20. Chapter 20

Was it a sin to lie to yourself? That was the top layer of the things that plagued her mind last night. She told herself she wasn't that disappointed over not getting to see her grandparents. She told herself she didn't resent her uncle for lying to her. But she'd eventually realized those were both lies. And so back to the question: was is a sin to lie to yourself?

She didn't want to resent her uncle, but he'd admitted to lying straight to her face. It was jarring, considering he'd been nothing but honest for the rest of their visit. It made a niggling doubt in her mind: had he lied about anything else?

And was she so bummed out about not getting to see her grandparents? She didn't really know them that well; hardly anything about them, really. So what was it then? There was something she'd really wanted at that point that had been taken away from her at that moment: answers. She wanted to know what had happened with a longing that grew day by day. She didn't even know what she would do with those answers when she got them, she just knew she wanted them.

She didn't resent her life enough to wish it could've been different. She was sure she wasn't lying to herself when she thought that. She hoped she wasn't lying.

Despite getting nine hours of sleep and always being an early riser, Lyra woke up the day after Loan left feeling fatigued. It was only 5 in the morning. She must've been twisting in her sleep, because the covers and her hair were a mess. It was unusual.

She was in no mood to start her day at that moment, and would've willingly stayed in bed if nature didn't mandate a need to leave. She lethargically squirmed her way out from under the blanket. She'd pee and come straight back to bed. Maybe a few more hours would make her more agreeable to the day.

As she shuffled into the hallway, she realized she heard voices from the living room, one feminine. More unexpected visitors? She went to investigate.

The surprise for this morning was discovering Aunt Lori was over. Lincoln and her were sitting on the couch, his photo album laid out across both their laps while they pointed and reminisced over the contents.

"I don't even know how we avoided going to jail that time."

"They probably didn't want to go through the effort of getting enough cars to take us." They flipped a page, and Lyra's uncle burst out laughing.

"Did Lynn ever tell you what happened to us that Halloween?" He asked, looking over at his sister and noticing Lyra in the background. "Lyra." Aunt Lori turned and looked at her too. "You're up early."

"You need a hairbrush." Her aunt told her bluntly. Lyra raised a hand and felt the knots as she ran it through.

"Hi, Aunt Lori." Lyra yawned. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd drop in for a visit." Just a random visit? Lyra's tired mind worked. This would've been the first time her uncle had seen his sister in years, just like Loan. They were clearly catching up with each other. Lyra didn't think it right to intrude.

"I'm still tired." She said apologetically. "It was nice to see you."

"Go get some sleep." Her aunt advised. "We'll see each other again." Lyra nodded and stepped back into the hallway before heading to the bathroom to take care of what she'd gotten up for in the first place.

How nice for him. The thought crossed her mind as she shuffled back to the bedroom after she was done. Getting in touch with someone he'd wanted to for years. Finally reconnecting with a happy part of your past you missed. How nice for him. Lyra would've loved some good fortune like that.

Stop that. She told herself as she slid back into bed. Envy rotted the bones. Would her life really be that different if she'd grown up in contact with her grandparents? It'd probably be another place mom would let them stay for a while. Only ever stay. They'd be people her and Lemy would only see a few times a year, probably, because their lives were with mom on the road. Again, it wasn't a life she'd change for anything.

It was still nice and warm under the covers. Like always, Lemy had fallen asleep as close to the edge as he could but ended up rolling closer to the middle in his sleep. Lyra moved in close and got comfortable again. It didn't matter, she told herself again. It was nothing to get worked up about.

She went back to sleep.

Later that Morning

After six hours reminiscing, Lori finally decided she should head back home. As fun as she admitted it was, she still had stuff to do at home and thought it better to make the drive before she started getting tired. Lincoln didn't want her to go, but what he'd gotten was enough to be thankful for. They hugged each other tightly before she departed, with promises to talk again soon.

Lincoln spent the rest of the morning in a joyful stupor. Everything seemed just a little better now. He felt like a man exonerated. Yeah, he still bad for what had happened and all those years of separation, but now he was forgiven. Now, things could be fixed. A lot of things, he kept thinking as he repeatedly glanced at the note pad with the phone numbers Lori had written down for him. It was still too early right now. Later.

Lyra and Lemy got up later in the morning than usual. Lincoln greeted them warmly, but couldn't help but notice Lyra still seemed a little distant. The haze cleared long enough for Lincoln to wonder if and how he should sit down and apologize for lying again. Would she ask questions? Questions he couldn't answer till Luna got here? It really worried him to see her so obviously displeased with him, but he didn't think he could do anything.

