Author's Note: Hey-ho! Well, now that the unpleasant abortion subplot is out of the way, let's move on to even more unpleasant subplots, shall we?

You know, at this point, I'm beginning to ask myself, "What can I do to Lincoln that's even worse than what's already happened to him?"

…I think there's something wrong with me…

Oh well. I'm Captain Dodge – thank you, and have a nice day!

(P.S. You know that "M" one-shot I talked about in the last chapter? It's up now! Go read it! ...Or don't. Please don't.)

(…)

Clyde left Lincoln's room a little under an hour after Mrs. Loud and her five eldest daughters left the clinic. Clyde called for Mr. Loud, and he came upstairs.

"What is it, Clyde?" Mr. Loud asked.

Clyde jerked his thumb back towards Lincoln's room. "He wants to tell you something," he replied.

Lincoln's quavering voice came out from behind the door. "D-D-D-D-Dad?"

"Yes, son?" Mr. Loud said gently.

"P-P-Please… g-give Clyde… f-f-five cents…"

"Five cents…?"

Lincoln didn't give any more information, instead simply shutting the door. Mr. Loud looked at Clyde, silently requesting an explanation.

"Oh, uh…" Clyde scratched the back of his head. "I loaned him five cents that day – you know, before…"

"Oh." Mr. Loud nodded. He started to dig out his wallet, but Clyde shook his head.

"Please, Mr. Loud, it's alright, really. You don't have to…"

"I know, but Lincoln wants you to have it…" Mr. Loud took out a nickel out of his wallet, and offered it to Clyde. After a moment, Clyde sighed and reluctantly accepted it.

Lucy, Lola, and Lana heard the two of them talking and came out of their rooms, crowding around Clyde and bombarding him with questions about Lincoln. How was he? Was he okay? Did he say anything? Did he say anything about them?

"Girls, please," Mr. Loud interrupted. He gestured to the stairs. "Let's take this downstairs, okay?"

Mr. Loud headed downstairs, and Clyde followed him, the girls close behind. It was at that moment that Mrs. Loud and the elder Loud girls came in through the front door.

Mr. Loud stopped dead in his tracks. "O-Oh!" he said. "Y-You're… you're back…"

Mrs. Loud looked at her melancholy daughters one last time, sighed, then turned to Mr. Loud, nodding solemnly.

"It's done…" she said.

"It's…" Mr. Loud gulped. "It's… done…"

Mrs. Loud hugged her husband, who hugged her back, then went up to their daughters.

"Girls, I'm…" Mr. Loud said, his voice shaking. "I'm… I'm sorry…"

The girls looked at him sadly. They couldn't decide whether to simply accept the apology, or apologize as well.

In either case, Mr. Loud offered a hug, and they all took him up on it at once.

Clyde scratched his head. "Um… what happened? Where did you all go?" he asked Mrs. Loud.

But Mrs. Loud shook her head. "Sorry, Clyde," she said. "It's… a family matter."

"O-Oh. I… I see…" Clyde responded. He had considered himself an honorary Loud, but apparently, he still wasn't close enough to know about whatever had happened.

Hearing his voice, Lori broke out of the group hug. "Clyde?"

"Oh! Uh… hi, Lori," Clyde said, averting his gaze. Before the incident, he would normally faint, get a nosebleed, act like a robot, or any combination of the three around his crush, but now, he just couldn't look at her the same way – and he doubted that he would ever again.

"What are you doing here?" Lori asked.

Mr. Loud broke up the group hug. "I invited him over," he answered. "While you girls were gone, he spent time with Lincoln, in his room."

"Huh? Wait, then – you've seen him?" Lori and her four sisters targeted Clyde, once again starting to ask him several questions about Lincoln.

"Girls – Girls, please!" Mr. Loud shouted. The girls quieted down. "One at a time!"

All the girls once again turned to Lori, who asked, "Clyde… how is he?"

Clyde sighed. He walked into the living room proper, and took a seat in the armchair. The rest of the Loud family followed him, sitting on the sofa.

"Well," Clyde said, "to put it perfectly bluntly… he's a wreck."

Mrs. Loud and the girls gasped. They had figured as much, but hearing it still hurt so badly…

"W-What do you mean, a 'wreck'?!" Lori demanded.

