Pepa was on edge for hours worrying over Bruno. So much so that she was no help in town. Felix did his best to ease her feelings, assuring her that over time her brother would get better. But she wondered how. He was hardly getting better after Andre died and now he was worse than ever after being tortured.
After a lot of raining, thundering, and snow; Abuela sent her daughter home. It would take the Madrigals longer to make their rounds checking on villagers and making sure things were running as they should. But Alma was more worried about her family and the miracle.
The candle had been flickering on and off since Bruno had left the house over the fake Andre incident. And it wasn't getting any better. They were beginning to find cracks in the walls. Their powers had not been effected yet. But if the family did not unite together and become whole again, they could lose the miracle.
Alma wasn't so sure the family would be able to unite anytime soon. There was a lot of disagreement over how Bruno was being handled. Some thought she was being too harsh, keeping him locked away. Others thought it was for the best because he had become dangerous to himself and everyone around him. In the end, even if the miracle were not at risk, they could not keep him locked away forever, and they needed to think of a solution.
Felix walked home with his wife trying to reassure her and keep her calm. But she seemed to have a perpetual dark cloud hovering over her head. When they got to the front door Felix walked in and announced that he would get her a glass of wine to help her relax.
Before Pepa had a chance to follow, she noticed someone walking just around the corner of the house moving out of sight. She stepped from the front door and followed around the house, getting a glimpse of Maria headed for the nursery window. Her cloud thundered loudly.
.-.
When the Madrigal family had cleared out that morning, Maria had her sons keep an eye out for Isabela, so she could run to talk to Bruno through the barred window. Rico and Marco stayed extra cautious and watched her close. Isabela was the one who killed their father, so they knew she was dangerous.
Isabela stuck close by the nursery, listening for movement through the door and constantly walking by. After a few hours she heard nothing and was starting to get bored. So, she started walking a little further from the door and around the house refreshing the plants.
The twins kept their distance but made sure she she stayed in view. They walked around pretending to be busy in different rooms. When she was on the second floor, Rico signaled Maria to go. If Isabela came down too soon, he would distract her.
Outside, Maria quickly ran to the window grabbing onto the bars. "Bruno," she called in a loud whisper. She could see him laying on the bed facing the wall, he didn't react to her. Although, he did hear her. He just didn't want her near him.
The last he saw Maria, she had helped kidnap him and Dolores. He vaguely remembered her being there when Felix had brought him out of Andre's house. But other than that, he had no idea why she was here or what her motives were. Maybe she still wanted to know who killed Dante. The only thing he could be sure of was that she would not be getting through the window this time.
So he laid there and ignored her. Besides, he knew her future. If he talked to her, he'd end up telling her she was going to be stabbed to death. Then she'd blame him, try even harder to get to him, and likely kill him. He didn't want to be murdered by someone who may torture him first.
"Bruno, I need you to know," Maria tried, hoping he was listening. "I didn't mean for things to go that far. I didn't know they were going to-" She paused, and Bruno tensed. He didn't want to hear this. "If I had known what they were going to do, I wouldn't have helped them. Please believe me, I am so sorry." She sounded sorry, but it didn't matter to him. He just wanted her to go away.
"What are you doing?" Pepa demanded; her cloud thundered angrily.
"I needed to see him," Maria explained turning to look at the other woman cautiously. "He has to know I didn't mean for what happened to happen."
"He doesn't have to know anything," the angry woman seethed. "You made your decisions and he got hurt because of them."
"I had no choice. I was under the wrong impression," Maria tried to defend, "Please, he's my friend-"
"No he's not!" Pepa yelled, electric sizzled in the air around them. "You don't even know him!" She moved toward the shorter woman backing her against the wall by the window. Maria held her hands up in defense.
"I don't know him well. But I know he's kind and caring," Maria said. "That's enough for me. If I talk to him maybe I can convince him that nothing more will happen. That no one else will come. Maybe then he can feel safe and heal."
"Heal?" Pepa questioned, tears forming in her eyes. She wiped them away roughly with her sleeve. "There is no healing from this. If you knew him at all you would know that. If you knew him at all you would know that the way he is now should be impossible."
"I understand that he's a little angry and aggressive right now," Maria reasoned. "That's normal for what he went through. But he protected your children which means he still cares about you all. He hasn't changed."
Pepa's hands balled into fists. She walked away from Maria to take a deep breath, then walked back to face her. "He protected Camilo and Dolores because he loves his family," she explained glaring down at the other woman. "But that is not all of who he is. He may be caring and selfless at times. But he's also an annoying jackass."