Speaking of Luna, he still had to call her. So while Lemy and Lyra were up, he said he was going to the store and that'd he'd be back. He brought up Luna's number in the stairwell and pressed call. It was just after 11 in the morning. She picked up just as he walked out onto the street.

"Lincoln." She sounded relieved. "Is Loan gone?"

"Yeah, she is. I'm still alive." He still thought she was over reacting. "Actually, I got some good news about her." It was good news to him, anyway. Luna might not agree. "Lori came by to thank me last night." He heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

"What happened?" Luna asked.

"We talked for a while." Lincoln explained. "I uh…I told her I was sorry about what happened when we were all kids."

"It was her fault."

"We weren't nice to her, Luna. You know that." Lincoln reasoned. "She deserved an apology."

"Not from me." Luna denied. How had she ever re-connected with Lori with that attitude?

"Well, I apologized." Lincoln restated. "And she forgave me, and we spent the whole night catching up. She gave me Lana and Lola's numbers while we talked, and she gave me hers before she left. I got my oldest sister back. And I'm going to try and meet with Lola and Lana after Lyra and Lemy leave."

"Good to hear bro. I'm happy for you." Luna didn't really sound that happy. By then, Lincoln had reached Flip's, but he loitered outside while the conversation went on. "She didn't bite your head off, did she?"

"Kinda." He confessed. "She asked me about all that time I spent away, and what happened with Lucy. She wasn't happy."

"No shite."

"But she said she still loves all of us, even if she doesn't agree with what we did."

"She gave me the same line." Luna told him.

"You know, she told me why she never called anyone else." Lincoln decided to tell her. "She's waiting for everyone to apologize. She only called me because it was an emergency."

"I didn't apologize for a damn thing."

"Well, maybe she was just waiting for us to reach out first?" Lincoln suggested. "I convinced her to call Lucy though. I figured she needed someone else to talk too."

"That's a good deal, bro." Luna sounded pleased. "Luce does need that. Always looking out for other people." She gave him the same compliment Lori had.

"I try." Lincoln smiled to himself. But now he had something more difficult to say. "Listen, Luna." He said unsurely. "I think there's a problem with Lyra."

"What?" Luna asked sharply. "What happened? Did Lori or her daughter do something?" She demanded.

"Kind of." Lincoln sighed. "Lori and Bobby didn't come to pick Loan up. I had to go drop her off at her grandparents' house. Our parent's house." There was dead silence on both ends of the conversation for several long moments. He thought he could hear Luna's breathing quicken. Hell, just talking about it had make his heartbeat increase. "And Loan wasn't comfortably being alone with me…so she demanded Lyra come with us. She knows where her grandparents live now." He revealed the full scale of the problem.

He heard movement on Luna's end followed by an audibly growled "Shit!". He thought she'd just paced around whatever room she was in and swore. "Blond bitch…" He had no idea if Luna was talking about Lori or Loan. He waited till she brought the phone back up to her ear.

"How's she handling it?" Luna asked. "Is she asking anything?"

"No. But I think she's mad at me." Lincoln sighed. "I showed her a bunch of pictures of when she was little and when we were kids. One of them had mom and dad holding her. I'm sorry, I was just excited they were there. She got curious and asked about them, and I lied and said they moved out of Royal Woods. She told me she really wanted to meet them, and I think she's mad I lied about them."

"Yeah. When she was 6 or 7, she kept asking me about them." Luna revealed. "She definitely remembers them. And she really wants to know about what happened between us and them. Those pictures you showed her got her really curious. I promised I'd tell her when I came to pick them up."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." Luna didn't let him apologize. "I was hoping for you to show them that stuff when I sent them." He heard her sigh. "Look, we got a show in a few days. Sam and my manager are going to be pissed, but I can cancel it if I have to. Be honest with me bro: Do you got everything under control up there?"

Did he?

"I think so." He answered. "I won't say anything till you get there. I'm just going to feel a little bad if Lyra's going to sulk like that."

"Just don't slip up. Wait for me, Lincoln."

"I'll wait." He promised.

"Ok, bro. I believe you." Luna assured him. "Look after our kids. And don't worry about Lyra. Trust me bro, she still likes you no matter what it looks like. We'll talk again soon."

"Yeah. Talk to you soon, Luna. Have fun at that show."

