"I don't feel right about this," Bruno heard a voice say as he regained consciousness, it sounded like Pepa. She sounded distressed.
"It will be okay mi vida," Felix assured.
"Mama, this could make things worse," Julieta expressed sounding troubled. Pain ached through Bruno's head and he groaned.
"We have no choice," Abuela necessitated. "He is a danger to himself." Bruno could easily gauge they were talking about him. But what they were doing was a mystery. He slowly opened his eyes to see his sisters, brother-in-laws, and mother huddled together chatting anxiously.
"This brings us back to square one," Agustin tried to argue, "He's not going to take this well. We should try something else."
"Like what?" Felix asked. "We were all right there and we couldn't stop him in time."
"What's going on?" Bruno rasped moving to sit up in the bed they had placed him in. His vision was a little blurry, but he could make out that they were in the nursery. He wasn't able to sit up very far. His wrists were tied above his head with cloth leading each to the corners of the bed. His ankles were tied the same way to the lower corners.
Bruno's heart started pounding. "What's going on?!" He began to panic.
"Calm down," Julieta tried to assure sitting next to him with a piece of bread in her hand. "Eat this, your head was hurt pretty badly." Bruno was in too much shock to care.
"Untie me," He said feeling exposed as he watched everyone stare at him. Memories of being tied to a chair bombarded him. He was naked and Ramiro stared. "Let me go, please let me go," he begged desperately pulling at this binds. He couldn't do this, not again.
Abuela took Juieta's place on the bed. She gently held his head in her hands and tried to get him to focus on her. "Brunito, calm down," she said. "It's okay." His eyes looked around wildly filling with tears. "Focus on me, focus on my voice. I promise, it's okay."
He listened to his mother's voice. Images of Ramiro's dead body flashed in his mind and Andre stabbing him over and over again. He couldn't tell was was real and not. The images or his mother's voice. He sobbed trying desperately to break free. "Please no," he uttered squeezing his eyes closed. Pepa couldn't watch anymore and left the room with Felix following after her. Julieta and Agustin held each other close with worry.
"You're home," Alma assured her son. "You're in the encanto. You're in casita." He'd rather believe his mother was real than Andre and Ramiro, so he concentrated on his her voice letting the images play out as he cried and pulled at his binds, until the images slipped away. He whimpered when he finally saw her.
"Mama." She nearly cried when he finally looked at her with some recognition.
"It's okay," she ran her fingers through his hair to help calm him, but he flinched away, Andre had done that. Andre had pet him until he fell asleep. He didn't want to think of him.
"Why?" He asked. Things were feeling a little clearer, although his head still ached.
The entire situation was not ideal for Alma. She wished she did not have to resort to this. "You tried to kill yourself. Dolores told me she and the rest of my grandchildren walked in on you cutting yourself. Several members of our family have had to hold you down to keep you from hurting yourself. We're trying to protect you." She exhaled a frustrated breath, "After what we all witnessed at breakfast, it's clear that we need to try something else."
"I'm not not doing it on purpose," Bruno tried to explain. "It's just- there's so much in my head. I can't stop remembering-" he looked up at the ceiling frustrated tears spilling over. "I just didn't want to have another vision. I've seen so much and I don't want to see anymore."
"I know," She responded sympathetically. "Your dealing with things that I cannot possibly truly understand. And it's effecting you in ways that I don't know how to fix."
"Just give me time," Bruno pressed, "I just need time and space. I'll get better."
"Or will you kill yourself before that happens?" She asked and then continued. "You didn't see what we saw Bruno. You were having a vision and you looked so terrified. When you started hitting your head-" She paused trying to hold back tears. "I can't watch you suffer like that. None of us can. What if no one had stopped you? Would you have kept on going?"
"No, I-" Bruno paused, he wasn't thinking when he had done it. He had just wanted to make the vision stop.
