sickening blame (on hold)

relieved.

hello. sorry for the very late update. and sorry if the writing/plot is bad.

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The night became lonely. The girls had to go back home after trying to persuade the older man. But he kept on refusing. Now, he's back to being alone in the forest. Cleaning up the glass with his bare hands. Shoving them into the black plastic bag that Dolores provided.

He finally finished disposing of all the glass shards in the bag from the grassy ground. Tying it up close and putting it aside He sighed. Shoulders drooping. He then knelt by a few objects he owned-- the ones that survived in the fire. His most prized possessions. Two framed photos and a dark, charred, burned wooden horse.

The same wooden horse that [Name] first made for his parents.

He sighed softly. "What should I do? What should I fucking do?" He mumbled under his breath. Thoughts ran through his mind. He's having a dilemma. Should he go and visit his only family left, or stay completely isolated from all of his problems? God, this was hard. As much as he misses his sobrinas, he doesn't want to face the villagers. Or even his mother-in-law in fact. Just the thought of her makes him want to punch her stupid little face.

Reaching for his wedding photo, he stared at his -- husband. "For Bruno, she said," he bit his lower lip. At that moment he just decided to fuck it. The sudden thought of leaving his family on bad terms bothered him. Who knows that's the last he'll see them ever? But maybe, and hopefully, he'll leave on good terms later when he visits them.

Will he?

With that, [Name] got up and grabbed his ruana. Making his final decision, he made his way to Gabriela's house.

Sounds of soft knocks awoken the old woman. She got up groggily and waddled towards the door. [Name] greeted her awkwardly with a little wave. Gabriela stood there shocked, now fully awake. "[N-name]?!" she whispered-shouted. "May I.. come in first before they see me?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah. Come in!" she exclaimed, pulling the male into her home by his arm. She hurriedly close the door and went into her room. Seemingly rummaging through something from what [Name] was hearing. She came out with a new fresh set of clothes for him. "Here change to this after you shower, you reek of alcohol. And I'll take-", As she reaches for the ruana that was hanging from [Name]'s forearm, the male turned his body as a reflex. He shook his head, disapproving of whatever his friend was going to do with it. Gabriela chuckled. "Relax I'm just gonna wash it. Along with your clothes, which later you're gonna give to me,"

"Okay," he replied, dragging out the 'O'. He gave his ruana to her and went to shower.

Gabriela sat in the living room with her small lamp on. Reading her favourite book as she adjusts her reading glasses. "Gab? I'm done..." [Name] spoke softly, walking out of the kitchen. Gently squeezing out his wet hair into the towel. The female looked over at him and smiled. She stood up and walked towards him, taking these dirty clothes out of his hands. "You should sleep in the guest room. I've cleaned and set up the place for you. Rest well, okay? You need it," she softly reassured him, patting him on his arm before going to do what she needed to do. [Name] hummed in response and went towards the guest room.

He sat on the bed quietly. With his mind blank, hands clasped together. He couldn't sleep. He needed something to force himself to sleep. Then one thing came to mind. Alcohol.

He shook his head. He couldn't just let himself drink in his friend's house. It was, inappropriate. He sighed out of frustration and raked up his hair. A couple of knocks could be heard, along with the squeak of the door opening. "[Name]? You're still awake?"

"Oh, uh. Yeah, I can't sleep," Gabriela hummed in response and sat beside him. "Thinking about something?"

"No, actually. Mind's all white noise. Nothing's up there. I just can't sleep... without it,"

"Without what?" she asked as she sat down beside him. His lips pursed. "Uhm, alcohol?" She only hummed. Then silence filled the atmosphere. She fiddled with her fingers. Eyes wandering around the room. Until it landed on [Name]'s arms. "How... did that happen anyway?" she softly asked, trying to sound such intruding as possible. The male raised his brows in confusion. Gabriela gestured towards the topic with her eyes. As soon as he understood it, he let out a short "oh,". "Well uh. You know how it is. Things just struck you like an incoming truck. The villagers, Bruno going missing, my parents, the madrigals. That fucker named Alma Madrigal..." He whispered that last bit. "And you know, when you can't hold it any longer, you gotta release your pain somehow,"

"By hurting yourself? That's ungodly, [Name]. It doesn't feel like something you would do at all," [Name] could hear the pain and disappointment in her voice. That alone made him feel like he wishes he had just disappeared. "Yeah, I know. You said that before. I'm sorry. There are things you just can't control. And just like I said, I'm not me. I don't even know who I am. An uncontrollable anger issues man or just a fake caring and kind- and a nice man that everyone used to know,"

"Well, I think both. But excluding the fake part," she paused, grabbing ahold of his hands. Covering them with her small and slender hands. "You are caring, kind. Everything positive. I've seen you, [Name]. The way you even care for the children of the Encanto. You're amazing. You helped this village so much and they don't even see it. Or even appreciate it. So I really appreciate you so much for everything," Soft sniffles could be heard in the room. [Name] had his dominant hand covering his face. Crying his eyes out. Those were the most comforting words he ever heard in his life. He was so thankful knowing that someone had finally appreciated him. For so long living in a dark living hell, having insults thrown at him. Leaving him to bear everything alone and not having anyone to seek help. Hearing those words lifted the heavy feeling that was stuck in his chest. He was so fucking relieved.

They stayed silent together for a while more. Enjoying each other's company. Soon later, the males' eyes began to feel heavy. Eyes drooping and almost dozing off. Gabriela helped him to bed. She made him feel as comfortable as she could so he can treat it as his own home. She smiled softly and bid goodnight to him. Finally, she went back to her bed to get ready for tomorrow.

Gabriela woke up early as usual. Frying up some simple scrambled eggs. Eating some and put a plate of it on the kitchen table for the guest to eat later.

It was already past noon and [Name] was still comfortably sleeping. Gabriela didn't bother him at all, however. She knows so well that he needed that rest. So she let him sleep in. Another hour passed, and [Name] walked into the living room. Yawning and stretching. "Good afternoon, [Name],"

"... Afternoon? Why didn't you wake me up?" he said groggily, brushing streaks of his hair back. "I might've thought you need more sleep. Anyways, I made breakfast for you. It's on the table. I'll make some coffee for you," [Name] hummed in response and followed his friend to the kitchen.

He quietly ate his food while Gabriela placed a fresh hot coffee next to his plate. He thanked her and continued munching. The female sat right across from him. "[Name], what happened to you?" Her sudden question made the male raise a brow. "What do you mean?"

"What happened that day. When you- well, left." she finger quoted the word 'left'. The appetite that he had immediately faded out. He dusted the bread crumbs off his fingers, onto the plate. He took a second to himself and then basically told everything that happened. It left his black-haired best friend complete speechless. She parted her lips to try and say something but a knock on the door interrupted them. As she was about to stand up, [Name] put his hand up-- signalling her to sit back down. "I'll answer it," He placed his dirty dishes in the sink and hurriedly washed it. He then washed his hands and went to answer the door.  "Gab!!! We need to get [Name] here A S A P-- [NAME]?!"