Chapter 7
Full Luna
At the Loud's esteemed home, Rita was busy with dinner once more. Or, at the very least, was busy doing her best to keep up with her husband. It still amazed her to this day how grand he was at making even the most basic of dishes perfect and professional. At times, she felt a tad bit undeserving.
The patriarch of the family rolled up the dough against the counter, whistling to himself a tune he couldn't identify, but enjoyed nonetheless. He eyed his wife, noticing the disappointment that strangely captured her gaze. "Hun-bun, you got something on your mind. Lynn's perfectly-crafted-hoagies-that-still-need-a-professional-name look worried!"
Rita snapped back to reality, shaking her head with an adequate smile covering the blemishes. She chuckled as she helped roll some of the dough up, still wondering how he perfected his craft. "Oh, I'm good. Heh, just... wow Lynn. You're making dinner again like nothing bad's happening. Yesterday you barely kept your tears in!"
Would she receive the floodgates opening for accidentally bringing the subject back up, or perhaps would that charming attitude he possessed die away by mistake? Nah, of course not. She knew the man well by now. If he's happy, it's nearly impossible to break him again. He shot her a thumbs up, before bringing out every ingredient imaginable. "Oh, Rita, you seriously think I'm the type of guy who gets hung up on silly things?" He spoke, already trying his best to keep his mouth from quivering. No, be strong. "It still hurts, yes... a lot... okay, more than a lot, but you can't cry over spilled milk!"
"Says the guy who cried over the spilled milk in the living room?"
"Hey, that was good stuff!"
Against her waist, Rita felt her cellphone go off. Quickly scooping it up, she noted the number blaring loudly back. It was one that was rarely ever seen in the house, but whenever it showed up, she knew she would be in for a very bad time.
"RoyaL Woods High? What on Earth?" She looked at it shocked. She nodded to her husband before quickly retreating out towards her bedroom. Once she was secured and safe, she quickly pressed the button, hesitantly bringing it up to her ear. "Um... hello?"
"Good evening, Miss Loud. I hope I'm not interrupting anything. We got something, however, that we have no choice but to share. Do you have the time?"
Rita listened to the chaos outside the room. Just another day, really. Strange how they had so many children running amok, and yet they had nothing really going on. Just as it should be. Thus, this conversation could only end poorly. "I'm all ears, sir. What's going on? No one's in trouble, right?"
The man on the other end gruffed. "Well, I want to say that, but it seems your daughter Luna decided to play truant today."
Rita shot right off her bed. "T-Truant? What do you mean? I drove her their today! She went!"
"Yes, and I believe you. For the first four periods, she was present, even passing a few tests. Good for the girl. Heck, she was there the rest of the day doing her best. Seemed a little flustered to her peers, but everything was normal."
This did nothing to aid the mother's confusion. "Wait, if she was present in every class, how the heck is she truant? Sorry, but that doesn't make any sense!"
The man rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, okay, maybe that was too strong of a word, but it's about the impact! Anywho, while she was in every class, she apparently completely missed lunch. She was nowhere present, and even if it isn't an official class, we don't enjoy missing students for any minute of the day."
Missed lunch? Rita recalled her daughter's bizarre hesitance with food recently. Dinner last night, her small breakfast this morning. There was a part of her that figured she wouldn't eat a bite of it. Leaning against the door, Rita sighed, shaking her head. "I... I see. I'm so sorry she scared you."
"Oh, don't apologize! Unless you're abusing her or roughing her up at home, or perhaps stealing from her?"
"W-What? Goodness, no!"
"Ah, gotcha. Sorry, just touching on every possibility! Anyways, if you're daughter's present, just make sure she's all right, ya hear? Her friends were crying when they told me. I hate to see kids cry. Unless they're abusing her or roughing..."
Rita shut her phone off, opening the door to peer out towards the living room. Everyone seemed to be doing their own there, for better or worse. For every kindhearted action like Leni playing with the twins, there was a questionable action like Lynn using Lori's old shoe as football practice against Lisa, whose hands just had to be full with deadly chemicals that'll rid the world of all that useless oxygen. In other words, another Tuesday.
The only person who seemed willing to talk (at least before dinner, but she rather leave the problems off the table) was young Lincoln, who was busy reading his latest comic. At least he was clothed; even she was terrified of that habit. Heh, reminded her of her husband in a way. No, focus. She walked right over, resting her arms against the sofa's back. Amazing how he didn't bother flinching. "Howdy, Lincsters. Um... have you seen your sister?"
He put his comic down against his knees, looking at his mom suspiciously. "Uh, Mom? You know you gotta be more specific."
"Eh, sorry. Lots on the mind! Um, Luna. You see her?" She looked around the living room again. Everyone else seemed to be present, with the exception of two. Their lovely rock guitarist, and their wonderful comedian. It wasn't normal for them to be missing like this. Sighing, she looked up the stairwell. "I guess Luan counts here too. They did come home, right?"
The white-haired boy looked at his comic, though now its panels were a little bit harder to read. Even he couldn't shake off the stuff he saw earlier in the day. "Oh, I think so. Yeah, they're both weirding me out! Luan forgot to do her follow-up prank, and Luna... I guess I'm worried about her..."
Even weirder to see her boy look genuinely sad. She ruffled his hair, trying her best to look supportive. "Hey, don't scare yourself, okay? I'm gonna check on them. Just get everyone ready for dinner, all right?"