"Always." They ended the call. Lincoln leaned back against the wall of Flip's and blew some air out into the sky. His life was never boring, that was for damn sure. He went inside and got a few snacks. On the way back, he kept mentally reassuring himself. Everything would be fine.

When he did get back to his apartment, he was surprised to see both his kids, or at least Lemy since he usually hung around without any shoes on, dressed like they were going somewhere. Lyra seemed to jump a little when he saw them.

"You guys going somewhere?" He asked.

"That arcade." Lemy answered.

"Gus' Game and Grub?" Lincoln guessed. Nothing unusual about that. So why did Lyra jump? "Alright. You guys have fun. Just call me if there's a problem." Drawing attention to it was probably a bad idea. Besides, this was an opportunity for him-he could call Lola or Lana.

"We will." Lyra didn't sound any different. Maybe he'd imagined it. They were gone only a few minutes later, after making sure they had everything. Lincoln was left alone at his desk, fingers drumming the surface while he stared at the piece of paper Lori had given him, contemplating. Yeah, they'd meet up later. But there was no harm in setting it up now, surely? Just letting them know he was alive and wanted to see them.

He should definitely call Lola first. If he called Lana first, Lola would inevitably hear about it from her before Lincoln called her. He was sure her anger would be greater in that case rather than him just calling her directly.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Faced with the actual act instead of the prospect, his dedication obviously started to wane and his gut turned to jelly. But he steeled his nerves. He'd apologized to Lori. He could do anything. Or was he underestimating the power of an angry Lola? That gave him pause.

There was no turning back once he actually did it, so he made himself type in the number and hit call while he still had the willpower. All in now. He held the phone to his ear nervously while the tone went on and on. Five seconds. Ten seconds. And around the thirteen second mark, someone answered.

"Who is this?" A woman's voice demanded. She sounded different; her voice wasn't as high pitched anymore. But it still had the same attitude in it.

"Is this Lola Loud?" Even if Lori had given him the number, he had to ask. He wanted to be sure.

"This is a private line creep! I have friends in the police department that can find you!" Well, this conversation was off to a good start.

"Lori gave me this number." That made a break in the conversation. "It's Lincoln." He heard a surprised gasp.

"Lincoln?" Gone was the hostility from her voice.

"Yeah." Lincoln breathed. "It's really me. Your big brother." The line suddenly clicked and he heard nothing. He'd been hung up on. He frowned, staring at the call dismissed notice flashing mockingly on his screen. After a few moments, the phone slipped loudly out of his hands and onto the desk. She didn't want to talk to him? He slumped back in his seat. Maybe Lori's wasn't the bridge that was burned after all.

Just as the thought went through his head, his phone buzzed. He quickly grabbed it and scanned the screen. It was a text from Lori: "Lola called me." There was more, but before he could read it he got an incoming call from the same number he'd just called. He answered it without hesitation.

"Lincoln!" That sounded much closer to the 12-year-old Lola he remembered. It was a voice full of emotion too.

"Yeah." Lincoln couldn't help but let his voice become a little heavy too. "It's really me." He swore again. She must've called Lori to confirm it. He heard no words from the other line, just high-pitched sounds that descended into soft crying. Tears of joy, he really hoped. And then in an instant, it disappeared.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" He held the phone away from his ear. Yep, he expected this. "YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR, LINCOLN LOUD!" He heard a door slam in the background. "WHERE ARE YOU?" She demanded.

"I'm back in Royal Woods." Lincoln answered, now unsure. Was she…? The sound of another door slamming and a car started up confirmed it.

He was in trouble now. She was coming for him.

"Where?!" The volume in her voice went down. Not a whole lot, but a little.

"I can't say right now." Lincoln said quickly. Maybe he should've put a little more forethought into this. "But I do want to see-"

"Lori knows your address. Don't think I won't go to her!" Lola threatened. Lincoln had just reconnected with Lori. He really didn't want to be responsible for unleashing an angry Lola on her.

"Lola, wait!" Now Lincoln had to plea. "I want to see you and Lana again! I just can't right now." He heard a car horn blare in bursts for a few seconds, and imagined someone blond repeatedly punching it. He wasn't sure if she was still listening, but he kept talking. "Just not right now." He repeated. "But soon. Two weeks, maybe?" He suggested hopefully. Luna and him would've talked to Lyra and Lemy by then.

"TWO WEEKS TOO MANY." Lincoln was starting to wonder if his memories were muddled and his sister had never had an inside voice. "WHY EVEN BOTHER CALLING ME IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" She demanded.

