Chapter 4

Chapter 4 everyone. This gets emotional and mushy, i hope doesnt seem too much. Also very very LONNNGGG.
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I like this kid thought Luna as she watched her new found friend scribble away on a notepad. This was Lyle, the new kid in town. Quiet type, and always thinking, mumbling nonsense and then either writing it or drawing it down. Luna chuckled to herself. I'd love to see whats working that brain of yours she thought.

She sighed as she strummed the cords of her aucoustic guitar. This caught Lyle's attention. "You play guitar?" He asked. Luna smiled. "I can play anything." Lyle gave a hum, then returned to his scribbling. Not the best at conversations I see Luna uttered in her mind.

Suddenly Luan walked in. "Luna are you in-" she was shocked to find a stranger sitting on Luna's bed. Lyle looked up, then right back down. "Uh, hi to you too. Um, just who are you?" Luan asked confused. "Its ok Luan he's with me." Luna called across the room. " Luan looked and saw Luna in a beanbag chair across the room. "Ah, I see what this is." Luna tuned her guitar, ignoring Luan's comment. Luan giggled. "I see you brought this 'SKETCHY' fellow into our house. Don't you think you 'ART' to introduce him?" She bursted laughing. Luna and Lyle sighed at once. Luna got up. "Alright, alright. You've had your fun. Luan, this is Lyle. Lyle, Luan."

Lyle grunted a hello and continued scribbling. "Not a man of many words huh?" Luan asked. Luna shook her head. Lyle wasn't much of a talker to be sure, but his art was exceptional. Luan sighed. "Well I just came to see what you were up to. I'm going to go practice banana comedy, so I guess I outta 'split'!" Luna just shook her head once more as the young clown 'peeled' out. 😊

Luna turned Lyle, who was now looking out her window. She walked to the bed to see his sketchbook open to the page he had just drawn. She frowned, for this drawing was a little... well, disturbing. Shadowed black in the background, an outlined figure sat in the middle of this darkness. With its knees to its chest, head buried, the drawning was giving off vibes of lonelyness. Luna looked at Lyle. He sat at window, still admiring the view.

"You ok, Lyle?"
Lyle just sat for a while.
Then replied, " Yeah."
Luna knew he was lying. She didn't know how she knew but something told her he was not on the up and up.
"Are you sure?"
Lyle turned quickly and said, "Look, I said I was FINE. JUST. DROP IT."

Luna took a step back. Now she definatly knew something was wrong. She felt sore because Lyle, although seemed quiet and well behaved, was trying to contain something. Not very well though. Something that had to come out before it forced its way out and hurt someone. Luna knew what Lyle was probably feeling like, as far as not being able to express emotion properly. Luna herself had had trouble before with emotions. She knew what she had to do.

Lyle turned back, releasing a huge sigh before saying, "I'm sorry. I just..." He didn't know what to say. He was conflicted. He wanted to open up Luna, she was nice and seemed to care, but what if she was like everyone else. All those theropy doctors and groups, they didn't care. They just wanted to waste time, prescribe pills, and draw a check. They didn't care if Lyle felt good today and depressed tommarrow. So why would this girl he just met care?

Luna took a step towards Lyle and said, "Listen, dude, It's ok. You can talk to me. I'll listen. I know what your're going throu-"
Lyle's angered burned hot and bright when she said that. He yelled, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH! NO ONE DOES!" Luna, wide eyed and somewhat intimiaded, began to spat her distaste. "I invite you to hang out at my house and this how you repay me? I wanted to help, but forget it I get the point. Just leave!" Lyle just glared. Working that brain of his considering his options. He could only think of one. Lyle fell to his knees, face in his palms.

"Luna, I... I'm... sorry." Luna just stared at him as he continued. "I'm jealous. I wish I had a family to come home to, that actually cared how my day went, or how I'm doing, or even tell me stupid jokes to try and cheer me up. You have the life I want." He started to tear up as he talked. "Please forgive me. I really like you. Your the first person to actually talk to me and be a friend and I-" He didn't finish that sentence.

Suddenly, he felt something wrap around him. He turned to see Luna's body against his back, arms wrapped around him. "It's ok," she whispered. "No one's here to see you open up. It's you and me. Just let it go." Lyle opened his mouth to protest, but he felt something he hadn't felt before. It wasn't the same emotion he felt earlier. This one was a terrible swelling in his throat. He started to tear up, and then cried silently. Tears ran down his cheeks. Luna whispered consoling words into his ear as he let go of all the years of sadness bottled up inside him. He sobbed and sobbed. And then sobbed even more. Luna started to hum a tune. Lyle listened as he cried, and her humming sounded so beautiful. He could see a picture in his mind of the song. He started to calm down, and finally soothed.

