Hooray! I ended up finishing the chapter faster than I thought! On a side note ( for anyone who cares) I would like to notify everyone that this story will not always be dark and depressing. The genre says its on,y Family and Drama but it has elements of many other genres. But anyway, I've been getting good feedback on how the story is so far so that's been pushing me to write faster and put more emotion into this story. For that, I thank you, supporters. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Clyde locked gazes with Lori. "...a beautiful person." He finished.
Lynn cocked an eyebrow. "What?" Lincoln finally ran up the stairs and grabbed Clyde. "Sorry, Clyde was just rambling on. I'll take him downstairs now." Lincoln briefly locked eye contact with Lynn. Lynn looked as if she wanted to say something to him but couldn't. Lincoln turned and walked down the stairs, respecting her wishes for space.
"Close one." Leni said. Luan shook her head. She pointed a finger at Lynn, "Lincoln is hurt because of you. It's your responsibility to own up to it." Lynn looked like a puppy being yelled at by its owner. "You don't deserve to be a sister after a stunt like that! You're going to tell Mom and Dad! Until then, you are dead to me!" Luan said. Lynn's heart sank. As if to be hit by a thousand nuclear missiles. Luan stormed out of the room. "Lu!" Luna called out. Luna turned to Lynn, "Lynn, she didn't mean that!" She ran off after Luan. Lynn sat there motionless. The most joyful child out of all of them had just told her she was dead to her. It didn't matter that Luna said she didn't mean it. It felt real to Lynn. It looked real. Lynn hadn't seen Luan's face so serious before in her life. She hadn't even seen her so serious about anything until now. Lori placed her hand on her forehead. She couldn't believe Luan's drastic change in attitude either. Such a kind spirit morphed into an angered persona.
"Lynn. We need to fix this, now." Lori said.
Lynn looked desperate, "How Lori? How? Our sister hates me! Our parents will surely keep me away from Lincoln for the rest of my life! What am I going to do?" Lynn questioned panicking. "Lynn calm down, Luan doesn't hate you." Lori replied.
"Oh really? How come she just said I was dead to her? Do you know what that means?" Lynn asked. Lori put her hands on her hips, "Yes I know what that means. But trust me, I've been in this family longer than you have. Luan doesn't hate you."
Lynn looked at Leni, "What do you think?"
Leni paused for a moment to think. This is a lot to take in especially for a girl like her. "I mean I don't know why Luan said you were dead because you're still alive. But I don't know. Maybe you should tell Mom and Dad about this." She answered. Lynn sighed. She looked down hopelessly.
Lincoln smacked Clyde across the face to snap him out of his Lori daze. "Clyde! Wake up!" He shouted.
Clyde moaned groggily slowly coming out of his trance. "Lincoln? What happened? I was walking upstairs and..." He paused to remember the rest. He gasped in realization once he remembered seeing Lynn's face. "Lynn did this!" Clyde said. Lincoln covered Clyde's mouth as fast as he could before his voice echoed around the house. "Shush! Not so loud!" Clyde pried Lincoln's hand from his mouth and allowed himself to speak. "Lincoln! I'm trying to help you out! If Lynn did this once she'll do it again!"
Lincoln shook his head, "No she won't. She's not a monster, Clyde." Clyde lowered his eyelids, "Lincoln have you looked at yourself? You look like you were ganged up on."
"I know. But Lynn isn't like that." Lincoln replied. Clyde tried to stand up in efforts to make a run for upstairs again. "If she's not a monster for doing this, then how come she's not down here being your personal servant for doing this to you?" Lincoln restrained Clyde down with his good arm. "She already apologized to me. But she still has another problem. I can see it in her face every time she sees me. Like she wants to talk to me again but the guilt is building up inside of her and she can't get it out."
Clyde stopped his struggling listening to Lincoln, "Wait. She actually apologized and felt guilty?" Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Yes! I told you she's not a monster. She's was just angry at the time."
