Chapter 84: Chapter 84

Damien slowly made his way into the bar.

There were a few people seated already but it wasn't too rowdy, and his eyes roaming through the room in search of Mason, he soon spotted him sitting in one of the barstools.

As he approached the spot, Mason raised his head, facing Damien. His expression suddenly turned icy, and he didn't even bother to exchange pleasantries when Damien took a seat across him.

Well, Damien had a sinking feeling that this was going to be a tiring meeting from the looks of things, as Mason was already glaring at him but he would try to take things easy and slow as best as he could.

He was here for answers, and nothing more, nothing less.

Not knowing what to do at first, Damien thought of lightening the atmosphere and beckoning to the bartender, he proceeded to ask Mason what he would like to drink, but he only got rolled eyes in response, as his guest seemingly waved him away.

"I would die before I take a taste out of my enemy's pocket.” Mason spat bitterly finishing, "Especially you."

Damien regarded him curiously for a while, and then he shrugged waving the bartender away.

There was no need to banter or exchange words with Mason. It would only decrease his chances of getting information from him, and he just couldn’t afford that at all.

More-so he'd be damned if he came all the way here for nothing, so he let the words go and just as he dropped open his jaw, starting to say something, Mason cut him off, "Look, don't think I'm here because I give a fuck. Because I really don't. And I'm not here to waste any time either, so keep your ostentatious gestures to yourself. Whatever you want to do to lighten the atmosphere, you can save it."

Damien cocked an eyebrow, wondering why Mason was taking so much offense, since he hadn't really done anything.

If he was so touchy about buying him a drink then it was probably just his insecurity acting up. But he didn't say any of this to Mason. He swallowed his words back and clamped his mouth shut.

Again he was sorely reminded of his mantra, and the last thing he wanted to do was give Mason the exact reaction he was looking for.

Definitely he wasn’t going to fall into this trap.

Mason continued again, "The only reason I'm here is because I need you to understand something, and I’ll tell you now prop and plain. If this shit you're doing is an attempt to get Madison back, then I suggest you quit.”

Damien let out a soft gasp, one he was sure Mason didn’t hear, and he clenched his fists as he listened to his supposed adversary continue his speech.

“You know, I thought that by now you would have gotten it into your thick skull that you can never be with Madison, but it seems you’re still foolish like before. However I want you to know that you can never be with my sister, so end this bullshit and get on with your life. Just leave because right now, you're simply being pathetic.” He spat.

His words cut deeply at Damien, and he could already feel the anger building up in his chest.

His hands still clenched tightly, Damien longed so badly to swing his arm across the table at Mason, and give him a blow that would reset his head and words but he didn’t. Instead he took deep breaths, chest heaving slightly still as he reminded himself not to fall for Mason's tactics.

It would only give him an excuse, not to divulge information.

Looking satisfied with his reaction, Mason folded his arms and faced Damien back squarely, “I think you’ve gotten my message, so what is it that you want to know?"

Taking a few seconds to calm down, Damien finally said, “I want to know exactly why Madison broke up with me back then? You gave some hint that she did it because she was forced and … What exactly did you threaten her with? What was the price she paid for breaking up with me? I just want to know the full story, that’s all."

Mason leaned back, chuckling a little.

He was obviously enjoying this, and he took his sweet time to answer, wasting the precious time ticking away before he then said, "She did it to save your ass, of course. I think you know that by now."

Damien was beginning to get irritated. He’d had it with the cryptic responses, Mason had been giving and now it was beginning to piss him off.

“You and I both know there’s no time to waste here. What exactly are you talking about?"

“You wanna know huh?” Mason asked, his gaze darkening and Damien just replied with a curt nod.

Whatever Mason was about to say, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be so good, but he had braced himself already for whatever he would hear today and he was more than prepared.

“Okay then.” Mason mumbled, clearing his throat and smiling wearily he started to talk.

He started to tell Damien everything, leaving not a single detail out, maybe.

…….

Madison breathed out in relief, as soon as it was time for her lunch break.

