Author's note: Another chapter that was deleted. Hope it turned similar enough to the old one.

Back to the story*

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It has been a week since Brody's attack and there hasn't been any update from the police since. Tammy handed over the surveillance footage from the night of the attack at the bakery, and it was sadly revealed that they didn't recognise the face of the attacker.

All of the bruises on Brody's face were gone, and he no longer had to wear a cast. Any physical scars were gone, but the situation still had a lasting effect on Brody's mind.

Even though Brody was recovering fast, it was the doctor's orders that he won't be able to get back on the ice just yet. Everyone was supportive of Brody's recovery, Tammy gave him a temporary sabbatical from work, and Coach Sheen completely understood that Brody needed time off from playing hockey.

Ashley and Adam were always checking in on him, making sure he was alright and having fun with them. And Adrian was by his side constantly, helping him bring the old confident Brody back which Brody was grateful for.

They were sitting on the sides together as Adrian was about to attend practice with his team and the Eagles.

"You going to be alright and not bored just sitting here?" Adrian asked.

Brody smiled softly back at Adrian, appreciating how Adrian was still worrying over him. "I can still practice from the sidelines in my head at least, and I can watch and give tips on people's form too."

Brody leaned forward and whispered to Adrian. "At least I get to see you all sweaty working out anyway."

Adrian leaned back and laughed as he gently nudged Brody. "I'll see you in a bit."

While Adrian was bidding farewell to Brody so he could get dressed into his hockey gear, Sam watched from a distance at the pair saying goodbye.

Now left alone, an already changed Sam walked towards Brody and sat down besides him, not talking directly to him but causally out loud. "Brody, it's so great to see you here again."

"Thanks." Brody muttered quietly, not really wanting to talk to Sam in the first place.

"You know I'm quite impressed by your bravery, coming back to school when your attacker is still on the loose and everything." Sam leaned back on his arms as his demeanour became a lot more relaxed. "It can be very dangerous you know, they could be watching your move right now and you wouldn't even know it."

Sam made sure he looked at Brody, who seemed to shrivel in his seat slightly. "In fact, who knows maybe they could come back and finish the job."

Brody nervously swallowed down the thick air in his throat, gripping his hands on the bench underneath him as his knuckles began turning white from the tight grip on it.

"I heard they haven't found the attacker, the police are useless in this town," Sam placed his hand on top of Brody's hand and rubbed it to make sure he knew about his presence, "I can help you if you want, my family is super rich and we could hire a private investigator if you like. I can be by your side when we catch the guy."

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Adrian had just left the locker room when he saw the interaction between Sam and Brody. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but by looking at Brody alone he could tell he was very uncomfortable.

His eyes landed on the fact that Sam's hand was on top of Brody's, Adrian had no doubts about any kind of infidelity but he could see Brody was holding onto the bench for dear life.

"Is there a problem here?" Adrian asked as he walked over to the pair.

Sam looked up at Adrian with a glare instantly forming on his face. "We were just talking, privately, and so it's none of your business."

Adrian seemed to find it amusing and so he chuckled sarcastically in front of Sam's face. He turned his face towards Brody and asked him, "Brody is everything okay?"

Brody couldn't seem to form any words so he just nodded along, his posture not changing as he relied on the bench to help ground him while his brain was forming too many bad scenarios.

"See, he's fine. Now go away."

Adrian stood his ground as he wasn't going to let Sam get any closer to Brody. "Fat chance. I'm not going anywhere, besides I think Coach Sheen is looking for you. Something about drills or something like that."

Adrian and Sam were locked into a staring battle before Sam abruptly left. With the pain gone and out of the way, Adrian was gentle as he sat back down by Brody.

He lifted Brody's hand and held it within his own, giving it a gentle squeeze which seemed to get Brody's attention back on Adrian.

"Don't listen to anything that nut job said, I have no idea what he said, but I know the guy is wrong."

Brody believed Adrian's words more than Sam's, and that's why he came back to reality and knew Adrian was right.

Brody found his voice as he wanted to thank Adrian for just his presence alone being a comfort to him. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks for coming back to check on me, I think I'm good now."

"That's why I'm here."

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Sam was angry and frustrated at finding out about Adrian's lie to get him away from Brody. He punched the locker when he realised that Adrian's antics were putting him further away from Brody.

Plotting something menacingly, he dragged Caden away from the group so he could speak quietly to him.

Sam slipped a wad of cash into Caden's pocket as he leaned into his ear so that no one else could even potentially hear what they were saying.

"Do me a favour, and teach that brat Adrian a lesson. Make sure he knows to stay in his place."

No words were spoken as Caden had accepted the usual job, grinning as he pocketed the cash before having his eyes glare at Adrian from afar.

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