The Knights of Time and the Forgotten Book

Chapter 8: Street Chase

“Good morning sunshine!” Brandon yelled as soon as I opened my eyes. “Breakfast?”

“Morning. You’re awfully up early.” I rubbed my eyes, so I could clearly see Brandon towering over me, holding a large slice of ham which was roughly the size of his own head.

“The early bird catches the worm.”

I laughed. “Okay, sure. Why not.” I looked around and saw Jeremy sitting on the same bench we had sat on the night before. Taking a piece of fresh bread, in an undertone I asked, “Has he eaten anything?”

Looking at the serious expression on my face all the humour left Brandon’s eyes.

“I asked him if he wanted anything, but he said he wasn’t hungry,” he replied in an equally hushed tone. “Is anything wrong?”

“No,” I lied. “It’s just that sometimes he worries me.”

“I know.” Brandon took in what I said and didn’t question it. I hated lying to him but Jeremy didn’t want me to tell anyone, probably even if the need was dire. But I got the sense that bringing Brandon into this wouldn’t solve anything, and I felt that he needed me. I guess it was one of those Catherine-given feelings. You know what to do, but you don’t know why.

The only thing I managed to reply with was, “But I don’t think his father is the only reason he’s malnourished.”

Brandon raised his eyebrows.

I took a bite of my bread and took a small piece of the cheese there was on the table. Breakfast was nothing like I was used to. I’d usually take some cereal which tasted like nothing, or to the other extreme, it would taste like I was putting clumps of sugar in my mouth. But the bread I was eating was fresh. Fresher than anything I've ever tasted. When I pressed my fingers down on it, it crunched. As weird as it sounds, I really loved the crisping sound it made. What really rounded off all that bread was a slice of prosciutto and a square of cheese.

At this point I was completely lost in the Mediterranean feel of this place.

I sat next to Jeremy.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Jeremy looked exhausted. The horrible bags he had under his eyes became almost darker than they were and his response to my question was delayed. To match, his dark brown hair was tousled and messed up, like he’d just come back from wrestling with a pillow, and his nose was so bruised and puffed that it was almost completely purple. I looked at him for a while trying to let his appearance sink into my thoughts.

“Did you get enough sleep?”

“Yeah.”

I sighed. He was lying to me. I could somehow sense this, like the idea was itching at the back of my mind. Had I become a lie detector now even? Despite knowing of his lie, I kept my mouth shut. I couldn’t challenge him further than he was able to.

I tore the bread I was eating in half and put it in his palm.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat something, or – or you won’t be strong enough to fight or defend yourself.” He didn’t respond. “At least eat the piece I just gave you.”

I stared at him till he started chewing on it.

“I didn’t know you’re my mother now.”

“I didn’t know that either.” I smiled and stood up.

“Did you get any bad dreams last night?”

“Not last night, no. I got a prophetic dream.” Brandon walked into the courtyard and caught up with our conversation.