El orgullo de Madrigal (Encanto x Oc)

{{𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 10}}

~💚~

Nikolai threw himself onto his bed and screamed into his pillow so hard his lungs began to burn. Pounding his fists into his mattress over and over till the springs began to creak in protest. Nikolai's hot breath fanned his face as he panted, the contrast of it on his cold pillow forming condensation around his lips. The young Madrigal fell to his side and curled himself into a ball, hugging his knees while tears ran down his cheeks. The waterfall in the background of his bedroom roared in his ears, the birds usually calming chirps sounded like drums against his eardrums. Nikolai clenched his teeth hard, pulling himself up onto his knees, placing his hands over his ears, and fisting the hairs on his temple as his chest began to tighten more and more.

"HAAAAAAAAAA!" He cried out, shutting his eyes so hard it gave him a headache.

Cracking his eyes open, the glowing Jade of his irises shone brightly in the darkness of his quiet room. A light breeze rustled the pages littering his bed headboard, drawings of bodies and flowers all stared back at him, swaying in an almost taunting manner. Nikolai frowned, shuffling on his sheets toward the headboard, and pulled one page off, looking down at it, over the ink strokes and light smudges of shading before crumpling it up and throwing it to the side. One by one, he grabbed the notes and pictures, ripping them off the headboard and scattering them around the room. Nikolai panted his breath through his teeth as he tore the last one from its pinned spot on his headboard, moving to stand from his bed and walk over to his desk. The chaotically arranged desk bore more notes of stories and poems Nikolai had written over the years. Books, jars, and leaves of all sorts sat dusty and untouched before suddenly upturned. Nikolai swiped his arms over the desktop, scattering its contents all over the floor beside it before flipping the desk itself.

"DAMNIT! Why does this keep happening!? Why won't it stop!?" Nikolai sobbed, his eyes flooding with tears again.

"I don't want to feel this pain again!" He wept, slowly falling to his knees.

Nikolai clenched his teeth, his eyes lidded, filled to the brim with tears as his head turned to the sky. His whole body shook, the light tapping of his tears hitting the wooden floor suddenly all he could hear.

"I~ I just want it... to stop..." Nikolai whispered in a broken voice.

His room shook softly, cracks forming in the tall stone columns and along the bookshelves lining the walls. Nikolai began to cry, the harsh sniveling clawing at his throat while his eyes and nose watered. Cracks move slowly over the floor, thick and thin lines crawling along the wood like vines climbing a wall, seeming to make their way over to Nikolai. The young defeated boy didn't seem to care, shuffling backward till his back met his bed, pulling his knees up and his hood to cover his head as his bloodshot eyes continued to water.

Nikolai missed his father... so so so much... But... there comes a time, where the pain... it becomes too much... Night after night Nikolai would sit up waiting... listening... hoping his father would come back to him. He'd sit on the steps of his staircase, hands clasped in his lap, and stare at his door. He'd sit in bed with a book beside him and the vision his father gave him while staring at the staircase for hours. Some nights, Nikolai would even sit on the steps outside his father's room waiting... Julietta and Peppa used to watch from around the corner as Nikolai sat there... unmoving. He was like a glass statue... His Tias were afraid one wrong move... one wrong word and the boy would shatter into a million pieces. Days would go by where Nikolai wouldn't eat... wouldn't sleep... He'd barely spoken a word, even to his cousins, and one day...

He just gave up...

That day he came down from his room all neat and groomed, his clothes clean and his hair brushed, he looked almost normal... Except for the dark bags under his eyes, the lack of any real emotion on his face, and the glowing broken heart settled in his eyes. Camilo and Dolores tried to comfort him as best they could, inviting him to play and go out with them, cook with them, and even spend the night with him. But Nikolai declined... He'd walk around with a soft expression, his hands in his pockets and his hood over his head. He was like this for weeks, some days, the family would even catch the ink smudges on his fingers and face when he'd come from his room to grab something to eat. It seemed he'd prefer to spend all day in his room surrounded by the calming atmosphere and his imagination than in reality, but who could blame him... His whole world fell apart the day Bruno left, he was alone... And always would be.

(Hey guys, sorry about the no updates 😅, but here is what I expect Nikolai to look like in this chapter. He's supposed to be crying on his bed but I can't draw inanimate objects or tears to save my life so I just drew Niko.)