"W-Well, you know…" Clyde said nervously, "He's… just real shaken, you know? To put it mildly… I could see it in his eyes…"

"W-Well, did you two talk? Did he say anything?"

"Not really… He was real quiet the whole time, just reading the comics I brought. Every time I asked him a question, like 'How long have you been in here?' or 'You having fun with me here?' or 'You want me to just give you some alone time?', he'd just say something quick, like nodding and saying, 'Mm-hmm', or shaking his head and saying 'Uh-uh', or shrugging and saying, 'I'unno'." Clyde cast his eyes downwards. "I told him that we all missed him at school, and all he did was nod and say 'Mm-hmm'."

Lori sank further into her seat. "O-Oh…"

"Plus, when I handed him a comic once, I accidentally brushed a finger against his, and he shuddered. Visibly. Then he hopped onto the bed and scooted as far away from me as possible."

"I told you not to touch him…" Mr. Loud said.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident…"

"It's okay, Clyde. I understand." Mr. Loud decided to ask a question himself. "So, Clyde, did you… make any progress?"

Clyde looked askance at Mr. Loud. "What do you mean, 'progress'?"

"Do you think your visit might have helped in any way?"

"Oh! Well, I did give Lincoln some of my hyperventilation bags – I told him to use them whenever he started panicking, so that might help. I also tried referring him to Dr. Lopez, since he clearly needs her help more than I do, but he really didn't want to see a female therapist, so…"

Mr. Loud nodded. "That's… understandable."

"I'll see if she can't refer some other – male – therapists the next time I visit her," Clyde said.

"Thank you, Clyde."

"Umm, is there, like, anything else you can tell us about him?" Leni asked anxiously.

Clyde sighed again. "Well, his hair's grown quite a bit, and uh…" Clyde rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "He… smells really bad."

"I'll have to bring him some more moist towelettes…" Mr. Loud said.

Clyde nodded. "Uh-huh, you do that. And, he's also lost a lot of weight…"

"He has?" Leni said.

Mr. Loud shook his head sadly. "He doesn't eat much, anymore…"

The Loud sisters exchanged worried looks.

"And, well…" Clyde continued, "It was really hard not to stare at his face…"

Lori jumped up out of her seat. Her sisters either did the same or leaned forwards intently. "His face?! W-What happened to his face?!" Lori asked.

Mr. Loud sighed heavily. He knew he couldn't keep it a secret forever. "Clyde…? Do you mind… giving us all some privacy?"

"Oh, uh, sure, Mr. Loud. No problem – I have to call my dads, anyways…" Clyde got up and began to walk into the dining room, fishing his cellphone out of his pocket, but turned around at the last second. "Um, Mrs. Loud…?"

Mrs. Loud sat upright, craning her neck to look at Clyde. "Yes…?"

"Do you mind if I have a word with you?"

"Oh –? Uh, sure, Clyde…?" Mrs. Loud said. Still confused, she got up and walked over with Clyde, who began to speak with her while dialing.

Mr. Loud turned back to his daughters. "Girls… please sit back down."

They did so. He sighed again. This was not going to be pleasant.

"It's time I told you about Ronnie Anne."

"What…? What about Ronnie Anne?" Lori asked. "What about Lincoln, and his face…?"

Mr. Loud closed his eyes. "It's… related to that."

The girls began to murmur amongst themselves uneasily.

"You see, it happened about two weeks before you came home – two weeks before it was safe for Lincoln to be around any females. For the first couple of weeks, he was a wreck, just like Clyde said. But he was spending more time with me, and with Lily, and with the pets, and… well, it actually seemed like he was improving. He was starting to talk more, and even smile every so often. And you know, I'd forgotten how much food you save when you cook for just two kids instead of eleven! But, even so, that food eventually ran out, and I had to go to the supermarket to get more…"

(…)

Lincoln blocked the front door, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Please, Dad," he begged, "please don't leave…"

Mr. Loud kneeled down to Lincoln's level. "Son, I have to leave," he said. "We're almost out of food. I'd take you with me if I could, but it's still not safe out there for you, yet…"

But Lincoln only cried harder. "Don't leave me here, Dad… don't leave me here alone…"

"I'm not leaving you here alone, son." Just then, the doorbell rang, and Mr. Loud answered it. "Mr. Grouse is going to be watching you until I get back."