"I just wanted to talk." Lincoln pleaded. "See how you were doing and see if we could meet up in person."

"Hmph." Lola wasn't pleased by his answer. "Well, the answer is 'fine'. I have a modeling career, obviously. What are YOU doing Mr. Runaway?"

"I'm drawing comics, just like I always dreamed. Modeling, huh? Always knew you had it in you. Is my little sister famous?"

"Well, obviously." Still full of her self as always, but he could hear her voice defrosting.

"Listen, Lola, I know this is sudden. But please, can we meet up some time soon? We can talk face to face instead of over a phone. Where are you?"

"New York. But I can catch a plane." She stated. "You have a lot to explain, Lincoln!"

"I know, but if you guys will see me, I promise I'll tell you. But uh…just don't tell mom and dad you heard from me, alright?" He asked. "They don't know I still live in Royal Woods."

"Hmph." Lola responded. "I'll consider it once you beg for my forgiveness when we meet." She stopped to think. "You want to meet with Lana and me at the same time?"

"Yeah." Lincoln confirmed. "I was actually about to call her next and-"

"Oh no you don't!" Lola warned. "She's my twin. I'll call her and tell her. You can call in ten minutes after we're done. And Lincoln." She warned. "I will be calling you again in a few days." And with that that, the first conversation he'd had with Lola in 10 years ended. Of course her twin was the only thing that would pull her away from her brother she hadn't seen in ages. It had been short and ended abruptly, but he found out what he wanted to. He accomplished what he wanted.

"That went well." Lincoln said to himself. Considering what could've happened and nearly did happen. He'd always had a niggling fear in the back of his mind he might've messed up the minds of his youngest sisters by disappearing so quickly. He was close to them. Depended upon as the oldest sibling in the house now. And only that. ONLY that.

He had a fear for the longest time that his parents would assume the absolute worst of him after they found out about Lucy and think to ask Lola and Lana if he'd done anything. He hadn't, and he never intended to. They were his little sisters. End of story. That's all he wanted. If they found out the truth, they might not be able to see it that way. A bridge burned like Lori. But if they had heard anything like that, surely Lola would've mentioned it in their conversation? He must've been in the clear in that regard. And Lola was doing well, so Lana must've been doing reasonably well too. He'd confirm it when he called her.

Now he just sat and waited, knowing better than to go against Lola's word. After 15 minutes, just to be safe, he picked up his phone again and dialed the second number Lori had written down.

"You called Lola first instead of me?!" Those were the first words he heard from his sister in almost a decade. She must've already gotten over her surprise talking to Lola. Lana's voice was still rough and slightly unfeminine.

"Hi Lana." Lincoln said wearily. The twins had always argued. They both had that type of fire in them. Maybe he was naïve to think he'd get out of this without a verbal beatdown. "I thought it'd be easier if I dealt with her anger first."

"Well, good call." His sister congratulated him. "Lola's got a MAJOR attitude problem now. It's cost her 4 boyfriends and 3 contracts."

"Well…I guess I made a really good call then." Now Lincoln was unsure. He didn't cause Lola to become like that, did he?

"Yeah, her doc said all that fake acting for pageants and shows messed up her mind. Modeling is a messed up business. Having to pretend all the time. He tried to tell her to take a break from modeling too, but she's as stubborn as a mule. Don't tell her I told you, but she's on some pills." Even if it did a little to absolve him of guilt, it wasn't encouraging in the slightest.

"What about you?" Lincoln asked. "What are you up to these days?"

"Oh, lots of stuff." Lana sounded proud. "Run my own business from home. Plumbing, auto repair, whatever people need. I make loads."

"Skills to pay the bills." Lincoln smiled. "Any boyfriends yet?"

"Had a few so far." Lana answered. "But they keep running away when they meet my pet alligator." Pet alligator?

"I'm not surprised at all."

"He's a good boy. He does tricks!" Lana insisted. "You're doing comics now?" Lola must've told her.

"Yeah. It isn't making me rich, but I love doing it. Listen." He got straight to the point. "I want to see you and Lola again. Soon."

"Oh hell yeah! I'm only outside Detroit. I got a flexible schedule, so just let me know when you and Lola agree on a time."

"That's great." Lincoln said. "I guess we should save the longer conversations for when we meet in person, huh? There's a lot to talk about…"

"Yeah. I got a ton of cool stories to tell you." Lana's excitement never wavered. "Call me soon?"

