“We’ll Tell Them. When We’re Ready.”
Luz opened up the cupboard. She was standing in the bathroom near the kitchen. After they had all finished eating, her friends had continued to explain a little more about the fight, Belos and the Day of Unity. But after a little while, she had gotten up and came here.
Her wounds had been hurting again. Definitely not because the memory of what had happened that night still brought tears to her eyes.
She still vividly remembered King’s small paw in her hand. Until it wasn’t.
And, of course, she definitely wasn’t gonna forget about the mindscape any time soon.
She pulled out a package of bandages from the cupboard. On the front it showed a drawing of three creatures that looked to Luz like Eda, King, and Hooty. Luz shook it off. She was seeing things wrong. It was just some characters from the Good Witch Azura.
Luz ran some cold water over a cut on her arm, then pulled one of the Band-AIDS out and peeled off the wrapping, tossing it in the trash can. She placed it gently on a cut on her arm.
It was starting to feel a little better.
She sighed.
What am I going to do? She thought. How do I make a portal? How do I help my friends? Ahh, this is so overwhelming!
Luz resorted to just staring at the bathroom wall, trying to ignore her thoughts as they raced past. After a few minutes, she heard a sound.
“Hey,” a voice said.
It was soft and uncertain, but familiar. Luz could still tell who it was.
She turned to find Hunter standing in the doorway. His hand was holding onto the doorframe and his magenta eyes were darting around nervously.
“Oh, hi,” Luz responded.
“S-sorry,” he muttered. “I just couldn’t stand it out there, hearing them talk about…” he trailed off, his eyes glancing down at the floor.
“Hey, hey,” Luz held up her hands. “It’s okay. I get it. I keep having memories of that day too.”
Hunter was silent for several moments, his eyes unreadable.
“Hey, uh,” he started again uncertainly. “Thanks for not, uh- telling them that.. I’m—“ he paused again.
“A Grimwalker?” Luz questioned, placing another Band-AID on her arm.
“Shh!” Hunter shushed her, his eyes desperate. “Don’t say it so loud!”
He stopped, holding his hand over his chest, then closing it in a fist and opening it again. He glanced back up at Luz.
“What about you?” He asked. “How have you been since…”
“Since we were in Belos’ mind?” Luz cried out. “Since I found out I helped him meet The Collector?” Her voice broke.
“Oh my gosh, Hunter,” tears began to fill her eyes, and she didn’t even try to brush them away. Her voice then got quieter, almost a whisper.
“They’re all gonna hate me.”
Hunter’s heart broke at the sadness and despair in her voice.
He approached her cautiously, taking the Band-AID box gently from her hands to stop her from crushing it. He put in on the sink counter.
Hunter never really knew what to do to comfort people. It was never his strong suit. But he tried his best.
“Pssh, no, of course they won’t!” He told her, absentmindingly waving his hand. “They’re your best friends.”
Luz looked up at him, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.
“Plus, they won’t hate you anymore than me when they find out that I might be… a clone.. of someone… who was a witch-hunter. With Belos.”
He paused.
“Yah, that does sound really bad when I say it out loud, doesn’t it?”
Luz let out a small laugh. She turned back to look at her friends and mom in the kitchen.
“We’ll tell them,” she promised. “When we’re ready.”