Ronnie Anne was pacing back and forth at the bus station, waiting. She kept her hoodie on to keep herself hidden. When she wasn't pacing, she was tapping her foot or her fingers. She looked at her phone's clock every couple of minutes. She rehearsed everything she felt she needed to be said to convince her family of Lincoln's powers and how they needed to help him. She knew her grandmother would believe her, but her mother and father needed some convincing.
Then finally, a bus arrived from Royal Woods. She looked up with a glimmer of hope. She waited eagerly as the passengers got off. As soon as her best friend was out, she would squeeze him a bear hug. Ronnie Anne had plans to show Lincoln all the cool things about Great Lake City. She knew Lincoln was going to love it here, especially the food. Ronnie Anne already made friends here in Great Lake City after her mother decided to take a full-time job at the hospital. Moving to the city was working out for her. She knew her friends Sid, Nikki, Casey, Laird, and Sameer would love him.
However, after all the passengers were out of the bus, the white-haired boy she was waiting for was not among them. Ronnie Anne's heart rate increased as a cold chill crawled up her spine. She drove her fingers through her hair while taking several deep breaths as she stared out into the starless sky, her eyes wide open. Questions raced through her mind. Why isn't Lincoln here? Did he miss the bus? Did something happen to him? DID HIS SISTERS BEAT HIM?!!
Ronnie Anne pulled out her phone. Do I call him? Before she could decide, Stella video-called her, and she answered.
"Did Lincoln make it to the city okay? Is he safe?" Stella asked with a worried look.
"No! He's not here!" Ronnie Anne replied.
"What?!"
"The bus from Royal Woods came, but Lincoln wasn't on it."
Ronnie Annie showed the bus with her phone before shifting back to her. Stella slowly started to pant as the same questions Ronnie Anne was asking herself were now spinning in Stella's mind.
"This is so messed up!" Ronnie Anne stated.
"I know," Stella replied.
"What do we do?"
"I don't know."
"Should I call him?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"What if his sisters pick up his phone?" Stella countered.
Ronnie Anne groaned a growl, "I swear if there's so much as a papercut on Lincoln, I'm literally going to start a fire!"
"Ronnie Anne, just wait! We don't know that it was them. Maybe Lincoln ran away, but he got caught, and maybe he's hiding. So, if we call him and they hear his phone, maybe they'll find him and get him," Stella said.
"So, you're saying that we do nothing and just wait?! How is that an option?!"
"I'm not liking this any more than you, okay?! I am out of town with my mom. My boyfriend and best friend, who I really like, lives in a bad home environment with a family that would abandon him and sisters that would beat him! We can't call the police because those things haven't happened yet, but we know they're going to in the future. Lincoln has risked his life more than once to save others, and every day, every minute, I am worrying about what is going to happen to him! And it's the thought of not knowing is literally killing me!" Stella explained frantically as she broke down in tears.
Stella fell to her knees, crying. She covered her eyes with one hand, but tears streamed down her cheeks. Ronnie Anne watched for a few moments as tears began to build up in her eyes.
"Okay, okay! Stella, calm down. It's going to be okay," Ronnie Anne promised.
Stella huffed and gasped before taking several deep breaths to calm down.
"Okay, we'll go with your plan. We'll wait and see if Lincoln calls. Hopefully, we'll hear from him before sunrise," Ronnie Anne said.
Stella sniffed and wiped her tears, "Hopefully."
Meanwhile
Lincoln found himself in darkness. All he heard was silence, the white noise with a faint howling wind sound – the haunting sound of ambiance. Then in the dim light, he saw a figure of a man – a tall and strong man in a black and red trench coat. However, what stood out about him the most was his snow-white hair.
Before Lincoln could say or do anything, the man slowly turned. As he did, it was as though the vibration and intensity increased tenfold. Lincoln couldn't see the man's face as it was shrouded in darkness.
In a split second, Lincoln was jarred awake as he gasped out of fear. When he woke up, he saw the hospital ceiling and heard the sound of heavy rain and thunder from outside. Lincoln looked out the window to see the darkness of the night with the rays of street lights and the heavy rain spraying on the window. Just above it was a clock, and it was close to midnight.
Lincoln groaned a sigh. He missed the bus. He remembered he got hit by a car, and everything went black after that. As he sulked in despair over how he missed the bus and ended up back in the hospital, he felt the presence of someone near. He turned over to see his sisters Lynn and Luna sitting close to the side of the bed. His eyes slowly shifted to see all his other sisters sitting around in the room, and they were all looking at him with serious looks. Lori was sitting close on the other side of the bed, and she was the first to speak.
