Love Me for Eternity || Bruno Madrigal

Chapter 13: Sweat and Tingles

You swore you have never cried so much in a day.

It was a sunny afternoon, and you had just eaten for the first time in three days. Bruno was feeding you some arepas and wiping away the crumbs that have stuck to your cheek. You whined when he did so; you were the one who always did that for him. He was a clumsy eater, and you were the one who would get a napkin from your skirt and wipe his face clean. Now that he was actually doing it, you were embarrassed. It felt good, though. It felt good to have someone take care of you during your lowest of lows.

"Ay, eat properly, pendejo , you're getting crumbs all over yourself." He would say. He would lean in and wipe his thumb over the corner of your lips, feathering over your cheek and lingering ever so slightly.

Your heart jumped when he did so. You didn't know why; it must have been from the events that just happened a few days prior.

That was when you heard it; a guttural groan coming from your left.

You immediately jumped to your feet, almost knocking out the plate of papayas in your lap. Bruno was there to catch the falling china with a surprised yelp as his eyes darted to your papi.

He gave you a reassuring pat on the back and told you he would get Julieta and his mama before clumsily running out the door. You were left alone with your stirring father as his brows furrow.

"Papi! Papi, please wake up," your lips quivered when you held his hand, now squeezing back. Your tears finally escaped the confines of your eyes and dropped down to your father's cheek as you hovered over him. His eyes—the same eyes that you had—fluttered open. He blinked once, then twice, and on the third time, he gave you a weak smile.

"You look just like your mother, mi hermosa hijita ." He rasped.

You broke down on his bedside and sobbed in relief.

"Papi... I'm sorry I didn't listen. I'm sorry for being so hard headed. I'm sorry for climbing over the mountains and—" you listed out all of your grievances in a show of snot, wails, and uncontrolled tears. He just listened silently, giving you a small, sweet smile and rubbing comforting circles on your bandaged hands. He tried to sit up, but paused when he felt the ghost of his right arm miss the mattress. He looked down to see his missing arm. He did not fret, no. He just moved what was left of his right side and waved it around. You wanted nothing more than to give him back the arm he sacrificed to save you. You wanted nothing more than to take back all your hurtful words, to turn back and never set foot on those damned mountains, and to abandon every notion of the outside world if it meant sparing your father from being crippled.

"Your arm... I'm so, so sorry, papi. Because of me, you—" he cut you off with a laugh and a wave of what remained of his arm. He used his left arm to sit up (you fretted over the action, but he just laughed it off and continued to do so. There was nothing stopping your papi—a trait that you've unfortunately inherited from him—so you assisted him up to seating position). He put a very heavy hand on your head and ruffled it roughly. In normal circumstances, you would have told him off for ruining your freshly cleaned hair, but instead, you savored the feeling. You were lucky to even have him back to do his stupid habits, but those stupid habits made him special—and you realized that now.

You were upset that you just realized how important your papi is to you.

"It's nothing that I can't handle, chiquita . What's important is that you're safe," he waved his amputated arm around, "...besides, this ain't half bad. It's like a trophy of sorts. Just came from battle, you know? A battle scar, if you will," He grinned and wiped the tears from your cheeks.