Page 74 of You Know Why

“That’s quite normal. You’re tough, Brooklyn. A fighter. You will regain your memories, I’m sure of it. The brain is a mysterious place. When damaged, it finds new pathways to circumvent the roadblock. I’m living proof of that.” He points to a scar on his bald pate. “Just be patient with yourself. It won’t happen overnight.” He pats me on the knee and limps from the room.

A few hours and what feels like a million tests later, I decide to try again.

“Margot, what happened to Trey? If he’s not dead or hurt, where is he?”

Margot huffs out a breath. “No one’s seen or heard from him since the day of the accident.”

“That’s not right. I’ve seen him. I know I have. He was here.”

Margot pulls her hair out of its ponytail, vigorously runs her fingers through it, and winds it up again. Her skin is so pale. The horrors of the past few days are etched on her forehead.

“No, honey, he wasn’t. Trust me. We moved you from Atlanta to Nashville yesterday, and you’ve been monitored constantly. Either me or Eden, and there’s security on your door. We’d know if he were here. Plus, people are looking for him.”

“Why?”

“I really don’t think now is the time—”

“Damn it, Margot, tell me! Why do I have security?”

But my sister keeps on in that soothing tone that makes me want to scream.

“Your brain’s going to play tricks on you for a while. That’s part of the medication they gave you to keep you sedated.”

“But Trey was here. I remember. He said something . . .” God, it hurts to think, but I force myself to focus. I already know I won’t get better if I don’t. “Something about not doing what they said he did.” I move my head again, try to sit up and adjust to a more comfortable position. This bed is miserable. The effort makes me cough. Margot gives me some water. When I’ve obediently sucked on the straw, she nods.

“Maybe so. Maybe it was just an angel visiting. You heard the doctor, confusion is normal.”

“I’m not confused. Well, maybe I am, but he was here. I know it.”

“Okay. He was here.”

“Don’t just humor me. You know I hate that.”

“See? You’re already starting to get back to normal. Brook, they just took you off sedation this morning, and you’ve only surfaced a few times. They needed to keep your brain protected from the trauma. And it was a major trauma, you’re totally concussed, so there are things that won’t make sense until you’ve healed a bit more.”

“Okay. Here’s what doesn’t make sense. People are looking for Trey? Is he missing or something?”

Margot gives a gusty sigh. “He left you, honey. You were flying to Italy for vacation with the kids, and he walked out of the airport in Atlanta. But the police want to talk to him, because . . . his parents were murdered. And apparently, there’s money missing from TGG’s accounts. They think he stole the money and ran.”

“His parents? In Connecticut?”

“Oh, Brook, I really hate dumping all this on you. Trey isn’t from Connecticut. He’s from a small town called Malogen, Georgia. And the night after he left you in Atlanta, the police think he made his way to his parents’ house and killed them.”

“Why would he do that? None of this makes sense.”

Something tickles the back of my mind—the money. Our money, gone.

“Tell me about the accident again?”

“You were outside of Eden’s house and were hit by an SUV. You cracked your head on the curb. God, Brook.” She fights back a sob and squeezes my hand. “I thought we were going to lose you.”

“I’m sorry. I hate that you were worried. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Don’t ever scare me like that again, do you understand?”

“Yes. So how did I end up at Eden’s house?”

Margot’s face is guarded.