"You've been lying to us, Lincoln," Lori stated.
Lincoln gave a confused look as his eyes shifted back and forth between her and his other sisters.
"Wha?" Lincoln spoke.
"You said nothing was wrong, that nothing was going on. That was a lie," Lori pulled out Lincoln's sketchbook, "You've been drawing your feelings. You feel alone (turns the page), suffocated (turns the page), and trapped."
Lincoln's eyes widened. Lori put away the sketchbook.
"And now, you tried to run away from home. Why?" Lori asked.
Lincoln tried to keep calm, "Lori . . . guys, this isn't what it looks like."
"Really? Just really, bro? That's the excuse you're going with?" Luna asked, raising her voice as she stood up.
"Luna, I—"
"Don't lie to us!" Lynn yelled, making Lincoln flinch, "The jig is up! You were running away! We know you were! We found the bus tickets in your pocket!"
Lincoln stuttered, "I-I . . . Lynn, please don't-don't yell at me. I wasn't running away. Those were for Clyde. I was-I was trying to meet Clyde to uh . . . uh—"
Luna grabbed Lincoln's backpack and emptied it, dropping everything out.
"Lincoln! Why were you running away from home?! Your backpack was stuffed with clothes, snacks, soap, a knife, a map of Great Lake City, and a guide on how to be on your own. It's so clear ad obvious that you were leaving!" Luna shouted through her tears were running.
Lincoln glanced back and forth between his stuff and his sisters. They all had angry looks on their faces, with tears either building up in theirs or streaming down their faces. They were both sad and angry with their brother. Lincoln felt like he was on thin ice now. His heart rate increased as he panted.
"What is going on with you?! You avoid us every chance you get! You flinch every time we come near you! And now, whenever you look at us, you look like you saw a ghost! Are you afraid of us?! Why?!" Lynn exclaimed with fresh tears in her eyes.
Lincoln stuttered, trying to find the words, but the tears kept coming out. Seeing his sisters' pain and sorrow was heartbreaking. The whole time Lincoln was afraid of the future of what his sisters may do to him, he paid no attention to what his behavior and secrecy were doing to them. He didn't realize what running away from home would do to his sisters.
"Do you think we'd hurt you?! Is that it?! Because of the stupid Sister Fight Protocol?!"
"Lynn, I—I just . . . I don't know," Lincoln started but lost the words.
Lynn clenched her fists tightly as she closed her tearful eyes, making the tears roll down her cheeks. Lynn threw herself at his bed, crying, "Lincoln! We love you!"
She held him close as the rest of the older Loud siblings joined in. Lincoln could no longer hold back the tears as he sobbed in their arms as they continued to cry out that they loved him. The gravity of his decision was slamming down into his core. Seeing how much pain and sadness he brought upon his sisters was heartbreaking. He hugged them as best as he could while closing his watery eyes.
After a while of sobbing, his sisters eased up, and Lori broke the silence, "Look at me, Lincoln."
Lincoln sat quietly, crying while looking down in shame. This didn't stop his eldest sister. She gently grabbed her brother's face and lifted it toward her. Lincoln felt that her face was right in front of his.
"Lincoln Loud, please open your eyes and look at me. Please, please," Lori begged.
Lincoln slowly but surely opened his eyes and looked at Lori. Like his other sisters, Lori's eyes were puffy and red, with fresh tears streaming down her face. Her face said it all. A look of sorrow mixed with utter desperation. Lori rubbed her thumb on Lincoln's wet cheek.
"What is going on with you?" Lori asked with a sincere voice.
Lincoln glanced at the others; their faces were the same as hers as they wept, filling him with guilt and remorse. He blinked with tears flowing down his cheeks as he held one of Lori's hands. Lori used her thumbs to wipe a few tears from Lincoln's cheek, but they just kept coming.
"Talk to us. Please. (sniffs and sobs) What is happening to my baby brother? Why did our Lincoln run away from home?" Lori pleaded while sobbing.
"I-I can't," Lincoln replied with a lump in his throat.
"Lincoln," Leni breathed, "You can tell us anything. You can talk to us. We're your sisters."
"Just tell us, little dude. We need to know. I need to know what is happening to our little brother!" Luna begged, sitting close next to Lori while holding Lincoln's hand.
