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A Woman After My Own Heart	By : AberrantScript Category: +G through L > The Loud House Views: 3876 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House and make no money off this work of fiction.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Author's Notes:
I must give my sincere thanks to Flagg for his help with this chapter's plot.
Notes at bottom. Enjoy~
Disclaimer: The Loud House Copyright Nickelodeon (2017); Three Little Birds by Bob Marley (1977)
Chapter 11: Evening of Agony
Maggie was feeling on top of the world. A little smile danced along her pale cheeks as her fingers flitted across the screen of her phone.
"Hey, Luan, how's the coffee?"
Back at the shop, Luan was biting her lip. She really wanted to reply with a flirty 'not as hot as you' but she didn't know how that would be taken. So, with a disappointed sigh, she went for the second best option.
"The coffee's bean good at the moment."
Maggie's smile grew just a tiny bit more at that.
"Well, bye for now."
Luan had on a million dollar grin as she read that little message from her customer. She sighed dreamily.
"Bye, Mags~"
Carol and Bobby were sitting in a fast food place. Not particularly romantic, but it was a nice place to be casual, friendly, and open.
And those are the feelings Carol really wanted to arouse in Bobby… among other things~
She was munching on a chicken wrap. She wasn't very hungry because of her nerves at being on a not-date with the guy she was most likely going to woo. But with each smile and laugh he gave her, she could feel her body unwinding and relaxing. Soon, she was talking easily with him as if it were another day at the coffee shop.
Bobby was eating a burger and fries. The cook put too much on it and it was getting messy, so he had to eat slowly. He didn't know why he was being so cautious. It was just Carol, a really great friend that he was eating with. Maybe it was the way that a man casually walked by and winked at Bobby out of sight of Carol's striking blue eyes. Maybe it was because her feet had slowly drifted toward him under the much-too-small booth table and he found he didn't mind them touching his. Maybe it was because being in her presence was filling him with warmth and contentment; how he could forget his anxieties about running the shop, paying for shipments, his loans and overdue bills, and how Lori tore into him fiercely and refused to answer any of his calls.
He didn't know if it was appropriate to reach his hand out and touch hers as she laughed at another one of his dumb jokes, but he shrugged it off.
People would think what they want, wouldn't they?
And even if another guy came by, completely green with envy at how gorgeous Bobby's lunch date was, and gave him a wildly suggestive wink…
Well, that wouldn't be such a bad thing.
If things were a little different, being on a date with Carol wouldn't be a bad thing at all.
Two tired eyes blinked open and quickly closed back.
All he could see was white.
Was he in heaven?
No, he couldn't be.
If he were, then he'd be swimming in treats at the moment.
He opened them again and this time he saw a gentle woman smile down at him.
"Good afternoon, Bugle."
Around his neck, the medallion hanging off his green collar sparkled under the bright lights; his name etched into the thin metal.
He whimpered pleadingly.
Please, bring my masters back to me…
"Don't worry, honey, we'll fix you up."
He closed his eyes again and fell into a deep sleep.
Lana and Lola had popped into the coffee shop around lunchtime and began pestering Luan for free hot chocolate.
Psh, as if.
But, then Lana brought out the big guns. She opened her eyes wide, and stuck out her bottom lip, and whined from the back of her throat.
Luan was faltering. She couldn't resist that look!
Then, Ronnie Anne came over and shoved the woman out of the way.
She looked down at the pathetic girl.
"Beat it. We don't serve strays."
Lana gasped in outrage.
"I am no stray, ma'am!"
Ronnie Anne deadpanned. "You're still not getting anything for free, so move along." She shooed them away with her hands.
Lola growled as she stepped past Lana and slammed her hand on the counter.
"Look, punk-"
Ronnie Anne's eyebrow quirked.
"-give us the chocolate and nobody has to get hurt."
Ronnie Anne sniffed indignantly.
"Look, I'm not gonna be intimidated by two pups. So, why don't you go back to pre-school or wherever you came from?"
Lola bared her teeth, her gloved hands grabbing her sleeves and pushing them up. She was preparing to leap over that counter and sweep the floor with her smug ass when Lana grabbed her shoulder.
"Ok, Ronnie Anne, but how about you give us a tiny discount if we help out for a bit?"
Lola was still glaring, but the way Lana's hand was rubbing her shoulder was calming the murderous beast inside her soul.
Ronnie Anne thought it over with an irritating hum and exaggerated facial expressions.