Hearing this, Bruno pulled his blanket over his head. Eyes filling with tears; he didn't want to hear Pepa talk about how much she hated him. He already knew that he had wronged her in the past. They had made up when he came back from the walls, but his recent actions probably ruined all of that. So, now she was back to hating him again. He wish he could block out her words, but he could hear it all clearly.
"If you knew him at all, you would know that he's overly energetic, insanely superstitious, and much too talkative. He's so direct in his statements, that he manages to upset everyone around him, including me. But no matter how annoyed I get at him or how badly I treat him in retaliation for the things he does and says, he would never get angry."
She paused wiping more tears away, but the cloud began to rain, making her efforts useless. She spoke sadly now, "I've never seen him look so enraged before. I didn't think it was even possible. He has changed, you just don't know because you're just some stranger."
"I would give anything for him to be my annoying little brother again. I want to hear his dumb jokes and stupid stories. I want him to do his silly quirks, like that annoying knocking he does. I want him to tell me that I have a funny look on my face when I'm mad or upset. And I want him to tell me it's okay to rain like he used to."
Hearing her words, Bruno began to cry. He thought she was angry at him for making things difficult and acting out so violently. But, she sounded so sad. Did she really mean what she said?
Pepa spoke harshly, "You and those pathetic bastards you associated with reduced my brother to something I don't even recognize. So don't tell me that you can make any difference. Because I know that no difference can be made. You and those evil people destroyed my brother. And if they weren't already dead, I would kill them myself."
Pepa got in Maria's face. "If you ever go near Bruno again without his explicit interest in seeing you. I swear I will kill you. I would do anything for my family and I would do anything for my brother. If killing you, the last of his enemies, would bring him just a second of relief from the nightmare he is living through. I would fucking do it."
"Everything okay?" Felix asked coming up to them, looking worried.
"It's fine Felix," Pepa said walking away to go inside. She was unable to be near Maria. If she hung around any longer, she just might strike her with lightning.
Maria stood in place stunned. "Are you okay?" Felix asked walking up to her. He had come looking for Pepa and ended up hearing most of what had been said.
"Yeah, I think so," Maria chuckled a little, trying to lighten the mood. "You're wife is very passionate."
"The whole family is," Felix said seriously standing in front of her as she remained against the wall by the window. He looked through the window to see Bruno laying under a blanket on the bed and assumed the poor guy was asleep.
"You should know, if it weren't for Alma wanting to keep peace, and Dolores wanting no more violence; Pepa would have killed you. Keep that in mind before doing anything that could harm this family."
"I'm not trying to harm your family," Maria responded warily. "I understand that I did was wrong and I truly am sorry for hurting them."
"I'm glad you understand," Felix said getting close and stabbing a knife into her stomach without warning. Bruno couldn't see it under his blanket, but he heard Maria's pained groan. "You hurt my family. My daughter, son, and brother could have been killed because of your selfish need for revenge."
Maria coughed up a little blood and grunted a response. "Isn't that what you're doing right now. Getting revenge?"
"No," Felix told her. "I'm getting rid of a threat. I wouldn't need to do this if you would have just left my brother alone." Bruno felt overwhelmed. Was Felix stabbing Maria for him? If it were not so terrifying, it might be sweet.
Felix jerked the knife out and then stabbed her again and again, taking his anger out on her. She cried out from the horrible sharp slices to her insides. Then she fell to the ground.
Bruno couldn't cope with this, even if it was to keep him safe. He couldn't stand the idea of Felix killing someone because of him. It felt like it was his fault. His vision was proving to be as horrible as he thought it would be.
"Don't hurt my sons," she begged as she lay dying. Bruno sat up and began rocking back and forth watching through the window. All he could see was Felix looking down at where Maria lay dying.
"I'm not like you," Felix said bending down to hover over her. "I don't hurt innocent people." He shoved a bit of food in her mouth then. She knew what that meant and ate it quickly to be healed. "Next time you won't be so lucky," he growled. "Stay away from this window."
She got up quickly and ran to go back in the house. Felix wiped the knife on a rag and noticed through the window Bruno had moved. The small man was sitting up on the bed staring at him with wide eyes.
Felix hadn't meant for him to see. He just needed to get through to Maria. The family was having a hard time and he wanted to ensure that no more trouble would happen for them. Pepa being so upset was his last straw, and he did what he did because of it.
