In Deep

Even when the world around me is closing down to the Corona crisis, I keep on writing.
As if I don't usually spend my time sitting by myself in a room!

So… Singled Out happened; it was a pretty nice episode! I like the suggestion that episode gave that Lynn might be asexual (Or, more appropriately termed for Lynn's person, ace) or aromantic. I'll see if I'll change the plans of the remaining few chapters where it applies to suit that idea.

Onwards to the chapter itself!

Chapter 6: Chokehold

50 dollars.

That was what her parents had to fork over to Mr. Grouse for the window repair. They didn't punish Lynn, but their stern rebuke implied that Lynn likely was going to pay them back a share, if not fully. Just what she needed, even more debt.

The whole family sat at the dinner table, a pleasant chaos of chatter going on at the same time. But having lively conversation with each other at the same time proved to be difficult for some to do without spitting out bits of food. As always, her father's cooking was sublime, but Lynn couldn't bring herself to enjoy the cauliflower stew with chicken cordon bleu in front of her no matter how delicious it looked. Her stomach felt full already. Instead, Lynn rested her head on her arm, slowly stirring her fork in the meal to take the occasional small bite.

Even when Lynn sat in the middle of the energetic litter unnoticed and was hidden away at the far side of the table, a mother's keen senses didn't fail to notice Lynn's languid attituded and sober appetite. The rest had almost finished their meal where she still had a plateful.

Rita swallowed and gave her fifth daughter a concerned look. ''Lynn dearie, your food's getting cold. Aren't you going to eat it?''

Lynn rolled her eyes to her plate. ''No… I'm not hungry.''

Sitting next to her, Lana got a twinkle in her eye. ''Can I have that?''

With a sullen groan, Lynn shoved the plate to the middle of the table. In the Loud family, doing so meant yielding your meal for others to take. The Loud siblings already arched over the plate with forks drawn and licked lips.

''Dibs on the meat!'' Lana called without a shortage of aggression.

The dispute over who deserved the cordon bleu quickly soured the previously good spirits. The siblings vying for the meat were arguing busily. Lola climbed up on the tabletop to assert dominance. Even Lily involved herself, angrily babbling from her high chair along with her siblings either claiming her right to the cordon bleu or perhaps to simply goad the already hostile mood at the table. Mom and dad ignored the feud, opting to calmly eat their meals until one of their roost came out victoriously, to immediately ground them to set an example for the rest.

Lynn shoved her chair away from the table and the squabble going on over it, peeking around her disputing sisters to make eye contact with her parents.

''Can I go take a shower?'' Lynn asked. Her parents exchanged a quick look before granting Lynn's request with a nod of their heads.

As the first punches were being exchanged, Lynn dragged herself up the stairs with a arm wrapped around her belly. Her stomach was acting up. Even though she should be starving after a match day, her appetite was dead. She was sure that this period was going to be the worst she ever had. It was the only explanation she could give for feeling this horrible; the rotten cherry on top of her day.

By closing the bathroom door, Lynn shut out the strong language and ethnic slurs coming from below. After turning the faucet on so the water could warm up to the right temperature, Lynn began to undress. She struggled to pull the jersey, clammy from absorbing a day's worth of misery, over her head Lynn felt a tinge of pain in her shoulder.

With her shirt off, Lynn took notice of her bare shoulder. To get a better look, she went to stand in front of the mirror, it looked plum colored, a result from being hit by the van earlier. Lynn stroked her finger over the swelling, a pang of pain surfacing when she prodded slightly in her skin. She knew such bruises however; they'd heal.

Lynn's gaze then wandered over to her neck, her peachy skin showed a fading redness, left from being throttled hard by Franklin.

''Bastard…'' Lynn mumbled. She twisted her head to view her sore from different angles, and felt a light sting in her neck while doing so.

