Family Feud: Can Harmony Prevail in the Chaos?
Ch V: Harmony's Fragile Thread
Hello, readers! Here's a quote for the day:
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Well…personally, I don't think this would ever happen under supervision…" Henry then pieced together what happened, and he pointed at Lynn Sr. accusingly. "YOU! YOU LET YOUR CHILDREN GO BERSERK AND BEAT LINCOLN UP OUT OF SUPERVISION!"
"THE FUCK YOU SAY?" Lynn Sr. cursed out. "OF COURSE, I WON'T!"
"LIAR, YOU AND YOUR WIFE WENT AND HID LIKE FUCKING COWARDS!"
"Hey, hey!" Valerie said. "We can just settle this down…"
"SETTLE THIS DOWN? THIS IS SERIOUS, VALERIE," Henry pointed at Lynn Sr. and Rita respectively. "YOU TWO BIRD-BRAINS FOR PARENTS, LET YOUR CHILDREN GO UNSUPERVISED, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED, LINCOLN IS IN HIS HOSPITAL BED FOR SOME DAYS!"
Meanwhile, with Lincoln…
Lincoln was lying down on his hospital bed, he looked at his bed stand. The 11-year-old Loud looked at the picture of him and his siblings, thinking back what happened on Sunday morning, he knew he should have kept his big mouth shut. He wished he could turn back time and prevent himself from spilling the beans, sadly, that can't happen in real life. Lincoln did evacuate to Stephanie's home that day, and told her what was happening at his own house.
He grabbed his favorite comic and opened it to the page where he left off yesterday. Knocking came from the door, and soon, he heard an unknown voice speak to him.
"Can I come in?"
"Yes, you may."
Michael, his aunt, uncle, and siblings came into the door. "Lincoln, meet Aunt Harlene and Uncle Marcus, they're part of my extended family." Michael introduced his aunt & uncle. "They came for a visit last morning." He said. "Aunt Harlene is from Mother's family, while Uncle Marcus was one of Father's siblings."
"How are you feeling, hon?" Aunt Harlene asked Lincoln.
"I'm fine, Auntie Harlene." Lincoln said as he straightened himself up, and clasped his hands in his abdomen. He grabbed something to read, as he kept reading, he flipped the pages of his favorite book, titled, 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'.
"He likes to read Tom Sawyer?" Marcus said. "I do too!" The rest piled up and got their chairs, seeming to like the story of Tom Sawyer. CC sat on Lincoln's lap, and Elizabeth sat beside his head. Michael sat on his chair and began reading along the pages.
Henry and Valerie came in, seemingly pissed off by the last confrontation with Lynn Sr. and Rita. Irritated, Henry slammed the door shut with force. Lincoln, taking notice of the two adults, looks at them with a welcoming smile.
"Hey, Lincoln." Valerie smiled, clasping her hands in front of her belly.
Henry stood near a window, he looked for any signs of Vanzilla in the parking lot. Sure, they would come for a visit, only if he would never come to the hospital for Lincoln. William later peeked from behind the door, looking for Lincoln.
"William?" Henry asked.
"Hey…" William said, coming into the hospital room. "Can I ask for Lincoln?"
"Sorry, everyone, visiting time is over." Olivia said as she came into Lincoln's hospital room.
"Come on, kids, it's time to go." Harlene said as she signaled the three Afton children to come with her to their home.
"Henry? Why so cross?" William asked in a British accent.
"Well…" Henry turned to William. "I finally saw the reason why Lincoln was here."
"What happened?" Olivia asked.
"Well…it might sound unpleasant…long or short version?" Valerie answered.
The Afton mother, intrigued, replied. "The long one…"
"On that day, the sisters fought each other over nothing. Their bogus protocol involved them blocking each area of their house, and mostly using Lincoln's room and stuff without permission. They blocked off the kitchen and bathroom, and when Lincoln was going to get something, he was told by Luna that the kitchen is off-limits."
"Why didn't they just go to their friend's house? Or hell, go to our house? We were right next door after all."
"Those dunces have their own 'protocol', and Lisa gave Lincoln a couch bagel which contained lint, dog hair, and booger. He ate it, and in turn he was going to vomit and go to the bathroom, but was blocked off by Lana. That bagel contained germs, he might get sick with some sort of disease or something. He was given a bucket to vomit in."
Flabbergasted, William asked, his tone rising with each word. "What. The. Fuck. Were. They. Thinking?"
"Absurd, isn't it?" Valerie shrugged. "That night…Lynn and Rita dined separately with Leni and Lori so they don't think they are taking sides. They are revealed to follow their crappy protocol, and when their daughters fight, they just hide in their bedroom like cowards! The following Sunday morning, he evacuated to Stephanie's house and told her his sisters' bogus protocol. In the afternoon, he returned to the house and tried to resolve the issue, but his sisters beat him up. That's how he got here."
"That's why I'll be taking him to our house today." William answered.
"Lincoln is to be discharged in 1 to 2 weeks." Olivia smiled.
"Since Harlene and Marcus will stay here for 3 months, we can tell them the whole story…" Henry said.
The next day…
Sunday, the day every person in the town of Royal Woods would water their plants, or spend time with their family. On the flip side, for one family, it was a dark reminder of what happened on that afternoon.
"Well, should we get Lincoln a psychologist?" Stephanie asked Clyde.
"Yup, he has a case of syngenesophobia. You can talk to Dr. Lopez, here's her number." Clyde handed Stephanie a piece of paper.
The teenage girl read the paper carefully. "555-2516-987, so we can call her by this number?"
"We can hopefully talk to Mrs. Loud about this, if Michael doesn't lose it…that is." Robert said.
At the hospital…
Lincoln thought of President Roosevelt, and how he learned about him through school. He remembered his quote. He whispered softly. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself…" Lincoln looked out the window and saw Vanzilla parking up in the lot.
The 11-year-old sat down and took the time to read something, but he felt a throbbing headache as he reached out to hold his forehead in pain. "My head hurts…"
"Lincoln? Are you alright, sport?" Lynn Sr. said as he held CC in his arms.
"I'm fine, my head hurts a bit…" Lincoln said.
"Well, I think we found a good psychologist to talk to." Rita said.
"Who?"
"Her name is Dr. Isabella Julietta Lopez." Elizabeth showed the piece of paper given to Stephanie by Clyde.
"What time is she in her office?"
"8:00 AM."
"So we're going to get your sisters and arrange meetings with the psychologists."
"Alright…" Olivia said as she came in. "...also, have Henry and his family escort you."
"Henry? Didn't he lash me out the preceding day?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"You should still have him to escort you. He can talk to the sisters." Maria said.
"Alright…" The Loud patriarch said.
To be continued in Ch VI…
A/N: Hey guys, sorry that the chapter took too long. Now that Senior has been arranging plans for meetings with Dr. Lopez, Henry would have to help too. Valerie will also have to talk to Rita about the girls.
And also, this is my first quote of the day I'm doing.