Bruno and Felix stared at each other for a long moment before the older man walked away from the window without saying anything. The prophet did not know what to think of what just happened. On the upside, Maria wasn't actually stabbed to death and she would likely leave him alone now. On the downside, his family had become as violent as he had, and that was frightening.
He hadn't realized they were suffering so much. Watching Pepa and Felix threaten Maria to protect the family and him felt oddly comforting. And Pepa's confession for how she felt about him was surprising yet touching. Bruno could probably blame his warped mind for being a little content over it.
But he remained angry at them for his imprisonment, although he was beginning to feel very safe. That was the problem though. There was no point in being safe. All that could go wrong for him had for the most part. He still worried over Felix fighting him. But if his plan for tonight went well, then he wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Bruno startled out of his thoughts when Felix walked in through the door. The small man immediately got up and backed into the corner. He pushed himself against the wall watching the other man with terror. Maybe Felix blamed him for having to threaten and stab Maria. Perhaps another one of his visions was about to come true.
"Bruno, I-" Felix stepped forward quickly but then stopped and took a step back when he saw the small man shaking and watching him with fear. "No one was supposed to see that," Felix said regretfully. "Most of all not you. Are you okay? Can I get you anything?" He shut up for a moment trying to keep from rambling.
Felix rubbed his hand over his hair in frustration. This was a major mess. If he made things worse for his brother-in-law, Pepa was going to be even more upset. "Can you just not tell Pepa?" he finally said in defeat. Bruno just stared back at him; his expression was less afraid and more quizzical now.
"Seriously Bruno, she's on edge as it is. I don't want her knowing, okay?" Felix hovered in the middle of the room, trying to be sensitive to Bruno's space. But he was getting increasingly worried that maybe he had been a bit drastic and things were getting out of hand.
It was a little comical to Bruno. His brother-in-law had been cool and collected when dealing with Maria. But now Felix was standing there acting so nervous and worried, like what Bruno witnessed and what he would say mattered. The prophet decided to just nod in agreement. He couldn't risk a confrontation, even if it seemed like none was going to happen.
"Thanks bro," Felix said sighing in relief, though he was still antsy. "I owe you." He then quickly left the room to clean the blood off his hands. Bruno let out a long breath he had been holding and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Felix's presence made him terribly uneasy.
.=.
That evening, Julieta entered the nursery to find her brother in the corner of the room leaning against the wall in a sitting position, asleep. She noticed he had no eaten anything again. She took the old food and left dinner before exiting. It probably wasn't a good idea to let him sleep on the floor but he looked so peaceful that she didn't want to interrupt.
He wasn't as peaceful as he looked. His dreams still haunted him.
Loud upbeat music filled the large dance hall as Bruno's family shuffled their feet to the beat of the rhythm. They were smiling and having fun all around him as he stood in the middle of the room watching them. Andre took his hands and began twirling him and forcing him to move and dance.
"Don't go to a dance party if you don't intend to join in," Andre laughed pulling he smaller man close and moving his hips to grind against him. Bruno pushed him away, and was pulled to dance with Pepa. She smiled happily and he almost smiled back.
Felix joined in taking Bruno's hand and twirled him. The rest of the family joined in passing him around from one another. He couldn't help but smile and dance with them. The past and future disappeared, and there was only now.
Just as he was feeling content, the room went dark and he couldn't see anyone. When the lights turned back on, he was in Andre's room. The walls were covered in red splatters. A puddle of blood formed in the center of the bed.
"You think they love you," Andre whispered as he wrapped his arms around the smaller man from behind. "Don't be fooled." He shoved Bruno on to the bed and into the red puddle. "Love is more than some nice words. Think of all that times I made you feel good and protected you. That's love. I'm the only on who loves you."
Andre climbed over top of him and forced him to lay on his back. "I'll show you how much I love you." They were naked suddenly, but covered in the blood. Andre used the red liquid as lubricant to stroke his lover's cock.
"Stop," Bruno cried as he shook feeling pleasure build up.
"How can I?" the madman said. "You never say what you want. So I'm just going to take what I want." Bruno screamed then.
His loud guttural scream woke him, and he stopped to breath heavily, looking around the dark room wildly for danger. Disturbingly, he was hard from what Andre did in his dream. Bruno stuck his hand under his shirt and rubbed at the scabs littering his stomach. He kept rubbing and pushing, unable to scratch with his nails cut so short, trying to make it hurt. He curled in on himself trying to feel pain as he cried until his penis went soft.
