Lindsey awoke to the sound of a door creaking open. She looked up only to see that she was back in the basement of daddy house. It was where the bad girls went when they didn't want to be good. It was where she lived for the first few months.
But wasn't she with the Loud family? How did she get here? Did daddy find her? Is he mad?
She tried to move only to see that her hands were tied to the pipe in the wall again. She struggled to free herself only to see that she was ascended from above and her feet only kicking at the air. What did she do to make daddy mad again? Whatever she did she didn't mean to do it. He was probably mad that she ran away...She heard the door shut and footsteps descending the stairs. Each step caused the stairway to squeak because of his heavy weight.
She heard the door shut and footsteps descending the stairs. Each step caused the stairway to squeak because of his heavy weight.
She started to hyperventilate out of fear. "Daddy! Daddy, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to! Please!" She cried seeing the brown leather belt in his hands that he got from the hooks that held his three favorites belts. He silently stared at her.
"Daddy, please say something!"
"Bad girls need to be punished..." He said in his twisted voice as a shadow gazed over his eyes. He gripped her dress and tore it revealing her body, already littered in colorful bruises and welts.
"Daddy! Please! Wait!" She cried. She then looked around seeing the three shadows looming behind him. She gasped seeing them, each with a red streak somewhere on them. None of them saying anything.
He held the belt high above his head and with a sickening crack, she woke up with a harsh gasp. She took deep breaths trying to comprehend what was going on. She wasn't back in Daddy's basement but she was in the room she was given to by the Loud's. Toys littered the room, posters on the wall, and clothes hanging from the shelf.
She held her head in her hand and covered her stomach still feeling the whips she received before and the burning stings on her. She was lucky that he used the leather and not the buckle this time. "Just a nightmare...Just a nightmare..." She quietly said to herself trying to calm herself as tears leaked through her palm.
'Are you alright?' She gasped seeing Lila right next to her. 'That was some dream you had.'
"It's nothing. Nothing at all..."
'Your nightmare was about daddy wasn't it?' She asked. She was interrupted when a knock was sounded on her door and Lori walked in. "Morning Linds-" She stopped when she saw the scared expression on the girls face.
"Hey, are you alright?" Lori asked as she kneeled down next to Lindsey, Lila fading away as Lori took her place.
Lindsey took a deep breath. "I'm...ok..." She said hesitantly. "Did you have a nightmare?" She asked. Lindsey shook her head rubbing tears out of her eyes.
Lori scratched the back of her head. She knew how to calm down her siblings when they had a nightmare. She's the oldest, after all, she's been doing it for years. But this is Lindsey. It wasn't Lincoln. She didn't know what could calm her down. Spending a year suffering who knows what from who knows who, would traumatize anyone. She couldn't imagine how she would react.
"Y-you know you can talk to anyone of us about anything right?" She said.
She looked down.
Seeing the saddened expression Lori tried to calm her down. "Listen, I know you're probably in a new place and you're confused and scared. I probably would be too if I was in your shoes. But I know everyone wants you to know, if anything is bothering you, or you just need a friendly ear or even a shoulder to cry on...you have ten other sisters and a Mom and Dad to talk to. We're all just down the hall ok?" Lindsey nodded.
She then realized that she was still in her outfit from yesterday. "Get washed up and come downstairs. Breakfast is waiting for you." She said quietly leaving the room. "And the bathroom is at the other end of the hall." She quietly closed the door behind her.
Linsdey got out of bed on wobbly legs. She held her chest as her heart slammed into her chest with each beat. She opened the door and peeked outside. No one was there. Where they still sleeping? Or was everyone downstairs waiting for her? She forced herself to go to the bathroom.
The door closed with a silent click. She walked over to the sink and stared at the mirror.
'Just look at yourself...You look like a mess...you're still covered with your bruises and cuts.' She thought to herself as she saw one of her marks on her.
'They're disgusting...You're disgusting...' She rubbed her hair back into place.
