Chapter 39: Manupilative

Chapter 39: Manupilative
CAMILA

“Stop it!" I squealed, giving Lorenzo a playful tap on the head. “I'm going to throw up on you!" He had me loaded onto his shoulder and was heading out of the kitchen.

But my laughter was cut short by the sound of the front door shaking the walls before Camilo strode inside with a murderous look in his eyes.

He charged directly at us, and Lorenzo set me down just in time to see Camilo land a startling blow to Lorenzo's face, followed by a vicious headbutt that left Lorenzo reeling backward in shock.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing?!” I screamed, attempting to separate them. But Camilo pushed me aside, and I stumbled, nearly falling before catching myself.

"Stop! Camilo! What are you doing?!” I screamed in complete bewilderment as they swung back and forth, now grappling on the ground as Lorenzo retaliated. The room descended into chaos as Camilo straddled Lorenzo and kept punching him in the face.

“Camilo! Please, you’re hurting him!” Frantic and terrified, I attempted to grab his shoulders, only to scream even louder as he pulled out a gun and shoved it into Lorenzo's mouth, his entire body shaking with rage.

•••

AVA

I ran into the kitchen just as Camila yelled at Camilo to stop, and my eyes widened in horror, seeing Camilo straddling Lorenzo with a gun shoved up Lorenzo's mouth, both bleeding.

“Ava, please, stop him! Please, he’s going to kill him!” Camila ran towards me, tugging me forward before I could comprehend what was happening. 

“Baby, please don’t. He’s not worth it. Please. Let’s take him to the police. Let the law take its course." I pleaded, stepping forward to touch Camilo's arm. But he cocked the gun, and Camila and I both screamed at the same time, before something dropped behind me, forcing me to look.

My breath caught at the sight of Camila holding a knife to her throat. “I swear I’ll do it, brother." She exclaimed, trembling. "If you kill him, you kill me too!" 

A gasp ripped through my chest.

“You would sacrifice yourself for a fucking rapist? Is that what you’ve been reduced to?! Have you no sense of self-worth at all? Where did I fail you, Camila? Didn’t I love you enough?” 

Camilo finally spoke, his voice softening at the end while he pushed the gun deeper into Lorenzo's mouth, eliciting a groan from Lorenzo, who now lay unmoving, eyes wide.

"You did, brother, but I love him too," Camila pressed the knife to her skin, drawing blood.

“So, you’re just going to let him go around hurting people? Just because you love him?”

“He didn’t do it, Camilo. Mera is lying!”

“That’s bullshit and you know it!”

“No! What’s bullshit is Mera trying to ruin our lives! She’s evil and you’re playing right into her hands!” Camila screamed and took a step toward Camilo, the knife still against her throat. And I stared at her in shock before noticing more blood trickling down her neck.

“Baby, please," I pleaded with Camilo, my voice breaking with terror, realizing how far gone Camila was. “She’s hurting herself.”

Camilo looked at me and slowly withdrew the gun from Lorenzo's mouth. His eyes fixed back on Camila, still filled with a storm of emotions I couldn't even begin to name, except two... disappointment and pain.

Without another word, he rushed past me, and Camila rushed over to embrace Lorenzo, breaking down in tears. Disgusted by the entire scene, I turned to go after Camilo. Camila, however, spoke just as I started for the door.

“Thank you, Ava," she said, and something inside me snapped. I swiveled so fast I almost tripped over my own feet, my heart lurching to my throat.

“I didn’t do it for you! I did it for Camilo. He loves you and could never bear the thought of you hurting yourself as a result of his actions. I don’t even know who you are anymore, Camila!”

“I’m your friend, Ava-”

“My friend? Do you even know what that means anymore? Mera was your friend, too. The same Mera you attacked and threw out after she was brutalized by this evil monster. And you didn’t even stop there… you went around intimidating everyone who tried to offer her a job, even though you know she has a child.”

“She brought that on herself, Ava!"

"How? By telling the truth?!"

“She is lying, Ava. Sh-"

"STOP CAMILA! I bet you didn't even ask the piece of shit next to you!"

“I didn't have to! Mera’s a manipulative bitch, Ava!”

“That’s not true, and you know it! But fine! Tell yourself that.”

“Ava-” Lorenzo tried to speak, but I cut him off.

“Don’t you fucking speak! If Camila hadn’t hurt herself, and if Camilo wasn’t going to end up in jail, I would have let him kill you. You disgust me. I hate you! You evil bastard!” I spat, rage coursing through my veins at the sight of his cold, evil eyes, but I had barely finished when Camila's voice echoed across the room.

“You hate him, huh?!” She snapped, forcing my attention back to her. “Why don’t you run to your precious innocent Mera then and ask her if my brother raped her too when she screwed him?"

I froze at Camila's words. “What?”

“Ava... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-” she stammered, stepping toward me and reaching for my hands. Her voice trembled, her eyes filled with regret. But I backed away, my voice sharp as I questioned why she would say what she had just said. 

“She slept with him, Ava. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to hurt you." Her voice was softer now as she tried to reach for my hands, but I didn’t let her.

My lips opened to say she was lying, as something inside me said she had to be; it said she was saying this to further make Lorenzo a victim, but the look in her eyes said otherwise.

“There was no one-night stand with a stranger, Ava."

“No,” I whispered, staggering backward as that morning flashed through my mind: the morning I spent the night alone, and Camilo returned smelling like Mera. I recalled how shaken Mera looked when I told her I had heard her, but I had attributed it to her being shy. 

“No. Camilo would never do that to me."

Camila's eyes welled up with tears as she tried to touch me again, but I refused.

“Do not fucking touch me! You both deserve each other. You disgust me.”

Pivoting quickly, my legs were heavy beneath me, and Camila called after me, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I couldn't even breathe.