It was noon at the hospital and, what started as a quick game of snake and ladders against Lynn and Luan, had turned into an odyssey. We sacrificed two hours and even our desire to win, and yet the beast that was that game seemed to steal more from us.
Lynn rolled the dice again. She was only one step away from winning, and yet it has been half an hour since she got there, unable to move away from that row or win, so close to freedom but unable to reach it.
If there is a protagonist in this story it would be Luan, who decided to withdraw from the game and save herself.
Maybe ... maybe the beast just wanted to do its job. Luan's odyssey needs her to be the sole survivor after all.
It was my turn to roll, I needed anything except a three ... obviously, the dice decided to go to the worst possible route. With pain and frustration, I took the snake and moved my token back to the bottom of the abyss where it had been born.
My exasperation turned into a low growl that attracted Luan's attention, who threw herself towards my back in a tender hug. "Hey guys, you are supposed to have fun with the game, not the other way around, haha."
Lynn ignored the comment and threw the dice again. Six.
"Come on…"
She threw again… Six.
"For the love of… Give me a one!"
Again ... Six.
"Agh, stupid game! Are you sure Lucy didn't put a curse on it?!"
"Hmm" Luan inquired, "Actually... Lucy said that this was the only game that she didn't dare to curse... maybe it has something much worse than what can be done with witchery..."
My eyes and Lynn's widened almost at the same time, it was clear that any excuse would be good to leave the game, and that was a good enough excuse for us…
"I give up, you win," I quickly exclaimed before the beast of cardboard and plastic could try to persuade me to keep playing. What followed was a long and glorious sigh from both sides and a laugh from Luan.
"I've never seen someone so happy to lose," she added.
"Luan. That was the best loss I have ever had in my life." I said with such relief that my body fell into Luan's arms like boiled spaghetti slipping off the plate.
"Well, it seems like you're not the only one enjoying yourself," Luan then made a gesture with her eyes to make me look at Lynn, who was happily sprawled on the other side of the bed.
"Man…" Lynn breathed, "this is so weird… it doesn't feel like I won the game. It's more like I won something else, something greater… I don't know what it is either, I just know I don't want to play that thing. Ever. Again."
"That makes the two of us, sister," I replied shortly after. Unlike me, Lynn managed to recover from her triumph first and went to fetch water and stretch, leaving me alone with Luan. She immediately adjusted my head to rest on her lap and began to stroke my hair while testing her jokes with me.
Most of them were bad, but the ones that were good and the fact of just being with her was enough to make up for it.
The caresses continued even after the jokes ran out, but now with her eyes fixed on me. Her faint smile and her gaze, along with how I already felt, had managed to leave me inside a limbo, where time stretched out and space disappeared.
"You know Lincoln," I made a small questioning sound to answer, "this is so weird for me. Before all this happened I was only concerned with hiding these feelings, I even thought about seeking help, just like you did. But the thought of how much fun it would be to be together with you when the experiment was over and you were the same again just…"
She sighed, as slowly as her hands moved.
"It made me blind to a lot of things… as if it all were a dream."
The fact that her soft hands kept stroking my cheeks and hair made her confession something… curiously pleasant.
"And now," she continued, "the experiment got canceled... and I can be with you like this... everything feels so unreal."
"For what it's worth, it was weird for me since the beginning," I smiled, "although you and Leni made it easier for me…. Well," From looking at Luan's astonished expression it was obvious that my excitement was colored on my face, "especially you, I have no memory of you ever trying to do something bad to me, aside from your bad jokes."
Flushed, Luan asked me to get up as her legs were already cramping. Her blush grew in tone and color as I got up and looked back at her face. It was just one step away from earning the position of being the image in the dictionary under the word Red.
"Ahm, where were we, oh, yeah ... Well, Linc, you see ... when Lucy explained to us about how her hypnosis worked, Leni and I didn't quite accept it. Yes, we liked the idea that in the process you would show your repressed feelings towards us, but we did not like the part that said that after a while you would lose consciousness or that you would forget everything..."
She paused, her hand taking shelter in the back of her head.
"It sounded like after that point we'd be abusing you. We decided to stand away from the experiment as much as we could and be honest after everything was resolved. "
"Hmm," I said, my tone clearly skeptical, "well, from the way Leni always looked at me, she didn't seem too willing to stand away ."
Luan, with her eyes closed and her hands raised as a truce gesture, solemnly replied, "Hey, hey, whether or not Leni has a fetish for voyeurism is not my business. I can assure you that taking care of you while you slept in the afternoons was a pure and noble action on my part, that I had a certain taste in cuddling you was just an odd coincidence."
We both snickered for a couple of seconds before the sound of the door opening interrupted us. The doctor had returned and with her arrival, her first act was to ask for some time alone with me. Luan left the room without reproach, like a loyal soldier taking orders on the spot.
