The Indifference of a Man Forgotten (BOOK I)

Chapter 26- Tears to Shed

"Now that I think about it, what happened to Marcos? I thought he'd be the one visiting you the most here, but I've not seen him at all," The mention of that name caused a guilty shiver to run down my spine.

But as usual, I brushed it off. I didn't want to think about him.

I loved him, and I cared for him, that's why I couldn't let him be with me. Not because I'm no longer an athlete, not because I've got a messy family story, and not because I don't have as much money as him, but rather because I have no confidence to be with him. And all that will do to both of us will make us hate each other. 

I'm quiet, I'm shy, I'm introverted and like my own company, but other than that, I'm an over thinker who's always anxious about something, I always look on the bad side of things, and people get bored of me because they're always so busy telling me everything's going to be alright. I didn't want Marcos to get bored of me. 

So, I'm doing the safe thing in pushing him away before he gets too close. Although, now that I think about it, it might already be too late. I don't think it's supposed to hurt this much.

"I don't know," I shrugged, and thankfully, Isaac dropped it after a little suspicious hum.

"What snacks do you want?" He changed the subject with a happy little laugh, but unlike the usual me who would always laugh back, I idly looked around the hospital halls.

"I don't know,"

"Guess we'll just have to see what they have for ourselves," He mumbled.

Once we reached the hospital cafe, I looked around for any snacks that might have piqued my interest until eventually I picked out a simple carrot cake and a hot chocolate to go with it, and got some extra crisp packets for later.

"I'll go pay, you stay here," He said after finding a spare table and making sure I was comfortable before striding off to go buy what I wanted, and I watched after him, wondering how much of a hassle I had become.

If we ever went to any cafe's together before, he'd never have to watch over me so closely as he is now. Trivial things just keep piling onto each other, and I'm left wondering what it's all worth.

Looking down at my lap where I had a blanket thrown over my legs, my finger fiddled around with the soft material as I wallowed in self-pity. I don't know what I'm supposed to do to get rid of this stifling feeling.

"Hey... Isn't that her?" A whisper from a stranger.

"Yeah, what was her name again? Dahlia Tarantino? I heard she got into an accident and had to quit skating; Shame, she made her country proud, but too bad her career's ended as soon as it even got the chance to start,"

Putting my head down, I pulled my cap further down my face, hoping they would just walk away. And they did, but their whispers were loud enough to alert more unwanted attention. 

What was I thinking? I should have stayed in that hospital room; I should never have left in the first place. Or even before that, I should never have fallen in love with figure skating.

"Excuse me, you're Dahlia Tarantino, right?" A young woman's voice called as I peeked up to look at her, wondering what she wanted.

"I'm a big fan! Can I please have your autograph?"

"No, thank you." I mumbled, turning back to look at the empty space in front of me. There was once a time when I would get flustered in these situations, but that's not the case anymore; I'm sure that with time, this world will forget about me, and one day I'll be able to walk around without people stopping me for autographs.