Obsession

Preface

          She was his obsession. He wanted her. He needed her. He craved her. And now she can't escape him anymore. Camilo was a good kid, he deserves compensation for it, doesn't he? Frozen in the darkroom, her body jumped like a rifle when even the slightest source of noise was heard in the dark hallway. For hours she cried for help, for Dolores, Pepa, for anyone! But no one answered, and sometimes a ray of light crept through the cracks of the house, reflecting her face in the 1000 magic mirrors that floated demonic around the room.

¡Alguien, ayuda! ¡Déjame salir de aquí! ¡Quiero ir a casa!

        She begged screaming as long as her lungs held, but nothing could be heard. Eventually, her heart pounded as a set of footsteps stepped toward the room but something was wrong with them. The steps were slow and not at all hurried, as if they did not understand that she was a prisoner there and that she wanted to escape. It was him! The bastard who locked her up there, the cause of all her pain, who tied her with these chains in that damn magical house! The door opened with a tormenting calm, letting the bright light of day enter the room after such a miserable time in which it was a total darkness. Her eyes stung her, pained by the bright light she had not seen for hours or days.

The silhouette blocking the light in front of the door smirk, a demonic green blazing in the once warm and loving orbits. This man, this boy, was not the Camilo she knew. This boy was a monster corrupted by the power of the gift, who locked her up and in chains. She limped back as far as the length of the chains allowed, only to bump into more mirrors just to not let him get any close to her. She was terrified, scared, confused, she didn't understand what was happening? Why did he do that to her? What did she do wrong to him? What made it worth it?

"Camilo déjame salir por favor. I beg you, I don't know what I did to upset you, but I'm sorry. Verdaderamente, please let me go!"  She begs looking up at him from the distance, he approached her, pulling on the chain around her waist, yanking her as close to him as he could to see her frightened eyes. The boy laughed, the same cute, innocent laugh that once made her love him but now, and considering the situation, it sent shivers down her spine.

"Mi amor, stop being so noisy I told you already, estás en casa."

"Dolores me escuchó!They will come to save me immediately!" she declared triumphantly hoping to squeeze even the slightest trace of panic or regret from his face but the boy was perfectly calm, even more amused.

He laughs again.

"Ah, sí, mi hermana. How about your other saviors?mi mama, mi abuela, Mirabel, the villagers? Woke up mi amore its been days!"

"Qué hiciste con ellos?I swear if you hurt them I'll never forgive you!"

"Casita ayúdame, will you? " He ordered and the chains tightened even harder pulling her closer to him enough that the boy could caress her tenderly over her scratched cheek. He pecks her forehead kissing her gently before pulling her into a strong and possessive hug. There was no sign of comfort in that hug, just possession, just captivity just a symbol that she, belongs to him.

"Mi hermoso amor, de verdad pensaste que dejaría que nos separation? To intervene between us, to separate us? I couldn't afford that! I should have had you just for myself!Todo mío! And they were in the way, all of them!"

"Camilo, what happened to you? I don't even know who you are, what did you do with my sweet best friend?"

"Hah ha, you're so naive my love, he never existed. It was just a facade for me to get rid of my mother who was worrying too much and my grandmother who was asking too many questions. Don't pretend you don't know what you did, darling. When I first saw you, I knew I didn't have to pretend anymore. That you will be mine forever and that you will make me feel emotion again. Your smile, your prise, your love, they heald me."

She widened her eyes in shock, was everything a lie? Has he always been like that? He pretended for so long, and fooled everyone, but why? She inhaled scared, his hair clinging to her sweaty face. She trembled from every angle of her body when she thought of all the people who had suddenly disappeared from her life. Friends, lovers, boys who liked her, who confessed love to her, they always disappeared or broke up with her suddenly without any explanation. Now she understood why Camilo had turned into them and used their appearance to break up with her and do god knows what other things in Encanto.

But why? Why would he do that? When they met, he was just a relaxed carefree prankster that made her laugh. She never imagined that he could hurt anyone, especially his own family. Her breathing intensified, her heart pounding with fear, what was he going to do with her now that he got rid of his own family?

"I love it when I hear you breathing, I hope to god you're never leaving," he mumbled in her hair taking a deep inhale of her alluring scent. She was perfect! The girl tries to articulate a sentence no matter how much she drowns in her own tears and fear paralyzes her voice, she needed to know why her bloody boyfriend locked her in his magic room and started behaving like a crazy.

"Why are you doing this? No matter what I did wrong to you, I never deserved to witness all of this. Lo siento! ¡Déjame ir!"

"Te disculpas? Why? For entering my life? For making me want you every moment? There's no need for that anymore, mi amore. Mi mama told me to pick the very best girl, and you are it. There's no reason to carry the guilt of those pesky hombres sucios y pervertido, who devoured you with their hungry gazes as if you belonged to them while you danced," his embrace got stronger almost cutting her breath off." They got what was coming to them, what they deserve for daring to try to take you from me. You are todo mio mi amore."

"Camilo please stop, no more! Please! I don't want to hear anymore! " she squeezed her eyes in fear crying even louder as she struggled out of his clutches. " I don't want to hear it anymore, you didn't need to hurt them!"

He grinned like a madman, raising his bloody hand from behind his yellow poncho. It was the first time she had seen his body covered in blood in the dim light of the candles in the room. What had this boy done? Why was he covered in blood?

"Oh, but I did! You see, mi cielo, they taught me a new emotion, rage. I wanted to stop them, I wanted to hurt them, I wanted to kill them," he giggles again his eyes flickering an even brighter light green. He let her go slowly, laying her on the floor, kissing her long silky hair.

"I had to stop them for us! They were in my way, in our way! They would have destroyed our happiness, our love, they would have taken you away from me! Just like my family!"

"So you killed them? Camilo, don't you feel anything now?"

"All I feel is my love for you. And we will be together forever," his eyes flicker light green " because I will never let you leave the casita again. Sólo mío, mi amore." 

"Why are you like this? You weren't like that when we met," she asked with the last remaining power in her voice feeling her tired body give way under the weight of the chains.

He laughed again, but this time the laugh was much darker.

"I have been like this since I was born, the magic of the house has made me and my family this way. But I think I was more special when it comes to gift handling, and surpass them. Even that fool Bruno, who tried to stop me by showing his vision to Mirabel. Don't you remember the day we met, darling?"