The Forgotten Ones

loud.
    “That’s one advantage of being a Danaan.” He cleared his throat and glanced over at me. “Speed.”
    I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it wasn’t important right now. All that mattered was finding my mom.
    I heard one of the officers tell my grandparents that due to her schizophrenia, they’d be able to file a missing persons report immediately. The second officer walked to his squad car to call into the station, while the other continued speaking to Gram and Pop.
    Uncle Dave stood at Aunt Jessie’s side, rubbing her back as they listened to my grandfather describe my mother’s physical appearance.
    A car door slammed, and I heard the clatter of heels on tar.
    “Al?” Nicole said as she and Jeff walked to the sidewalk. She glanced at Liam and then at me. “Allison? What’s going on?”
    “My mother,” I said, but my voice came out like a croak and I cleared my throat. “My mother’s missing.”
    Nicole’s eyes widened in alarm. “Missing? Oh my God.” Her arms came up around my shoulders, squeezing me with all her strength.
    Jeff spoke from behind Nicole. “Can we form a search party? What are the police doing?”
    Nicole didn’t give me a chance to answer, she half pulled me toward the rest of our family. I looked over my shoulder at Liam, and he nodded, as though he knew just what to do.

    I hurried down the cellar stairs and over to the map of Stoneville that hung above my grandfather’s workbench. Standing on my tiptoes, I reached for the pushpins that held it in place. My fingers just barely brushed the rounded heads of the pins, and I strained to get my fingernail underneath. The frantic energy buzzing through my body wouldn’t allow me to pop each pin off the board one at a time, and I ended up tearing the map from the wall, barely keeping it in one piece.
    I sprinted back to the kitchen and spread the map across the table. My grandparents sat in two chairs pushed close together. Jeff and Nicole, Joanne and her husband Frank, plus half a dozen friends and neighbors had arrived to help look for my mother. Looking down at the street names, I jabbed my finger into the spot that I knew represented our property.
    “Okay, we’re here. If we divide into groups of four, we can each spread out in all directions...” I looked up to see everyone was waiting for my instructions, as if I really knew what I was doing.
    As I assigned paths for everyone to follow, the front door slammed and footsteps came down the hall. Ethan walked into the living room, carrying an armload of flashlights and lanterns. His mouth was set in a grim line and fear flickered in his eyes. I breathed deeply through my nose and looked back down at the map.
    I felt each step he took as he came to my side. As I spoke to Ethan’s parents and Sean’s parent’s—the Connor’s—I heard the trembling in my own voice.
    “You four can take the old cart road up behind the Connor’s house. Do you have flashlights?” I grabbed the lantern Ethan held out and passed it to Sean’s father, accepting the comfort he offered me with a tight smile.
    Allison.
    Niamh’s voice in my head caused a shudder to ripple across my shoulders. I looked toward the door, but she wasn’t anywhere I could see.
    Ethan touched my elbow. “It’ll be okay, Al. We’ll find her.”
    I looked up to see his brown eyes fixed on mine. He squeezed my arm in reassurance, and I pulled back. I needed to keep my head clear, and his touch was too much.
    “Let’s go, Ethan. We’re going to look behind the old Miller farm,” Jeff said as he and Nicole walked over. Nicole’s eyebrows pulled down as she assessed the situation.
    That’s when another familiar voice spoke behind me.
    “Mr. and Mrs. O’Malley? I’ve heard about your daughter,” Liam said. “I’ll search the woods on the property. She’s sure to turn up soon.”
    My grandparents barely responded, they just gave him watery smiles.
    I closed my eyes and sighed. Liam—in my house, talking to my grandparents. About my mother. I had to hold my tongue and remind myself that this wasn’t his fault, that he was trying to help bring her home.
    I felt Ethan watching my reaction to Liam. I didn’t know what was going through his mind, but I was sure any ideas he had about my relationship with Liam were completely off the mark.
    My father turned toward the door. Each assigned search party was making its own plans now, so I followed him out onto the porch. Niamh stood on the sidewalk,