As Madeline grew up, she was aware that her father was in prison. He was released when she was seven; a second grader. She was aware of the stigma surrounding having a parent in prison. She didn't tell anybody. She just let them assume Lin was her real dad.

Jason had honored Kate's wishes that he not contact Madeline. He sent her a birthday card each year, but that was it. Madeline felt uneasy about the whole situation. Her father had kidnapped her and kept her from her mother from almost an entire year. She'd had anxiety and trust issues for years. Now that she was thirteen and in middle school, she was becoming acutely aware of his absence. Maddie was starting to wonder if she wanted contact with him again. She was sure her mother didn't want her to.

"Madeline, I'm not going to tell you again," Lin said from the kitchen. "Go clean your room."

"Okay!!" she said with attitude as she thumbed through her phone on the couch.

"Lose the attitude," he told her and she rolled her eyes. Lately, she had been butting heads with both Lin and her mother. He and Kate had long since married, so he was technically her stepfather. Maddie could barely remember a time when he wasn't in her life. It was starting to get to her, however; he wasn't her real dad. What right did he have to order her around?

Maddie reluctantly stood up and tucked her phone into her back pocket and stumbled off to her room. She had never been a neat person and didn't see the point in keeping her room clean. She knew where everything was so what was the big deal? It was her space.

She passed Rio in the hallway. He was nine now and was like a copy of his father. He loved theatre and singing and dancing, and was constantly socializing. Rio and Lin were pretty close, but Maddie wasn't terribly close to her brother.

Madeline closed her bedroom door and connected her phone to the bluetooth speakers. She turned the music up loud and began the laborious task of picking up her room. Her mother liked to remind her that if she just picked things up as she went, it wouldn't be such a big task on the weekend.

It was Saturday, so Maddie was looking forward to hanging out with her friends. Most of the time, they ended up hanging out at a coffee shop nearby, sipping sugary drinks and annoying the other patrons. She took a break from cleaning to text with a couple of her best friends about their plans for the evening. Maddie was called to dinner a few minutes later. She set her phone out on the table picked up her fork.

"Put the phone away, please," her mother reminded her. Maddie sighed and tucked it into her back pocket. The rule was no electronics at the table.

"So what's everyone's plans for the evening?" Lin asked.

"I'm going to a movie with Jake," Rio said as he dug into his dinner. The boy was like a garbage disposal. He ate anything and everything, and lots of it.

"Maddie?"

"Hanging out at the coffee shop," she said.

Lin nodded. "Mom and I are going to a little get together in Lower Manhattan. We'll be back late. Curfew for both of you is ten."

"How come Rio gets the same curfew as me?" Maddie complained. "I'm four years older than him."

Rio stuck his tongue out at his sister and she threw a piece of broccoli at him.

"Enough, children," Kate admonished her children. Sometimes she wondered if her children had a normal sibling rivalry. It could get intense at times. "Maddie, your curfew is perfectly fair."

"But he's only nine," she pointed out. "Why does he get to stay out so late?"

"He's with an adult," she reminded her daughter. Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me!" Kate raised her voice. It was something she'd picked up a lot when she turned twelve. They'd been trying to break her of it, but it seemed to almost be a reflex.

Maddie sighed. "Can I be excused?"

"No," Lin said. "Eat more vegetables. You're not gonna pig out on junk food later."

Maddie grumbled and stabbed another piece of broccoli with her fork. She shoveled down some more veggies, then was allowed to go to her room to get ready. Maddie emerged a few minutes later, ready to leave.

She was glad to be out of the apartment and with her friends. It was a mix of guys and girls. It was a nice night, so they sat out on the chairs on the sidewalk, just being silly and obnoxious. Madeline was having a great time, when she noticed a form pass her on the sidewalk. She looked up and immediately recognized the man...her father.

Maddie's mouth opened wide and she just stared. He didn't look over at the group of kids. Maddie didn't think he'd recognize her anyway. It had been eight years since he'd seen her in person.

Madeline got quiet as her friends continued to joke around. Her father was back in the city? Was he hoping she would contact him? Maddie wasn't even sure her parents had his cell phone number. The rest of the evening Maddie was a bit withdrawn. When they all got up to leave and go somewhere else, Maddie said she was going to take a walk instead. They asked what was eating her, but it was too complicated to explain. They all thought Lin was her dad. She even had the last name Miranda now.

