Well, I'm pleasantly surprised to see just how many favorites and follows this story got after only one chapter. Not to mention the reviews! Thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited and followed. I hope you all find the second chapter to be just as enjoyable to read.
Chapter 2) Aftermath Part 1
Lynn Loud Sr. wasn't usually quick to anger. It had been a requirement as the father of eleven children to learn how to be patient and understanding if any trouble should be caused by any of said children. He would still become frustrated from time to time if the trouble in question was something significant, but he always kept himself from losing his temper. Although, at the current moment, he found himself at his limit.
The scene before him wasn't pretty. The kids had made some pretty bad messes before when they had fought, but this was on a whole other level. Lori had managed to break everything that her brother owned. His models, games, and laptop were all in pieces. Shredded remains of his comics, graphic novels, clothing and bedsheets were all over the small room. The mattress had been impaled repeatedly by the rack where Lincoln had hung his shirts and coats, after Lori had torn it down and snapped it into smaller pieces. She had also smashed his bedframe, using one of the bedposts to bash the shelf above Lincoln's dresser, as well as the dresser itself. Then she had used the post to break the small, solitary window in the room with enough force to leave a hole in the wall that went clean through to the outside of the house. And finally, she had torn down the light fixture from the ceiling.
"I can't believe this." Lynn Sr. muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You really crossed the line this time young lady. What in the world were you thinking?!"
"I...I don't know!" Lori exclaimed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I literally have no idea what I was thinking!"
"Well you'd better start to think of how you're going to make up for this. Because this is not something your brother can just forgive and forget. You completely destroyed his room and then you knocked him down the stairs! Even if you had a good reason to be mad at him that still would have been unacceptable. But you didn't have a good reason, did you?"
Lori shook her head, still fighting back the tears.
"Well at least you can admit to what you did. Not that is changes much. We'll discuss your punishment once I've found your brother. And you better be ready for your mother when she gets home. She'd definitely going to have something to say about this."
"You still haven't heard everything Dad." Lynn jr. interjected, throwing a spiteful look at her older sister. "Lori said something to Lincoln before she knocked him down the stairs. Something really bad."
Lynn Sr. glared at Lori, waiting to see if she would speak up. But the teenager remained silent. Considering how mad her father seemed already, she was afraid to give him anything else to be mad at her for. That and she was ashamed of herself for what she had said, not to mention what she had done. The whole ordeal seemed like a terrible dream, except she had yet to wake up. The sight of Lincoln has he fell down the stairs flashed through her mind, making the feeling worse.
"So you aren't going to tell me what you said to your brother?" Lynn Sr. asked, a hint of impatience in his voice. "Okay, fine. Junior, what did your sister say to him?"
"She said that he was a mistake and that Mom shouldn't have given birth to him."
"WHAT?! I cannot believe this! Lori Loud, you head downstairs into the kitchen and stand in the corner silently until either your mother or I say otherwise, right now!"
"You...You're putting me in time out?" Lori asked incredulously.
"For starters, yes." her father stated frankly. "Once your mother gets home we'll figure out the rest of your punishment. But for now, get downstairs and stand in that corner!"
Lori obeyed and started down the stairs. The rest of her sisters were assembled in the living room and many of them were giving her dirty looks. She felt very uncomfortable having to walk by all of them, still feeling their eyes on her even after she had left the room. And as ordered, once she had entered the kitchen, she walked into the nearest corner and stood there, letting her head hang in shame.
"I'm going to see the McBrides." Lynn Sr. told his other daughters as he got ready to leave. "If Lincoln comes home, call me immediately. Leni, you and Luna are in charge. Watch your younger sisters and make sure that Lori stays put until either I or your mother get home."
He went to the front door, Vanzilla's keys in his hand. His daughters clamored around him in an attempt to join him, save for Luna, who went into the kitchen to watch Lori. Lynn Sr. calmed his other children down, insisting that they remain at home while he went out. However, Lynn jr. stubbornly refused to do so.
"I can help, Dad! I can look for him on my bike!"
"You're going to stay here with your sisters."
"Please, Dad! I could've...I should've stopped Lori." the athlete admitted, clenching her fists. "I'm supposed to protect my little brother. But I failed. I let Lori hurt him."
