Sins in Twisters
Chapter 6: Old Memories Lead To Future Fears
It was mid-afternoon now, and the family was now spread about the house going about what their usual business would be with a bit of a conflicted mindset.
In the backyard, Lynn was somewhat continuing with her now late-morning exercise, given that usually, by now, she would have just been finishing her jog. With that having been completed before she knew it, her to-do list had suddenly gotten pushed up today. But trying to get into her little routine had taken a detour, and she couldn't focus on anything except what possible hell Lincoln had gotten into this time. She needed a distraction. A familiar one that could keep her mind away from even glancing behind her at the garage.
Unfortunately for her, despite not being alone in the backyard with the twins and Lily playing about, Lana mainly played kickball with Lily while Lola sat under the tree tending to her hair, Lynn's gaze locked to the dirty grass-covered form that was Lisa's bunker. Now more semi-covered in mounds of dirt up to the hatch with some tall grass just barely hiding the windows. The door itself, however, despite being a little rusty around the edge, still looked like it hadn't been used for a long time.
But she didn't let those thoughts go down that path, shaking her head to wipe them away. She needed a positive distraction. Not something that had been proven to make her pull her hair out, overthinking it. With her sisters having a blast, why not join in? She may be 20 with a metal skeleton on her back, but she still felt that old nature in her.
Inside the house, things were a little more quiet. Lucy had come to make herself at home in her little hidey-hole below the basement stairs (or more like divet with how small it was compared to her adult body now) with a little candle resting on a brick sticking out from the wall. With summer in full swing and the temperature outside growing, while she still liked the feeling at times to help set the mood, she didn't prefer roasting herself when wearing all black. She was lucky her hair acted like natural sunglasses, but her pale skin would almost instantly go bright red from being in the sun too long.
So now, she was dressed in a more 'free' form of attire that allowed the cool basement air to blanket her more like a gentle hand. The little heat from the candle provided just enough heat in this little space to balance it all out. And it was a comfort that, for once in a while, made her actually sigh with a tiny smile as she leaned back with her book and pencil in hand. But what inspiration she had hoped the atmosphere would have provided her failed to materialize.
For days it had failed to materialize. And she knew all too well why it was before and was now. It wasn't as easy as one would think; being one with the dark like her, Death would be like an old acquaintance you meet occasionally. You sometimes didn't meet with him face to face, but even in his presence, you gave respect. You give him respect, and he will treat you right. Stand defiant and laugh in his face; he'll humor you for your courage or as a fool like many others from before.
She feared for what Death had felt her brother was more befitting of…
And two floors up in the four oldest's rooms, the performers both were in similar ruts for what their minds wanted to try to make do with what they knew. Both had immediately gone to their phone or computer, almost in the same position they were weeks again in deplorable states. Though with the pain in the past, both looked to try to build something positive. Finding the website, Lisa showed them and devoured every video they could find of their brother.
Luan discovered that very early on, back when Lincoln was just starting to grow his team with the new people and vehicles, she found that her brother could really get crazy with his tank whenever it didn't involve the weather. One from 2023 caught Luan's attention with the title 'Other Reasons to Have A Turret on Your Truck' that took place on the Fourth of July and had a five-minute-long video of Lincoln and his group buying an unholy amount of fireworks, mainly Roman candles, sticking them all in a bucket that was placed inside the hatch of the turret and a guy named Rex using a literal torch he grabbed out of a bonfire to light them all.
One second he's sticking out of the roof hatch with some woman filming them at night; the next, you hear "HAHA! I AM BULLETPROOF!" with a blast of saxophone music as the tank is doing donuts in the field. Spraying clouds of dirt everywhere with all the lights on and flashing with a literal pillar of fire coming out of the turret as it spun around in the opposite direction. Ending with Lincoln and Rex stepping out of the smoke-covered truck with faces full of joy and excitement, stumbling a little from all the spinning but still not wavering in their laughter. The laughter did everything possible to be infectious through the screen for Luan to smile at seeing him have such a great time. And that made her smile.
Even though she wasn't there to be the one to bring her brother to tears with such fun and humor from what 'Behind the Scenes' videos she's found, just hearing him laugh his heart was something she felt could help her sleep a little easier.
Luna, meanwhile, had found something that she felt did speak a little to her more than expected, a music video. One by the band Trapt with them doing a remastered version of their song 'Living in the Eye of the Storm' with some of Lincoln's more extreme nighttime chases that involved more lightning than tornadoes. Even during the brief scenes with the video focus on the band playing in the 'rain,' Lincoln's tank stood in the background with him standing on it like a statue. A few close-ups here and there of the band, instruments, and truck, all coming to a gradual end of a shot of Lincoln with his door open, literally driving off into the sunset.
It didn't even have much of her brother, as expected. He was more like a background element, like how Linkin Park did it with the old transformer movies, but damn, did it give her an idea.
She was always looking for that inspiration to really make the world go boom with her music. The element that would build an album-no, albums of songs that they would unleash upon the world like a storm. And that was just what she realized; watching all the videos of her brother and, to a bit of trying to understand a bit, some disaster movies, she could feel that adrenaline start stirring inside her, and that was a feeling that only exploded whenever the music made it feel so much more alive.
And now, sitting on the top bunk of the bed, with her favorite axe guitar in hand, she ever so slowly plucked away at the strings with a notepad beside her with the word 'IDEAS' boldly written and circled with the only things written down being Storms and Lincoln on the list. It was a work in progress; she understood that it'd take time.
Across the hall, in the oldest sisters' room, the two blondes bid their times differently.
Leni was busy bouncing back and forth from the pile of shopping bags on her bed to her closest. Giving Sonic the Hedgehog a run for his money at how fast she was moving between taking out old pieces of clothes to set aside to see if they were worth keeping or trying on some of the new stuff she got. Stripping down to nearly half-naked without a care in the world as she tried on her new summer wardrobe.
Standing in front of their vanity mirror in a pair of jean shorts, holding a couple of short-cut t-shirts up to her bare chest, bringing one or the other in front of her, "What do you think, Lori? Orange and blue or blue and orange?" She asked her sister, glancing up in the mirror in her direction.
