The Second Encanto

26. The Dinner

Merella's POV
Boy did this new girl disgust me. I smiled as she drawled on and on about some city thing. My family had invited hers over for dinner to be polite. I rolled my eyes so much I had a pounding headache. "Merella?" I looked up to see everyone staring at me.

"Hm?" I asked while not even looking up.

"Maria asked you a question." My father sighed. I finally looked up and gave Maria a sour smile. The sight of her made me want to run to my room and hurl. She was to perfect. She had no flaws.

"I asked if you could show me around town tomorrow?" she asked. I agreed solemnly and excused myself from the table. I picked up dishes and went into the back room to wash them. My mother came in with a worried look.

"Mer are you ok?" She asked. I cringed when I heard her say that nickname.

"I'm fine mama. I swear." I put on the most genuine smile that I could muster. She seemed easily relieved by it. I wiped my hands on my dress then heeded up to my room. I flopped onto my bed and groaned into the pillow. The past two days had been horrible. And even worse the storm of anger in my stomach kept growing. I rolled over and saw the tablet that Bruno gave me. I laughed when I saw that the heart was covered in cracks.

"Of course." I sneered. Then my gaze drifted to the violets on my bedside table. I sighed. In the past two days I thought I had gotten rid of all of them. But nope right there on my bedside table was two more. I picked them up but immediately regretted it. The flowers sweet smell flooded my mind with memories. I quickly went and let them drift to the ground out of my window. The wind had other plans though. I rested my head in my hands as I watched the flowers float in the air. They flew down the street until I couldn't see them anymore. I laid down in my bed and curled into a ball. For hours I laid there crying as quietly as I could.

In the morning I pulled on a clean dress. It was nothing special. I tossed my hair into a quick ponytail. I grabbed my bag and walked outside. The fresh air hit my face and shocked me into smiling. Just being outside made me feel so much better. That smile dropped when Maria ran outside.

"Hola Merella!" She shouted while running towards me. I waved and put on a fake smile. We quickly went on our way. I showed her all around town. It was quite bitter sweet due to the memories of Andres and I doing this not so long ago. "So Merella do you have a special someone?" She asked while nudging my shoulder.

"I used to." I answered with a soft smile. Maria acted like she didn't hear me and launched into her own speech.

"I do! I hear he's lovely. We've written letters to eachother. That's the reason my family moved here." Maria babbled. I could tell that she was a talker. So I let her talk.

"How lovely." I said with a smile. This smile was real. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

"Merella!" I turned to see Mirabel waving at me. She started running towards me and pulled me into a hug.

"Woah woah calm down Mirabel. What's up?" I asked. I waited patiently for Mirabel to catch her breath but when she did boy was I surprised.

"My Abuela is hosting a dinner tonight for Camilo's engagement. Isa, Dolores and I want you to come and dress up. We want you to show up to show Camilo how good you are without him." She said looking into my eyes. I agreed and she happily clapped her hands. I led Maria back to her house then went with Mirabel back to her house. Isabella was already all set up for me.

"We are going to give you a full makeover!" She said excitedly. I smiled and then was told to close my eyes. By the time she was down I had fallen asleep three times. "Ok open!" I slowly opened my eyes and gasped. Tears of relief trailed down my cheeks. I looked into the mirror and all I saw was me. Isabella had cut my hair short. It was a literal weight lifted off my shoulders. My eyes shone with pride.

"This is the first time that I have truly felt like me in a long time. Thank you Isa." I said gratefully. She smiled at me. They had also picked out an outfit for me. It was a shimmery blue dress with hints of green and purple. I put into on a smiled.

"Ready?" Dolores asked. I nodded and with a deep breath we all walked out to join the family for dinner. What I saw next probably shattered my heart more than it already was.