"𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝟐"

Chapter 15: 𝑰𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒚

I walked into Casita and looked around. Nothing seemed particularly out of place, except for the slight rain, which appeared to be calming. I heard voices coming from the dining room and walked inside.

Almost everyone was at the dining table, excluding Camilo and me.

"Is he okay?" señora Pepa asked, a concerned look on her face. Dolores nodded.

"He's just not feeling well, mami. He said he'll eat tomorrow." she said. Señor Félix held onto señora Pepa's hand.

"He'll be fine, Pepi." he said, smiling at her. Señora Pepa calmed down, and the rain outside stopped.

When I stepped into the room, everyone looked at me.

"Hi." I said, waving. The family greeted me and I went to my usual seat beside Mirabel. "What's going on?" I asked her.

"Camilo didn't show up for dinner. Tía Pepa's worried about him." she answered.

"Have you spoken to him?" I asked. Mirabel shook her head.

"You didn't talk to him at all?" she asked.

"No." I said. "He was already gone when I got to the village."

I looked over at Dolores, and she glanced at me from the side of her eye. She sat next to me tonight, which was unusual.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked, leaning over to her. She didn't respond, and looked briefly across the table. I turned to where she looked and Abuela was looking at us. "Sorry, Abuela." I apologized, bowing my head.

~~~~~~~~

After dinner, Dolores immediately exited the dining room, carrying a plate of food upstairs.

When Camilo came home and went upstairs without saying anything to anyone, she noticed immediately. He didn't tell her to tell everyone he was sick, but she could tell he didn't want to be bothered.

She knocked on the door quietly.

"Hermano, you okay? It's Dolores. I have food for you." she said. She knocked again. "Camilo?"

The door opened slowly, revealing nothing but darkness.

"What's wrong, Camilo?" Dolores asked worriedly. She didn't get a response, so she just handed the plate to her brother. He took it quickly and was about to close the door, but Dolores stopped it with her foot.

"Camilo, talk to me. What happened?" she asked.

"Dolores, please." Camilo whispered. Dolores could hear in his voice that he'd been crying. She could also hear his shuddering breaths, and the sound of him gripping his door tighter.
She acquiesced, removing her foot.

"Please talk to someone, Camilo." Dolores pleaded silently. "I'm worried about you, and you know mami's coming up here to check on you."

"I'll handle it, Dolores. I'll be okay." Camilo responded. "...thank you."

He held his hand out and Dolores held onto it, caressing his knuckles with her thumb softly. One of the many things he did himself to calm her down so many times.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" she asked, feeling her eyes water.

"Yes." Camilo answered, withdrawing his hand into the darkness. "Goodnight."

He closed his door, and Dolores didn't hear anything else. She blinked her developing tears away and walked into her room, her mind racing with possibilities of what could be troubling her little brother.