An alarm clock can be heard ringing and Lincoln woke up. He stood up from the bed and put on his clothes, he looked at his calendar before crossing out June 14 and seeing that it was now the 15 of June. The time has come, this day would be his second hardest in his life. Of course, the hardest one was Wednesday. Barely awake and he could already feel the nervousness creep upon him.
'No, I need to focus. Things won't be easier if I anxious.' Thought Lincoln before heading out of his room. As he came closer to the bathroom, he noticed that two people were in a line. Both Luan and Lynn were talking and waiting for someone to leave. He approached the line and walked behind Lynn and started to wait but soon as they saw him come closer they went silent. 'Weird' Thought Lincoln.
"If you're wondering Lincoln, we were talking about Lori who's been in there for 40 minutes!" Lynn said, saying the last part louder so that Lori could hear it. Lincoln looked at Luan who nodded frantically with a smile.
"Okay somethings up. What is it? Or do I need to call Lola here?" Asked Lincoln seeing that something was up that they weren't telling him. Both Lynn and Luan looked at each other.
"Nothing, everything's fine." Said Lynn with a smile that Lincoln did not trust.
"Look today I will tell the Casagrande's about Layla and it's going to suck. So please don't do anything to make it worse." Pleaded Lincoln.
"Come on, everything will be fine. What's the worst that could happen?" Said Lynn.
"Well if my suspicion is correct then Ronnie Anne will give me a fate worse than death." Said Lincoln casualty.
"So, you think that she likes you?" Asked Lynn with Lincoln nodding without saying anything else. Luan had enough and decided to speak up.
"Linc all jokes aside if you need someone to talk to, we are always available." Said Luan. Lincoln smiled knowing that he could trust them.
"Thanks, I just don't know how to tell them or more specifically her." Said Lincoln.
"Don't worry you'll come up with something. You are the man with the plan after all." Said Luan. Lincoln hugged Luan without saying anything else. Soon the bathroom door opened to reveal Lori wearing her normal clothes with a towel wrapped around her head. Lori was at the same time on her phone probably talking to Bobby. Luan released the hug and went inside the bathroom and closing the door behind her.
And then there was Lincoln and Lynn left. Standing and waiting for her turn Lynn didn't want to say anything else that might make Lincoln more suspicious of her and Luan's little project. After a while, the door opened again and Luan walked out, then Lynn walked in. Lincoln waited a while until the door was finally opened again and Lynn stepped out allowing Lincoln to continue his day.
He stepped into the bathroom and did the essentials like brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower. After leaving the bathroom he headed downstairs and saw all of his sisters and Layla waiting for him at the dinner table.
He went and took the only available seat between Layla and Luna. They soon began to eat dinner and Lincoln was watching his sisters interact with each other talking about clothes, boys, sports and life in general. He smiled remembering the good times when they would all sit and eat talking about the same topics repeatedly.
"Hey bro, how are you feeling about today?" Asked Luna.
"Well, I will have to tell the Casagrande's about Layla." Said Lincoln with a worried face.
"But that's not what you are scared of are you?" Said Luna.
"No, I am scared of how Ronnie Anne will react. What if she likes me more than a friend and I hurt her feelings when I tell her about Layla?"
"Will I really be doing the right thing by telling her?" Finished Lincoln.
"Linc it's the right thing to do because you won't lead her on just to crush her feelings later. That's why you're doing the right thing by telling her." Said Luna making Lincoln feel better about himself. Lincoln then got up and went to the fridge to get something. When he returned Luna saw that it was baby food and remembered that Layla hasn't gotten anything to eat.
"Time for round 2." Said Lincoln picking up a spoon and scooping up some baby food. The next 5 minutes were like a comedy routine for Luna. She watched as Lincoln attempted to feed Layla and how bad it would backfire at him every time. Luna decided to help her brother out after seeing that it wasn't going well for him.
"Here let me try." Said Luna while taking the spoon full of baby food from Lincoln's hand.
"Look here Layla. It's Ace Savvy flying through the sky." She said making Layla look at the spoon in amazement before Luna put the spoon in Layla's mouth. She continued to do it while Lincoln looked at her in amazement.
"HOW!?" Asked Lincoln acting like Luna when Sam showed her the trick. Everyone at the table looked at Lincoln because of his sudden outburst. Lincoln just waved and smiled awkwardly, the rest of his sisters returned to talking and eating.
"Well, Sam found out that babies mostly this they find interesting. And what's more exciting than that superhero Ace Savvy you watch on the tv." Said Luna making Lincoln facepalm that he didn't realize it sooner.