"I made all that effort for you to just throw it away," Andre said standing by the window looking down at him disappointed. "Maybe you don't want to be loved."
Bruno grabbed at his own hair harshly and bellowed. He let out all of his frustrations in one breath, shrieking and letting the room fill with all his agony. He slammed his hands against the floor and continued to let out the scream until his lungs were empty.
Out of breath, tired, and sweaty, he lay on the floor curled up, with tears falling. The floor boards shifted below him, hoping to comfort him, but he ignored it. Bruno wanted Andre to go away. He wanted everything to go away.
Agustin came rushing into the room a second later having heard all the noise. Bruno didn't even flinch. He just laid there limply. His brother-in-law came close, but stopped at an arms length. "Bruno, are you okay?" When he got no response he stepped around the small man to see that he was awake and breathing.
Suddenly, Agustin had a brilliant idea and smiled to himself. "I have just the thing to make you feel better." He ran out of the room. Bruno huffed, he would like to have his emotion breakdown in peace. He lifted his head to look around and saw no trace of Andre. Though, the room was dark with only the moonlight shining through the window, so the madman could be lurking in the shadows.
Agustin came back a few seconds later to see Bruno sitting up against the wall just under the window, with his knees up and eyes looking around the room nervously. "Look," the tall man said with a smile holding a wine glass filled high with red wine.
He place a lit candle in the middle of the floor for light, then placed the glass close to Bruno so he could reach out and get it if he wanted it. Bruno watched his brother-in-law cautiously, and reached for the glass. He sipped at it at first, letting it's sweet bubbles coat his tongue before downing the whole thing.
Agustin was surprised it actually worked. When Bruno put the glass down and pushed it away, the other man took it and left for a moment to refill it. This time he brought the whole bottle. He filled the glass and put it back down for the small man to grab it. "I know you prefer aguardiente, but I thought maybe that would be too strong."
Bruno listened but didn't respond. He hoped he'd get a little drunk at least. Being drunk would relieve his nerves. He held out his glass unwilling to let go of it and let Agustin fill it again. They sat in silence as Bruno drank and his brother-in-law watch over him.
After sometime Bruno could feel the effects. He went from a nervous sober wreck to a content drunk. Bruno liked it a lot. Seeing the smaller man looking a bit dopey, Agustin was hoping he had done the right thing. But just in case he said, "Maybe don't tell Julieta I let you drink so much."
Bruno let out a short laugh. His in-laws were so afraid of his sisters knowing anything. He held out the glass again. "Sorry Bruno, you drank the whole bottle." That was disappointing. Agustin took the glass from his hand. "Try to get some rest. I'll be outside the door if you need anything." Bruno watched him go feeling a little better and pushing his dream to the back of his mind.
When Agustin exited the room Felix was there waiting. "What are you doing up?" The taller man asked hiding the bottle and glass behind his back quickly. It was late and everyone should have been asleep. Agustin was on watch tonight.
"Couldn't sleep," Felix shrugged. "I figured I could take over so you could get some sleep instead, since I'll be up anyway."
"Oh," Agustin responded thinking about it. Bruno would likely fall asleep soon after so much wine, so the night would likely go smoothly. And he himself was feeling pretty tired."Alright, Thanks!" he said happily and shuffled away trying to not seem suspicious with the bottle and glass. Felix didn't think anything of it and waited as Agustin went to the kitchen, then upstairs to Julieta's room.
Once he was gone, Camilo morphed back into himself. He felt bad about tricking his Tio Agustin, but he couldn't sleep. After he stopped Tio Bruno from killing himself in the kitchen, he was feeling responsible for it happening in the first place. Pretending to be Andre had pushed his Tio too hard on top of everything he had been through. Camilo couldn't help but blame himself.
When Bruno asked him not to look like Andre anymore, it was all the confirmation Camilo needed to know he had done wrong. Now he needed to apologize, and somehow try to mend things. He wanted to try to making things better because he couldn't stand the thought of finding his Tio in a puddle of his own blood and being too late to stop it. The memory of last time haunted him.
Stepping into the room, he found Bruno laying in bed appearing to be asleep. Camilo approached the bed and sat down causing his Tio to flinch and open his eyes to see who it was. To the teens surprise, Bruno didn't move to get away. He just watched him curiously. It was a stark contrast to the erratic display from the morning.
