Chapter 90: Chapter 90

Madison stared at the clothes scattered on the floor of her room absentmindedly, with her mind already miles away.

She hadn't been able to get any sleep last night because she could not stop thinking about everything that had happened.

She spent the whole night crying, and now she was just wishing that there was a way to erase the memory completely but there wasn’t.

The flashback was stuck in her head, replaying over and over like a loop, and the more she tried to stop thinking about it, the more vivid the memories became.

As she lowered her head to the pillow, a sound interrupted her, and she quickly rushed to the door when she heard someone knocking.

She already knew who it was, and slowly she opened the door to let Gina in.

The second Gina walked in, Madison returned to her bed slowly and let herself sink to the floor, while her friend paused at the door, staring at the haphazard room in disarray.

She quickly rushed to Madison, plopping down next to her, and then she asked, “What's the matter?"

Placing an arm on Madison's shoulders she continued again, her eyes still roaming through the room, "Did something happen? This place is a mess."

She could see the half opened wardrobe and the clothes scattered on the floor, and she looked worried.

In response however, Madison broke down in tears, her lips quivering as she just couldn’t find the right word to say or how to even begin.

She had called Gina earlier this morning and asked her to come over as soon as she could. She had no one else to call, no one else to run to, and right now she badly needed the support.

Gina looked shocked, but she let her friend sob until she had gotten it all out, and then placing another comforting arm on Madison’s shoulder, once again she asked her what the problem was.

Madison took a few moments to regain her composure, and Gina rubbed her back in circles, encouraging her to take her time as there was no rush.

A few minutes later, she had stopped sobbing, her hands swiping at her tear stained face and sniffing Madison began to talk.

Starting from the top, she told Gina all about Damien's visit last night. She told Gina about his apology, their conversations, the unaware kiss, and the fact that he knew everything that had happened in the past now. She didn't miss anything out, and when she was done, Gina looked confused for a moment but not long after she then broke into a smile.

She pulled away from Madison to stare at her, “Well that's good news, isn't it? It means that you guys have finally had the chance to talk, and the misunderstandings have been cleared up right? I thought you would be happy about that. Everything is sorted out now, right? So why are you crying?"

Madison shook her head, staring at her friend dumbfounded, “What are you saying Gina? This is not good news at all. It's the exact opposite in fact, and it is why I'm leaving London."

Gina looked taken aback, her eyes widening in shock. "What? No way you mean what you just said. Are you crazy? Madison, you can't possibly do that. What do you mean you're leaving?"

Madison sighed. She had thought about this a lot last night, and she had made up her mind on the decision. It was the only way she could get herself out of this situation completely.

She needed to be far away from him. Away from all this. That was the only way she would be able to move on and forget.

"I don’t think you’ll understand it all Gina, but I’m so tired. I'm tired of every single thing. I'm tired of having my past catch up to me. Every time I think everything is going fine in my life, that everything is going back to normal, something just comes and takes that away from me. I just… I just want peace. I want to leave England, go to another country. Somewhere I can be alone, somewhere I can start over, somewhere I can rest, relax, and be myself without the fear of someone from my past barging in and ruining everything. A place where no one knows me. I just want to rest, Gina…"

Madison bent over, her head resting on her knees as she began to cry. Her shoulders racked with sobs, as she thought of her miserable life.

She was tired of being stuck in this loop. Tired of crying, and tired of being the victim. She would give anything to just have a normal life once again. And leaving the country was the first step of recovery. It was just something she had to do, and now more than ever she was going to stand her ground.

As she continued to cry, she felt Gina place a hand on hers, and looking up Madison saw tears pooling in her friend's eyes as well.

Without a word, Gina pulled her in for a hug, and both women embracing they cried until they had none left.