Luan stomped her foot on the floor and stated with wet tears, "We're not leaving until you tell us!"
Lincoln sniffed and wiped his tears while taking his time to pull himself together. He looked at Lucy, and she slowly nodded.
"You're going to think I'm crazy, but . . . I can . . . I can see into the future," Lincoln started.
The sisters blinked at those words with raised eyebrows.
"You can . . . see into the future?" Lori asked.
Lincoln nodded. Before they could say anything, Lincoln raised his hand and used his foresight powers to make his hand glow. Then he waved it to the other side of the room to show the orbs of light revealing the visions of the future. Everyone's eyes widened, and their jaws dropped as they gasped.
"Not only can I see the future, but I can see all the various outcomes – different possible futures. Since I can see them, I can change them by doing something to alternate the future to get to a certain outcome or change it. It's why and how I've been able to predict Lynn's fighting moves when she roughhouses me or to get out of trouble with school or with you guys. I can see events and know exactly what will happen before they happen. The clear ones are ones that are going to or possibly happen, whereas the foggy ones that are colorless are either ones that have already happened or are not going to happen," Lincoln explained as his sisters gazed upon the orb visions.
At first, Lincoln's sisters said nothing as they stared at the light orbs seeing themselves and events.
"This is totes incredible!" Leni stated while gazing at the light orbs.
"Lincoln has superpowers?!" Lola and Lana questioned excitedly.
"Fascinating. How is this possible?" Lisa questioned.
"I don't know. I'm still trying to remember when they showed up. I think they started showing up after that trip I had with Clyde and his dads in the mountains," Lincoln answered.
Lisa got up close, "Lincoln, were you exposed to anything, or did you touch something that was odd or unusual?"
Lincoln thought for a moment, and his eyes widened with realization, "The rock. The glowing gem rock! Oh, man! I can't believe I forgot about that!"
"What rock?" Lisa asked.
"The trip with Clyde, we went to this gem mine to pick rocks, gems, and minerals out of the river. I found this small cave nearby, and there was this glowing gem. I thought it was glowing from the flashlight, but it wasn't the flashlight. It was glowing on its own. When I picked it up, it stopped glowing," Lincoln explained.
"Where is this gem rock you acquired?" Lisa asked.
"It's in a shoebox under my bed. It's a big blue and green one. It's the size of a walnut."
"What does any of that have to do with you running away from home?" Lynn demanded.
Lincoln left a long pause before answering. Once Lincoln was sure they didn't have any doubt about this, he showed them the ones that scared him – the two orbs showing the two possible futures that could have happened tonight. Lincoln's sisters looked in horror as they saw their future selves brutally beat Lincoln out of anger as he tried to defend himself. They showed the same amount of shock and terror, seeing the other one showing Lincoln savagely beating them in a wild state driven by instincts to defend himself. Some of his sisters trembled when they saw the blood and the bones breaking. The screams and cries made it worse for them.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone or for you girls to hurt me. That's what could have happened tonight. I didn't want either future to happen, so I . . . so I ran," Lincoln said.
After a long pause, Lori asked, "Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you show this to us?! We would have believed you! Why didn't you show us this before?!"
Lincoln looked away and knew he had to show them the other painful and terrible futures. He wasn't sure if this would hurt them more.
"Because of this," Lincoln said, waving his hand.
The light orb showing the 'Bad Luck' incident future appeared. It showed them everything, Lynn threatening Lincoln with a bat, losing the game, blaming Lincoln, convincing the others he was a plague, locking him out of his room, him sleeping outside, treating him like a pariah, and kicking him out of the house. Then he showed them the future where he does reveal his powers, and they use him to make money by cheating off of lottery tickets, acing tests, and blaming him for bad things happening to them.
"You guys would abandon me, force me out of the house, and treat me like a pariah all because you thought I was bad luck. I felt hurt and betrayed because I never thought that you guys would do that to me. I didn't tell you because I didn't know if I could trust you guys anymore. You're my family, and the possibility that you would do these things to me made me feel so afraid . . . and sad. I've been living with a broken heart," Lincoln explained.
The girls were all shocked and in awe of what they saw, especially Lynn. She fell to her knees and looked at her hands trembling. She panted a few times before letting out a scream and then sobbed with gasps. Her reaction was similar to the Bribe's reaction when she woke up in the hospital in Kill Bill when she thought her baby was dead. Lynn slowly looked over her shoulder at Lincoln as tears streamed down her face. She got up and made her way to him. She gently held Lincoln's face as they looked at each other.
