Page 34 of Brody

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Magnus immediately let go of the key and backed away a few steps, practically hiding behind Brody. “No. No. Nope. Not doubting you at all. Don’t listen to me. We’ve already established that I’m an idiot.”

Brody snorted. “That’s an understatement.”

“Hey!” Magnus punched him in the shoulder, though it was clear he wasn’t using anything close to his full strength. “Take that back.”

The two of them were about to start bickering, when Trent interrupted.

“If we could focus, please. Brody, you said you found this yesterday?”

The playful air that surrounded them vanished, immediately turning serious once again. Even just sticking to basics, it took a while for Brody to explain everything that happened yesterday. He thankfully skipped over the part where I got confused between past and present and ran off into the woods thinking I was being chased, instead just saying that a few of my memories came back.

“But how did this key go from police custody to being buried in the woods a town over?” Magnus asked once Brody had finished his explanation. “Not to mention that it was apparently buried by the person you happened to hit with a tree. It’s all just… really weird.”

“We don’t really know how the key and the journal went missing,” Trent pointed out, still turning the key over in his hands and holding it up close to his eye like he thought he might find an explanation inscribed in the metal. “Deputy Hillard just said that the key and the journal were stolen, but didn’t really explain how it happened. That might be a good place to start.”

With a heavy sigh, Brody pulled out his phone. “I’ll give him a call. Maybe we can convince him to tell us more.”

Apparently, calling this Deputy Hillard person was easier said than done. Brody spent half an hour on the phone, making various calls until he finally managed to speak with the man in question, and then another twenty minutes locked in a heated argument. He stepped away from all of us during this time, so I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I could tell it was an argument just from the way he kept moving his arms when he talked.

While waiting for Brody to get off the phone, Trent threw together a simple breakfast, which he passed around to everyone, including me. I was still sitting on the front porch, watching Brody from a distance, and didn’t hear Trent approach, so I was startled when a plate of toast and eggs was suddenly shoved under my nose.

“Oh, um. Thanks.” I took the plate and picked up a piece of toast.

“It’ll be okay,” Trent said as he sat beside me, balancing his own plate in one hand.

“Why do people keep trying to comfort me?” I asked as I poked at the eggs with my fork. “Do I really look that upset?”

“No.” Trent took a bite of his own eggs and chewed for a moment as he thought. “But you do look… I guesslostwould be the best word. Your gaze hasn’t left Brody for more than a few seconds since coming out here. Plus, well…” He awkwardly cleared his throat then tapped the side of his neck. “There’s also… that.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, and only got more confused as he continued to tap the side of his neck with emphasis. My hand instinctively came up to my own neck, and I flinched when I felt the raised skin there.

A memory of Brody biting me the night before played out in my mind, and I had to bite my own lip to keep from making any embarrassing sounds.

“I have to ask,” Trent said after a moment when I remained silent. “It was… consensual, right?”

“Yes!”

I didn’t mean to shout, but the word came tumbling out of me so quickly I couldn’t control it. All three dogs lazing aroundthe property jumped to their feet, and even Brody and Magnus looked over at us. Trent quickly waved them away and they went back to what they were doing.

My face burned with mortification, and I shoved a few bites of breakfast into my mouth just to give myself something to do. Unfortunately, I forgot what was on my plate, and flinched when the taste of eggs hit my tongue.

It turned out my previous assumption was true. I really hated eggs. The texture was unpleasant, and the taste made me gag, but I forced myself to swallow, so I didn’t insult Trent.

He probably knew anyway, based on the way I immediately downed half the glass of orange juice that had also been provided, but he was nice enough not to comment on my reaction.

“Yes,” I tried again once I’d cleared the taste of eggs from my mouth. “It was consensual. I promise.”

Trent nodded, clearly not surprised by my statement. “I figured as much, but I just had to check.”

He stood up like he was about to leave, probably to go back to Magnus, but I stopped him.

“Um, Trent?” My voice sounded so small, I tugged on his sleeve just to make sure he heard me. “I appreciate your concern but, would you have asked me that if I didn’t have amnesia?”

Surprised flashed across his face for a moment, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and he sat back down next to me, closer than before.

“Honestly, probably not. But your situation is unique so we can’t be too careful.”

With a slow nod, I stuffed the last piece of toast into my mouth, then set the eggs aside so I didn’t accidentally eat any more. The toast was dry and took a minute of chewing and the rest of my orange juice to get down, which gave me enough time to process what he’d said.