--Marcos POV--
"You should come when she's awake," Oliver said as he pulled the blanket up her sleeping body.
"Nico was wrong, she didn't need me there that day. My presence hurt her, and I know it will hurt her now too; She asked to be left alone, so I have to leave her alone. If I'm here when she's awake then it'll only hurt both of us, she's scared so therefore she's pushing me away, I know that, yet I still can't help but miss her,"
"So what, you're just going to silently watch over her until she calls you first?" He couldn't hide the smile on his face, but I refused to react.
"I don't think there's anything else I can do," Sighing, I sat down on the spare chair, staring at her sleeping face with furrowed brows, wondering how much time she'll need before she finds her smile again.
But I've been coming to visit her every day since she was put in this room, and I've seen just how much she's hurting; it's not a sort of pain that I would wish upon my worst enemy. I hate to admit it, but there's nothing I can do but just sit and wait for her to heal.
I saw her break down in front of everyone, I saw her shedding tears that she worked so hard to hold back, and I saw her give up when she realised that nothing was going her way. And I can't blame her for giving up, this world has been so cruel to her.
"I believe that life is full of tests, there's always going to be an obstacle that you need to overcome, but after every hardship, there will come peace. I believe we keep living for the small joys you find in between all your sorrows that make it alright." He suddenly started, confusing me, but I didn't interrupt him as he kept speaking.
"Right now, Dahlia's going through the worst part of her life, and as her father, I both worry and hope for her. I'm probably a failure as a father for not protecting her well enough from this pain, but I still hope that she's strong enough to endure before she can smile again,"
"Do you really believe a day will come when she smiles again?" I heard myself ask.
"I hope so." He's optimistic, that's for sure.
"I lied to her, and my lies hurt her. But, I've learnt my lesson, and will ask her for her forgiveness. I will make her mother suffer for hurting my child like this, and I will make things right." His angered face melted away into a smile as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.
"She was once just a small little child afraid of the monsters under her bed, but now... Now she's grown into a woman scarred by the cruel reality of her world, and I'm going to have to step up my game as her father to protect her,"
"Dahlia's strong." I said.
"She's stronger than I could ever hope to be, but like you said, I hope she's able to pull through this moment in her life, and one day, she'll look back and smile at it," He diverted his gaze to meet mine, slowly nodding in agreement.
"You are a good man."
"I'm working on it," I shrugged.
"You love her?" I nodded, certain this time.
"I won't ask what you love about her, that conversation will last too long, but when the time comes, all I ask is that you make her happy. Prevent that smile you love so much from straying from her face," Once again, I nodded, hoping for that day he spoke of to come closer.
"Shall we go? It's getting late, and I don't want to wake her up," So, after bidding farewell to a sleeping Dahlia, we left the room, and as I closed the door behind me, I caught sight of Isaac leaning against the wall.
Blonde hair tied up into a half ponytail, his hands were buried in the pockets of his cargo pants while an emotionless look sat on his face, but it was obvious that he heard my whole conversation with Oliver.
"How is she?" He asked.
"Sleeping," I answered.
"I'm worried for her..." Running a hand through his hair, he peeked through the glass of the door to catch a glance at her, but I had pulled the curtain beside her bed to cover her before leaving the room so he saw nothing.
"Get in line. She's hurting, it will take time for her to heal. All we can do is be supportive, and patient for her," He glared at me for a split second before turning to talk to Oliver.
"I overheard what happened at the rehab session today, some patients were talking about it... It's not the first time she's brought up death, Oliver... And with the way things are going, it's not looking good, but-"
"What do you suggest we do then? Station a bodyguard to watch over her until she's perfectly healthy again, both physically and mentally? We might as well be telling it straight to her face that we know what she's thinking, and we won't let her do it. Dahlia's always been the kind of child that wants to do something the more you tell her not to do it,"
"She's not a child right now though, is she?" Isaac retorted. "Better her be a bit uncomfortable while alive than risking never seeing her again because of death,"
"Stop bringing death up so carelessly, Isaac. Dahlia is my daughter, she'll be okay. She'll get through this as she's gotten through every other hurdle in her life,"
"And what if she doesn't? What if this hurdle is too big for her to overcome? What will we do then? Just laugh it off?"
"Why you-"
"-Not here, she's right behind that door. This isn't the sort of conversation that you want her to overhear, is it?" I stepped in between the two, giving them both a warning look and hoped they would listen. Nico isn't here this time to calm Oliver down so I simply hoped that he would understand and listen.
"I'm not going to entertain the thought of my daughter's death, it won't happen." Oliver stepped forward, whispering down to Isaac who glared up at him.
"But-"
"-And that's that, alright?" Oliver attempted to end the conversation there, but Isaac couldn't seem to take a hint, and I wondered if that was a good or bad thing right now?
"You're not the only one that loves her, you know?"
"What are you on about?"
"I met her before you did. At the orphanage, I saw her first; She probably doesn't even remember, but I do. She was the quite girl that was always by herself, she was too shy to speak to any of the other children, but I mistook it as hate and left her alone. It was in high school where I remembered who she was, and I hated that I left her alone in that orphanage. As someone that had been abandoned by his own birth parents, I should have been there for her,"
"So what? Just because you met her first, I'm supposed to listen to you?"