"I tried giving you time in the nursery under close watch," she went on. "I tried giving you space in your room. None of these things are working. You cannot fix this on your own Bruno. So I am taking it out of your hands."
"How?" He asked not understanding what she thinks she could possibly do that would make this better. "You can't keep me tied up here forever."
"No," She agreed. "This is temporary. Experience has taught us that when a vision wants to happen it will. You'll stay here until you have your vision. Then you will do everything I ask after. Do you understand?"
"No," Bruno retorted. It was absurd. They had just talked about her trying to control him. He thought she understood.
As if reading his mind she sighed and went on, "I'm not trying to control you Brunito. I am trying to help you. I cannot stand by and watch you get hurt. We tried this your way, now let me try this my way. Let me protect you, I can give you some semblance of normalcy, it could be a start to recovering."
Bruno didn't respond glaring at the ceiling refusing to look at his mother. He hated the idea of being under her control. He was sick of people trying to control him, and being treated like he was a child. It was hardly different than being with Andre.
He sighed, no, it was better than being with Andre. At least in this way we was with the people he loved. And it was likely temporary. Once he got better, he could go back to making up lost time with his family; like he had been doing when he returned from the walls. He hated what his mother wanted to do, but he could try for his family. There was a small hope that her plan could work, but it was a small enough hope that he was still upset.
"I don't want to have the vision," Bruno commented knowing it was not an option, but he wanted to voice his displeasure.
"You can't stop it," Abuela responded. "What ever you see, we can work through it together." He was scared. His mother took his hand and he squeezed it for reassurance. He hated this. Tears streamed down his face and on to the pillow he lay on. He couldn't handle a vision. He did not want it.
"I'll let it happen," Bruno said begrudgingly. "Please, just untie me." Being tied up left him feeling sick. Dark thoughts and memories were on the edges of his mind and he tried to keep them at bay.
"Here, eat this," Julieta said taking the opportunity to heal him. He ate it quickly not wanting them to change the topic or ignore his request. His head felt much better and he felt like he could focus more.
"I'm sorry Brunito," Alma said squeezing his shoulder. "I can't risk you getting hurt."
"Please," he started to sob and pleaded. "I promise I won't do anything. I promise I won't hurt myself." It was an empty promise. There was no guarantee he wouldn't try to stop the vision. Alma shook her head no sadly.
Bruno's was filled with anxiety. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want the vision. He started to feel like he couldn't breath and his heart was beating too quickly. Alma tired to calm him down again, but his emotions got the best of him and the vision took hold sooner than expected. His eyes flashed green.
"No!" He screamed pulling at his binds harshly. His mother pet his hair trying to sooth him. "Don't touch me!" He yelled angrily, jerking away as far as he could get. Julieta could not watch and left the room with Agustin.
It didn't take long before the vision over took his mind. He dug his nails into his palms praying that he wouldn't witness anything horrible. The first image was of him in town talking to a woman with twin teen boys. The second image was of a short small woman angrily crowding him against a wall. Luckily it ended there.
He didn't know any of the people in his vision. The teen boys look vaguely familiar, but he could not place them. He sighed in relief that his vision was actually pretty tame. The small woman was a little concerning, but she didn't seem all that intimidating being smaller than Bruno.
When his eyes returned to normal Alma let out a sigh of relief. "Brunito-"
"Leave me alone," he interrupted looking away from her. She felt guilty for putting him through this, but she felt like she had no choice. She stood by her decision. Alma untied him quickly and left the room. She would give him a little time, but not alone.
Felix walked in to the room looking a little ashamed. He took a seat on the opposite bed. Bruno didn't bother to acknowledge or look at him. He turned over to stare at the wall instead. It wasn't fair. Why did Andre have to do this to him? Why did terrible things keep happening? It wasn't worth anything. What good was it to go on?
For days Bruno lay in bed refusing to get up unless he had to use the bathroom. He wouldn't eat or talk to anyone. He spent most of the time in dreamless sleep. Realizing that none of this was his fault made him feel numb. It should be a relief, but now he just had to live with it. He had to live with what Andre did to him. It wasn't fair. The rats tried to crawl around him to comfort him.
