Loud Visions 2

Chapter 1

Lincoln made it clear that his sisters and parents weren't abusive. The news showed his video, and everyone saw it. This was enough for everyone not to see the Loud sisters as villains, but the parents were still seen as neglectful. Most people honored Lincoln's request to stop harassing the family, but they weren't out of the woods yet – the Loud family, of course, was grateful for Lincoln's video.

Lori sent him a text: 'From all of us, thank you, Lincoln!'

At school, the sisters were confronted by their friends. Lori was confronted by Bobby, Luna by Sam, and Luan by Benny.

Bobby looked Lori in the eye, "Is it true? Everything he said about you?"

"Yes! I swear!" Lori said.

"Did you ever abuse Lincoln?" Sam asked.

"No, dude, never," Luna answered.

"Don't bullshit me! Did you hurt him?" Sam hissed with anger.

There was pain in Luna's eyes as she answered with a broken voice, "Not directly. We didn't abuse him, but he has gotten caught in the crossfire of our fights. Sam, we love him more than you can imagine. We never hurt him directly."

Sam stared at her for a while, "I hope so."

"Are you guys breaking up with us?" Luan asked.

"No, Luan. Or at least I'm not breaking up with you, but we do need to talk. I need to know more about this other side of you and your family," Benny said.

"Same with me, babe. Lincoln is the little bro I've always wanted and never had. I love that little guy," Bobby added.

Luna looked at Sam to see she had her arms crossed with a look of disappointment.

"Sam?" Luna reached out.

Her girlfriend turned to her, "Same with me. We're not breaking up, but we got a lot of ground to cover . . . and we want to talk to Lincoln."

Luna and her sisters nodded. After school, they visited Lincoln and heard it from him.

"It's true, guys. I ran away because I was scared. When my sisters get angry, they can get aggressive and even violent. I couldn't go to my parents because they would do what they always do, and that's hunkered down in their bedroom with Lily and wait it out. I would have gone to Clyde's or Stella's, but they were both out of town. Bobby, you and your family were the closest I could go to. That's why I bought a bus ticket for your place in Great Lake City. My plan was to crash there for a day or two, then go back home," Lincoln explained.

"Lincoln, that is so messed up. You shouldn't have to do something like that. That's not normal," Benny said with a sorrowful cringe expression.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Lincoln said.

Sam looked baffled and slightly angry, "Sorry? Sorry?! What do you have to be sorry about, Lincoln? You didn't do anything wrong! This isn't your fault or your sisters' fault. It's your parents' fault! If they put their foot down and stopped your sisters fighting like normal parents, you wouldn't have to do something like this. No kid should ever be this afraid of their own family!"

Bobby approached Lincoln, "Little bro, if something is going on, you can tell me. You can tell us, okay? If you see something, say something, even if it's happening in your own home with your family. We want you to be safe and okay. What happened, how you got here, is not okay. Now, is there anything going on in your home that we should know about?"

"No," Lincoln answered.

"Don't you lie to us, Lincoln. If something is going on, if your family is hurting you or not treating you right in any way, we need to know about it," Sam stated very seriously.