17. Chapter 17

His phone was ringing. Lincoln groaned and shifted on his couch. What time was it? Too early, if there was no natural sunlight filtering through the windows. Lincoln tossed his blanket off himself and stumbled up and over to his desk. Only seven people had his number, but it was probably Leni; she always seemed to forget the concept of time zones. But just in case…

When he got over to the desk he picked it up. UNKNOWN CALLER above a number he didn't recognize. He squinted at the harsh light. It stopped ringing and switched back to the normal display, letting him know it was 4:56. Not abominably early, but still too early for him. He tossed it down again and zombie walked back to the couch.

Then it rang again. Lincoln looked back to see it still said unknown caller, same number. Telemarketers didn't call twice, or at bad hours. His imagination started running wild. Maybe something had happened and someone was borrowing a phone to call him? Lincoln hit accept and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" It was a male voice, just slightly accented. "Is this Lincoln Loud?" It asked.

"Uh…y-yeah." He answered, wide awake and heart suddenly pounding. Someone was looking for him. The only other time someone had been looking for him-

"Hey Bro! It's Bobby! Bobby Santiago. Remember?" Bobby?!

"Bobby?!" Lincoln pulled out his desk chair and fell onto it.

"Yeah, man." The man sounded just as jovial as Lincoln remembered. "Been a long time, huh?"

"Yeah. Real long time." Lincoln agreed. Long? How long? He tried to do some math in his head. The last time he'd physically seen Bobby had been…heck, that'd been when Lori had moved out. Over a decade ago. Last time he'd seen either of them. "Uh…why are you calling me at 5 in the morning?" He asked. How'd he even get his number?

"Oh…yeah." Bobby sounded more subdued. "Sorry about that, but it's kind of an emergency."

"Emergency?" Lincoln repeated, getting tired of the darkness and going to flip on the light switch for the living room. "What happened?" He asked, getting worried again. "Is Lori ok?"

"Yeah, babe's fine. It's a long story. You know how she's into business?"

"Yeah, yeah." Lincoln nodded. He knew that, even if he'd only learned it from Lyra recently. "A manager or something, right?"

"Actually, she moved up to a board a few weeks ago!" Bobby sounded so proud of his wife.

"Hey, that's pretty good." Lincoln smiled. Lori really had gone far since he'd last seen her. "But what's the problem?"

"Well, it's confusing." Bobby admitted. "I guess some other members of the board were doing things they weren't supposed to, and the cops started investigating the entire thing. They raided our house about an hour ago."

"They raided your house?!" Lincoln stood up.

"Yeah. Scared all of us. Babe was really mad." Lincoln heard the other man shudder. "I don't think I've ever seen her that angry before. She said she was going to sue everyone."

"But you're all alright?" Lincoln interjected. First time he hears about his oldest sister in over a decade and it's because the cops kicked in her door.

"Yeah, we're all fine." His brother in law assured him. "But the main reason I'm calling is Loan."

Loan. Just hearing that name made his heart skip a beat, his hands turn clammy, and a confused jumble of emotions. "What about her?" He managed some convincing neutral concern.

"She got really shook up by it." Bobby explained, with obvious fatherly concern in his voice. "And since the police are doing their investigation, Lori wants Loan away for a few weeks." Lincoln's heartbeat quickened. "We were going to have her stay with my family, but no one's available. The cops are investigating the bodega too anyway- something about money laundering."

"Oh man." Lincoln breathed.

"Yeah…but everyone's still okay! Anyway, we called you and Lori's parents asking if she could stay with them, but they're at a college orientation with Lily right now."

Lily was in college already?

"So I called Lori and she gave me your number."

Lori had suggested him? Lori had his number? She knew he lived back in Royal Woods? She knew he was even alive?

"I know it's really bad to call you up on short notice like this-" Bobby started.

"She can stay at my place." Lincoln said immediately. "I'm in the center of town." He gave the address and room number. Bobby sighed in relief.

"Lincoln Loud, you are a life saver." He said, and Lincoln grinned to himself just a little. "It won't be for long, we promise. And we'll pay you back."

"It's nothing." Lincoln swore. "Where are you now?"

"On the highway. About 2 hours away from Royal Woods. I really need to focus on the road now, but we'll be there soon, yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll uh…I'll be downstairs waiting. See you soon." The call ended, and as soon as it did Lincoln jumped from his seat. His hands were shaking. His heart was beating a mile a minute. His movements clumsy from the combination of a body still tired and a mind energized by shock.

Loan. God, there was a name he hadn't figured on hearing again. Or see. He hadn't physically seen her since she was only a few months old. And for the few years after that only on a Christmas card sent to the house every Christmas. His…

…niece?

And just like that he crashed back down, suddenly drained. An old conundrum, displaced long ago by forefront concerns and repeated self-assurances, abruptly back to the front of his mind. A matter that had nagged day and night.

A matter he put aside for now just as he always had. He had to make ready for a guest. Muscle memory led him to the couch to get that ready before he remembered he was already sleeping on the couch; Lyra and Lemy were in the bedroom.

