Page 73 of Toxic Obsession

"No." My gaze blinked up, meeting his as I forced a smile. "I'm sorry." I blew out a heavy sigh as I dropped my fork on my plate. "I was lost in my thoughts. It was a long, overwhelming day." I couldn't tell him I was sitting here thinking about Jayden.

"Is the food okay?" His brows pinched as his gaze flicked from my plate back to me. "You've hardly eaten anything."

"Yes, I guess I'm just not that hungry."

"It was probably overwhelming seeing your dad today." He smiled. I nodded. "So, what did you want to ask me about?"

"Oh, right," I said, snapping back to reality. "My dad's attorney thinks we have a good chance at an appeal, but he was asking me a lot of questions I couldn't answer."

"Like?"

"Like what we were talking about that night on the phone."

"How is that important to your dad's case?"

I shrugged. "I don't really understand it all, but he said I need to remember everything that happened that night."

He nodded. "Makes sense, I guess."

"Do you remember?" I asked. "Because it's still foggy for me."

He set his fork down and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's been a long time." He bit down on his bottom lip as his gaze flicked around the room, searching for answers. He shook his head. "No, sorry, Sadie. I don't, but I'm sure we were debating something."

I laughed because I knew he was right.

"Yeah." I chuckled. "I said the same thing."

"How about you go relax, and I'll clear the table." Brandon smiled, pushing out of his chair.

"What? No." I scowled, pushing out of my chair and grabbing my plate. "I'll help."

"Nope." He pulled the plate out of my hand, setting it back on the table before he grabbed my shoulders, guiding me out of the kitchen. "You go and let me handle this. It's been a long time since I had a good debate. Pick a topic." I laughed as I strolled out of the kitchen through the living room and out the front door before sinking into one of the rocking chairs on the front porch.

It was a beautiful night to sit on the porch. The sky was clear, and there was a cool breeze blowing.

I wanted to let the day go and focus on my time with Brandon, but I didn't want to screw this appeal up for my father, and I still couldn't remember most of the day. I remembered seeing my mother and what she did, falling off the roof and running to Brandon's house, but that was it.

Brandon joined me after a few minutes, sinking into the chair beside me.

"You okay?" He must have sensed my distance.

"Yeah." I sighed, letting my head fall against the back of the rocking chair as I stared into the darkness surrounding the porch. "It's just making me crazy that I can't remember."

"Maybe the memory is gone." He shrugged.

I shook my head. "No, it's in there. I know it is."

"Okay." He smiled. "Let's walk through the day. What do you remember first about that day?"

I thought back to that morning. "I remember my dad." I smiled. "He poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat down to eat with all of us."

"Do you remember seeing your mom that morning?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Do you remember if you saw her at all that day? Before the murders?"

"After breakfast, I went to school. It was a pretty normal day. I had tutoring after school like usual—" I paused. My brows furrowed. No, I didn't stay after school that day. My tutor canceled, and I went home early. My chest tightened as a flood of deeply buried memories washed over me all at once.

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