The air between Lincoln and Lisa was so thick that it felt as if you could've cut it with a knife, as the awkward silence daunted the two siblings. Lisa sat in the chair; a look of suspicion was on her face as she had her arms crossed. Lincoln stood there in the door frame, sweat profusely pouring down his face like a waterfall.

"Whatever do you mean Lisa? I've been at school all day, also, I'm almost a teenager, so I always talk like this. And what's with the laptop? What's that playing on the news?" Lincoln said, doing his best to not sound suspicious. Lisa stared daggers right at her brother's eyes. She was clearly not buying anything he was saying.

"Oh, please Lincoln, I'm honestly insulted that you thought you could hide this from me. I have cameras everywhere. And although I did turn off all tracking devices as I promised, I had to turn yours on when you left in the middle of the night. I knew you were in multiple sections of Sterling Heights all night. Also, the hoodie you brought back home bares striking resemblances and properties to that of the wanted fugitives that caused the incident off of 75. So please don't lie to me Lincoln. I need to know if you're involved in this somehow…or worse", Lisa stated. Lincoln stared at her dumbfounded, as he couldn't help but feel like an idiot. He should've known that Lisa would figure it out, but he didn't expect her to figure it out so quickly. He was about to try and lie his way through it before Lisa sighed and hopped out of the chair. She walked over to Lincoln and faced him dead in the eyes. "Lincoln, I'm not asking. I need to know this. Not for some data or experiment, but as your sister. I understand I'm not the ideal one of the family when it comes to emotions but make no mistake. I care for you all deeply, so please tell me the truth. I need to know if my brother is in trouble", she said. Lincoln stood there in utter shock. He had never once heard Lisa showcase any emotion to that degree. Although he had no doubt whatsoever of her compassion and love towards her family, it was still jaw-dropping to hear it for him. He couldn't take it anymore. The guilt and paranoia were now begging to be released. He just needed to talk to someone close. To a family member. Lincoln looked back out the hallway, making sure no one was nearby. After confirming that Lana was still downstairs and Lola was in her room, he closed the door behind him and locked it. Suddenly he dropped to his knees and began to cry, making Lisa a bit startled.

"I did it. I'm the suspect. I was involved with the repo and highway 75 incident. I was involved in last night's burnings and shootouts in Sterling Heights", He cried out. Lisa's eyes shot open. Although she suspected the worst-case scenario, it still hurt her to hear her brother admit it. "I killed people Lisa. I carjacked an innocent couple and killed an innocent father. God, I'm an awful person", he added. Lisa was horrified. She had no idea the extent of the crimes her brother had committed. For the first time in her life, she was at a loss for words. A wave of emotions and thoughts flooded her mind. She was confused, heartbroken, disappointed, and even a little disgusted. Though, the scientist in her was able to calm herself down and get to the bottom of this.

"Tell me everything Lincoln".

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF ROYAL WOODS

Taylor stared at the brown front door to her house. It had been a long two days for the girl, and all she wanted to do was go inside, take a shower, and cry herself to sleep. All night she had been holding back her tears and guilt, as she knew she had to remain strong in order to get her and Lincoln out of the situation that they were in. She took a deep sigh, before entering her house. The house was dark and empty. On the couch was an overweight Hispanic male. He was bald, had a large mustache, a white stained tank top, and dirtied sweatpants. He was asleep on the couch, with a bottle of whiskey in his right hand. The tv was turned onto static and filled the room with a hollow empty white sound.

"Hi daddy", Taylor muttered with sorrow. Looking at her father made her feel sad and miserable. She walked over to the sleeping man and took the bottle from his hand. Then she covered him with the blanket that was on the couch. She didn't worry about waking him up since she knew that he was passed out from the drinking. After covering him up completely, she sighed and took a large sip of the whiskey. The liquid brunt her throat, but pretty soon she could feel her body loosen up. She placed the whiskey bottle on the empty table and headed toward her room. Her room was small and messy. The only furniture that lay within it was her bed in the far right corner and a table with a laptop and notebook on the other side. Her room, like the rest of the house, was empty.

"Home sweet fucking home", she said to herself. She threw her gun on the bed and proceeded to take her clothes off. She then headed out of the room and across the hallway to the bathroom, where she proceeded to take a shower and clean herself up. Once she was done, she went back into her room and changed into her normal attire. She took out the cash from the pocket of her jeans, before throwing it in her closet. She counted the money, separating a portion of it and putting it in her pocket. She then placed the rest of the cash in a small box that had the money from the repo job and slid it under her bed. She then began to check her messages on her personal phone, noticing one from her friend Anderson that read:

"Hey, where were you today? Me and Pablo are heading to the mall after school, so definitely come hang". Taylor smiled, as she read this. Although she wanted to go to bed, hanging with her friends seemed like a good way to get her mind off of everything that had just happened. She responded back, agreeing to meet them there, before putting on her boots and leaving the house.

