The Loud family was enjoying a peaceful evening. Some brainstormed ideas to spend time with Lincoln while others were relaxing. However, when they saw the news, their peaceful evening went differently.
"A runaway truck crashed into the Royal Woods Mall parking lot at high speed. According to medical officials, the driver suffered a stroke which triggered a seizure. His foot was lodged on the accelerator pedal, and he was unable to steer or stop his vehicle properly," the male newscaster announced.
"A recent video relating to the event has gone viral," the female newscaster added before playing the video, "Local hero Lincoln dashed out of the mall and pulled his older sister Leni out of harm's way to safety before colliding with the runaway truck."
The sisters' jaws dropped when they saw the footage of Lincoln saving Leni. They were speechless. Then Leni got Lori's text saying they were on their way home. Everyone engulfed them in a group hug as soon as Lincoln and Leni walked through the front door.
"Oh my god! Are you guys okay? We saw the news!" Luan said in a worried tone.
"That was insane! I can't believe that actually happened!" Luna stated.
"I know! My hand is still shaking from that! Everything happened so fast!" Leni responded with her pupils so small they were barely visible.
Lynn lifted Lincoln up in a bear hug, "Lincoln! You were amazing! Way to hustle! Great job, bro!"
Lola and Lana hugged Lincoln by his legs and waist, "You're a hero!"
"The whole news talking about it! It's crazy! That video already has ten million views!" Luan stated, holding her phone.
Lincoln groaned a heavy sigh while clapping his hand to his forehead and hung his head down.
"Lincoln, honey, how about you lie down on the couch for a bit, okay?" Lori suggested.
Lincoln collapsed on the couch while rubbing his forehead and moaning.
"You okay, little bro? I kinda feel like that's a dumb question, but I still need to ask," Luna questioned.
"I don't know how to answer that, Luna. Leni was almost killed, and I saved her only by a nose-hair. I'm being sprayed all over the news, so goodbye privacy, and I'm so hungry that I literally only have water in my stomach. You can hear it swishing around in my belly," Lincoln explained.
He moved his lower torso around to make a swishing sound that could be heard. All his sisters' eyes and Bobby's eyes widened at that, with their pupils shrunken.
"Yeah, we came straight home after the truck incident, so we didn't get a chance to go to Gus's Games and Grub to eat," Leni said.
"No wonder he's starving," Bobby added.
"Okay, stay here, Link. I'm going to make you dinner and for you guys as well. Luan, where's that's family-size box of mac & cheese?" Luna asked.
"Uh, it should be in the pantry. I'm gonna check the frig to make sure we have enough milk and butter," Luan answered as she followed her to the kitchen.
Lucy lay her head resting on Lincoln's heart.
"Sigh . . . your heart is beating hard. You've been through a lot of stress," Lucy stated as she listened to Lincoln's heart.
"Why wouldn't he? He stared death in the face," Lynn stated with her hands on her hips.
Leni lay on Lincoln with her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Lincoln's chin was on her hair, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey, Leni," Lincoln spoke.
"Hey, Lincoln . . . I'm sorry we didn't go to Gus's Games. We can go tomorrow if you want," Leni said.
"Yeah, and after what happened, I think you'll get free tokens," Bobby praised.
"Oh yeah, he'll definitely get free tokens. Maybe even a free meal," Lori added while taking a picture of Lincoln and Leni together, "This'll get me tons of likes."
Lincoln rolled his eyes and groaned a high sigh.
"Uh, Lori, maybe that's not the best idea," Lucy suggested.
"Nope, my Instagram! Bobby, come on. Selfie!" Lori said.
She and Bobby got together for a selfie before he had to return home. Lincoln continued to stroke Leni's hair, and she nuzzled on his chest. Then his phone vibrated, and he saw that he was getting a call from Clyde.
He answered the call and put it on speaker, "Hey, Clyde."
"Lincoln! Holy cow! You saved your sister from a runaway van!" Clyde yelped.
"I know Clyde. I was there."
"That's so cool! You're a hero!"
They talked for a while until dinner was ready. Lincoln sat quietly with Leni and the others as he ate his mac & cheese. Lynn Sr and Rita came and greeted Lincoln and Leni the same way as the sisters. However, Lincoln gave a glum and annoyed look being in the arms of his parents without hugging them back as they went on and on about how proud they were and bragged overdramatically of his courage and heroism – his sisters noticed his look.
"Uh . . . Mom, Dad. Lincoln and Leni aren't finished with dinner. So, come on, put them down," Lori said.
"Yeah, Pops, let them go," Lynn sided.
Lynn Sr. spoke, "All right, but I'm telling ya, this will be big for us."
As Lincoln and Leni finished their dinner, Lynn Sr. and Rita continued.