It hurt, but it wasn't the first time she was handled as roughly as she was. Maybe being throttled was why she couldn't swallow without feeling like she could throw up. No big deal, Lynn thought; Franklin got her good but it'd go over and she'd happily pay him back in full once the time was there, once she felt better. She'd win in their game.

But while thinking about it, her stomach began to gurgle badly.

''Oh…'' Lynn moaned sorely, hunched forward slightly, pitching another miserable groan.

Lynn didn't just look like a wreck, but also felt the part. Her body was ailing with injury and her innards churning. Lynn took off her last pieces of clothing and stepped into the tub. She had already showered after the match, and fortunately no one questioned it, but she needed another hot shower to hopefully sooth her pains somewhat.

Using up most of the hot water was definitely going to get her flak, but Lynn needed it. Unfortunately, it didn't make her feel much better. The water rinsed her aches somewhat, but inside she still felt subpar.

Dressed to go to bed in a oversized jersey, Lynn flopped listlessly out of the bathroom. She stopped between the stairs and her bedroom door. Looking down to the living room and the liveliness below, Lynn briefly considered joining her family for a short while. But reflecting on how she felt, she craved the comfort of her bed more. The sound of steps announced someone coming up the stairs: it was Lori, idly tapping away on her phone when she and Lynn crossed each other.

''Hey Lynn, are you coming down to watch The Dream Boat?'' Lori asked, allowing herself to look up. Lynn was surprised she could even do so anymore.

Lynn rolled her head, breathing a sigh to give off the idea she considered Lori's question, but the spiritless glare she gave left her preference unambiguous. ''I'm beat, I want to go to bed.''

''I'm sure you probably can spare for one episode!'' Lori followed her reply up with a coy, inward giggle. ''I hope Gareth's going overboard today because he's such a know-it-all and-''

Lynn's head was already pounding from Lori's chatter. She groaned and stepped inside her room. ''I wanna go to bed Lori! I'm bummed out, and I've got serious cramps!''

Lori lowered her phone while her eyebrows went up instead in surprise. ''That never stopped you before.''

''Well now it did!'' Not granting Lori a chance to respond, Lynn slammed the door shut.

Normally, The Love Boat was one of Lynn's favorite shows to watch but right now, 45 minutes of near-constant raving about relationships didn't seem bearable at all the way Lynn felt, especially with the chance of the topic shifting over to Lynn's alleged relationships; she couldn't handle that right now.

Another cramp raging through her lower body provided the next good reason to quickly seek the comfort of her bed. She wasn't yet bleeding but Lynn opted to get herself prepared. She reached into the dresser, but the drawer where she kept her toiletries was empty:

Of course. No money meant no products.

Despite so resolutely shutting the door just moments earlier, it opened again on a chink. Seeing no one around, Lynn tiptoed over to the room of her two next-oldest sisters to 'borrow' a few toiletries off of them.

The only thing capable of snubbing the telltale racket in the Loud residence was nightfall. The only sounds being made in the house were that of light snores, not that any of the children would admit that they did so, and the occasional murmur caused by their dreams. Lynn was the only one left awake, she laid motionless in her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she had given up trying to fall asleep herself. She simply laid still and relaxed. Either she'd save energy for the day to come, or hoped that she'd doze off eventually anyway.

Lynn felt her body slowly go numb and her awareness fade. A small smile on her face, finally this day was over to never come back. She had almost completely slipped into slumber, everything had gone blank when several knocks on the door sounded. She pitched a groan when she raised her upper body to look at the door, light seeping through the chinks. Too sleepy to give the strange time any thoughts, Lynn called. ''Who?''

The door swung open violently, blowing most of the sleep out of Lynn. In the doorway stood a big figure, the light from the hallway cast a ominous yellow glow around the shadowy silhouette. Once Lynn's eyes adjusted, her pupils dilated with shock and confusion, her breathing stopped, her jaw fell. It couldn't be him, but there he really stood in her own house, in her own room.

Franklin.

