Warning: This chapter contains more of Madison Sinclair than you probably will like. However, it was necessary to wrap up a particular storyline! :)
Chapter 33: Making Amends
*******Monday Afternoon After Thanksgiving*******
Mac decided she needed a special sister award or something. She was spending her Monday afternoon trying to help Madison with two of her classes she was struggling with. Naturally, Madison was being difficult.
"I'm never going to learn these dates! I'm hopeless!" Madison said in frustration.
"Don't focus on the dates. Focus on the events," Mac said. Then she had Madison make some flash cards. Eventually, Madison relaxed enough to quit the complaining.
After an hour, Madison looked at her curiously. "Why are you doing this?" she asked Mac.
"Because you need my help, and it makes everyone in our family happy if we get along," Mac said simply.
"I wouldn't be so gracious if the situation was reversed," Madison pointed out.
"Who knows how you would've turned out if our situations had been reverse?" Mac said bluntly. "I think your parents over compensated because you were adopted and spoiled you rotten. This is the first time you've ever had to work at something."
Madison shrugged, not offended for once. "That's true. Your mom seems more fun than mine, though," Madison remarked. "Mine's very uptight."
"My mom is fun," Mac agreed. "However, she's your mom, too. I think it'd be easier if we were less possessive of our parents. I don't like a lot of the girlie things she likes. I hate shopping. She loves it. I rarely enjoy chick flicks. Maybe you can ask her to go with you shopping sometime."
"If I ever get my credit cards back," Madison said sourly.
"You know if you actually apologized to Veronica, I'm pretty sure things would get better for you," Mac said.
Madison made a face. "Do you honestly think my shoving her caused her to lose her baby?" Madison asked.
"No, I don't. However, Veronica is convinced of it. She was really excited about being a mother. Losing the baby devastated her. She's had a lot of pain in her life. Much more than you or I. She has never deserved your cruelty," Mac said firmly.
"You know in grade school I was Lilly Kane's best friend. When she met Veronica, it was like I didn't exist anymore. I never understood it. Veronica was nothing like Lilly, yet they were inseparable. Then when she started dating Duncan, it was even worse," Madison shared.
"I think Lilly saw more in Veronica than Veronica ever saw in herself. She really loved Lilly. Imagine losing your best friend and then every person you thought was your friend not only quit talking to you, but most went out of their way to make your life miserable," Mac said. "You can't even deal with Veronica causing you problems now. Imagine if everyone you met was treating you the way she's been treating you lately. That was high school for Veronica after Lilly died."
Madison frowned. She didn't like feeling sympathy for the girl she detested. However, she knew that Veronica had never really done anything to her invoke her anger. Until now.
"I really want my car back," Madison said morosely.
"I can take you over to Veronica's if you want to talk to her. End this feud. Please," Mac begged. She was really sick of all the fighting.
"I don't know. I don't want to listen to her gloating," Madison said doubtfully.
"If you make a sincere effort, I'll make sure this is the end of it," Mac told her.
"Fine," Madison reluctantly agreed. "I need my car."
Mac took Madison over to the beach house. Logan was getting out of his car as she pulled up.
"Hey, Mac!" he said with a wave. Then he saw Madison and frowned. "What's she doing here?"
"She comes in peace," Mac said with a smile. "We need to speak to Veronica."
"Okay," Logan said warily. He went into the house. Mac and Madison followed him in.
Madison looked around curiously. She was surprised to see Veronica on the floor playing with some redheaded baby. "Whose baby?" she asked.
"That's Richie, Trina's baby, their nephew," Mac said.
Veronica frowned up at Madison and Mac. "Why is she in my house?" Veronica asked coldly.
"She's not here to fight. We both want all the fighting to stop. She wants her car back. I assured her that if she made a sincere effort, you would play nice," Mac said pointedly.
Veronica pursed her lips but didn't say anything. She waited expectantly. Logan sat on the couch behind Veronica. He put his hands on her shoulders.