ROYAL WOODS MALL

"What's up dudes", Taylor said as she walked up to Anderson and Pablo who were sitting on a bench outside the mall. The two boys looked up, shocked to see her. It felt as if they hadn't seen her in a while.

"Where the heck have you been"? Pablo questioned. Taylor just blinked at him with an empty expression, before shrugging.

"The hell are you talking about? I just stayed home today. And I ditched yesterday. Is that really that fucking shocking"? She said a little annoyed.

"Oh really? Then care to explain why we saw you with that white-haired little baby at Burpin Burgers yesterday while we were on the bus"? Anderson accused. A hint of jealousy overcame his voice. Taylor's heart dropped. She didn't even realize the possibility of someone from school seeing her with Lincoln while they were in Royal Woods.

"What the fuck about it? I just happened to run into him while I was fucking grabbing a bite, and just decided to mess with him a bit", She said defensively,

"Really it didn't seem like it. You seemed to be pretty chatty with him. I think I even saw you smiling", said Anderson. Taylor crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Why does it fucking matter to you who I fucking talk to. Just lay off Anderson", she retorted. She hated talking to him like this but being questioned wasn't something she was in the mood for. Anderson stared at her before sighing.

"Fine whatever, but you seriously need to cool it on ditching school Taylor. Also, you're cussing a lot more than usual", he said. Taylor returned her gaze back at Anderson with a glare.

"The fuck I do. I'll do whatever the fuck I want dude. And who the fuck are you? My Dad? I'll say and do whatever the hell I want. Why the fuck does it matter to you"? she argued back. Anderson gritted his teeth as he glared back at her.

"DANGIT TAYLOR, IT MATTERS TO ME BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU"! He yelled. This took Taylor by shock, and her face began to turn red. Anderson took a deep breath and quelled his anger. "Look, I just want you to do good in life. I know things aren't easy at home. So, I just want you to focus on school and go to high school with us. I just don't want you to end up somewhere bad in life…okay"? He said. He stared at the ground as he rubbed his arm. Much like Taylor his face too was red. "Look Taylor, I know we're not exactly nice people…but I think it's time we start to grow up and focus on our future. We're starting high school next year, and I really don't want you to be left behind. Although you can be an asshole…having you in my life is the best", he said, still staring at the ground. Taylor stared at the ground as well with her arms still crossed. Though she looked mad, her face was now redder than a tomato. Although she never viewed Anderson as a friend to the level of Clyde and Lincoln, it was clear that he did. And although she would never allow herself to show it, there were moments when she felt the same way about him. Dare she even say, she had small feelings for him.

"So, um…this is awkward", Pablo interjected. The entire time he had been sitting awkwardly between the two, not wanting to disrupt the little moment that his two friends were having. Taylor shook her head, ignoring the feelings that were rising.

"Yea sure…fine whatever…I'll fucking do better", she grumbled, still looking away from her friends. Anderson took a sigh of relief, before giving the girl a light smile.

"That's all I wanted to hear. Now come on. Let's go watch a movie and go to the skatepark or something. You're grumpier than usual", he said. Taylor rolled her eyes and smiled. As she walked into the mall with her two friends, she almost forgot about her issues. Spending time with Pablo and especially Anderson almost made her feel at peace, and she was going to cherish and appreciate times like this from now on.

LINCOLNS ROOM

The silence that filled the room was deafening. For the past hour, Lincoln had been recounting the events that had transpired over the past two days in detail to his younger sister Lisa. The entire time, she was speechless as she listened in horror to the atrocities her brother had committed. By the time he was done explaining, a good three minutes of silence surrounded the two siblings. Lisa was trying to process everything she had just heard but still didn't know what to say. After another minute of silence, she hopped out of the chair and proceeded to the door, walking past her brother entirely. Lincoln looked over to her in shock, tears still streaming down his face.