Mr. Grouse entered, not able to bring himself to look Lincoln or Mr. Loud in the eyes. "Uh… hey there, Loud," he said.

Mr. Grouse's presence reassured Lincoln, but he still felt uneasy. He looked at his father pleadingly. "H… How long will you be gone, Dad?" he asked.

Mr. Loud kneeled back down. "Well, I'll have to go to the supermarket one town over, so I'll probably be gone for an hour, at the latest."

Lincoln began to whimper. Mr. Loud put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Lincoln flinched at his father's touch, but he didn't scream or run, like he used to.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, Lincoln," Mr. Loud said. "Don't worry." He pulled Lincoln in for a hug. Lincoln fought his revulsion and hugged him back, his tears staining his father's shoulder.

After a few long moments, Mr. Loud broke the hug. Standing up, he said to Mr. Grouse, "Just remember to keep the doors and windows locked at all times, and don't let anyone inside – especially any females. Just… keep an eye on him, you know."

Mr. Grouse nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"All right." Mr. Loud turned and opened the front door, taking one last look at his scared son before leaving.

Lincoln gulped. This was it – he was all alone. Well, not really – Mr. Grouse was here. He would keep Lincoln safe. Lincoln looked at Mr. Grouse, but Mr. Grouse still didn't look at him. He could see the guilt in the old man's eyes – he saw what was happening that day, and he could have done something about it.

Instead, though, he chose to ignore it, and so let everything that followed happen.

Mr. Grouse awkwardly rubbed the back of his bald head. "So, uh…"

Lincoln shook his head. He didn't want to be a burden. "I'll… be in my room if you need me," he said.

Lincoln walked past Mr. Grouse and plodded up the stairs and down the hall to his room. By the time he reached it, he was hearing the sound of the TV downstairs. Stripping naked, he grabbed a moist towelette packet, ripped it open, and began wiping himself all over, especially in the areas where his father had touched him. He knew his father loved him, that he would never hurt him, but he still hated the sensation of his skin touching his.

Every touch reminded him of that day – of all the bruises, and the scratches, and the bites…

After Lincoln was done wiping himself off, he re-dressed and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling like he always did. He never looked for anything – there was nothing to look for. He just stared at the dingy beige ceiling, letting his mind become as empty as the rest of him.

An unknown amount of time later, Lincoln was suddenly snapped out of his stupor by Cliff the cat jumping up on him. As Cliff began to knead his chest, Lincoln couldn't help but utter a little giggle. The pets were the only ones that could make him happy anymore. He scratched Cliff behind the ears, but as Cliff started to purr, Lincoln realized that he had lost track of time. His eyes darted towards the clock.

An hour had passed. His father should have been back by now.

Lincoln gently lifted Cliff up off his chest and set him aside, got up, and ran downstairs, but screeched to a halt when he saw Mr. Grouse sleeping in the armchair. He knew that once Mr. Grouse was asleep, he wouldn't wake up for anything (aside from eleven noisy siblings causing a ruckus next door), but he still didn't want to take any chances.

Lincoln quietly searched every room of the house. His father was nowhere to be found. He nervously peeked out the window at the driveway. "Vanzilla" wasn't there.

It became clear to Lincoln that his father was not yet back.

Lincoln went back upstairs as quickly and as quietly as he could. His father said that he would be back in an hour, at the latest. It had been an hour. So why wasn't he back yet? Could something have happened?

Lincoln went back to his room, pacing back and forth nervously. He glanced at the clock every ten seconds, and as each minute passed, he became more and more afraid. Where was his father? What if something happened to him, and he was still gone?

Or… what if something happened to Lily?

Lincoln rushed out of his room and into Lily's, where he saw his baby sister sleeping soundly in her crib. Lincoln sighed in relief. He looked down at the sleeping baby, smiling. She was so cute, so innocent… the only one of his sisters not involved in the incident that day. Lincoln wanted to caress her soft, plushy cheek, but he still couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he slipped quietly out of the room, whispering "Sweet dreams, Lily…" as he closed the door.