"Sure, but you have to clean the toilets."
Lola raised a fist to protest, but Lana beat her to it.
"Deal!"
In less than a minute, the two girls were standing in the women's restroom. Lola was taking one stall and Lana had the other.
Lana grinned as she put on nitrile gloves and sorted through their cleaning supplies, but Lola gulped in nervous anxiety.
She'd never cleaned anything before. Let alone a toilet.
She stepped forward and timidly opened the door and her eyes went wide and horrified.
"L-Lana…?"
"Yep."
"I think I finally know why people say 'I'm not cleaning up your shit.'"
Lana chuckled, but her smile fell when she saw how scared Lola looked. She stepped over and touched her arm.
"Look, it's ok if you can't do it, Lola. I can clean both and get us our drinks. It's no problem."
Lola looked at her friend and the sincerity and tenderness she found in her friend's eyes filled her with courage.
"No. I think I need to do this. To prove something to myself."
Lana hummed as she entered her own stall.
"You know you don't have to prove anything… it's just cleaning toilets."
Lola gulped as her hands gripped a plunger and she held her breath…
It's more than just that; I need to prove I can be a good friend to you, Lana.
On their way home, Luan and Lana were smiling and giggling happily.
They didn't see their open apartment window from the street.
They didn't hear the fading whines of an injured dog.
When Lana stepped inside, her face fell. She was expecting her best friend to come running to her and lick all over her face.
Where was he?
"Bugle! Here, boy!"
Luan didn't pay it much attention as she headed for her bedroom. She went to her dresser and opened the top drawer. She pulled a very generous tip from Maggie out of her pocket and smiled beautifully.
She picked up a stack of panties, where her stash was, and her heart froze in its track.
Lana came to the bedroom.
"L-Luan! I-I-I can't find him!"
Luan's eyes were glued to a sticky-note attached to the bottom of the drawer.
"I took care of your pest problem, Summers. I'll be waiting for your payment in my apartment by seven o'clock. Don't be late."
Her eyes darted to that little box of condoms…
And her chest constricted so hard she couldn't breathe.
She fell to the ground and hugged her knees to her chest.
"L-Luan, what's h-happening?"
She looked at her sister and reached her arms out.
Lana crawled to her sister, tears in her eyes, and she hid her face in her sister's embrace.
"M-mr. Grouse… he found him…"
Lana sobbed as her heart broke painfully. She curled into her sister, deeper, trying to escape. No!
Luan put her lips on her sister's hair.
"It'll be ok, Lana. We'll make it through this." We have to make it through this…
Lana cried harder, unwilling to listen to her sister.
Luan… closed her eyes and hid her face in her sister's messy hair.
She took a steadying breath, and sang lowly:
"Rise up this mornin'… smile with the rising sun…"
Walking down a long hallway, with a box in her hand…
"Three little birds… pitched by my doorstep…"
Two strong, unforgiving hands grabbing her clothes and ripping them from her body…
"Singin' sweet songs… of melodies pure and true…"
Pushed against a deep, endless bed; getting lost in the sheets, but unable to hide from those evil eyes bearing down on her…
"Sayin', 'this is my message to you…'"
Parting her thighs widely; clenching her eyes tightly; screaming into her hand in agony; becoming a slave to save her sister.
"Don't worry… about a thing…"
Two faceless, suited people at the door…
"Cause every little thing gonna be alright…"
Her sister crying and begging for them to let her stay…
"Singin' don't worry… about a thing…"
Watching with lifeless eyes as she's forced into a car and ripped from her life…
"Cause every little thing gonna be alright."
Lying in a tub filled with bloody water; a ghostly chest unmoving.
Lana sniffled and clung tighter to her sister's breast.
"W-w-what's gonna happen to us?"
Luan looked down at her sister's broken eyes. She took all of her hopes and dreams and stuffed them into a place where they couldn't stop her from doing what needed to be done.
"I won't let anything happen to you."
And she wouldn't.
Luan would do anything for her sister.
Bobby got a call right after they'd finished eating; and, to give him some privacy, Carol went over to the fountain to refill her sweet tea.
Things were going great!
He'd reached out and touched her more than once and the rough texture of his hands didn't disgust her. It didn't quite excite her like she imagined in her fantasies… but she didn't shrink away from it. And that was a wonderful start!
But when she turned around, her heart stuttered…
Bobby was crying.
