My memories of what happened during the trip were foggy, so much so that it seemed more like a dream, in which the laws of physics and coherence had no power. I remember being in a car alone, but I also remember that my sisters accompanied me, or at least the colors that I remember resembled them. I know that there were complaints, that someone was constantly crying, and then there was silence, a long period of silence.

When I woke up, the first thing I found was the brightness of the machine that monitored my pulse being reflected off a metal surface next to my bed. I cleaned my eyes and tried to accustom my eyes to the darkness of the room.

Shortly after I realized where the light was being reflected: It was Luan's braces; she was sitting on a chair next to me, sleeping. Her hand had stayed on mine and woke me up when it started to bother the IV I had on.

My left hand was free, though for some reason it was sore as if my entire arm had been cramping for days. Either way, my arm was still working, so I used it to hold Luan's palm in my hand.

For a while, I was happy with that, with being by her side and appreciating her company and snores. Her hand gave me more warmth than the bed and the sheets put together.

So Lincoln, What are we gonna do?

I asked myself.

Finally jump into the abyss?

Well, I think it's worth a try. I certainly have many questions that need answers, and I will not hesitate to escape again if everything goes wrong for them.

My eyes had finally adjusted to the dim light in the room and now I could see my sister's face. Her hair was loose and she had dark circles around her eyes.

Who knows how long has she been watching over me. I really owe you one for the scare I put you through.

Curtains surrounded the place from my right to my feet, leaving my left uncovered, and from the little light that the machine provided, I could see some posters on the wall and a very familiar sofa...

To think that I'd end here of all places... I thought before trying to move, but as much as I tried to lie on my side a pain held me in place, so with regret I had to admit that it was not the better idea to prolong that moment of peace with Luan.

"Luan," I called out carefully, "Luan, wake up," I repeated while gently squeezing her hand.

Her eyes widened slowly at first and snapped at the end. She was stunned. The smile outlined on her face was something I had never witnessed before, not at that level, as if inside of her sadness and happiness were struggling to show themselves at the same time.

Her now hand-shaking who squeezed me as if I were to vanish at any second, along with that broken smile, made me lose two beats of my heart in that moment.

"Lincoln th-that was your worst… act-" Her wobbly voice revealed the crying being contained within her, "Sorry, I shouldn't be kidding about this; your health is first."

After that she left the room in search of the doctor, I know that because not a minute passed before the doctor entered the room. The lights came on with her entrance, blinding me for a mere stubborn second.

Clare entered the room, creating an opening in the curtain that surrounded my bed, and for a brief moment, let me see what was at the other side: the Twins, Lucy and Leni...

Crying…

That... that was something I didn't want to see...

The curtain closed and now the only thing in my sight were mere silhouettes. "Lincoln, I'm so glad you woke up," Dr. Clare commented with a smile before taking my left arm and inspecting it, "I need to ask you a few questions and make some tests, but first let me tell you that your condition is not that serious. With some rest, you will be in perfect condition in a few weeks, as long as your little sister heeds my orders and leaves the machines turned off inside your body."

My eyes went wide, "Wait, What, Lisa- no, is a misun-"

The doctor put a finger on my lips and, after lowering the volume on the machine next to me, said, "I already talked to almost everyone. Lisa was the most objective and sincere of them all. I admit that I had a hard time believing her... but the little girl has the contacts to support her. She even proposed to find me a reputable new job as long as not to talk about all this... I'll be honest with you, Lincoln, the idea allured me for a brief moment. However, an important position is not my thing, much less the type that stays silent when one of his patients suffers. Although you already know all this, right? "

My face contorted into a grimace at that question, she had a reason to call me and my sisters out, "What? No, I just remember falling down the stairs, everything else is fuzzy." She then raised her fingers, showing me the sign of peace.

"Five has come to."

Hearing those words a sudden pain invaded my head, and with it, images of the past flooded me. I did remember more, I remembered when the doctor explained to us that she found our house thanks to Mike, I remembered part of the conversation she had with Lisa and how she explained everything, also when she turned off the machines with a small control in her pocket, and to my sisters standing behind her, all fearful except for Lucy and Lori.

Then I looked at my left arm, the one currently being held by the doctor; the arm that was previously dislocated and was put back in place before I finally lost consciousness.

So that's why I have this discomfort. But I don't understand, how is it that I forget everything…? Lucy...

"From the expression on your face, I can tell that Lucy's hypnosis really works. It is a field that I have little knowledge of, much less did I know it would be so effective. I must admit that Lucy and Lisa are exceptional girls."

