Yeah. August. Opps. I screwed up. But, it's here, and I feel it's a bit better than if I had just thrown it out on August 31st as planned. Plus, School started up again, and my Creative Writing class took up all creative juices in November. If you have not already, look into NaNoWriMo, It's pretty challenging but a lot of fun. But nonetheless, on with the show!

Lincoln took a deep breath.

"Yeah. I am." Lincoln answered. He wasn't facing Lisa when he said it. Lily frowned, as she Lisa start to weep a little bit.

"You Jerk! You don't get to treat them like this! They said they were sorry!" Lily yelled. Lincoln frowned.

"Sorry doesn't fix everything Lily." Lincoln chided as he walked down the stairs, right past his siblings, and into the kitchen where his parents were waiting with Lynn's medical bills on the counter.

"Alright. So, with the help from Pop - Pop, the help from Lynn's assailants, and our emergency fund, we have 12,000 dollars. We're still 3 thousand short. So, Lincoln how much are you willing to put into the pot?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"I'll put in the 3,000." Lincoln quickly answered.

"Wait. What I want to know, is how did you even get 3,000 dollars? You don't have a high school degree, so I doubt you went to college." Rita questioned as Lincoln began to reach for his wallet.

"I was working. Various jobs, multiple at a time with a handful of well placed stocks I shared with a few coworkers." Lincoln calmly explained.

"Wait, you placed stocks?" Lynn Sr. questioned.

"Well, I assisted. The stock was about 4 or 5 thousand dollars initially, and it was for some Virtual Reality company, then we sold it when they were informed about some lawsuit. Then we put stock into another tech company and we hit a huge payoff." Lincoln continued.

"Hold on. How'd you even sell the stock if you had a lawsuit?" Lynn Sr. questioned.

"Well, somehow the company was able to hold the lawsuit off, but just to be safe, we sold our Then, we put some cash into Pear's stock. And given it's the best up and coming phone brand, we've made a hefty sum." Lincoln continued to explain.

"Wow, I didn't know you had such a mind for stocks Lincoln." Rita remarked, as Lincoln set the money down on the table.

"And, that is that. We're squared out." Lincoln spat as he stood up.

"Wait, what? You're already going?" Rita questioned half confused and half disappointed but completely hurt.

"Yep. I told Dad that I was leaving as soon as this was squared. And that time has come." Lincoln explained with an angry inflection in his voice. Rita was stunned and Lynn just sat there silently.

'Damn. Here I thought that him coming here would get him to stay here.' Lynn thought, numb to his outside situation.

"Lincoln please. We didn't mean to take it so seriously. We're sorry. We screwed up. Can you please forgive us?" Rita pleaded.

"To a certain extent I have forgiven you. But I don't think I want to be a part of this family." Lincoln bluntly stated.

"Fine. But since you're not going to be a part of this family, would you at least stay here tonight? Please?" Rita continued to plead. Lincoln stopped in the doorway. Everyone did seem really sorry. But did that mean he could forgive them? Lincoln gritted his teeth. His head was starting to hurt. But one night couldn't hurt.

"Fine. One night. After that, I'm leaving. And you will not change my mind again." Lincoln stated as he literally stamped his foot on the ground. They both sighed and smiled as Rita stood up.

"I'm gonna go and grab some new sheets for you to use tonight." Rita responded with a bounce as she trotted off to the laundry room seeking out some sheets. Lincoln glared over at Lynn. Sr. as he still smiled. Lincoln heard a floorboard creak and he whirled around, as he heard a flurry of footsteps rise up the stairs, giggling all the way. Lily had become the new spy for the siblings.

"Great. And here I was hoping that I was gonna have a peaceful final night here." Lincoln moaned as Lynn still smiled.