She walked over on silent feet and sat down in her seat, and waited.
He wasn't talking to Lori or his family. He was talking formally; giving yesses and nos.
He hung up and looked up at her.
Her hand begged her to let it reach out and grip his fingers, so she let it.
"That… was the hospital."
Her heart was still and cold. She was looking into his eyes and could feel the torrent of pain writhing behind his pupils.
"Lori was in a hit-and-run accident."
Big, heavy tears formed in her eyes as her heart crumbled into dust.
His fingers flipped around and gripped her hand for strength.
His eyes turned to the table, unable to look at anyone or anything but that boring shade of white on the tabletop.
"She… s-s-she died."
Their hands squeezed tight enough it stung; but it felt nothing compared to the way their hearts were suddenly pulled from their beating chests with hooks.
Carol tried to be strong for him. Her thumb rubbed the side of his hand.
"I'm s-so sorry f-for your loss, Bobby…"
She choked on a sob when he looked up with a pained, hurt expression.
His other hand moved to top hers, and she wished she could find warmth from his hands sandwiching hers… but all she could feel was hard, unforgiving ice.
"I'm sorry for your loss, too, Carol."
A sharp inhale was followed by a pained sob as her blue eyes closed and turned to the table. Her shoulders were shaking with her heaving lungs as tears flooded down her cheeks.
His thumb caressed her hand as he tried to give her the same comfort he was taking.
He turned his eyes downward, to the side, and his lips quivered.
"I-I know you… you loved her, too."
Carol quaked as she let out her sorrow for him and herself.
When her lips finally opened, they were wet with her running tears, and she could barely whisper.
"I-I'm s-s-so sorry f-for everything, B-Bobby…"
He turned to her and kept stroking her hand.
"I-if it wa-wasn't for me, s-she wouldn't have… h-have…"
He hushed her, letting his hand drift to her wrist, stroking her warmly.
"It was never your fault, Carol."
She let it go, and when her choked sobs calmed into deep breaths that burnt along her scratched throat, she looked back up at him.
"What will you do?"
He sighed, trying to keep the tears at bay.
"I'm going home and... a-and I'll call her parents and let them know."
They remained in silence for a few minutes more. Soon, she could finally feel what little warmth his trembling hand could give her, and she squeezed him to return the same.
When he went to leave, she followed him and tugged on his jacket sleeve.
"W-wait."
He turned to her, frowning and confused.
She looked into his eyes, hers still watery and pleading.
"I-I don't want you to be alone… let me go with you."
His thin lips gave her a faint smile and he nodded.
Carol's heart still ached and as they walked her hands instinctually found their way to his arm and she latched onto him to keep herself from falling.
Above them, the sky was dull and grey; the clouds began to cry, tears from heaven falling upon a dark, unforgiving world.
Maggie was just walking out of the bathroom in her apartment when she got the text.
"Hi, Mags."
Her heart skipped with joy and she hurried to her bed. She didn't quite jump on it like a giddy school girl… but that's basically what she did.
"Hey, Luan!"
Did the exclamation point sound too excited, too needy? She shrugged and sent it anyway. Luan made her happy; one of the precious few things in the universe that could. So, sue her if she felt like being a little excited about talking to the woman.
She didn't get an immediate response and she was feeling impatient, so she hurried and sent a second message.
"How are you doing? Keeping my puns warm?"
Now, that sounded a little flirty~
She grinned as she rolled onto her side and partially hid her face in her pillow.
Gosh, she had it ba-a-ad!
She was shocked and promptly sat straight up when she got Luan's reply.
"I think I'm losing my apartment today."
Maggie's heart stopped for a second.
"I'm heading over to talk to my landlord soon."
The idea that her darling barista… could be homeless… was just… what!?
"I hope I can convince him to change his mind."
She was speechless. What could she say? She settled for something practical.
"What will you do?"
Her heart twinged painfully at Luan's sincere response.
"Whatever I have to for my sister."
Maggie didn't know Luan had a sister. Was… was that the blonde haired girl she saw with the puppy?
"Please don't do anything stupid, Luan."
I need you.
Her heart burst as that special ending fluttered through her brain. Her grip on her phone was getting tighter; it was shaking.
"You know what they say, don't make a girl a promise you know you can't keep."
Maggie's frown grew deeper and darker. You, asshole.
