You are a madrigal

Part 14

When everyone made it inside of his new room the music began to play and they danced. Antonio grabbed Dolores' hand and brought her over to the dance floor to dance with him. She smiled and indulged him for a while. A few people smiled and stared at the duo as they danced before Dolores paused her movement by the voice behind them.

"May I have this dance? "

 She spun her head around and saw Alex standing there with his hand out for her to take and a smile on his face. She gave him a smile before she saw his eyes looking glancing down to see Antonio's head pop up behind her legs with a shine to them.

 "So you are the man of the hour? Congratulations on your gift!"

He kneeled down and held his hand out for the boy to shake. Antonio glanced up at Dolores before looking back to the man in front of him. He grabbed at his hand hesitantly and gave him a shy smile. "Gracias, Señor."

Dolores looked at how they interacted and her chest clenched in a way that was almost painful. She had to keep a calm face, there were too many people around to panic. She turned to the boys in front of her and clasped her hands in front of her dress with a smile. 

"Tonito, this is my friend Alejandro. Alex, this is Toni."

Alex gave the boy a smile and nodded his head before glancing up at her. "You don't mind if I steal her from you for a little bit, do you Hombrecito ?" Antonio grinned at him and shook his head before running off to play with his animal friends.

Alex stood up and held his hand out for Dolores to grab. She was only slightly hesitant before grabbing it with a shy smile. Alex twirled her into his arms and gave her a smile in return. 

They danced, and fell into a comfortable rhythm. Ever so often they would catch a glimpse of Antonio as he ran around. Alex saw that Dolores had been looking at him for awhile and nudge his head against hers to grab her attention.

"He's a cute kid." 

Dolores looked away and squeezed the hand that was in hers. "He is..." She felt his other hand lay under her chin and brought her eyes to look back at his concerned reddish brown.

"Are you okay, Lola? You seem really...distracted." 

Her eyes widened as she tensed in his arms before she shook her head with an awkward laugh. "What? No.... It's just been a really stressful week. We didn't know if Antonio would get a gift, and it was just... a lot."

She knew that he could see it in her eyes that something else was wrong. He always had a way of knowing when something was wrong with her and she was so close to cracking under his gaze. He looked her in the eyes with a look that told her he didn't believe her.

 "Dolores, I know you better than that. Even if it has been 6 years, you can trust me. What's wrong?" She winced and felt her lungs scream to just say what was on her mind. This was bad, really bad.

Dolores looked away, only occasionally looking at his eyes. Her own started tearing up as the panic began to build overwhelmingly high . "Alex, I... there's something that..." She sighed as she stopped their movements. She let go of his hands and shook her head. 

"I'm so sorry." She quickly made her way off the dance floor and out of the room ignoring the man that was crying out her name. She had to get out of there, she needed to get away.

She left outside Casita and made it all the way to the river. When she finally got there the tears broke free and she collapsed to her knees. She couldn't bear to tell him, and for that she wouldn't forgive herself. 

Why was she being so difficult? Why did she fear his reaction so badly? How was she even going to tell Antonio?

Dolores sat there with her hands wrapped around herself as sorrow and guilt filled in the bottom of her stomach. She closed her eyes and ducked her head in between her arms. She was a coward, and a liar. She wouldn't blame them if they hated her for the rest of their lives.

As she sat there letting those thoughts run rampant in her mind, she heard a shuffle from beside her and turned her head to see what caused the noise. Alex stood there looking down at her with the same concerned look he had earlier, only difference being the guitar he held in his hands.

He didn't say a word to her as he sat down and began playing. Dolores looked at him and wiped the tears off her face as she listened to the all too familiar tune. Her breathing began to regulate itself as she stayed in her huddled position.

After a while Alex stopped playing and laid his guitar down as they remained quiet. He would glance at her every once in a while before looking up at the stars in the sky as he sighed. "It was hard when I moved away. I had so many great memories here, a lot of people I cherished that I had to leave behind." Dolores' head poked out a little from her hiding place as she listened to him.

He gave a light smile when he caught her eyes and tilted his head to the side. "I missed my home, I missed you. So when I finally had the money I needed, and the courage to come back, I did. I knew that even if I could, I didn't want to live my life without you in it because I loved you, Dolores and if I'm being honest between the two of us, I still do."

Alex moved his hand to cup at her cheek and he ran his thumb across it. "My feelings for you never changed, and I still want to be a person that you can feel safe with. I want to be able to make you feel better, Muneca. pero tienes que decirme lo que te preocupa para que pueda ayudarte."

Dolores could see the love in his eyes and her heartbeat just a bit faster. He wanted to help, he wanted to understand. She sat up and moved herself out of his touch before taking a deep breath looking away from him as she said what she felt. "I lied to you, Alejandro. I've been lying to everyone for a while now."

She glanced at him as she felt the tears build up in her eyes again. "Something happened when you left 6 years ago...."

His facial expressions kept changing as he listened to her pour her heart out, and he sat there wide eyed with her as she continued to tell him what had been happening for the past six years. By the end of it Dolores was fighting the urge to cry while Alex held in tears of his own. "...He's your son, Alex."

She looked away from him and grimaced at how she thought he would react. She was ready for him to start yelling, to hit her or get up and leave and never speak to her again. But instead he grabbed her, and pulled her into his chest.

" Mi amor, Siento que hayas pasado por esto sola .."

Dolores' breathing hitched and her eyes widened as he tightened the hug and held her close. The tears broke free as she held onto him as if her life depended on it, and they stayed that way for the remainder of the night.