So, nothing had happened. Lily was safe. But his father was still gone. What if he never came back?

Lincoln tried to push those thoughts away, tried to relax. His father would be back soon, he told himself – and if anything happened, Mr. Grouse would be there to protect him.

Lincoln smacked his dry lips. All that movement had left him feeling parched. Going back downstairs, he headed into the kitchen for a glass of water. As he gulped it down, Lincoln suddenly heard a noise that made him choke on his drink.

It was the creaking of the back door.

Lincoln wheeled around – and saw his erstwhile girlfriend, Ronnie Anne Santiago, standing there.

"Hey, Lame-o – ah… Um, hey, Lincoln."

Lincoln froze for just a second, then turned on a dime and ran.

"Huh –?! Lincoln, wait!"

Ronnie Anne chased after Lincoln, but Lincoln had a head start on her. He managed to reach his room before she reached him, and shut and locked the door. Ronnie Anne caught up and started jiggling the doorknob.

"Lincoln!"

Lincoln curled up on his bed. "No… No… Nonononononono…"

Seeing that the door was tightly locked, Ronnie Anne then started banging on the door.

"Lincoln, open up!"

Lincoln didn't move from where he was. "Nonononononononono…"

Ronnie Anne growled in frustration, digging through her pockets. She had tried to see Lincoln for so long, but kept getting blocked – first by the paparazzi swarming around the Loud house, trying to get the latest news on the "Loud family situation", then by Lincoln's father, who refused to let her see him and never told her why. She had been coming back to the house, day after day after day, staking it out and looking for some kind of opening, but had no luck until today. She saw that the family van was gone, and peeked in through the windows to look for Lincoln's dad. He wasn't there – just Lincoln's elderly neighbor. Seizing the opportunity, she picked the lock to the back door and finally saw Lincoln, but he didn't want to see her.

But Ronnie Anne wasn't deterred. This was her chance, and she was not going to blow it.

She found her little tools, and got to work on the lock. Compared to Lincoln's locker, the lock to his bedroom door was so simple, it was almost child's play – she picked it in seconds.

"Lincoln, I'm coming in…!" she called.

Lincoln only sobbed.

Ronnie Anne opened the door, and saw Lincoln huddled up over on his bed, looking absolutely terrified. It broke her heart to see him like that, and she knew she had to do something about it.

"Listen, Lincoln," she said, "I just want to talk…"

But Lincoln didn't want to talk – he desperately wanted to tell Ronnie Anne it wasn't that he didn't want to see her, it was just that it wasn't safe for her to be around him right now – not with the pheromone still in his system. But in his panicked and frightened state, he simply could not spit it out. "No, please… Please go… Not… Not safe…"

"What isn't safe? Look, Lincoln, I'm not gonna hurt you, or anything…"

Lincoln stood up, shaking his head. "N-N-N-No! Please, R-Ronnie Anne, you… Y-You have to go!" He grabbed Ronnie Anne by the shoulders and tried to push her out, but Ronnie Anne held firm. She was stronger than him.

She had always been stronger than him.

Ronnie Anne pushed back, forcing Lincoln backwards. "Enough!" She forced Lincoln to sit back down on the bed. Panting from her exertion, she sighed.

"Look, Lincoln," she said, "I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I just wanted to tell you that I don't blame you for what happened, all right? And… And that I'm here for you. I tried to be there for you before, but your dad wouldn't let me. But I'm here now. Okay?"

Lincoln looked at her, his eyes filled with fear. "No… R-Ronnie Anne, it's n-not safe… Y-You have to go…"

But Ronnie Anne shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere, Lincoln. You need help – and I'm offering it to you, okay?" She looked hard at him. He was so fragile, so innocent, and yet still such a man… "I'm here to help you, Lincoln…" She blushed. "As… As your girlfriend."

Lincoln blinked. "As your girlfriend"? he thought. In all their time together, Ronnie Anne had never called the two of them boyfriend and girlfriend – she just wasn't that type of girl. So why was she calling herself his girlfriend now? Was it just to make him feel better? Or maybe…

Lincoln looked deep into her eyes, and shuddered. He could see the growing attraction in them – the same attraction his sisters had had in their eyes…

He looked around the room… and realized that by running in here, he had cornered himself.