Clyde dozed off to the side. Every time Lincoln said Lynn was mad at him it was always bad news. Like the one time Lincoln had accidentally put her martial arts gi in the washer machine with his orange shirts and it morphed her uniform into a dirty orange color. That one only resulted in a few wrestling moves being used on him. There was another time when Lincoln was borrowing Lynn's basketball sneakers for gym class. When he gave them back to her they were all worn out and useless. She was furious enough to only give him an atomic wedgie. But this was the first time he did something to her and she actually full on assaulted him in response. "Monster or not, what sister does this to her younger brother over a jersey?" Clyde asked coming out of his thoughts. Lincoln stood up and walked near the stairs. "Yeah it sounds stupid. But I'm over it." He watched Luan storm to her room with Luna following closely behind her in a hurry. Lincoln could tell something wasn't right.
"Lu! Stop for a second! Think about what you just said!" Luna barked.
"Think about what I just said? What about what she did? She pummeled our younger brother over a jersey." Luan replied.
Luna threw her hands up. "Dude, you just told a thirteen year old that you gave up on her. Are you even thinking about what's going through her head right now? Her older sister, her role model, giving up on her just like that. Do you know what kind of toll that can take on her?"
Luan stopped what she was doing and put what she said in retrospect. "What you said was basically like saying 'I don't love you anymore.'" Luna continued. Luan sighed. "Did any of that cross your mind?" Luna asked. Luan looked Luna in the eye and walked up to her, "Love doesn't always give, you know. Love hurts too! What I'm doing is called tough love. It needs to be done in order make her realize what she did was wrong and come forth about it."
"She already understands what she did was wrong, dude! She's young! She doesn't know how to fix this entire thing! She just doesn't wanna be separated from her brother. Or her family for that matter! You think pretending she doesn't exist anymore is gonna help anything?!" Luna asked.
"It's better than going soft on her like all of you are!" Luan replied. Luna looked at Luan in disbelief. "What's gotten into you? You suddenly changed into a harsh sister."
"My little brother was attacked by his older sister. That's what's gotten into me!" Luan replied. Luna exhaled in frustration, "Look, sis. I love you like I love everyone else in this house. But I don't like this version of you. I want the other you back."
Luan walked to her desk and sat down on the chair. "Sorry to say but the other me isn't coming back today."
Luna felt like she lost half of a sister that moment. The part of Luan that always cracked jokes wasn't there. Who knows how long the anti comedian would last? She wasn't going to stay around her newly changed sister for another minute. She walked back to the room next door to consult with the rest of them on how to finish the problem. "We've all fought each other before." Lori said. "But none of us had to go to the hospital from it." Lynn replied. Lori shrugged, "So you're saying we should tell Mom and Dad?" Lynn thought hard about that question. "Yes...no...maybe.. I don't know!"
Luna walked back into the room with a sad look on her face. "What's wrong?" Leni asked. Luna shook her head. "Luan's not acting like herself anymore. I don't wanna see her like that, man."
Lynn jumped off of her bed and walked up to her, "I'm sorry Luna. If I didn't start this whole mess then Luan wouldn't have changed. She wouldn't hate me. It's all my fault." She looked down in shame. Luna placed her hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, sis. Luan doesn't hate you, she's just mad. We can fix this." Lynn looked up. "How?" Luna shrugged her shoulders, "We'll think of something."
"It's been a long day. Let's just settle down, and talk about this tomorrow." Lori said. Everyone agreed and went their separate ways while Lucy and Lynn stayed in their room. Luna went down stairs since she didn't want to be near Luan in her current state. She saw Lincoln and Clyde when she got downstairs. "Hey, Luna. Everything alright?" Lincoln asked. Luna sat on the couch in front of the tv. "Hey, Linc. Everything definitely could be better." Lincoln looked concerned, "What's wrong?"