"Don't say that." the older Lynn replied, kneeling down. "It isn't your fault that this happened. You shouldn't have to protect any of your siblings from each other."
"You can say that again." Lynn jr. mumbled, tossing a distasteful glance towards the kitchen. "But I really want to help look for Lincoln! Please?"
Lynn Sr. sighed, "Okay. I guess it couldn't hurt. But if you find him, you call me right away. Understood?"
Lynn jr. nodded and rushed upstairs to get her bike helmet and elbow and knee pads. She was then back down the stairs and out the door in a matter of seconds. Her father followed, encouraging the remaining sisters to keep an eye out for their brother. Once he was gone, the girls all spread out to the windows that were facing the street. The younger siblings went up into Lisa and Lily's room, leaving Leni and Luan downstairs, Leni holding Lily in her arms.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Luna was glaring daggers at Lori. The blonde was sulking in the corner, lamenting over her earlier actions. She kept seeing her brother as he fell, recalling what she had done and said prior to that event. But the thing that was haunting her the most was the way he had looked at her before he had run off.
-Loud House-
Shock had completely eradicated the blinding rage that had consumed her. Everything around her seemed to fade away, the only thing she could focus on being Lincoln lying on the floor at the base of the stair. The next few seconds passed by so slowly, they may as well have been hours. And when Lincoln began to lift up his head, the first thing that Lori noticed was the blood streaming out of his nostrils.
"Oh my gosh." She whispered, fear setting in as she now saw the consequences of her impulsive strike to her brother. "Lincoln!" She called out more audibly. "Lincoln, I...I didn't..."
Her words reached the boy, quickly drawing his attention. But before Lori could complete her sentence, he was already out the door in a rush of fear-induced adrenaline. Lori had been able to see the fear in his eyes during the brief moment before he ran, when he had looked up at her. She didn't even have a chance to react to that when she was suddenly shoved by Lynn.
"That was really messed up Lori! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
The athlete was clenching her teeth and her fists, a fiery anger in her eyes. And she wasn't alone. Lori could hear Luna and Leni saying their pieces now while Luan opened the front door and tried to spot where Lincoln had ran off to. The younger sisters were quickly at the side of either front, calling out for their brother or spitting harsh words at their eldest sister. The sounds of their voices blended together, making it nearly impossible for Lori to understand what any of them were saying. It was getting to the point where she was feeling both overwhelmed and intimidated. Luckily for her, there was little time for this to escalate before...
"GIRLS!" Boomed the authoritative voice of their father, quickly silencing them all and gaining their attention. "What the heck is going on here?!"
-Loud House-
After that Lynn jr. had called their father up the stairs to show him the wreckage that was now their brother's room. Then he was told of how she had, as Lynn put it, 'shoved him around before knocking him down the stairs'. It didn't require someone with Lisa's IQ to know what was coming next. The look on her father's face had told Lori that she was in deep trouble. And her current situation was only the beginning.
Lori's train of thought put her into a state of melancholy. Now that she had reflected on her actions, the tears began to flow and she sniffled pitifully. But Luna, the only one who heard her crying, had no pity for the blonde.
"Aw, what's the matter sis? Don't like it in the corner. Poor Lori." She spat venomously. "You deserve worse you uptight, control freak! I ought to break your nose like you did Linc's."
"I didn't break his nose! At least, I hope I didn't"
Luna scoffed. "Yeah right. You practically threw him down the stairs. And we all heard what you said to him before you did that. You have a lot of nerve, you know that sis?"
"I didn't mean it." Lori whispered. "I was just so angry."
"Ooh, big surprise. Lori was angry." Luna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you should try getting that stick out of your butt. If it goes any further up there, it might start to poke you in the brain."
"Luna please just leave me alone!"
"NO! I'm done doing what you want. I heard what Linc called you earlier and you know what? He's right, Lori. You. Are. A. Bitch."
A shocked gasp came from the kitchen doorway. "Luna! Language, please!"
Leni stood in the threshold between the living room and the kitchen, frowning at her younger sister. She still held Lily in her arms, something that only added to her disapproval of her sister's language. Taking a few steps towards the rocker, she held Lily out to her.