For her part in the day, the 26-year-old lay in her bed in her more casual attire. Usually, at this time of day, she would be at work with her dad dealing with the incoming surge of travelers for the summer holiday. But his on-hand staff had been able to keep the place stable that her coming in would mean she would be basically stuck on dish duty for the night. She was scheduled, but he said if she wanted to come in at all, it was her choice, just like why she could go to the mall today.
After they all returned to the house after Lisa's little presentation, she had yet to shake off the knot still in her stomach. Like the others, she had browsed the mass gallery with dozens of videos and thousands of photos from her brother's time down south. Watching it either was him driving or in the back with someone else filming, an interview from some reporter, or just goofing off and having fun; they all showed that even after growing up, he was still that loveable goofball that she felt was what solidified his place in the world.
But then came some of the more dreadful finds. The videos of storms obliterating towns at the same time Lincoln is right behind it, watching people's lives and businesses, years and years of hard work, disappear by the force of the wind. In some cases literally being the first responder and gives up his hunt to try and help anyone nearby. Pulling people from the wreckage, carrying them in his arms, bringing medical supplies to those that couldn't be moved yet, or even using his truck and a chainsaw to cut a path through the damage.
They called him a hero for every life he came across and saved. And she felt it in her heart that he fully deserved it with every smiling face that thanked him for his actions.
"Lori?" Leni asked again.
Looking away from her phone, the woman turned her head slightly to look at her sister facing her holding out the clothing at the foot of her bed. "Geez, Leni, put something on before someone outside sees you."
Moving around off the edge of her bed, Lori quickly went and pulled the window curtains shut. Dimming the light in the room but in the act of preserving some of her sister's dignity, should she forget to put something on and yell out the window to say hi to someone again.
With her objective complete, she focused on the previous topic, "You were saying?"
"I said, orange and blue?" She held the orange t-shirt over her chest. "Or blue and orange?" she then held up the other pair with the adjacent shorts hanging on a hook.
"What happened to your old green outfits you loved so much?"
"Oh, I'm still keeping some! I'm just making sure I have space for all my new clothes and Lincoln's shirts."
"Lincoln's shirts?" As far as she knew, he didn't have any clothes left in the house—maybe some old pair in a box in the attic or basement, but nothing else.
"Yeah! All that totes neat stuff he had that Lisa showed us!" Tossing the clothes onto her bed, she grabbed her phone off the vanity and, with lightning fingers, brought up the store page to the website. "It literally has his face on it! See!"
The shirt in question was primarily black, mainly with the pictures made to look like the shirt was shredded, with Lincoln's orange shirt and white hair being almost reflective, along with the twister and camera lens. Showing the torso of their brother in a kind of art filter style in the same pose as the posters with the camera in hand and now a generic tornado in the background with the SkyKnights logo on the back.
The fact her brother had merch with his face on it was still one she was trying to wrap her head around, but she had to admit, she did kind of like it. It reminded her of some of the more tasteful rock shirts Luna had depicting the cover art for bands.
What she didn't like was that the item was in a shopping cart Leni had that numbered almost sixty items. "Leni… what all are you buying?"
"Oh! I wanted to make sure we all had something, so I went and just kept clicking 'add on to list' for everything!" Clicking on the icon, the list expanded to show she wasn't wrong that she had picked everything from stickers with logos, posters, hats, shirts… a freakin bobblehead set.
But what made her stop and really look was that some of the items (all of them) didn't have a single digit, but instead went up to ten per item with the grand total boldly in red at the top, "FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!?" She felt her eyes nearly explode, "LENI, PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN'T BUY ALL THAT YET!?"
"Nope!"
"Oh, thank god…."
"I was just waiting to see if you wanted this in blue or orange." She swiped the screen over to a new page, another product with what looked like a dark gray tornado, mostly taking up the shape with it narrowing down to the bottom, and looping onto the backside to mirror it. The site's logo was printed on the left breast side in the space that had the color options with what looked like Lincoln's silhouette, his hair, and clothes colored to pop out more while standing inside the outlined like he had his back facing the image.
The one downside, it was a one-piece swimsuit.
WHAT?! WHY WOULD YOU BUY THAT!? BETTER YET, WHY DOES HE EVEN HAVE THAT!?"
"I know right? It says it's coming soon, but I hope it's out before-"
"Leni. You are not buying any of that."
"But-" Without saying another word or looking away from her, Lori's thumb moved up to the 'remove from cart' button and held it down. In just seconds, all the items disappeared, and the price dropped to zero.
Watching all the items vanish, Leni felt a bit of sadness bubble up when Lori handed her back the phone and saw it was back on the home screen, "Aahhh… Lori… I was gonna get stuff for everyone.
The older blonde shook her head, "Leni… we can't just go impulse buying like that. Didn't you literally spend twelve hundred dollars at the mall today…"
"But that was for us missing all our spring shopping! And summer!"
"*sigh* Look," She rested her hand on Leni's shoulder, "Money is still a bit…"
"Crazy?"
"Was going to say unstable, but both work. But yes, it's still... crazy. We can't keep spending every penny like we did years ago. If we didn't, then all this stuff would have happened for so long. And it's still mostly Lincoln's money."
"But I'm buying his stuff with it!"
"That means you are paying him with his own money… and we don't need a repeat of Luan buying a ton and a half of rubber chickens again."
"Hey! That prank was nominated for the greatest prank of 2023!" They both heard their sister shout through the walls. A bit taken back by how she heard them, but if one talked about Luan's art in a negative light, no matter how many walls were in between, she'll still hear you.
Waiting a moment to see if the comedian would break down their door any second, and after listening for any door opening not coming to fruition, Lori turned her attention back, "Look, I get you miss him. We all do, very much. But in the name of all that is decent… do not go buying a bathing suit that literally has your brother on the back. People will think of so many wrong things when they point and ask who it is."
"I concur with our oldest sibling." A voice spoke from the other side of the door, "Though statistically speaking, without prior knowledge to both who is displayed and displaying, there is a forty percent chance of the general public within the Michigan state region recognizing the connection to both."
"Lisa?" Moving over to the door and opening it, she was presented with her 12-year-old sister standing there in her lab coat with her hands held behind her back.
"Greetings, elder si-Lori." She said with a slight smile, but her voice held the tone they all had come to know. "I am in the need of your assistance. Please follow me." Turning on her heel, she spun about and headed towards her room.
