The Loud House - Wild Card

Chapter 8: Safe House

"So, that's why you gave up comedy," said Lori, finally connecting the dots.

Luan nodded. "It forced me to seriously reevaluate my life," she said. "And you want to know the conclusion I came to? That I wasn't a comedian, I was a monster!"

"You're not a m–" Lori began.

"Bullcrap!" Luan shouted, startling Lori. Her tears were flowing freely now, her body trembling. "I mocked, tortured, and sent our brother to his death all because I wanted a cheap laugh! I always prided myself on how I brought smiles to people's faces, how rewarding it was to see other people laugh, but the truth is, I wasn't really interested in that. I just wanted to make myself laugh. And in the end, I was willing to do anything to get that laugh. Even sacrificing our only brother." Luan took several deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

"I didn't leave because I resented you," She continued. "I left because I knew you would all be better off not having a monster like me in the family. . ." Luan put her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Lori gently rubbed her back with her free hand. She must have been bottling these feelings for years, causing her to grow colder and more distant with each passing day. Sure, they were thrilled that she no longer had any interest in her April Fools day pranks, but after a while they would have gladly accepted that as the price for the old Luan to return to them. They even began to miss her constant puns. They certainly never considered her to be a monster.

"I'm sorry, Luan," said Lori.

"I killed my brother for a laugh!" Cried Luan as she continued to sob. Lori pulled the car over and parked it before wrapping her arms around her sister in a comforting hug.

"Luan, we all did this to him," said Lori. "I know that doesn't bring a lot of comfort, but we're all to blame. You don't have to deal with this by yourself."

"I still dream about him," said Luan. "Even after all this time, I still have the same nightmare: he's triggering the pranks I set all over the house, but one of them gets out of control, and. . . and . . ." she couldn't finish the sentence, but Lori knew what she meant. They stayed there for ten minutes while Luan cried to herself. Lori released her after she finally began to calm down.

"I'm sorry," said Luan. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I'm sorry I ran off to California instead of talking to you about it. After Luna left, I felt like I had no one else to talk to who really understood me. I felt like I deserved to be alone, after what I did to him. I guess all I did was run away from my problems."

"We all have tried to do that," said Lori. "We all grieve in our own ways. And now, Lynn is going to help bring this monster who killed our brother down. Maybe, after all this is over, we can finally get some closure."

"Maybe," said Luan. "But even if we do, I don't think we'll ever find peace again."

Lincoln's disappearance had completely rocked the foundations of Royal Woods, Michigan. What was once a quiet, sleepy town with a low crime rate seemed to completely change the residents perspective of it virtually overnight. Pretty soon, neighbors began to distrust one another. Children were no longer playing unsupervised, and a police curfew was enforced. By any statistical measure, it was an outlier situation in a relatively safe town, but to the Loud family and those around them, it was a living nightmare.

Lisa, the four-year-old prodigy of the family, notorious for her stone-faced and even-tempered disposition, found herself at a complete loss. In distressing situations she would turn to science as a means of comfort, a way to explain the unexplainable to her. But this was beyond her understanding. Lincoln was a good, compassionate boy who would never think to do harm to anyone. Who could possibly take someone so pure, so wonderful away from his family? The cold facts and harsh nature of the scientific explanation did little to ease her fears and guilt. She was lost, and didn't know where or who to turn to.