"Mmm . . . m-my Lincoln," Lynn whimpered weakly before hugging him close.
She cried more as Lincoln and the others tried to comfort her. She was in shock and severe depression. Luna hugged her from behind, and she and Lincoln rocked her gently back and forth as Luna kissed her head.
After what seemed like forever, Lynn eased up to look at her brother, "Lincoln, I-I had no idea y-you were going through so much al-all alone. I-I'm so sorry."
"It's all right, Lynn," Lincoln spoke.
"No!" Lynn cried out, making everyone flinch, "It's not okay! That is not okay. None of it! You're my brother. I love you. Nothing should ever, EVER get in between us, especially not a stupid game! Or money! Or luck! I'm your big sister. I'm supposed to protect you – from anything and anyone! (sobs) I swear, I will never ever let these visions come true. I'll never call you bad luck or mistreat you, ever! None of us will ever do horrible things to you!"
Lincoln felt a sharp pain in his head and cried out as he held his held. Everyone instantly gasped, and some, like Lynn, clapped their mouths. Lori, Leni, Luna, and Luan came over to try and help but didn't know what to do. Then Lincoln's hand glowed. He waved his hand, and the light orb flashed an image. At first, it was of Lincoln in front of the stairs as he was pleading with his family while they were rebuffing him as nothing more than bad luck. Then the image changed. It showed Leni holding Lincoln close, the twins, Lisa and Lucy hugging him in a protective manner, and Luan standing in front of them with her arms out, defending them. Lori, Luna, and Lynn looked like they were yelling at their parents. Lincoln looked like he was crying while all his sisters looked angry as they were shooting glaring daggers at their parents. Their parents looked mad like they were yelling back at them. Everyone in the hospital room gazed at the image closely and curiously.
"What just happened?" Lucy questioned.
"It changed," Lincoln spoke.
Lynn wiped her tears, "What?"
"The vision, it changed. Lynn, when you swore that you wouldn't treat me like bad luck, you changed the future," Lincoln answered.
Lisa's eyes widened after she wiped her tears and cleaned her glasses, "Of course! Lincoln's ability to see into the future gives him the power to change it! That's how he saved Leni and Lana from getting killed. And by showing us the future, we can change it, like now, for example. Lincoln showed Lynn mistreating Lincoln, and now Lynn swore she wouldn't let that happen; the future has changed."
Everyone's eyes widened. Lori took a moment to gather her thoughts as she was processing everything.
Lori started, "So, let me get this straight. You can see into the future and the different possible outcomes, right?"
Lincoln nodded.
"And you kept it a secret because of that future where we blame you for bad luck and the other future where we use you as a crystal ball."
Lincoln nodded again.
"You used your powers to help and save us. It's how you were able to save Leni from getting run over and Lana from getting killed by those alligators."
"And how I saved Luna," Lincoln added.
"What?" Leni asked.
"I foresaw the concert Luna went to getting shot up, so I warned the police with an anonymous phone call. Well, Lucy made the call." Everyone turned to Lucy, "I used my powers and told her all the details, and she told the police."
"You . . . it was you. I knew it! I knew you had something to do with it! You're the reason why I'm still alive! You saved my life," Luna pointed.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lucy, you knew?!" Luan exclaimed.
"Lincoln told me in secret and made me promise not to tell anyone. He showed me his powers, and I was there to help him," Lucy answered.
"So, you knew what was going to happen, and you did nothing?!" Lana jabbed.
"You saw the light orb. You saw what would have happened if Lincoln had shown you his powers. You were all going to use him for your own selfish benefits. So yeah! I kept quiet because I wanted to protect Lincoln, even from all of you!"
"That's not fair, Lucy. He's our brother too. We care and love him!" Leni protested.
Luna got in between everyone, "Everyone, stop! Lucy, when did Lincoln tell you?"
"After he saved Lana's life. I knew something was up before that, and I made him promise to tell me. So, when he had the vision of something bad happening to you, he used his powers to see the details like names and locations. I wrote it down and called the police. Lincoln almost passed out using his powers," Lucy answered.
"What?" Luna and the others turned to him.
"The visions usually come naturally to me in my dreams while I'm asleep. When I use them in the day, I have to concentrate, and it hurts my head the more I use them," Lincoln explained.
"Hmm, interesting. I wish to know more about this," Lisa said while feeling Lincoln's forehead.