Casting a glance back to Leni with the silent message of a repeat of what she said. Leni hesitated for a moment before nodding, once enough for Lori to slip out the door.
Though for Leni, her brain had taken some words that her sister had said and dropped them harder than Kevin spilling his famous chili. And almost like a repeating program went back on her phone to the store page. She understood that maybe it was a bit much. She might not be the smartest with finances, but the past few years with her own little online store had taught her enough to start actually getting a grip on reality. She knew that one day they'd have to possibly pay Lincoln back for all he's done for them and already had a little bit of something built-up. It wasn't much, but it was honest work, and it's the reward.
'Maybe I should just get a few things. Like… ten. Yeah. Something for all of us…. Anything to help Lincy…'
Down the hall in the youngests' bedroom, Lori was greeted to the familiar sight that was almost as much of a popular opposite in taste than the twins or Lucy and Lynn's rooms. Both sisters had switched sides; with where Lisa's bed once was, Lily's now occupied close to the window and Lisa's mirroring it on the back wall.
Lily's side had come to be populated by what used to be Lincoln's old bed and dresser. Something he had given before leaving as he knew there was no reason for him to take either with him and with how Lily was growing, they could save a little on buying a new bed set. An old trunk served as a toy chest that was filled like a treasure chest filled with gold. New and old toys all held together by their sheer will and friction to not spill out onto the carpet
But most of all, there were drawings everywhere. In crayons, pencils, markers, pen, watercolors even spray paint, all covering the wall leading from the door to around her corner above the bed. It wasn't a surprise to any of them that once she entered elementary school and got a taste of art class, they all knew what her main hobby would become in the future. Plenty of the images showed just that, gradually going from crude stick figures to almost an incredibly accurate depiction of their old beloved dog Charles curled up in front of the fireplace.
Lisa's side had become what someone would think about what would happen if you combined the tastes of Animal Crossing on one side of the room and Cyberpunk on the other. The wall itself was hidden by a massive physical version of her holographic computer, though this one is divided between one large center screen, two on either side, and two more across the top picked forward at an angle. Her workbench sitting directly beside it, stacked full of equipment not in use from her chemistry tools.
The child whose mind outdid many in the world four times her age sat at her computer, keyboard across her armrests, and reclined back to easily see the screens as a mess of programs came and went, files with an unholy number for titles and the far right having what looked like a word document titled "Log Entry" with a blank page. The center screen was loaded with a wall of images and sites that went from obscure to outright Youtube. Images of Lincoln, Clyde, Ronnie Anne, and at least five other people from Facebook, their vehicles parked together, and the storms they've captured. A map of every place, every recorded route they drove, every tornado they saw.
All surrounding a giant hyperrealistic map of Oklahoma City with a red circle surrounding the city with hundreds of blue dots scattered about with even question marks all mixed in. And with every question mark on the screen that was selected, more lines of data and images would quickly flash across the screen faster than Lori could even think to read it (if she understood it) before it closed and switched to another.
This wasn't the first time she saw this map. Though this may be marked the dozenth time doing so, she knew Lisa was the one the family and friends all believed in being able to track down where their brother was. Was it an invasion of privacy? Probably with how far Lisa has said to have dug into state and federal records. Sometimes people didn't want to have their houses exposed to the masses.
But for the scientist, she had to curse herself for the reality that Lincoln knew her. Ten years had given him enough to watch and learn between them when she saw his mind was the second closest to hers in the house. And that meant when he knew he was up against her; he had to take those extra steps to stay ahead of the curve she was practically bulldozing a straight line out of. Minus everything that happened to them, Lisa had almost always been searching. Getting closer and closer but never to that one spot.
And she could see it in her eyes. The eyes of every sibling told her a chapter of a different story each time she saw something old or new appear. The look in Lisa's eyes, despite the glare being cast on her glasses, making them practically glow, spoke of an older story that she had seen long before everything went downhill.
With Lisa so focused, when Lori stepped through the door, she knocked on the wall to signal her arrival. "So, what do you need me to do?"
"A simple request, actually," Lisa said without looking away or ceasing her typing, "I need you to call Bobby."
Feeling herself have a little glitch in her brain, sticking her finger up to clear her ear like she had just heard crazy talk, "Bobby?" She hadn't talked to him in months.
Since March, when that big check came in, and she announced the good news. After that, she remembered messaging him that her surgery was a success and the brace was finally off, and she was back to being a hundred percent again. She wanted to chat like old times, but Bobby made it abundantly clear that he was busy with his own life right now. And knowing that if it were ten years ago, this wouldn't stop her; with so much of her own experience, she understood that he needed his focus on other things.
"Yes. Roberto Alejandro Martínez-Millán Luis Santiago, Jr., twenty-"
"I know all that! I mean, why do you want me to call him?"
"Because," Lisa's typing paused as she looked up to her sister, "He is currently the only one that we have any direct communications with Ronnie Anne." Returning to the screen and typing away a bit faster, the map and its programs were pulled to the side as a new window opened to show a list of social media pages. All linked to Ronnie herself.
They all looked the same for what a girl her age and nature would hold. Most of it consisted of memes, shorts about sports and skateboarding, memes, random tidbits of thought, and plenty of photos. She was never one to go crazy with something like selfies, a few just for the sakes of an event or the profile, but many held the one consistent element; many were with Lincoln.
Between two years of her timeline, some images and videos were about the storms; many were about her time crisscrossing the country with Lincoln and Clyde. Even her profile picture had her sitting in the driver's seat of the tank wearing a purple baseball cap with her hair tied back in a blue t-shirt with the sun and road reflecting off a pair of sunglasses. The look of enjoyment was ever present with how she smiled in the picture, probably taken by Clyde, as Lincoln could be seen in the back glancing over her shoulder with an amused look.
"Any attempts I've made in contacting have so far completely failed. Her switching all of her accounts to a higher privacy lock has disabled my ability to get through successfully, and even if I do, the high chance of her ignoring the call is present. Her last known activity was a post made early today."
Scrolling down, she came to an image that was indeed posted mere hours ago in the early morning, with the sunlight barely just visible past the surrounding buildings. It had Clyde and the old truck parked in front of the apartment the Santiago family had lived in since they moved back in 2017. The most glaring issue they saw was the amount of moving boxes in the back of the truck being carried away into the building. The description itself mainly read as 'Two years and finally back home for good.'
