The Diary of Lincoln Loud

July 26 – I’m back! Hahahaha. You know what they say: You can’t keep a good girl down. You can lie about her, you can call her crazy, and you can send her away, but in the end, you can’t keep her down.

Poor Lincoln. This has been so hard on him. Lori and the others thought they were hurting me when they sent me away, but they were hurting Linc too. I could probably forgive them for what they did to me, but not what they did to him. He’s my baby brother and I love him.

I was up earlier than everyone else, so I snuck into my old room and grabbed a few of my things. My socks. My skirt. My blouse. It feels good to be back in them after so long. When I was dressed, I went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife from the drawer, and got back to Lincoln’s room just as the sun was beginning to rise. For a long time, I thought about going into Lori’s room and finishing what she started, but I decided not to. I’m going to protect Lincoln and that’s it. If that means killing her when she comes for him, so be it.

When a knock came at the door, I was ready.

“Yeah!”

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” It was mom. The bitch. The one who sent me away.

“I’m okay, mom. Just tired.”

“You sleep in a little then. Dr. Franklin will be here at noon.”

“Okay, mom.”

When she left, I walked over to the window, opened it, and sat down on the sill. The day was bright and warm and beautiful. Birds chirped, wind blew. What a beautiful day to be Luan Loud.

Pretty soon, the others started coming outside. Lana and Lynn tossed a football back and forth while Lola threw a tea party for all her stuffed animals. Lucy was no doubt inside. Lori and Leni were probably going to the mall. Lisa was probably trying to find a way to kill Lincoln without leaving any evidence. If I had a rifle I probably would have leaned out the window and shot all of them. It makes me sick what they’re doing to him.

At noon, I stood up, smoothed my skirt, and left the room, making sure to bring my butcher knife with me. Before going downstairs, I stopped off in my room and found my Groucho Marx glasses. I put them on and it was liking saying hello to an old friend.

“Lincoln!” mom called. “Dr. Franklin is here!”

“Coming!”

Holding the knife in my hand, I went downstairs. I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t nervous. I had only one purpose and that was to protect my little brother.

They were in the kitchen having coffee. Mom. Dad. Dr. Franklin. Chatting like the best of friends. Of course. They were the ones who put me away, and they were the ones who were going to kill Lincoln.

Dr. Franklin was the first to see me. He looked up, and his smile died. Mom and dad looked too. Mom gasped, and dad jerked.

“Lincoln?” Dr. Franklin asked.

“Wrong Loud,” I said, and tittered. “Get it?”

“Lincoln!” mom said. “What are you doing?”

“Protecting Lincoln from you,” I said, jabbing the knife in her direction. Mom and dad both fell back a step, mom’s hand flying to her chest and dad’s arm snaking around her fat waist. “You think I didn’t know what you were doing to him? You think I didn’t know you were pumping him full of drugs and trying to kill him?”

“Lincoln,” Dr. Franklin said, raising his hands, “put down the knife and let’s talk about this.”

“I’m not Lincoln! I’m Luan. Lincoln isn’t here.”

“Where is he, Luan?”

“He’s safe. I won’t let you do to him what you did to me.”

Lynn, Luna, Lola, and Lana were at the sliding glass door to the patio, watching with wide eyes.

“No one wants to hurt Lincoln,” Dr. Franklin said. “We want to help him.”

“The way you helped me? The way you said I was crazy and put me away!”

“Lincoln!” dad shouted, “stop this!”

Dr. Franklin motioned for him to be quiet.

“I had nothing to do with that, Luan. I wasn’t your doctor. I didn’t know anything about it until your parents brought Lincoln to me. I don’t know about them, but I certainly want to help Lincoln.”

He was slowly standing, his palms raised. Lori was at the door now. She looked like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Didn’t expect to see me again, huh?

“Just put the knife down and let’s talk. Okay, Luan?”

He was getting closer, moving slowly. “Back off,” I said.

“Let me help your brother. Please.”

He was too close. I brought the knife up and flashed it down. A streak of crimson appeared on his hairy forearm.

“Lincoln!”

Lori was standing in the doorway, tears in her eyes. I started for her, but Dr. Franklin grabbed me by the arm and slammed me to the floor.

“Let go of me!” I shrieked. “Let go!”

I’m at the mental health clinic now, but that’s okay. They can do whatever they want to me. Lincoln is safe. My brother is safe and I love him.