Oh. He smacked himself upside the head. Idiot! Inviting someone to stay when you didn't have somewhere for them to sleep. Well, he did have a sleeping bag- a relic from his days before Royal Woods that anyone could fit in. But that just seemed like being a bad host. He guessed he could give the couch up for a few nights.

But man did he hate that sleeping bag.

He cleared the couch off, remade it, and retrieved the sleeping bag from the hallway closet. He guessed the kitchen would work for a few days. Speaking of, did he have enough food? He went to check. Stocked well enough that he wouldn't run out for a few days. He could always go to the store if there wasn't anything she'd eat.

Two hours till they got here. Two hours to contemplate.

Lori. That was a burned bridge Lincoln never expected to be rebuilt. He felt bad about what happened. He could understand why things turned out the way they did. He accepted it. He'd accepted it for years before he had to leave Royal Woods. Asking Lyra about it had been a moment of weakness brought on by opportunity, but it didn't change his resolve to let bygones be bygones.

But here it was. He for the life of him couldn't figure out how Lori had gotten his number in the first place. And why would she recommend him as a fallback instead of literally anyone else?

She still talked to Luna evidently, and one of the last interactions those two had had was Lori threatening to bludgeon her with a golf club. No, that was inaccurate; Lori had outright been swinging the that thing over Leni's head trying to hit Luna. But apparently, they'd reconciled, or Lori had forgiven her. Had she forgiven him too without reaching out?

Luna. As far as Lincoln knew, she was only one who still talked to Lori. His younger sisters besides Lucy probably did too, but Lincoln wasn't in contact with them. For all he knew, mom and dad had told them he was dead. Had Luna given her his number?

Damn, it was probably too early to call and find out.

He glanced at the clock again. 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Well, Lori seemed to be doing well. He'd always wondered, but he'd always had faith. She was smart. She was driven. They always imagined she'd go far, and she had. But she'd never been a crook; all of them had been a little underhanded, but not criminals. Whatever Bobby had talked about was surely false.

1 hour and 40 minutes.

How did Lori and Luna reconcile though? They'd been wiling to kill each other. Over him, he had to remind himself. What changed? He had been gone for a few years though, and a lot could change in a few years- he'd had four (five?) kids in as many years before things slowed down.

Was it really that late though? Luna WAS one of the family's night owls. Without even realizing it, Lincoln had picked up his phone. He stared down at the unlit screen. Even if she was awake, could she talk? Would she be drunk? He brought it to life with a tap of the screen. Might as well try. He brought up her number and hit 'call' and held it to his ear.

It rang. And rang. And rang. For at least 15 seconds. Lincoln was sure he wasn't going to get an answer and was about to hit the 'end' button just he heard a click. "'Ello?"

"Luna, hey." Lincoln said quickly. "Sorry for calling so early. You're not busy, are you?"

"Nah. I'm at a waffle place in Arizona. Whole band's getting some early food. Why, what's up?" There was a little concern in her question.

"Nothing bad." He said quickly. "Nothing to do with Lyra and Lemy. Actually…I was calling about Lori." There was a moment of surprised silence on the other end. It didn't surprise him; all of them had pretty much sworn off on ever discussing their eldest sister.

"What about her?" Luna finally found her words.

"Did you…give her my number by any chance?"

"Yeah." Luna admitted. "Like a year ago. I gave her everyone's number. She's cool now…mostly," she added, "so I thought, you know…" She trailed off. "Why?" She asked. "Did she call you?"

"No. Bobby did though, and he said Lori gave it to him. You said you gave it to her a year ago?"

"I think." Luna said uncertainly. "But I asked the others and they said she never called, so I figured she never did. Looking back, it probably wasn't a good move… What did Bobby call about?"

"The cops raided their house."

"Whoa!"

"Yeah." Lincoln said tiredly. "First time I've heard of her in years and it's because of that. Anyway, they asked me to watch Loan for a few-"

"Loan?!" Luna interrupted.

"Yeah." Lincoln confirmed. "Their daughter, remember?" Jeez, that hadn't sounded phoned in at all. But Luna wouldn't play along.

"Dude, I know what you're thinking. Don't." She warned. "Lori broke a full wine bottle and nearly shanked me when I did."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Sticking to it was pure habit at this point. "She's just staying here a few days and then they'll come pick her up." He heard Luna sigh on the other end.

"Bro, just…be careful, okay? Don't get too excited."

"I won't." He defended.

"Have you actually spoken to Lori?" She asked him next.

"No. Just Bobby." He reaffirmed.

"If you talk to Lori, just watch what you say." Luna urged. If Lincoln ever got to talk to his oldest sister again, the first thing he'd probably do was say he was sorry.

"Right…Thanks Luna, I just wanted to be sure of where she got it. I should get going now."

"Call me back once she goes home, bro." Luna asked. "Just call me."

"I will." He swore. "Have fun on tour. I'll talk to you soon."

"Same to you dude." The enthusiasm was missing from her voice. Lincoln clicked 'end call' and let out a breath he'd been holding in. How long had that call lasted? 1 hour and 21 minutes till they got here. Lincoln sat back in his chair.

