Beautiful Bruises ~ Camilo Madrigal x Reader

Jude?

"Shoot."

Camilo didn't break eye contact with you. He was the picture of calm, but you noticed a muscle tick in his jaw as he clenched his teeth.

"Your father?" His tone was cold and hard.

"Camilo, stop." You turned fully around so that you could grab his arms and hold him there. "You don't - let me explain."

"Explain then," Camilo said, his eyes blazing even as he gently took your hands away from his arms and gripped them in his own. "Explain why your "papa" beats you, (Y/N)." His voice broke on the word "beats", and you felt hot tears well up in your eyes at his words.

"It's not like that! It's when I do something wrong, I - I know the consequences, Camilo. And I do that stuff anyway."

He laughed, a short one that held no humor, only malice.

"So that's an excuse to hurt your daughter. I'm having a word with him, and I'm having a word with him now." He let go of your hands, spinning and walking to the door.

"Camilo! You'll only make it worse!" you shouted, dashing after him, but he simply shook his head, sending his beautiful curls from side to side.

"Nobody hurts my Cariño."

But before he could move any further, Mirabel dashed over. 

"Guys!" she wailed, devastated. "Bruno had two visions, and they're horrible!" She latched onto Camilo's arm, and even when he tried to shake her off, she refused to budge. His eyes softened slightly as he looked down at his younger cousin, and you breathed a short sigh of relief.

"What are they?" you asked, focusing on the task at hand once again.

She handed you one of them mopily - it showed her embracing Isabela, her older sister - also Jude's crush - and the candle blowing brighter behind them.

"Oh," you mumbled, remembering how much she despised Isabela, and how she had supposedly "ruined her proposal". But if she liked Jude as much as he seemed to like her, surely she was glad that had happened. "Just talk to her. I'm sure you'll be fine. What was the other vision?"

But Mirabel was too busy wailing to acknowledge your question, and Bruno hurried over, enlisting Camilo's help to drag her outside and closer to Isabela's room. You sat on the floor, examining the green slab, Bruno's vision. It actually was very detailed and pretty - nobody seemed to appreciate Bruno's gift for just how beautiful it was.

Suddenly, you heard someone sniffling outside. You quickly hid the vision behind a bush and crept to the doorway, peering outside to see Luisa. You stepped out, tapping her on the arm awkwardly as she shuffled by.

She spun around quickly, her red eyes wide.

"Oh, (Y/N), it's just you," she said, calming down and growing teary-eyed again. "Sorry I look like this. I'm not usually so..." She let out a sob and buried her face in her hands. You quickly stood on your tiptoes and placed your hand on her hunched shoulder, attempting to make her feel better.

"Hey, it's ok," you soothed, quickly realizing what was going on. Mirabel had told you the night before, when she explained everything to you - Luisa was losing her gift and felt worthless. "Don't worry. You're still the strongest Madrigal here, and everyone loves you no matter what. You have such a big heart it's impossible to dislike you! And you'll always be useful, because there will always be chores around Encanto that you can do." She peered between her fingers to look at you, sniffling a little bit. 

"But I'm the strong one. I'm not supposed to..."

"Cry?" you asked softly. "It's ok. I cry all the time, and I'm sure the strongest person in the world has cried before. It doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you're going through a lot. It makes you even stronger than before."

Luisa stood up straighter at your words, finally looking you in the eye.

"Thank you, (Y/N)," she said hesitantly, before wrapping you into a quick hug. "And... you should get that checked out." She brushed her large, work-hardened fingers against your bruise lightly. "I won't pry, but... if you ever need anything, I can still beat someone up." She flexed proudly before marching off.

You grinned after her before turning to see Camilo and Bruno shoving Mirabel into the hallway from behind a potted plant. She slowly walked up to Isabela's door and disappeared inside, before Camilo stood back up, turning around to face you. His smile faded as soon as he did.

Bruno had crept back into the wall by now, but you didn't have time to talk to him at the moment. He had left the other vision slab on the floor.

"Camilo, if you go speak to my papa, I will never talk to you again," you warned, speed-walking over to where he stood. "And I mean it. You'll only make him angrier and get yourself hurt."

He smirked, but it didn't hold its usual teasing twist - now it just seemed emotionless.

"Aww, look who cares about me so much. And believe me, I'm not going to speak with him, Cariño." He cracked his knuckles and chuckled. "Once I'm finished with him we'll send him away, across the mountain."

"Where will I go?" you cried angrily, poking him in the chest. "Did you think about that, tonto? What about me?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"You can live here with us," he replied quietly.

You groaned, sitting on the ground and burying your face in your hands. However, when you peered between your fingers, you saw something on the emerald-green vision tablet. You removed your hands to get a closer look, and your heart stopped in your chest.

Next to Mirabel and a broken Casita stood a man you knew all too well.

But it wasn't your papa.

"Jude."