"I love her. She sees me as a brother, but I love her more than anyone could ever know. I would never wish pain upon her, and seeing her alive and healthy is all I want. A world without Dahlia isn't imaginable for me,"
His confession didn't come as a surprise, I knew of his feelings from the moment I first saw him at the high school reunion, but it was obvious that his love was one-sided so I never prodded.
But still, with the way that Dahlia's been pushing me away lately, his sudden confession brough on a jealous wave that I didn't appreciate.
"It's not just you, I too wish to see her happy," Oliver sighed.
"Then-"
"I'll talk to Nico about it... But no promises,"
"Alright, you do you," He gave in, and the conversation ended like that.
"I'm going home now, you two should as well. Visiting hours are almost over," Oliver said as he walked away, and I watched after him for a moment before turning to look at Isaac who knew what I was going to say before I even opened my mouth.
"You have nothing to worry about. My feelings for her are mine alone, I already know her answer so I won't burden her with a confession. She needs me as a friend, and a friend I will be. You play your part and do the rest,"
"I'm afraid I still don't know what my part is." Sighing, I admitted.
"You'll figure it out eventually, I'm sure," We fell into step as we walked down the empty hallways to exit the building.
"When did you realise? Your feelings for her, I mean." I asked.
"In high school. I'd catch her from time to time, and before I knew it, I looked forward to the next time I'd see her; She was quiet but had a beautiful soul. She was surrounded by people who didn't know anything about her, and I wondered why she did it, hung out with people who didn't know her worth. But then I saw you, and it all made sense,"
"Me?"
"She loved you. She wanted to be as close to you as possible, even if it meant enduring the presence of people who didn't deserve her presence. She intrigued me, and that's how it started, but from the very beginning, my love was never meant to work out; I'd been rejected before I even had the chance to confess."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I simply remained silent. But I do wonder if Dahlia ever had any semblance of idea about this man's true feelings? I highly doubt it, but I still wonder.
"What about you? How did you find out that you loved her as more than a friend? Whatever the answer, you sure took your time to realise," Scoffing, he threw the question back at me.
"With Dahlia, I guess I've always loved her, I just never admitted it to myself. I never entertained the idea that the woman of my dreams had been beside me from the very beginning until we went our own ways. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, I guess." We left the building, being hit with the night air as we approached the car park.
"But five years is a long time, and we've both changed as people, but I love her for all her versions, I just hope she can grow to love me too. I know that I've wronged her, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it right, that's a promise I can make to her,"
"What a cringy guy," He laughed, almost earning himself a punch to the jaw.
"But... I am happy for you, both of you. You'll make a cute couple," He laughed, sounding genuinely happy as he spoke, but I didn't miss the hint of sadness that he failed to hide.
"I'd appreciate it if you could tell Dahlia that. How the hell am I supposed to show her that she's not underserving of me? If anything, the opposite would be the truth,"
"I can't help you there. She's a complicated, stubborn woman; However amazing the world thinks she is, if she thinks she's ugly then she'll believe that."
"Great. Thank you so much for that encouraging talk,"
"All I'm trying to say is that the only one that can help Dahlia with her self-confidence is none other than Dahlia herself. If you two are meant to be, then it will happen eventually, just be patient and I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. Somehow."
"Whatever you say,"
I waved him off as he went to his motorbike before going to my own car and driving home. With Dahlia being as broken as she currently is, my days have been as gloomy as they could get with the same repeated routine every day. I wake up, have breakfast, work, visit Dahlia at the hospital, go home, sleep, and then repeat.
And just like that, I woke up the next day to my alarm, waiting for the same routine to happen.
But I realised, too late, that the normal boring routine I had gotten accustomed to was so much better than what was waiting for me that day.
I had been eating breakfast, grumbling about not wanting to go to work when I got a phone call from Nico, something unexpected that I didn't know I should be happy or worried about. The latter was the truth.
"Hello?" I picked up, but didn't get a response. "Why are you calling me first thing in the morning if you're not going to speak?"
"I... Dahlia... She-"
"What about Dahlia? Is she okay?" Standing up, I took my coat from Ed's hands, slinging it on as I made a beeline for my car in the garage, picking up my keys on the way.
"Nico. Speak to me." I almost yelled, restraining my voice as much as I could.
"Dahlia tried committing suicide today."
I hit the break, almost getting into an accident as the car behind me honked before driving passed. What did he just say? Suicide? Who? Dahlia?
"Don't lie to me." I spat. And just after that conversation I had with Oliver yesterday, was it all a joke? Some sort of foreshadowing that was laughing in my face?
"They said she'll be alright, one of the nurses found her in time, but she'll be under constant supervision from now on since there's no saying she won't try again,"
"You're kidding me." Starting the car again, I sped down the road, heart beating a mile a minute in my throat, god knows how many red lights I ran that day, how many innocent people I almost hit, but I couldn't think straight.
Isaac was right. We should have hired a bodyguard to watch her, I keep underestimating how bad her pain is, and now look at what's happened.
"She tried hanging herself. She's lost her voice, and can't speak for now but it'll come back soon they said... I don't know where it went wrong, Marcos. But Dahlia's not Dahlia anymore."
Dahlia is always Dahlia. She's been scarred so she's harder to recognise, but the Dahlia I fell in love with and this Dahlia whose hurting is the same person, I'm sure of that.
I have never felt so helpless in my life before. What can I do to save the woman I love from hurting? Is there anything anyone can even do at this point?
Have patience and give it time, they say. But how much time and how much patience will be enough to bring her back?
...