The Indifference of a Man Forgotten (BOOK I)

Chapter 32- The Promises We Make

--Dahlia POV--

"What? You think I wasn't going to look for you like a wild man after you confessed your love to me? I'd been waiting for that moment for months; I wasn't about to let you leave me so easily."

I didn't know what to say, so all I could do was stare at him in a wide-eyed trance.

"What? You both already know each other?" Margot was the first to speak up.

"No. No, we don't. I've never seen this person in my life before," I denied it on instinct, regretting it a second later when I realised how unbelievable it sounded.

"Really now?" She turned to look at me with crossed arms.

"I mean... Maybe we've seen each other in passing or something? But I don't know..." I had to look away for a moment to try and regain my composure which was refusing to come back.

"Yeah... I guess I mistook you for someone else," I wasn't expecting for Marcos himself to jump to my rescue. Turning to look at him, confused, he smiled an amused smile at me before turning to look at a clueless Margot who seemed to believe him, surprisingly.

"Well, whatever you say. Dahlia, this is Marcos, and Marcos, this is Dahlia. I hope you get along well," She moved on to introduce us, and he took full advantage of it, stepping forward to raise a hand for me to shake.

"It's lovely to meet your acquaintance, Dahlia. You're a beautiful young lady," I almost rolled my eyes, but went along with his act that I started by taking his hand to shake, almost squeaking in surprise when he raised it to place his lips on my knuckles, eyes trailing up to grin at me.

"Oh my, what a gentleman," Margot gushed from the side, a grin on her face.

"You-" I was cut off by an unexpected cry of war.

"-Get your hands away from Dahlia!?" I didn't need a guess to know who it was as running feet approached us, and in the next moment, Marcos, the sturdy hunk of a man, was getting pushed aside by the small bodies of Lila and Dario.

"What the- Who the hell are these little mice?" Marcos caught himself from falling as he stood up straight, looking down in pure confusion at the two children that were ramming into his legs like some sort of bull.

"Dahlia, are you okay?" Lila turned her head to ask me while her arms were still tightly coiled around Marcos' legs in a sorry attempt to keep him away from me.

"Yes," Was all I managed to muster up in reply, still confused on what was happening right now.

"I read about these monsters in books, they're called vampires and they suck the life right out of you, but I think we caught him in time so Dahlia will be okay," Dario yelled out while trying to pull Marcos further away from me.

"Wait, wait, wait. Who's a vampire? Me? I'm not a vampire." Marcos tried to speak up.

"That's what they all say, don't believe him, Dahlia!" Was what he got in response.

"Jack the ripper was a vampire too, you know, but no one knew that and now he's still on the run!" Jack the ripper? Dario has always been the imaginative one out of this group of children, but this is taking it to another level. What kind of books were his parents buying him to read?

"Okay, guys, thank you for saving me. I'm okay now, you can let go," I laughed, squatting down in front of them as I outstretched my arms for them to come.

"Are you sure? What if he tries again though?" Lila cautiously asked, looking up at Marcos who stared right back at her with a raised brow.

"You're both here now to save me if he tries something, we'll be fine," My reassurance seemed to work as they released him, rushing into my arms as I smiled, kissing each of them atop the head.