"Lincoln", Lisa began, still facing the door and away from her brother. "I…I'm disappointed in you". The simple sentence struck Lincoln's heart like a knife, as he began feeling a pain that he had never felt before. Not even from the bad luck situation a year ago. "I'm disappointed at how easily you succumbed to this and didn't even try to find any alternative solutions. We could've figured something out, but it's too late for that. Look, you're my eldest and only brother, and I love you, and I will help you any way that I can…But I would prefer that you keep me and our family out of this". Lisa sighed and turned to face Lincoln. "For the safety of our family, I will keep this a secret. But make no mistake brother. If you directly Involve anyone in this family more than you already have in your mistake, then I will report you to the authorities and have a witness protection program set up by that time to relocate us and keep us safe". Lincoln was now struggling to hold back his tears. Every word was hurting him more than the gunshot wound on his arm. "Now If you'll excuse me, I need to process all of this", Lisa concluded before exiting the room and closing the door. With that, Lincoln curled up into a ball on the floor, where he began to cry. He never felt more alone than he did at that moment.

After about an hour of laying on the floor, Lincoln stood up at the sound of his phone buzzing. It was a message from Clyde that read, "Hey buddy. Me and the gang are headed to the park to hang out, then we're going to head over to the theatre to watch the new Ace Savvy movie. We haven't seen you in a while and were wondering if you'd like to tag along". Lincoln wiped his tears, before lightly smiling. Although it was only two days, he dearly missed his friends, and he did need something to get his mind off the confrontation with Lisa.

"Yea buddy, I'll be there", he responded. Lincoln got up from the floor and went to grab a new pair of clothes. However, as he was reaching for his orange polo shirt, he stopped and sighed. Before instead grabbing another orange baggy sweater and fresh grey sweatpants. He looked over to the mirror that hung on the door and examined his messy hair. He ultimately decided that he was just going to leave it messy and shaggy, seeing as combing it now seemed kind of pointless. Though deep inside, he knew the real reason why he didn't want to look the way he used to was that he felt that the old him died last night. Lisa was right he thought. It's too late to go back.

ROYAL WOODS PARK

Clyde, Rusty, Stella, Liam, and Zach were all sitting on or beside one of the park benches. They had just gotten out of school and wanted to hang out like they did every Friday. As the sun still shined high above the clouds, the park outside was beautiful and peaceful, as the kids stared off in the distance without a care in the world.

"Hey, guys, what's up"! Lincoln said as he walked up to them. The group turned their heads to face Lincoln, excited to finally see him.

"Hey dude what's…up?", Rusty began to say before being taken aback by Lincoln's appearance.

"Whoa, what happened to you man"? Zach asked in confusion.

"Lincoln…you look hurt", Stella worriedly exclaimed. She got off the bench and walked over to the boy, examining the cuts and now light bruises that were on his face. Clyde also walked up to his friend, noticing Lincoln's change in style.

"Hey buddy, you look…different. Where have you been"? Clyde asked. Lincoln awkwardly smiled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine guys. Honestly. I just fell down the stairs at home and my mom thought it would be better if I stayed at home today", He nervously lied. Stella crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Well, what about Yesterday? You were on the bus with us in the morning and then just disappeared. Even Lynn didn't know where you were at…plus…we saw you at Burpin Burger with…Taylor while we were on the bus. Care to explain that"? Stella sternly asked. Lincoln's forced smile dropped, as sweat began to pour down his face. He hadn't even thought of the scenario that someone would see him and Taylor together while in Royal Woods. As Lincoln cursed himself for his stupidity, he decided to not beat around the bush about him and Taylor.

"All right look, I had to leave school early because I had a doctor's appointment and had just decided to go grab some Burpin Burger to eat", He lied. "That's when I ran into Taylor, who happened to be ditching school. At first, she was messing with me, but after a while me, and her started to just chill together. She's actually not bad when you get to know her…. or when she's trying to pummel your face in", he said. Lincoln had decided that for the sakes of both him and Taylor, it would be easier to just tell his friends that he didn't mind hanging out with the girl, instead of trying to constantly hide it from them. His friends looked at him in shock. Rusty, Zach, and Liam just stared at the boy dumbfounded. While Stella, and Clyde both looked at him with raising suspicion. They couldn't have believed what they were hearing. They had always viewed Taylor and her friends as bullies and enemies. No different than Chandler or Hank and Hawk. Someone who only made their lives difficult to live through, especially at school. So, to hear their best friend suddenly say that he didn't mind hanging out with this person out of the blue was a little off-putting to hear.

"Lincoln, what are you talking about? How could you even say something like that? Taylor is a bully. Her and her friends. Have you just forgotten all the pain they put us through"? Stella asked. Lincoln quickly shook his head at this.