The teen took a deep breath and focused on what he came to say. "Tio Bruno, I'm really sorry about pretending to be Andre. I thought I was helping. I didn't mean to scare you or hurt you, I swear." Camilo rubbed at his eyes trying not to cry.
In his drunken state Bruno couldn't quite focus on what the kid was saying. He could see him start to cry though, and he didn't like that. So the small man lifted his arm to try and hug him, but he lost control of it as it wobbled and landed back down onto his stomach making him wince.
Watching the strange movement and how calm his Tio was, Camilo was getting suspicious. He recalled talking to Agustin and seeing the bottle he was trying to hide. "Tio Bruno, are you drunk?" The response was Bruno grabbing the edge of the bed and vomiting red liquid onto the floor.
His emotion state, mixed with pain, and lack of food made for a queasy stomach. Camilo stood moving out of the way as his Tio emptied his stomach. "Bathroom," Bruno finally grunted having the major urge to pee. The teen helped him up and lead him out of the room to the bathroom.
It was uncomfortable to be touched, even when drunk. But Camilo didn't make Bruno as uncomfortable as everyone else. It was perhaps the authority the teen held from the association of Andre. But Bruno reasoned it was also because Camilo listened to him and did what he asked, giving Bruno some control between them.
Although Camilo had turned into Andre and touch him in the shower in places he didn't want; it didn't turn violent or sexual. It was the base for at least a little trust. But then Camilo kept his word that he would not turn into Andre. And he tried to save him earlier in the day without getting aggressive. He knew the kid meant well deep down. So he was less afraid.
Bruno did his business in the bathroom with the door open and Camilo's back to him. He still wasn't allowed to be alone and the teen insisted it was for the best. The small man was too drunk and sick to argue. When he was done, he started to feel a little better and decided to enact his plan.
Camilo was unlikely to stop him, so he left the bathroom and headed for his tower. "Tio Bruno, where are you going?" When he got upstairs and reached his room, he noted the garden outside his door that Isabela made was looking fresh with no bit marks. His rats hadn't been around there then. So where were they?
Knowing how much they like food, he made his way to the kitchen with his nephew following close behind. "We're going to get in trouble. You need to go back to the nursery." He was ignored as his Tio started searching cabinets. "What are you doing?" the teen asked worried they were going to be found out at any moment.
Bruno opened the cabinet under the sink, and while it was not what he was looking for, he certainly wasn't disappointed. He grabbed the bottle of aguardiente, uncapped it, and took a gulp. It burned his throat and warmed his body.
"Are you done? Can we go back now?" Camilo asked watching his Tio drink. The man was going to make himself more sick. But the teen would worry about that after they got back to the nursery.
"What's going on?" Mirabel asked walking into the room. Casita had woken her up in the hopes that she could help. Seeing her, Bruno grabbed his nephew's hand for protection and walked in the opposite direction of her. If she chased him again, Camilo could make her stop.
"He keeps looking for something, but I don't know what," the boy said to his cousin as he was dragged from one potted plant to another so Bruno could search the leaves for his rats.
"Tio, can we help you find what you're looking for?" Mirabel asked him directly. Bruno glared at her then went back to searching. Since he wasn't doing anything harmful, she decided to let it go and follow them as Bruno dragged Camilo along with him. They went around the house for at least an hour as he searched every nook and cranny.
Bruno became more erratic and upset as time passed and he searched for his rats. When he had looked everywhere but the bedrooms he was starting to cry and shake. Maybe his mother had gotten rid of them. He drank more alcohol to try to calm down, but it didn't help much.
"Tio Bruno, please tell us what's wrong," Mirabel begged worriedly. Everything was wrong. The torment and abuse he suffered took everything out of him. And now his friends were gone too. He let go of Camilo and made his way upstairs.
The teens followed and watched as he climbed onto banister. He stood trying to balance as he reached for the roof. "Stop!" Camilo shouted about the grab legs only for Mirabel to stop him.
"Careful, you could make him fall," she said to her cousin as their Tio pulled himself up onto the roof. Camilo quickly morphed into someone taller and help Mirabel up onto the roof. She then pulled her her cousin up with her. Bruno drank more alcohol as he wobbled around on unsteady legs.
He made his way to the front corner of the house and looked down. The roof shingles jittered under his feet with worry. Casita didn't want to make things worse or cause him to fall so it tried not to do anything.
