Family Feud: Can Harmony Prevail in the Chaos?
Ch IX: Teenage Self-Loathing Advice
Henry, Valerie, and their children came into the fourth floor. Lynn Sr. spoke to Henry in a bitter tone. "Henry Emily…"
"Lynn Loud Sr…" Henry spat back, with venom in his voice. He and his family sat down in one of the cold leather seats.
Rita came out of the therapist's office, and told Lori. "Lori, Dr. Lopez wants to see you."
Lori stood up from her seat and went into Dr. Lopez's office, she grabbed her chest anxiously as the therapist asked her a question.
"You already know me, so I don't have to introduce myself." Isabella told her client, as she pulled out her notepad. "Your name is Lori Loud, yes?"
"Yes, I am." Lori said to the therapist.
"Now, can you explain the reason for your self-loathing?" Dr. Lopez asked her client.
"Well, it's because…" Lori heaved a sigh. "…I screwed up my responsibilities as the eldest. That one Sunday afternoon, my sisters and I took joy in my brother's suffering…his screams and cries for help…it haunted me everyday like a nightmare…"
The therapist sympathized with the teenager. "I sympathize with you, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"I threw away the dress I bought at the mall, since it reminded me of what happened to my brother…" Lori began to show her razor sharp teeth. "Now he's sitting in the hospital just because I couldn't keep myself at bay!" She stomped on the ground, as hot fresh tears roll down her cheeks, smearing her makeup.
Isabella felt a surge of pity for the 17-year-old. "Now, away from the self-loathing stuff, how is your personal life actually like?"
"Home life is a bit chaotic due to overwhelming amount of siblings I have, and my social life is a mess…" Lori sniffled. "My boyfriend is pissed off with me, and my brother thinks I'm some sort of monster…" The 17-year-old stifled a sob, wiping her sinuses.
"Do you have a favorite, among all of your siblings?" Isabella asked.
Lori nodded and replied. "My favorite out of all 10 of them, was my only brother, Lincoln, although we may not have very much in common, we still love each other to the bottom of our hearts. We spend time with each other, though not always. He reads comics in his undies, unlike me, always on the stupid phone…" Lori said, irritated at the mention of her smartphone. "My siblings complain about me being constantly on the screen, instead of doing something useful for once. That fucked-up phone destroyed my life and everything I had, so I smashed it with my sister's bat and threw it away in the dust bin."
"I see." Dr. Lopez wrote everything down. "Focusing on current issues, do you mind clarifying what happened?"
Lori clutched her chest. "Being the selfish prick I am towards my siblings, I bought a dress at the mall, and when Leni did the same, we started fighting over it like cats over fish. In the end, Mr. Afton was right, Lincoln was right…I was too stupid and careless to see the consequences of my own actions."
"Describe your relationship towards Leni, and Lincoln." Isabella imperated.
"Leni is my roommate, we have literally shared that room, ever since we were just months old." Lori clarified to Isabella. "Lincoln is my favorite sibling, and he got me this…" She removed the star-shaped clip on her head. "I endeared this hair clip, and wore it on some occasions, but after that incident, I started wearing it everyday to remind me that my brother is always close to me, no matter where he may be." She put it back on.
Dr. Lopez smiled small. "How nice of your brother was to give it to you, and going away from the sad, dark-spirited stuff, can you tell me about yourself?"
"I'm 17 years old, and my birthday is on the 7th of April every year." Lori smiled small.
"Do you have anything to explain about you and your boyfriend?"
"Well, his name is Roberto, I call him Bobby." Lori giggled. "Clyde has a weird crush on me, and he always talks to you about him, ain't it? Dealing with a boy that has a crush on an older woman?"
"Yes, I can say the same." Isabella laughed.
"Roberto and I argue with each other at times where things get heated, but we still love each other to the bottom of our hearts." Lori smiled.
Outside, Lynn Sr. and Henry looked at each other with cold glares as if they were a pair of boxers squaring off for a fight in the ring. Rita and Valerie looked at each other, with knowing frowns on their faces, knowing that their husbands wouldn't stop showing their hostilities towards each other.
Sammy was hostile towards the Loud sisters, he even slapped Lucy's hand away when she was trying to pat him on his head.
"Did you have any fond moments with your siblings?" Isabella asked the teenager.
Lori responded with a curt nod. "I did, and even though it's not often, we still have fond moments with each other from time to time." She had a downcast look. "One time, I would treat my siblings like pawns in exchange for rides to their favorite places. They didn't quite take it well, so they helped Leni earn her license. But, due to her not being the brightest tool in the shed, she ended up failing her test multiple times, and I'm surprised that the DMV lets her retake her tests many times."
"I think you're dealing with an issue, where you always want to be the one with authority." Isabella said to Lori.
"What do you mean?" The 17-year-old asked, intrigued.
"You always want to be the assertive person towards your siblings, you didn't like seeing them independent so you treated them like pawns. Doing so will not only burn bridges, but also cut through your siblings like a knife." Dr. Lopez explained. "Sometimes, it's OK to let your siblings branch out to their own worlds. For example, I have a son who is your age, he's leaving for college sometime soon. I know it can be sad to see one of your kin leave the nest, but I let him since he wanted to do whatever he wants in life."
"I see." Lori replied. "I'm also leaving for college soon after graduating in May next month. I knew my siblings wouldn't survive without me, so I treated them like that but deep inside, I only want what's best for them."
Dr. Lopez smiled. "I see that you want what's best for your siblings, but sometimes, you have to let them choose their own way. You can't stick around with them permanently."
Lori sighed. "There was also this one time, when I was in one of my periods, and I accidentally stepped on brother's gaming goggles, he cursed me off like a sailor on the phone while I was buying him a new one."
"Continue." Isabella ordered her client.
"I was deliberately surprised and pissed when I heard that from him, and he tried to make things right, but, I just get angry and push him out of the room like some tenant who didn't pay their bills to the landlord." Lori said, her frown quivering. "Lincoln was a nice and pure-hearted boy, but what does he get in return? Being pushed around like a pawn, treating him as if he was some kind of black sheep or imperfection in the family?" Tears began to gush from her eyes as she tightly closed them. "L-Living in fear of his own sisters because they subjected him to a petty beating?!" She began to cry silently to herself.
Isabella sympathized with Lori on that part. "Don't worry, I'll try my best to talk with Lincoln and get rid of his phobia."
"Please…" Lori hiccuped. "J-Just please, make him come back to me and my sisters. I don't want him to think we are some sort of barbarians who would do anything to kill him…" She said, curling into a fetal position.
"Well, do you want clarify anything else, concerning your family?" Isabella asked.
"No, that's all I can tell you." Lori told the therapist.
"Thank you, for your time, and the next guest on my list," Dr. Lopez looked through her guest list, she checked off Lori. "Leni Loud."
To be continued in Ch 10…
A/N: Hello readers, FNAFLHFaN2006 here, we are back with another chapter of this Brawl in the Family story. I know some of you are anticipated, I am too, frantically finishing the chapters in one go (heh). I'm now writing the epilogue for Failure, which is a starting point to Deceit.
Peace out, and I'll see you in chapter ten.