Backstabbed - Camilo Madrigal X OC

Awake

I woke up. I was lying on a couch, I tried to get up. But my whole body was still the same way I'd left it.

So I laid back down. I noticed my bloodstains all over my clothes, I'd gotten it on the couch.

I didn't have much to do. I was alone, in this unknown room, I couldn't even stand on my own two feet. I turned my gaze to the window. I saw casita, in the distance. People were crowding around it. Not that I wished I could be over there, in the crowd. I didn't.

"Ah, you're awake."

I was a little surprised by my newfound company. But my body remained still, I couldn't be bothered to move my head over, to see who it was.
I didn't have to though, they went around the couch, bowl of soup in their hands. It was a girl, she laid it down on the coffee table next to me.

"Hey, I'm Darla. You saw me yesterday."

Yesterday?

So I'd been unconscious all night. That helped, I was looking for any small scrap of information that would be somewhat helpful.

"Don't worry, I'm a lesbian. Now, this bowl of soup won't recover you like Julieta's cooking. Which unfortunately isn't exactly in working order right now. I won't ask you if you know anything about it, if you don't want to talk. Here." She lifted a spoonful of the soup up to my lips, it warmed up my insides within seconds.

"Thank you." I muttered to Darla. She sat down at my feet, taking out a book with a blue cover. I couldn't exactly read what the title was, I was still pretty fatigued. I was drained of my energy, considering the pain I'd pushed myself through.

I lay there silently, her pupils were busy studying the pages of her book.

Hearing that Tia Julieta's powers weren't working didn't surprise me. I would usually test out my own. But that seemed useless. I was too exhausted to use the energy I didn't have on shapeshifting. Besides, I already knew it wouldn't work.

My thoughts were interrupted when Mama bursted through the front door. Nobody ever locked their front doors in Encanto, we all trusted eachother. Though, I wasn't so sure if I trusted anyone anymore.

"Oh my baby! Hijo, everyone was so worried about you!" She ran over to me, barely missing the coffee table in the process. She cupped her hands over my cheeks, kneeling down to get a closer look at my face. Darla left for upstairs, I don't think she wanted to interfere with this mini reunion.

Papa raced over as well, I didn't even know where he'd come from.

"Cariño, can you tell me what happened to you?"

Oh, she wasn't asking about the miracle.

She was asking about...

Me.

I opened my mouth to speak, "she's gone Mama. I was stressed, I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry."

Tears started rolling down from my eyes again. I couldn't hold them back, I'd let down my parents. My family.

"Oh querido, don't be sorry. There's nothing to be sorry about. We all love you so, so, so so so~ much! There's nothing you could do that could make me or your papa dissapointed in you. Okay?"

"Okay." I could tell she was holding back a lot of emotions, her child was covered in bruises. All of them I'd done myself. On purpose.

I felt so bad, I'd made her feel like she was a failure of a mother. No happy teenager would do this to themselves.

"I love you both." The words barely made it out my mouth. My throat was dry. But I didn't care, I was just glad I had my parents with me.

I held both their hands on the centre of my chest. My Mama burst into tears, Papa attempting to calm her down.

It was me, wasn't it?

...

I made Mama cry.

It's all my fault.

I stared up at her with a sorrowful expression. I didn't know what we were going to do. Casita was surprisingly still okay, I wasn't so sure about our rooms though. If they were still there I probably wouldn't be in a separate house right now.

Suddenly, it was hard to breath. I started I inhaling a lot longer than I should. Papa noticed because I heard his voice call out to me.

He's right next to me.

But it sounded like, it felt like he was so, so far away. His voice was so faint.

"Papa...?" I whispered, before everything went black once more.

-Sierra's pov-

It's been two weeks since I betrayed their trust. Who am I kidding? From the moment they took me in, I'd been stabbing them right in the back. All of them. The candle flame was now gone. Yet the candle itself still remained in shape. Still tall.

Maybe there's a bit of hope left.

Mama hadn't yet decided what she was going to do with it yet. To be honest, I don't think she even knew what she could do with it.

I mean, I certainly didn't.

How would you just extract a miracle, from the miracle? It didn't really make sense to me.

But she was a smart woman, she would figure it out.

Please don't figure it out.

All I could do for the past week was wonder about the Madrigals. What they were up to. I was desperate to see them again. I was desperate to apologise.

Who am I kidding?

They wouldn't be able to forgive me.

But there was still something I could do.

It hit me, I was miserable at home. I'd forgotten over the month in encanto. I'd forgotten how depressing this house was. The house with my parents, my brother.

I had been trying so hard to impress my parents. But...

I realised it.

They would never be proud.

They would never care.

I would never be enough for them.

No matter how much I tried.

So if I knew the truth, why did I still try?