"From what Lynn's story of Clyde's rather lackluster explanation of both of them returning to Michigan this early after their season, regardless of the holidays, this does give evidence that his words were true. And that worries me…." Her typing again ceased as she felt her mood drop a level. Her hands hovered over the keyboard like she didn't know what to continue typing and let them slowly fall to her lap. "... She is the one that had possibly the most direct contact with Lincoln for the past two years. Everything I've found points to a potential romantic relationship, but something had to have happened to drive her to return to her home more permanently."
Looking up at Lori, Lisa could see that her sister had mixed thoughts about the situation. She understood that for expired relationships, contacting former lovers can often be a loaded gun that could bear the results originally seeking or just shoot oneself in the foot. But what she had gathered over time from his sister's only former lover was that they had maintained a healthy relationship as high school friends for the past five years since their separation.
She used to not care about the love lives of her family, past or… well, mostly past, romantic relationships, but that had changed in the eight years of her growing up. She could call Bobby herself and ask for his information regarding his sister, but that could lead to her being seen as someone trying to stick their nose in business they shouldn't. Lori had less of that problem; she had visited his family many times before up until her accident. She had the most significant connection she could use to get where Lisa couldn't.
And from the distant look in her eyes, Lisa could see that Lori was thinking this over as well. She could tell Lori's adult mind was working out the pros and cons, the logic and insanity of the idea. But she knew she understood her thinking that this was another avenue that had opened itself to them to get one step closer back to their brother.
It was a solid moment before Lori slowly started nodding, licking her lips as she asked, "Okay. How soon do you need me to call?"
"Now."
"Now?"
"Yes. Right now. The sooner we establish contact, the sooner we can begin planning our transit to Great Lakes, prepared and ready." Reaching down out of sight, Lisa pulled out what looked like a little recorder, "I plan to have every word of our meeting documented so that I can analyze it for any direct or indirect clues."
"Alright! I'll… give me a moment…" Stepping out into the hallway, Lori leaned against the wall opposite to Lisa's room and fished out her phone. Typing in her password, went into her contacts, and scrolled down a LONG list till she found the bottom numbers.
She still remembered his number despite switching phones several times and even carriers. She remembered to save it close behind all of her family and friends; his was next in that long line that she still kept in case something happened, and she needed his help. Just before she was going to press the call button, from the corner of her eye, she could see Lisa's hand ever so slowly sticking out from her doorway with the recorder being placed on the carpet. Pushing it as close to her as possible before the hand slithered back into the bedroom.
Feeling the old urge to go and stomp on the device, her mind felt itself getting pulled in the opposite direction. Away from the hallway, away from the device, and to the door that hadn't been opened for a long time. Many times they walked in there, just like so many times before suddenly barging or easing in. Once to look around to find who they were looking for, but now it served only as what it once was before.
Three years since anyone of them saw anyone walks out. Glancing back down at her phone, the icon to dial the selected number asking what option the user would wish to perform, she looked back up to the door, almost feeling like at any moment that white hair orange polo was about to appear from hearing someone outside his door. It felt more like an echo.
'For Lincoln.' She heard in her mind like a voice asking for water.
Pressing her thumb down on the icon and bringing the phone up, eleven long seconds passed as she heard the line ring. She honestly didn't expect it to go through. The chance that his phone would direct it to voice mail or that his number had changed in the past months was something she thought would-
"Hello?" a male voice spoke out. And for a moment, Lori felt herself become a bit nervous. The voice on the other end sounded familiar yet somehow different than what she remembered.
"Bobby?"
"Lori?" The voice asked in surprise, "Gosh, I haven't heard from you in a while! How've you been?" Relief filled her nerves that the number she remembered was still the one Santiago used. And from his voice, he was almost excited to hear her.
"Hey, Bobby. I've been pretty great lately. Everyone has…"
"That's great to hear! I'm sorry that I couldn't run over and tend the celebration; things kinda… got in the way with life, you know?"
She let out an amused snort, "It's okay. I can relate to that. We… kinda started planning things so abruptly that a lot of our friends were… kinda thrown for a loop in trying to free up their schedules for when they could come. I guess we were lucky that it all happened at the beginning of summer."
"Haha! Yeah, it's been a bit hectic over here too. Trying to keep the Bodega stocked up enough for the past week has me running around the place like back when I had so many jobs."
"I can imagine that. My dad's restaurant has been getting more and more packed recently, but he said he had enough people right now that I could basically have the holiday off."
"That was nice of him. Wish I could say the same here, but we've been a little short-staffed, so I'm working the store myself for a bit. Hehe, a funny thing happened the other day especially; I was stocking up our fridges from a big order, and let me tell you, I don't know who ordered so many cabbages, but the moment I opened the door- WOOSH! Like a tidal wave of cabbages came out and swept me up all the way out the door! I honestly thought it would have taken me all the way to the lake!"
He broke out into a fit of laughter at the sheer strangeness of the event he had found himself in. Lori felt herself laugh along, picturing the scene like it was something out of his younger years doing all sorts of jobs and the unfortunate 'accidents' that occur during the most quirkiest of times. Often she was there to see it unfold firsthand or its aftermath. Even being caught in the middle of it with him sometimes when they let their relationship be a little crazy at the wheel.
Old memories, memories of times when life was still all about just starting to experience the taste of the bigger world out there. Of what excitements and fears that could one day change everything you thought was set in stone. But looking back on those days, back when everything was just simpler with that little spice of chaos, they were the days she wished they could go back to relive again. To fix what the future had come about and let those joyful times not end as they did. And it made her really think about the past few years. How almost all of the joy was sucked away and now it had returned in a fractured state.
But Lisa's words came rolling back like thunder. This wasn't a call meant to go down memory lane; it was to get their future lives back on track.
"Bobby…" She steeled her nerves, trying to sound serious as her laughter faded out, "It's been great hearing from you again. It really is nice to know everyone is still kicking. But… a social call isn't the reason why I'm calling..."
"Oh?" He waited for her response, but the Loud hoped that he would connect the dots to why of all the times, today was the day she picked up the phone and called him.
