I make a note of this. “You know…I can’t remember how to play football.”
A smirk plays on Landon’s lips. “Now that’s the first thing you’ve said today that I actually believe. The other day when we were in a huddle, you seemed lost. ‘You. Do that thing.’” He laughs out loud. “So add that to your list. You forgot how to play football. How convenient.”
I add it to the list.
Remember song lyrics.
Forgot people we know.
Remember people we don’t know.
Remember how to use a camera.
Hate football, but I’m forced to play.
Forgot how to play football.
I stare at the list. I’m sure I had a lot more stuff written down on my old list, but I can hardly remember any of it.
“Let me see that,” Landon says. He scrolls over the notes I’ve already taken. “Shit. You’re really taking this seriously.” He stares at it for a few seconds and then hands it back to me. “It seems like you can remember things you wanted to learn yourself, like song lyrics and your camera. But anything else you were taught, you forgot.”
I pull the list in front of me and look at it. He might have a point, other than the fact that I can’t remember people. I make a note of that and then continue with my questions.
“How long has Charlie been seeing Brian? Were we broken up?”
He runs his hand through his hair and takes a sip of his soda. He pulls his feet up and leans against the wall, stretching his legs out on the seat. “We’re gonna be here all day, aren’t we.”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“Brian’s always had a thing for Charlie and everyone knows it. You and Brian have never gotten along because of it, but you make it work for the sake of the football team. Charlie started to change after her father went to prison. She wasn’t as nice…not that she’s ever been the nicest. But lately, she’s actually turned into somewhat of a bully. The two of you do nothing but fight now. I honestly think she hasn’t been seeing him for that long. It started with her just giving him attention when you were around, so she could piss you off. I guess for her to continue that, she had to keep up appearances with him when they were alone. I don’t buy it that she likes him, though. She’s a hell of a lot smarter than he is, and if anyone was being used, it was Brian.”
I’m writing everything down, but I’m also nodding my head. I had a feeling she wasn’t really into the guy. It seems like my relationship with Charlie was stretched as thin as air, and she was just doing what she could to test our strength.
“What are Charlie’s religious beliefs? Was she known to be into voodoo or spells or anything like that?”
“Not that I know of,” he says. “We were all raised Catholic. We don’t really practice unless it’s a significant holiday.”
I make note of that and try to think of another question. I still have so many, and I don’t know what to go with next. “Is there anything else? Anything out of the ordinary that happened last week?”
I can immediately tell he’s hiding something by the change in his facial expression and the way he shifts in his seat.
“What is it?”
He pulls his feet off the seat and leans forward, lowering his voice. “The police…they were at the house today. I heard them questioning Ezra about finding anything unusual. At first she denied it, but I think her guilt got the best of her. She mentioned finding sheets in your room. She said there was blood on them.”
I lean back against my booth and stare up at the ceiling. This isn’t good.
“Wait,” I say, leaning forward again. “That was last week. Before Charlie went missing. It can’t be tied to her if that’s what they’re thinking.”
“No, I know that. Ezra told them that too. That it was last week and she saw Charlie that day. But still, Silas. What the hell were you doing? Why was there blood on your sheets? The way police think, they’re probably assuming you beat Charlie or something, and that it finally went too far.”
“I’d never hurt her,” I say defensively. “I love that girl.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I shake my head, not understanding why I even said them. I’ve never even met her. I’ve never even spoken to her.
But I’ll be damned. I just said I love her, and I meant it straight to my core.
“How can you love her? You claim you can’t remember her.”
“I may not remember her, but I sure as hell still feel her.” I stand up. “And that’s why we need to find her. Starting with her father.”
Landon tries to calm me down, but he has no idea how frustrating it is to lose eight entire hours when you only have forty-eight hours total.
It’s after eight o’clock at night already, and we’ve officially wasted the entire day. As soon as we left the restaurant, we headed toward the prison to pay Brett Wynwood a visit. A prison that’s almost three hours away. Couple that with a two-hour wait, only to be told we aren’t on the visitor list and there’s nothing we can do today to change it…I’m more than pissed.
I can’t afford to make mistakes when I have just hours left to figure out where she is before I lose everything I’ve learned since yesterday.
We pull up next to Landon’s car. I kill my ignition and step out of the car, walking to the gate. There are two padlocks on it, and it looks like they’re never used.