Bruno looked out at the dimly lit town, then at the stars in the sky. Cool air cascaded over his warm skin and he sighed. The alcohol helped calm him, but it wouldn't last forever. It really wasn't fair. The days and the nights kept going. The people in town kept living their lives. Everything was the same as always, and he wondered why he couldn't be too.
He thought about all the people that had hurt him and touched him. His skin crawled from the memories. His stomach twisted from the phantom pain of their weapons against him. Tears fell from his face and he wondered if it would always be like this.
If he didn't die tonight, would he always feel them touching and hurting him? Would he always hear them laugh and whisper their cruel words? Bruno looked down in front of the house and watched Andre look back up at him with a smile and a wave. Would Andre always be there? He blinked away the man's image, tears blurring everything around him.
Bruno thought of his family then. The times with just him and his sisters growing up; and how much he hurt them with his visions and blunt comments. The visions he suffered throughout his years that his mother insisted he have but also showed disappointment against.
He thought about Agustin and Felix and how well he had gotten along with them before Bruno had disappeared into the walls. But they too would show their discontent and lack of understanding when Bruno upset his sisters on accident.
Then he thought of his nieces and nephews; and how much he had hurt them with his tellings of their futures. Even Isabela was upset after what he thought was a positive vision. He supposed it wouldn't matter soon enough.
They'd all be better off without him. He'd be better off too. He wouldn't have to think about the past or see the future. He wouldn't have to be afraid all the time. Everything could be peaceful. And maybe he would meet his father in the after life. It could be good.
Bruno looked down, the distance was no where near like his bedroom. But he reckoned, if he fell head first it would work. He leaned a little too far forward and stumbled unable to keep an even balance from his drunken state. Casita lifted the roof a little to help him stay standing.
"Tio Bruno!" Camilo shouted a few meters away with his cousin next to him. "Please get away from the edge." The small man looked behind him and gave them a confused look. He forgot they were following him.
"Please come back down with us. You don't have to go back to the nursery. You can sleep in my room," Mirabel offered. Bruno was touched by how much they seemed to care. But he knew that they would be better off when he was gone. They wouldn't have to worry about him anymore and could move on to better things.
Bruno felt like he should say something before he went. So, he wobbled on the edge of the roof to face them. "I found a way out," he said which made a lot of sense to him but confused his family. Drinking a bit more and unable to string more words together, he turned his back to them and stepped off the roof.
"No!" Camilo and Mirabel screamed in unison as he fell.
Bruno was so drunk that he forgot to fall head first and landed breaking his leg and arm on impact. He screamed in agony and screwed his eyes shut. He stayed still as the pain overwhelmed him for a few minutes before it turned bearable enough for him to open his eyes to see his niece and nephew standing over him in panic.
Camilo quickly ran inside to get help while Mirabel stayed by his side. She tried to touch him but he flinched away and groaned from the pain of the movement. She was crying, and he felt bad about it. It would have been better if he were dead, then he would not have to see her cry.
"Please Tio," she sobbed. "Please stop doing this. I can't take it. Every time you try try to die it breaks my heart." He watched her with sympathy. She was young and didn't understand. But overtime she would.
"I don't understand what you're going through," She cried. "Maybe you think it will make things better. But I don't want you to die. You're first person to make me feel like I was worth something to this family and every time you're around I feel the worth you see in me. I love you Tio Bruno. Please, I don't want you to go."
Tears ran down Bruno's face. He didn't know he made such an impact in her life. He just tried to help the best he could. He didn't think what he did meant that much. "I'm sorry," he said to her taking her hand. Pain reverberated through his body from the movement and he winced holding still as it subsided. "I'm just scared."
"Me too," Mirabel said. Then suddenly Pepa and Julieta were there and the rest of the family followed, making their way out of the house. There were gasps and talking among the group and Bruno closed his eyes trying to shut them out. There were too many people and he couldn't back away from them.
"Bruno, please eat this," Julieta asked upset. She held bread in her shaking hand to his lips. She wasn't sure how many more times she could see her brother hurt. Everyone went silent with hope knowing he might refuse and things could go south. But he ate it without a fuss thinking of Mirabel's words. "Thank you," Julieta whispered as tears fell over her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," he said looking at Mirabel as he sat up. He quivered in a nervous ball of energy being around so many people but he focused on her. She leaned in close, hugging him. He tensed, closed his eyes, and hugged her back. "I was looking for my rats," he confessed, hugging her a little tighter seeking comfort. He missed his rats.