Clare took out her phone briefly. "Better do this soon..."
"Is something wrong, Miss Clare?" I asked with an arched eyebrow. Clare eye's had black circles surrounding them and her usually firm body was seemingly tired, to the point that it was difficult for her to maintain her posture.
She gave me a slight smile, "Everything is fine Lincoln, it's just… your sisters were more than I could gnaw. And I thought two days would be enough," She said, her tone becoming more subdued at the end.
Clare stared at the ground for a brief moment before shifting a little and turning back to me, "Lincoln, after talking to your sisters, I see that you may be able to continue living with them. Sure, that's only if you follow these two rules," she paused for a moment and took a short breath. "First, you'll have to keep me informed of two of your sisters: Lucy and Luna. Second… it may be required for Lori to leave the house for a while."
A feeling of calm imploded from within me, like a liter of cold water slowly refreshing my whole body. And yet at the same time... a stabbing pain grew in my chest. Now that I wanted to face my feelings towards my sisters, the fact that I felt peace about being away from Lori...
The fact that I wanted to just stop thinking about her or even feel at peace at the premise of removing her from my life...
It made me feel terrible.
"I still need to have another session with her to clear my doubts. But so far everything indicates that ..." she stopped suddenly, her eyes focused on me, the sleepy expression in her eyes turning into concern as she slowly approached me.
"Lincoln," she said before sitting in the bed and embracing me between her arms, "everything will be fine..."
Why do you tell me that? I- why does the ceiling looks fuzzy…? And the air... is getting heavier.
It wasn't until the moment I felt the wet chill run down my chin that I realized it: I was crying.
"There are things you don't know, things that Lucy inadvertently kept inside your subconscious, I told her yesterday to remove those barriers…" she tightened her hug, her soft body pampering me.
"I guess she didn't tell you."
"No, she didn't. She was writing poems here yesterday," I said before wiping my nose, "and... well, she didn't recite any of them. That was unusual."
Clare stroked my hair, a show of affection that she had done so many times that it should no longer affect me... however, her caresses calmed my heart so easily that it was almost like the first time she took care of me.
"I'm going to assume that she wanted to find the best way to tell you; which for her would be a poem."
The doctor separated from me and gave me a second to wipe off the tears that were left on my face.
"Your memories will return soon; it will be hard, but you must know that you are a very strong boy, Lincoln. I want you to always keep that in mind, and that I will be there."
Then she took me by the arm and began to press for signs of pain, "And for that reason, I need you to accompany me to your house and gather your things, you'll live with me in my apartment for a few days."
"I ..." I breathed deeply, but not to calm myself. Her hands were so appealing and comforting that I couldn't help but appreciate the moment; immerse myself in the serenity she was offering.
"Alright, I don't see a problem with that."
To accept that so easily... maybe I was longing to be closer to her.
Heh, who am I kidding,
"Glad to hear it," she said before moving closer to me and caress my hair again, her sweet perfume intoxicating my senses. "Don't worry about your sisters, as long as they don't make a fuss they can visit you."
"I don't think you're ignoring what our last name is about," I said before giving a little laugh.
"Good point, we'd better limit the number of sisters per visit then."
With my heart now calm, and after tying my shoes and checking the condition of my arm; the doctor, my sisters, and I drove to my house. Luckily only Luan, Lola, Lucy, Lana, and Lynn were there with me, the doctor's car was not made to support the entire Loud family.
The ride went well, considering there were just two fights for personal space and a single dramatic scream from Lola.
When I got home the doctor reminded me to only bring what I need for two or three days. My sisters stayed in the living room in the meantime. I would like to give more details about it, but there is something important that I must say.
My room... it had only been a few days since my last time there, but I couldn't recognize that place.
Tap tap tap tap.
The simple fact of standing in the middle of that room fueled an itch that harassed my neck and hands.
It was too weird, something was surely wrong. I thought about leaving the room to confirm my feelings. That was when I remembered what Clare had said.
The memories will return. I need to be strong.
I needed to find out who were the ghosts haunting me if I wanted to get better, but at the same time, all I craved was to just get out of my room and leave, even if it meant spending the next few days wearing the same clothes.
The answer that was offered to my fears came in the form of a small box, with two small buttons, a speaker, a loudspeaker, and an antenna.
I took the radio and without hesitation turned it on. "Hello, Clyde… are you there? Over."
Tap tap tap tap tap
I held the radio close to me, listening at the intense static coming from the speaker; a distant and disorienting sound that seemed to have taken my words and thrown them into space.
Tap tap tap
"Lincoln?!"
My best friend's voice shinned more than the light bulb in my room and warmed my heart out of its fear in a matter of seconds.