"... it's about Ronnie, isn't it?" The happiness in his voice dropped.
There was a pause. Like ice in the air taking one's breath away, "...yeah." she answered as if a cold mist had blown passed her lips. "I was wondering… If there was some chance that we could stop by and ask her a few questions. Maybe around Sunday after the holiday?"
"Sunday?" His end of the line went silent, and the nervousness Lori had before was starting to return. There were some sounds of what seemed like shoes on hard floors, some mumbling she couldn't hear, and complete silence before she heard him again, "...Yeah, I think that can work. Most of everyone will be out for a bit, and it's just me and Ronnie holding down the fort for now."
"Is Ronnie okay with this?"
"... Sure she is!" His voice sounded almost hesitant, "Seeing some familiar faces might actually help do her some actual good other than being coped up in her room for days. Plus, the store is running on shorter hours, so I could close up after you get here."
'Good for her? More like probably make the situation worse with all ten of us hounding her….'
"… Alright. Hopefully, we can get there early so that we have plenty of time."
"That'll work. It can give us time later to catch up on things."
Feeling relaxed a bit more, Lori rubbed her eyes when she felt something was trying to come out. Old memories of all the times they helped each other out popped in and out of her mind's eye, and gratitude that even now, he was still there to help. "Thanks, Bobby. I really appreciate it."
"Happy to help a friend anyway I can. Take care now, and see you in a few days!"
When the call ended from his side, Lori felt her arm drop limp to her side. The phone was on the verge of slipping through her fingers before she pocketed it and brought a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. Closing her eyes and took a deep breath to clear her mind of any lingering thoughts that were trying to swarm their way back in, but the deed was done.
"You get all that?" She called out as Lisa fully stepped out of the room.
"Every bit, thankfully," She picked up the recorder, "I'll slow this down and split his message; hopefully, we can get something from this brief contact. In the meantime, let us prepare for Sunday."
To say that the decision to find Ronnie and hopefully get some answers was a sound decision. Without any sign of Clyde, knowing that Ronnie was back home with her family in Great Lakes City meant they knew exactly where to start. To say that the decision to try to drive the three-hour long trip on Sunday to beat holiday traffic between Detroit and the fourth largest city in Illinois … wasn't as thought out as expected.
"COME ON! YOU HAVE A GAS PEDAL FOR A REASON!" Lori screamed out of the driver's window of Vanzilla as she honked the horn with her fist. Sensing that not doing so could mean impending doom, ever so slowly, the line of cars in front of the rust bucket inched forward.
The Loud sighed, leaning back into her seat as she tried to get her road rage to simmer down. They had left early this morning hoping to have the rest of the day would be left to have some leeway in that should they arrive and their person of interest not be present, then they had time to kill (or go hunting) until they returned. It was the first time in a long time that all ten sisters were in the old family van, given that taking multiple cars could have resulted in some problems of trying to keep up or getting separated. Going as one group in a single vehicle meant they were all on the same page. Though if anything had to be said…
They saw precisely why Lincoln didn't keep the van.
The so-called 'sweet spot' had long disappeared into oblivion. Now only comparable to being second best to riding shotgun up front without the leg room. An even bigger downside is the effects of growing up; as fewer people rode in the van, so much space opened up. You once could have an entire row for yourself even if half the family were present. Now that six out of ten were legal adults and, in some cases, still growing, even without their parents and brother filling it to capacity, the ten of them were showing that this machine from a bygone era wasn't designed for this.
"Guys, I think this seat just caved in." Luan sounded from the back, her form sitting noticeably lower than anyone between the twins in the back row. Her poster did not deny her statement as her seat had crumpled through the frame and now rested on the floor.
"Hahaha-gah!" Lynn felt herself fall through her seat in her row, joining the comedian and getting a laugh in return. Grumbling as she slowly pulled herself out, "I'm really starting to hate this bucket of bolts…." She groaned as she felt her supports get caught on an old spring. Applying some force, she ripped herself free, along with the spring, and had a brief moment to witness it rocking forward and ping Luna on the back of the head.
"OW! DUDE!" Pulling her earphones out, she looked over her shoulder, rubbing the sore spot.
"Sorry!"
Readjusting in her seat, the rocker turned back to face the road ahead of them, slowly moving forward. Glancing out the window, she could just barely make out the distance glimmer of Lake Michigan. She didn't know exactly how close they were to their destination; sure, she toured in Great Lakes years ago, but she usually wasn't the one driving or playing navigator for the tour bus. Instead, they relied on Lori, having traveled this section of the state several times during her stay at Fairway University, to guide them.
God help them all…
She glanced over at Lori, waiting to see if she would catch on to her attempt at conversation. "Sooo…"Though she was more focused on the road, she had sent a small glance her way, signaling she had heard the call, "Bobby, huh?"
"What?" The name and question went through her ear so fast that, on reflex she put her foot hard on the brake. Jerking the van to a near sudden halt before she got back to her senses and put power on the accelerator when a few angry car horns behind her sounded, "What about him?"
"I mean… when was the last time you even talked to Bobby? Or even saw him face to face."
"You heard me talking to him two days ago."
"Yeah, but…"
"But what?" Lori said with more spice entering her voice.
'Crap. She doing that again. Reel it back, Luns, reel it back,' "I mean, isn't kind… weird coming back this way? After what… four years? And to see both Bobby and his family?"
"Luna."
"Yeah?"
Lori spun her head completely to face her, "Don't."
"What?"
"I know what you're thinking." She turned back to the road, "That there's some underlying reason I'm eager to go visit Great Lakes and see Bobby's family again."
"Well…" The rocker shrugged, "You can't really blame us. It's been a while since we've even seen you two in the same room together. After everything that's happened, we figured this would be you trying to reconnect with something a bit more… normal. Like back how it used to be."
"We? Who thinks that?" From the corner of her eye and a glance in the mirror, with Luna even pointing her thumb back, all hands in the back shot up. "... I don't know if I should be surprised or peeved right now."
"Ah, come on, sis. You know we don't mean anything bad to it. We're just watching out for you, ya know? Figured you'd be on the hunt for 'the one' again after Lisa fixed us up."