"Thank Sam next time you see her." Said Lincoln while Luna continued to feed her. While wiping off any baby food that got on him, he felt his phone begin to vibrate. He picked up his phone out of his pocket and saw the caller's name.
"RONNIE ANNE IS CALLING ME!" Lincoln freaked and shouted, making all of his sisters stand up and surround him asking what he was going to do while Layla watched on.
"What does she want?"
"Don't know I didn't know that she would be calling me." Said Lincoln still being freaked out.
"You literally can't tell her about your child on the phone."
"Yeah I know, let me answer now." Said Lincoln. All of his sisters went silent and Lincoln answered with the speaker.
Lincoln: "Hey Ronnie Anne why are you calling me." Said Lincoln
Ronnie: "What did I call at a bad time Lame-o?" she joked.
Lincoln: "No not at all, why did you even call?"
Ronnie: "Well I was wondering if you wanted me to take the bus here so we can meetup before my family arrives." Said Ronnie with a hint of desperation.
Lincoln: "u-uh yeahhhh sureee that would be great." Said Lincoln nervously.
"Okay see in you an hour at the bus station. Lov- I mean see you L-Lame-O" She stumbled around her words before ending the call.
When the call ended Lincoln stood still taking his time to process the information. And all of Lincoln's younger sisters began to giggle and smile. They ran up the stairs saying something about a wedding while the older sister stood there in place with him.
"I'm so screwed." Said Lincoln realizing that she was probably going to ask him to be her boyfriend when they went out. All of his sisters gave him looks of comforting.
"Lincoln you can call her back and say that you can't come." Suggested Lori.
"It doesn't matter we will still see each other when the Casagrande's arrive. It's better to do it now than later." Said Lincoln looking down at the ground. His sisters had nothing to say. They knew that Lincoln had made his mind up, all they could do is comfort him.
"Do you want us to help you?"
"No." Said Lincoln plainly. The sisters looked at each other with worry about Lincoln. Meanwhile, Lincoln walked over to Layla in her baby chair and sat down beside her. He kissed her on the forehead before trying to relax on the chair. Everyone looked at him in confusion.
"Bro what are you doing?" Asked Luna.
"Waiting." Lincoln simply stated. The sisters exchanged looks with each other before Lori spoke up.
"We're going to let you be but if you want anything just ask." Everyone nodded agreeing with Lori. Lincoln simply responded with a nod, soon all the sisters scattered to do their own thing. Just then there was a knock on the door and Lincoln went to open it. When he opened the door, it revealed his mom and dad carrying bags of groceries, Lincoln got out of the way to let them come in. When they went in his mom placed the bag down and listened for something.
"Is everything okay? It's a bit too quiet right now." Asked Rita while his dad went on to packing the groceries into their respective places also listening to their conversation. Lincoln went on to explain everything that happened during dinner with his mom and dad feeling bad for their son.
"Lincoln you don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can say that we had another child." Said Rita trying to find the easiest solution to his problem. But Lincoln didn't want the cheap way, he needed to do this.
"Mom I have to do this. I can't lead her on." Said Lincoln remembering Luna's conversation with him. In response his mom hugged him and kissed the top of his forehead wishing him well. Same did Lynn Sr wishing his kid the best.
After the hugs and kisses Lincoln walked up the stairs with a determined look knowing that he could do this. Walking through the halls he could feel a familiar feeling of being watched, and when he looked at the side, he glanced that most of his sister's room doors were open and he could see the eyes watching him. Once he entered his room, he notified Clyde and the rest of what was going to happen.
Rusty: "Lincoln I have seen girls mad before and I can professionally say that this is not going to end well for you."
Liam: "Lincoln are you crazy. She will make you into mashed potatoes!"
Zach: "Lincoln, come on you always think of a plan. You don't have to do this. It's like asking for death."
Clyde: "Good luck bud. You got this."
That last message made Lincoln smile a bit knowing that one of his friends believed in him. Because he was doing this no matter what, he looked at the clock and saw that he had about 20 minutes left until she arrived at the bus station. 'Better early than late.' Thought Lincoln as he went to his drawer that kept all of his clothes and picked out the best orange hoodie he had.
He put it on before looking at his mirror and seeing himself. A White shirt, orange hoodie, and dark blue jeans were all he needed to be ready. He was about to leave before seeing something on his desk. A small perfume bottle that he had wished for on his last birthday in order to 'get girls' as he put it. He wanted to grab it and spray some on him but resisted, while it smelled nice, the smell reminded him of Layla's mother. She used the same perfume when he first met her almost a year ago.