Luna was worrying too much, he thought to himself. Lori may have been a boogeyman to her and the others during her last year in the house, but never to him. Only cold. And besides, this had been her idea from what Bobby said. Luna herself said Lori had calmed down.

Maybe this was a test of some sort? He could hope. In case it was, he absolutely had to make a good impression. Was this place dirty at all? He looked around and realized it really could look a little tidier. So he spent the next twenty minutes cleaning up the living room and then the kitchen.

And after that, despite the fact they still wouldn't arrive for another hour at the very least, Lincoln donned a jacket and went downstairs to wait outside. The sun was starting to rise, but it was still only in the mid 50s. And he only sat on the front steps wringing his hands for a few minutes before deciding to walk down to Flip's (it was automated, so it didn't need to close) for a cheap and unhealthy breakfast. Anything besides standing still; he was too antsy for that.

5 minutes. 10 minutes. Time passed so slowly. Other people came out of the apartment to leave for work. Most of them Lincoln only knew in passing. The parking spaces on the street slowly started emptying. He forced himself to sit down on the front steps again, mindful of looking like a jittery mess.

Eventually, a vehicle pulled up into one of the vacant spots: a luxury SUV. Lincoln looked up at the vehicle curiously as the driver door opened and out stepped an aged but still very recognizable Bobby Santiago. The older man jogged over.

"Lincoln! Dude!" He smiled and grabbed Lincoln's hand, shaking it vigorously. It's good to see you again!"

"Yeah, you too." Lincoln smiled, looking him up and down. He was just a little taller now, and stockier with muscle. He had a slight mustache now too. But otherwise, he didn't look all that different.

"You got tall man." He observed. "And skinny."

"Yeah, well, athletics were never my thing." Lincoln laughed. "Glad to see you look okay…"

"Like I said, they only scared us." Bobby shook his head, then frowned. "Although they roughed up Nini; she almost threw a punch at one of them." Nini? Wait…

"Ronnie Ann?" Lincoln guessed, the name sounding dusty on his tongue. It wasn't a name he'd said recently, that was for sure.

"Yeah." Bobby nodded. "She's been staying with us after her apartment burned down. She was in the kitchen when they came in and I guess she thought it was a break in."

"Well…I'm glad you're all okay." Lincoln said for another time that night.

"Yeah, it could've been worse." Bobby admitted reluctantly. He seemed to suddenly remember why he was there. "Oh yeah, here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill fold that had a fifty on the outer layer. "For expenses and as a thanks." Some modest part of Lincoln wanted to decline, but he knew realistically that he had to.

"Right. It's no problem. Was I really the only one?" He was still wondering about that.

"Pretty much." Bobby shrugged. "Nini's apartment burned down, like I said. Our mom's in the hospital for surgery."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lincoln said apologetically.

"She's fine." Bobby assured. "But she was the only other one who could watch her; all my cousins are traveling, and my uncle took his wife to a conference in Mexico. That only left Lori's family, and she suggested you after your parents couldn't take her."

"Bad luck." Lincoln said sympathetically, although his mind was spinning.

"Lori said the same thing, actually." Bobby revealed. "But we're grateful man, really." Bobby swore.

"It's no problem, really." Lincoln insisted once more. Bobby nodded.

"I'll go get her." He turned, then stopped like he'd just remembered to say something. "She's a really sweet girl like her mom. But she's a little nervous around people she doesn't know. So don't worry if she's a little jumpy." Lincoln nodded. He was used to that.

Bobby went over to the SUV and opened the passenger door. It looked like he was talking to someone, although Lincoln couldn't see between the tinted windows and the gleam of the rising sun. After a full minute, he stepped back and someone stepped out with a bag in one hand: Loan.

Lincoln hadn't had any idea of what to expect. That she'd look like Lori would've made the most sense, obviously. But as she walked towards him with Bobby behind her, Lincoln realized that beyond the same hair color there weren't many similarities. He had to search his mind to remember a birthday, but he was sure she was 15 like Lyra was, and Lincoln remembered what Lori looked like when she was 15. Lori had had braces and acne and honestly looked like a dork.

Loan was small and skinny but didn't have either of those. Compared to Lori's thick and styled hair, Loan's was stringier and laid flat on her head. As she got closer though, Lincoln noticed a few other things that made him frown. She wasn't just skinny; she seemed unnaturally thin- her blouse and skirt just barely fit. There were dark marks under her eyes, which seemed to be darting every which way. She looked frail and jumpy.

Her eyes stopped moving to look at him as they approached. What expression was that? Not fear. It looked a little like contempt, even.

"Loan, this is your Uncle Lincoln." Bobby introduced him.

"Hi." She said simply. She had something in her hand- an expensive looking new phone- and brought it up to look at it.

"Hi." Lincoln tried to keep sounding amiable. "I haven't seen you in a long time. You've grown."

"Duh." She didn't look up. Lincoln blinked in surprise then looked up at an apologetically smiling Bobby.