Lori interrupted, "Hold up . . . as I was saying. Lincoln, you have powers. You didn't tell us. You used them to save your sisters' lives, right?"
Lincoln nodded.
"But the whole time, you knew that Lynn was going to blame you for bad luck, and she was going to convince the rest of us to believe that, and we'd kick you out of the house?"
Lincoln sighed and nodded again.
"And what were you going to do after that happened?" Lori questioned.
Lincoln left a long pause before answering. He knew that the answer was going to break their hearts, and he knew he had to explain why he would make that decision. He'd have to explain who they all are and what they're capable of.
Lincoln explained, "The only people I told my powers besides Lucy are Clyde, Ronnie Anne, and Stella. The plan was that when you guys kicked me out of the house and denied me shelter, I would go to either Clyde's house or Ronnie Anne's. Then we'd call the police, and our parents would be arrested for child abandonment . . . and the rest of you would go to juvie or foster care."
Lincoln's sisters were distraught when those words reached their ears. It was as if someone shot them in the heart. Each one of them had tears building up in their eyes.
"You would do that to us?" Lori asked.
"How could you?" Lola added.
"Guys, there are kids in this world, like my friends, who can confidently say, 'My family would never do this or that to me' – things like child abandonment, abuse, and neglect. I am not one of those kids. I can't say that . . . because my family would," Lincoln explained.
Lincoln's older sisters blinked several times at that while his younger sisters softly gasped.
"You would abandon me. You would neglect and abuse me. Those visions were not wrong. Even though the visions made small changes after I saved Leni and Lana, it still hurt because it felt like I had to earn your love to make you protect me. I shouldn't have to prove myself to my own family," Lincoln stated.
Lincoln showed them the light orbs, Leni and Lana standing up for their brother as he explained.
Lincoln continued, "There are minor bad things that anyone is capable of doing. Things like lying to skip a day of work. Things like picking up a dollar bill on the ground and, instead of returning it to its original owner, you used it to buy a soda in the vending machine. Yeah, those things are bad and dishonest, but you're not hurting anyone. Small things like that are not the end of the world. However, certain things like what I listed of what you would do to me, you have to be a bad person to do those things. Good people are not capable of doing those things – bad people are. You have to not care about hurting someone in order to do those things, and in those future visions, you guys wouldn't care about what would have happened to me while I was thrown out there. You would only care if my 'bad luck' affected your life. And tonight, you guys would have lost your temper and beaten me."
The sisters all felt that their whole world was crashing down on them. The truth of Lincoln's words was like knives to their hearts. To hear what they were capable of was beyond nerve-racking, and it delivered an ungodly chill up their spines, and the pupils in their eyes shrank.
They were his sisters, who were supposed to protect each other, but they didn't consider that they needed to protect Lincoln from themselves.
"I love you guys . . . but I am also afraid of you. You are capable of doing those terrible things to me because you are bad people," Lincoln said.
Lori, Luna, Luan, and Lynn gave a long blink as tears rolled down their cheeks. Leni, Lola, Lana, and Lisa gave a soft gasp as they softly sobbed.
"But . . . you are also capable of change because you do love me and care about me. There is good within you."
They looked at their brother with a small glimmer of hope in their eyes.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys, but I was scared, and I didn't know what else to do," Lincoln said, choking up and unable to stop himself from crying, "I wanted to tell you guys so bad (sobs) but with what the visions showed me, I-I didn't know what else to do. I'm so sorry."
Lynn and Luna held Lincoln close as they softly sobbed together. The others were taking in everything that Lincoln said and showed them. Most of them took several deep breaths while staring out into nothing. Lucy showed more calm and restraint toward her emotions.
Lori took several deep breaths before sitting back down on Lincoln's bed, "Lincoln . . . I don't care how right the light orbs or future visions, or whatever is right. I'm going to say something, and I want you to carve these words in stone into your heart and soul for what I'm about to say. We love you. I love you. Do you have any idea how precious you are to us? To me?"
Lincoln waited for her answer.
"I would murder someone for you. I love you to death. You are our precious brother. When you got run over tonight, my heart literally broke apart in pieces. Lincoln, we're your sisters. You shouldn't be afraid of us. We're supposed to protect you, even from ourselves. Whatever we need to do to change, to make things right, we'll do it. We'll go whatever distance because we love you," Lori stated firmly.
