Ch. 4 – Spreading the News
Lincoln was moved to the Recovery Ward several hours after his surgery, just around early evening, and the Louds stayed with him until the hospital's visiting hours had ended. During this time, Rita and Lynn Sr. told the girls they decided that tonight the latter will take the girls home while the former stayed in the city overnight to await any word on Lincoln's condition, and will switch places every few days. While some of the girls did not agree with this arrangement, they were not in the mood to dispute it.
With that, the Louds piled into Vanzilla (where they ended up finding Lily's car seat) and Lynn Sr. dropped off Rita at a nearby motel. After checking in and entering her room, Rita finally allowed herself to let her emotions out. Anyone would consider Rita a strong woman, especially how she handled her family over what happened to her son, especially with Luna regarding the conversation they had outside the hospital. But now, after what was now the worst day she ever had, Rita finally had the time to have her own moment of grief. After spending a good amount of time crying, another feeling came over her. Rita had spent most of the day worrying about her son she realized she had barely eaten anything, having missed lunch and all that. But she decided it would be better if she got ready for the night first.
Rita took a well-deserved shower and put on the robe the motel provided before ordering take-out. Being that she didn't have anything from home, Rita had no choice but to use whatever was available in the room. She would also have to forgo brushing her teeth and re-wear the same clothes she had on today, but Lynn Sr. promised to bring some stuff for her tomorrow.
In the meantime, as she waited for her food to arrive, Rita looked through her phone. She discovered a voicemail from her boss, and to her relief it said that she would be allowed to take sick leave in order to keep an eye on Lincoln. However, after hearing this message, Rita suddenly realized there was something she had to do. Scrolling through her contacts, she found and called the Sunset Canyon retirement home. Rita told the receptionist who she was and who she wanted to talk to before the call was transferred.
"Hello," came a concerned male voice from the other end. "Dad, it's me."
"Oh my god, Rita! What the hell's going on?! I saw the news about what happened at the mall! I've been calling the house all day but nobody answered! I thought something had happened to…"
Rita could only listen as her father kept talking. Just from his tone of voice, she didn't blame him for being so hysterical. It was painfully clear nobody told him what was going on, and she felt guilty for not telling him sooner; especially since she always knew her father was not the type to sound scared in these situations. At some point, Rita heard Albert fall silent. No doubt because he realized she didn't even try to interrupt him. "Rita, what's going on? Where are you?" This time he sounded nervous, and he rarely got nervous. Rita decided to just answer whatever questions he had.
"Dad, I'm at a motel in Detroit." "Detroit?! Why are you in…" When he paused a second time, Rita could almost feel the sadness that built up in her father as he obviously figured out why she called. "Rita," he said in a quiet, shaky voice. "Who was it?"
Rita felt her own tears return as she took a deep breath before answering. She was going to hate this conversation. "Lincoln."
After dropping Rita off at the motel Lynn Sr. set off for home, taking the girls with him. Realizing it was going to be getting late by the time they got back, Lynn Sr., like Rita, decided it would be better to order take-out. After giving the offer, the girls agreed with the idea. After debating on what to get during the drive, Lori made the order and they picked up the food before returning to the house.
While Lynn Sr. and some of the girls carried the food to the dining room table, everyone else did their best to get ready to eat. Additionally, some of them had to tend to the pets. While some of the girls fed the family pets, Lana and Luan went upstairs to feed their own pets. The animals were, of course, hungry but otherwise okay. Afterwards those who tended to the animals washed up and joined the rest of the family at the table.
Just like Rita nobody had eaten since that morning and the hunger pangs had been in full force since they picked up the food. There wasn't much conversation at the table that night, but everyone had the same thing on their minds. The whole time during dinner they could only think about Lincoln. Despite that Dr. Goldman said it was likely he would eventually recover, the fact was Lincoln was still in a coma as of now. That didn't stop the Louds from worrying about his condition, some more so than others.
One by one everybody just left the table and went upstairs after finishing their meal. Lynn Sr. didn't bother to stop them. He couldn't blame them after everything they've been through. So he didn't really mind cleaning up everything by himself.