"I can take your bag, if you want." Lincoln offered. It suddenly landed at his feet. "Uh…right." He knelt down and picked it up. "I'll go put this upstairs." He left them to say their goodbyes and such. As he walked up the steps, he couldn't help but smirk to himself. Loan was fascinated with her phone and got other people to do things for her.

She was definitely Lori's.

He went into his apartment and set it down beside the couch before hurrying back down. He got there just in time to see Bobby giving his daughter a tight hug and saying something that was probably encouragement in her ear. Lincoln hung back, to let his brother-in-law and niece have their moment, till they broke apart and Bobby beckoned him over.

"It was great seeing you again, Lincoln. Really great."

"Yeah. Nice seeing you too." Lincoln agreed. "Just wish it could be under different circumstances."

"Maybe sometime soon, yeah?" Bobby suggested optimistically.

"Hopefully." Lincoln agreed. It'd be a chance to apologize to Lori. He said goodbye in a few different ways and just had to give his daughter two more goodbye hugs, but Bobby eventually realized that Lori needed him back at home and left, just after 7:30 in the morning.

It was just the two of them now.

"C'mon. I'll show you which apartment it is." Lincoln's niece followed him into the building without a word. He stepped into the apartment and held the door open while she came in. Loan took a seat on the couch right next to her bag while Lincoln walked over to his desk chair.

"You got wifi?" She asked, she was looking around the room, her eyes settling for the longest on his videogame console, which Lemy had got so much mileage out of.

"Yeah."

"What's the password?"

"Should be on the side of the router there." Lincoln pointed to it sitting beside his computer screen.

"What does it say?" She didn't look up. Lincoln forced himself out of his chair to look and read it out for her, which she typed in and logged on without so much as a thank you.

"So…" Lincoln sat back down in his chair. Loan didn't look up from her phone. "I guess this must be pretty upsetting for you."

"It's fine."

"Did your mom tell you anything about me?" He asked.

"No."

"Oh." Lincoln said.

Just then, the two of them heard a door open down the hall and another door close. He was sure that had been Lyra going into the bathroom.

"That was your cousin." Lincoln explained to Loan, and for the first time in the conversation she looked up at him for more than two seconds. "Lyra and Lemy are staying here too." She looked at him for only a few extra seconds, her expression unchanging and betraying nothing.

"Okay." She acknowledged and her eyes went right back to the screen. Bobby was right- she really was the quiet type. Lucy had said the same thing about Lupa, but a gap was clear. Lincoln heard flushing and a door opening and quickly got up to catch his actual daughter before she went back into the bedroom. They both ended up nearly running into each other and made the other jump; Lyra had already been coming down the hallway to investigate the voices she'd heard.

"Good morning." Lincoln got the first word out. "Come here for a second." He beckoned her into the living room. She followed him and her eyes went immediately to the couch and widened when she saw who was there. "She's going to be staying just a few days." Lincoln explained as he sat back down.

"Hey." Loan made a short wave at her cousin before the hand went right back to the phone screen.

"Hello." Lyra got over her initial shock. "Did something happen?" She asked.

"The house got raided last night." To Lincoln's surprise, Loan looked up and started talking without any reservation. "Police think my mom might've been doing something illegal at her job. So she decided to send me away for a few days while that happens." She sounded unconcerned.

"Are your parents okay?" Lyra asked.

"They're fine."

"That's good." She nodded. "I can put your stuff in the bedroom if you want?" She offered. Lincoln thought that was a good time to step in and explain the sleeping arrangements.

"I decided Loan can have the couch while she's staying here." He spoke up, grabbing both girls' attention. "I'll take the sleeping bag for a while."

"Thanks." His niece took that as an invitation to lay down, head resting on the arm rest. She got comfortable and even kicked her shoes off. At least Lincoln's worry of her hating the arrangement were voided.

"I guess I'll go make some breakfast." Lincoln said hopefully. "There anything you like?" He asked Loan. She shrugged.

"Anything's fine."

"Err…alright." Lincoln stood up. "I'll see what we have."

"I'll help." Lyra volunteered.

10 minutes later

Lyra's mother said life was full of surprises, although the only surprises Lyra ever saw were what her mom managed to get up too. This visit had had a lot of surprises in it though, and now it had one more.

Loan was the cousin Lemy and her saw the most out of all of them, but their interactions were limited; she was a solitary person, preferring games and the internet over interactions with other people besides her father. Lyra talked to her about various subjects sometimes. Loan had tried to absorb Lemy into her gaming addiction to help her pull off some exploits. But unlike here he grew tired of games due to Loan's enthusiasm, same as the way Lacy turned him off sports. Consistent interaction wasn't normal.

But there was something underneath that reclusive and unmaintained surface. The blond attended a prestigious private academy her mother paid for, one that had certain minimum requirements. There was some intelligence behind that unhygienic façade. The teen had confided to Lyra before about how she disliked her own mother and Lyra was sure part of her behavior was just to spite her. Loan was a smart person, just a little petty and uninspired.