After a while, Gina pulled away, “Whatever decision you make, I'm going to support you. That's what best friends do, and you're the only best friend I've ever had. I understand that you need to heal, and if leaving the country is the only way to ensure that, then I'm going to support you. If leaving would make you happy, then fine. If what you need to do is leave things like this and never reconcile with Damien, then it’s fine too. I do want you to have the perfect ending; get back together with your first love, and fall in love all over again because you deserve it. You've gone through so much. But in as much as I wish that, I also understand. You need to do what's best for you. What you truly need, and for that choose what’s best for you..." She paused to wipe her face and laughing tearily she continued, “I'll always be your number one supporter. So do whatever makes you happy. I'm really going to miss you though, but we can always talk via calls and through mails.”

Madison smiled, her heart warming to her friend’s speech.

“Thank you for being here for me, and thank you for also understanding." She didn't know what she would have done if she had to go through this alone, and smiling again, Madison continued to wipe the tears of her face trying her best to stop crying.

"So… what are your plans then?" Gina asked, looking around at the room, "Do you have the funds for this? Just enough to at least get you there until you find a place to stay, and do you have any place in mind?"

"Well…" Madison began to answer, but she was cut off by the sound of her ringtone blaring out.

Excusing herself, she grabbed her phone from the bed, a little surprised when she saw that it was her mom calling.

It had been a while since they spoke to each other, and swiping the button to answer the call, she sighed and brought the phone to her ear.

"Hello Mom?"

…….

Damien slowly roused from sleep, his eyes fluttering open as the bright lights from the window blinded him.

Shutting his eyes in pain, he shaded his eyes with his hand and tried to adjust to the brightness.

Pulling himself into an upright position, he stared around trying to recognized the room he was in.

He couldn’t recall getting here, and he wasn’t familiar with this place at all.

He frowned, wondering how he had gotten here, and a hiss escaped his lips when he felt a splitting pain shoot through his head.

As he studied the room, his gaze wandering about he saw a note which was carefully folded and placed on the bedside table. He picked it up and read through it, and his eyes widened when he got an explanation of what must have happened to him.

After going through the contents, he realized that a stranger had helped him last night and brought him to this hotel.

Searching his pockets, he checked for his belongings. His wallet, his expensive wristwatch and he saw that everything was in place, and nothing had been taken.

He remembered bits of what happened last night. He knew he had drunk a lot. He also slightly remembered someone helping him into a cab. The only person who had been around and close to him was the bartender, so he guessed it must have been him.

Damien sighed, gratefulness filling his heart. He made a mental note to trace the bartender and reward him.

If it were someone else, they would have stolen something from him and better still left him there without making any move to help him at all.

A tired sigh escaping Damien’s lips, he raked his hands through his already disheveled hair, as he began to think of what to do now.

Well he would start looking for his helper when he was better though, but right now he needed to take something. Something to cure this nasty headache he was having.

Lowering himself back to the bed, and taking in the sight of the room he was in, Damien could tell that it wasn't a luxurious hotel, but it wasn't terrible either.

He exhaled in exhaustion, his mind traveling back to last night, and thoughts of Madison bombarding him once more. Again, he sunk into misery and sadness once more.

The pounding headache came, this time stronger and yelling in frustration, Damien clutched at his head. He instantly regretted drinking so much. The hangover was really not helping his situation at all. Instead it only made him feel worse.

"Fuck this!" He yelled, punching the headboard and hitting the pillows.

Slowly, he fell back to the bed, sobbing loudly into the sheets. His hands had begun to feel numb and he could feel the exhaustion returning but he allowed it, too tired to fight against anything.

Last night only reminded him of how he had lost Madison, how he had ruined everything to the point that there was no turning back, and now he was doomed.

He had ruined everything to the point that she hated him, and she never wanted to see him again too.

All the memories came rushing back, and with every sore reminder of what she’d said to him Damien began to curse at himself again.

He began to regret and wish he had known better, but what hurt the most was the fact that it was already too late. Madison never wanted to see him again, and there was a huge chance that he might just have lost her forever.

As Damien continued to sob, his phone began to ring, but he didn't move an inch.

He ignored the constant ringing, burying himself in his pain, as hurt and guilt racked through him.