After the clearing the table and washing the dishes, the Loud patriarch went into his room. Keeping his promise to Rita, he packed a bag with a change of clothes and toiletries and left it by the dresser. Just like his wife, Lynn Sr., after spending most of the day being there for his wife and daughters, allowed himself to have his own moment of grief now that he was alone. When he regained his composure, Lynn Sr. realized there was something he had to take care of. Reaching for his phone, he looked for and found the number of his friend and employee, Kotaro.
Kotaro already knew about Lincoln. He and Lynn Sr. were still at the latter's restaurant when the police arrived to take Lynn Sr. to the hospital. Before leaving, however, Lynn Sr. left Kotaro in charge of the restaurant and promised him he would call him when he got the chance. After dialing the number, Kotaro answered the phone very quickly.
"Lynn! Thank goodness! What's the story on Lincoln?" Lynn Sr. quickly explained about Lincoln's condition. When he finished, Kotaro didn't say anything for a moment. "Oh, geez!" Lynn Sr. heard his friend take a deep breath through the phone before he continued. "So, what's going to happen now?" "Well, that's the reason I called," Lynn Sr. replied and he told Kotaro about the plans he and Rita made before discussing their own plans for the restaurant.
It should come as no surprise the girls had the same idea as their parents, well most of them. Lisa and the twins were too tired and upset to do anything else and decided to just go right to bed. While they got ready Lori decided to take care of Lily. She had just finished taking care of the baby when Lisa returned from the bathroom. Lori decided to check on the little genius.
"Everything OK, Lisa," she asked. "Considering what has happened throughout the day, I wouldn't exactly call my current state 'OK.'" Lori gave a sympathetic sigh. She couldn't blame her little sister for feeling the way she was. Then she remembered that Lisa kept to herself the whole time they were at the hospital. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Lisa momentarily considered her eldest sister's question. "I suppose it would be helpful to discuss it," she finally said with a sigh. Lisa climbed onto her bed as Lori sat beside her. "So," Lori asked. "What's going on? What have you been thinking about?"
"Well, that depends. Do you mean before or after the authorities took us to the hospital?" Lori stared. Clearly there was more on Lisa's mind than she originally thought. "OK. Why don't we start at the beginning? Before we were at the hospital; maybe right after mom called us this morning?"
The child prodigy gave a small hum as she nodded slightly. She spent a few seconds to gather thoughts. "Well eldest sibling, this morning's telephone call from our female parental unit is not so much what has been troubling me." Lori blinked in surprise. "It's not; really?" Lisa nodded. "Although, I will admit I did feel upset over our brother's message. However, I came to the realization that he was indeed correct about what he said; and I also realized he had every right to do so."
This was another surprise for Lori. "Really?" "Indeed, Lori. He's had more than his fair share of dealing with whatever problems we've come across; and he can be very obliging to a fault, but it is apparent that even he has his limits. So all things considered it is understandable why he did what he did, and I really cannot blame him for it." Lori was taken aback by what Lisa said. "Well, that's a surprise. But, I'm literally glad that you handled it so well."
Lisa couldn't help but give a small smile. "Thank you Lori, I appreciate the thought." But then she frowned again. "…although that is more than I can say regarding our brother's current condition." Lori could only bite her lip as she gave a slight groan. "I guess so. Is that what's been bothering you?"
"More or less," Lisa said with a shrug. "I am still concerned about it, and just what Dr. Goldman informed us earlier it really is a question of time." Lori stared at Lisa, incredulous. What she said just now was almost out of character for her.
"I don't think I've ever heard you agree with what other doctors say so easily. I mean, you literally know loads of scientific stuff, especially medicine. You're even the reason we hardly see a doctor whenever we get sick. So why are you agreeing with that doctor now?"
"First off, I wouldn't exactly agree with what you said about other doctors. I always follow my colleagues' advice, after all. I also wouldn't say I help our family members with all types of medical abnormalities; but I can understand your point. Second, need I remind you that our brother's surgery was successful and it is more likely he should recover. But he's still in a comatose state and despite all the modern advances in the field of medicine, emerging from the type of coma he's in is still an uncertainty. The best thing we really can do now is wait." Lisa paused momentarily before continuing.
"Even so, I will admit it is rather frustrating; not being able to do anything when our brother is in need of help the most." Lori sighed again as she put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Yeah, I know."
The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Lori spoke again. "Still, I think the best we can do now is to not give up hope." Lisa looked to meet Lori's gaze. "I whole-heartedly agree, eldest sibling," she said and, in a rare moment for Lisa, reached out for a hug. Lori did not hesitate as she returned the gesture. The two shared their embrace for a moment before Lori let go to remake eye-contact.
