The Failure of a Father
Ch 13: The Path to Forgiveness
Julius was the first to speak, and he asked Lincoln. "So…you're Lincoln Loud, I suppose?"
Lincoln nodded in response. "Yep, that's me."
"You and Ronnie Anne are just friends, right?" Jamie asked, raising his suspicions.
"We're just friends after all."
The 13-year-old thought for a minute, and he spoke. "Sure, but why did some of your classmates named Nigel, I suppose, accused you and Ronnie Anne of being a couple."
"Don't listen to that idiot, he just accuses me and Ronnie Anne of being a couple, due to my sister's relationship with Bobby." The 11-year-old Loud stated.
"He's the driver of the shipping war when I was walking to my classroom last time?"
"Yeah, the bald one wearing a cap, that's him."
"Why did Roberto break up with Lori?" Stephanie asked with concern.
Lincoln then ordered Jamie. "Give me a glass of water." The 13-year-old got him a glass of water, he drank up its contents and spoke. "I'll explain, I was trying to get something out of my pants. When I got it out, it was a Sloppy Joe with a note, Dave took the note and it read: 'Happy Sloppy Joe Tuesday, Lincoln. Signed, Ronnie Anne', they saw a heart and started accusing me and Ronalda of being a couple."
"Just because Lori has a crush on Roberto, doesn't mean you have a crush on Ronalda, correct?" Abigail asked.
"Accurate. I told them I don't have a crush on Ronalda, only for them to ask, 'When's the wedding day, Lincoln?', then I told them that Ronalda is not my girlfriend, because she's rude, gross, and totally annoying and that I would rather lick the bathroom floor than kiss her. Ronalda came in, then she got angry and walked out of the cafeteria. Clyde told me that I really hurt Ronalda's feelings this time, then I told him that she's the toughest girl in my school, and that she will be fine."
"What happened afterwards?" Michael asked, his curiosity peaking at its highest.
"When Ronalda got home, she told Roberto about me (unintentionally) hurting her feelings. He got so mad, and told Ronalda that he would talk about this with Lori. Roberto called Lori on his phone, she picked up. He told her that I hurt Ronalda's feelings, then she told him that she will talk it out with me. Then he told her, that he will break up with her. Devastated, she pointed at me as the main cause of the problem. The end." Lincoln explained the story.
"Even though you hurt Ronalda's feelings unintentionally, you still have to know better…" Julius replied to Lincoln.
"I understand, Mr. Williams." Lincoln said, as he fixed the button of his polo. "Even though she plays pranks on me, I still have to know better."
"Mentioning the Sloppy Joes she puts into Lincoln's pants, that can count as one…" Michael replied.
7:00 PM at the Loud residence…
Lynn Sr. was busy fixing up dinner for the family tonight, Lori was busy texting Roberto on her phone, and the twins Lana and Lola were busy watching TV. Lincoln was busy reading comics, while enjoying his favorite potato chips. However, he still kept what Julius said in his mind.
Even if he (unintentionally) hurts Ronalda's feelings, he still has to know better. Everyone has a part to play in every mistake they do, like what happened just a few months before the Afton family and their friends got here. Thing is, his sisters can be a bit of a nuisance at times, but they still love him deep down to the bottom of their hearts. There was this one time his sisters used a defibrillator unit on him, and it was just a paper cut, right?
They may take things to the extreme at times, but they still love him a lot. They even made him a 'Most Important Brother' trophy months ago, and Lincoln thinks it's worth it.
"Dinner's ready, fam, come eat!" Lynn Sr. said, as his family piled into the dining room. They all ate up as the parents were talking to each other.
The next day…
Michael came across his parents the following day, and hopefully, it's not going to be like the last time they bumped into each other. William was the first to speak, as he asked his son. "Hey, son, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Father, thanks for asking." The teenager said as he turned to look at his mother. "Mother? Why are you smiling?"
"Nothing." Olivia said as she hugged her oldest child. "I'm just so happy to see you again." She smiled as she let a few tears escape her eyes.
He gave his mother a pat on her back, and smiled. "I'm also happy to see you and Father again, and I forgive you."
"Thank you so much, honey!" The mother of the Afton family said as she hugged her son even tighter.
Michael released his hug from Olivia and went up to his father, William. "Hey, Father?"
"What is it, son?" William asked, smiling as he rubbed his son's head.
"I'm thinking of forgiving you sooner or later, but it will take some time."
The father of the Afton family pulled his son into a hug and smiled, as he patted his eldest child's back. The teenager of the Afton family hugged his father back, mirroring the healed bond they had as a father and a son. Smiling, the father hugged his son even tighter.
Later that day…
It was afternoon, and everyone in the Williams residence was up to their usual antics. Jamie was in his room, reading a comic while sitting on his bed watching something on his laptop. Michael and Stephanie were in their room, reading a novel together while sitting on the floor. The novel was based on themes of happiness.
"Y'know, I quite enjoy reading this novel." Stephanie smiled.
"Me too." Michael said, as he flipped through the pages of his novel.
The two teenagers kept reading the novel, until the teenage Afton decided to put it away. They went downstairs to sit on the couch, and play some video games. Michael was going to beat Stephanie's high score today, so they started playing the game.
The game starts with the words, 'FINISH HIM', and the two friends begin moving their hands on the controller in a frenzy. Michael's character inflicts moderate damage on Stephanie's character, but she manages to fight back inflicting high damage on Michael's character.
The teenager's health bar was low, so he did anything to fight back only for his character to get whooped by his friend's character. "NOOO!" He cried in defeat as 'IlovePIzza32 wins!' appeared on the screen.
The girl patted her friend's back. "Oh, don't worry, Mike."
"Nah, it's fine." Michael said as he put a hand over Stephanie's shoulder, and she did the same.
They then turn off the TV, Michael gets his novel upstairs and goes back downstairs to read it with his friend, while putting a hand over her shoulder.
As friends, Michael and Stephanie would do something together for fun. They would sometimes hang out with the others, sit down and read a novel, or spend time with their siblings. Later, Julius and Abigail got home from work and bought groceries.
Opening the door, they saw the two friends reading a novel together. They smiled, seeing the cute moment between the teenager Afton and the teenage girl.
"How cute..." Abigail said as she went to the kitchen to do the dinner for tonight.
Julius went upstairs to his office, Jamie went downstairs to get something from the fridge and went back upstairs to his room to watch some movies on his laptop.
To be continued in Ch 14...
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if chapter thirteen took so long to write, I have been slacking off recently. My apologies if you think that the chapter is too short, I'm going to make the next chapter longer, and what you'll see is quite...fascinating.