"I will." Lincoln promised. "I can't tell you how great is it to hear from you two again. I missed you."

"We did too. Oh, and Lola already told me what you asked. Not a word to mom and pop. These lips are sealed."

They talked for a few more minutes. In spite of how sudden it was, neither Lola or Lana were holding it against him. They were just as excited as he was. They'd never thought he was dead, and were always waiting for that day he'd come back. Well, now he had, and now they could all finally see each other again. Everyone wanted the same thing.

It was all looking up.

That Afternoon

Lyra never usually had an inclination to stray far from any dwelling, but her desire to leave the apartment had been uncomfortably strong. She'd asked Lemy if he'd wanted to go to that arcade again, since it lay on the bus routes, and he'd agreed. So they went. Lyra had to insist to herself she just wanted to make use of the last weeks of their time here to do something unique and not because she didn't want to look at her uncle all day.

It couldn't be. She wasn't that petty. Her mother may have never lied to her, but she'd done a lot more to earn her daughter's ire. More than her uncle, definitely, and Lyra didn't go out of her way to avoid her.

She had no interest in the games or food, so she just stayed at a table while Lemy went out and had fun. But by herself, she could only think or read, and she really wasn't in the mood for reading. She hadn't even brought her bible with her.

When her uncle had left for a few minutes, Lyra had taken note of the picture albums he'd put on his desk. Something had compelled her to go up to them and open them, flipping through the pictures. Most of them, she could still remember him describing at the start of their visit.

He got to hold onto those memories, but could keep them hidden from his niece and nephew why? What even was so bad to separate that drastically from the rest of the family? So bad that no was able to actually act like a sensible person and learn forgiveness for the sake of children, the greatest gift on Earth? Lyra didn't know, but she did know that everyone involved had to have been worse people then she gave them credit for.

She realized how annoyed and agitated she was getting. Her face was hot. Her legs were jittery and she for whatever reason she felt a sudden urge to jump. She needed to cool down. She stood up and went to the girl's bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. While she was there, she looked at herself in the mirror. She really did look worked up.

A girl with a backpack came up to the sink besides Lyra. Something was dangling off the back of it that caught Lyra's eye: a small stuffed rabbit. Lyra frowned. Why does that look so familiar? Something about it picked at her mind.

The girl, a blond that had to be only a few years older than Lyra, caught her looking at it.

"Sorry." Lyra apologized. "It just caught my eye is all."

"It's cute, isn't it?" She asked, unclipping it from her backpack. "Its name is Bun-bun."

Bun-bun?! Lyra's eyed widened. She knew she'd heard that before. She was certain. Then she remembered: those pictures her uncle had showed her at the start of the visit. The same one she'd flipped through before Lemy and her left. He'd had a stuffed rabbit named Bun-bun, one he ended up giving to his youngest sister.

This girl was her aunt.

Lyra swayed slightly on her feet, shocked, and used the sink to hold herself up.

"Are you okay?" The other girl asked, sounding worried. "Do you need to sit down?" She stuck a hesitant hand out.

"You're Lily, aren't you?" Lyra whispered. Now the blond girl looked confused and worried.

"I'm sorry…" She took a step back. "Do we know each other?"

"Lily Loud, right?" Lyra asked, unable to keep herself from asking questions. "You had a bunch of sisters, and a brother who gave you that doll, right?" She asked. Was this all just a freak coincidence? Or had she really just run into a member of her disconnected family? Lyra's seeming omniscience was unnerving her conversation partner.

"Who are you?" She asked, holding the doll close to her chest.

"Lyra Loud." As soon as she said it, Lily's eyes widened. "My mom's Luna Loud. I…I think you're my aunt."

"Lyra?!" Lily gasped excitedly. "I remember you! We used to play together all the time!" Had they? "You were so small though! How old are you now?" She asked, looking her up and down before suddenly pulling her into a hug.

"I'm turning 16 in October. You're 18?" Lyra guessed. She'd only been born a few years after her aunt, and she only looked like a young woman.

"Yeah." She let go and stepped back, quickly grabbing a camera out of her bag and snapping a picture of Lyra before she could get ready. "This is so crazy! I can't believe it!"

"Me neither." Lyra breathed. What were the odds? In a town as big as this one?

"Are you here with Luna?!" Lily suddenly grabbed her shoulders and leaned in close. "Is she here?" She asked urgently.

"N-no." Now she was making Lyra uneasy. "She's on tour still. I'm here with my little brother." She watched excitement and hopefulness fade from her aunt's eyes like a smoldered fire before reigniting slightly.