They tried dragging food in front of Bruno's face to get him to eat. When that didn't work they tried to give him his square cut outs of his telenovelas. They stuck their heads though the little holes he had made knowing he always smiled and would talk about strange stories they didn't really understand. Bruno hardly reacted, only managing to push whatever they brought on to the floor.
His family took shifts watching him. He was never alone. Even at night someone would stay up to make sure he didn't have any violent outbursts or try to hurt himself. Bruno barely moved, he didn't care that they were watching him. He didn't care about anything.
Involuntarily, thoughts and memories clouded his mind when he was awake and he would cry himself to sleep. Mostly he did not dream and if he made any movement that indicated he might be having a bad dream the rats would bite him awake. With the lack of touch, conversation, or any kind of stimuli; he did not have any outbursts.
Alma gave him three days to recover from the vision, and waited for him to do something, anything. On the fourth day she had had enough and went to the the nursery. Dolores was on watch and was simply staring at her tio. She was entertaining herself by listening to the conversations people were having around the encanto. Occasionally, she would tell him something interesting she heard, but he ignored her.
Abuela signaled for her to leave when she walked in."It's time for you to have a bath," Alma said knowing he likely wasn't going to move. Bruno glared daggers into the wall. Nothing was getting him out of this bed. He didn't care about being dirty, he didn't care about anything. He just wanted to lay down and sleep. Sleep made reality go away. None of this was his fault and he wasn't willing to deal with the consequences right now.
"I know you are having a hard time Brunito, but you can not stay in bed forever. Eventually you will have to get up," Alma tried pleading. "I promise it will be okay. You can get cleaned up and I then go with me to town."
Bruno disagreed greatly. People in town did not like him and often made mean comments. And even if they ignored him, there was no point in going, even to just get fresh air. He would stay in bed until he inevitably starved to death. Admittedly, he did not actually want to starve to death, but the idea sounded pretty good at this moment.
Getting frustrated by his lack of acknowledgment that she was even there, his mother used her most commanding tone, "You've had plenty of time to sulk. Get up." Bruno held his blanket tight against himself in retaliation. He hoped she didn't try to snatch it. "I know you don't like being told what to do. But I tried giving you time to work this out on your own. Everyone is worried and I am taking the situation in to my own hands." Bruno didn't care. He wasn't interested in this or anything.
"If you do not get up I will make you get up," Alma threatened. He curled up a little tighter under the blanket glaring harder at the wall as if it were the wall's fault. "Luisa!" Abuela called. Bruno was getting angry. It wasn't anyone's business to be making him do anything. He was a 50 year old man, if he wanted to lay in bed for the rest of his life he would.
When Luisa walked in he sat up in bed and addressed his mother. "I am not getting up!" He yelled. He looked at Luisa to see how nervous and upset she looked, and instantly regretted the situation.
Hearing the commotion, Pepa and Camilo rushed in to diffuse the situation. Thinking fast Pepa quickly began to speak when she walked in with Camilo trailing behind. "Bruno! There you are!" She said like she was surprised he was still in bed. This confused everyone.
"Mama, is everything okay?" Pepa asked, she didn't allow time for a reply. "Bruno agreed to have a bath and said he would meet Camilo by the bathroom. Did Dolores not mention it? I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding." She reached out her hand to her brother. "Come on, you promised."
Abuela did not know what to think of it. She watched Bruno closely trying to figure out if Pepa was making this up. Bruno looked between his sister and mother. Pepa gave a pleading look, she did not want things to escalate. Luisa was hopeful that he would go willingly.
Feeling sorry for his sister, Bruno took her hand unwillingly and let her pull him to his feet. Lack of food and exercise made him feel a little dizzy and weak. Satisfied, yet skeptical, their mother accepted that he was getting up. She caressed his cheek with worry and love. "Thank you," she said gratefully then walked away with Luisa following after.