"My baby boy is the talk of the town!" Rita praised.
"Ooooh! I might even get more customers!" Lynn Sr. hollered.
Lincoln froze and slowly looked up at his parents. At that moment, he saw split-second future visions of his parents making him the restaurant mascot. He saw how misery it quickly got for him – how it made him look like a sellout and how his parents' slave drove him to get more money. It was almost worse than the squirrel costume for good luck. The whole thing made him clench his fists, and he felt a red-hot anger begin to boil.
"Yeah . . . the customers will line up if they know about our family restaurant," Rita nodded.
Lynn Sr. continued, "If we can get Lincoln to pose for a billboard or a—"
"I'm not your mascot!" Lincoln said, almost yelling.
They stopped talking and turned to him. Lincoln was struggling to contain his anger thinking back to the future visions of them making him wear that squirrel mascot costume.
"Ah, come on, sport. Think of—"
Lincoln stood up, grabbed his father's head, and slammed it hard into the table, making a loud bang and scaring everyone as they gasped.
"I. Said. NO!!" Lincoln roared.
Lynn Sr. covered his face, "Ow! My nose!"
"Lincoln Loud! Why did you do that?!" Rita yelped in shock and awe.
"My sister, your daughter, almost died today. Do you get that?! She could've been killed! Her. Life. Could. Have. Ended," Lincoln said very clearly.
His family's eyes widened as he continued.
"And you two want to make money off of that? You want to profit from your child's near-death experience? You want me to pose as your cash cow? Day after day, being constantly reminded how my own flesh and blood was almost killed? What the heck is the matter with you?! Who does that?! What kind of people do that? Scumbags, that's who. Trash. Bottom feeders," Lincoln stated.
The Loud sisters' expressions turned from shocked to calm to giving disappointed looks to their parents for coming up with such an idea.
"Yeeeah, actually, my parental units, Lincoln is correct. It's quite low and petty to make money off of something like that," Lisa sided.
"Kids, we hear what Lincoln is saying, but what he did was out of line. He didn't have to hit your father like that. Plus, we're not exactly wealthy parents. So, can you really blame us for brainstorming ideas to make money?" Rita asked.
Lincoln's and Lynn's eyes widened, and they blinked several times in utter disbelief.
"You call that brainstorming? That was you guys brainstorming?" Lynn asked.
"And you're going to use your economic status as an excuse? If that's the case, then why not prostitute your own daughters for money? Or me while you're at it? Maybe sell Lily to get one less mouth to feed," Lincoln suggested.
"Lincoln! We would never do that! Is that what you think of us?" Lynn Sr. questioned with his nose bleeding.
Lincoln crossed his arms and gave his parents a stern look. The visions of his own parents siding with Lynn for calling him bad luck were clear in his mind – that and other visions and memories of neglect.
"I don't know the full measures of what you two are capable of or the depths that your consciences can sink to, but I know how far I'm willing to go for my family. I saved Leni's life, and I'm not asking for anything in return because humanity is not sold or bought. It's given. The same goes for honor. At least mine can't be deposited. I don't know about yours," Lincoln said as he walked away.
As he walked upstairs, his sisters all gave stern looks at their parents. Then one by one, they walked away too. Lynn Sr. and Rita had holes in their chests that filled them with guilt and regret.
"Girls, please. We didn't mean any of that," Lynn Sr. said.
"Then why did you say it? You really liked the idea of making Lincoln and Leni your cash cows," Lori said before leaving the dining room.
"Yeah, dudes, not cool. Totally not cool. I know money's tight with everyone living under the same roof, but there are better ways to make some dough," Luna said.
"Better ways with dignity," Lola commented.
"Girls don't do this to us. Come on," Rita begged.
"Sorry, Mom, but we're not the ones that need to do some soul searching. If you need help that badly, get a map. No pun intended," Luan replied.
"Where are you going?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Where do you think we're going? We're going to see our brother," Lynn answered.
The parents turned to their younger daughters, but Lucy said, "Before you say anything, think about what you can do to make amends for that terrible idea."
Leni was the last one about to leave, but their parents called out to her.
"Leni honey, what we said . . . you know we still love you, right?" Lynn Sr. asked.
Leni hesitantly replied, "Sure."
"Leni, please, we just got caught up in the moment," Rita said.
"And now you have to get uncaught at that moment . . . if that makes any sense. The point is you need to remind yourselves how to be parents and not people that want to make money," Leni stated clearly before heading up the stairs.
She saw everyone in Lincoln's room when she reached the second floor. Lincoln was lying in bed on his side, close to the wall. Leni made her way so that she could lay in bed with him and hold him close.
"Did I go overboard down there?" Lincoln questioned.
