I should've kept my mouth shut....
I really, really should've kept my mouth shut
Everything was fine, then in the span of just 2 minutes all hell broke loose.
Screams and yells from different family members could be heard, plates and food flying across the room from being thrown or some other ungodly force.
The sheer rage that came from Pepa caused an actual hurricane to erupt in the dining room. It was literal chaos.
Luisa had to literally hold her back from ripping Abuela to pieces while Felíx tried to calm her down.
"No Tía!" Luisa begged the woman in her grip
"Like hell I can't!" She retorts while trying to claw her way out,"mama I'm gonna bury you!bruja malvada!"
"We must have restraint mí vida!" Felíx cried out," we can't do anything we'll regret!".
I search the room, spotting Bruno hunched up near the corner in terror.
"Bruno!" I call out, going over to his side.
"T-this all happened so fast..." he stuttered,
"Rieka....I don't know what to do...".
"I'll think of something" I assure him, pulling his hood over his head to make him feel more secure.
"Are you out of your mind woman!?!" Agustín yells," what messed up speech did you give her this time!?! Let me guess, do it for the family?".
"I did no such thing!" Abuela retorts," I gave her an offer, and let her decide for herself! It's not my fault she accepted it!"
"Rieka!" Dolores grabs my arm," think for a second, you're going to marry my uncle, Abuela can't control you!!!"
"I know!" I tell her," I've thought about it, I want to do this!"
"You do?" She asks, " are you sure? Positive? This isn't something you can just break off, this....this is a marriage we're talking about!"
"I-"
"LET ME AT HER!" Julieta was just as furious, swinging her wooden roller in one hand while Agustín yanked her back with the other.
"Fight, fight, fight!!!" Camilo shouts, cheering the argument on with an amused grin.
"Camilo cállate!" Isabella smacks his head with a vine before going over to me.
"What.have.you.DONE!" Mirabel shouts, her glasses in disarray on her face. " You can't marry your own uncle!"
"Technically they aren't related~" dolores sings before getting serious," I'm gonna be the maid of honor".
"Oh my god~" I sigh
"Julieta!" Agustín yells," there's nothing we can physically do!"
"What do you mean nothing!?!" She shouts, "our niece is going to marry my brother!!!"
"They're both consenting adults!" He argues,
"even if we did try to stop it, we'd be breaking a law".
"He's her uncle!" Pepa cried out
"Not by blood!" Antonio points out with a smile, "technically they're not related!"
Finally, as if I thought it would last forever, the room slowly began to calm down and the hurricane ceased.
"But-" Felíx tries to find words," but-but she's-"
"A grown woman" Abuela interjects sharply, "who is fully capable of making her own decisions and actions".
It was silent, no one daring to speak another word. It seemed everyone got it out of their system, too tired to shout or just have no other reason to.
"Tía Pepa, Julieta" I spoke softly, "This engagement isn't romantic...or at least it doesn't have to be. It's just... Bruno and I... I don't know we're just, us. You can't have one without the other. It's not just Bruno, or just Rieka, but both. We're connected somehow, we feel each other's pain, emotions, even sickness".
"Rieka...?" Bruno's voice rings in my ear," is that how you really feel? I...I thought it was just me".
I nod before pointing to Agustín, "Tío Agustín, when you met Julieta. Did you love her for her beauty? Her gifts? Even if you didn't end up together did you picture a life with her still there?"
"I..." he sighed," I love her because.... She understands me, all of me. I can't imagine my life without her, if she were in any form, I'd still love her just the same".
"That's it~" I gasp, relieved to find a connection.
"Wait! It's true!" Mirabel retorts with realization, " I've seen it mama, when Rieka laid in her coma, Bruno had gotten extremely ill".
"Is that why he was sick?" Luisa asks curiously, "damn I thought it was because he's just old".
"I'm standing right here you know~" Bruno mumbles
"Wait...what? Hold on-" I question," is that true?"
"You didn't know?" Dolores asks," tío Bruno had gotten sick shortly after the incident. He was a mess, physically and emotionally, it was gross".
"Again! I'm right here!"
"He couldn't function" felíx adds," thought he would black out right there when he was helping rebuild the casita".
"Bruno why didn't you tell me!?!" I shout angrily," I hate when you get sick!"
"I know I'm sorry!" He shyly lifts off his hood. "I just didn't want you to worry, it wasn't that bad, really".
"*cough* liar~" Camilo laughs, earning another smack from Isabella.
"Oh Bruno~" I tease, playing with his curls. " you missed me that much, poor thing~".
"Stop Rieka~" he blushes, lightly smacking my hands away in embarrassment.
"It can't be~" Pepa wails," my baby, internally betrothed to that Bruno, this can't be~"
"Don't cry mama" Camilo comforts his mother.
"How do we know Bruno didn't have anything to do with this, for all we know he could've been brainwashing her behind our backs!"