"P… P… Please, Ronnie Anne," he said, "go. Now."

"I told you – I'm not leaving. Not now – not when you need me most. I'm here for you, Lincoln."

Ronnie Anne pulled Lincoln in close.

"Whether you like it or not."

Then, without warning, she forcefully pressed her lips against his, passionately kissing him. Lincoln fought hard to keep his jaw shut, but Ronnie Anne forced it open, and jammed her tongue deep inside, probing around and intertwining with his. Lincoln tried to push her off, but she pushed him down. As she broke the kiss, he struggled to free himself, but Ronnie Anne held firm. She was stronger than him.

She had always been stronger than him.

Knowing that it was his only hope left, Lincoln took a deep breath.

"MR. GROU – MMPH?!"

Ronnie Anne, seeing what Lincoln was about to do, quickly pulled one of her socks off and shoved it into his mouth, gagging him. Downstairs, Mr. Grouse stirred, but he did not wake up.

Removing her sweatshirt, Ronnie Anne forced Lincoln's hands behind his back, and used the sleeves to tie them together. Lincoln's muffled cries and screams did nothing to dissuade her.

"Hey, sorry, Lame-o, but what can I say?" Ronnie Anne said, unbuttoning Lincoln's pants. "You're just… so… cute…"

(…)

"…By the time I got back, it was too late. She had already…" Mr. Loud sniffled, wiping his eyes.

The sisters were completely silent. They continued to listen to their father, aghast.

"It was my fault. I never should have left him there with Mr. Grouse… I never should have left him at all… It was stupid, and irresponsible, and…" It was all too much. Mr. Loud broke down in sobs.

The sisters began to cry, too. It was just as much their fault as well – if only they hadn't done that to Lincoln that day… if only they hadn't teased him so badly the night before… if only they hadn't acted out so much at the local supermarket, getting the whole family banned…!

After they had all cried themselves out, Mr. Loud tried hard to recompose himself. "I…" he said. "After that day, I decided that I would always look out for Lincoln. I would never let him down like that. Not again. Not ever again."

The sisters blinked, as understanding dawned on them. Suddenly, their father's harsh behavior was put in a whole new light.

Leni wiped her eyes. "So, then…" she said, "she didn't just hurt Lincoln's face, but she also…"

"What?" Mr. Loud said. "Oh, no, honey, she didn't do that to his face. Lincoln did that to himself."

The sisters all jumped up. "What?!"

Mr. Loud stood up. "Follow me, girls."

He led them up the stairs to the bathroom, and pointed at the mirror. "You see that mirror?"

Lori took a good look. "Hey… it's new!" she said.

Mr. Loud nodded. "Lincoln smashed the old one."

"What?! Why?!" Leni asked.

Mr. Loud shrugged sadly. "I guess… he didn't like what he saw…"

Lori gulped. "Dad…" she said, "what happened?"

"It was a few days after what happened with Ronnie Anne. I was downstairs, and I heard a crash. I ran up, and by the time I got there, Lincoln had already taken one of the shards, and made deep, nasty cuts here…" He ran a finger from his left cheekbone down across his lips to the tip of his chin. "And here…" He ran another line from the middle of his forehead down the bridge of his nose to his right cheekbone. "He had made another cut here…" Another line from his right temple down to his jaw, "…before I was able to wrestle the shard out of his hands. I… I held him in my arms, trying to console him, and he just kept muttering 'cute' over and over…" Tears began to form in his eyes again. "I called the hospital, and they had to send a doctor over to stitch his face back together…"

The story sent Mr. Loud and the girls into another bout of hysterical weeping. After they were done, Mr. Loud cleared his throat. "Anyways, after that, he took as many diapers as he could from Lily, and went to bed early."

He grimaced. "And that was the last day Lincoln left his room."

The girls all choked and gasped for breath – all except for Lynn, who clenched her fists and began to tremble with rage.

"Dad…" she said in a low voice, "…what did you do with Ronnie Anne?"

Mr. Loud looked at her. "Hmm? With Ronnie Anne?"

"Yes!"

"What else could I do? Mr. Grouse and I pried her off of Lincoln and threw her out of the house. It wasn't easy, though – she put up one heck of a fight." Mr. Loud pointed at his cheek, and leaning in close, the girls could see some faded scratch marks.