Today had been one of those days when the bakery had lots of work to do, and as usual she'd had to come earlier than usual, leaving her with no time to have breakfast at home.

She did have some leftover porridge, but she was sure it would have already spoilt, and by the time work was done today, when she got home she would just be too tired to make dinner.

Luckily if the porridge didn’t spoil, she would save it for dinner, but if it did oh well… Nevertheless she would just have brunch at work instead.

Quickly tearing off her flour coated gloves and heading to the sink to wash her hands, Madison rinsed sharply and after that was done, she took off her apron and headed to the cafeteria.

She exchanged greetings with the lunch lady as she picked up her tray and searching for a table to sit at, she lowered herself onto a chair when she found one and lazily began to dig through her food.

Although she’d barely had breakfast today, surprisingly she still didn’t even have any appetite to eat anything, just managing to take a few bites of the food with her.

Overall she wasn't hungry, and it was really surprising because she thought she would be after working so hard all day. She sighed heavily, finally giving up and putting her fork down.

She picked up the banana in her tray and peeled it open, taking a bite. Maybe a fruit would have to do. She needed to have something in her stomach at least.

Ever since she’d returned from Damien's hotel, she had been feeling down, and this was something she couldn't quite explain.

The foreboding feeling she normally had when something bad was about to happen, seemed to overwhelm her these days and it made her sullen.

A nemesis would soon catch up with her. Something’s really dangerous was about to happen to her or someone close to her, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't put her finger on quite a thing.

Worse still the nightmare she had the other day, and the recurring days after that only seemed to reinforce her fears, but she couldn’t stop the dreams from plaguing her sleep either.

All these thoughts and more could surely explain why she was in a somber mood today, and letting out a sigh, she picked up her fork once more and tried to eat her food.

"Hey, Madison?" A voice broke into her thoughts, and looking up Madison saw it was one of her co-workers, Janet. "How are you doing?"

Faking a smile, trying to act like she was okay, she mumbled, “Hey, I’m good thanks.”

She was in no mood for conversation, and she hoped the lady would notice and leave her be.

Forcing another smile, she waited for the lady to leave, but apparently Miss Janet didn't seem to get the hint because she continued to talk, asking about Madison's day and telling Madison about hers.

Ticked off, Madison raised a hand after some time, cutting her halfway too as she chimed in, "Janet, can we continue this conversation later please? I'm thinking of something and I want to try round up, and enjoy my meal too."

The young lady smiled, masking her disappointment quickly, "Oh okay, that's fine. I'll see you around then and we can talk later, I guess."

“Yes we can.” Madison agreed and bowing, the lady smiled.

Just as she turned to leave, Gina appeared from the other end of the hall and began walking towards the table.

When she arrived, Janet exchanged pleasantries with her and then wobbling off, Madison and her best friend were the ones left to talk to themselves.

Gina folded her arms, staring at Madison, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Of course, Gina had seen the look on her face and deduced that she wasn’t feeling to okay, and even though Madison could hear the concern in her friend's voice, she just didn't feel like having a lengthy conversation at all. Neither did she wish to bother Gina much, so nodding she muttered a few almost inaudible words, assuring her friend that she was fine.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Madison. It's obvious that something is up, so why do you keep denying it? You don’t look well, and your emotions are all over the place miss. This morning you seemed happy and bubbly, and I was so glad you were having fun but now you're looking so gloomy and sad. It's obvious you're worried about something, and don’t even try to deny it again please."

Madison rubbed her forehead, sighing, "I know I've been acting weird, and I might look it too, and I'm sorry about that. I just… I…” She stuttered, “This is just out of my control."

Sliding into the bench next to her, Gina pleaded, placing a supportive arm on her shoulder, “I won’t leave here until you tell me something Maddie. You should also know that you might feel better if you talk to someone about it. That someone is me, you can talk to me. I'm your friend or aren’t I?” She finished and Madison let out another sigh.