"Luan told Lynn she has to tell Mom and Dad about the situation, and until then she's dead to her." Luna said. Lincoln was taken back from what he was hearing. Luan saying someone's dead to her? Saying her sister is dead to her on top of that? "That doesn't sound like her." Lincoln said. Luna shook her head, "It's not. She snapped once she heard about the thing that happened between you and Lynn." Lincoln looked at her nervously. "What do you mean?" He asked trying to play it off. "Lincoln, I'm not in the mood for this right now. Don't try to act like you don't know what I'm talking about." Luna said looking Lincoln in the eye. Lincoln sighed, "How'd you find out?"
"We overheard Lynn talking about it upstairs." Luna replied. Lincoln looked away for a moment. "Leni, Lori, Lucy, Lynn and I are deciding for now to not tell Mom and Dad." Luna said. "You aren't?" Lincoln asked. Luna shook her head. "On the off chance that separation is the outcome. We're keeping it to ourselves."
"Thanks." Lincoln said. "But Linc. I don't know how long I can do that for." Luna said.
"Why not?" Lincoln asked turning to her. "Luan's not gonna change until we tell em'. Seeing her change like that is something I never wanna see again. She's too much of a loving person to be this way." Luna replied.
Lincoln sighed. "I understand." "I can't believe it!" Clyde interrupted.
Luna and Lincoln looked at Clyde. "You guys aren't gonna tell your own parents?" He asked.
"Clyde, if we tell my parents it wouldn't be a good outcome. They might keep Lynn from seeing me forever." Lincoln said.
"Lincoln you'll never know unless you tell them." Clyde replied.
"I don't want to know. I'd rather keep it from them forever than to risk not seeing Lynn again." Lincoln stated. Clyde sighed. "If I wasn't your best friend and didn't respect your wishes, I would've told them by now. But since I am your best friend, I won't tell them. No matter how much I want to."
Lincoln put his hand on Clyde's shoulder. "Thanks, buddy."
"This doesn't mean that you and I aren't gonna talk about it though." Clyde said. Lincoln nodded. "That's fine."
"I gotta go. My parents don't allow me to stay out this late unless it's a sleepover." Clyde said.
Lincoln looked over at the clock. 7:30 PM. Even though it was Thursday and there wasn't school today or tomorrow, Lincoln was still exhausted from all that happened.
"Oh ok. I'll talk to you later then, buddy."
Clyde said his goodbyes and promptly left the house.
"I'm going to bed, Luna. This is a lot to take in, in one day." Lincoln said. "Alright. I'm just gonna be down here for a little bit longer." Luna replied.
"Night, Luna." Lincoln said walking up the stairs. "Night, bro." Luna replied. Lincoln got to the top of the stairs. Lynn and Lucy's bedroom door was slightly opened. From Lincoln's perspective he could see Lynn throwing a tennis ball at the wall again. Lynn noticed he was standing there and locked eye contact with him. Lincoln lifted his hand slightly and waved. Lynn looked away again in response. "She still doesn't want to talk yet. Maybe tomorrow she'll feel up to it." Lincoln thought to himself. He walked to his bedroom and closed the door for the night.
Later that night...
Lynn was suddenly sitting on the couch watching tv. The house was quiet and dark. But out of nowhere she heard the sound of Lincoln screaming. "Lincoln?!" She shouted. She vaulted over the couch and bolted upstairs where she heard his voice. His screams led to her and Lucy's room. She opened the door and ran in. "Lincoln?!" She called out. Lincoln was sitting in the middle of the room with his head on his knees. "Don't let her come in here!" Lincoln begged. He pointed to the door. Lynn was confused. "Who? What's wrong?"
"She's trying to kill me!" Lincoln yelled. Lynn turned towards the now suddenly shut door. Someone was banging on it heavily and repeatedly. She faced Lincoln again. "Don't worry, I won't let her touch you."