Maddie took off in the opposite direction of her friends. She wasn't sure where to go, but she needed to clear her head. She pulled her hoodie up, tucked her hands in her pockets, and began to wander the streets of New York City. She passed strangers on the street, laughing, having a good time. Seemingly carefree.

She kept her head down, but soon she heard a familiar voice. Lin. He and her mother were walking down the sidewalk in the other direction.

"Maddie?" he asked, stopping. Madeline looked up and saw her parents. "What are you doing wandering around alone at night?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to be alone," she said, staring at her feet. Lin narrowed his eyes a bit and could tell something was going on.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

She just shrugged. "Can I just go?"

Lin touched her elbow and steered her in the direction they were going. "No, we're going home. You can't be out on your own like this."

"Lin, I'm fine," she protested, moving away.

"Madeline, come on," Kate prompted her. "Lin's right. It's dangerous to be out by yourself right now."

She sighed and reluctantly trailed behind her parents, letting it be known she didn't want to talk to them. Obviously something was wrong but she didn't feel like sharing it right now. As soon as they got home, Maddie went straight to her bedroom and closed the door. It was around 10:00 and she was exhausted, but she didn't think she could go to sleep. She had a lot on her mind.

Would her dad come looking for her? Would he try to take her again? Did he want to see her? Would he be mad that Lin had adopted her? At some point, she fell asleep, but she awoke with a startle in the middle of the night, screaming.

Her mother came to her door and pushed it open. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Kate turned on the bedside lamp and sat down, smoothing back her daughter's hair. "I just had a nightmare," she said, breathing a bit quickly. Her heart pounded. She'd dreamed that her father snatched her up from the sidewalk and took her back to Philadelphia.

"You seemed upset earlier," Kate said. "Is it anything to do with that?"

"No, Mom. I'm fine," she said, pushing her mother's hand away. As she'd gotten older, Madeline had started to become less affectionate. Sometimes she became agitated when her parents tried to hug her or touch her.

"Okay," Kate said gently. "Are you alright now?"

"I'm fine," she said shortly.

"Alright," Kate said, not believing her but knowing there was no point in probing any further. She stood up and turned off the bedside lamp again. As Kate climbed back into bed, Lin turned over, having being awoke by the scream as well.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"She had a nightmare," Kate said, settling in. "But I think it's more than that. She was fine yesterday afternoon, but something must have happened in the evening."

"Did she say anything about it?"

Kate shook her head. "She won't talk to me," she told her husband. That had been the case more and more lately, but they figured it was part of becoming a teenager. She'd want to confide in them less and less.

Lin just sighed and carressed Kate's face. "Don't worry about it," he tried to reassure her. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Probably just some friend drama."

Kate nodded and closed her eyes, but had trouble falling back asleep.

___

The next morning, Madeline wouldn't get out of bed for school. She'd tried to get back to sleep after her nightmare, but couldn't. She almost wanted to go climb into bed with her mother and Lin, but that was something little kids did. Plus, she'd pushed her mother away when she came to talk to her.

Lin pushed her bedroom door open for the third time that morning and sighed when he saw his daughter still curled up under the covers.

"Madeline, you're gonna be late," he told her as strode over to her bed. He stripped the covers off her and she groaned in protest. "Up."

"I wanna stay home today," she told him.

"Absolutely not," he told her. "You're not sick. Shake a leg."

Madeline reluctantly got up, feeling exhausted. She checked her watch. She didn't really have time to stop at Starbucks for an iced drink, but she decided she would anyway. She'd get another tardy, but she still had a couple more to go before it turned into a detention.

Madeline threw her hair up in a ponytail, not having time to wash it that morning. She barely acknowledged the rest of the family as she grabbed a breakfast bar from the pantry and left. There was a Starbucks around the corner, so she ordered a frappuccino. By the time she got to school, she was ten minutes late.

During third period, Maddie got called to the office. Had she been wrong about the number of tardies? When she walked in, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her father was standing at the front counter.

"Dad?" she asked, frozen. He smiled at her and looked like he was getting teary-eyed.

"Maddie," he said, his voice full of emotion. Madeline could tell he wanted to hug her, but she wasn't sure she was ready for that. The last time she'd seen him he was getting arrested.

"Why are you here?"

"I just got back in town," he told his daughter. "And I know your mom said she'd let you make the decision whether you wanted to contact me or not. But, I don't think you even know how to contact me."

