Chapter 18
Waning Luna
Away from the nightmare, Luna's beloved family were as opposite as possible from their own home. Instead, they found themselves within the confines of a giant hospital, sterile walls and bright illumination cuddling their fears away.
All while they watched Luna in that bed, shaking and sweating profusely. Whatever was going on in her head was horrific as it was deadly. Lincoln was closest to her side, followed by a tear-stained Sam, both holding a hand belonging to the rocker. No matter what she was doing, they both vowed never to let go.
Behind them, the doctor scratched his chin, shaking his head in frustration. Not for the fact that he didn't know how to help Luna, but more for the father that clung to his leg like an anaconda desperate for dinner. "Okay, can anybody present me with a plier? For Pete's sake, get a hold of yourself, man!"
Lynn Sr. refused to budge, his face looking worse than the makeup running down Sam's distraught face. "My baby's hurting! She's hurting, and I'm wheezing, and I left the car running and my keys are in there and-"
Rita was always the best when it came to yanking the ear. "Sorry, Doc. You know Lynn. He... he gets emotional."
"Just remember the leash next time," he smirked, before walking over to the slumbering teen. It was a miserable sight. With that fake shirt against her chest, it looked as if her body was part of the bed, with tiny fibers sticking out for good measure. He stared at the whole package, letting out a defeated sigh.
"Jeez, the poor young suffered a nasty panic attack, looks like."
Lincoln tightened his grip around Luna's wrist. Panic attack? He heard about those from Clyde; almost every other day, to be frank. Even still, what the heck was it? A guy named panic suddenly emerges and breaks your kneecaps? Sounds like something Lynn would state.
Case in point: "So what, a guy named panic busted her kneecaps?" Was his family always that predictable?
The doc looked at them all concerned. Even Rita had that same face, with Lisa either playing along, or for once truly ignorant. What were they teaching in schools these days? "Uh... no. It means her nerves and her head and all that went kablooey."
Lisa chuckled into her overgrown sleeve. "Ah yes, America's fine institution for the medical arts. Suddenly accepting kablooey into modern day vernacular."
A response came from her pageant-obsessed older sister. "Hey, brainiac, I know what he's saying at least! What's a vernacular? Does it hurt? Does it?"
Above her, the doc grew suspicious. "Hey, aren't you that glitter queen that tampered with my car yesterday morning?"
A fist was his answer. "Back to Luna!"
He jumped. Seven-year-olds were getting too scary these days. School must be whack. "Oh, uh, yes. Let me get on that." He walked over to Lincoln, feeling pity for the young boy. Whatever was occurring, him and that poor rocker suffered greatly. He normally didn't help much with the mind, but he couldn't bear to abandon a family in need.
"Young man," he began, placing a hand on Lincoln's shoulder, "I need you to scoot over for a sec. I have to check up on her, okay? Same goes to you young lady."
On Sam's part, she understood. "Please... just help her, okay? I want to see her smile again..."
But as for Lincoln, the boy didn't let go of Luna's hand. Did he not understand? "Young man, I want to help your sister, please-"
The only son of the Louds was a stubborn mule sometimes. He held her hand and turned his head. "No!" he proclaimed. Everyone was shocked by this. "I... I can't..."
"Son...," the doc tried again. He looked to his parents. Both Rita and Lynn were approaching fast, but Lincoln held firm, even knowing those footsteps usually signaled bad news.
He couldn't hide that sorrow away. "I... I feel like I did this, okay?" He glared at the doctor. "She's been like this ever since she gave me those tickets. I caused this, huh? Just rub it in!"
Sam sighed. "Linc, you know that's not true..."
"Then let me guess, you're blaming yourself?"
The blonde gripped her hand, looking down to the tiled floor dejected. Leni quickly ran to her aid while Luan stepped up. The comedian couldn't help looking defeated herself, but the last thing she needed was her little brother torn apart.
"Linc... it's okay," she said calmly. Simple words sounded rather ineffective at this point, but much to their shock, Lincoln let his tears come down naturally. A little nod, and he relinquished Luna's hand, quickly making his way to her. Luan held him tight as the doctor moved in.
As he ran a finger up her arm, he made a gruff sound. "Okay, what lead to this now? You mentioned tickets, it sounded like."
Every sister spoke at once, much to their parents annoyance. "Hey, one at a time!" Their father was at least a little composed, even if he had to grip a pillow like it was his own child. "Luan, you're the most composed. Go for it."