"How could you even accuse him of something like that!?!" I shout angrily.
"What did you do to her!?!" She shouts at Bruno, "you perverted old man, how could you do this to your own niece!?!".
"Pepa I-I didn't-"
"This isn't his fault!" I shout," do you really think he would do something like this on purpose!?! How low can you be?"
Pepa shifts her attention to her mother, tears continuing to fall. Seconds later, rain began to fall inside the casita, lightly drenching us all in water.
"Abuela is there anything we can do to break this bond?" She asked desperately
"What? No!" I cry out, tightly clutching bruno's arm," you can't break our bond!"
"Please Pepa" Bruno pleads to his sister," so much can go wrong, what if it doesn't work!"
"It's wrong!" She sobbed hysterically, grabbing a knife from the dinner table, " We must take a chance! I'll kill that man myself if it ensures Rieka will have another fate!"
I've had enough of this shit~
I push Bruno behind me, walking up to Pepa and grabbing the knife from her. "You kill that man, you kill me~" I threaten her.
"You wouldn't dare~" she challenged me
"Wouldn't I...?" I hold up my left arm, lightly pushing the blade to draw blood.
"Rieka what are you doing!?!" Bruno cries out
"Making a point" Dolores answers, covering Antonio's eyes." Tell her Rieka!"
"If you lay one finger on that man I'll rip myself apart~" I felt every bone in my body become enflamed with an otherworldly feeling of rage.
For once, I actually began to scare her, legitimately scare her. It left a sour feeling in my chest, which gave me relief, because for a minute I was sure the humanity in me evaporated into thin air.
"I wouldn't draw blood like that but...yea defend ya man girl!" Isabella cheered on.
"I tried being nice" I continue, " I explained everything as best as I could, it's not my fault your too caught up in your own hysteria to come to terms with it. You think you'll do anything stop this? You can't even fathom how far I'm willing to go, so you either back off right now...or I'm going to rain down on you far worse than a light drizzle".
Silence echoed through the casita, no one daring to utter a word as I continued to stare daggers at the very woman who raised me.
"You're selfish..." she gasps
"Yes I am"
"Fine...do what you want, I'll have no part in it" right as she finished that sentence, the rain finally ceased. Without another word she left to go to her room, felíx following close behind her.
"I'll talk to her~" he whispers to me
I felt alone, abandoned, but it wasn't without reason. I basically disowned her in a way, but I don't regret it, it had to be done.
I felt a small grip on my finger, I look down and see Antonio smiling up at me." I'm so sorry Tonito" I sighed, leaning down and hugging him tightly.
"Everything will be fine Rieka" he assures me, "you still have us".
"He's right Rieka" Julieta steps forward," I love you and support your decision, besides, no one can make a better wedding cake than me~".
She hands me an empanada, to which I take a bite and feel my arm begin to heal.
"You know what?" Mirabel gives in, "So what if it's weird? If they are bonded together then we should let them be bonded, best friends can get married too!"
"I'm still gonna be the maid of honor!" Dolores says.
"I call dibs on flower girl!" Isabella blooms a bouquet of roses in her hands.
"We'll always be there for you" Luisa lifts me up into a bear hug.
"I can't thank you enough" I smile happily," all of you, you truly are the most kindest people, I'd be lost without you".
I look around, my smile fading once I realized Bruno had vanished.
"Where's Bruno?"
"He just left" Camilo points at a direction," he went that way".
"Go talk to him" Dolores urges me
I nod, thanking everyone one more time before heading over to his hideout.
My heart was racing, why would he leave like that? Was he overwhelmed? Was it all too much for him?
I make it to his door, lightly knocking against the old wood. "Bruno?" I called out, slowly entering the room.
I see him resting on his red armchair, facing away from me. " Bruno are you okay?" I ask gently, going over to his side. His gaze was at the floor, refusing to look at me.
"Bruno talk to me" I reach out and cup his chin, lightly turning his head so he could look at me. He doesn't.
"What's wrong...?"
"Why did you do that...?"
"Do what?"
Finally, he meets my gaze. "Why would you hurt yourself?"
"To prove a point-"
"I don't care" he harshly gets up from the chair, walking away to tend to his rats. "Do you have any idea how scared I was? How careless you were, that you were bleeding? I thought you were going to...and you didn't even care!"
"Of course I care!" I tell him," that's why I-"
"No!" He interrupted sharply," if you actually cared, you would see that hurting yourself would hurt me just as much!"
His eyes grew glossy, red lightly staining the whites of his eyes.
"I'm sorry" I breathe out, holding him in a tight embrace. " I'm so sorry Bruno, you're right, I wasn't thinking. I was being so fucking stupid, please don't be mad at me".
I feel him release a heavy sigh,"Don't. Ever. Do that again" he said sternly before hugging me back.
~"I promise"~