"But I already did." A familiar voice called out. The voice sounded very familiar to Lynn, even though it had a slight morphed sound to it she could recognize it. She slowly looked back at the door and saw a pale girl with a red and white soccer jersey with the number 1 on it. The girl had bangs and a large ponytail. Her eyes were glowing red in the dark. Lynn shook her head in disbelief, "No."
The red eyed nightmarish Lynn tossed her head back and laughed a demonic laugh. "Lynn! Don't let her get to me! She's going to hurt me really bad!" Lincoln begged. Lynn looked him in the eye trying to stay strong and not break down. "Lincoln, I won't! I promise!"
"Don't make promises you can't keep." The nightmarish Lynn said. She began walking in the room and towards Lincoln. "No! Stay away from him!" Lynn shouted at her doppelgänger. The nightmarish Lynn phased right through her. Lynn looked around in front of her, trying to find where she went. She heard Lincoln scream again. She swirled around and saw her counterpart with one foot on Lincoln's chest. Lincoln looked like he already went through five minutes of non stop pummeling. Her nightmare remake grinned at her with her blood red eyes. "Stop! Get off of him!" Lynn yelled trying to step forward. Her feet were frozen. Paralyzed. Stuck in place.
The nightmarish Lynn twisted her foot and pressed down. A loud snap was heard and Lincoln cried out in pain. Lynn began to cry, "Stop it!" The nightmarish Lynn sat on Lincoln's stomach and wrapped her hands around his neck. Lincoln made efforts to breathe but they resulted in silent gasps and moans. He tried to pry the nightmare's hands away, but they stayed on his neck. Lynn tried her hardest to move, but it was like her legs were stuck in a vacuum packed box. "Stop! You're killing him!" Lynn yelled.
The nightmarish Lynn turned her head and looked at her. She grinned, "I know."
Lincoln slowly stopped struggling as the life was being choked out of him by something that looked like his sister. "NO!" Lynn yelled. The nightmare stood up off of Lincoln and backed away still grinning. Lynn was finally able to move, she rushed to his side and picked him up. "How could you?! He's our brother!" Lynn yelled. The nightmare shrugged. "That didn't stop you from mercilessly battering him."
"She's right, Lynn." Lincoln suddenly said in a monotone voice.
Lynn looked down at Lincoln. His skin was pale, eyes milky white, bruises still there. Lynn looked at his corpse in horror. "You would've done the same thing to me."
Lynn shook her head, "I never would've done this!" The nightmare Lynn knelt down next to her, "Oh yes you would. If I would've done it, you definitely would've."
Lynn looked at her in anger. "Shut up! You aren't me! You're an imitation."
The nightmare Lynn laughed, "You don't get it, do you? I'm the darker part of you. I'm your anger, your envy, your jealousy, your selfishness, and your carelessness all combined."
Lynn looked at her with a loss of words. The nightmare Lynn roughly grabbed her by the shoulders. "YOU CAN'T RUN FROM REALITY! FACE IT! THIS WOULD'VE BEEN THE OUTCOME HAD HE NOT SAID THOSE WORDS!" "NO!" Lynn yelled back.
"FACE IT! YOU'RE JUST LIKE ME!" The nightmare roared. "NO! NO I'M NOT!" Lynn yelled louder. Lynn woke up screaming and drenched in sweat. She breathed heavily and looked around her room. Lucy was standing on the side of her bed looking at her. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Lynn didn't answer. She hopped out of her bed and ran out of their bedroom. She sprinted down the hall and opened Lincoln's door. He was alive. Breathing slowly and soundly as he slept. Lynn sighed in relief and closed his door. She took a moment to catch her breath. Leni, Lori, and Luna stepped out of their rooms to check on her.
End of chapter 3! I'm already working on chapter 4, so hopefully that'll be done soon. Feel free to review this chapter and let me know how you felt about it. I accept all forms of criticism. Good means I'm doing a good job. Bad means I need to improve. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, chapter 4 like I already said is in progress so worry not about a long wait.