Chapter 44
ANGEL SINCLAIR.
Dad spends the whole morning with me, bringing me food that I like in bed. Even Madison has come to my room to see how I'm doing. I don't like her very much, but she seems sincere. At one point, Dad leaves the room and the two of us are alone. I'm thinking when she starts talking.
"Look, Angel, I know you're probably getting tired of this subject by now, but I still feel obliged to apologize for Bryan's attitude. He's never been an easy boy to deal with. To tell you the truth, I suffered a lot from Bryan's upbringing, especially during his childhood. You may have noticed that he is always very euphoric and impulsive, but knowing my son well, I can assure you that he had no intention of hurting you or harming you".
If Bryan's own mother is telling me that he's problematic, I have a free pass to say it firmly from now on.
"Yes, Madison, I've already realized that Bryan isn't normal," I say flatly and she swallows, "Does he have some kind of disorder?" I ask, not caring that I'm being inconvenient.
"Not that I know of," she replies.
"I'm not angry with him and I'm not in favor of him leaving the house, because if he does, you know that the possibility of him getting even worse than he already is is a thousand times greater," I say and she nods, then puts her head down.
"James wants to take him to a rehab clinic," she says, crestfallen.
"No!" I say, astonished.
Madison raises her head and looks at me in astonishment, because she probably wasn't expecting my reaction. The truth is that it took me so much by surprise that I didn't even have time to think before I spoke.
"I mean, he doesn't need that," I say, trying to disguise my overreaction, "Bryan just needs boundaries, so how about you talk to him? He's the only person in the family bond, I believe. Maybe he'll listen to you, Madison. Don't listen and don't agree with what Dad is saying, because it's too recent and he could end up jumping the gun. I'm sure that, like me, you don't want Bryan to be hospitalized for months, do you?" I ask.
"No, of course I don't want that, but I don't want Bryan to carry on like that either. I don't know if leaving England was good for him, I'm sure he'd be better off if he went back there. I'm thinking of sending him to England until the wedding day, he'd only come back to watch the ceremony," she says.
"I don't think he'd do well away from you, as you've always lived together," she nods, "You could start by telling him to cut off his friendship with Cedric, because that boy is a total bad example, the two of you together will only sink."
"Yeah, your dad told me that Cedric is no good," Madison says.
"Not at all, he's not good company for Bryan. He's already troubled, he doesn't need friends like him either, because it only makes things worse," I say.
"You're right, Angel. I want you to know that I understand all your reasons and I respect them. If you're even more bothered by Bryan being here, you can see me and let me know and I'll make a more appropriate decision. I was always alone in raising him and it was very difficult, as I had no family support. Bryan's father abandoned us from the day I told him I was pregnant. My family were no different and turned their backs on me, because they didn't accept that I was a single mother. I left the countryside while still pregnant and went to London to try to start my life from scratch, for Bryan and me. Well, it was hard, but I did it," she says with tears in her eyes.
"But you're not alone now, Madison," I argue, feeling a little sorry for Madison, "Bryan has grown up and now you have each other, that's exactly why you have to take some action, but nothing that pushes the two of you apart. The fact that Bryan has grown up doesn't mean that he doesn't need to be looked after, because he does. Even though he's of age, we know that his mentality is like that of a boy who's just turned teenager," I say and she agrees with me.
"You seem to know him so well," she says, letting a silly smile slip from her lips, "I really wish you two could get along."
I swallow.
"It's just that we're the same age and I know a lot of guys like him, you know? It's not too hard to imagine what Bryan's like. And maybe we didn't get along precisely because he's like that, but he can become a calmer person and our relationship will definitely improve. Try to talk to him, Madison, it will be very important to change Bryan's point of view," I ask.
"I'll talk to him today, we need to have this conversation," I nod, "I won't say we talked, okay? But I'm glad you didn't condemn us, because I know I could do that after what happened to you," she says.
Really, Madison. If I wasn't in love with your son, this would be the best opportunity to end this ridiculous marriage and get you both out of my house. I wish I could tell you that.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to judge. I just hope this all gets sorted out soon, because it could end up hurting all of us emotionally," I say at last.
"Congratulations on your maturity, darling!" Madison says and gets up, "It was nice talking to you, my next conversation will be with him."
"Good luck," I wish her and she smiles weakly before leaving my room.
I take back what I said about Madison not doing anything for him, she does, and a lot; he's the one who doesn't appreciate his mother's efforts.
Trying to distract my mind, I pick up my cell phone and go straight to Ashley's chat, who already has a message asking about my absence. I briefly explain what happened and open Lorenzo's messages, explaining to him in the same words.