After awhile, Luna unraveled herself as Lyle began to dry up. "Now," She said as she took Lyle's hand in hers. "Are you ready to talk?" Lyle, wiping his eyes, just nodded. He sniffed, wiped his nose, and began to pour out the reason of his sadness.

Lyle never had parents, well not real ones. All Lyle remembers about anykind of parent was a Mr. Elisha King, an old man that lived in downtown Philly. "Elisha told me he found me in a cardboard box on the sidewalk on his way home from work." Lyle explained. "Elisha raised me, and raised me well. I loved that man." He remebered when Elisha had brought home a notebook and some pencils, and Lyle drew his first portrait.

"But when I turned 10, Elisha didn't come home one night. Or the next night, or the night after that. That was the first time I felt loneliness." Lyle remebered. "The police found his body 3 days later. Some thugs beat him to death for money." Anger rose up in Lyle, but Luna distracted him with asking, "What did you do?"

"The only thing I could. I took off." Said Lyle. "It was winter, and I was so young, I didn't where I was going. All I knew is that I just had to keep moving. Eventually, the foster people got hold of me and put me into foster care." Lyle hated this the most. "I was put in with a family that was not bad, but I didn't feel like I fitted in. They thought I was mentally ill, because I talked to myself so much. They sent me to a doctor, who only asked how I was feeling, did I need more pills, and if my past week was good. Eventually I started hearing voices. I dont't know in my head or real. But they said run. So I ran again. When I got here to this town, I met some guys who said thay could make the voices go away. All I had to do was steal from this guy named Earl. But got caught. Now I live Earl."

"Why don't you run, or call the police?" Luna asked.
"He said he would find me and kill me if I did anything like that." Lyle sighed, then looked Luna in the eyes. Luna looked back, she could see into the depths of his soul. Sorrow, depression, lonliness all swirled in his blue eyes. She wondered what he saw. Well I'll tell you cause I'm powerful like that (ha!). Lyle could see love, a caring love. One that is only found in mothers and saints. He felt safe with her. But most of all he felt, well, loved.

They were interupted when the heard a soft "aww..."
Lyle and Luna both jerked their heads to the door to see all of Luna's sisters there, observing this intimate moment. They both jumped out of their skins, and turned more red than a tomato. "I should go." Lyle went for his things, but Luna stopped him. "Why don't you come down stairs and meet the family. Maybe even draw a picture or two?" Lyle looked at her. She smiled at him. He felt a third new feeling that day. But he knew what this was. He felt... empowered.

Lyle sighed. "I guess I could. For a little while at least." The girls cheered (besides Lucy cause, you know) and headed downstairs. As they left Luna lagged behind. As well and Lyle. He turned to the burnette and whispered, "Thanks." She smiled, came over and embraced him one last time. They stayed there for as long as they could, but all good things must come to an end. As they broke away Luna took Lyle's hand and led him downstairs. "Wait till Lincoln see's you!" She said.
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After school, Lincoln and Clyde walked back to there homes in silence. They both had one thing that weighed heavy on their minds. The new kid. Or Lyle, since they knew his name now.

Lincoln spoke up to break the silence. "Did you ever meet him?" Clyde looked at his friend and shook his head. "I wish I had, he seemed like a cool guy." Lincoln agreed.

As he and Clyde parted ways, Lincoln walked to his house. As he opened the front door, all the girls seemed to be waiting eagerly for something at the table as they all yelled a ,"Hello Lincoln!"
"Hey guys."
"So Lincoln," Luan said. "Where's your friend?"
"Clyde went home."
"No silly!" Leni spoke up. "Your're knew friend Lyle!"
Lincoln gave them a sour look. "Is this somekind of joke?"
The girls, wide eyes with confusion, started to look at each other.
"Uh, what do you mean Linc?" Luna asked.
Linc sighed, pulles out his phone, and sat it on the table. The screen revealed a newspaper article that titled, 'TEEN FOUND DEAD IN ALLEY EARLY MORING'. The girls gasped. Luna snatched it and began to read, her heart began to sink more and more as she read on.

"Teen aged 15, was found dead in an alley this morning by a jogger on his daily run. He thought the teen was sleeping, so he went to give him a wake up call, but discovered the teen was dead. Police say cause of death is incunclusive at this point, but they will release more soon."

Luna dropped the phone. She was froze. She suddenly took off to her bedroom and slammed the door. Everyone looked at each other. Unsure what to do at that point.
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The second to last chapter. Chapter 5 the clusion so be there!