Beautiful Bruises ~ Camilo Madrigal x Reader

Married Couple

"Why did you bring your mother the candle?"

You froze as soon as she said that, mind flashing to all the horrible possibilities they could have come up with.

What if they thought you did it our of fear for yourself? Or worse, of your own free will?

Camilo stepped forward, his fingers grazing your arm lightly even as his face contorted in anger.

"Don't you dare, Abuela. You know she would never do anything to hurt this family, so it doesn't matter why she did it. She had a good reason, and that's all you ever fucking need to know," Camilo said quietly but forcefully, your eyes widening as he spoke. Abuela rose a hand to her mouth, horror and fury clouding her eyes.

"Don't you ever speak to your elder that way!" she fumed, striding forward swiftly. Camilo sidled in front of you smoothly, protecting you from the wrath of his grandmother. 

"Mami, stop," Bruno said from the corner. You had all but forgotten about him, but when he stepped forward confidently, you could tell he had changed.

 While the dark circles remained, his face was shaved and he wasn't as thin as before. Clearly his personality had also shifted drastically.

"Let it go. It's been a rough few days for all of us."

Alma narrowed her eyes at him, clearly about to direct her anger at her son.

"It was because she threatened you," you burst out finally, heart racing as she turned to face you again, her expression unreadable. "She said that she would make one of you do it, and then hinted at killing you. I was never going to give her the candle, I was planning on..." You trailed off, choking on your words but forcing yourself to continue even as Camilo looked on, concerned. "I was planning on killing her all along."

You didn't explain how, not wanting to go into detail about how your mama clearly had lied so that you would never get your gift.

Well, too bad.

You didn't break down or cry, either, and that felt good. Even as Camilo reassuringly squeezed your hand, you stayed strong. On the outside, anyway.

You didn't know what you felt on the inside, but you knew you loved Camilo more than anyone in the world. Even Jude came second to the bright, burning fire Camilo had set in your heart. Jude's love was brotherly, a love that was necessary and required of him.

Camilo chose to love you, the same way you chose to love him.

Suddenly Abuela was in front of you, but you didn't flinch away, instead straightening up. You instinctively leaned back when she drew closer, but instead of hitting you, she pulled you into a tight hug.

For a moment, you were confused and disgusted. How dare this woman yell at Camilo for defending you and then attempt to hug you? But then you thought about everything that had happened in her life - you knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. 

That had happened with Pedro, and it had come close to happening with Abuela's other loved ones recently as well.

Your heartbreak led to sadness and fear, while she coped by covering it up with anger. Sometimes forgiveness was the only true choice.

And so you returned the gesture lightly, smiling softly. You had a feeling she would change for the better after this.

———————————————

The rest of the day passed slowly, spent checking up on family and friends. You tried to avoid Camilo for the most part, not wanting people to think you cared more about him than everyone else.

Even if it was sort of true.

"Lucía!" you called as you ran over to her, sandals slapping the street loudly. She gasped, turning from where she stood talking to Carlos in front of his house. The two of you collided with each other, laughing shakily as you struggled to get your bearings.

"Thank you so much," she whispered, snuggling her head into your shoulder. "I can't believe I fell for your mama's lie so easily - I hated having her in my head. I hated every second of it."

Carlos sidled over, hands tucked into his pockets. 

"I believe I owe you my thanks as well."

"Speaking like a poet now, huh, Carlos?" you teased, pulling away from the embrace to smile at him warmly. He had understood what you were going through - he might have been the only one, and he had trusted you to make the right decision. You would always be grateful for that. "By the way, I'd better be a bridesmaid, Lucía."

She blushed prettily, hiding her face behind her hands as Carlos wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Of course. You'll be the only one."

"What?" Carlos cried, teasing. "But I wanted at least three groomsmen."

She giggled, and you smiled at the couple before waving and starting to walk back to Casita, their banter fading as you left.

"All right, I'll include my sister and Maria, too."

"Oh, you think..."

"(Y/N)! You're back!" Antonio scampered over to you, clinging to a hyper dog. "I got you a gift."

The sleek wolf-dog looked at you quizzically through grey eyes, gray tail wagging hesitantly.

"Her name is Tara."

"Thanks," you said slowly, unsure of how to react but reaching down to hug him nonetheless. "What's the occasion?"

He scowled, his eyebrows drawing together.

"It's Camilo's birthday," he explained confidently.

You laughed, petting Tara's head softly. She flinched away slightly before leaning into your touch. Your 16th birthday was only in another month or two - it should have been your 17th. You hated your mama for taking that away from you.

"Why didn't you get him a gift, then?"

"Oh, I did," he responded. "But on Papa's birthday, he always says to get Mami a gift too."

You were confused for a moment, squinting down at his innocent chocolate eyes, but then you sucked in a sharp breath, a blush creeping onto your face.

Antonio saw you and Camilo as a married couple.

It was so comical you almost laughed.

"Cariño! I see Antonio got you that gift he was on about. You ready for the party?"