"Lincoln, good to hear you! Luna told me everything. Are you okay? Over."
E-everything?
I shook my head and tried to avoid the threatening feeling of panic. Luna wouldn't tell Clyde everything.
"I'm glad to hear you too, buddy. Yes, I'm fine," I said as I pulled my books out of my backpack with a newfound smile on my face, my nerves obliterated by the excitement of hearing my best friend again. "I'll be away from home for a few days with the doctor, if she gives me permission for you to visit me, I'll call you at your house number ASAP. Over."
"Hope she says yes. I couldn't sleep well the day I talked with Luna. Come on, Linc, speak to me, I don't want to hear another I'm fine. Over."
"Well, my body doesn't hurt anymore. Not so much." I said as I put the clothes in the backpack, "and I'm amending things with my sisters, slowly but surely. Over."
"Glad to hear it, really. When I spoke to Luna she looked so sad, she even gave me two tickets to the Smooch concert and told me that at least someone had to enjoy those tickets. I know that she is good enough to give away tickets. But to give hers away too? I couldn't believe it, the emotion overwhelmed me at the time. I even invited this girl… oh no that doesn't matter. You matter. Over."
"Heh," with a persistent smile on my face, I picked up bun-bun, gave him a big hug, and put him in the backpack before closing it, "Right, the concert, I was going to go with her before everything went down... literally. It makes me happy to hear you enjoyed the event. Over."
"Well yeah. I enjoyed it a lot. But before and after the concert…" there was a pause where I could hear a slow sigh, "man… you really had me worried. Over."
I put the backpack on my shoulder, almost ready to go, "I'm sorry about that, Clyde," I said sadly, "but don't need to worry anymore. I can already see an end to all this, there is only one loose end and, with some luck, I'll be able to get back to my normal life before our summer is over. Wish I could talk with you some more, but I have to go. Please, take my next call… Over "
"Understood, I'll be on the lookout. Take care of yourself, bro. Over."
"Same here, bro. There are not enough spares parts to make another friend like you, so take good care of yourself. Over," And with that, I was ready for the little interlude in my life.
Well, not quite. There was still something else that, unfortunately, I had to experience before going there. That something was waiting for me on the other side of the door, and it was something I certainly did not expect to find there.
Lori.
From the position of her hand I deduced that she was about to knock on the door by the time I opened it... or perhaps she has been in that position for a long time, that was what her trembling hand implied, which along with her disheveled hair and Marks in her allusive eyes, made the assumption all the more valid.
Now you may wonder: How did I feel? It is a good question after all. Well, it goes like this, in the first instance, thanks to the call I had with Clyde I was feeling happy, motivated, and calm. Seeing Lori just surprised me at first.
But then she spoke.
"Hello, Linc,"
And my body shook.
"The doctor told me that you will be at her house for a few days."
It was impossible for me to keep up with my breathing, and my heartbeat began to hurt my chest.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to cover you while you're gone."
The itching in my arms and neck returned with a vengeance. As if little piranhas were biting my inert flesh.
"I'll make something up. Like, you went with Clyde on a trip. Luna told me earlier that…"
My eyes remained focused on her and every move she made. My mind was ready to escape at the slightest opportunity, but at the same time, I was unable to move a single finger.
I don't want to deal with her now, it's only that.
"I know I can trust in him to help us cover for you.."
Tap tap tap tap.
No, it is not only that. I can't bear it. I need to get out of here.
"I hope you can recover and come back to us."
Just go away already. Please. Go.
"So well…" she finally saw my face. And to my surprise, her faint smile had turned to terror.
Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away.
"Lincoln, no, no..." She gasped as her hand tried to reach out to me, forcing me to take a step back immediately, "please, don't cry, I don't want to..."
Please help.
"Dr. Clare!" Lori yelled before running downstairs, "Doctor!" I heard her voice echo down the hall. Shortly afterward Clare arrived and helped me move again. In no time I was able to walk again, slowly at first, as the panic dissipated.
Going down the stairs was hard work, my eyes couldn't focus and more than once I had to make sure where my feet landed. The possibility that Lori might be waiting for me downstairs only made my ankles lose their balance more than once.
Once in the living room and seeing all my sisters except for her helped make the rest of the trip easy. They welcomed me with a group hug, something that I certainly thought the doctor would reproach, but didn't, and...
The truth is, I'm glad she allowed it. I needed that hug.
The girls and Clare took me to the car, and after a short see you later, I went with Clare. I don't know where Lori went after she went downstairs to get the doctor. After that panic attack, I didn't really like the idea of finding out why either.
Author's note: hey, quick note here, I'll be working on a commission for a while (is going to be in Spanish) and I'll have to pause this and my other fics in the meantime. If I get to manage my time well then new updates for this fic will come each weekend.