Chapter Sixteen
1173 Words
Camilo smiled and then he fell on his knees. I ran to him and tried hard to keep him from falling. I held on to his arm as tightly as I could and Camilo jerked up. He smelled of sweat and blood. His forehead was smeared with dried blood and he seemed disoriented.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” I repeated as I heard his heavy heaving. He sobbed quietly.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so, so f*****g sorry,” he said. I shook my head and shushed him.
“Shush. You need your strength,” I said as I helped him down the tropical forest hill. I wondered how many miles he walked before reaching the cave. He was detrimentally tired and I could feel it in his walk and in his expirations of breath. I tried to hold on to him as he walked, but he was becoming heavier by the minute as his body felt limp. I saw a huge rock and saw the opportunity to take a breather myself. I helped him sit down next to me and he seemed a little relieved himself for the break. He placed his face in his hand and sobbed again.
“Camilo?”
“I f****d up Karina. I f****d up,” he said miserably shaking his head.
“It wasn’t your fault. There was an unannounced storm. Nobody thought that was coming to the island, absolutely nobody. When I checked the news, they said that the sea would be calm and good for navigation. Not once did they announce anything out of the usual. If they would have, I wouldn’t have had asked for the boat,” I said trying to console him. My birthday was in the summer, the exact date was June 22 and so far it was supposed to be a sunny day. I didn’t know if he checked the news during that week, but I did, briefly, but I made sure that it was okay. He, however, shook his head.
I hadn’t noticed before, but when I glanced over at his feet I noticed that both his socks and his pants were drenched in blood.
“What happened to your foot?” I asked him, but he wouldn’t respond to me. He was still lamenting himself in his own little world.
“I f****d up so, so, so bad,” he mumbled to himself.
“Camilo?” I asked, but he wouldn’t respond, so I repeated his name a few times again to try to get him back to Earth.
“Camilo. Camilo. Camilo,” I said. Finally, he looked up at me, with sweat over his brow and tears streaming down his cheeks. I had never seen him like that before and the sight shocked me a little bit, but I faked staying cool. He didn’t respond so I carried on the conversation.
“It wasn’t your fault. I checked the news and they all said it would be okay… I don’t know how it happened, but what I do know is that it was sudden. It wasn’t something we were prepared for,” I said. He shook his head.
“My uncle is going to kill me Karina. He’s going to lose his job over this, if he hasn’t lost it already,” he replied.
“I don’t think it matters right now what happens to your uncle, don’t you think?” I asked him. He looked at me confused.
“Camilo we’re lost in a tropical island. Alone… well… not alone, but…” I said and he cut me off.
“What do you mean? Who else is here?” He asked me.
“Come on, it’s time to move on,” I said.
“Who the f**k is here with us Karina?” He asked insisting.
“A boy. His name is Nicholas,” I replied.
“A f*****g boy? A ten year old or what do you mean, speak clearly,” he said annoyed.
“He’s nineteen,” I muttered behind me teeth.
“That’s no f*****g boy, that’s a man and you’ve been alone with him for…” Camilo stopped and looked up and then I looked up too. Nicholas was right there in front of us. He was frowning and he had his arms crossed. I didn’t understand why he was so annoyed nor did I care.
“That’s him,” I said. Camilo tried to get up.
“You son of a-“
“Hey, hey, don’t do that. He saved my life,” I said to Camilo. Camilo was already up though.
“Did you f**k my girlfriend? Did you f**k my girlfriend?” He said annoyed. Nick didn’t move, he just had his arms crossed and he didn’t say a word either. I was so embarrassed for what Camilo had said and done. What a f*****g i***t.
“Hey, enough,” I said. Camilo looked at me harshly and slapped me in the face. I rubbed my cheek that had probably been marked with red by Camilo.
“That’s for being a b***h. You f**k him, but not me, huh?” he said. Nick reacted both impulsively and instinctually . He punched Camilo in the face and Camilo dropped like a coconut with a boom to the ground. He rolled over and Nick just went right at him and pounded him, one punch after the other. I ran to Nick and pulled him away from Camilo. I screamed.
“He’s already hurt!” I yelled at Nick, but he didn’t listen. He just kept punching and Camilo kept blocking the punches as best he could with his arms and elbows. Some punches landed and others didn’t.
“Nicholas, enough!” I screamed. He turned to me and punched me in the face sending me to the ground. I started to yell and cry. Nicholas immediately stopped, got off Camilo and reached out for me.
“Karina, I’m so sorry,” he said as I screamed and wailed in pain. I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked by both men. Camilo had slapped me in the face and Nicholas had punched me. My face throbbed with pain. Nicholas grabbed me by the waist, leaned towards me on the forest floor and pulled me towards him as I cried.
“I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear. I’m so, sorry. I-“
“Get the f**k away from me! Both of you, f**k you,” I yelled and as soon as I had little strength I ran off.
- Writer
