Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Dexter was at home, lying on his bed and about to sleep. Suddenly, his mobile phone rang. He wondered who could be calling him at this hour. After seeing the caller, he couldn't help but frown. This was the first time this person had called him. She only texted Dexter whenever she had some questions about their lessons or when she was asking for help from him.

When Dexter answered the call, he was stunned by what he heard.

"Can you help me?" the person stammered on the other line, her voice desperate and lost. What surprised Dexter even more was when he heard her suppressed cries. He immediately shot up from his bed.

"Where are you, Madison?" Dexter immediately asked. While his phone was trapped between his cheek and neck, he pulled his clothing out of the closet and got dressed.

"I do not know," Madison said in a low voice as she sobbed.

"What? How did you get there?" Dexter worriedly asked.

"I don't know, Dexter. I don't know," Madison replied. Her voice had a hint of sorrow while crying.

"Where are you now? Are you on the road? Store? Park? Mall? Say it, Madison. Wherever you are, I'll find you," Dexter coaxingly said.

"I'm at 7/11," Madison cried on the other end of the line.

"Don't you really know where you are?" Dexter asked again.

"Not really, Dexter. I also don't know where I'm going," Madison weakly said.

Dexter felt so worried about Madison because, as far as he knew, she was unfamiliar with any roads here except going back to the mansion. For a moment, he thought of another way to find where Madison was. When he thought of something, Dexter gently told her, "Okay, give your phone to the cashier."

"I do not want to," Madison shook her head.

"Just give your phone to the cashier. Please, Madison," Dexter pleaded because this was the only way for him to know her exact location.

"I really don't want to. Auntie Sabina gave me this phone. If I give it to the cashier, she might not return it to me. By then, I don't have a cell phone anymore," Madison aggrievedly said.

In this awkward situation, Madison was even able to make him laugh. If she wasn't just crying, Dexter would already burst out laughing. So even though he wanted to laugh, he held it back and thought this was not the time for this. He needed to find Madison first right now.

"Trust me, Madison. I'll take care of it," Dexter gently urged her.

"Will you buy me a new one if she doesn't give it back?" Madison asked. Dexter noticed that she wasn't crying anymore, but she seemed to hiccup between her words.

"Yes, I'll replace it if she doesn't give it back. Whatever you want, Madison, I'll buy it for you. Now, give her your phone," Dexter answered.

"All right," Madison finally agreed. Less than a few seconds later, when Dexter heard what Madison said to the cashier, he couldn't help but chuckle under his breath.

"My friend is supposed to talk to you. Don't make the mistake of snatching my phone. Otherwise, I'll tie you to the door," Madison warned as she reached out to give the phone to the cashier. Dexter laughed at Madison's antics. However, when he heard another voice from the other line, he shook his head before asking, "Hello,

"Yes, Sir. How may I help you?" the cashier politely asked.

"I just wanted to know which branch of 7/11 eleven you are to know your location," Dexter answered.

"Ah yes, Sir. We are located at the Ortigas Extension opposite the Benigma Hotel," the cashier answered. Dexter felt grateful and relieved at the same time.

"Thank you so much. Can you tell me what my friend was doing there?" Dexter asked to calm his worries. But he seemed even more worried when he discovered what Madison was doing there.

"In fact, she has already consumed almost five cans of beer. Currently, she is so drunk and is lying over the table," the cashier answered directly.

Dexter was shocked.

"Can you do me a little favor, Miss?" Dexter asked straightforwardly.

"Sure, as long as I can," the cashier agreed.

"Can you watch over my friend until I come over?" Dylan said.

"Sure, I can do that, Sir. But how do I know if you're her friend and not just pretending to be you?" the cashier dubiously asked. Dexter commended this cashier for her thoroughness.

"You'll know it's me when I show you my ID. By the way, I'm Dexter Moore. While I'm gone, please don't let her leave or leave her to anyone." I said

"Okay, Sir," the cashier responded.

"Thank you so much. I owe you a lot," Dexter gratefully said and sighed in relief.

"It's nothing, Sir," she modestly answered.

After Dexter hung up the call, he quickly got into the car and started driving. He wondered why Madison was outside at this hour or why she was crying and sounded lost. Dylan couldn't possibly let Madison leave on her own.

"Impossible," He murmured as he shook his head and accelerated the speed even more. When he looked at his watch, it was already ten o'clock, so he couldn't help but feel worried about Madison.

It took Dexter almost thirty minutes to arrive at this place. He spotted Madison bent over the table when he got inside the convenience store. As he approached her, he noticed she had passed out. He decided to go to the cashier first and introduced himself. He was really grateful for her help.

When the cashier handed him Madison's phone, she said, "By the way, Sir, someone also called her. He told me his name is Dylan and that he would pick her up too."