Pepa's tune changed pretty quickly after. "Pick and choose your fights Bruno. It's not worth getting mama upset over a bath." He disagreed, it was worth keeping control over his own life. She held his hand tight and forced him to follow her to the bathroom. He threw salt several times hoping nothing bad would happen.
He looked at the bathroom with great displeasure. "Don't worry," his sister assured. "Camilo will be with you the whole time. If anything happens I'll be outside the door as well." Bruno did not like any of this. Last time did not go well and he worried about making his nephew deal with something a teen should not have to.
"Come on," Camilo said encouragingly walking in to the bathroom. He smiled, "Casita and I came up with a surprise for you. He looked a little proud and that made Bruno smile internally. But outwardly, he frowned. He wasn't in the mood for a surprise.
Pepa closed the door behind them and Bruno began to feel uneasy. He knocked on the door frame; knock knock knock, knock on wood. More salt was flung over his shoulder. "Check it out!" Camilo exclaimed ignoring his tio's odd customs. Bruno looked above the shower close to the ceiling. It was a shower head. "That way, you don't have to sit in the tub!"
Showers were not very common in the encanto. It took a lot of water pressure to get one to work properly, and casita had made a great effort to change things around to get this one to work. Bruno looked down at the tub; a flash of Andre standing over him went through his mind. Shaking the memory away and looking back at the shower head, he felt like maybe he could do this. He looked at his nephew with watery eyes. "Do you like it?" Camilo asked getting worried his tio was about to cry.
"Yeah," Bruno responded. "I- thank you." Camilo smiled and then stood with his face in the corner so his tio could undress. Bruno undressed quickly, trying not to give it much thought. He got in the tub, pulled the curtain, and turned on the shower. Camilo then sat on the toilet with the seat down to wait.
Warm water cascaded over Bruno's body. It was soothing and calmed him from his anxiety over being naked. Bruno knocked on the wall. "Knock knock knock knock knock, knock on wood." He was unwilling to let this feeling leave him. Pepa would picture a happy place in her mind to keep calm, so he tried that. He pictured his room behind the walls feeding his rats. The water felt good against his skin, and he tried to keep his thoughts happy. He didn't move for the longest time.
"Are you okay?" Camilo asked not hearing any noise from his tio. Remembering that he wasn't alone, Bruno snapped out of his daze and began to wash his hair responding with a quick "Yeah." Pepa opened the door to hand Camilo some clothes and a towel. It startled Bruno, making him nervous again and he finished showering quickly.
Once dried and dressed, Bruno couldn't wait to lay back down again. He wanted to sleep and feel numb. Pepa didn't give him the chance. She held his hand and led him to the kitchen instead, with Camilo walking behind to prevent Bruno from trying to turn and go the opposite direction. They made him sit down and Dolores walked in placing a plate of his favorite cheese arepas in front of him.
"Don't feed them to the rats," Pepa ordered him shooing her children out of the room so he wouldn't get overwhelmed. He picked at one while she sat next to him. "Eat it or I'll shove it in your mouth," she said annoyed. He gave her a slight glare back but took a bite of one.
When the food hit his stomach, he realized just how hungry he was and began eating with more vigor. Alma walked in pleased to see him eating. It seemed that getting him out of bed was working. "I need to go to town today, and you're coming with me," She said. That made Bruno pause.
"No," he said simply looking down at his lap. He wasn't ready to leave casita.
"It's not up for debate," his mother countered. "You need fresh air and the family is too busy today to keep an eye on you. So you're coming with me."
"I don't need anyone to keep an eye on me," Bruno crossed his arms defiantly glaring at her. "I'll be just fine here, by myself" Abuela wished she could believe that.
"We leave in 20 minutes," was all she responded with before leaving the room. Bruno flung salt over his shoulder. It was going to be a long day.