"So, you think you'll be OK tonight?" "Fear not, I will be," Lisa said as she placed her glasses on the nightstand. As she got under the covers, Lori stood and went for the door. The two exchanged a 'good night' before Lori closed the door.
As she left Lisa and Lily's room, Lori figured it would be a good idea to check on everybody else while she had the chance. She checked on the twins first, whom were just getting into their beds. Since they were both exhausted from the day's ordeal, Lori spent the time tucking them in while reassuring them about Lincoln. She then checked on Lynn and Lucy, and after talking to them for a few minutes made sure they were going to be fine for the night. Just after leaving the room Lori looked down the stairs when the house phone started ringing. A quick 'I'll get it' from her father made her continue on her rounds.
When she looked down the hall, she saw there was no line for the bathroom. That meant either everyone already used it or the last one of them was still inside. She knew that Leni already did and was still in their room so it had to be either Luna or Luan. Reaching the other end she peered into the open door across the hall from her own. Sure enough, Lori saw Luan sitting on her bunk. She was already wearing her nightclothes and appeared to be texting. Lori decided to wait until she finished before going in to talk to her. A moment later Luan looked away from her phone and Lori lightly knocked on the door.
Luan looked up to see Lori standing in the doorway. "Hey," she said.
"Hey." Lori got a good look at Luan's face when she looked up. It was clear her downcast mood had not left her since they got home. Which was all the more evident when Lori realized her sister hadn't even tried to crack a joke. Now that she thought about it, today was probably the first time Luan never made a joke for an entire day. A certain memory came back to Lori, one which heavily involved the sibling they were all worried about. She pushed it out of her mind as she walked in to talk to the young comedienne.
"Everything OK here," she asked. Luan nodded as she put her phone down beside her. "Yeah. I was just texting some of my friends, and I talked to Benny for a while." Now it was Lori's turn to nod. It should have been obvious Luan had been texting her friends and Lori was glad her sister talked to her boyfriend. After all, Lori herself had done the same with Bobby since they were at the hospital; speaking of which.
"I see; how long did you talk to him?"
"I texted him after dinner, and Luna told me he called while I was in the shower. I talked to him for a while before texting the others." Lori nodded again, taking in what Luan had said.
"How come you didn't talk to Benny when we were at the hospital," she asked. "I couldn't, I left my phone here when the police came; Luna too." Lori's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"
"Yep," Luan said with a nod. "When we came back upstairs we saw we got a lot of texts and voicemails from our friends. When I didn't hear back from Benny, I went to take my shower. Luna was calling Sam as I left."
Lori gave an understanding hum. Since Luna forgot her phone her girlfriend would have been worried sick when she didn't answer. "So, I'm guessing she told Sam what happened?" Luan shrugged. "I didn't hear the whole conversation, but I'm almost positive she did. I also told Benny, in case you were wondering."
"I figured as much. How did he take it?" Luan sighed. "He was shocked when I told him about Lincoln. But he was happy to hear his surgery went well." "Did you tell him Lincoln's in a coma?" "I did. He is concerned, but he sounded relieved after I told him that it was likely he will recover. He said he'll be keeping us in his thoughts."
Lori smiled. "That's nice to hear," she said. But then her frown returned when she thought of the other sister who stayed in this room. "So, how is Luna? Did she say anything about her talk with Sam?"
Luan thought for a second. "Not really, but she did say Sam had been really worried when Luna didn't get back to her immediately. They pretty much had a similar conversation to the one I had with Benny. Luna said Sam's thinking of us too."
"Again, nice to hear," Lori said. The two didn't say anything for a moment before Luan remembered something. "I just realized, did you hear back from Bobby at all?"
Lori's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, I did! He called me when we were still at the hospital. Earlier I texted him about Lincoln, and he pretty much screamed it back to me. When he did…" Lori paused and gave a slight chuckle, resulting in Luan looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, what's so funny," she asked. Lori looked back and explained. "When he did, I also heard everybody else yelling and screaming through the phone."
