Reborn

Chapter 4: Comfort

A.N. Written alongside PanFluidMe

TW: mentions of death

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Camilo sat in his room still when he heard a gentle knock on the door.

"C-Come in."

The door slowly opened as Dolores peaked her head into the room. "Camilo?"

"¿Sí?" He quickly hide the blade under his pillow.

"Hey, hermanito." Dolores walked into the room and closed the door behind her gently.

"Hola."

"I just... wanted to see how you're doing..."

"I've been better..."

Dolores sat next to her little brother. "Wanna talk?"

He shrugged. "How are you?"

Dolores sighed. "You know what I mean."

"What?"

"How are you holding up, hermanito?" Dolores asked gently.

"I'm fine..."

"Camilo... you know you can talk to me about anything..."

"I don't wanna be a burden."

"Camilo, you are not a burden. Come on, talk to me, hermano. I'm here for you."

He looked down. "I think she hated me."

This caught Dolores off guard for a second. "What?"

"I think she hated me..."

Dolores sighed. "Camilo, I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that she did not hate you. Not in the slightest."

"She never talked to me."

"That doesn't mean she hated you." Dolores paused. "She loved you, Camilo. I might even say you were her favorite cousin."

"She didn't talk to me. It felt like she was ignoring me."

"I guarantee she wasn't." Dolores paused again. "You know her. She loved everyone, especially her family."

He shrugged.

Dolores wrapped her arms around her brother in a warm embrace. "I guarantee you, she did not hate you."

"It feels like she did."

"I know she didn't." Dolores felt like crying at the fact that they now had to use the past tense when talking about her youngest cousin.

"I wasn't there for her."

Dolores sighed, saying quietly, "you're not the only one who wasn't there for her..."

"I was a bad cousin..."

"No, you weren't..." Dolores assured her brother.

"I was."

Dolores sighed. "Camilo, don't talk about yourself like that. You were never a bad cousin."

"But I was. I am."

"No, you aren't. And I bet that if you asked Isabela and Luisa, they would say the same."

"I'm a bad cousin, a bad brother, a bad son, a bad grandson, a bad nephew, a bad friend."

"No, hey, hermanito, don't talk about yourself like that. Remember that the family loves you so much. I love you so much."

"You shouldn't love me."