"Please take Lily and go watch for Lincoln in the living room. I'll watch Lori."
"I'll be fine, sis. Lori doesn't scare me."
"That's not my point. I don't like how you're talking to her."
"You're defending her?! Why?!"
"Because we don't need anyone making her angry again! Now please do what I asked."
Luna sighed and took Lily. "Okay, okay. But only because I respect you Leni. Too bad I can't say the same for my other big sister."
Satisfied with her jab at Lori's expense, Luna went into the living room. Leni waked over to Lori and placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. Lori turned her head to look at the other blonde and saw something that truly upset her.
Leni wasn't mad like Luna had been, nor was she sympathetic. The way that her sister was looking at her conveyed a very distinct and powerful message. Leni was both disgusted and ashamed of her. There was no doubt in Lori's mind that she had lost both the trust and respect of her sister, just like she had lost Luna's. The silence between them was uncomfortable for Lori, but she would have gladly taken it over what came next.
"I heard you and Dad earlier, before he left." She said, her voice eerily calm. "You never said 'I'm sorry' for what happened. But I bet you are sorry, aren't you? You should be. Lynn had a point. A big sister should protect her little brother. And you failed Lori. You failed as a big sister today. We both know that you were mad at me and you took it out on Lincoln. You hurt him and made him run away. So you had better be sorry. Because if you aren't, then I just can't see you as my big sister anymore."
Leni turned and walked away, returning to the doorway that led into the living room. She kept an eye on Lori while occasionally checking on her other siblings in the living room. Luan was pacing the floor, looking worried, and Luna stood by the window, gazing outside while holding a restless baby Lily in her arms.
Upstairs, the younger sisters diligently watched out for any sign of their big brother. The twins and Lisa were practically leaning out the open window, their three sets of eyes scanning the surrounding neighborhood. They had been in such a hurry that they had completely ignored the wreckage of their older brother's room. But Lucy, who had been the last of the four youngsters up the stairs, had halted immediately when she caught sight of it. Her eyes went wide behind her black bangs and she gasped silently.
"Poor big brother."
She stepped into the broken mess of her brother's belongings. The thought of how Lincoln must've felt when he saw this crossed her mind. And then to be so cruelly treated by the one responsible? It was too depressing, even for Lucy. Even if Lori hadn't attacked him, this alone was too much.
As she surveyed the devastation within the small room, another gasp escaped her. She picked up the severed head of Bun-Bun and looked around the floor for his body. She found it among some of Lincoln's torn up comic collection. To see the things that brought her beloved brother joy laying in pieces, it had a powerful effect on Lucy. She vowed right there and then that if the punishment Lori got from their mom and dad wasn't enough to teach her a lesson, then Lucy would personally teach her sister to regret the wrongs that she had committed.
Lucy vacated the scene of senseless destruction and returned downstairs. She joined her older sisters and Lily in the living room. Her siblings took notice of her as she approached, a rare occurrence. But this wasn't the time for Lucy to indulge herself with fun and games. Everyone was upset over what had happened and now she had more grim news to share.
"Lori murdered Bun-Bun."
Luan and Luna gasped in shock, as did Leni who heard her from her place monitoring Lori. She cast Lori a dirty look and resisted the urge to tell her off again. Luna, however, wasn't so reserved.
"Wow, Lori, you sure you don't want to just rip our bro's heart out? Maybe kick him in the jewels a few times while you're at it?"
"Luna! That's enough!" Leni scolded. "I know you're mad with her. I am too. But we need to let mom and dad handle this."
"Fine. Whatever." the brunette replied, leaning back against the wall. "As long as Lori gets what's coming to her."
An uneasy silence came between the two sisters. Luan and Lucy could feel the tension in the air and were both grateful that it seemed unlikely to escalate. But both the silence and the tension were soon broken when Lana came bolting down the steps, stopping halfway and facing her sisters.
"They're back! They got Lincoln!"
All the girls, sans Lori, crowded around the living room window. Relief washed over them as they saw their brother. And Luna was especially glad to see someone else with them.
"Hey Lori." She called into the kitchen. "Mom's home too. And she looks pissed."
End of chapter 2.