Sunlight | Luke Castellan

II. percy's friend is a goat

   "THANK YOU," our mother said softly as we drove across the highway. Gabe's '78 Camaro- the man's only love in life- coasted as we sped away from the crappy apartment. Percy, as usual on car rides, sat in the backseat with his head resting on his suitcase as a pillow. Light snores could be heard the entire trip. "I planned to tell you-"

"But you didn't," I interrupted with equal quietness, my arms crossed against my chest in the passenger seat. It wasn't said out of malice, and she knew that. I heard her sigh, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel uncomfortably. I didn't see; my gaze had been set to the view outside the window since we left the Upper East. "You've been acting weird ever since the letter arrived from Yancy."

"I know."

"You said that we'd never keep things from each other."

"I know."

"But why?" I asked, my shoulders rising up and down with the question. I felt her hand brush lightly against my crossed hand. "We haven't been to Montauk in years. There's a reason we're coming back."

"You're right," she agreed. I watched her reflection through the glass as she took a glance back at Percy. "I can't explain everything to you right now, and I wish I could."

An anxious thought washed over me. "Do you not trust me?"

"I trust you so much, Eleni," Mom countered, and I knew she meant it. My name, just like my brother's, came from Greek origin. It meant light, or as she reminded me a lot when I was younger, 'bright one.' She chose it because she said I was the first true light in her life. "It's because I trust you that I can't share everything."

I tore my gaze away from the window to look at her for the first time. Her long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, occasional streaks of gray beaming in the late afternoon's sunlight. Aside from a few wrinkles, you could have assumed she was a much older sister. It already happened a lot. I hated how troubled she looked, but that weight wasn't yet mine to carry.

"I know I don't ask for much when it comes to your brother," she said slowly, her voice almost a whisper as if she was afraid Percy would wake up and hear. "But I need you to do the biggest favor in the world."

"Mom?"

"There's a summer camp his father told me about a long time ago," she began. "I didn't want... I don't want to send him, but it's the best place for him after what happened at Yancy." I didn't know all of the details about the school; I was told it was grown-up stuff. "I want you to go with him."

I paled. This was the summer before college, if I even got into one. I needed to work jobs to save money, though it would be hard to hide it from Gabe's greedy eyes. As much as I loved my brother, I couldn't sacrifice all of summer break for a camp.

"Just for a few weeks," our mother tried to assure me. "I haven't mentioned it to him yet, but he has to go. If you go there with him, it could help. He'll be safe. His father mentioned that he would get you permission-"

"Have you been talking to him?" I whispered, taking my own look back at Percy nervously. The boy's snores hadn't changed. "How... what is this all about?"

"Percy's father told me about it before he left,' she told me. "There are other kids like him. His father knew from the moment that he met you that you'd always watch out for him. You've always tried to protect Percy from the world." There were tears in my mother's eyes, and I realized she was begging. She never begged me for anything. "Three weeks. That's all I ask."

Percy grumbled gibberish in his sleep, and the two of us quickly faced forward. Three weeks. I felt my heartbeat in my head. The ride was quiet until Percy woke up about ten minutes later with a loud yawn that I realized I never answered yes.