You saved me Maddie

Lost and found.

For a moment it was silent. I sat on my bed, my knees to my chest as I tried my best to slow my breathing. I leaned my head against the wall behind me, thinking. Stray. That stung. Tears ran down my cheeks, which I quickly wiped away. Then my thoughts took a different direction. "I didn't get pregnant and decided to have her in the middle of nursing school!" Maddie had told me about nursing school but hadn't mentioned anything about having a baby. Maybe that's another thing she kept from people. She have a child with Doug. Her real daughter. Maybe it was a reminder for me not to get to comfortable because I wasn't here to stay. I was just a placeholder for someone else. Outside of my door I could hear footsteps walking closer and closer until, a knock before Maddie opened my door.
"Hi" she sounded ashamed. "Did you hear the whole conversation?"
Quickly I wiped my tears away with my sleeve as I nodded. Maddie stepped inside. She looked defeated, like if her parents had punched her down into the ground. When Maddie noticed I had been crying she took a few steps and sat down on my bed next to me.
"I'm sorry" she said.
"It's okay" I nodded "she wasn't wrong"
Maddie almost flinched.
"Of course she was wrong" a single tear ran down her cheek. "You didn't deserve that"
I shrugged.
"It's okay either way" I said.
"No!" Maddie raised her voice a little bit.
"Listen Maddie I know I'm just a placeholder and it's okay"
Maddie closed her eyes for a brief moment before she looked at me.
"No you're not" her voice was shaking.
"I heard your mom" I told her "I know you have a kid"
"If I have a kid or not won't matter if you're here" her voice was almost a whisper.
"You don't have to say that"
Maddie nodded.
"I do" another tear ran down her cheek. "You are so special to me"
I sat silent, not knowing what to say.
"I don't know where my daughter is" Maddie started "i had her when I was 20 and in nursing school. Doug didn't know because I didn't wanna tell him. Mom and dad were furious of course, and said that I had to give her up for adoption because if I didn't, they wouldn't pay for school. I got stuck and decided on giving her up. After I gave birth to her I got to hold her for 20 minutes."
Tears were streaming down her face now.
"She had those big brown eyes" Maddie smiled "after that they took her from me and I never saw her again. I had to move on with life, get a degree and a job, just to run away years later"
"You should look for her" I said.
"I wouldn't even know where to start"
"The adoption agency" I bolted up. "Come on no time to loose"
"Ellie no-" but I was already out in the kitchen, logging on to her laptop.
"Come on Maddie" I said. "What do you have to lose?
Maddie sighed, a sign of her giving in.
It took a few hours but we found a name. Maddie had to make some very serious phone calls and beg for her name but we finally got it Callie Ashfield. She was the same age as me, 15. I wrote it down on a post it note and handed it to Maddie.
"Here" I said. "This is our first real lead"
"Ellie" Maddie looked up at me "why are you doing this?"
"Because you deserve it, or at least you deserve closure."
"You sound experienced in that department" Maddie shifted in her seat "Ellie, is there something you aren't telling me?"
"Well I don't know my mom" I admitted "but that's it and I don't really mind it."
Maddie just gave me a serious look.
"Hmm I'd you say so"
Maddie had to work for a few days so I dragged home May. She was very impressed with our search and helped me do some extensive internet stalking which took hours. We scrolled through endless instagram accounts before we found a match. Callie Ashfield, fifteen years old, living in Wrightwood. I turned to May.
"Isn't that like 90 minutes from LA?" I asked her.
"Yeah pretty sure" she said.
"Damn" I looked down at the instagram account.
She looked so much like Maddie, the same lips, eyes, bone structure and smile.
"I can't believe we actually found her" I scrolled down on the page.
"They are really similar" May peeked over my shoulder.
"Yeah" I nodded "she's gonna be so happy"
"But Ellie" May stopped "What if you don't get to stay if she comes back?"
"I don't know" I just shrugged. "It doesn't matter right now"
May left before Maddie got home. I was sitting on the couch reading a new book when she unlocked the door and walked inside.
"Hii" she said, dropping her purse on the shoe bench" How was your day?"
"It was okay" I turned to her "May was here and we hung out for a while"
"Oh that's nice" Maddie walked over to the kitchen sink and washed her hands.
She made dinner and we sat down to eat chicken and rice.
"You are awfully quiet today" Maddie said "Is something wrong?"
"I did some internet stalking today" I looked up and my eyes met hers "Maddie, we found her"
Maddie dropped her fork and it fell right into her food.
"What?"