04



The rest of lunch with The Madrigals was rather uneventful, Thankfully no one commented on your long trip to the bathroom - maybe they all thought you had some sort of stomach problem like Bruno did. . . you shoved down the slight embarrassment that came with that thought.

Now, as you were back at the nursery - you breathed in a sigh of relief, you sat on the floor back pressed against the frame of the bed, looking off into the ceiling.

Mirabel sat next to you, she called out your name softly, quickly catching your attention as you turned towards her. ". . . You know you can tell me if something's bothering you, right?"

You smiled, letting out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I know."

She sighed, fiddling with her fingers. "I-It's just . . . You've been acting weird for a few weeks now. Those night visits your parents had with my mom, and your family just abruptly went into the city."

You could hear your own heart, beating so loudly it felt like it was about to burst. The city. Your eyes shook. The hospital. All of a sudden you dragged back into a memory - the sound of your own screams filled your ears.



"N-no!" You had shouted,
trying to break free from
their grasp. "Stop it, please -
I'm not sick!"

"Stop, Dear!" Your mother
shouted, holding you down.
"They're trying to help you, just
stay still!"

"Please I don't wanna--" You
thrashed violently, screaming.
"No . . . I'm not crazy, please!
Just Stop!"






"It. . . hurts. . . Mama."




You let out a laugh, pained and uncomfortable, quickly pushing yourself to stand up from the floor, trying to shake away the memory.

It - it won't happen again. You thought. As long as I don't mention Camilo, about anything from my world again - they won't think I'm crazy - they, they, won't take me back to that place. They can't.

Mirabel followed after you, the worry clear as day on her face, she placed hand on your shoulder - before gently pulling you into a hug. "You don't have to tell me, If you don't want to . . . but please just remember, that I'm here for you, okay?"

Tears slipped from your face, as you hugged her back tightly.


"Thank you, Mirabel." You're one of the only things keeping me sane at the moment.







____






You walked through the woods, this way was the opposite of a shortcut but after all that happened today, you needed a real distraction, and a detour through the forest was just that.

The grass crunched beneath your feet, you looked around, trying to find a familiar mark - there - you walked closer, fingers skimming through a worn out ribbon.

"Ours was pink." This one's red. Your lips pulled into a smile, as you glanced down at the ribbon that was wrapped tightly around the tree, tied into a neat bow - probably courtesy of a young Mirabel, it definitely had seen better days, seemingly seconds away from falling apart.

"I guess they made a treehouse too." The treehouse had been Camilo's idea - it was supposed to be a secret hideout that only the three of you knew, but basically everyone in your families knew about it, You even remember when Augustin tried to help build it - it ended in an absolute disaster - having him be permanently banned by his own daughter, not being allowed within ten feet away of the prized treehouse.

You scoffed. "Don't tell me Carlos was the one who suggested it here." He didn't seem like the type.

You continued to trudge through the somewhat familiar path, but from the corner of your eye - you spotted something fluttering by - you halted, eyes squinting, it was a butterfly, a yellow one.

A strange indescribable rush went through you; a voice in your head saying to 'follow it' and you did, you followed it a few feet behind, afraid to scare it off, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere, fluttering here and there, even going in a circle.

You let out a quiet groan. This was going nowhere. You felt silly - following a random butterfly around. Mirabel might have saved the miracle by following a yellow butterfly - but that was probably a special one, this, this was probably just a normal one.

You stopped. "It's gone." Your shoulders slumped. "Anddddd I'm lost, great, just great."

You turned around, trying to retrace your steps, and a few of them went in circles, your eyes were stuck to the ground - observing the squished grass and any broken twigs - and all of a sudden - you were staring down at a pair of shoes.

You stumbled backwards and you were falling, a pair of arms caught you before you hit the ground - green eyes looking down at you.

"Uh." You muttered. This was awkward. The man stared at you, before pulling you up, making sure your feet were firmly set on the ground before gently letting you go.

I know him. You thought, squinting at him. What was his name? "Uh-Thanks, Al. . ." Your voice drifted off, unable to remember the rest of his name Alejandro - no - Alvaro. . ?

"Alfonso." He finished, with a soft chuckle.

Right. You nodded. He's the son of one of the town's carpenters. You're surprised to see him, he was known as a real recluse, but maybe he was different here. There's a bright red ribbon tied around his hair. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I could say the same thing to you, hermosa." He smiled.


"I was uh . . ." following a butterfly - you'd sound like a five year old. You didn't wanna tell him about the treehouse, that may or may not exist, you weren't sure. " Just walking, and wandering, you know?" You laughed.

"Oh." Alfonso muttered. "It kinda seemed to me like you were lost."

You rolled your eyes. "No, no of course not - " He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I was." You relented, a bit embarrassed at the fact that you got lost in a forest you practically grew up in.

He laughed, softly. "Come on, I'll lead the way - the sun's about to set." You gave him a small smile, and followed after him.

"Do you wander through the forest often?" Alfonso brought up with a slight smirk, as the two of you made your way through the woods.

"Not as much as I used to." You said without much thought. "How about you? Is it like your hobby to sneak up on people all creepy and silent like?"

He laughed. "Oh, just the pretty ones."

"Am I supposed to be flattered by that?"

"You're not?"

You laughed, shaking your head. "No."

He clicks his tongue, but grinned.
"What a shame then."

You smiled at him, but looking around you realized you were already back on the main path. "Thanks for leading me back, I'll take it from here, you probably have somewhere to be."

"Alright then." Alfonso said. "Be careful, don't wander too far, I can't guarantee you'll encounter another extremely kind and handsome guy to help you next time." He teased, causing you to roll your eyes.

He gave you a small wave, one you returned rather sheepishly before you continued walking, unknowing of how his smile quickly disappeared.






____

.


.


.

The man blinked, a perfect replica of himself staring back, he let out a tired sigh - shutting the book in his hand.

"Thanks for letting me use your face."

He groaned.

"What did you do this time, Carlos?"






























-°-

Thank you all for reading, sorry it was a bit slow! Have some Alfonso and Carlos; the pretty boys - as a thank you! 💕✨✨

Sorry if it's not good hahah, I haven't drawn anything in a while, but I hope y'all like it! >3

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top