"This isn't about my old love life, Luna. Besides, Mom was right about high school crushes and all that. Sometimes there's a spark; sometimes, it's just the hormones driving. I don't regret my time with Bobby. We had a lot of fun together, and even if we're not really 'together,' we can still be friends."
Luna hid a tiny smirk, "With-"
"You finish that sentence, driving or not; I will reach over and gag you with your headphones." Lori shot her a stink eye. "Because you're one to talk. What happened with Sam and all that?"
Sam… She had honestly forgotten about her for a hot minute. She remembered speaking to her on the phone that Lisa was working on the way to finally fixing her ears so she would be ready to ride back out to join the band. She had never heard Sam yell so loudly that it didn't involve cheering out or acting as part of the singing. She was excited to get the band back together and recover a lot of missing ground from their last tour. Last she heard, Sam had gotten a place down in Memphis and was waiting for her to come down with all the ideas for new songs that could act as their big return next summer.
Though she had to admit, before that last call, she really didn't speak much with Sam, as she realized. She spent so much time trying to get through life and family that now with trying to hunt down her bro, it did feel like she was getting sidetracked a lot. But it wasn't like Sam was hurting; if anything, she was still thriving and had managed to pump out a single to keep their band's name alive and keep the flame going.
And while she did feel a knot within her twist each time her band scored another success without her, part of her felt relieved that they were able to press on despite her accident causing a bump in the road. She was happy Sam was following her dream, and while she hoped to join it again eventually, but right now, she needed to focus more on the immediate future.
"Sam and I are still friends. We're just getting this sorted out, is all."
"That's not what I mean." Luna's smile dropped slightly. "What I mean is look at what's happening now. I expected you and her to be in an apartment back home at the minimum the moment your hearing started improving. Haven't heard much between you two at all, really."
Feeling any positive ideas from the start if the conversation began to fall apart, the rocker felt herself sink a little into her seat, looking out her window as that spark in her eye seemed to have dimmed.
"It's… nothing." She said quietly.
'Like hell, it is.' Lori thought out loud but did not voice it. She knew that look. Plenty of times in the mirror, she saw it. She had seen Luna with it only once in a blue moon, if at that, but never to the level those two words had now.
"*sigh* Look, I know what you're going through. Remember, I've been there myself when Bobby and I started feeling that flame taking two different directions. It'll eat you alive if you wait too long to act, and then you'll feel like the world is ending."
Not wanting to go down that road right now, Luna sighed, "Lori-"
"Trust me when I say; one day, the perfect person will come out of nowhere, whether you know them or not. If it's fast or slow, I don't know. But if they are there every step of the way, they can be with you till you both see what you want, help you when you're down, and be there to pick you up, then you'll know when that spark comes back."
"Since when did you become so passionate with words?" Luna asked, a bit surprised by Lori going full Shakespeare on her.
"You get bored at work when everyone is in a hurry to get on the road instead of sitting down to eat." It was true, sometimes between rushes, and it got dead real fast; without someone to talk her ears off, most of her time was on her phone like old times.
But her words did have the effect Lori hoped for, Luna's gloom morphing into one of deep thought.
"Kinda like Lincoln when you think about it. How he's always trying to be there…."
Lori paused for a moment, taking a moment to roll her tongue to think this through, "Yeah… like Lincoln." She nodded softly at the example of choice.
Feeling that it was an excellent example of what she meant, Lincoln did have a lot of qualities that back then would make anyone that really knew him see a boy acting like a gentleman at times. And that only grew with time despite the wedge growing between them at the same time, sadly. It did make her smile thinking that out of this predicament, with Bobby and Ronnie being three hours away in another state, her brother's heart had the power to keep that bond alive. Even after they split, Bobby would talk about how they had practically swapped places with their older siblings.
He was committed. Either to his hobby (that scared her to not sleep at night) or the person his heart beat to and balanced the other out enough one wasn't neglected. He always was great at multitasking and planning, and those elements alone were becoming harder to come by nowadays. It was something they all experienced. Either directly (like Luan and Benny) or as something that could have been (like that Winston kid Lola liked) but things just happen.
Was it luck? Was it karma? Hard to tell at this point when it bounced from one end to the other so fast you can't tell if it was even there to begin with. Relationships and Louds seemed to be just the same that it's there and then it's not, with nothing coming down the pipeline.
It honestly felt like they were cursed or something.
But their brother was a point in their lives to this day that still affected them all. In ups and downs, he was the shoulder to lean on and cry, the hand to hold for comfort, and the voice to say things will one day improve. He had that power that no one else in the world had, and right now, they could all use a little bit of it.
And Luna felt her own words speak the same reality. Thinking back on her twenty-plus years of life and how her brother was that one person that had supported her the most. While she wouldn't brag about it (unless it was to show her thanks or need an Ace during an argument) but out of all the sisters, she was the one to get the biggest success out of them all. Her name and band had grown from a music club in school to a force that, for a time, was dominating the national airwaves and news lines. If it weren't for Lincoln back then, she would not have gotten to that point now.
Sure, the brief fling of him being their manager wasn't what catapulted them into the limelight, but he was the one that helped guide their path in its direction and helped along when he could. Coming up with new ideas (some incredible, some not so fantastic) that, while they didn't hold much initially, really kicked off later down the line. His funding helped them be more mobile than ever and helped keep them going even when they hit low points.
He did a lot. More than she could ever thank him for, even before the shit hit the fan for the family. And even if Lynn went on to be a football star, Lori a golf champion, or anyone else in their dream, he had been there, backstage, supporting her for years on end. And after a night of epicness, him being there with a beaming smile to congratulate her success; if she ever did find someone like him, she would absolutely-
"AAAAHHHHHH!"
Both sisters felt their hearts leap into their throats from the scream behind them. Reflex kicked in for a moment when Lori looked back to see what was wrong, but realizing she was turning the wheel with her, she snapped back to face the road when she nearly clipped into the front of a semi-truck in the other lane. Sending the van rocking back and forth as she overcorrected and got them realigned.
Trying to take in deep breaths from nearly having been scared twice within less than ten seconds, Lori slowly gazed up to the rearview mirror, with Luna looking back over her shoulder to see Leni now stuck in her seat.