She was tired of dragging everyone into her mess, and she certainly didn't want to get Gina involved too. So she shook her head. "Thanks for your concern, G. But… this is out of my control. it's more complicated than me just saying it out and. You wouldn't understand…"

"Try me.” Gina interrupted before she could finish.

Madison rubbed her neck, trying to make up her mind.

Looking keenly into Gina’s eyes, Madison saw that her friend really wanted to listen and finally giving in she proceeded to tell out everything.

She told Gina about how she’d been feeling these past few days, the strange dreams, and she explained that she kept having goosebumps spread over her skin – something she just couldn't get over. So many thoughts kept her awake at night, and it all felt like everything was haunting her.

"What?" Gina whispered, her voice low as she stared at Madison in shock, and Madison only nodded.

"There was also something very strange about the first dream again. The lady's voice… The one who had pulled the trigger on me. it was so familiar… and I..."

A frown marring Gina’s face, she asked, "You think it might be someone you know right?"

Madison nodded, not even thinking much about it. Surely, that person was someone she knew, or must have talked to some time. She just couldn’t figure out who it was, or where she’d seen this person.

She kept on thinking and thinking about it since then, trying to place the voice to a face, but her head was blank and she couldn't remember a thing.

At some point she wondered if she was just mistaken the voice in her head, and if her brain was playing some kind of tricks to her but no it wasn’t. There was something about that voice that she recognized, and she trusted the gut instincts within her telling her that she did know this person.

She turned back to Gina who had her eyes on her already, a look of stark concern on her face still.

“Maddie… I know this is the last thing you want to hear right now, but I think your imagination is just acting up and that's understandable. You did say that you’ve been feeling this way since that day we went clubbing, and also since you let Damien’s house. You had a pretty terrible hangover, and you might still be having the effects of—"

"It's not the stupid hangover! This is not some fucking hangover, or case of me being too drunk to string sentences and understand what I’m saying!" Madison yelled in frustration, "This is more than that, Gina. It is much more than that. I know what I saw… and what I heard in that dream before I woke up. This isn't a joke or the effects of alcohol, okay? I want you to know that.”

For a while Gina said nothing, obviously too dumbfounded to speak, and Madison continued. "I didn't want to tell you this before, but some things have been happening to me that I’ve barely told anyone.”

“Huh? I thought you’ve told me everything that’s happening with you and?…”

“Oh dear.” Madison cut in mockingly, a sad smile on her face as she added, “What I told you is just the icing on the cake.”

“Talk to me.”

Letting out a heavy breath, she prayed to God that she wasn’t doing bad burdening Gina with her issues, but honestly she needed someone to talk too.

“I… I didn’t tell you that some people have been stalking me. It has been happening for weeks now, and I’ve seen them so many times. Either they're hiding in the bushes, or they're just standing and watching from a corner, and it freaking creeps me out so much. I have never felt this unsafe in my life at all, so believe me when I say this feeling is much more than just some bloody hangover. It’s way worse than that.”

"W-what?!" Gina blurted out, her eyes wide in shock, "All of this has been happening?" She asked, her hand flying to her mouth in surprise, “Oh jeez…”

“I don’t even know what to do anymore and…”

"Damn! I-I'm so sorry, Maddie…" Gina chimed in before she could finish, and Madison could only blink back the tears that was beginning to sting the back of her eyes. Her shoulders were beginning to weaken at the same time.

“I-I just…" She broke off, raising her hand to her forehead, "I can't help but feel like all this is happening because of Damien. I mean, my life wasn't perfect, but at least I was content and I was fine that way. But ever since we met in New York, and then I left, and then he reappeared into my life all over again everything started to fall apart. Everything seems to be falling apart, and I have no idea…what to…do… No one to turn to and…” She broke down crying, her whole body trembling heavily, as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“It’s okay Maddie. You have me to turn too. You have me to talk too. Damn I’m so so sorry.” Gina consoled, her eyes brimming red with unshed tears too as she pulled her friend into a hug, smoothing out her hair as she tried to console her.

What more could happen?