"Look, I honestly didn't mean to do anything to make you lose your baby. I was drunk and wasn't thinking," Madison said. "My life's been turned upside down, and I guess I haven't been handling things very well. Having to get used to Mac in my life has been bad enough. Now I seem to see you everywhere. I just snapped seeing you at the party at my house. I'm sorry for being so nasty. And if my actions did cause you to miscarry, well, I don't think an apologize will make up for it, but I apologize." Her words were actually said with sincerity.
"I guess hell really has frozen over," Logan said with a smirk.
Madison ignored him. "Can I get my car back, please?" she asked with an imploring glance.
Veronica was surprised by the real humility Madison displayed. She never thought she'd see that day. She turned and looked at Logan with a question in her eyes. They both knew the car was gone. They couldn't take back what was done.
"I appreciate the apology Madison," Veronica said simply. She looked again at Logan.
"I'll see what I can do about the car," Logan said.
Madison nodded. She looked down at the baby. "Cute kid," she said. Then she turned to leave.
"I'll be out in a minute," Mac told her.
"She actually apologized and said something nice about Richie," Veronica said in wonder. She flashed Mac an admiring look. "So when did you acquire superpowers?"
"It was no trick. I just assured her that if she was sincere, you would be gracious and the fighting would end," Mac said pointedly.
"Ah, you want me to give up my favorite past time?" Veronica said with a pout.
"Unless you want to start looking for a new best friend, it's time to retire the ire," Mac said firmly.
"Fine!" Veronica said with a resigned sigh. She looked at Logan. "Mr. Moneybags will have to work a miracle because Weevil's uncle has crushed and disposed of her car by now."
"What?" Mac asked in disbelief. "You're joking!"
"'Fraid not," Veronica said.
"Don't worry, Mac. I'll take care of it," Logan assured her.
Mac hoped he meant it. She didn't want to explain to Madison what really happened to her car.
The next day Madison's mom came into the kitchen while she was eating breakfast. "Honey, you need to come outside. Someone has left you a gift," her mom said smiling.
Curious, Madison got up and went outside. There was a brand-new red Mazda Miata roadster in their drive. A man was standing by it. "Are you Madison Sinclair?" he asked.
Madison nodded. "Then this is for you," he said. He gave her an envelope and a set of keys.
Madison opened the envelope and read. We honestly couldn't give you back your car. It's a pile of scrap metal by now. However, I hope this replacement car will make up for it. The title is in your name. You should find it in the glove box. Logan and Veronica.
"So what's going on?" her mom asked curiously.
"It's from Logan and Veronica. They said they couldn't make my old car come back, but they hoped I'd take this one as an apology," Madison summarized. "Mac took me over there yesterday, and I apologized." Her mom gave her a pleased smile.
"Does that mean you guys are done fighting? This car is much more expensive than your old one. And it's the newest model," Marilyn said, looking at it with a critical eye. "It was very generous of Logan."
Madison smiled. "It's in my name," she said happily. Finally, something her dad couldn't take away from her when he got angry with her. She opened the door and sat inside. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"Why don't we go down to our insurance company and get a policy for it?" Marilyn offered. "Do you have time?"
"I'll make time," Madison said happily. She decided that she could let bygones be bygones. High school was over. It was time for her to quit dwelling on the past. Maybe she wasn't a Sinclair by birth, but she would look damn good in this car!
******Hearst******
Jason followed Daisy out of their class. She'd managed to ignore him during their first class together. He knew she didn't have a class immediately after this one, so he was determined to get her to talk to him. Now that his sister was getting help, he felt much better. However, he missed Daisy like crazy. Being in Chicago for Thanksgiving and knowing Daisy was so angry and hurt by him really upset him. He had to find a way to get through to her, to make her understand and forgive him.
"Daisy!" he called out. "Daisy stop!" She ignored him and kept walking, so he raced ahead of her and blocked her path. "You have to talk to me!"
