The Heart of Camilo (A Camilo Madrigal x Reader Fem Y/N Story)

Glow

*Y/N*

I didn't stop running until I was halfway home, still cringing and occasionally putting my face in my hands to do an internal scream. Why did that have to happen? I just wanted to die. How could I ever show my face in that house again? I could only imagine what kind of conversation Camilo had had to endure afterwards. Despite myself, I smiled thinking about it, knowing Felix would definitely have a unique way to address things. At least it hadn't been his Abuela. If it had, I'm pretty sure I'd be banned from the house forever. I stopped, leaning against the wall of one of the buildings in town, catching my breath, closing my eyes, suddenly remembering what it had felt like as he had kissed me down my neck, glowing internally, a giant stupid smile on my face. Putting my hand on my chest, I took a deep breath again. I really had to get a hold of myself. Shaking my head, I tried to refocus on where I was going, redirecting myself when I noticed I was headed down the wrong street.

I opened the door to the house where Diego and I now lived with a lovely woman named Maria. She had been widowed a few years back and had never had kids of her own. She had no intention of re-marrying, but had always longed for children of her own and was more than willing to take us in two years ago after everything that had happened. She was pretty strict about Camilo and I, having been burned by a teenage romance of her own when she was my age before meeting her husband, but I knew she meant well and she was very kind to him when he visited, but emphasized often he wasn't allowed over unless she was present. She often said she wished my mother wasn't making us wait until we were 21, saying that she had married at 18 and it was the best thing for us. On days like this, I wished Pepa would reconsider letting us get married younger, too. Waiting another three years sometimes felt like a lifetime. I closed my eyes, imagining what it would feel like to wake up in the morning beside him every day, no more stealing moments whenever we could in the midst of our busy lives - we would simply just be each other's lives, finally. I mean, the entire town and his family had accepted it would be happening eventually, Pepa was practically picking out my wedding dress already every time we went to the market together. What did it matter whether it was 18, 19 or 21?

I went to my room, sighing and lying down on my bed, still thinking about the way Camilo had kissed me, held me, before remembering what had happened right after, and then pulled my pillow over my face and groaned loudly into it.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah!" I sat up, looking around, my eyes landing on Diego, who was standing in my doorway. At 12 years old now, he was starting to grow into himself, his grin not quite so child-like, his tall body seeming to reach a height it was happy with after three more giant growth spurts. He was practically as tall as Camilo now despite being six years younger than us. His black hair was always in his eyes and I begged him to let me cut it because it was always so messy, but he insisted he liked it long. I smiled at him. "You scared me," I said, throwing the pillow at him.

He caught it, a giant grin on his face. "I thought you were with Camilo's family helping with that demonstration for the new arrivals."

"I was. I just ... decided to come home early."

He gave me a look that said he didn't believe me, and then turned and headed to the kitchen. I followed him, hungry myself.

"You're so lucky you're almost done with school," he said, assembling himself a sandwich and gesturing to me with the bread to ask wordlessly if I wanted one, too. I nodded and he started working on mine.

"I know, just one more week," I replied. Mirabel and I had both been accepted to apprentice under Senora Lopez when we graduated, who was one of the most successful clothing makers in the village. Mirabel just loved sewing and designing clothes, always creating beautiful new dresses, skirts and shirts for herself, stuffed animals for all the kids in the village. I didn't really know what I wanted to do with myself, and so I had followed her into it because it seemed like something I could do while I figured out what I wanted.