"THE VAN IS TRYING TO EAT MY BUTT!" Leni cried out as she had fallen in like Lynn beside her. The athlete was still trying to extract herself from the trap, and Lucy brought both hands down onto the edge of her seat in the event she, too, fell through. In the back, the twins tried their best to yank Luan out but did their best at pulling her side to side. Lily seemed to be getting a kick out of all the action after a boring two-hour ride, and Lisa seemed to be sleeping despite the chaos.
Tightening her grip on the steering wheel, Lori steeled her nerves and focused on getting them to their destination. 'I swear I'm gonna die from stress before I'm 30….'
The hour ride that remained for the family was one filled with half silence and contemplation and half trying to prevent themselves from becoming the next victim to the aging van's hidden hazards.
Unfortunately for Lola, the next surprise wasn't her falling through, but the section of the entire seat bending out of shape to where she had to lean back and keep her legs forward to stay on her seat.
The trip into Great Lakes City was one that the Louds had traversed through before, but the changes over the years made them go off the old beaten paths they knew. What was a right turn at the next exit was now the next exit, u-turn, get in the other lane, then there was your exit. It only added to some of the growing frustration the sisters had as they made their way into the city proper. Slowly moving down a street that looked not much like they remembered it from before, with either empty lots or brand-new towers that screamed modern architecture.
And at the end of a row of buildings flanked by streets and an elevated rail bridge, the yellow brick building standing tall at the corner had seen better days. Once a vibrant color was coated in a layer of grim across the front side facing the main road. A mass of garbage piled up near the back alley appeared not to be touched at all for a long time. But despite the dirt, the ground level around the storefront was almost spotless, like it was just freshly cleaned and painted. The giant 'Casagrande Market' sign now looked more like a modern graphics board with an LED sign flashing an arrow at the building below it.
Pulling up to the side of the store, Vanzilla squealed to a gradual halt. The motor sputters off to sleep like an overworked animal, finally collapsing for rest. One by one, the doors opened up; Lori and Luna both sighed in relief at finally getting to their destination. The others…
"I swear to god this thing just gave my ass tetanus…." Lynn groaned, rubbing her sore butt as she exited the van.
The others followed suit with those unfortunate enough to have been trapped, feeling their rears ache from the odd position and the frames digging into their backs and legs. Those lucky enough spent a moment just trying to get their sisters extracted, with Leni being the hardest stuck. Even as Lana and Lucy tried pulling her out, rocking the van back and forth, she was finally pulled free and sent flying over the front seat. Her legs stuck in the air kicking back and forth as the two then pulled her back.
When Leni plopped back, her hair in a mess with some dust and debris, she quickly went to her purse and combed away as if her life depended on it. With the last Loud free, they stepped out with the rest. Just as Lana pulled the door shut, a pair of bolts fell to the road. Clinking against the pavement as they rolled away, never to be seen again.
"...I hope that wasn't to something important."
"I believe we should not focus on such matters; what it was part of is not important to our future safety. For now, I suggest we proceed with our mission." Lisa said, staring up at the second floor of the building. Not taking her eyes away as she pressed forward, heading toward the market.
As one, the group of ten crossed the short gap between them and their destination. Moving to the front, Lori went to push the market door open, "Let's just hope Boddy is right about-" *SMACK* her face was suddenly introduced to the glass.
Feeling her skin sting for a moment as she peeled away and saw but a smug of her makeup even printed on the window. Feeling a pinch of frustration bubble up, she went and tried to push the door open again, only to cause it to jiggle in place. "What?"
"Think he forgot what day it was?" Luna asked.
"Or that we were coming?" Lynn added.
"What? No. I asked about Sunday, and he said he'd meet us before he locked up the-"
"Lori!" a voice called out from their right. Snapping to the source, they saw a man dressed in a dark green flannel with a yellow shirt displaying some logo for food stepping out from the doorway off to the side of the building, holding something purple in his left arm as he waved over to them with his free arm.
For a moment, Lori honestly thought it was Bobby's father, Arturo. She hadn't met him much after their first initial meeting, minus the occasional pop-ins, and by now, she wouldn't doubt that he hadn't sprouted gray hair like her father. But the person she saw was so much younger despite the short but full beard across their face making their age look a bit older. But those eyes, she could recognize those eyes from a crowd of a thousand and know who it was.
"Bobby!" she burst forward with speed in her step. Surprised to see her practically sprinting at him, Bobby had just enough time to react before he felt Lori slam into her side.
"Lori! Haha! It's great to see you up and about again!" He gave her a one-arm hug, and she gave him a tight one in return.
Happy to feel that old familiar contact again, but knowing that staying like that wouldn't be the best situation, Lori pulled away, "It's great to see you too. And you really did let that beard grow out, didn't you."
He scratched at the bush on his chin, "Yeah. Though I might shave it before the weather gets too hot. Bit of a pain to sleep with when you got a heating pad practically strapped to your face."
While she would say that having the beard definitely made him look older, part of her felt that he would look better without it. Maybe let it grow and kept it short so that he retained the youth but still showed maturity. Though, her curiosity was rapidly drifting away from Bobby to the bundle he held in his arm. Looking closely, she could almost make out what looked like little hands poking out from the top of the loose blanket.
It didn't take much for her to know what it was, "And who might this be?" She leaned over, trying to get a better look at the covered face.
"This," Bobby carefully moved part of the blanket away to reveal the sleeping form of a young child with a lock of goldish brown hair. "Is our newest family treasure, Gracia Santiago."
Taking a step further and leaning down so that all the sisters could see the baby, Leni, Luan, Lola, and Lily felt themselves having their hearts melt at the sight of such an adorable little girl. A feeling that practically every one of them felt each time a new sibling was brought into their family.
"Is she your nephew?" Luan asked, reaching up but not daring to touch.
Bobby hesitated in answering. Sending Lori a quick glance that was loaded with so much worry that practically everyone noticed. "My daughter."
It took the speed of sound for Bobby's words to reach their ears; it took the speed of continental drift for all the sisters to turn to their oldest with surprised faces. It took Lori most of an eternity to register it all.
Seeing Bobby standing there with the baby, Lori had to stop herself and think if this was reality or a dream. She had envisioned this years ago when they had just finished high school and were still working their way through college. To go move out somewhere after getting married, a nice big house, and materialize their love with a life of its own. Sure, it was crazy, but she did dream of having a big family like her mother had with them. But when the reality of the world began to really show its face, she understood that maybe it'd be best to tone down expectations. Even that didn't last long once the decade started and led them here.