"No, I don't," she said coldly. "Get out of my way!" She hated that she was forced to see him in class. Next semester, she'd make Mac hack into the school registrar and make sure none of her classes were the same as his.
"Please, Daisy, don't be like this!" he begged. "I love you. I need you in my life. Please talk to me!"
"You don't need me. You just need Jazmin. I'm an afterthought, an unnecessary appendage," she said bitterly.
"That's not true! I didn't want to break up with you! I just wanted to slow things down! You took it too personally!" Jason exclaimed.
"Gee, Jason, I take it personally when the man I love tells me he wants to see less of me!" Daisy said angrily.
"Why can't you understand? I nearly lost my twin sister because I was so focused on you that I didn't see her pain. My dad made me feel even worse than I already felt. It wasn't about you. It was about me trying to deal with what happen. I'm really sorry that I hurt you. Please, forgive me," he said sincerely.
But Daisy couldn't afford to let him back in. She crossed her arms and said, "You slow down before you fall in love, you ass! What is it you want from me? Someone to ***k? Is that it? Feeling horny and thought I'd be over it and ready to service you?"
Jason felt deeply hurt by her words and didn't respond. That she'd reduce their relationship down to such a crude place upset him. However, he could see she didn't care. She didn't want to hear him. He gave her a sad look and walked away without replying.
Logan had followed them out of class and heard their angry exchange. He couldn't help but sympathize with Jason. He walked up to Daisy. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
Daisy took a deep breath and nodded. "Yea, I am. Thanks," she replied.
"I don't mean to add to your pain, but I know a thing or two about the paralyzing guilt Jason was feeling," Logan said. "I don't know if anyone has shared with you my turbulent history with Veronica, but in high school, I dated her best friend, Lilly Kane. When she was murdered and Veronica's dad started investigating the Kane family, I turned the entire school against her. She was tormented and harassed all the time, and she was even drugged and raped at a party. I didn't know she had been drugged. I thought she was drunk and was drinking shots off of her. It's my fault someone thought it was okay to have sex with her when she was unconscious. I have to live with that. I also had to live with the guilt of my father killing Lilly and almost killing Veronica. Hell, even my mom's suicide is something I felt guilty for. I never tried to convince her to leave my dad. He was an abusive bastard, and I just never saw how miserable my mother was."
Daisy was astounded by all Logan's revelations. She knew a bit of what he said, but she had never considered him so active in the things that had happened to Veronica. "That's pretty rough, Logan," she said.
"Yeah, it was. Veronica managed to forgive me because she loves me. It was much harder for me to forgive myself. If there's enough love there, you can find a way to forgive," Logan said.
"I don't think I am made that way," Daisy admitted, a bit sad at the realization.
"Jason has only ever had Jazmin. He was raised very differently than you and me. In his patriarchal family, he is responsible for Jazmin. It's bred in his bones. To almost lose her and to know she was being so abused right under his nose was devastating to him. It doesn't have to be you or Jazmin. She is his family," Logan told her. "That was something I never understood with Veronica and her dad. For me, friends were more important. I never understood why she'd side with her dad against her friends. But I never had the kind of relationship she has with her dad. I've never been loved the way her dad loved her. I get that now. Luckily, she gave me a chance to understand that. You need to realize that loving his sister doesn't mean he loves you any less. He's not the kind of guy that could ever walk away from his sister if she was hurting or needed him."
"He really hurt me, Logan," Daisy said softly.
Logan put his arm around her shoulder. "I know he did. He fumbled the ball. But he loves you. And I don't think he's ever been in love before. You may not be ready to forgive him now, but remember, if he is the one guy you don't want to live without, you will find a way to forgive him," Logan said. He gave her shoulder a squeeze and walked away.
Daisy was holding so tightly to her anger that she wasn't sure she was ready to think about life without Jason. She never saw herself as being one of those girls that had to have a man. She didn't want to be dependent on anyone, especially not a man who could so easily hurt her. However, her feelings for Jason were real. She just didn't know if she loved him enough to forgive him. Maybe that was the real problem. That thought depressed the hell out of her.