Lyra and her uncle were still getting items and ingredients from the cupboards when Loan's voice sounded from the living room, annoyed and accusatory. "Stop staring up my skirt you little pervert." Lyra dropped what she was holding and hurried out. From the way Loan was laying on the couch, anyone who came out of the hallway and looked to the left would have that line of sight. That just so happened to be Lemy, who must've stopped to gawk at their new arrival. He was red in the face and already stepping away. Loan wasn't making any effort to cross her legs or otherwise hide.

Lyra grabbed her brother's shoulders and steered him towards the kitchen. "Is everything okay?" Their uncle asked. He'd heard Loan too.

"Everything's fine." Lyra assured, pushing Lemy to sit in a chair. He looked somewhere between angry and embarrassed, and glowered when Lincoln looked at him.

There were things Lyra didn't like about her cousin. Part of the reason she stayed indoors a lot was social anxiety, yes, but laziness was a big part of it too. Aside from that, she could have a crude mind (probably the internet's fault) and her lack of hygiene was linked to a general disregard for her own person and decency.

"Why is she here?" Lemy asked, keeping his voice low.

"She's going to be staying a few days." Lincoln explained while he and Lyra made breakfast- muffins.

"Why?" He asked.

"Her family is having court troubles." Lyra explained. As much as she didn't like it, Lemy understood what that meant.

"Sorry I couldn't warn you guys. It was kind of sudden." Their uncle apologized.

"It's fine." Lyra assured. If it was just last night, they'd come to him at most only a few hours ago for help and he'd immediately agreed. It was the type of behavior she expected. "I'm glad to see her." Lyra remembered something from one of the conversations they'd had earlier during the visit. "This is the first time you've seen her in a long time, isn't it?"

"Yep." Lincoln confirmed, nodding. "Last time I saw her, she was just a blanket bundle in her mom's arms. You both were back then." He smiled. Lyra smiled a little too before returning to a serious subject.

"About Aunt Lori and Uncle Bobby, are they really okay?" She asked. She'd felt Loan had been a little too casual about giving that news.

"I'm pretty sure." Lincoln said. "I only spoke to Bobby, but he made it sound like it was all just a big misunderstanding. It was someone else at the company Lori works for so they're investigating everyone."

"Mhm." Lyra acknowledged. That sounded overzealous.

"How long is she staying here?" Lemy butt in to the conversation again. Lyra glanced at him. Don't get an attitude. He shrunk under it. Things had gotten off to a bad start, but that wasn't a reason.

"Her parents should come pick her up in a few days." Lincoln assured his nephew. The batter had been poured by that point and the trays put in the oven.

"Uh, Lyra." Her uncle implored quietly, clearly in the interest of secrecy, so she leaned in curiously. "Does Loan always look like that?" He asked. Always look like that? She realized he must've been referring to how unkempt she looked.

"She does." Lyra told him. "I know she looks…off." That was the term the least offensive to Loan and her parents she could use in her sentence. "But there's nothing wrong with her. She's just like that."

"'Figuring things out for herself'." Lincoln nodded, and Lyra had to remember those were her own words she'd used to describe her cousin that time they'd gone to the arcade with Lacy. She wondered if her uncle understood now that she'd meant Loan just hadn't put her life and energy into something yet. "She has time." He dismissed her unhealthy behavior. He then looked at the timer at the stove.

"I need to go make a phone call. Can you get those if I'm not back up here?" He asked. Lyra nodded. "Thanks." He left the apartment. Lyra watched him go, turned to see Lemy was content at the kitchen table, and decided to go check on her cousin.

"So your mom drops you here now?" Loan asked as Lyra sat down in her uncle's chair.

"This is the first time." Lyra answered, staring hard. Something stuck out to her- her cousin's twitch wasn't there anymore.

"So…he's a good guy?" She asked, tilting her head back to look. Lyra assumed she meant their uncle.

"He's very kind and considerate. Why?" She asked.

"Just seemed a little creepy to me at first." Loan shrugged and looked back at her screen. "I felt like he was staring me up." Lyra frowned deeply.

"He's just a very kind man." Lyra repeated, disturbed at the implication. "He helps his sisters with their kids and I think he's just fond of it."

"Yeah, my mom mentioned her sisters had a lot of bastard children." Loan said unapologetically, and Lyra grimaced. She'd mentioned to her cousin before that Lemy and her had stayed with other aunts, and she hadn't made a disparaging comment then. Not only that, but she'd insulted Lyra's mother in the same breath. "But he doesn't have a girlfriend or any kids of his own?" She went on. "Is he gay?" Now Lyra blushed deeply, her earlier outrage quashed. She really hoped Lemy hadn't overheard any of that.

"I don't pry into his personal life." She said with a slight huff. "He's a nice and respectable man, that much I know."

"If you say so." Loan dropped the conversation entirely. Slightly riled up but not willing to admonish her cousin, Lyra decided to go wait in the kitchen with her brother.

"What's bastard children?" Lemy asked when she sat down, and she winced.

"Please forget you ever heard that word." Lyra asked of him. Another thing her cousin could do that get on her nerves was not mind her mouth in front of children. Lemy did drop it, and the two sat there watching the timer count down on the oven. Lincoln came back a few minutes before it was done and waited with them.