He pulled out a paper from his back pocket. "Here's my phone number and my email address. I just wanted to make sure you had a way to contact me if you want to. I miss you."

Madeline didn't say anything, just took the paper from him.

"Uhhh....I've gotta go," she told him, and quickly turned and disappeared. On her way back to class, she kicked herself. Was that the right reaction? Wasn't she supposed to be overjoyed to see him? Shouldn't she have hugged him and cried tearfully into his shirt as he made promises to never leave her?

Maddie sank back into her chair and tried to push the incident out of her mind. She didn't have anyone she could talk to this about. Her mother would be livid if she knew he'd come to her school. None of her friends knew. Lin was a bit of a wild card, but he'd probably tell her mom.

When she got home, she went straight to her room and tucked the piece of paper away deep in her desk drawer. She felt trapped. She knew her father was hopeful that she'd contact her and start a relationship back up, but that would also cause her mother heartache. Why had her parents put her in this position?

Her mother was her only way to get to her father. She'd always been told that if she wanted to contact him, she could, but there was an undertone that it would be best not to. Life had been fine with her mom and Lin.

Maddie holed up in her room the rest of the day, not knowing what to do. She was morose and snappy for the next two days, unable to handle the responsibility of the decision she had to make. On a Thursday, she laid on the couch watching TV.

"Maddie, will you take out the trash please?" Lin asked her as he cooked dinner. The trash can was almost overflowing.

"In a minute," she told him.

"You can pause whatever you're watching," he reminded her. "Do it now, please."

Nothing.

"Madeline..."

"Oh my God!" she yelled, sitting up. "Would you leave me alone?!"

"Get up now," he told her firmly. "And when you get back you can go to your room. You don't talk to me like that."

Madeline stormed over and got the trash bag out of the bin and marched to the end of the hall. She found the chute and shoved it down. Maddie glared at Lin on her way back to her bedroom. Lin wasn't sure what had gotten into her the last few days, but she was most definitely on edge. He followed her to her room.

"Leave me alone!" she groaned, laying down on her bed.

"Something's bothering you," I told her, crossing his arms. "The last few days you've been nothing but rude and snappy. What is it?"

"Nothing!" she insisted, rubbing at her eyes.

"You know that's not true," he said, pulling out her desk chair. "This is more than just normal teenage angst. You know you can talk to me about anything."

He was surprised when Madeline started tearing up. She turned over on her side, facing away from him. Lin moved from the chair to her bed, putting his hand on her upper arm.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" he asked gently.

"I can't tell you," she said tearfully, hiding her eyes.

"Of course you can," he reminded her. "You can tell me anything."

"Will you promise not to tell Mom?" she asked him. Lin patted her hip.

"Turn around."

Lin looked her in the eye. "If it involves your health and safety, I have to tell your mom. Otherwise, it's our secret. Can you tell me?"

She sighed and examined her fingernail beds. "My dad came to my school the other day."

That was certainly not what Lin was expecting. He rubbed his goatee in thought. The man was not supposed to contact her at all unless Maddie contacted him first.

"And what did he say?" he prompted her.

"He wanted to give me his phone number and email," she told him quietly.

"How did you feel about that?"

She shrugged. "It was weird seeing him again. I saw him in the street on the weekend."

"Is that why you were wandering around all alone?" He raised his eyebrows and she nodded. "Well, he's not supposed to contact you, Mads. I'm sorry he put you in that position."

"He said he didn't think I had a way to contact him," she explained. "And I don't. Maybe Mom has his number, but there's no way I'm gonna ask her for it."

Lin realized Maddie had been put in a tough position. Obviously Kate didn't want her to contact her father. He should have been more on top of it, letting her know he knew how to contact him as well.

"And do you want to see him?" Lin asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I have a lot of feelings."

"I bet," he said, hating that she had to have a complicated family arrangement. "You've got some thinking to do. But you need to think about what you want, not what might upset your mother."

"I don't want to hurt her," Maddie said, tearing up again a bit.

"You let me worry about Mom," he told her. "She can handle it."

She sighed, not completely believing him.

"Do you want me to talk to her about it?" he asked.

"No," she said quickly.

"Let me know if you change your mind," he told her. Lin leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too," she said. Lin left her alone and Maddie began to think about his feelings. Was he upset that she wanted to contact her dad? Did he expect her to want nothing to do with him now that he'd adopted her? Some of these worries she kept bottled up.