Daisy went to the cafeteria to grab some lunch. After she paid, she carried her tray to a table. She was about to sit down when someone called out her name. It was Duncan. He smiled and waved at her, so she smiled back and walked over and joined him at his table.
"How's things going?" Duncan asked.
"Okay. It sucks that I have Jason in some of my classes," Daisy said with a grimace.
"Yeah, I don't know how well I'd do if I had Parker in one of my classes," Duncan said sympathetically. "It's bad enough having to see her with Piz at social events."
"Jason cornered me after my last class and apologized again," Daisy admitted.
"Well, that's good. He wants to make things right," Duncan said.
"I just don't think I can forgive him. I hated sharing him with Jazmin from the beginning. I'm kind of a selfish person—I admit it. He knew that. When things started to get serious, he promised me he'd do better, and he did. So I let myself fall for him," Daisy shared.
"Well, I knew Parker was still in love with Piz, and I was dumb enough to still date her. Sometimes, we are not always rational when it comes to our attractions for another person," Duncan said ruefully.
"You know Logan overheard our exchange and told me he sympathized with Jason because he knew about paralyzing guilt," Daisy said. She shared with Duncan what Logan told her.
"I can relate. I basically was a zombie on anti-depressants and did nothing while Veronica was tormented. I carried a lot of guilt for a lot of things concerning Veronica that are too sordid to even tell you about," Duncan admitted. "But I will tell you that when I found out that both Veronica and my parents thought I had killed my sister in an epileptic fit, I never felt so awful. The guilt was more than I could bear. I even tried to run away from it."
"You have epileptic fits?" Daisy asked with a raised eyebrow.
Duncan looked sheepish. "Well, it's not something I talk about. I have the kind that causes black outs. I haven't had one in a long time, though. I found a good doctor that helped me," Duncan said. "Being a father was a good motivator to get myself in hand. My parents' solution had been to overmedicate me."
Daisy nodded. She took a bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. Finally, she said, "I can maybe understand Jason's actions. I'm not completely heartless. But how can I be with someone who I can't count on or doesn't want me to be first in his life?"
"Well, I could never put a woman ahead of my daughter," Duncan said. "I mostly can't stand Jason. That's no secret. But if my sister Lilly was alive or had somehow survived Aaron's attack, I would've spent the last years of high school glued to her side. Nothing else would've mattered."
Daisy sighed. "I'm too selfish, I guess. I want it all," Daisy said.
"And you deserve to have it all," Duncan told her smiling.
Daisy laughed. It was good to have someone understand.
Parker was having lunch with Piz at a nearby table. She couldn't keep her eyes off of Duncan and Daisy. She pretended to listen to Piz's story, but she couldn't focus on him. Duncan was talking intently to Daisy. He was smiling while she was laughing. Piz finally noticed her lack of interest.
"Am I boring you?" he asked with a grin.
She smiled at him. "Of course not," she said.
Piz looked at what held her attention. "Does it bother you to see Duncan with someone else?" he asked patiently.
She sighed and nodded. "I guess it does a little. I mean it's stupid because I'm with you, and I'm happy," she admitted. "I guess maybe I liked the idea of him pining for me. How shallow am I?"
Piz reached over and took her hand. "I know you cared about Duncan. I heard from Veronica about how good a guy he is. It stung for a long time seeing her and Logan together," he shared. "But if you really care about someone, you want them to be happy. If Daisy makes Duncan happy, then you should be happy for him."
Parker smiled at him. He really was the sweetest guy. "You're too good for me," she said. "I really do love you."
He grinned. "I love you, too," he said. Then he kissed her.
Parker knew she needed to forget about Duncan. Piz was everything she needed or wanted. It couldn't matter to her if he was moving on. She had, hadn't she?
******J & E Investigations, a few days later******
Nico was getting really tired of the high school drama that had spilled into his workplace. He stood in the doorway to his office and looked at Eli and Jason as they kept ignoring one another.