Realizing what Lori meant, Luan let out an "oh" before chuckling herself. "I can already imagine what they're doing right now." Lori again nodded in agreement. They were of course referring to the rest of Bobby's family. Some time ago he and his sister Ronnie Anne moved to Great Lakes City to live with their cousins, the Casagrandes, after their mother Maria got a job at the local hospital. The Loud and Santiago/Casagrande families always had a close relationship; their previous, and chaotic, get-togethers were proof of that, especially the ones during the holidays. It didn't surprise the two girls that the Casagrande family would be worried about Lincoln as much as they were. It was at that moment a thought struck Luan.
"I just realized. How's Leni? Did she get through to her friends?" Lori's eyes widened. "Oh shoot, thanks for reminding me, I almost forgot! Yes, she did. She was talking to them when I went to take care of Lily. She told me Ms. Carmichael called her too. Apparently they managed to evacuate the store when the shooting started." Luan breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. All the same, how is Leni anyway?"
Lori sighed as her frown returned. "She's still sad about Lincoln. But this literally could have been worse for her. I mean, what happened to Lincoln is bad enough, but can you imagine what would have happened if Leni found out one of her friends had been hurt?"
Luan shuddered. "Ugh; that would have been really bad." Lori could only nod in agreement. "Hey, wait, I just thought of something else," Luan said, which made Lori raise an eyebrow. "What is it," she asked. "Didn't you say earlier that Leni was supposed to be at work today?" Lori gasped. "Oh my god, yes! She was! She could have been there too! I mean, sure, she did say everyone managed to evacuate in time, but still." The two didn't say anything after that; they were both thinking the same thing.
After sitting in silence for a moment, Lori sighed. "I guess this means she won't be going back for a while now." Luan nodded. She was about to say something, but then she shook her head. This did not go unnoticed from Lori.
"What?" "Nothing," Luan said, a little too quickly as she looked away. Lori's eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a knowing smirk. "Come on, what is it?" "I'm serious! It's nothing," Luan countered, but Lori could see right through her lie. "You were going to make a joke about it, were you?" Luan gasped and put a hand to her chest in an attempt to fake appalment. "I was not!" "Luan," Lori said firmly as she turned to face her sister.
The two stared at each other for a moment. At first Luan thought she was convincing her eldest sister, but eventually Lori's stern gaze became too much and her face fell. "I knew it," Lori said. "Oh come on, don't make me do this," Luan pleaded.
"Luan, before I came in here I realized you never said a single joke all day. And you've literally never did that, even on bad days." Luan looked at the floor for a few seconds as she thought of an answer. "Well, I will admit that is true. But this is different Lori! Lincoln got shot! He's literally the victim of a crime! And now he's in a coma because of it! This isn't exactly a good time to make jokes!" Lori was a bit taken aback by Luan's outburst and it took her a moment to come up with a response.
"Well, I can understand why you would think that. But I don't completely agree." Luan gave Lori a bewildered look. "What do you mean," she asked. "Well, considering everything that's happened today, there literally needs to be something we can all laugh at," Lori said. Neither said anything as Luan took in what Lori said. At first, Luan chalked it up to thinking Lori was giving her advice. That was true; even Luan herself said on previous occasions laughter was the best medicine in hard times. But when Lori remained silent, Luan suddenly had a feeling what Lori was actually talking about.
"Wait, you don't mean…" Luan said, but Lori interrupted her with an "mm-hm." Luan's jaw dropped. "You're serious?" "I am." "Right now?" "Yes." Luan paused as she took in that Lori actually wanted to hear it. "OK, but I'm warning you, it isn't funny. In fact, it's actually really bad." Lori just gave her sister a reassuring smile. "Luan, at this point, I'll hear anything you have to say." Luan looked away briefly as she considered her words. "You sure about this," she asked. Lori just nodded. Luan sighed. "OK, but don't say I didn't warn you." She took a deep breath and then said: "I guess you can say Leni's chances of going back to work have been… shot down."
As Luan said the punchline with an awkward smile, Lori's face morphed into one of shock and then to absolute disgust. "I take that back, that was horrible!" Luan's face fell. "Told you," she replied sadly. Lori wanted to rip into Luan for such an appalling joke, but she knew she couldn't since Luan did warn her. Seeing how sad she looked, Lori softened her gaze before continuing. "Well, you did say it was bad. So I guess I can't really be mad about it." This managed to bring a small smile to Luan, which quickly faded when Lori's face hardened again. "Just don't ever tell that to anybody else and I won't mention it either. Deal?" "Deal," Luan agreed, reaching her hand out to Lori. But instead of shaking it, Lori pulled Luan into a hug which the latter didn't hesitate to return. After enjoying their embrace for a few seconds, Lori faced Luan again. "But seriously Luan, given what's happened today, we literally need somebody to keep our spirits up. You think you can do it?" Luan's eyes shined with confidence as her smile returned. "You know it," she said. "Good." The two shared another hug before Lori stood up.