"Hey Loan, there are muffins out here!" Their uncle called out as they pulled them out of the oven.

"Bring me some!" Was the response. And Lyra watched with a frown as her uncle did just that before going to eat at his desk. Her and Lemy decided to eat in the kitchen. But after that though, Lemy had the choice of either going out into the living room to play his video games or doing something else all day. The urge to play video games eventually won out, but he chose to sit on the floor rather than ask Loan to stop hogging the couch.

Lyra decided to sit beside him and watch him play, although her true interest was really in making sure there weren't anymore conflicts between her cousin and her brother. Her presence wasn't need though; Loan had produced a pair of headphones for her phone and for all intents and purposes shut them out. And a little after that she'd fallen into a deep sleep right after that on the couch, still holding onto her phone.

"That's normal too." Lyra told her uncle when he finally noticed. Another thing Lyra had noticed about her cousin: except for during the school year, she usually slept for the day. It maintained the peace in its own way.

That afternoon

Loan didn't wake up until 1 P.M, hours later. Sleep mercilessly dropped her back into the land of the awake and she groaned. Wait- she could hear a lot of noise. That wasn't normal. Her eyes shot open, and the first thing she noticed was someone sitting on the floor in front of her with their back to her.

She shot to her feet with surprising speed, looking wildly around and realizing that she was not in her bedroom, or even her house. The person on the floor spun around at the movement, and after a moment she recognized that it was Lemy. And that was all Loan needed to remember that she wasn't at home- she was at her uncle's.

Oh yeah. She fell back down onto the couch with a grumble and rubbed her eyes. "You okay?" A voice asked. Her uncle. He'd spun around in his desk chair to look at her with concern.

"Fine." Loan mumbled, tired. "Where's the bathroom?" She asked.

"Down the hall there." He pointed. "The door on the left." Loan got up and trudged down the hallway, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The bathroom was small and cramped, smaller than her closet, even. Heck, her bathroom back at home was nearly as big as the room she'd woken up in. The second floor of her house was bigger than this whole apartment.

It was probably a mess now. The house, not her room- that was always messy. Cops had been turning it upside down looking for stuff. She'd been awake when it happened, sitting up in bed with a controller in her hands when she heard shouting and someone pounding up the stairs. If her parents hadn't been woken up by then, her screaming had probably done it.

The whole thing was a blurred hazy panic in her mind now. They'd all been made to sit in the living room for a while, then her mother had ordered her to pack some clothes and go sit in their family's SUV. And about 20 minutes after that her dad came out and they were on the road while he explained what had happened and that they (meaning mom decided and he went with it) had decided it was better she was out of town for a while with her mom's family.

The first option had been her grandparents. Loan had talked to them over the phone or one of those online chat rooms every now and then and her mom always made her stand for a Christmas photo every year. Mom had taken her to visit them twice. It was an old people's house, looked like it and smelled like it, although she had an aunt just a little older than her who still lived there.

But they were out of town, so her mother had had to call around and try find someone else willing to put her up. Unsurprisingly, mom didn't have any friends and ended up having to fall back on her family. She didn't talk about them, at all. She just had a picture that Loan had only ever seen face down on her desk. Only her brother, Loan's uncle and someone her dad seemed fond of, had agreed to take her, it seemed.

Yeah, send your teenage daughter to stay with a man she didn't know. Another bad decision in a large chain of them. Well, at least he was the lame kind of relative instead of the creepy kind, just from what Loan had seen.

It was a break from her mother, at least. Hell, a creepy relative would've been better than her mother on some days.

After she was done she walked back into the living room. Lemy was still sitting on the floor playing video games, something last generation. Lyra was there too, having apparently settled there while Loan had been in the bathroom. Loan sat down on the couch behind both of them.

Loan wasn't short on family at all, especially on her father's side. He had a huge family, and by extension Loan had a lot of cousins and 2nd cousins. But big family get togethers weren't really her thing; she didn't like the noise. Besides, when it came to her father and his side of the family, she didn't exactly 'fit in'.

Lyra, Lemy, and their mom were the only side of her mom's family Loan ever saw. Maybe her mom had her reasons for being a bitch; Loan would hate growing up with a Rockstar. Lemy was always a little brat first thing when he came over. Lyra was okay; Loan went back and forth from thinking she was okay to hating her depending on if her mom made any snide comments when she was tipsy, calling her niece 'a respectable woman' compared to Loan.

Bitch.

But Lyra seemed to think Loan's mom was full of it too. Or at least she never spoke back when Loan complained about her mom, unlike if Loan spoke to literally anyone else. Besides, it was nice to be around a girl who wasn't so full of herself like the ones at the academy ("that's called self-worth, darling, something you should have more of", according to the wise words of Lori Loud).

There were worse people Loan could be stuck spending time with.