''W-what the hell are you doing here?!'' Lynn called, shooting upright in her bed. She waited for Franklin to respond, to do whatever Lynn expected he'd do. But he said nothing, he did nothing; his menacing presence was enough to make Lynn feel her heart throb in her throat.

Out of nowhere, surprised by a loud shattering of glass coming from very close by, Lynn was startled into pitching a short, alarmed yelp. Before she could register that it was her bedroom window inexplicably reduced to splinters, Franklin suddenly moved from his place. With ominously heavy footfalls, he slowly approached.

''G-go away!'' Lynn's voice was reduced to a frightened stammer. She kicked the sheets off of her and pressed herself up against the wall. It was a matter of mere inches, but anything was progress if it meant getting as far away from Franklin as possible. ''Stay back!''

Franklin stood at the end of her bed. Lynn was shaking bad enough to make the springs in her mattress bounce. Lynn wanted to get up and fight back, but for strange reasons, her body didn't agree with what her instincts demanded. Franklin's mere presence stunned her. She looked around frantically, but escaping Franklin seemed impossible. There was only one thing she could do.

''Help!'' She loudly called. Someone must be awake to hear: to help beat this guy up! She could almost feel Franklin's hoarse breath. Desperate, she turned her head to the bed of her roommate: the last one who could save her.

''Lucy! H-'' Lynn paused when she discovered that Lucy's bed was empty, unslept even.

''Hey Lynn…'' Franklin spoke, darker and more twisted than Lynn remembered him talking.

The girl's head turned back right when Franklin raised his arm and forked his fingers. Lynn's mind went blank when immediately his hand shot towards her, going for her throat. Lynn flinched, there was going to be no escape from another horrendous throttling.

''NO-''

Lynn flung the sheets off the bed while shooting up to standing on her matress. Her eyes went up and down scanning the bedroom, fists drawn out. Growing confused when the initial panic simmered down, Lynn slowly recollected herself to check the room. Franklin wasn't standing next to her bed, the room had once again been covered in darkness; no more light coming from the hallway. Hearing light snoring, Lynn cast a very slight smile of relief upon noticing that Lucy once again laid in the bed next to her as well; sleeping, appropriately, like the dead. It was safe.

Her gut churned again, her heart only began to beat slower, and Lynn noticed her hand had a light, uncontrollable tremble to it. Lynn laid back down in her bed again, pulled her sheets and wrapped her arms around her hoping to calm down a little.

Previously Lynn would assume it was from something like a lack of nutrition, but she couldn't fool herself anymore. Her appetite gone, her stomach churning, it wasn't because of her lost championship or her period. it was because of being choked and threatened by Franklin, on her own front yard no less. At the height of the bullying, middle school was hell all day long, but it ended with the final ring of the bell. In the class she was fair game, but once she got home she was safe from her bullies. Franklin had breached that sanctity, and it took a nightmare for Lynn to finally admit it that he had scared her doing so.

''I heard through the grapevine something nasty went down. We're talking it out tomorrow. Drop by my place at 11 AM.''

William's text message was the first thing Lynn saw after getting out of bed. It was a unsatisfying introduction to the next day after a sleepless night. She tossed around so much in her sleep that she had twisted herself into her sheets, shifting between being tormented by feverish dreams during restless sleep or being awake and feeling the same cramps, burns and tensions in her as she has been feeling prior, along with a lump in her throat, feeling like she was about to puke, all the way up to daybreak.

On the way to Sawyer Drive, Lynn slammed down the third consecutive energy drink in one gulp, leaving the few drips inside to the ants tossing the can down to the street. Her parents would probably berate her unhealthy habit so early on the day. But after two nights of poor rest, Lynn needed some energy for this moment.

''Get yourself together! You can do this!''

