Chapter 7:
(Camilo POV)
I gulped as Padre Sanchez grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room. "What are you doing?" He asked and I sighed letting myself fall into what I naturally look like. I let out a breath, "Padre, please don't tell anyone." "Don't tell anyone, you aren't even supposed to know that she comes into town. SeƱor Santiago only lets her come in her because your family is all over town helping everyone else if he finds out that you not only have met his daughter but, also speak with her on a regular basis he is going to..." I then cut in, "But what about Liv?" He stopped "Olivia is the only reason why I didn't tell him that you were here before. She doesn't deserve for him to be mad at her for what you have been doing." I nodded my head about that. "You need to leave now and don't come back here again when she is here, this is her one chance to leave the house and I am not going to have you ruin it for her," He said, "there is a back door here that you can leave through."
I took a breath, "Padre, she is my best friend and I am hers. Please don't make me stop seeing my best friend. You said she doesn't deserve to not be trapped in the house but isn't it the same being trapped in here all alone?" He turned back and looked at me and then looked at a cross on the wall. He let out a breath, "Dear God please let this be the right thing to do." He looked over at me, "The church is a place for everyone I won't stop you from coming here." I let out a long breath, "As long as you tell her the truth." I opened and closed my mouth as he cocked his head to the side, "Don't try to lie to me and say that you already have. I can tell. I grew up with 3 brothers, trust me I can tell."
I let out a breath and nodded my head, "I will tell her today. I promise." I then looked at him, "Do you think that I can take her out of the church today then?" His eyes widened, "You... seriously... I..." "I promise I will have her back before her Papa comes to pick her up. Please." He sighed, "Do you know what time she needs to be back by?" I nodded my head, "Her father comes back at 7. I always leave by 6." He looked me dead in the eyes, "You are going to have her back in this church by 5 o'clock understood? And that is only if Olivia agrees to go with you." I nodded my head, "Thank you." He nodded his head, "Let's just say I know that Olivia is a great person and I know that she shouldn't be stuck her or home all the time." I turned back into Cameron and I walked out with him right behind me.
I made my way over to Olivia who was sitting quietly. "Hey Liv," I said. She smiled as she looked up in my general direction, "Cameron? You're here early today." I let out an amused breath "Yeah, well let's just say that there is a lot I want to get done with you today." She smiled. Padre then cleared his throat and said, "Olivia, Cameron here asked me if it was alright if he took you out into town today." Her mouth fell open, "Really?" "O-Only if you want to," I stuttered out. She smiled, "I would love to, but are you sure that it is ok Padre?" He let out a breath, "Yes. It is as long as you are back by 5." She stood up and I went over to her taking her arm in mine. We were heading out of the church when she got nervous, "What if people in town recognize me and tell Papa?"
I smiled down at her, "Most people in town haven't seen you in years, and I'm not going to take you anywhere too crowded, do you think you can trust me?" She nodded her head, "Yeah I trust you." They way she said that felt like a shot to my stomach. I knew I was lying to her and the fact that she trusted me made me feel guilty. I wrapped her arm in mine and pulled her a little bit closer, "If people can't tell that you are blind they are less likely to figure it out." I explained. She nodded her head and then leaned in closer to me, "I'm just going to keep facing you. You are going to be my eyes ok?" Her voice was a whisper. "Ok," I whispered.
We began walking and I made sure to avoid the marketplace in case her Papa was there. I made my way over to the bridge that went by the river. It was not completely removed from town put it did move us farther away. As we walked over the bridge Liv stopped and lifted her head up. I then realized there was a bit of a breeze flowing. She smiled and I guided her towards the railing of the bridge. She put her hands down in front of her as she smiled facing the breeze. "What does it feel like?" I asked. She smiled, "I can't describe it. It is just nice and cool." I nodded my head, "Yeah it is one of those things that reminds us that the air is still there, taking care of us even if we can't see it." She smirked, "So we are finally on an even playing field?" I let out an amused breath, "I guess we are. Come on I know a spot not too far from here." She nodded her head and I took her arm. We were trying to be as subtle as possible.