"Daddy always thought I was beautiful..."
'...Just like daddy used to say...My precious little snowflake...' Lindsey turned on the faucet in the sink as she began to wash her face.
'I bet this family was taking you in out of pity.'
She turned off the water watching the streams of liquid drip down from her face to her chin, and into the sink.
'You don't need them...Daddy loved you and you probably broke his heart by leaving...I bet he hates you now...'
Lindsey rubbed the water off her face with a towel near the sink. She looked back in the mirror as the voices stopped.
She took a deep breath. "Today's just another day..."
She walked out the bathroom and walked downstairs.
The family was enjoying breakfast as they waited for Lindsey to come downstairs. Lori walked back into the kitchen as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Well, I woke Lindsey up. But I'm pretty sure she had a nightmare." She took a sip.
"I was afraid she would have one. Did she tell you anything about it?" Rita asked as she fed Lily her breakfast. Lori sadly shook her head.
"It was like she saw something completely traumatizing. It's like she saw someone get murdered."
"Now that's something I would like to see." Lucy said as she poked at her bowl of oatmeal.
"Oh come on Lucy, save your gloomy attitude until after breakfast." Lynn said eating her eggs.
"I'm positive she's still suffering the effects of the kidnapping," Lisa said smearing butter on her pancakes. "I plan on studying her a bit more to analyze what she's experienced."
"Lisa, she's not a science experiment!" Luna said. "She's our sibling!"
"At least I'm trying to figure out what happened." She argued back.
"We're all trying to understand what happened Lisa." Lynn Sr. said as he flipped another pancake onto a plate. "But Linc-Lindsey is still probably trying to comprehend everything that's happened around her. I mean think about it. She's in a new place, with a big group of people she doesn't completely remember or possibly know, and she probably isn't trustworthy towards anyone because of whoever had her." He gripped the pan in her hand as he thought about the predator that had his hands on one of his children. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "She's scared. And we have to try to help her trust us again."
He gripped the pan in her hand as he thought about the predator that had his hands on one of his children. "She's scared. And we have to try to help her trust us again. Which is where we all come in."
The girls nodded. Leni played with her OJ as she tapped her fingers against the glass. "Guys, I really don't want to ask but...what do you think happened to Lincoln?"
The group stayed quiet as ideas ran through their heads.
"I don't even wanna think about it..." Luan said she put down her spoon. "I can't even imagine what he could have gone through."
"None of us can." Lori said. "Which is why we need to be there for her."
Lindsey walked into the kitchen and saw the family at the table.
"Oh good morning Lindsey." Lola said. "Um, Good morning...Lana right?"
"Uh no...It's Lola..."
"Uh your dad made breakfast for us. Ya hungry?" Rita asked. Lindsey hesitated.
'C'mon Lindsey. Ya gotta say something they're staring at you.'
"Uh, sure..." The family smiled at her answer. "Here Lindsey, I saved you a seat." Leni said as she scooted over. Lindsey silently sat in the chair next to her.
"What are you in the mood for Lindsey?" Lynn asked grabbing a plate for her. "I got pancakes, oatmeal, eggs, bacon, some strawberry muffins, whatever you want."
Lindsey thought. "I'm not really hungry..."
"Oh sweetie. I know you still don't have your appetite up to speed yet but you gotta eat something." Rita said to her. Lily babbled and tried to reach for a muffin. She used her spoon to poke Lindsey's cheek and get her attention.
"Oh you want the muffin?" Lindsey handed her the muffin. Lily took it happily and shoved it in Lindsey's mouth.
"Lily!" Rita said. Lily babbled as she tried to feed Lindsey. Lindsey took a bite of the muffin and swallowed. It tasted sweet. She couldn't remember the last time she had something so sweet. It was homemade and warm too. She smiled a bit.
"Well, I'll just have the muffin for now..." She said taking the muffin from Lily and eating it.