Love Me for Eternity || Bruno Madrigal

Chapter 62: Bring Them Home

There were two things that Ignacio noticed that day.

First of all, Javier was...unpredictable.

As they walked hand in hand to the beaten dirt paths to the casa Alcantara, his thoughts flashed to the moment he had felt that haunting pull from the alley. His collar was the first to be snagged from the invisible force that was Javier, his limbs unable to fight against that hold that his younger brother had on him when he was pulled out from that narrow space. It amazed him, truly. His little brother was strong! But that sudden burst of power, that sudden surge of urgency that struck through Javier that made him momentarily forget the limit of his own gift made it seem brazzen. Scary, almost.

Ignacio was always the one to do the saving, always the one to instigate an attack, a retreat, a ceasefire. Javier was too soft for that. Angelina was always the middle ground. He was the brawn, the commander, the leader who would tell them what to do.

He suddenly felt like he should do better. He promised Javier he would protect him and Angelina from any harm that comes their way, after all.

As soon as the triplets stepped into the gated pastures of the Alcantara land, Ignacio took note of his second observation.

There was a kid, well, Ignacio can't really call him a kid. It was a boy his age; clothes muddy and wrinkled, leaves and hay sticking out of his pockets, and Ignacio swore he couldn't see a glimpse of the boy's eyes from the unkempt curls that framed his face and draped his forehead in a curtain of caramel. There were freckles that decorated his cheeks, a daisy or two poking out of the overturned straw hat at his side, and his pants were folded up beneath his knees.

Kids their age rarely-never, actually-visit the pastures. The Madrigal grandkids were the exempt few.

But lo and behold, a boy their age, meek and quiet, sitting on the wooden porch of the Alcantara home was fiddling with a twig. He was small, just like Javi, and he felt a sudden urge to protect this boy like he would his little brother.

Before Ignacio could react, Angelina flew forth and hovered over the boy. He yelped and stumbled, his back finally meeting the floor with a thud. Angelina just cocked her head to the side and hovered closer to the boy's face.

"Who're you?" She asked. Javier clung to Ignacio's sleeve and hid behind his older brother as they approached.

"I-I'm..." he trailed off. He slowly sat up and shuffled back to avoid Angelina, but the girl was persistent. "I'm..."

"What?" Angelina asked again, this time cupping her ear. "I can't hear you."

"I'm...Nathaniel..." the boy finally spoke louder. It was faint, barely noticeable by Javier and Ignacio, but it was audible enough for them to make out.

"I'm Angelina," she pointed to herself and smiled. Angelina pointed towards her brothers and gave him a grin, "and those two are my brothers, Ignacio and Javier."

"H-hi...?" It almost sounded like a question, but Angelina just shrugged it off.

"Why are you here anyway?" Angelina prodded further, now hovering back and sitting on the air criss-crossed, "kids rarely go up here."

"Angi, you're also a kid." Ignacio rolled his eyes. Angelina poked her tongue out and harrumphed.

"But I'm older than you."

"By hours!" Ignacio's mouth spewed a small flame towards Angelina. Javier tugged on Ignacio's sleeve and pouted his lips at his siblings. After getting the unspoken message, they both glared at each other one final time before crossing their arms and huffing.