The night was quiet and serene, that was until there was the loud sound of a door slamming open at the Rojas.
"You can't leave! You still have three years on the current contract! Just because you didn't sign the new one, doesn't mean-"
"Oh I know!" Claudia had her bags packed as she quickly stroud away from the house and Andres hurried after her in a panicked state. "You threatened to tell the Madrigals, didn't you? So go do it. I'd rather deal with them than some sinister disgusting horrid shell of a man!"Ten minutes earlier, Claudia had been staring at a pen contemplating her future. Andres had been lurking over her with a slimy smile. She had to protect the Madrigals, but did it really mean she would have to give up all freedoms? This contract would take all she was and throw it in the trash.
Then it hit her. She was dangerous, that was true, but she was also her own person. Alma had said she could bring disaster, but she had lived there so long and done nothing. Her power wasn't all there was to her. Why should she stay stuck here with the Rojas when she could be with her family?
Claudia tored the contract out of Andres hand and stomped on it. Then she ran off.Meanwhile in the present, Andres puffed up and grabbed her wrist stopping her. He looked furious and for once Claudia wasn't scared. Soon he would be a thing of the past and she would be home. After all he had threatened to tell the Madrigals where she was, which was, as she thought of it now, quite nice of him. She chuckled and his grip grew tighter and his eyes grew darker.
"If you think for one second Perrita-"
"Get your hands off of my wife."
The two turned and there right in front of them was Claudia's everything.As Bruno ran up towards the Rojas house he could see her walking away from it with Andres Roja following along. He couldn't hear what she was saying as he approached, but he did see Andres grab her and use that one word. He saw red. He had told himself he would never let the man near his little mouse. How dare he even think of touching her!?
"Get your hands off my wife." His tone was even, but icy.
Then she turned and looked at him. For an instant it was the two of them just staring at one another like they were the rain and there had been a drought. In the weeks they hadn't seen each other nothing had felt right and now it finally felt like everything was going to be fine. Then suddenly they broke out of it.
"I said get your hands off my wife!" Bruno was louder this time and his tone went from icy to furious.
Andres quickly released his grip and Claudia ran until she was right by Bruno. Was he angry? Should she have even- The turmoil washed away as he pulled her to his side, right where she belonged. She flinched as he touched her, she hadn't gotten the chance to bandage her marks from earlier, and she knew the back of her shirt was stained with blood. When he noticed, Bruno rubbed her shoulder with his hand as a sort of apology.
Bruno glared at the man in front of him. He could feel the dried blood on his wife's back and he had never wanted to punch a man more. He was furious, and soon enough a BOOM sounded announcing the arrival of his two sisters.
"Well now that we've found her, she'll be coming with us." He stated as his sisters and he glared at the man. They stood strong like an united force. The Madrigal family had lost Claudia once and they refused to let it happen again.
Andres slowly shook his head. "Not according to this!" He pulled out a piece of paper. "According to the original contract Claudia is under our jurisdiction until she is twenty five. If we demand she divorces you, then she must."
"Oh like that-" Bruno held up a hand stopping Claudia.
"Could I see that paper for a second?" Andres smuggly handed it over. "Is this the only copy? Yes? Good."
Bruno threw the paper up without removing his glare and a bolt from a darkened cloud overhead hit it immediately.
"Now she belongs to no one but herself, wouldn't you agree girls?"
"I'd say so," Pepa's smirk was dazzling.
"Seems legit to me." Julieta shrugged.
"But…I…That's not fair," Andres sounded like a toddler. "Perrita-"
"Get that name out of your mouth!" Pepa's eyes were blazing.
"Or what!? Perrita, you can't honestly believe that they love you. Honestly, I -"
Andres was interrupted by a punch to his face. He went down like a brick and Bruno stood over him with his eyes blazing.
"Don't you ever say that! I love that woman more than anything in this world."
"You stupid freak! How dare you-"
"Enough!" A strong voice rang out in the night as Alma Madrigal stepped forwards. Everyone held their breath as she continued to speak.
"I told you to stay away from my family," she looked over at Claudia. "And she is part of my family. I should've realized it earlier and for that I am so sorry." Claudia nodded her head and Alma turned back to Andres. "You will not speak a word to her again and you will not come near her again. Now. " She turned around. "Let's go home."
As they turned away from the scene Claudia let out a sigh of relief. She knew she would have to talk about what happened to Bruno at some point, but for now she relished being with her family. She walked away from the house without looking back.When they got to the house the girls gasped when they realized that Claudia's shirt was bloody.
"Oh dear, what have they done to you?" Julieta whispered, horrified.
Pepa's cloud began to rain as she got upset as well.
Alma stayed strong. "We need bandages, warm water and a rag. I'll go get it and meet you girls in Julieta's room."
"But-" Bruno started as the girls pulled Claudia out of his arms and up the stairs.
He didn't want to be away from her for a second. Bruno had just gotten her back and he wanted to spend every second by her side. He understood that he couldn't help with the cleanup though and so he decided he would wait a bit longer.
As the girls got into the room they slowly moved behind Claudia.
"Could you please let us see the damage so we can help?" Julieta asked in a tone you would use for an injured animal.
Claudia took a deep breath. She realized that the rest of the Madrigal family was about to see her scars and she was scared. However, she knew this would change nothing. She nodded. Then she sat sideways on a chair before pulling her shirt off and holding it to her front for modesty.
She heard two soft gasps at the new mark and the old scars. Pepa had seen the bandages and knew it was bad, but she had never known how bad it was.
"I should've punched him too," Pepa quietly whispered and Julieta nodded in agreement.
They stood there in a kind of a silence until the door opened.
"Aye dios mio!" Alma Madrigal was shocked.
How could she have never noticed the way the Rojas treated Claudia. She should've paid attention to what her son had said. She had done so much wrong towards the girl and she knew she had messed up. All she could do now was try to work for her forgiveness. Alma pulled up a chair behind Claudia.
"This might sting a bit." She admitted as she began to clean the dried blood off the girl's back.
Claudia gritted her teeth, it did hurt but it had to be done for her own health. She tried to zone out, but it wasn't working. She stood in that perpetual state of discomfort until Alma was done. Then she turned to see the Matriarch looking at her with a grieving expression.
"I…" She had never seen the matriarch stumble over her words. "I should've never…you didn't deserve it. I am sorry."
The matriarch quickly left the room as Claudia was too stunned to speak. Had Alma really apologized? The other girls in the room also seemed shocked so she assumed it wasn't a normal occurrence. She knew it would take a while to forgive Alma, but the apology was a start. When the shock finally wore down the two girls approached her.
"You must be tired, I've got an extra nightgown you can use." Julieta said before turning to her wardrobe.
"May I-" Pepa hesitated. "Do you mind if I braid your hair?"
Claudia teared up at the sweetness of it all. She had missed the girls, who she had begun to think of as sisters. She was so happy that they still cared. She had thought they would be angry, and there they were fussing over her.
"Of course you can…hermana," she said the last part quietly, but a rainbow quickly bloomed over Pepa's head.
She pulled Claudia into a hug and soon after Julieta joined.
"We missed you so much," Pepa said.
"Never leave again," Julieta hugged her tighter.Soon enough the girls were done with her and she stood at the door to Bruno's room, to her home. Claudia was terrified. Sure he hadn't seemed mad earlier, but he had also punched a man so she knew he was slightly angry in the least. She just prayed it wasn't because of her. She took a breath and entered the living area quietly. She saw Bruno turned with his back to her.
"Hi."
Bruno whipped around and they stared at each other for a second. Then he quickly walked over to her. Claudia braced herself, but soon enough she realized she hadn't needed to worry.
