Secret of the Sevens by Lynn Lindquist Page B

Between the storm and the cemetery and not knowing where I’m even going, I’m not sure what to do.
    Mr. Shanahan reaches for me, blinking rain out of his eyes. “What’s going on, Talan?”
    It’s not that he’s a bad guy, but I need to go home. “I … I’m running away.”
    â€œWhy?” He bends over. “Did someone hurt you?”
    I shake my head.
    Mr. Shanahan squats down in front of me and brushes my sopping bangs from my eyes. “Buddy,” he says over the storm, “I want to help you, but I can’t if you don’t talk to me. Will you get in the car, and we can talk at the house?”
    I shake my head. “I don’t want to go there. I want to see my mom. She said I could come home after a while.”
    His shoulders slump and he sighs so loud I hear it over thunder in the distance. He kneels in front of me and gently grips my shoulders. “Talan, your mom has an addiction. She hasn’t gotten the help she needs yet.”
    â€œI want to go home!” I yell.
    His hands squeeze my shoulders. “Your mom’s not there anymore. We can talk about it at the house if you’ll come back with us.”
    With us?
    I notice Delaney for the first time. She’s watching me from the back seat with her palms and face pressed against the window.
    â€œWe’ll take good care of you for as long as you need,” he finishes.
    â€œMy mom needs me,” I yell.
    â€œShe isn’t there!” Although the wind and rain are pelting his face, he locks his eyes on mine, swallows hard, and says, “Your mom is in jail, buddy. She’s going to be there for a long time.”
    â€œNo!”
    â€œI’m sorry. Maybe we can take a trip and visit her in a few months if the school can arrange it. Or maybe we can call her.”
    I’m done and I know it. Gram in a nursing home and mom in jail. No home to go to. No family. A cemetery of monsters behind me and a storm everywhere I look. Except straight ahead. Mr. Shanahan kneels in front of me, his jeans soaking in the puddle beneath him, his hands stretched out to help me.
    I crumple into his chest. Big, wet arms coil around me. “Let’s go home, buddy.”
    We trudge back to the car and Delaney opens the door for me to get in. I shiver and shake in the back seat as Mr. Shanahan pulls a wide U-turn back to the student home. Delaney scoots close and puts her arm around me. She squeezes my arm, right where a scar is.
    I shove her hard. “I hate you, you stupid girl.”
    â€œLaney,” Mr. Shanahan says softly. “Let Talan have a little space. Okay?”
    I stare out the blurry window to hide my tears. I don’t even move when Laney takes her coat off and wraps it around my shoulders.
    I snap out of it and realize how late I must be. Laney is probably already waiting for me at the library. Alone.
    As I throw my clothes on, the same thought I’ve had for the last ten years pops into my head: Delaney Shanahan is an annoying do-gooder. But there’s also a second thought I can’t ignore anymore. One that’s always there, too, lurking like a shadow in the background: Delaney Shanahan is the best person I’ve ever known.
    I don’t care if it’s the Pillars or the Sevens. If someone hurts her, I’ll fucking kill them.

Ten
    My hair is still damp from the shower and I’m wheezing when I reach the library. It’s two minutes to 7:00. Where the heck is she?
    The note from the Sevens said something about the rear elevator. I dart for the back of the building, dodging bookcases and pissed librarians. I turn the corner and see Laney in the distance, pushing the up button. She steps inside the elevator and disappears.
    I shout, “Hold the door,” but it’s already closing. Frantic, I shove my hand inside the narrow opening and the doors bang my elbow.
    â€œOwwww.” The elevator slowly opens and I collapse against