"Even after that, she kept trying to get back inside – back at Lincoln. She picked the locks on the doors, smashed windows open – heck, she even tried climbing up the side of the house, directly to Lincoln's room! We managed to keep her out, though."

"Wait – she smashed windows?" Lana said. "But the windows are fine!"

"They are now – I had them fixed. Anyways, the next day, she came back. She was back to her senses, apologizing over and over again. I told her that I knew that she was under the pheromone's effects, so I wouldn't bother pressing charges. But I told her that I didn't want to see her around my house, or MY son, ever again." Mr. Loud folded his arms.

"What?!" Lynn shouted. "That's all you did?! After everything she did?!" Unable to contain herself any longer, she began to punch the wall. "That… little… WITCH! I swear, the next time I see her, I'm gonna kick – I'm gonna twist her into a human PRETZEL!" (Lynn had wanted to use stronger language, but her younger sisters were present.)

Lucy turned to her. "For what?" she asked. "For doing the exact same thing we did – for the exact same reason?"

Lynn froze. "I… I…" Trembling, she wound up for one last punch, and threw it hard, punching straight through the plaster.

"DANG IT!"

Lynn withdrew her fist, nursing her bleeding knuckles, and stormed off to her room, slamming the door.

"Lynn!" Lori shouted.

Mr. Loud put his hand on her shoulder. "Let her go, Lori," he said. "She'll cool off eventually."

Lori sighed.

Without anything left to see upstairs, everyone headed back to the ground floor. Mrs. Loud met them at the foot of the stairs, alone.

"Where's Clyde?" Mr. Loud asked.

"He left," Mrs. Loud replied. "His dads came and picked him up while you all were talking. Say, honey, what happened up there?"

"Um…" Mr. Loud looked at his daughters. "Girls, you can, uh, do whatever you want, now. I need to talk to your mother."

As Mr. Loud took Mrs. Loud aside, both to tell her what happened with Ronnie Anne and to find out what Clyde told her, the girls looked at each other, lost. None of them really knew what to do with their time. Reluctantly, they all broke off into groups. Lori, Luna, and Lucy headed upstairs; Luan and Lola sat down on the couch and began idly flipping through channels; Leni went next door; and Lana went outside.

(…)

All alone in the backyard, Lana began to play in the dirt and mud, hoping it would cheer her up. It didn't.

She heard a horrible scraping noise all of a sudden. Looking up, Lana saw that it was Lisa, dragging some sort of machine that looked like a satellite dish across the roof.

"Lisa?" Lana called. "What… are you doing?"

Lisa stopped dragging the machine – apparently, it was now where she wanted it to be. She looked down at Lana.

"I'm bushy. Leave me alone."

(…)

Leni knocked on Mr. Grouse's door. There was no answer. After a few moments, she tried again. Still no answer. Sighing, she returned home to fetch a pen and paper, hoping to write Mr. Grouse a note saying that she forgave him for what happened that day with Ronnie Anne…

(…)

Lori was about to enter her room when she saw Lucy standing outside hers.

"Lucy!" she called. "You heard what Dad said – leave Lynn alone!"

"Don't worry," Lucy said, "I'm just going to get a couple books. I won't disturb her."

Lucy opened the door and walked in. After a few moments, Lori heard Lynn shout.

"Excuse me," she heard Lucy say.

"Dang it, Lucy!" Lynn's voice rang out. "How many times do I have to tell you to STOP SNEAKING UP ON ME LIKE THAT?!"

A loud, dull smack reverberated out from the room through the hallway. Fearing the worst, Lori rushed into Lynn and Lucy's room – and was horrified to see Lucy sprawled out on the floor, clutching the side of her head and groaning, and Lynn standing over her, fist clenched, realization beginning to come upon her. She looked up at Lori, her expression a mixture of shock and regret.

"I-I-I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to –!"

"Lynn!" Lori exploded. "What is the matter with you?!"

"I'm sorry! I-I just lost control for a second, and –!"

"Girls!" Mr. Loud called from downstairs. "What's going on up there?"

Lori came to the head of the stairs. "Nothing, Dad!" she responded. "Let me handle this!"