In aggressive inward grumbles with matching pumps of her arms, Lynn tried convincing herself that the nightmare scared her worse than how she actually was, that opposite of what she resolved to yesterday, Franklin only caught her on a bad moment. Nonetheless, standing at the entrance to Sawyer Drive, a tension surfaced in her side. She inhaled deeply, feeling the sting fade at the top of her draw only to return once she exhaled. For a little bit of extra luck, Lynn picked up a pebble to throw it over her shoulder, as well as flicking a mailbox flag up and down three times. Her attention wandered over to her hands, still shaking unstoppably. Lynn hid both in her pockets; showing fear was certainly another admission of weakness to William and Franklin. She couldn't do much, but she could limit the damages.

Having done her ritual, Lynn went down the street. The moment William's house came in sight, so did William himself, sitting with Franklin on the hood of a small car on the driveway.

''Well I'll be! Lyndon!'' William greeted her with a cordial wave. Franklin remained staring stoically.

Lynn remained quiet, her bold attitude faded partially already as she approached the front yard. She turned her head away to hide her face, scrunched up from the complete disgust she has developed for them upon even seeing them.

When William caught a glimpse of Lynn's face, he stood on his legs and appeared concerned. ''Come on baby girl, why the grimace?''

With a quick, deep inhale, Lynn gained the courage over her nervousness to speak. ''I think you know.''

William sat back on the car, causing it to bounce slightly, and crossed his arms. ''I've heard some things. A little birdie told me Franklin had been a little touchy-feely with you.''

Hearing William talk with that superficial smile of his severely annoyed Lynn to the point of overriding anything she previously felt. ''That 'little birdie' choked me!'' She lividly declared, swinging a fist through the air.

Unexpectedly, William looked shocked with the accusation. He reeled back slightly, and gave his companion a gaze. ''Whoa, you didn't say that; Jesus! Franklin Rand, what are you thinking assaulting clients and scaring them?''

Mouth slightly agape, Lynn expected one of William's usual seedy talks but seeing him openly putting his lieutenant down she could not foresee. Without the feeling fully registering with her, it felt like a pleasant surprise. Franklin himself seemed even more baffled with William's outburst than Lynn was, uttering a few confused stutters and slow hand motions.

''Wh- Sorry Will.''

''You should apologize to her, rude bastard! Damn!'' William exclaimed. He pushed himself off the car before placing a hand on Lynn's shoulder, guiding her in the direction of the backyard. ''I'll tell you what, you're up for something simple.''

A few steps in, Franklin got on his feet and followed the others closely as they walked into the garage. Once everyone was inside, William rolled down the garage door. With the room closed off, Lynn got jittery, worsened by the ominous shade cast over the inside, with only a few rays of light peeking through the sole small window.

Lynn immediately darted into a corner, arms pressed to her torso. ''What're you gonna do?'' She asked, a nervous tremble in her speech.

William slid away from her, making soothing hand gestures. ''Chill out! Do us this one small favor!'' He calmly spoke. Crouching down, he picked up a nondescript box and shoved it towards Lynn.

Lynn took turns leerily eyeing both the box and her loan sharks, the latter remaining cool and unmoved. Carefully, expecting something nasty, she opened the flaps. Inside were only a few clothes, upon quick inspection a costume. Her mistrustful scowl softened to a annoying glare.

''Really?'' Lynn flatly asked, holding in one hand a red, pointed hat, and fake, gray beard in the other. Together with the wide pants and blue, buttoned coat with belt still in the box, Lynn recognized it as a gnome costume.

Franklin couldn't stifle a brief guffaw at the sight of the props. William only cast his usual smirk. ''It's appropriate isn't it?''

''What do you want?'' Lynn asked. Her eyes soured again, angry and reluctant over what she expected William to tell her.

''What you're supposed to do with costumes; wearing them!'' William answered with a shrug. Lynn groaned, she threw her head back in disgust over the task. It was small for sure but also very demeaning.

''Hey.''