Was she? Luan looked over at Sam and Lincoln. Both gave her the approval. With a sigh, she began, truly wishing a pun could come up. "I... really don't know, sir. She got tickets over the summer, and... that's it, I guess." She held her brother tighter. "She just lost it after that! She stopped eating frequently, she... dresses like that. I saw cuts on her arm, Doc! She's like a zombie now!"
She spoke the truth. They weren't the traditional cuts on the wrist, but they were a little too frequent to be dubbed a one-time freak occurrence. Lincoln looked at her longingly. She continued. "And... and... I think she thought she was wasting money."
Everyone looked at her confused. "A waste of what now?" Leni asked, purely befuddled.
Lana folded her arms. "A waste of money... nah, that's Lols. You see the bill on that make-up? Sheesh, you can feed the whole world with the stuff on her face!"
"Hey, it takes a lot to make this look good!" Lola pampered her face.
A snicker came from her twin. "Hah, you mean you're ugly before the stuff?"
"Why, you!"
Lucy held them down, seemingly unamused. "Waste of money? Explain."
Lincoln let go of Luan, looking mortified. It was tough to keep going, but she had to. "I mean, I can't speak for her, but she told me that. Dad was struggling, and... she took it hard."
Their father rubbed the back of his head. "I was? I mean, I guess I couldn't get this shirt on earlier. Wowzers, that was tough!"
"No, not that. The whole... diner and the music thing..."
His heart sank. "What? Hey, I was devastated they lied to me too, but why would that hurt her?" He thought on it, before realizing. "Oh, she thought a cello would be involved, but then that faker, oooooh, how I was robbed, I tell you!"
She loved how aloof he was sometimes. Still, it wasn't right. "No, no, I think she misunderstood. Right, Linc?"
He remembered that meeting he had with her earlier. That's what it sounded like. He was still kinda clueless on it all. "Y-Yeah, I think so. But it's over, though! She got over it... right?"
Luan nodded. "Yeah! She was normal when we got to the clothes store! Then she just... well..."
The doctor listened the whole time, sadly coming to terms with it all. "Ah... I hear ya. She relapsed into panic."
"Relapsed?" Small Lynn folded her arms. "She into drugs? I told her rock will lead her down the path of... uh... what most sports stars do... dang it..."
"No, not that relapse." He stood up, looking at the parents intently. " I can tell she lost a lot of weight recently. Stress and lack of food is eating her dry it looks like. Heck, checking that pulse, she still looks primed for a heart attack."
Rita screamed. "Oh my god, it's that serious? Why? She never stresses over anything!"
"No, but... maybe that's the issue." He felt her neck, cringing at that rapid heartbeat. "Dear god... sometimes people bottle it all up, and while I don't fully know Luna here, if what you're saying is true, one small issue compounded into another, and her poor body has no way to cope with it all. Guilt and panic; a terrible duo."
Leni walked over to her sister, shaking her head. "Oh, Lunes... why didn't you tell us? If I knew two guys were beating you up, I would've helped!"
The doc rose an eyebrow. Luckily Sam stepped forward. "So what do we do for her? Please, I want her to be healthy!"
"Calm yourself, my young one. I'll do my best. Luckily, her nerves are calming, so she shouldn't have to stay the night." He then turned to the parents again. "However, for now, she may need some sort of medication. A few follow-ups should be beneficial as well. In order to help, we need to get her mind and heart to cope with guilt. Trust me it's a hassle, but it can be done. Trust me."
Rita nodded, but Lincoln answered. "We'll do anything! Anything at all. I... want to go to that concert with her."
They all seemed to agree. For them all, and for any outsider, it seemed like the perfect heartwarming situation.
But unbeknownst to them, Luna wasn't fully asleep. Her ears were open enough to catch everything they said. Inside that lava pit, she somehow survived, swimming inside an endless sea of endless pain and guilt.
And as she sunk lower, she heard the final parts that truly stabbed her deep.
"Medication... pills... the cost will be..."
"The cost?... woah... wow, uh... oh man..."
Tears stained her eyes. More money, huh? More waste, for a girl who couldn't get it together. She sunk deeper and deeper, the world turning blacker than Lucy's hair.
The devil and his assistant looked at her kindly. "Poor family... and look at that brother! Oh, and that blondie! Hah, even the funny one!"
Crying, feeling sorry for themselves, ruined and in a hospital. Lincoln looked so devastated. Like her, he looked like a shadow of his former self.
She cried. "I screwed up. Why do I keep screwing up?"
The devil sighed. "Whelp, the door to endless granola is nearby. Come on in, dear. You won't be missed..."
Luna couldn't help but agree.