Lori began to go all around the house, calling an emergency sibling meeting. Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, and Lola, already in the house, heard it right away; Lana was called in from the backyard; and Leni, coming back from Mr. Grouse's, heard it as she came back inside.

The sisters gathered in Lori and Leni's room. Only Lisa and Lily were not in attendance.

Lori banged her shoe on the table. "I hereby call this emergency sibling meeting to order."

"What's this about, Lori?" Leni asked.

"Look, you guys," Lori said, "we can't leave things the way they are. Everyone's on edge – just now, Lynn hit Lucy just for, well, being Lucy."

The other girls cried out, outraged, and glared at Lynn.

"I said I was sorry!" Lynn said. "I just lost control, that's all…"

Before the other girls could start yelling at her, Lucy stood up, silencing them. "I know, Lynn," she said, "and I understand. You were just upset about Lincoln. We all are."

Everyone else settled down. There was a pregnant pause. Finally, Lynn said, "I just… I can't believe this is happening…"

Luan sighed. "I just want things to go back to the way they were…"

Lola rested her head in her hands. "I just want to see Lincoln again. Those freckled cheeks…"

"His beautiful white hair…" Leni said.

"That cute little chip in his tooth…" Lori said.

"And those warm, loving smiles that show it off…" Luna said.

All of the girls sighed dreamily.

Lynn curled up, sniffling. "I miss him so much…"

"Me too…" everyone else said.

Lori gained a determined expression, and banged her shoe on the table again. "We've got to make this right, girls. We have to get our brother back."

"How?" Luna asked. "You heard Dad – we're not allowed to even go near Lincoln. And he's too scared of us, anyways…"

The Loud sisters all fell quiet, trying to think of a solution. After a while, Luan suggested, "Maybe… Maybe we don't have to see him directly…?"

Lucy sat upright. "You guys. I have an idea."

(…)

The day wore on into night. Nothing else eventful occurred for the rest of the day. The girls took turns showering, but Lisa still remained cooped up in her room, seemingly arguing with someone over the phone. Lily lay in her crib as well, still cheerfully oblivious to the drama unfolding around her.

And Lincoln sat on his bed, hearing them moving around and about, remaining vigilant. He had to be ready if they should ever try anything.

One by one, the Loud sisters all retired to their rooms – all except for Lucy. With a nod of approval from each of her sisters, she slowly approached Lincoln's door, a piece of paper in her hand.

Lincoln saw a piece of paper pop out from under his door. What was it? Was this another trick? What were his sisters planning?

"Lincoln."

Lucy's voice made Lincoln jump. Remembering Clyde's advice, he grabbed a paper bag and began breathing in and out, in and out, in and out. Soon, his breathing returned to normal. Lincoln looked at the simple brown paper bag, marveling. Clyde was right – it did help him relax.

"The message hasn't changed, Lincoln," Lucy said on the other side of the door. "And it still speaks for all of us."

He heard her footsteps fading away into the distance, and he knew that she was gone. Lincoln eyed the paper suspiciously. It was just a piece of paper. What harm could it be?

…What, indeed?

Lincoln shook his head, and snatched up the piece of paper. Sitting against the door and bracing himself against it, he unfolded it, and saw it was a letter.

No, not a letter… a poem?

At first, we were filled with laughter/

Now we are full of shame.

We treated it so lightly/

As if it were a game.

But looking back, we realize/

We've only ourselves to blame.

We hope you will forgive us/

So things will be the same.

Shame.

Lincoln gasped. It was the same poem Lucy had composed for him that morning – that morning before… the incident. She and all the others were under the influence of the pheromone then – but the pheromone was gone now, allegedly. Then, they were being really, truly sincere this time?

This time… they really were apologizing?

Lincoln didn't understand. He hugged his knees to his chest, holding his Bun-Bun tight. He looked around his room, and realized – for the first time in a long time – that he was alone. Isolated. Cut off from the rest of the world.

And they were right out there, waiting for him to come back to them.

Lincoln felt himself starting to cry. He was so confused, so scared. He didn't know the truth from the falsehoods, who he could and could not trust, where it was safe for him.

All he knew was… he was alone.

Lincoln cried quietly, his tears going unseen in the dark…