Leni stepped forward, "Lincoln, do you have any idea how important you are to us? How important you are to me? You're the light in my life. If something happened to you . . . I don't know what I'd do," Leni choked up and sobbed, "I don't know how to live without you, Lincoln!"
"Leni," Lincoln breathed.
He reached out to her, and she didn't hesitate as she hugged him close. Luna was the next to speak.
"Lincoln," Luna said.
He turned to her while still holding Leni.
"I remember the day when Mom and Dad brought you home after you were born. You're our first and only brother. Our parents trusted us to look after you . . . to protect you. I mainly looked after you when you were little. (sobs) I sang lullabies to you in your crib to help you fall asleep. You're very precious to me, Lincoln," Luna explained with a hoarse voice through her tears.
Leni eased up as Luna gently held Lincoln's face.
"Whatever's going on in your life, you can tell us. We're your sisters, Lincoln. We love you so much. I love you more than I love music!" Luna cried as she hugged Lincoln close.
After a long hug, Lori spoke, "She's right. Lincoln, if there's something wrong, whatever's going on, you can tell us. We're all making a point that we love you, and we need you to know that."
Lincoln, "Yeah, I know."
"No, you don't. In your head, you do, but not the heart, little bro. You need to know deep down inside your heart that we love you, and if you give us a chance, we'll show you, and you can believe it," Luna stated.
Lori holds Lincoln's head to make him look her in the eye, "Now, is there ANYTHING else that you're not telling us that we need to know?"
"No," Lincoln answered seriously.
"Anything at all? Anything we would do or might do to you that would make you want to run away?"
"No."
After a long pause, Lori asked, "Now, what about Mom and Dad? Do we tell them?"
Lincoln shook his head, "I think we should wait until my head heals or if I get any visions in my dreams. I don't know what to make of the image of you guys defending me from our parents."
"But wait! Shouldn't we tell them? Because maybe they'll understand like we did," Lola said.
"Yeah. Maybe that image is them getting upset because we didn't tell them about Lincoln's powers," Lana added.
"Or they get upset because we tell them," Luan suggested.
"We don't know anything for certain. I believe Lincoln is right about not telling them, at least for now anyway," Lisa said.
"But they will ask why Lincoln ran away. What do we tell them? Lucy questioned.
"The truth," Lincoln said, and everyone turned to him, "I ran away because of the Sister Fight Protocol."
Everyone showed a look of hurt mixed with shame.
"I know you believe it works, but Mom and Dad need to not cower in their bedrooms while you guys fight when things get out of hand. They need to step up, be actual parents, and put their foot down and stop you guys from fighting each other because hiding while you girls fight is dangerous. It's a free-for-all where anyone can get really hurt, hence the visions of what could have happened, which is why I ran away. We tell them that, but not about my powers. Also, it's not fair that your 'Protocol' prevents me from using the kitchen when I'm hungry, or the bathroom when I need to go, or my own bedroom. You can't do that. Just because you're angry or fighting doesn't mean you're entitled to do or take whatever you want. I'm a person, and that house is my home too, and you have to respect my needs as much as I have to respect yours," Lincoln explained.
Before anyone could object, Lynn nodded, "You're right, Lincoln." She turned to her sisters, "Guys, we need to be better for Lincoln. That means we need to stop fighting. We need to stop letting our anger get the better of us. We need to grow up. We need to be a family – a real one."
Lisa started, "But Lynn—"
"No, Lisa. I'm sure you and the others think that the protocol works, but you left out one variable – Lincoln. We didn't tell him or include him in it. It has to go. You said so yourself. The first step to solving a problem is admitting that there is one. The problem isn't you or her or her. It's us. We're the problem."
"I agree. Plus, Lincoln's right about how dangerous it is being a free-for-all. We may not like our parents due to their past behavior, but we still have to respect their authority," Lucy added.
Everyone hung their heads in shame but agreed.
Lisa sighed, "You're right, my athletic and gothic siblings. We need to be better. Let's get rid of the Sister Fight Protocol."
"That's one of the many things that we need to talk about. There's a lot of ground we need to cover, and we'll do that, but one step at a time," Lincoln stated.
Lori nodded, "I agree, but no more secrets Lincoln. Whatever is going on in your life, you have to tell us."
"She's right, Lincoln. We're your family, and even though we would have done something terrible to you, we're glad it didn't happen, and we're gonna change to be the sisters you deserve," Leni added.
The sisters all readied themselves to face their parents once the doctors were done talking to them.