"Nah, bro, it was either that or a knuckle sandwich from me," Lynn answered.
Lori started, "Well—"
Everyone turned to her.
"—maybe on the one hand, you didn't have to hit him, but on the other hand, Mom and Dad don't exactly know how to listen sometimes. So a little brute force can knock some sense into people. But on the third hand, you did break his nose, and that's serious. But on the fourth hand, those morons wanted to make money out of the event where Leni almost died, and Lincoln was her hero. We're loud and crazy sometimes, but we're not bottom feeders," Lori explained.
"Yeah, not cool. I get that money's tight, but we shouldn't be that desperate," Luna agreed.
"Yeah, selling out your dignity and grace is one thing, but when you try to sell out your family or friends' that's where you draw the line," Luan sided.
"Still, though, that was scary. I've never seen you like that, Lincoln," Lana said.
"Can you blame him? They wanted to make him a mascot. A cheerleader for money, and Lincoln is not some cash cow. He's our brother," Lola said.
They talked more for a while until Lincoln asked, "So, what happens now?"
"Well, we'll have fun at Gus's Games tomorrow. We won't let a runaway van get in the way of our fun time," Lori answered.
"Yeah, and I still wanna dance with my Linky on that dancing game," Leni added.
"Okay, sure. That ought to be fun . . . I hope," Lincoln said.
"You hope?" Lynn questioned.
"My face and Leni are all over the news. I hope people don't crowd all over us."
"Yeah, a hoodie, a beanie, and some sunglasses might be needed, but we're still having fun tomorrow," Lori said.
"What about school?" Lincoln asked.
"This will blow over before you know it. It'll take some time, but eventually, things will return to normal."
"Yeah, don't sweat it, little bro. There will be a lot of hype at first, but then it'll die down before you know it," Luna said.
"Wait! Lincoln, did you take your meds?" Leni asked.
Lincoln shook his head, and Lucy went to get them and some water. Lincoln took his meds and slunk back into bed.
"You know, Lincoln, we've been thinking and feeling that we haven't been spending enough time with you. So, we were hoping that you would keep your schedule open for us as we make time for you. I'm even auditioning for a stand-up role at that new coffee shop in town for you," Luan said.
"Yeah, and I got into a music contest. The winner gets free tickets to the SMOOCH concert, and I'm saving one for you, little bro! That actually reminds me, you've never been to a concert before, have you?" Luna asked.
Lincoln shook his head.
"Great! I'll make sure your first concert is one that you'll never forget!"
"That's for sure," Lori whispered to her sisters.
The sisters chuckled softly at that. They talked more about what they wanted to do with Lincoln, but Lincoln didn't say much. There was something he wanted to see in private. After everyone kissed Lincoln goodnight and went to bed, Lincoln summoned a light orb to see into the future to see if the whole bad luck incident changed. At first, it didn't, but then he saw Leni defending Lincoln from the family and trying to point out how ridiculous they were.
Lincoln felt a glimmer of hope. Saving her life did have an effect on his sister. If saving her life made her change, then the rest of the family could change. Lincoln sat up straight and was ready to use his future vision powers to see any possible futures where his sisters' lives would be at risk or something bad happening to them, and he could do something to change for them. If he could get the majority of them to change, then maybe the bad luck incident won't happen. However, a question popped up in his head.
"Why should I prove my worth to my own family?"
Lincoln stopped as those words sank in, and a chill ran through his body before he was filled with dread. It was a valid point. Why should he have to prove himself to them regarding family? He shouldn't have to prove anything to them. They should love him anyway. Is being their son/brother not enough? Is bad luck really enough to make them forget how to treat him properly? To not love him?
Lincoln slunk back into bed and stared at the ceiling. What a complicated situation he was in. As he was on the edge of drifting into sleep, a knock on his door was heard. Lincoln groaned as he got up from bed and unlocked his door to answer it to see his second eldest sister, Leni.
"Leni?" Lincoln spoke.
"Hey Lincoln, can I . . . can I sleep with you tonight? After today, I-I . . . you know," Leni requested.
Lincoln nodded, "Sure, Leni."
"Thanks, Linky."
Leni kissed Lincoln on the cheek before the two got comfortable in bed. Lincoln's dreaded feeling was not gone entirely but felt far away. Why? Is it because Leni's here? Lincoln looked over at his sister and admired how pretty she was. He remembered back when he saved her life and how grateful she was. She cried tears of joy as she hugged him close.
Lincoln gently stroked Leni's hair as he gazed at her. Leni reached up and took Lincoln's hand. She kissed it before hugging his arm.
"I love you, Linky," Leni whispered.
Lincoln felt one of his heartstrings tug and smiled.
"I love you too, Leni," Lincoln whispered back.
It didn't take long for them to fall asleep.