Lynn looked at William. Unexpectedly, he came over more reassuring and calm as opposed to openly enjoying Lynn's woe. ''I know what you're thinking, but don't blow your lid.'' William struck an arm out to the garage door. ''Put it on, for us and not for the rest of the world to see. Grant us some quick yucks at our little inside joke and you're done. Easy.''

''Let's do this then.'' Lynn mumbled. Lynn relented without a second thought, though she remained unfazed with William's solemn speech. She accepted the job fearing that if she didn't, she'd be up for something more menial. Slowly, she picked up the coat and unbuttoned it to put it on.

''Do you go outside or…'' She asked with a sideway glance.

''Screw that. Put it on over your regular clothes.'' Franklin replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Lynn was okay with it, but for a faint feeling of privacy she turned her back towards William and Franklin as she put the costume on, unaware of the hawkish glimmers the boys got in their eyes when doing so.

Lynn struggled getting into the outfit. She was never fond of dressing up, remembering a time when she gave Leni a hook when she and Lori tried to give Lynn a makeover. Even on Halloween she kept her costumes very simple because she didn't like being restrained by restrictive clothing.

Once she had fully dressed up, she squeezer her eyes together, giving herself the strength to bear their laughter before she presented herself to the boys, hanging around in her dark corner.

Franklin didn't hold back showing his humor, laughing loudly in small fits. William was more subdued with his amusement, simply putting up his common sleazy grin, chuckling quietly while he browsed on his smartphone.

''Hey Lynn, come out in the light so we can get a better look at you!'' William said, beckoning her to come closer.

With sluggish, steps, she obliged. The sunlight illuminated the faint blush on her cheekbones.

Once in the light, Franklin began to circle around Lynn, looking her up and down with an occasional snigger. Lynn tensed up. Franklin pacing around her made her remember her burning stomach. Shortly after, Franklin kept some distance between the two, but Lynn didn't let her focus wander, compelled to keep her gaze on him convinced that something bad could happen.

''Looks like we've found the biggest garden gnome in the world, Will!'' Franklin said between his loud snorts. ''Isn't this something for your gramma?''

''Ha ha ha.'' Lynn said, trying to keep her voice level between fury and dread. ''Was that it?''

Peeking up from his smartphone, William cocked his head gently. ''Sure.''

Lynn didn't need to be told twice: she started quickly undoing her costume, discarding the pieces on the ground like trash.

''So that means we're done here right?'' Lynn asked. After wiggling her leg to get it out of the baggy pants, she went to stand at the garage door ready to leave the moment she'd get the word.

''Not quite.'' William answered. He crossed his arms, smartphone in hand and closed his eyes. ''Apparently, you're not as attached to your dear baseball bat as you were when you bought it. Franklin here told me you don't want it anymore, saying we could keep it.''

''Uh-huh.'' Lynn confirmed William's story with a nod of her head.

''Well, that's so kind of you Lynda!'' William acted overly sugary by crossing his hands on his heart, though he sounded comparably no more endeared than usual. Quickly, he reverted to looking calm to match his speech. ''I mean, Frank and I are football guys at heart, but we appreciate the gesture! Though sadly that you're not so gung-ho on working to get it back also means that you've got no reason to come back anymore.''

In the silence that followed, Lynn peeked her head up. She didn't believe her ears hearing William admit faults so easily.

William's brows lowered, and his arms crossed. By now, anything sympathetic William had moments prior had faded. ''Still, I think it's better that you keep seeing us,''

The confidence of having gotten the upper hand made her feel better than she has felt in days! Lynn saw his glower and pitched a quick, scoffing laugh at this suggestion. ''Or else what? You said it yourself, you've got nothing on me! Once I'm out of here, I'm not coming back!''

William did a few taps on his smartphone, following it up by showing Lynn the picture on the screen, making her freeze up in horror. ''Well I don't think you want to become the laughing stock of high school when you're starting your freshman year!''