Dexter glanced at the cashier before looking at the sleeping Madison. Suddenly, he wondered why she thought of calling him first, not Dylan. There must be something wrong between them.

"When he comes over, just tell him I picked her up. Did she talk to him?" he asked. The cashier simply nodded when she remembered what had happened earlier.

"Thanks again for watching over her. Was there something she needed to pay?" Dexter asked to know whether or not Madison had paid for her drinks yet. When the cashier shook her head, he thanked her again and approached Madison.

He tried to wake her up, but she didn't respond, so he had no choice but to pick her up in a bridal way. Fortunately, the door was sliding, so he didn't have difficulty getting Madison out. After successfully leaving the store, Dexter immediately placed Madison in the passenger seat before walking around and getting in the driver's seat. Afterward, he carefully positioned Madison so that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

When Dexter started driving away, Madison unexpectedly woke up and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Then, she raised her other hand to open the door at her side. Seeing this, Dexter was surprised before reacting and grabbing her hand to stop her.

"I want to vomit," Madison drunkenly said, so Dexter immediately pulled his car to the side first. After the car stopped, Madison hurriedly got out and bent down to vomit on the sidewalk. Dexter approached her and stroked her back. He just kept rubbing her back until her vomiting was over.

After some time, Madison was no longer vomiting, but Dylan was taken aback when the former sobbed loudly.

"Are you okay?" Dexter worriedly asked before forcing Madison to face him. However, Madison didn't want to and just kept on crying as she sat up and bowed her head.

"Ssshh ... It's alright, Madison. Cry it all out until you feel better. I'm just here and ready to listen," he gently said.

When Madison finally turned to him, Dexter felt distressed after seeing how she looked. Her hair was messy, and her eyes were staring ahead, yet it was filled with tears still flowing down her face. She looked so lost and sorrowful. Dexter held her arm, trying to make her stand up and prop her back into the car again. However, the two hadn't even taken a step when Madison suddenly spoke and hugged Dexter.

"I can't take it anymore, Dexter! Why is it so painful to love someone? It's like my heart has been stabbed by a dagger repeatedly," Madison said and sobbed uncontrollably. Dexter didn't know how to ease her pain other than hugging Madison tightly in his arms.

Dexter loved Madison and didn't want to see her hurt and cry like this. He wanted to know what had happened, but he didn't want to ask her. Instead, he wanted Madison to take the initiative and tell him.

All Dexter could do right now was hug Madison and calm her down. However, no matter what he did, Madison still didn't stop crying.

"Come on, Madison. I'll bring you somewhere, so stop crying, okay? I don't want passersby to think that it's me who made you cry. Aish! I'm really angry with the person who made you cry," Dexter joked, trying to make Madison laugh. The latter withdrew from his embrace and tried to wipe away her tears. Her tears continued to fall until they finally stopped. She sniffed and blinked her puffy eyes before smiling forcefully at him.

"I'm sorry, Dexter, for bothering you. I really don't have anyone else to call," Madison said between her hiccups. Dexter simply caressed her face.

"It's okay, Madison. If it's you, it's never a bother," he said and smiled at her before suggesting enthusiastically, "Let's have some ice cream!"

That was the only way Dexter could think of to make Madison forget her sorrows, even for a moment. Sure enough, after Madison heard this, her face lit up. Dexter's smile widened.

"Really?" Madison asked while looking at him with her expectant eyes.

Dexter nodded and smiled, "So quickly fix yourself so we can leave."

Even though there were tears at the corner of her eyes, Madison was now smiling more genuinely. Her beauty didn't lessen even a bit with her eyes swollen and her red nose from the crying. Dexter helped her get into the car belt and adjust the seatbelt properly before closing the door and walking around to get into the driver's seat. With that, Dylan started driving again, and as promised, he stopped his car at an Ice Cream Parlor.

As she got out of the car, Dexter saw Madison smiling happily. Fortunately, she didn't cry on the way here. Perhaps it was because Dexter warned her they would not eat ice cream anymore if she cried again. Madison quickly agreed, so she was silent until they reached the front of the Ice Cream Parlor.

Dexter first asked what flavor did she want and proceeded to order it. He intentionally ordered the amount so that Madison would have her attention on the food instead of crying again. While she happily ate her ice cream, Dexter looked at her. Her sadness was evident on her face, though she tried hard to conceal it. He badly wanted to erase it, but he knew he couldn't. He wanted to hear from Madison what actually happened for her to be like this. Although he had already guessed who was behind this, he knew that he couldn't jump to a conclusion. Nonetheless, it didn't lessen the distress he felt as he looked at her.

"I'll just find out why you're acting like that, Madison. I swear I'll make him pay in a way he won't imagine," Dexter whispered while still staring at her. He tolerated it because he knew Dylan was the only one who made her heartbeat. He also knew that he was a loser and that his role in Madison's life was nothing more than her friend.