"Of all the crazy things you can do at eighteen, you pull something like this?!" We were back in the apartment, and Mom was letting me have it. She's been rambling for an hour, telling me how irresponsible I am and how this is why she won't let me go to school. Blah blah blah. I hate it when she treats me like a kid. She just doesn't know when to quit.

"I just wanted to see what was down there."

"You could have died!"

"How would you know?"

"Because I just know. This was probably Marissa's idea, wasn't it? Of course. That girl always has her head in the clouds. Doesn't know when to stop talking about imaginary worlds."

"Shut up!"

"Maddison! What did you just say to me?"

"Just shut up, ok? It wasn't her idea. It was mine. I brought her along because I didn't want to get lost. She had nothing to do with this."

She seemed to consider this. I just didn't want Marissa to get in trouble. This whole thing WAS my idea after all. I just didn't want her to suffer because of me. Plus, I was afraid Mom would never let me see her again. "Well fine," she said after what seemed like hours but was mere seconds. "I guess you can still talk to her. At least you were smart enough to take someone with you."

"Smart enough? Now wait just a second…"

"Nevertheless, you did sneak out and deliberately disobeyed the most important rule in this apartment. 'Never leave the apartment unless told to do so.' So, you are grounded for the next week."

"Grounded?! For what?! Being curious?! Wanting to escape from this prison you keep me in?!"

"Prison?!"

"Yes, Mother. Prison." I couldn't help myself. I was fuming. I don't remember ever being this upset and angry with anyone in my whole life. Everything else just kind of came out. "I'm never allowed to leave. I have one friend. I don't know if I have any other family besides you. My father's gone, and I am stuck doing the same thing day after day. I hate my life! Don't you get it? You keep me trapped in this place like a bird in a cage. I can't be your little pet that will sing when you say, 'Sing!' I have feelings. I have wants and desires. I have to fly free sometime. But I can't do that if you keep clipping my wings. I feel like Marissa's the only person I can trust. I feel like she understands me and believes in me more than you ever will. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have hope that Father might still be alive and that he's trapped in Wonderland…" That's when I bit my tongue. I knew I stepped in it as soon as my mother's face started turning red. I was not prepared for what happened next.

"WONDERLAND?! Maddie, your father is dead! Get that through your head! You're willing to risk your life to chase some fairytale! I knew Marissa was planting some stupid ideas into your head! But I don't blame her. Oh no. You should be smart enough to distinguish reality from fiction. Obviously, I'm expecting too much from you to even accomplish that. You've been reading his journal haven't you?! I knew I should have gotten rid of it when I had the chance!" She started walking to my room, mumbling to herself about how could she be so stupid and God knows what else.

"Mom, what are you doing?" I ran after her to make sure she wasn't doing something crazy.

"Something I should have done from the beginning." She grabbed Dad's journal from my bed along with my maps of New York and jabberwocky drawings. She walked to my father's room and threw them on the bed.

"Mom, please. Give them back." I followed her to the hall closet where she pulled out a hammer, a drill, and a strange looking lock that had a heart in the center.

"No. If something as simple as a journal gives you ideas to do stupid things, then you don't deserve to have them." She walked back to Dad's room, closed the door, and broke the handle with three swings of the hammer. I couldn't watch anymore. I ran to my room, crying the whole way. I heard her installing the lock as I slammed my door. I couldn't believe her. Why would she do this to me? I cried for hours until a random thought hit me. I don't know why I didn't realize it before. Why was Mom at the rabbit hole in the first place?