"Anyway, it's getting late. We better get some rest." Luan nodded in agreement. "I hear ya," she said. "Still, I'll wait for Luna. She should be back soon." "OK," Lori said. "Good night." "Good night," Luan replied and Lori left. Returning to her room, Lori saw Leni was already in her bed. The two exchanged a good night before turning off the lights.
Lying in her bed, Lori thought about everything that happened all day. That morning's argument didn't matter anymore, the real priority was Lincoln. Despite everything she said to her sisters, there was still that nagging thought of 'what if' in the back of her mind. It was likely that question was also on everyone else's minds, and that would be troubling them for the foreseeable future. Lori didn't want to be thrust back into her role as the lead sister when she came home from college, but fate forced her hand. She also realized just now her skills in that regard were going to be put to the test. But right now was not the time to dwell on that; now was the time to try and get some rest. As she drifted off to sleep, Lori could only hope her brother would pull through. She hoped their mother was okay being alone in that motel by herself. She also hoped that her father and sisters would be okay tonight, and that they would be okay tomorrow.
The following morning signaled the start of another day in Michigan. The dawn brought with it clear blue skies, a sign that the weather for today was going to be just as pleasant as it had been the day before; but for the residents of the town of Royal Woods, very few were in the mood to enjoy this day. The very reason for that was on everyone's minds as they awoke that morning to prepare for the day, and it was all too obvious as they fetched their newspapers and turned on the morning news.
The mass shooting at the Royal Woods Mall was the prominent story in all of the media outlets. After the gunfire ceased and all the injured were evacuated, the police began the grueling task of collecting bodies and gathering evidence in preparation for the cleanup. Since mass shootings are classified as acts of terrorism, the FBI took charge of the investigation. Even though it was still in its opening stages, the feds authorized a critical piece of information to be released to the press. This was the confirmed number of casualties.
20 people were killed and 36 were wounded before the shooter himself was killed.
What made the story worse was among the dead were 3 children and one police officer. The media dubbed the incident "The Royal Woods Massacre," but it would become more commonly referred to by the locals as "the shooting." It even made national news; another in a seemingly endless list of mass shootings which have occurred in the United States over the last few years.
But what made this shooting uniquely tragic was where it occurred. Not the mall itself, but the town. Despite the fact Royal Woods had a large shopping mall, among other public places of similar size, and was so close to the city of Detroit, it was still a small town with a relatively low population. Many previous mass shootings had usually occurred in or around large cities. It was the first time a shooting this deadly happened in a town with such a small population, which shattered any notions that no such act could occur in such a place. Moreover, it was one of the few mass shootings with such a high number of casualties to have occurred in the state of Michigan.
As with any type of act of violence like this, Royal Woods' residents were demanding answers. The most common questions among everyone's lips were who was the shooter and why did he attack Royal Woods. While feelings were unanimous regarding the latter, the former had surprisingly caused a split among everyone. Some wanted to know exactly who he was and where he came from, while the rest believed that didn't seem to matter because he was dead too. Apparently the FBI thought so too as they and the police did not reveal the shooter's identity. As to why the shooter attacked, people also asked if he acted alone or was he a part of a larger organization. Those questions were also asked by the FBI and planned to investigate those avenues.
But no matter how the investigation would end, one thing was certain. Royal Woods was never going to be the same again. The funeral services would soon start being held for those who were murdered, which could take days or even weeks to complete. Some of those who were wounded would likely suffer debilitating injuries and complications for the rest of their lives.
But probably the biggest consequence of the massacre was that everybody in town was going to be affected. It was very likely most, if not all of the victims were locals. They had their own families and friends, whom in turn have family and friends of their own. So after a tragedy like this, especially in a place with so many residents, it all comes to the point where hundreds, even thousands of people are affected by it in some way; and they will all carry it with them for the rest of their lives.