held the phone speaker to his shoulder as he walked over to her. He didn't notice everyone else gathering out in the hall.
"Mom, Lori told me Lincoln was at the mall," he explained. "He'd been shot!"
To say the news came as a shock to the Casagrandes was an understatement. After letting out screams of shock, they surrounded Bobby and began asking questions. He did his best to answer, but since he was still on the phone with Lori that he struggled between talking to her and his family.
Meanwhile Ronnie Anne's friends were also standing in the hall behind the now frantic Casagrandes and they were also shocked by the news. While Nikki, Casey, Sameer and Laird's reactions weren't as dramatic since they didn't know Lincoln, Sid was particularly taken aback. Her eyes had started welling up as she shook her head in disbelief. "Oh no," she said to herself. "Ronnie Anne, I'm so…" She stopped mid-sentence as she looked to her side. Just a moment ago Ronnie Anne had been standing next to her, but now she wasn't there. "Ronnie Anne?" Sid turned around and saw Ronnie Anne standing a few feet away. This got the attention of Casey, Sameer, Nikki and Laird and they turned around too. But they were not prepared for the sight that lay before them.
While her family experienced indescribable shock when Bobby told them what happened, it paled in comparison to the emotions Ronnie Anne was feeling. The words that Bobby said hit her like the world's worst punch to the gut, and a look of absolute shock and horror crossed her face. The last thing she heard Bobby say was 'He'd been shot,' and it seemed to echo in her head. Then all the sounds in the room started mixing together and the room looked like it began to spin. She began to slowly walk backwards in some kind of attempt to distance herself from what was happening. But it was no use. All the sounds she heard in her head slowly became distant until it became a constant ringing.
Seeing Ronnie Anne in this state made her friends gasp out loud. But their gasps were drowned out by the sound of Ronnie Anne's breathing, which was gradually becoming louder, shallower and faster. Now worried for their friend, they immediately went over to her. When they reached her they starting asking her if she was okay, but Ronnie Anne didn't react. At this point Sid realized they needed help. "You guys stay here," she said. "I'll get the others." The rest of the kids nodded and kept consoling Ronnie Anne as best they could as Sid ran to Bobby's room. When she got there everyone was still talking at once. Sid knew there was only one way to get their attention.
"HEY!" Hearing Sid shouting everyone's attention and they looked over. But before they could say anything Sid pointed towards the living room and said "We need help over here!" Sid ran back down the hall without another word, prompting the Casagrandes to follow her. When they got to the living room, they saw Ronnie Anne sitting on the floor leaning against the opposite wall and breathing very quickly. They were shocked, but none more so than Maria and Bobby (who by now long ended his phone call with Lori). Ronnie Anne's fast breathing gave way to hyperventilation and her whole body started shaking, which further escalated everyone's concern for her. Sid, Casey, Sameer, Nikki and Laird instantly moved away from Ronnie Anne as her family rushed over, with Maria being the first to reach her.
She knelt down and pulled Ronnie Anne into a hug as everyone else gathered behind her. A silence fell on the room as Maria gently rubbed Ronnie Anne's back and made shushing sounds. Gradually, Ronnie Anne's breathing slowed down as she began to come out of her trance. After an agonizing moment, she slowly looked up to her mother. "Ronnie Anne," Maria asked in a concerned voice. Ronnie Anne couldn't hold it in anymore. She collapsed into Maria's arms and burst into tears. Seeing Ronnie Anne break down made Maria well up and she hugged Ronnie Anne. Everyone else joined them in a large group hug and together they did their best to comfort her as she wept.