'Stop it Lincoln you can't think about her now. Not when I'm meeting Ronnie Anne soon.' He thought to himself before leaving the room. He quickly made his way down the stairs not caring if anyone was watching him. He put on his shoes as fast as possible not wanting to wait any longer. He was going to face his fear and not stop he thought but he soon stood in front of the door hesitating to open it up and walk out.
"You can do this bro. I've got your back if needed." Said Luna walking down the stairs. Smiling at him to comfort him.
"Thanks, I really needed that." He said and ran up to her hugging Luna before turning around and twisting the knob and opening the door. He took on step out and soon took another and began walking towards the bus station not letting his fears and doubts stop him.
The walk felt like a small eternity to him. He didn't have a plan or know what to say, he just knew that he'd have to tell her. He was walking and looking at the ground the entire time in deep thought until he finally arrived at the bus station. There were not many people there surprisingly and soon he found a bench to sit down on. He constantly looked at his phone checking the time as the worry began to creep up on him again. He felt like he wanted to run and escape it all, but he couldn't.
All these feelings felt familiar to him, the pressure, the nervousness, and the clouded mind. Then he remembered this was exactly like Wednesday. He worried about how his sisters would react and the questions he couldn't answer, it was all the same as now. Only this time it was only one person.
'I can do this. If I learned anything from Wednesday, it's that my family loves me no matter what.' Lincoln assured himself. And then he saw a bus in the distance that came from Great Lake City. 'The moment of truth.' Thought Lincoln as the bus came closer and closer before finally arriving next to where he sat. Once the bus fully stopped the doors began to slide open, people started to walk out as he waited and soon, she walked out. And as much as Lincoln hated to admit it, she looked gorgeous.
She was wearing her iconic purple hoodie, her hair was down without anything keeping it together. And lastly, she was wearing a purple skirt.
"What's up la- I mean Lincoln." She said shyly making Lincoln snap out of his trance.
"H-hey Ronnie Anne how's it going." He said nervously.
"Yeah it's going really great. Missed talking to you." Said Ronnie Anne scratching the back of her head also nervously.
"Y-yeah sorry about the silence. Want to go somewhere or are we going to stand here?" Said Lincoln in hopes of changing the conversation.
"Yeah sure let's head to flips. I head they got a new smoothie flavor there." The started walking and as they walked, he could sense that Ronnie Anne was glancing at him sometimes which made him worry. They continued to walk as he listened about what she was up to these last few weeks.
" -and anyway it turns out I made the chili a bit too strong and Bobby burned his tongue and couldn't speak to Lori on the phone until yesterday when it healed." She said laughing. The laughing quickly stopped, and he heard her stop in her tracks. That made him look up from the ground and at her.
"Okay, Lincoln what's wrong. You have barely said anything and only nodded when I asked you questions." Said Ronnie Anne worried about Lincoln. Lincoln's mind began to panic 'Should I tell her or should I wait longer' he thought before quickly blurting out.
"Ronnie there's something I must tell you." He said hastily. Ronnie Anne looked at him in confusion before smiling.
"There's also something I want to tell you Lincoln. Do you want to start or should I?" She said anxiously.
"I think it's better if I start." Said Lincoln feeling every part of his body get heavier. He looked down before saying.
"Ronnie Anne you are a wonderful, funny and all-around a great person… But" Ronnie Anne smiled at every word until Lincoln said 'But'. She felt that something wasn't right.
"-I can't be your b-b-boyfriend." Lincoln said excepting a punch or a laugh that said that she didn't like him that way. But instead, he looked up and saw her looking in the ground. He saw that she was deep in thought with no emotions on her face much like himself.
"why" Was the only thing to escape her lips.
"About two months ago I had a da-" Lincoln couldn't even finish.
"A WHAT? WHAT IS SO BAD THAT YOU HAVE TO DENY SOMEONE YOU LIKE." She exploded on him. He looked down and finished what he said.
"A daughter." And then absolute silence. Not a single word. Moments passed until she finally said something.
"Lincoln." She didn't say it in an angry tone but instead in she said it in a comforting and relaxed tone much like his sisters. Lincoln continued to look down on the ground before he felt two arms wrap around him hugging him.
"You should be mad at me." Said Lincoln in a sad tone. He accepted the hug and hugged her back, enjoying it.