Lynn stared breathlessly at the picture of her in the gnome costume. Even when William took the phone away and retreated slightly, she kept her blank, aghast stare glancing into nothingness at the floor. When she began breathing again, they were in rapid succession. Her chest bounced up and down from the hyperventilating and the fire she's been feeling inside in her stomach flared up again. That Franklin specifically choose to stand next to the switch for the garage door was no coincidence to Lynn. There was enough space in between them, but by all accounts, Lynn felt trapped in her corner.

''No…'' Lynn whimpered. Any longer she didn't get to process this threat as William surprised her with a sudden approach. Lynn fell back down and crawled into her corner, stunned with terror. William could effortlessly place his finger under her chin to force their faces to meet. Lynn was powerless to resist.

''Now you listen, little bitch. New set of rules: if you stay away one day, we'll add 30 dollars to your bill. Be a no-show the second day, or give off the mere suspicion that you've narked, and you're up for four years of the whole package: laughter, gossip, pranks meaner than my neighbor's guard dog; someone like you will probably get acquainted really well with the inside of her locker or the toilet stall she goes to cry in every day! Keep that in mind when we want to wherever we need you!'' William explained. Lynn hissed when he pinched her chin and gave it a strong jerk to the side, slamming her into the garage door with minor force.

Lynn laid on her side, gasping and moaning in pain trying to support her upper body on her wobbling arms as William backed away. ''I-is that it?''

William stuck his finger up. ''One thing; let's raise your due to 100 dollars.''

''Why?!''

''Just because we can, dumbass! We're in charge over you, and there's nothing you can do 'bout it!'' He answered, his voice raised slightly. Lynn reeled in terror realizing that he was right. ''Hopefully that little increase will help remind you not to try to welsh on our money anymore.''

Franklin turned the switch and the garage door slowly rose. ''Now get out of here, we don't want you pissing yourself on Will's clean floor!'' He callously barked at her.

Lynn scurried through the small opening. She rose to her feet and walked off with a steady pace in her steps. Needless as it was, Lynn tried her hardest to look as casual as possible.

''See you soon, baby girl!'' William called after her. Lynn unsurely looked over her shoulder seeing Franklin and William standing at the garage. Suddenly, Franklin threateningly rushed forward a few steps. Lynn flinched and abandoned all attempt to act cool and run away while Franklin stepped back and shared a laugh with his friend.

Lynn hated herself; she was embarrassed by how easily she fell for William's ploy. Him talking Franklin down to lull Lynn in a false sense of security. In reality, William probably had congratulated him on intimidating Lynn so well.

She began to feel her body aching again. Faint echoes of malicious laughter, detailed Images of everything the threat described bounced through Lynn's head. All these feelings worsened when Lynn thought once more of having to go through all the torture again. Middle school was cruel already, but if the gnome photo spread out, she'd never be able to go high school in peace. Lynn's face scrunched up. She held her pounding head dreadfully thinking of the the shame. Yet, there between the blend of bad memories and a terrifying prospect came one clear image that stood out in her muddled mind.

''Margo.'' She wheezed.

Lynn has been broken. The threat of another year of bullying had submitted her into finally admitting to herself that she couldn't do this alone. Her family was out of the question though: Lynn's total debt to her sisters was even bigger than that to William. Even worse, the risk of him finding out she talked before the family could be of help was too big. Margo on the other hand felt like the safer option, she had helped her a lot before. Even so, Margo was still very mad with her, rightfully so. Lynn's only hope was that Margo would at least listen to her

Going into the local park, Lynn came across the batting cages where, as she correctly predicted, Margo practised her swing with teammate Yara.

''Margo!'' Lynn repeatedly shouted, running at the other side of the chain link fence separating them. Aside from a very quick glance, Margo resumed what she was doing and completely ignored her. Lynn reached the cage's gate, upon swinging it open wildly. ''Margo!''

Margo couldn't act like Lynn wasn't there anymore when her former friend was standing right in her face. Margo stared her down, radiating hatred. ''Hasn't it gotten through that I don't want to talk to you after what you did, Lynn?''

