Percabeth: As We Grow

Healing

Luke's POV

"Luke, where's Goldie?" came the panicked voice of Zoë. I looked up from my book, surprised she actually dared to talk to me.

"What do you mean where's Goldie?" I said irritably, sliding in my bookmark. "I don't know where the heck she is. She's your responsibility, not mine!"

"Just come look!" Zoë growled, sliding apart the sliding door separating our bedrooms.

I stood up silently, looking at the empty bird cage in my room, a reminder of my dead parrot Smartie. Then a thought occurred to me. Goldie was old...could she be dead?

As much as she had hurt me, Zoë was still my twin. I ran all over the house yelling, "Goldie!"

The two pups she had had with Esperanza's dog, Oak, sprang up and ran to lick our faces. Goldie'd had five pups, but three of them, Lion, Shimmer, and Wood were Esperanza's.

"Where's your mom, Pine?" I asked the darker pup urgently.

She bounded around, not a care in the world, with her brother Sunray.

"Did you find her, Luke?" Zoë called from downstairs. "Because I---"

Her voice cut off. I raced downstairs quickly. Could she be---

"Dead." Zoë said quietly. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "She's dead."

The body of Goldie lay sprawled out on the kitchen floor. I stared at her corpse, horrified.

"She...she must've just gone here for a snack and died!" Zoë's voice rose. Spinning around, she pointed a finger at me. "You---this is all your fault she's dead!"

"What the heck?" I cried, aware of the tears in my own eyes. "How's that my fault?"

"I-If you hadn't wanted to steal my boyfriend and yelled at me about it, maybe I would've had a chance to notice there was something wrong with her!" my twin sobbed. "Just wait 'till Mom and Dad get home!"

She glared at me tearfully and bent down to the dead body. I stared at her, speechless. What now?

The doorbell rang.

Esperanza's POV

I could hear shouting inside. Loads of it.

"What the bloody heck?" I muttered to myself, half laughing. I bet it was Zoë. My bestie's always been loud.

Ringing the doorbell, I waited. I had borrowed a book of hers, and now I was impatiently waiting to return it. I had to get back to the garage, for gods' sake!

Finally the door swung open.

"Oh, hi Espie." Zoë mumbled, looking down at her feet. When she looked up again, I saw that her eyes were bloodshot.

"What's happened?" I said worriedly.

"Y-You should see for yourself." Zoë said, wiping away a tear.

I followed her into the kitchen.

"Oh my gods Goldie!" I gasped at the poor dog. Gingerly, I bent down to get a closer look.

"She looks like she died peacefully." I said quietly to my best friend, reassuring her. "Now she can be happy."

"I hope she's in Elysium." Zoë joked weakly. "That dog was really naughty."

I cracked a smile. Wherever Goldie was now, she was at peace.

Luke's POV

I watched from behind the corner as my sister and Esperanza talked. A moment later, Esperanza nodded and headed for the door, to where I was hiding.

Quickly, I tried to hide, but Esperanza saw me.

"Oh, hi Luke." she said, looking surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"I just, um..." I trailed off, but Esperanza cut in, thankfully.

"By the way, Zoë's really mad at you." she said quietly.

"I know." I sighed.

Esperanza waited for me to elaborate. When I didn't, she put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's fine if you don't wanna talk about it." she said softly. "But you'll feel better if you do, y'know."

"Let's go to my room." I said after a moment's hesitation, looking back at the sobbing Zoë.

Once we sat there, I poured out the whole story to her.

"What should I do?" I asked her desperately.

"Zoë can be...a bit hot-headed at times." the brunette said after a moment's pause.

"But...why blame me?"

"She's just sad about Goldie's death. Maybe she just doesn't wanna look 'soft' or whatever, so she blamed you." she continued.

"She's so mad at me right now." I shuffled my feet. Esperanza put her hand on my shoulder again.

"It's gonna be fine." she promised.

Suddenly I remembered. Who'd I gone to for comfort when I sobbed? Esperanza. Who always convinced Zoë to let me hang out with them at school? Esperanza.

Somehow with her hand on my shoulder, I felt the pieces of my heart stir and begin to mend.

Somehow, I knew I would start to heal again.