"Oh, believe me, no I haven't", He said, thinking back to the night they destroyed one of Mickey's drug houses. Clyde looked at Lincoln, unsure of what to say. Although much like Stella, he was stunned. He knew there was more that Lincoln wasn't telling them. Although he trusted Lincoln beyond a reasonable doubt, he could sense something was up. Lincoln disappears for two days, and when he comes back his entire appearance and demeanor are different, it had looked as if he hadn't slept in days, and there was an abundance of cuts and bruises that didn't look like the result of a simple plummet down some stairs, and to top it all off, he suddenly okay with one of their bullies? It was indeed a strange situation he thought. But, at the same time, he knew Lincoln very well. He knew that he was the man with the plan, and he had his reasons for doing things. Regardless of whether those things are questionable, he knew that Lincoln's heart was always in the right place. That was something that he would put his life on.

"…Okay buddy if you say so. As far as I'm concerned, if you're able to see something in a person that makes you think they're cool, then there has to be something that we just don't see. All in all, I believe you", Clyde said. Rusty, Zach, and Liam nodded their heads in agreement, siding with Clyde's points. Though Stella still wasn't convinced. Nonetheless, she agreed with Clyde.

"Yea…I believe you too", she said. Though, she would be keeping a closer eye on Lincoln. Clyde looked over to the rest of the group and smiled.

"Sweet, now that we got that out of the way, let's go to the mall and get something to eat, we can catch the movie afterward", he said. The rest of the group all nodded in agreement and began to head in the direction of the mall. Lincoln took a sigh of relief as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, relieved at how well that went. He hated lying to his friends, and so desperately wanted to tell them everything he had gone through. But after the situation with Lisa early, he didn't think he would be able to handle another response like that. Plus, it was for their safety that he didn't tell them anything. He shook his head to clear his mind and followed his friends to the mall.

ROYAL WOODS MALL

The day went on as normal. The group of friends was sitting at a table sharing a pizza in the mall's food court, all laughing and talking. Amongst all the killing and paranoia, Lincoln for the first time in hours felt like a normal kid again. They talked about school, what they would do for the next action news team story, drama, what their house life was like, and other things. They even asked how Lincoln did on the exam, to which he lied and said he did excellently. After about an hour of eating and talking, the group cleared the table and headed out of the food court toward the movie theatre.

"Man, I can't wait to watch the new Ace Savvy movie", Liam exclaimed.

"I know right? We've been looking forward to it ever since the trailer came out"! Clyde responded. Lincoln had forgotten all about the Ace Savvy movie. Though, he was still very excited about it. As the group was about a walk up to the ticket booth, a young white man wearing a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, Jeans, boots, and sunglasses began to approach the group. He was a young-looking man, appearing to be in his mid-20s. He had long slicked back hair, and a skinny figure.

"YO LINCOLN MY MAN", The man shouted as he walked over to Lincoln. The group looked at the man in confusion, especially Lincoln, who had no idea who this guy was.

"Ummm, what"? Lincoln said in utter confusion. The man walked up to the boy and put his arm around him as if he was a lifelong friend.

"Oh Lincoln, you silly Billy. Remember, you were going to help me with that thing"? He said cheerfully. He then leaned closer to Lincoln and whispered, "Don't make me ask twice motherfucker", before slightly opening his jacket to reveal a gun. Lincoln's heart dropped as he nervously responded.

"OHHH RIGHT! Silly me, how could I have forgotten? Yea let's go get that thing done", he said. He turned to Clyde and his friends with a nervous smile and said "This is…one of Loris's friends. I promised her that I would…help him pick a present out for his little brother since he's a huge Ace Savvy fan. Sorry guys, but I'll catch y'all later". Clyde looked disappointed and confused at the same time.

"But...Lincoln, we were waiting for this movie for months", he said with a saddened tone. Lincoln felt crushed by his delivery but knew he had no choice.

"I'm sorry Clyde, but I promise we'll watch it again. Tickets on me. In fact, here". Lincoln reached into his pocket and pulled out $200, handing it to Clyde who looked at the money in shock. "The movie and foods on me buddy, I'll make it up to you", he said. Everyone stared at the money in shock, especially Stella. Clyde looked down at the cash, then up to the random stranger, then back to Lincoln with a smile.

"Sure, thing buddy, though next time, the movies on me", he joyfully said. Lincoln smiled, before walking off with the random man. As Clyde and the rest of the guys headed into the theatre, Stella just glared at Lincoln and the man, not buying the story he said.

"Where the heck did he get $200 from? Who was that guy? Something fishy is going on and I will get to the bottom of this", she said to herself.