Margo's hostility greatly startled Lynn. She bowed slightly and folded her hands on her belly. It wasn't natural for Lynn to act this submissive but she was trying to desperately appease Margo. ''I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-'' She fell silent when Margo angrily threw her bat against the chain links, the wooden bat rattling the wires. Lynn was startled by Margo, and Yara wisely kept her distance from the two.

''Save me your stupid apology! Coach Honda was going to pass you up in the selection because you didn't show up at our last practice, but I convinced her to still put you in the line-up. I shouldn't have done a good word for you if I knew you'd repay me by running out on us, and I still don't know why!''

Lynn was in baffled silence. She didn't take time to consider why she was included in the team yesterday despite not going to the training like she was told. This reveal felt like another blow.

Margo picked her bat up from the dirt, leaning on it.

''Please Margo, I'm in big trouble!'' Lynn begged.

Margo remained frosty to Lynn's plea, a contemptuous glower on her face.

''So?''

Lynn tensed up. She felt the pain from Margo's cold indifference surface, and it was probably the worst one of the many.

''You've got a major snatch thinking that I'll help you after what you did. Where were you yesterday, when we needed you so desperately? Well, if you need help, then go ask your sisters for help, or 'Franny', because I don't want to run the risk being set up again! Goodbye!''

After that vile farewell, Margo turned her back on Lynn and left her in stammers.

''But-'' Lynn tried to follow her friend, but Margo turned around quickly and sharply pointed her bat at Lynn.

''Go away before I throw you out myself!'' Margo said, finishing with a strong nod of head.

Lynn could wait all she wanted, but Margo's scowl wasn't softening. Instead, when it furrowed, Lynn took it as a final warning and left on a humble shuffle, which slowly built up to a nervous jog once she exited the cage again all the while Margo's eyes were trained on Lynn; stone cold.

Lynn idly wandered through the park, feeling lost and horrible. Reaching a bridge that spanned over the park's central pond, her churning body demanded she'd stop walking as her pains reached their peak. Her heart beat so heavily it hurt, feeling like it was pumping venom through her system. Her stomach boiled intensely and she felt a very oppressive lump in her throat.

Margo didn't even want to listen to her. Her harsh rejection terrorized Lynn again, she grew dizzy and nauseous. It felt like her heart was beating in her throat, soon followed up by a lump going up her esophagus quickly. The lump wasn't a mere feeling anymore, but something tangible about to burst out. Lynn began to gag. She lurched for the edge of the bridge and threw her upper body over the railing. Lynn's body stiffened completely. After a quick retch, she vomited a burst of thin, dark yellow bile into the pond below that loudly splattered on the surface. She kept spewing, expelling a few more bolts of mucus from her system until she was completely empty.

After the last dry heave, Lynn went limp, rollinh along the railing down to the bridge floor, too exhausted to stand on her legs. Even sighing and the occasionally hack felt like a trial. Even with the puke out of her, Lynn didn't feel any better in the slightest. She felt weak and sickly from the anxiety, the looming threats and repressive stress. It was wrecking her; it had literally made her sick.

She had never felt this afraid, and there was no one having her back.

I hate puking.

Originally, William was to send Lynn on an errand on top of threatening her. I'm sad that I had to scrap it because it'd add a nice extra layer to the tone of William's new line of errands for Lynn. Unfortunately it didn't fit in along with Lynn seeking Margo's help and the blowback it had on her, and when I had to scrap either of those two scenes, the errand was dropped.

Well alright, that was another chapter! I got several scraps for the next few chapters already, but I won't really start working on it until after I've done working at this one-shot I really hope to upload by April the 8th! It'll be a Lubenny story, but no it won't be about anything having to do with April fools!

Now, leave a review, fave, follow or check out some of my other works if you'd like!

Until next update!

:D,

-L.W.