The doctor then carefully placed my arm back on the bed, "But that doesn't mean that what they did wasn't wrong. If anything, this whole thing only shows me how dangerous it is to leave you in that house."

From outside I could hear how someone inhaled loudly, trying to hold back the tears, I couldn't blame them for reacting like that, it even affected me; Saliva pooled in my mouth at that news.

It was so weird to think that a few hours ago I wanted to escape from them, and now I was afraid of Clare separating us.

Ha… just look at me.

I thought that escaping would be the best thing for everyone... and now I think the best thing would be to give us a chance and stay together...

Agh, stupid feelings I wish they were easier to understand!

"You don't seem to like the idea, your pulse just suddenly raced. But leaving you with them is not an option, not after talking to Lisa. Your body and mind have become sensitive towards sexual stimuli. Even if I took your most problematic sisters out of the equation, it is unacceptable for me to leave you with the others. As much for your sake as for theirs, it is obvious where things will go. "

I cannot deny that she is right, even in my dying state I will not trust myself either... Even less now that I am somewhat curious about some things.

"Miss Clare, I understand that it would be the best for everyone... but I still want to stay with them. I just wanted to make that clear."

In the middle of a sigh, a drooping smile formed on her face, "I know Lincoln, I know. That's why I came up with a temporal solution while we sort this out. I will arrange one room of the clinic for you, and your sisters will be able to visit you every day. That way I can keep up with you and analyze each of the girls. "

A thought then crossed my mind, "What about Lily? Lisa needs to finish her research and find out how to help her."

"Well if her calculations are indeed correct she has at least five years to find a cure. Convincing her to finish her research without your help was easy. I just had to bring your parents into the conversation," I was surprised at the statement, and the doctor was quick to realize it, "it was obvious that your parents didn't know about this, Linc. But, being frank, I gave you the benefit of the doubt at first."

Well, it was a mistake on my part to think that I could hide my parents to this point...

"I understand that talking about this problem could create conflict between you, your sisters, and your parents. So, instead of doing that, I will look for a less problematic excuse to separate you from your sisters, while they are young and unsure of their feelings," she said before taking a peek outside the curtains. "If this love between you and them persists or grows even greater in the future... I can only advise you to find a family therapist to be prepared."

Clare's solidarity was comforting, but that didn't make the problem easier to digest. Besides that, I couldn't help but recall that she didn't want a relationship between me and my sisters to happen.

"Doctor, I would like to know, are you on our side in all of this?" I asked her, "I know the question seems weird at this point, but I want to know your opinion."

Clare smiled at me, "I already told you that you can call me Clare, Linc. As for whether I'm on your side, that will depend on what you and your sisters show me from this point. For the moment, just focus on resting. Your injuries were treated, but your brain will need some time to alleviate the damage of that fall," She then got up from the chair. "I'll leave one of your sisters here to make you company."

"Seriously?" I asked skeptically, "I thought you still wouldn't be willing to trust them… or even trust me"

"Well, I don't have a nurse at my disposal at this time and I honestly need to sleep too. I think it's been twelve hours past my time of sleep," Clare said before letting out a heavy sigh, "as for your sisters. After our extensive chat, I concluded that I can only trust two of them. I admit it was a bad idea to talk to all your sisters at the same time, keeping up with them when they start talking and arguing is something worth calling an odyssey. "

Clare then got up and left the room, refusing to tell me which sisters she trusted. But that answer soon came to me, at least in part, for Luan had returned to my side shortly after.

"Oh, Luan, great, she loves to sleep with me."

Although I felt physically tired, I was not sleepy at the time. Luan's company was just what I needed.

I asked her if she had the strength to give me that comedy show she had prepared for me. It seemed that I had cast a healing spell on her because as soon as I asked her that she recovered her usual gleeful features, even the nagging disappeared instantly as if we were in a cartoon show.

You all must be wondering what jokes and things she did for an hour to make me shift between being happy and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, she made me promise not to tell anyone about it, even you.

After her show was over my Sister let out a yawn. The spark in her eyes vanished and once again the marks of sleep deprivation appeared on her face.

"Seems like I'm not the only one that needs some rest, here," I said as a invited her to the bed. I was sure that she wouldn't try to do anything to me in that state.

Although… I was curious about what might happen if she dared to do something to me. I even… wanted for something to happen.