There wasn't much bite in it. But she was scared! She'd barely been hanging on to the threads of her insanity after losing her father and Alfred. She needed Luan to keep her sane! She needed her for her stupid puns, warm smiles, wondrous laugh, teasing hair, and gorgeous body!
Luan was the angel that Maggie sorely needed… and losing her wasn't an option.
"What if I could find you a new apartment?"
Maggie was desperate and grasping at all the straws she could find.
"That'd be amazing, if you could, Mags."
Maggie was already standing and heading to her door.
"How long do you have left?"
She put on her jacket and stepped into the hallway, locking her door behind her.
She looked at her messages one more time.
"One hour."
Luan was standing in her kitchen stacking all their belongings on the counter. There honestly wasn't a lot.
She could hear Lana sniffing as she packed her things in her bedroom, and it tore through the older sister's heart.
She wasn't a fool.
Yes. She can offer herself up to the man, but he could throw them out anyway: stripping her of home and life and virginity in one sick, cruel twist of fate.
Her eyes flittered to the door and to the little box waiting for her.
Fifty minutes.
In a short time, Luan would be laying under an old, disgusting, evil man as he went through condom after condom…
…all in a final, desperate hope that destroying her own life would save her sister's.
Luan's ponytail hung limply and sadly across her shoulder and breast. Her arms fell to the counter as a tear stained the surface.
Her stomach was churning, her heart was burning, her body was cold, and her mind felt numb.
She felt dead.
But that was ok.
Luan's eyes turned to that singed picture of their family lying on the table by the door, and her heartstrings were tugged painfully.
She'd finally be able to repay the debt she owed to her parents…
Maggie wasn't used to running.
She was breathless as she ran down the flights of stairs toward Mrs. Woodhouse's apartment.
The elevator went out sometime in the morning and it couldn't be fixed until the next day.
When she finally got to the right floor, she surged down the hallway toward the woman's door.
Coming to a stop, heaving for air, she forced herself to stand up straight and she knocked on the landlady's door loudly.
Come on, come on, come on!
She didn't even know what could be done. She just knew she had to try!
She couldn't let anything bad happen to Luan!
She needed her!
She jiggled the handle and she discovered it wasn't locked.
She opened it just a little and peeked inside, but all she could see were a half dozen sleepy cats.
"Mrs. Woodhouse?"
Nothing. No answer.
Oh, God, what was she going to do!?
Then, she heard a giggle and turned toward the other end of the hallway.
A door was open and she thought she recognized that laugh.
She headed toward it, speeding up when she heard the old woman's voice.
Sitting at a table were a blonde-haired woman that looked strangely familiar and Mrs. Woodhouse!
Maggie coughed to get her attention.
They paused mid-talk, and turned to the newcomer.
Mrs. Woodhouse's eyes sparkled.
"Maggie! How are you?"
Maggie took a deep breath.
"I need to talk to you about something sensitive."
The elder woman nodded.
"I'm sorry, Leni, but I think I must go now. Do take care, will you?"
Leni smiled at the two, and nodded.
Out in the hallway, Maggie leaned against a wall to regain her bearings.
Mrs. Woodhouse's eyes quickly grew concerned.
"Dear, what's happened?"
Maggie looked at her, and the old woman was struck with how frightened the girl looked.
"M-my friend is losing her apartment and… and she and her little sister… they have nowhere to go."
The woman frowned sadly.
"Dear, I don't have any more apartments open. You took the last one."
Maggie took a deep breath and steeled her nerves for what she was about to say.
"I know. That's why I want them to have mine."
Mrs. Woodhouse inhaled softly, trying to think things through.
"But, Maggie, where will you go?"
Maggie shrugged.
"It doesn't matter; as long as they're safe."
A pair of ancient hands found Maggie's trembling palms, and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"You must really love your friend to do this for her."
Maggie felt a tear form in her eye, her heart snagging on the woman's words.
"I… I-I do."
Mrs. Woodhouse nodded to herself and started toward her apartment.
"Very well. Tell her to pack their things and come here. We'll see what we can do. But make sure she knows they will have a home here."
Maggie gave her a bittersweet smile as she ran back toward the stairs, toward her apartment… toward Luan's best hope for security.
She only had twenty minutes left and her heart was weighing heavily in her chest.
What was the point in waiting any longer?
There was no way Maggie could find her a new apartment in just an hour…
Let's be fucking realistic. Life was a cruel bitch that only sought to kill Luan in every possible way it could.