She picked up her cellphone from the spot it had gotten wedged under her when she fell asleep. The battery fortunately still had some juice in it. She scrolled to the games screen where dozens of icons showed up next to a scroll bar that was ridiculously tiny. Mobile gaming was a big part of Loan's daily life. It was ridiculous how many and what kind of games you could fit on it. Plus, it had the benefit that her mom would never take her phone away from her- 'safety concerns', daddy always begged his wife- so she'd never be without no matter what trouble she got into. She was really into those city management games: you build up a city and troops and attack other players. She had 14 on her phone in total. It was all she had at the moment anyway. She opened one of them to check its status.

"You're a night owl, huh?" Her uncle asked, turning in his chair towards her.

"Huh?" Loan hadn't heard him.

"You like to sleep during the day."

"I guess." She finished that game and went to check on the next.

"You know-" He started, and Loan popped in her earphones and started to act like she couldn't hear him. "Oh." Her uncle said awkwardly. He stopped talking and turned back to his desk.

Peace at last. And she gamed for a few minutes uninterrupted by anyone.

There was sudden hammering on the front door, and Loan jumped, fumbling her phone. Lemy didn't react and Lyra looked up from her book. A second later, their uncle came out of the kitchen, confusion on his face. Loan was picking up her phone and checking the screen when he opened it.

"Hel-ah ah…" Lincoln's words died with a croak. Then another voice spoke.

"Long time no see, lame-o." Loan's head jerked. She knew that voice!

"Aunt Ronnie?" She looked up and saw her aunt- her dad's sister- standing in the doorway with a back pack and carrying two duffle bags.

"Hey, princess." The slim and pretty Latina let her come in for a hug. 'Princess' was a nickname. She'd used to call Loan 'the spoiled princess' for the longest time, but her brother had asked her not to, so she'd shortened it to just that. In spite of how that sounded, the two really got along really well. A mix of mutual dislike when it came to Loan's mother, and a blunt sort of attitude that could make her father sway on his feet. "Lincoln here treating you right?" She asked when the hug broke, motioning to Loan's uncle.

The man looked like he'd seen a ghost. He was rooted in place, his mouth agape. Loan's aunt rolled her eyes and stepped into the apartment. "You forget how to speak these last ten years?"

"Come in." He murmured a few seconds after they already had. Aunt Ronnie set the duffle bags on the couch and shrugged off the backpack to hand it to Loan.

"Bobby said you'd go crazy without these, so I brought them over." Loan unzipped the backpack and looked inside to see her laptop. Yes! She knelt and unzipped the duffle bags and found some more clothes, but also her vast collection of handheld gaming systems and the hundreds of games she had for them. Maybe this wouldn't be a total bore fest after all. But while she was looking, her aunt kept talking to her uncle. "You don't look happy to see me again." She sounded kind of irritated.

"Wait," Loan stood up. "Do you two know each other?" She asked, pointing between the two of them.

"Yeah." Aunt Ronnie answered. "We use to be-"

"Friends." Lincoln spoke up.

"Yeah, friends." Ronnie seemed glad that he was finally speaking.

"Just friends." Lincoln clarified further.

"Yeah…" Loan's aunt's voice lost some of the it's usual roughness, and instead of staring at each other, her and Lincoln awkwardly broke eye contact. Loan's brow furrowed. Were they interested in each other? She shuddered. She already had the misfortune of watching her parents act all gooey. God, she even overheard them having sex some nights. She really didn't want to imagine anything like that with her aunt and uncle…who were brother and sister in law. Alright, these thoughts were getting weird.

"Sorry." Lincoln apologized, starting to move again. "You just surprised me. It's great to see you again, Ronnie Ann. You look…well." Was he checking out her body? Loan swore he was checking out her aunt's body.

"And you look the same." She smirked and gave him a light tap on the shoulder. "Who are these two?" She turned to Lyra and Lemy, who'd so far just watched all the exchanges without saying anything.

"Oh, this is my niece and nephew. I'm watching them for a little while." He explained.

"Hello." Lyra said politely once she was the focus. Ronnie looked between both of them.

"They're your sister's who wanted to be a Rockstar, right?" She guessed. "Ehhh…Luna!" She snapped her fingers.

"That's right." Lincoln answered. "And she is a Rockstar."

"Good for her." Ronnie Ann looked around the small apartment. "Nice place you got here."

"It's home." He answered simply, watching her sit down in his chair. Loan decided their conversation wasn't interesting and kept looking in the bag. Looks like everything was there. Had her dad put this together? He even remembered the power cords, and he usually forgot those.

"So I guess your dream job in California didn't work out?" Ronnie Ann guessed.

"Huh?" Lincoln said dumbly.

"Lori said you went out there and tried to get into animation. Since you're still here, I guess it didn't happen."

"Ah…yeah…" Lincoln admitted. "I uh…failed the classes. Decided to come back home and get into comics."

"Would've been nice if you'd let me know about either of those." Loan looked up at her aunt's words. From the sound of it, the two old friends hadn't parted on good times. She was fast enough to see Lincoln flinch.

"Both decisions were pretty sudden." He defended weakly, scratching the back of his head.

"So I guessed." Ronnie Ann said flatly then turned to Loan. "That's everything, right?"

"Yes, Aunt Ronnie. Thank you." She was already powering up one of the portable systems. The Latina stood up from the chair and stretched.