"Okay, that's it. I've had it!" he exclaimed, stepping into the outer office. "You two clowns need to get it together."
"We're fine," Eli said in annoyance.
"Chill out, Nico," Jason added.
"No, I won't. I'm sick of this high school crap!" Nico yelled. "Eli, you need to get over it. Jason loves his sister as much as you. He got enough crap from Sebastian. He doesn't need his best friend making him feel even worse. You are taking your own guilt out on him. Bad things happen. Deal with it and move on!"
"I don't think it's any of your business," Eli said sourly.
"The hell it isn't!" Nico said getting mad. "We are in a business together. You two are partners! More importantly, you are friends. Neither one of you have so many friends that you can afford to throw a good one away!" He glared about both men. "I'm leaving. Tomorrow when I come into work, you two knuckleheads better be in a better place!"
He left the office, slamming the door behind him to make his point.
Jason looked over at Eli. "He'll get over it," Jason said. Eli shrugged and didn't say anything. Jason continued, "He's right, you know. We need to get past this. You know I'm sorry. You know that my sister means the world to me. I should've listened to you."
Eli grimaced. "I don't know that it would've mattered. She had already been raped. Neither one of us could've done much to prevent that," Eli conceded.
Jason brightened at Eli's concession. "Does that me you don't hate me anymore?" he asked hopefully.
"I don't hate you," Eli told him. "I was just disappointed. When I left my crew in high school, I walked away from a lot of guys I thought would always have my back. I thought you and I were tight. That you'd have my back, especially when it came to your own sister's welfare. That you dismissed my concerns really felt like a betrayal, especially when I found out what had been going on."
Jason winced at Eli's confession. "I know I let you down. You're the first real friend I've made since Joseph that I know I could count on no matter what. I didn't have to hide anything from you like so many of my friends back home. I hate that I didn't take you seriously and my sister was hurt even more," he said regretfully. "She's always shared everything with me. I really didn't dream she'd keep such a thing from me. I gotta live with that."
"She's good at misdirection," Eli admitted. He looked at his phone and saw the time. "I guess we can close up." He got up from his desk.
Jason walked over to him. "So are we friends again?" he asked Eli. He held out his hand.
Eli sighed, tired of holding onto his anger. "I guess. I'm sorry for being such an ass," he said, taking Jason's hand. They turned to walk out of the office. When Jason was locking up, he admitted, "I don't think I'll ever get the sight of your sister unconscious on her bed out of my head. She was so still. She wouldn't wake up. I've never been so afraid in my life."
"The entire experience has been a nightmare," Jason shared. "Did you hear that I went to the Dean about David? They've revoked his scholarship. He won't be back next semester."
"That's not nearly enough punishment for what he did," Eli said bitterly. "I can't believe your dad hasn't killed him already."
"Dad's not a fool. You don't go to Texas and kill a Texan unless you want to die. Their court system doesn't mess around," Jason said. "My dad has a long memory. David will get what's coming to him eventually."
"Your sister practically made me swear a blood oath that I'd not go anywhere near David," Eli shared.
"Yeah, she did the same thing to me," Jason said with a sigh. "Like I could refuse her anything now."
"Have you talked to her? She hasn't called me this week," Eli said.
"They don't want her talking to anyone the first week. They want her to only focus on herself and getting better," Jason said. "I've sent her some emails letting her know what's going on. You should do that. When they give her access to her email again, she'll like knowing we were thinking of her."
"You're such a sensitive guy. I bet your ma is real proud," Eli said with a smirk.
Jason gave him a teasing shove. "Hey, I know my sister!" he said.
"I'm starved. Wanna get some food?" Eli asked.
"Sure," Jason said. He was glad at least one of his broken relationships had been fixed. If only Daisy would be so forgiving.
******Chapter End******
I know this may not be a favorite chapter since it focused more on the secondary characters, but this story is almost over.