The Forgotten Ones

took the leftover pasta out and heated a bowl in the microwave. As I waited for it to cook, I sliced a piece of fresh Italian bread.
    I wanted to be able to tell Gram everything, to share the weight of all I now knew with someone. But there was no way I could even tell Gram and Pop about who Liam was, let alone all the insane-sounding things he’d told me about his life. Plus, I hadn’t had a chance to come to terms with his arrival yet myself, as my father.
    I took a deep breath and watched the microwave. Now that my mother was in potential danger, I needed to take care of this myself. There could be no more distractions. But the image of Ethan staring into my eyes, his expression cold and angry, was burnt into my memory. He’d never been angry with me before. But—I reminded myself—angry was better than hopeful.
    Once again, I was left waiting to hear from Liam. The hope I’d let myself feel since he’d shown up was being replaced by dread. Liam had said Breanh was dangerous. But would Breanh even know where we were if Liam hadn’t shown up here? Now he may as well hand-deliver my mother right to the bad guy.
    The ceiling creaked loudly, and I looked up, wondering what Gram was doing up there. It sounded like she was scurrying in and out of the bedrooms. A second later, she bustled down the stairs. Her face was flushed, and strands of white hair escaped from her bun.
    The bread knife slipped from my fingers as she approached me, landing with a clatter on the cutting board.
    Mom. Something was wrong.
    “Gram?”
    She blinked at me before hurrying over to the living room window. “Your mother isn’t in her bedroom,” she said as she turned away from the window.
    “Tom,” she called as she walked toward the cellar stairs and opened the door. “Tom, have you seen Beth?”
    “Coming, Jane,” I heard Pop holler from the bottom of the stairs. “What is it, dear?”
    “I can’t find Elizabeth. She isn’t down there with you, is she?”
    “No,” Pop said, wiping sawdust off his brow.
    “Maybe she wandered out into the backyard again,” I said. Before anyone could respond, I threw open the screen slider and hurried outside. I ran around the entire house shouting her name, but there was no sign of her.
    I climbed the porch steps two at a time and charged upstairs to my bedroom. My hands shook as I scrolled through the numbers on my cell phone, trying to find the one Liam had called from.
    I heard him pick up but was speaking before he had a chance to say anything. “My mother,” I shouted. “She’s missing.”
    After a moment of silence, he finally replied. “I’ll be there in just a moment, Allison. Stay put.”
    I threw the phone down on my bed. Pacing back and forth, I tried to imagine how this could have happened. How could she have left the house without my grandparents even noticing? It just didn’t make sense.
    Pop was on the phone when I came back downstairs, and Gram stood by the slider, wringing her hands, looking out into the darkening backyard. My grandfather hung up and walked over to where Gram stood. He wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned her head into his shoulder. I could see she was trembling.
    “She can’t be far, Jane. I told the police about Beth’s condition—they’ll be here soon. They’ll find her.”
    “I just don’t know how this could have happened,” Gram said in a shaky voice.
    “Mom?” Aunt Jessie walked down the front hall and froze by the side table, looking back and forth between me and my grandparents.
    Gram pulled away from my grandfather and pursed her lips. At Gram’s expression, Aunt Jessie rushed over to her.
    “She’s just...gone,” Gram murmured into my aunt’s shoulder as they held each other for a moment.
    The sound of car doors cut through the tension then, and we were out on the front porch in seconds. A police car was parked in front of the house.
    While the officers spoke with my grandparents, I caught sight of Liam standing on the sidewalk a few yards away. He had his back to me, and it wasn’t until I was just a few feet from him that he turned around.
    “What’s happened?” he asked.
    I inhaled. “I don’t really know. My grandparents thought she was up in her room. But when Gram went to check on her, she wasn’t there.”
    Liam nodded and turned toward the house. His eyes slid over the yard and the vehicles in the driveway.
    “You got here so fast,” I whispered, barely even aware that I had spoken out