With that, Rita walked up the stairs, peering down towards the room beside the bathroom. For the moment, it looked like it was ajar, and somebody was definitely within. Thank goodness they're roommates; that made everything ten times easier. With a gallant stride, she found herself beside it, peering within the small crack. Wasn't truly necessary, for her gait must've been noticed fast. Luan swung open the entryway for her mother, looking rather annoyed and angry.
Definitely a strange night in the Loud House. Rita squinted her eyes, a little afraid of proceeding here. "Um, honey? You okay? Is your sister in there too?"
Luan spat at the ground. Did Lisa switch her brain with Lynn Jr.'s again? The comedian shook her head, looking at the top bunk in spite. "Oh, little miss edgy? Yeah, she's not here, and I think she ain't coming back. Well, fine! I don't want her back!"
Rita looked on in shock. "Oh my god, are you two fighting? What happened?"
"You tell me! I try to be supportive, and she pushes me! I'm all for prat-falls, but that was way too harsh!" She realized she was raising her voice towards an authority figure, and quickly dialed it back down. "Sorry, Mom. Guess I'm just peeved. If you really want to talk to the edge lord, she's in Lincoln's room."
Lincoln's room. "Uh, any reason why?"
"Guess she finds comfort there? I don't know, and right now, I don't care!" With a heavy thud, she forgot who she was dealing with and slammed the door in her mother's face. "Eep... I'm not grounded, right?"
Rita rubbed her nose, sighing in defeat. "As long as you're down on time for dinner, you're clear!"
With that, she turned her focus towards the room at the opposite end of the hall. Unlike the rest of the hall, it was wide open, allowing a full view of the bed within. Right on the mattress, as if on cue, was Luna curled up into a ball, looking like she's been crying for hours on end. It was truly a heartbreaking sight to see. When was the last time Luna ever looked anything close to sad? Still, she can't just push her own siblings around. That was rule number one in this household.
Luna heard her mother arriving, but didn't bother moving. Why would she? Even if she wanted to hide, the heavy rumbles in her stomach would be enough to notice. If not that, the bandages against her hands, from a wound she herself brought on. That damn mirror; she still saw her reflection's ugly face laughing at her. What hurt was how much she couldn't disagree with what she heard.
Rita walked in, taking a seat beside her. Her daughter was ready for the inevitable yell, or perhaps even a smack, but that wasn't the game her mother played. She instead felt a warm embrace cover her shivering body. Luna's eyes grew wide, almost allowing all the tears to leak out. "M-Mom?"
"Honey... are you okay? Please tell me anything that's bothering you."
She sounded so sincere; how could she ignore it? Luna sighed, burying her head into her mother's arm. She can't hide her issues all the time, right? "I'm... I'm fine. D-Don't worry about me."
It wasn't just the obvious lie she spoke. Her stomach was far louder than ever before. Rita didn't break her supportive smile, holding her daughter as tight as possible. "Lunes... I get it. I really do. You have something hurting you, and I know kids your age. It hurts sharing them." She broke the embrace, staring deep into her eyes. "But I'm here for you. The last thing I want is you suffering."
Behind her, Luna saw herself snickering. It hurt seeing it, but the teen couldn't back down. She had to say something. Anything to end this pain for once. With another sigh, Luna shook her head, looking down to the carpet below. "I... I..."
Her other form smiled. "Go ahead, runt. Tell her. Tell her and make a fool of yourself. Go on! Go on!"
Don't cry anymore. Don't give her the decency of seeing it. "I... I'm just going through some... relationship troubles! Yeah!" Idiot. Tell her the truth. Tell her about the money woes, and get it over with. God, how she wanted to do that. Luna's tongue refused to work. "I, er... got into a fight with Sam!" Okay, partially true. "And I started school, so you know, stress!" Another somewhat-truth. "And I... just have issues with that?" A perfect end, with a terrible lie.
Rita was no dummy. She knew her daughter still held something deep within her head, but for whatever reason, she couldn't break it through. It hurt the mother dearly; in a way, she understood completely. With a sigh, she strengthened that hug again. "Luna... you trust me, right?"
"Of course I do. I... I trust all of you." She once again held her tears back. "I hope I'm the same way..."
"You are!" As she spoke, she heard the rest of the house charging towards the dining room; even Luan at last emerged from her hiding spot. Dinner was ready. Rita stood tall, breaking her hold on her daughter as she stood in the doorway. "I shouldn't have to say this, but... you're invited to dinner, Luna. Even if not right now, please eat. For me, okay?"
Her other form laughed. "Yeah. Eat your slop, pig!"
Luna nodded weakly. "I'll... be right down."
"Okay, dear. Just remember: we're all here for you."
"... I know."
Once she left, Luna brought her knees up to her head once more, looking at the dresser Lincoln never seemed to tidy up. While it was clearly a mess, he definitely had that ticket she gave him all wrapped up and secured. It was shining bright underneath the dim lighting. In a way, it was kinda cute.
Her other form laughed. "Look at that. He probably doesn't remember that you gave him that! He doesn't value you. Makes sense! You have no worth!"
"He... He doesn't have to. As long as he's happy."
"After all the crap you've put him through, maybe he'll really be happy when you're dead!"
She grabbed at his blanket, slumping down against his pillow. She looked at her phone beside her. Sam's number was dialed, but the call button was never pressed. She couldn't do it. She couldn't do anything, really.
An angry sister, an angry girlfriend, and a brother she knew hated her.
She closed her eyes and cried, while above her, that evil thing she spawned watched with loving eyes as those tears slid down her face.
