Charm

Chapter 20

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*María's POV*

Manolo, Miguel and I sat outside of Casita for a while just talking and catching up. They may or may not have found out my tiny crush on Camilo.....that didn't end well. They say they haven't found anyone special themselves. I can set them up with someone mwahahah. We spoke about all the Madrigals and how they treat me well and how much they liked Mama's Paella recipe.

'We must get going hermana' Manolo says with a sigh. I jump to my feet.

'No no! You haven't even been here for and hour!' I cry. They had a guilty look on their face. They looked at their feet.

'We must go María, it's a two day walk from here, we must get back to Papa' Miguel says softly. I sigh knowing they are right and that there was no point in fighting them. 'Don't make that face María you'll make us feel worse about leaving you'

I put a strained smile on my face for their sake. They give me a giant group hug along with a few forehead kisses of sorrow.

'Gracias for coming hermanos, I missed you guys' I say into Manolo's chest. I feel them smile.

'You must thank the Madrigals for this María it was their idea' Miguel explained. They pull away and start to put on their satchels stuffed with Julieta's delicious food.

'I will' I say. They start to walk away into the darkness of the night.

'Say felicidades (congratulations) to Antonio for us!' Miguel and Manolo shout back at me in union. I laugh and wave at them as they continue to walk away.

'I promise I will!' I shout back.

'And don't forget to write to us!!' Manolo shouts.

'Lo prometo! (I promise!)' I shout after them unsure if they heard me as they disappeared further and further into the forest.

I stood at the end of the hill in the darkness when I couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. No crunching of leaves, breaking of branches, ruffling bushes.....nothing. That's when I disappeared back up the hill towards Casita. The walk up the hill was quiet until the music was heard along with people's laughter and chatting voices. I walked in through Casita's open doors and the stuffiness of the house was a bit nauseous.

I started to wobble a bit on my feet, my head started to get cloudy and I found it harder to breath. I leaned against one of Casita's pillars with a hand to my throat trying to calm myself by taking deep breaths but it wasn't working. My breathing was erratic and I couldn't catch it, that was until I heard a familiar voice.

'María!'

By the sound of his voice I started to calm a bit. Not much but enough to look at him properly without looking like I was having a panic attack. I raised my head and my clouded eyes started to clear so I could see he had a distressed look on his face. He grabbed my forearm and placed a hand to my cheeks as he softly caressed it. I whispered sweet nothings in my ear. My breathing wasn't as erratic as before, my head and eyes weren't foggy. I gave him a weak smile and he replied with one of his own. He slowly lowered his hand from my forearm to my hand to then wrap it around it. He pulled my close to his body and then swerved through the people in the crowd. He brought me up the stairs to his room. He released his hand from mine making me feel cold and empty without his touch. He swiftly pulled me to his window and opened it to the look at me straight in the eyes once again.

'Do you trust me?' He asks. His voice a lot clearer than before.

'With my life' I reply fiercely. He beamed. He grabbed my hand once again then pulled us out the window. He started to climb up the vines that I presume are Isabela's. I followed Camilo's lead and climbed up onto the roof after him. He helped me walk up to the rim of the roof so I wouldn't slip. We sat down next to each other looking up at the stars.

'Are you alright amor?' He asks. He laces our separate hands together again. He places a kiss to my knuckles. I turned my head to him. He had a sweet smile on his face. I stayed quiet for a moment before looking back to the stars.

'I'm just worried..' I mumble. I raise my knees to my chest and wrap my free hand around them. Camilo's eyes were burning into the side of my skull. I try and blink back tears.

'About what querida? (darling?)' He asks hesitantly. I stayed quiet for a moment. 'You don't have to say anything if you do not want to mi amor (my love)' He says pulling me onto his lap. I lay my head on his chest as my hands play with mi Mama's necklace. He has one hand on my hip and the other rubbing circles on my thigh to sooth me.

'M-mi Papa is sick. Mi hermanos are getting overworked and I'm not sure we will have enough money to pay for Papa's medication' I explained. 'I don't want them working to the bone, I came here to get a job so they wouldn't be so overworked. That has always been the way, I would work multiple jobs at a time to provide for the familia while my Papa and mi hermanos travelled, it has been like that since I was young so I never really had a childhood, it all sort of happened after mi Mama passed away. Mi hermanos what me to be happy here and relive my childhood I never had here, but I'm not sure I can leave them just like that' I look up at Camilo who only looked down at me with wide eyes. He sais nothing just stared at him. He leaned down and I leaned up just a bit so our lips were only centimeters away.C'mon María just say it!

'I came here get a job but I was lucky and also found love...'

I leaned up and our lips connected together perfectly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his arms snaked around my waist pulling me against him. I smiled into the kiss as he deepened it.

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FINALLY!!!!!