“MADDIE,” HER FATHER whispered behind the locked bedroom door. “Please come out and talk to me.”
Madison lay curled up in her bed; her tear-stained face felt tight and puffy. “I don’t wanna talk,” she said, her voice muffled by the pillow she hugged
There was a thump on the door. “Well then, I guess I’ll have to wait out here until you’re ready.”
Madison knew her dad was sitting on the floor and leaning against the door, just like he always did when she was sad. “Just leave me alone!”
“Maddie—let me help you. Just tell me what happened at school today.”
“You already know what happened!” Madison shouted as she buried her face in her pillow. She didn’t want to talk to him. It was too embarrassing.
It was Tina Masters who first noticed it. She shrieked when she saw it and pointed across