"So Lincoln," she said, and Loan expected her to humiliate him further. "Why don't we go hang out in town for a while?" Loan and Lyra's eyes both shot up to the adults.

"Hang out?" Lincoln repeated.

"Yes, hang out." Ronnie Ann said again, rolling her eyes. "I just drove here for three hours, I might as well check the place out. And we got some catching up to do."

"Oh…yeah. I guess we do." He agreed, getting red in the face. "But uh…I was actually about to make lunch. You can join us." He offered. "Is mac' n cheese fine?"

"If it's anything like what your dad used to make, sure."

"I'm not THAT good." Lincoln shook his head. "But I can manage." He headed into the kitchen. Ronnie Ann smirked before walking over to the couch and sitting down beside her niece. She leaned her head back and laughed to herself.

"What's so funny?" Loan asked without pausing the JRPG she'd started up.

"He's still an awkward idiot like all those years ago." She said, just a little fondly even.

"I heard that!" Lincoln's voice called from the kitchen.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Lincoln." Ronnie Ann started. "You're still cool in your own way." Loan's eyes darted over to check her aunt's expression. Oh God, she was definitely into him.

"Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically. "You haven't changed at all either."

"You know it." Loan's aunt turned to her. "So, you gotten settled in?"

"He gave me the couch." Loan explained.

"The couch? Is that really the best you could do?" Ronnie Ann called into the kitchen.

"Lyra and Lemy are already using the bedroom. I'm going to be sleeping on the kitchen floor!" He said dramatically. Ronnie Ann snorted in an amusement.

"Knowing you, it won't be a problem." She nudged her niece. "You've slept in worse places."

"Aunt Ronnie, stop!" Loan whined. She hated it when her aunt or mom brought this up.

"We found her sleeping on the kitchen table at her house once." Lemy spoke up from the floor. His sister tried to shush him.

"Shut up you little brat." Loan sneered. She took a lot of naps and sometimes in weird places. Why did they want to make fun of her for it?

"I've found her sleeping in her own closet." Her aunt played right along with the boy and then laughed when Loan complained that she was embarrassing her. She'd just been trying to avoid chores and got comfy, that was all! "Calm down, Princess." After having a laugh, her aunt tried to make amends. "Your mom's parents are getting back in 2 days. Lincoln will drop you off at their place and you'll have a room to hide in all day."

CRASH.

A loud, metallic, and echoing noise rang out from the kitchen. Loan yelped and dropped her game, Lyra nearly dropped her book, Lemy got distracted long enough for his character on the screen to die, and Ronnie Ann jumped too.

"What the hell was that?" The black-haired woman stood up.

"Uncle Lincoln?" Lyra called anxiously, approaching the kitchen. Ronnie Ann went with her, and Loan and Lemy got up to follow. Lincoln was slumped against the back wall of the kitchen, an empty pan near his feet. Steam was rising from the floor where boiling water had landed just recently. His face was pale and he was shaking from the close shave he'd just had. "Are you okay?" Lyra asked, then Ronnie Ann pushed past her.

"Can't even cook without nearly killing yourself." She put her arms under his shoulders and pulled him up while Lyra quickly went to get something to clean up the mess. "Did any of that get on you?" She asked, looking him over for any signs of injury.

"N-no." He stuttered before moving to collapse in one of the chairs at the table, and he barely made that journey. "My hand slipped."

"You're lucky you didn't cook yourself." She gave his head a small shove and sighed. "Just sit there, I'll take care of it." She grabbed the pan off the floor.

"Thanks." He said in the same shocked tone. Lyra hurried past Loan with a towel in hand, and the blond teenager quickly left to avoid the possibility of being dragged into clean up duty. She got lucky and didn't have to do anything. Lunch was served an hour after that. Loan got hers and quickly went back to the couch before plugging her headphones back in. Her aunt and uncle started talking and swapping stories about what they'd been doing the past few years and again, Loan had no interest in hearing that.

They left soon after, and Loan made sure to give her aunt one last hug. But as soon as they were out the door, Loan stretched right back out on the couch. "Alone at last." She sighed, pleased. Lyra and Lemy glanced at her but said nothing. It was a double win as far as the blond was concerned.

That evening

It was around 7 in the evening that Lyra's phone buzzed and she got it out of her skirt pocket. It was a text from her uncle. "He says he'll be back late." He told the others. They were all sitting together on the couch; Loan had sat up after her legs got numb earlier that evening. "And that I can make dinner."

"They're getting a hotel room." Loan gagged, and Lyra blushed a little.

"So he'll get back in the morning?" Lemy asked.

"Yes." Lyra said quickly.

"Pfft." She narrowed her eyes at her cousin. But she didn't say anything, and Lemy was too engrossed in his game to pick up any implications.

The night turned out uneventful for the three of them and Lemy ended up being right; their uncle never got back before him and Lyra went to bed. And the next day Loan would mention she didn't see him come in till past 4 in the morning. But what made it weird was that Ronnie Ann had texted Loan at 10 PM saying she was heading back home.