Was she angry or jealous that Bobby went out with another woman? A little bit; who wouldn't after all they've done? But that was a tiny voice compared to the voice of reason that she fully understood. They weren't a couple anymore; five years was more than plenty of time to realize where you'd want to continue with life. She focused on supporting the family and finishing college. Bobby focused on the same and finding stable work. Him going out and finding a new love that would bloom to the point he had a daughter? How could she be angry at him for accomplishing such a big dream of being a father?
Though for the man himself, we were beginning to feel nervous with her silence, "Lori-"
"I'm happy for you." She said to everyone's surprise. Her voice was devoid of any hint of suppressed jealousy or malice. "I know what we thought about the future. And I get things changed…. But I have no right to stand here and belittle you about your decisions. Especially if it resulted in something precious to your whole world more than anything else, and she's too adorable to think of anything bad about."
She came up to his side, coming closer to peer down at the bundle with a soft look in her eyes. Having not seen something so small and pure since Lily was born. Bringing her finger up to one of her exposed hands and carefully placed it just underneath. On instinct of feeling something in her hand, little Gracia grasped onto whatever was present. Holding on as tightly as possible but not stirring from slumber.
From what the others could see, had they not known about their breakup, it would not be far-fetched to say their sister looked like a mother standing with her husband and newborn. A sight some had thought they would have seen years ago.
And for Santiago, though part of him liked her, was a little disheartened that this wasn't their future together; he felt its voice slowly be silenced at Lori accepting the outcome. "Thank you."
"And before anyone asks, because I know I'm gonna say it regardless, who's the mother?"
"Its-"
"Bobby!" Another voice called out from the stairs. Footsteps from what sounded like flip-flops came down each step, "Have you seen Gracia? I was getting her a little lunch pack and can't-" Halfway down the stairs, the person of interest stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing the crowd with which her brother was present.
For the Louds, the shock of what Bobby had just dropped as if it was old news was still trying to be registered. When the voice revealed herself to be a 21-year-old woman dressed in a simple getup of a purple tank top and black shorts and a ponytail, all of them knew right off the bat who they were faced to face with. But that face, that wasn't the face they remembered. It wasn't the one they remembered all those years ago with her by Lincoln's side, those times when Lori was visiting, or even so recently on the TV posters or in videos from this year. She looked the same, don't get that wrong, being dressed so casually was something that they had seen before.
But it was the scars.
They weren't like how freckles were, just little specks of salt spread across a dark canvas. They resembled what the word chaos could be defined as. Across her skin, they looked more like horrendous craters. Some places were jagged like whatever had done the cuts wasn't as sharp as surgical equipment or a dull backstreet knife or animal claws and bites. They were too random, too numerous, and scattered. Stretching all across the left side of her face down her neck, decreasing some around her shirt but returning in force across her left arm. And her eyes; one its natural green, the other a sick pale color that looked more like it belonged to a recently deceased corpse than a young woman with two scars running all the way across her nose.
When she heard voices, she thought he was dealing with a possible swarm of customers wanting in the store. When she saw what family was present and realized she was already past the point of no return, she felt herself have a stare-down between each and every one of them. Unsure by their shocked reactions, if it was her appearance or Bobby's little bundle in his arms, she felt the urge to run back upstairs and lock the doors.
"Sup…?"
(Note: These AN notes are written before, during, and after hand to convey my thinking. Not based on what's changed, reviews, etc., and is borderline me ranting out loud my way of thinking.)
(So this part of the AN of chapter 6 is being written before Chapter 6 has even been written. As of when this sentence was being typed, I hadn't even figured out a title yet. Making sure to keep my promise with what I said back in the top AN of Chapter 5, I wanted to steer this story back towards what I was initially building to. This whole thing is a big inspiration from MANY other works, even outside the Loud Fandom, and old ideas from years ago. I've been writing other stories based on super complicated worlds, and this one has given me a chance actually to be more 'free' to build something new.)
This chapter in itself took about 16 days to write out but was something I had technically planned in advance (though not this early). Originally this would have taken place post-TV Show viewing (about Chapter 9), but like many things, it got me thinking. As part of the last two chapters, this chapter made me reconsider just where to start really pushing the 'Cest elements and if it involved the sisters meeting one's former boyfriend and brother's possibly former girlfriend to see how life has going for both of them felt like a way to start that. This won't be the last time I write Ronnie Anne in this story; she still has a 'role' to play. Bobby, on the other hand, maybe near the end, will have an appearance, but like some characters, he is one I have the least background and personality knowledge/grasp of, and thus the choice to give him a path that he's already following.
I'll leave you to guess who his daughter's mother is.
In some twist, at the time of this specific part of the Author's note, I had opted to consider how big this should go. The biggest chapter so far was chapter 4, with 15.5k words, but that had a lot to set up. Right now, I had yet to finish the beginning half where Lori calls Bobby, and their chat, and the family arrives at Great Lakes and on the verge of breaking 14k plus. Originally I was going to continue with Ronnie's part but decided the chapter was already big enough and that cutting it where I did would actually give me some ground to work with Chapter 7 a bit more. And on a bit of a personal note, chapters going over 12k are starting to erk me in that I feel that it's too much at times and does need some pause between. Chapters with about 8k words I personally feel fit within the realm that 'It's enough to get where you want to, but doesn't feel like you've read a quarter of the story's worth of words in one sitting.'
For now, Chapter 7 is mostly complete (given it was the other half of this) but is now undergoing some changes and still lacking a beginning. Working this out sooner took time away from my original idea of how I wanted to produce chapters at my own pace. So even if it gets done by the end of the week, I won't release it until I feel like there's more to be part of. I intend to pop it, Chapter 8, and maybe Chapter 9 out hopefully before the month is out (mainly due to what significance May 20th and 31st are for weather) and go from there. By the time Chapter 11 begins, I'll be moving the story away from Royal Woods.
(Note: These AN notes are written before, during, and after hand to convey my thinking. Not based on what's changed, reviews, etc., and is borderline me ranting out loud my way of thinking.)