Jesus. This is a lot to remember.
I hold up a finger. “I’ll be right back.” I slip out of the booth and run out of the restaurant, straight to my car. I search for more paper to take notes on. Landon is still at the booth when I return. I don’t ask another question until I write everything down he just told me. And then I feed him a tidbit of information just to see how he responds.
“I’m the one who took those files,” I say to Landon. I look up at him and his eyes are narrowed.
“I thought you said you can’t remember anything.”
I shake my head. “I can’t. But I made a note about some files I found that I was hiding. Why do you think I would take them if they would have proved Dad’s innocence?”
Landon ponders my question for a moment then shakes his head. “I don’t know. Whoever took them never did anything with them. So the only reason you would have hid them is to protect Charlie’s father.”
“Why would I want to protect Brett Wynwood?”
“Maybe you weren’t protecting him for his own sake. Maybe you were doing it for Charlie.”
I drop the pen. That’s it. The only reason I would have taken those files is if I were doing it to protect Charlie.
“Was she close to her father?”
Landon laughs. “Very. She was a daddy’s girl through and through. In all honesty, I think the only person she loved more than you was her father.”
This feels like I’m unraveling a piece of a puzzle, even if it’s not the puzzle I should be unraveling. Knowing the old Silas, he would have done anything to make Charlie happy. Which includes protecting her from knowing the truth about her father.
“What happened with me and Charlie after that? I mean…if she loved her father that much, you would think my father putting him behind bars would have made her never want to speak to me again.”
Landon shakes his head. “You were all she had,” he says. “You stuck by her side through it all, and nothing pissed Dad off more than knowing you didn’t stand by his side 100%.”
“Did I think Dad was innocent?”
“Yeah,” Landon says. “You just made it a point not to take sides when it came to him and Charlie. Unfortunately, to Dad that meant you were taking their side. The two of you haven’t been on the best terms for the past year or two. The only time he speaks to you is when he’s yelling at you from the stands at Friday night games.”
“Why is he so obsessed with me playing football?”
Landon laughs again. “He’s been obsessed with his sons attending his Alma matter since before he knew he was having sons. He’s shoved football down our throats since we could walk. I don’t mind it, but you always hated it. And that makes him resent you even more, because you have a talent for it. It’s in your blood. But you’ve never wanted anything more than to just be able to walk away from it.” He smiles. “God, you should have seen him when he showed up last night and you weren’t out on that field. He actually tried to have the game stopped until we could find you, but the officials wouldn’t allow it.”
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.