Tacenda || Carlos Madrigal x Reader

𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈

Only one day has passed since the incident, and ever since then, that's all you could think about. You couldn't sleep that night, remembering everything Camilo said to you.

Why was he being insensitive? Why was he being a jerk? What happened?

Questions haunted you and never left you alone. Your mind was a mess, so many voices talking over each other. You didn't know how long you'd be dwelling, but you told yourself that it wouldn't be for long.

   "Y/n, I'm hungry!"

   You sighed as you got off the couch, watching as your younger brother brought you to the kitchen, dragging you by your wrist.

   'Make your own food. It's not that hard to warm up leftovers in the fridge.'

   You so badly wanted to tell him that. But you knew better than to snap at your nine-year-old brother. "Here," you reached into the fridge and grabbed some extra rice and chicken, placing it into the microwave.

"Can you fry the rice please?"

'You ungrateful brat! Food is food!'

You refrained from lashing out, holding your breath and sighing as you placed the container on the counter, silently walking to the cabinet to grab a pan and place it on the stove.

Ivan noticed your lack of energy and your silence. Sure he was young, but he was still capable of picking up on signs. He wasn't good at it, but right now you were bad at hiding it.

   "Actually..." Ivan began to speak, playing with the hem of his shirt. He was nervous to speak. If this was his mother then she'd get mad, but you're different. You're kind and you're nice, right? "It's okay. You don't have to fry it."

   "Make up your mind!" You didn't mean to say that out loud. Watching as he flinched away from you made your heart ache.

You're just like your mother.

The person that you promised yourself that you'd never be.

   "I'm sorry," you calmed down a little, a pit of guilt forming in your stomach as you saw tears come up from the boy's eyes. "Please don't cry." A part of you didn't want to see him cry because you hated seeing him sad, but another part of you just thought it would be annoying to deal with it.

   You're just like your mother.

   "I'm sorry.." Ivan began to wipe his tears with his sleeves as he let out soft whimpers and sobs.

That's when you realized you did something wrong. "No, no, don't apologize. It's okay, Hermanito. It's not your fault. I'm sorry." You panicked a little, unsure how to comfort him. So you opened your arms and instantly he rushed over to hug you.

Right away, he hugged and clutched your torso, scrunching up the fabric of your clothes in his hands while digging into your chest with his face. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" You were taken aback by that question. Such a simple question and no one has ever asked you that... no one but Camilo. You shrugged, sighing as you rested your head on top of his, rubbing his back gently. "It's been stressful, recently. I'm okay though. There was no excuse for me yelling at you like that... it wasn't right. I'm sorry, Ivan."

   "Not again, okay?"

   "I won't. I won't yell at you ever again." You reassured him, pulling away and looking at the container of leftovers on the counter. "Do you still want the rice fried?"

   Ivan shook his head, wiping the tears away. "I can microwave it. It's okay." He took the container and placed it inside of the microwave, pressing on the buttons to work it.

   "Good job," you ruffled up his hair and reached for a glass, filling it up with water. This was a way for you to turn away from him and wipe your tears away without him noticing.

   "You should go for a walk."

   You were a little shocked by that. A nine-year-old giving advice on how to deal with emotions? He's maturing quickly.

   "You sure? I don't want to leave you here." You didn't want to just ditch your siblings because of some stupid feelings. Plus, you didn't want to risk seeing Camilo again after what happened yesterday. You weren't ready to talk to him yet. You didn't want anything to do with him, right now.

   "It's okay! I can do it." He took out the food from the microwave and placed it on the table. "Don't worry. I got this all under control." He sounded confident and he wanted you to have a break. He may not know how hard it is for you to keep up with your job as a parent, he may not understand why you're sad, but he can at least understand that you need to relieve stress. He was mature enough to know that.

   Smart kid.

   "Thanks, Hermanito." You planted a soft kiss on the top of his head, walking towards the door and slipping your shoes on. "I won't be too long." You opened the door, only to shut it quickly.

"What's wrong?" Ivan's attention was turned to you within an instant.

   "Nothing, lo siento." You said nervously, opening the door and slipping outside before shutting the door. "What the hell are you doing here?"

   "Is... something the matter?" Camilo was confused. He has still yet to know about yesterday's affair, as clueless as ever. But you didn't know this. You were still trying to recover.

   "Don't act stupid, Camilo Madrigal." You muttered under your breath, quickly moving past him and walking down the steps of your house and onto the path.

   "Your siblings were over yesterday and Mirabel said that you and I were out together or something." He followed you, desperate to clear up his confusion. "You sure you weren't with Carlos?"

   "How can I mix up that edgy emo with you? You may be twins, but I'm not stupid! Now stop following me, I came out to relieve some stress, not gain more." You sped up your pace, but Camilo had no problem with catching up.

   "Okay.." he had no idea how to word this or how to say it; he didn't even know what he should say. He was almost convinced that Carlos used his gift to mess with you... but he didn't know what he said. He needed to know what he said. "You know he has a shapeshifting gift as well, right?"

   "What's that got to do with anything?" You were too blinded by hurt and hatred to even consider that. Right now, the only thing that you could think of was calming down and distancing yourself from Camilo. "You have no excuse for what you said to me the other day." You stopped in your tracks and pressed the tip of your index finger on his chest.

   "Dios mío... it wasn't me!" Camilo rose his voice. He was getting too frustrated for being accused of something he didn't do. "Just listen for one minute! Stop talking over me! Give me a chance!" He grabbed onto your shoulders.

   "You had your chance!" You wriggled out of his grip, taking a step away from him. "You had your chance and you messed it up! You wanted it to end this way, didn't you? If you didn't want to be friends just say so!" You couldn't find yourself able to move. You want to run away yet all you did was stay. Maybe you did want to hear him out. "You didn't— you didn't have to lead me on and be so rude about it. I have feelings!"

   Camilo tried piecing everything together but wasn't coming yet. "Y/n, Y/n... listen to me, okay?" His voice seemed to soften, taking a step closer to you; only for you to take a step back. "Whatever I said yesterday, whatever happened. I want you to know that it wasn't me."

   You stood there, feeling tears begin to coat your eyes. You weren't giving in, not yet at least. "Just... leave me be."