I took her out to a clearing out of sight of the fields but close to both town and the church. "Here," I said as I helped her sit down underneath a tree. She smiled up in my general direction, "Where are we?" I shrugged, "Nowhere special, just not in the church, town or the fields. I like to refer to it as limbo of Encanto." She laughed, "Limbo sounds perfect right now." I watched as she felt the grass below her and her other hand went to the bark of the tree behind her. I sat down next to her and let go of my transformation. I looked like myself again as I had full view if anyone was coming our way. "This is perfect," she whispered as I sat down next to her. I put my hand close to her so she could easily find me as she patted her hand on the ground. She found my hand and smiled as she held onto it. I took a breath, "There is something I have to tell you Liv." She nodded her head, "Yeah there is something that I have to tell you to." I looked at her, "Oh you go first, what do you want to tell me?" I asked.
She took a long deep breath, "When you asked me about my family I never told you about my Papa." She took another breath and squeezed my hand, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I quickly said but she shook her head "No, I want to. My Papa, he is really protective of me. He says that I am the last piece of Mama that he has left. When I was little I used to ask him to take me outside or into town, but he never wanted to risk it. One day when I finally convinced him to let me out of the house. He told me to sit on the rock and wait for him. Some kids were playing ball not that far down and one of them invited me to play..." I took a sharp inhale. I couldn't believe that she was telling me this story. I never thought that we would actually talk about it, "I knew that Papa didn't want me too, but it looked like so much fun." She took a deep breath.
"You know that you really don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said feeling guilty about not telling her that I already knew. She nodded her head, "I want you to know. I went down to play with them. It really was fun. Someone kicked the ball away and Papa came back. He was really mad at me for not listening to him and staying away. I wasn't paying attention and the kid through the ball back and it hit me in the back of the head I fell to the ground and I was never able to see again." I took a breath, "Have you ever thought about seeing Julieta Madrigal?" She shook her head, "It wouldn't work." I looked at her, "How do you know?" She sighed, "Because it didn't work all those years ago. Papa had vowed to another have any contact with any Madrigal ever again, but when I went blind he broke that vow to get me help and it didn't work. Papa said that it must not work for our family, I mean look what happened to my Mama." Her eyes brimmed with tears, "If I had listened to him. I would still be able to see. I wouldn't be so useless." I pulled her in closer to me as she started to cry. I hated seeing her cry.
She rolled herself into my arm as I held onto her. She had both her hands on my arms. As she calmed down though she kept her hands on me. She began making her way up my arms until she reached my shoulders. Her eyes were looking right at me and if I didn't see her go blind I could have sworn she was looking right at me. "You know, I don't like hearing you talk about yourself like that," I said. She shrugged slightly, "Why? It's true." I brought her hands to my head as I shook my head. For once I wanted her to be able to sense my nonverbal cue, "It is not. What happened to you wasn't your fault. The fact that you can't see has never been your fault. If anything it was mine." Her lips parted, "What do you mean?" I took a sharp inhale, "I was the little boy who invited you over to play."
Her eyes widened as he hands stayed on my head. "What?" I nodded my head, "I'm so sorry." "Did-did you always know that it was me from that d..." She started and I nodded my head again, "Yes I did." "So coming in to listen to the choir practice, that was a lie?" I had forgotten that was what I had told her that first day but I nodded my head again. A tear slipped down my cheek, "I shouldn't have invited you over. You were going to stay where you were and then I ruined everything and invited you over. I'm the reason that you went blind." She shook her head, "No, it is not your fault." I nodded my head again, "Yes it is." She shook her head, "How could you have known that I was supposed to stay away from everyone you were only a little kid yourself. It was my fault, I shouldn't have come over at all." I went still as a lump formed in my throat, "I knew I was supposed to leave you alone Liv." "How?" she asked her voice filling with concern. I took a breath and before I could even realize what I was saying, "Because I'm... I'm Camilo Madrigal."