"You have a brother?" She asked. Then she gasped as she realized something. "Luna was going to have a baby before she left! It was a boy?" So, her aunt remembered back to a time before her mom left the house. A time when Lyra had even been allowed to visit her grandparents. How much did she know?

"Yes." Lyra nodded. "His name is Lemy."

"Can I see him?" Lily begged.

"He's out there." Lyra pointed to the door behind them. Her aunt grabbed her arm without a word and quickly pulled her after her, like an excited child rather than a young adult. Lyra's mind was still spinning. Her aunt. She'd just stumbled across her aunt in public, one she barely remembered and one her mom, aunts, and uncle didn't keep in touch with. But one that could tell her about events further back than Lyra could remember.

What was she supposed to do now?

"That's our table right there." Lyra stopped her. "If you wait there, I'll go get him." Disconnected from her, Lyra deftly moved through the crowd. Her mind was still spinning and asking that question: What now? What now? Did Lyra ask a lot of questions to see what her aunt knew? Her mom and uncle wouldn't mind, surely? Or would they? The indecision swirled so much that when she found Lemy playing a game cabinet, she just stood behind him for a few moments without saying anything.

"Lemy." She spoke up, her voice uneven.

"Yeah." He didn't look back at her.

"You need to come back to the table with me. It's important." She told him. He glanced back at her, looking at her face specifically before taking his hands off the controls and deciding to walk back with her. She grabbed his hand at one point without realizing it.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong." She assured him. "There's just someone you need to see." Lily was scanning the crowd for them and jumped up and made a beeline for them when she saw them.

"Oh, he's so cute!" She gushed. Lemy got defensive and took a step back. Lily quick-drawed her camera again and snapped a picture before Lemy could hide. Lyra managed to prepare herself this time before she snapped a photo of her and Lemy together.

"Who are you?" Lemy stepped back against his sister.

"This is Lily. She's one of her aunts." Lyra explained. She put her hands on his shoulder and steered him back towards the table. His feet dragged and he didn't move wholly willingly. The three took seats, one eager young woman, one uneasy teenager, and one very defensive boy.

What now? Fortunately, her aunt was excited enough to keep the conversation going. "So do you guys live here in Royal Woods? Does Luna live here too? I've always wanted to see her show when she comes here, but my parents would never let me get a ticket. But I got one for her show in a few weeks!" She was talking a mile a minute.

"You haven't seen my mom in a long time, have you?" Lyra asked.

"No…" And just like that, the energy faded from her aunt's eyes. She looked down at the table. "She moved out a long time ago. So did my other sisters and my brother Lincoln. None of them even call." She said sadly. They didn't call because they were trying to avoid their parents, who Lily would've been living with up until recently. Or maybe even still. Lyra could piece that much together. Lemy suddenly opened his mouth.

"We're staying with Lincoln. He lives right by here." Lyra's hand shot out to silence him too late.

"Where?" Lily asked, bewildered at first. "Where?" She demanded this time. "Tell me!"

"It's not our place to say." And suddenly, Lyra was defensive. Logic had filled her brain. This really wasn't their place. If her mom and uncle had distanced themselves, it would've been for a good reason. This was a matter her uncle had looked faint about. It was serious. And if they continued down this conversation, she could very well bring what he hoped to avoid down on him. She couldn't do that, to either her mom or uncle. Whatever qualms she had with either of them, she couldn't willingly bring trouble like that to them.

"I think," She made a hard decision, "we should be going." She stood up quickly, grabbing Lemy's arm. They were going to disengage from this situation.

Unfortunately, that plan wasn't very effective since Lily could just stand up too and follow them. And that's what she did, running after them even. "Hey!" Lyra realized how fruitless her efforts were and stopped. "Where is Lincoln?" Lily asked again.

"Listen, I'm sorry. But we shouldn't be talking. Lincoln and our mom won't be happy." Lyra insisted.

"Why not?" Lily demanded. "I haven't seen my brother in years, and no one will tell me why he left. Now I'm supposed to just ignore him when I found out here's here?" Lily's words broke her. Lyra suddenly realized how similar the situation both of them was in was. They'd both had great things-a big family for Lyra and Lemy and a caring brother for Lily-taken from them without explanation. Explanations that they were probably both owed. She wanted to know why, just as badly as Lyra. And the fact she wasn't alone suddenly made all the difference.

"I'll show you where he lives." Lyra changed her mind.