It had stolen her parents, her chances at going to college, any opportunity of seeking her own path, and now… now it was even stealing her choice in sex.
Luan was gay, but life didn't care.
Luan wanted to wait until she met someone she truly loved, and they loved her in return, but life didn't care.
What was sex within the grand scheme of things anyway?
Luan gave it her all; really fought and struggled to get them where they were…
And it was all for nothing.
So, if fixing things could be as simple as letting a dirty man plow into her for an hour every day, then she'd just have to live with that.
Her wrists burnt with painful familiarity and her soul begged her to just lay in her tub and end it all…
But she knew she couldn't.
She still had Lana, and the girl needed her sister to be strong… to do what needed to be done.
She looked at her phone.
It read fifteen minutes before seven.
Luan had waited long enough.
"Lana?"
The girl slowly drug a trash bag from her room, full with her clothes.
"Y-y-yeah?"
Luan took a breath to keep herself from asphyxiating.
"Mr. Grouse wants to see me. I… I'll be back later."
Lana sniffled, wiping away tears from her eyes.
"H-how long will you be gone?"
Luan came to her sister.
"I don't know. I… might not be back until morning, honey."
Lana furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What does he want?"
Luan sighed as she knelt and hugged her sister's chest.
"H-he j-just wants to talk, ok? J-just make whatever you can find to eat… a-and don't worry about your big sis."
Lana let go of the bag and wrapped her arms around Luan's head and hid her face in the girl's ponytail.
"Will you fix this for us?"
Luan pulled back and looked into her sister's eyes.
"I'm going to try my very best."
Lana let her go and fell onto the couch, unwilling to move anymore as tears returned to her eyes.
Luan looked at her phone again and saw it said ten minutes. She put it in her pocket and she grabbed that box of condoms.
Before she left, she turned to her sister.
"You know I love you with my everything, don't you, Lana?"
Lana sobbed, turning toward her sister with wet cheeks.
In her clouded mind full of suffering and pain, she looked through blurry eyes and saw the face of her mother staring at her from that door.
"I do, mommy."
Luan gasped quietly, feeling her lips tremble, her eyes grow hot, her heart ache in pain.
It was a mistake… probably… but, God, Luan couldn't back out now.
With the most motherly tone she'd ever used, Luan did her best to reassure her sister…
"Bye for now, dearest~"
…before she sold her body to slavery.
Maggie looked at her phone and screamed.
The fucking thing was dead!
She took it and threw it across the room, not knowing where it landed or if it broke.
Her hands went to her face and she sobbed.
But, then, she smacked herself and came to.
She had five minutes.
She ran out the door, faster than she'd ever done before, and ran to the stairs.
She tripped and crashed on the last step, bruising her knees and elbows which had taken the brunt of her fall.
She could feel her heart beating with a deep urgency.
Luan only had minutes left, and Maggie knew in her soul that something terrible was about to happen.
She ran to Mrs. Woodhouse's apartment and let herself in without knocking.
The elderly woman was playing with a black cat with blue-grey eyes when she looked up and gasped in surprise.
"Maggie! Your clothes are scratched up! You're crying!"
"I'm so, so, so sorry, Mrs. Woodhouse! But my phone died on me! And I couldn't find my charger! Can I borrow yours?"
The woman frowned sadly.
"Honey, I don't have one. The front desk takes my calls for me."
Maggie sobbed then, fisting her hands so tightly they cracked.
"Wait! Leni has a phone! Go to her! She's in the apartment you found me!"
Maggie was gone in a flash.
Please, God, please let me not be too late…
Step.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Creak.
Smile.
"Are you ready?"
Sob.
"Y-y-yes."
Additional Notes:
I wasn't sure if I could ever top the suspense and dread that I laced in My Only Sunshine, but I'm giving it my very best!
Have you ever sat back and thought to yourself, "How the heck am I gonna bring two lovesick characters together while they're still pining after another woman?" The answer was fairly simple. You kill her~ Well, it wasn't that simple. I did consider making them into a polyamorous relationship... or Carol seduces Bobby into cheating on Lori... or Lori simply moves on and leaves Bobby a heartbroken mess... or Bobby finds that Carol is a much better woman than Lori ever was... But I always came back to the same dilemma. How to bring a woman and a man together with differing sexual desires. So, I hope you all like where their relationship goes in the future, and feedback is greatly appreciated~
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A Woman After My Own Heart