"Lincoln I'm not mad. You choose to tell me the truth instead of leading me on." Those words made Lincoln feel lighter and not as heavy as he felt before. But then came the question.
"How did it happen?" Lincoln could feel her waiting for an answer.
"I met this girl who looked sad. I tried to cheer her up, but it went too far." While he didn't go into detail this was what happened. Suddenly she let go of the hug and took both of his hands.
"Lincoln do you love me. Actual love I mean." Said Ronnie Anne with a serious look on her face. Lincoln didn't even need to think.
"Yes, I love you more than anything. I'm sorry that I ruined it." Lincoln looked at Ronnie Anne who seemed again be in her thoughts. Then suddenly she pulls him towards her, and Lincoln felt a pair of lips touch his own and he felt like there was nothing else only them. They both wanted to feel like this forever but sadly oxygen was a thing and they both pulled away to breathe in air.
"Why did you do it?" Asked Lincoln surprised.
"Because I love you Lincoln. I feel in love with you, not your daughter. And if loving you means taking care of your daughter with you then it's more than worth it. You're a good and caring person that I want to be with, you are everything I want Lincoln." She said with a smile stunning Lincoln.
"But-" Said Lincoln not even being able to speak because of what she said. Meanwhile, Ronnie Anne noticed that Lincoln could barely speak and took his hand.
"Look let's head home to you. I want to meet her" She said kissing Lincoln on the cheek before beginning to walk home to Lincoln with him following her still being stunned.
Soon they reached his house and still held each other's hands. They came closer to the house went up to the door, a couple knocks later the door was opened by Lori. Lincoln saw her face go from shock to confusion and understanding in a couple of seconds. Lori walked out of the way and they both went in.
"Girls I want you to meet my girlfriend Ronnie Anne!" Screamed Lincoln so that everyone in the house could hear and they both braced themselves. What followed next was an earthquake and a group of people running down the stairs surrounding them in a blink of an eye.
"Omg Ronnie Anne you look gorgeous our brother totes got lucky."
"Lincy what kind of wedding cake do you and Ronnie Anne prefer?"
Questions continued to come at them until Lori had enough.
"Okay, guys give them space." Said Lori motioning to the other older sister to help her out.
"Yeah, dude's you can go and plan their wedding while we talk to Lincoln." Said Luna hoping that the younger ones will bite the bait. And it worked like a charm because every younger sister minus Lisa who didn't come down at all went up. That only left Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, and Lynn.
Lincoln proceeds to tell them what happened, and everyone looked at them with tears.
"That was literally the greatest love story I ever heard." Said Lori wiping away tears. All his sisters congratulated him and her, but Lincoln remembered why he was here.
"Luna, where's Layla?" He asked and Luna pointed at their parents' room.
"Mom said that Layla needs to rest before the Casagrande's arrive, but you can check on her." Said Luna with Lincoln nodding. He took his girlfriend's hand and led her to his parents' room. They slowly opened the door before walking in, they both saw the crib and began to walk towards it. When they got close enough Ronnie Anne could see her boyfriend's daughter. And she was beautiful, Layla looked like Lily when she was Layla's age except for the small white strands of hair, she was sleeping peacefully.
Lincoln leaned down and kissed Layla on her forehead before smiling and looking at Ronnie Anne. He motioned to Ronnie Anne to try it, she hesitated at first before leaning down and kissing Layla on her forehead which put a smile on both Ronnie Anne and Layla. They soon found themselves watching Layla without saying anything and Lincoln thinking about how well today went yet only the day has begun.
While Luan and Lynn watched the new couple walk into their parents' room Luan whispered to Lynn.
"Let's go check on Lisa's progress." They both nodded before heading up the stair and to Lisa's room. When they walked in, they saw Lisa writing away on a computer before turning to them.
"What do you want. I'm busy with matching the DNA samples you gave me." Said Lisa.
"We came over to see if it was done." Said Luan.
"Sadly, it's taking longer than expected due to Layla inheriting Lincoln's genetic mutation." Said Lisa. Both Lynn and Luan look at her in confusion.
"My machine can't scan Layla's DNA at the same speed as the other DNA samples due to Layla having white hair just like Lincoln." Explained Lisa more simply with both of them nodding.
"Then when will it be done? I'm getting tired of waiting." Said Lynn impatiently.
"I estimate that it would be done in a couple of hours." Said Lisa.
"Great."
c0ffeee here yet again, I'm glad to say that were a bit more than halfway done with this story and i want to thank you all who have read this far. You're always welcome to leave feedback or criticism. See you in chapter 7.