"Sorry, Lincoln, but I can't. I don't know what Lisa is doing with what she put on your body so I prefer not to bother those machines until they get out of your system. Don't worry thou, I'll sleep on the couch over there in the meantime, it's quite comfortable, "Luan replied as she made her way to the sofa.

"Oh…"

There it goes my chances to experiment.

"Well, okay-"

A slight squeak caught my attention, I turned my head then and realized that Luan was moving the sofa towards me. I didn't say anything about it, but I made sure to show her that I was happy with the decision she had made.

The sofa was not at the height of the bed, so when she lay down I was unable to see her at all, and she could not see me either. Maybe that's why she decided to extend her arm and hold my hand, so in case something happened she could...

Nah, we all know she did it because she wanted to be close to me; if not then, well, it's my headcanon now.

"Thanks for being with me Luan, and thanks for the show. I needed that."

"Anything for you my little bunny, just promise to just break your leg next time, haha!" She then gripped at my hand and added, "no, no, next time, try a safer way to get us both in a private place, haha."

"hehe, I'll try," I paused for a moment, "hey, Luan…"

"Yes, Linc?"

"Will you forgive me for trying to escape?"

After a short silence, Luan answered.

"Yes, the truth is when I saw you run from us, I had already made up my mind to forgive you for it. I think we were too excited for our own good. At least I thought that you would just accept us after a couple of days with those rules. Lori was the one who took the worst hit when she realize that our plan failed. "

"The truth is that ever since this began, my life has become so confused that even I don't fully understand my own thoughts on the matter. I still don't know which feelings are real and which aren't, the only clue I have is that Lisa told me that her experiment was unable to alter them..."

I took a deep breath, my lips curving into a smile.

"But, -You know what? Even if I don't know if what I feel is true, at least now I know is fine. I mean, for me, this is fine. What you feel for me, I accept what you feel for me as something good."

Luan sat on the couch and combed my hair with her hand while smiling, "hehe, thank you, Lincoln. After what happened yesterday, I thought you would lose your life because of… us. We were all so scared, and it took a lot to calm Lucy down..." She then laid her head on the bed. "I… the only thing I could think of that time was that you would leave this world hating us all..."

"No, Luan, I don't hate you. Never did. I was afraid, yes, but never came to hate you all. If anything, all this made me realize what I hate about myself."

I tightly held her hand.

"I was unable to think clearly. I was dishonest with how I felt. I mean, when I argued with Lucy, I was upset, very upset; but it wasn't with her. I was upset because she was suffering; because she blamed herself for things that were not only her fault but mine as well. I'm not saying she may have done something other than just not following Lisa's orders, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I love yo… I have feelings for you all. "

"Hehe," Luan then started rubbing her face on the bed, "Lincoln is in love~!"

Annoyed, and flustered, I used my good arm to hide my face below the sheets. "I think I'd better go to sleep."

"Aw, sorry, Lincoln. I just can't contain myself." Luan added before uncovering me, "I couldn't keep quiet after getting what I have been waiting for months to hear."

I wanted to be able to get up and talk to her properly, but it was impossible to do with half of my body being sore, "fine, fine, Luan. Just try to take this a little more seriously. It hasn't been easy for me to get here."

"Your bones are good evidence of it." She commented quickly.

"Yes, physically it has not been easy either, heh. But seriously, what I used to believe was put to the test many times. It is not until these last days that I felt as if gigantic waves had shaken me with the truth."

I glanced towards the ceiling as the memories flooded my mind.

"First, when I realized that I could accept several of you abusing the rules that Lori came up with. Then realizing that I was looking to force a situation where you were the bad guys. But, besides Lori, none of you actually wanted to hurt me."

I closed my eyes at that moment, preparing myself for the toughest memories.

"Lucy, and the discussion we had, that made me realize that even with all the cards against me, the biggest problem was that I was also playing against myself. Deep down, I wanted that one end, where we all ended up together and happy."

Luan's breathing became noticeable, it was late and she was tired.

"But with that ending, there were also many doubts, and I was afraid of what could happen to us, so the only thing that occurred to me was ru- "one thunderous snore knocked my monologue out of the room. Looking to the couch I confirmed that Luan had fallen asleep, "Haha, sorry, I forgot you needed to sleep too. We'll continue at another time. Sweet dreams, Luan."

My wishes were answered by a soft snore.

"I'll go to sleep too…" I said before an idea quickly settled into my head, "you know, I would have liked a kiss before sleeping…"

It was brief, but I was able to see her smiling before she returned to sleep.

That can wait for another day, you naughty Lincoln.