I turned the TV off.
"I can't listen to his garbage," I growled.
"He knows she's not a chicken, right? That he can't just use her eggs like that?"
All I saw was red behind my eyelids.
"Whose sperm would he even use?"
"Justin, I don't need those questions or conversation right now."
"I get it. I know you weren't planning on coming back here, but dude, we got to do something."
I sat back up.
"My last final is Thursday; I'll leave right after that."
"Sounds good. When you get here, I'll help in any way that I can. I know Ricky would even come to help us break her out too."
"Thanks, man."
We hung up, and I tapped my phone lightly to my chin. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. Going through my contacts, I searched for Dr. Green's number.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Green, this is Sawyer. If you are near my father, don't react."
"I'm not. I try to avoid these conferences now. They're just circus acts at this point, not science-related. Your dad feeds into their ridiculousness."
I leaned over, and my knee started to bounce.
"Tell me the truth, what's going on with Madeline."
I heard him sigh through the phone.
"She's been living in her old room here at the office, but I assume by the lack of visits you knew that."
"I did."
"She's not sleeping well here. I've even prescribed medicine to help her sleep, but she complains of nightmares of a lady and fights the medicine if we give it to her. She barely eats, which I think are the two main problems with her health. This time your dad has a lock on the outside of the door so she can't wander around. I swear, seeing Adam at night was what kept her sane last time. Plus, I'm sure being alone so much is affecting her mental health and making her depressed."
I shook my head.
"She made it sound like she chose to move back."
"We had a discussion when she got here. She nor I were happy about it, but with her immune system, we said it was best."
My eyebrows scrunched. "I thought you said Maddie's immune system was fine."
"I fudged the results a little to get her out of the center. Your father hacked into my files and threatened to reveal my lie to the board. My hands were tied at the time. If they find out I risked her life just to get her out of here, the board would have had my job. I'm going to retire at the end of this year. I've spent too many years playing your father's games."
"Is my dad going to have her get pregnant?"
"It has crossed his mind with invitro, but I don't know what he is thinking. I know he's not thinking of Madeline having sex with someone if that's what you're worried about."
I wasn't hungry anymore. Madeline was only seventeen years old.
"When she was little, all the board could see were those big green eyes looking up so nervously." Dr. Green's voice softened before he paused. "As the years have gone by, a teenager isn't as cute, but rather the dollar signs block their visions of the young woman before them."
"I'm driving down Thursday. I will be at that office Friday morning."
"How about you see her Friday night, just the two of you like before you left for college. Then we will deal with the problem that Saturday. I think she's going to need a little encouragement to help win back her freedom. The Madeline that you have once known is completely defeated. I'm not trying to scare you, but you need to be prepared to face someone you don't recognize."
"I don't want to waste time."
"You won't, but I think for both of your sakes, you two might need to talk in person to clear the air, especially before you go guns blazing on your dad. I know how you and your dad are."
I sighed.
"Fine."
"Same deal as last time."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me, just help me save our girl."
He hung up. Lacey came in with a brown bag. She smiled weakly at me and placed the bag onto the table. She pulled the little plastic containers out of the bag.
"That was her, wasn't it." Lacey's voice came out tender and low.
I nodded as I was unable to look Lacey in the eyes. "That was Madeline."
"You still have feelings for her, don't you?"
I glanced over at her. "It's complicated, but at the end of the day, feelings or no feelings, she needs my help. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go back home to help her."
Lacey nodded. "I think I'm going to go back to my place to finish studying."
I stood up. "You don't have to."
Lacey's smile was tight, and she dodged my kiss. She was out the door, leaving me alone with my spinning head.
I was pretty sure that I failed the last final. I had to reread each question about six times. Even then, the words weren't connecting to my brain. It might as well have been in Japanese. I had packed up my car before my final. Unfortunately, it was late in the afternoon, so that
