CHAPTER 14 (My evil twin, and I am not even a Gemini)
“Alejo, I want to hypnotize you, I need to see who is in your head, please trust me, and this will clear your name. Mick will be a witness. Alejo, let’s do this and nail Breno to a tree.” I agreed.
MELO: “Whom am I talking to, please identify yourself.”
ALEJO: “Alejo Alvesio, My names is Alejo.”
MELO: “May I speak to Ian please?”
ALEJO: “No, Ian is not here. Mama hurt Ian, he is not here, he vanished.”
MELO: “Alejo, I need you to trust me, I am your friend, please let me talk to Ian, we are friends, really good friends.”
ALEJO: “If you hurt him, I will not forgive you.”
MELO: “I have no intentions of ever hurting Ian.”
ALEJO: The changes were so remarkable. Mick sat forward, he stared at the transformation. Melo placed his finger over his lips. Mick nodded, he came closer. Alejo’s face, was younger, the scar less prominent, his jaw line strong, his face no longer sagged. He was ruggedly handsome. “You wanted to talk to me doctor, have I done something wrong?” The voice was that of a young man.
MELO: “No, not at all Ian, am very pleased to meet you. I need you to tell me about your life, will you tell me?”
IAN: “Yes, just ask.”
MELO: “Mama hurt you, and you used to run, provincial, well done, you did so well, do you know Alejo?”
IAN: “Yeah Mama did bad things to me, I begged her to stop. No, I don’t know Alejo.”
MELO: “Where have you been Ian?”
IAN: “At prom. Then I walked home. Lorena called me a looser, because I don’t have a car. I went and had a burger, and some drunk spilled his red wine all over my shirt, Mama was so mad, she told me to take it off, I told her I would wash it, she forced me, then she forced me to … I can’t say it. I hurt her, I was tired of being treated like that, the bible says it’s wrong. I am sorry I hurt Mama, is she alright?”
MELO: He looked at Mick, and wrote on the pad. “He thinks he is seventeen.” Mick nodded. “Mama is dead, not because you hurt her, her heart stopped from all the drinking and drugs. Ian when last did you see Lorena?”
IAN: “At prom, she was dancing with Roberto, I told you I went for a burger, and I walked home. I have not seen her, I guess she and Roberto hooked up, and that is fine, I like Roberto, if Lorena doesn’t like me, well, then that’s cool with me, I have my scholarship, I will soon be gone, I will become a psychiatrist, I will help boys that have been hurt by their Mama’s.”
MELO: “Ian do you know a girl called Caroline?” “No”. “Ian do you know Nina, Pedro, Elizabeth, Luiz, Marcela, Victor, Sabrina, or Marisa?”
IAN: “No, I have never heard of them, maybe they attended my school. My only friend is Roberto, Lorena only went with me because she felt sorry for me, but when Roberto arrived she ditched me for him.”
MELO: “Ian you can wake up now.” Melo took one hell of a chance, but he had to know.
IAN: “Where am I?”
MELO: “I am a doctor, I am here to help you Ian.” Melo and Mick stared at his brilliant eyes. “Ian, I want you to look in the mirror, then I will explain it all to you, do you hear Alejo in your head?”
Ian shook his head no. Melo fetched the mirror. Ian stared at his reflection. He touched the scar on his face. “Why am I so old?”
“That I will explain to you, so sit back, be calm, and I will tell you.” Melo explained everything to Ian. He wanted this persona to stay. Ian cried a few times, but he gradually accepted what he was told. “You have a wife, a lovely wife, her name is Carolina, two dogs, and a cat. You are a psychiatrist, but, you decided to be an Uber driver again, until the real PERP was apprehended.”
“Doc, and Mick, I really don’t know you, but I thank you for what you have done for me, I will take it very slow with my wife, hell I feel like a boy trapped in a man’s body. I will be back, you have to tell me everything. Please Senhor Mick, take care of my familia. Oh don’t know how to drive.”
“Mick?”
“I got this. Come Ian, I will give you a crash course.”
“One more thing, can I see Roberto?” Melo explained that Roberto was deceased. Ian sobbed, to him, this was where he left off this morning, watching Roberto and Lorena dance. He had tons to come to terms with. Mick showed him how to drive, and ordered am automatic, for Ian, “We will continue your lessons tomorrow. Go home, and be yourself. You run every morning at four, I will be there to watch over you. And I will drive you tomorrow, you are a doctor, get a sling for your arm, within a week you will know how to drive.” Mick dropped Ian off at his house. Arm in a sling. Carolina was stunning, the dogs jumped on him. Carolina started at Ian, he was so attractive, she always thought he was attractive, he looked ten years younger, and his eyes were a combination of light brown and green. “Are you hungry, Ian?” He nodded. Carolina cut his steak for him. He didn’t ask what the names of the animals were, so he listened to Carolina.
“What happened, Ian. To your arm? And I think I passed this exam, thanks to you.”
“I fell while jogging, I should be all good in a few days, your exams? Wow I am really happy for you, I think I need to go to bed, my arm hurts, good night Carolina.” Ian was not sure which bedroom was his, so he followed Jesse. He closed the door, and looked in his closet, “suits, I wear suits, I have so many shoes.” He was mesmerised by what he saw, he let Jesse out after they played on the bed. His very own dog, well dogs. He went to shower. And looked in the mirror. “Damn not bad.”
Ian set his alarm, and went for his run. Mick was waiting for him. “Well at least I get to lose a few pounds, did you have a good evening, no voices?”
“No, Mick, hell that feels strange. No voices. I need to get used to being an adult overnight, my whole life is just one large blank.”
“Well if it’s any consolation, you get a second chance, so make it work, and he watched you, but I don’t think he noticed the change, dude you changed drastically, for the better, believe me.”
Mick and I jogged, I had a shower, and dressed in a suit, it all felt so strange to me. The town looked larger. I had my arm in the sling, some of the passengers told me, they were happy to have me back. we drove past my school. “It feels like I was here yesterday.”
“I can’t begin to imagine how this must feel, but I have your back, remember that.”
We had driving lessons in the afternoon, it went much better than yesterday. I went to the store, I was amazed at how much the town had grown. I jumped at my own reflection a few times. Mick patted my back. He dropped me off at home, I was so unsettled, I started cooking, that was one thing I knew how to do. Carolina, is so beautiful, I don’t know how to talk to her, I let her lead the conversation. She enjoyed the supper, I went and played with the dogs.
I showered and came down stairs, there were so many shows, we never owned a television, I sat glued, until Carolina said good night, she kissed me on my mouth. I kissed her back, another thing I have done, not often, but I have kissed a girl. The kiss deepened but I was not ready, for the next step, I have never been intimate, well allow me to correct that, not with a girl. The old wounds burst open, I excused myself, and I called Mick. He came over. He gave me the talk. I wasn’t embarrassed, I wanted to know, the right way. I was glad that Carolina was young, it would make things less awkward if I ever had the courage to take it further. “Ian, you are married, it’s the most natural part of being married.”
“Not, if it feels like yesterday in your head…” Mick nodded and offered me another beer. “My shadow, where is he?”
“I don’t know, my friend is keeping an eye on him, he is looking for a place to stay, so that has kept him occupied for most of the day. We won’t allow him to set one foot into this house, I promise you.” Mick had to teach me how to use a ATM card, hell I was super rich. Mick had to show me how to use my cellular. I felt like a baby, everything had changed so much, I felt like an alien in my own body. I am a fast learner. I took out my books, and gave myself a crash course in psychology, lucky for me, this brain remembered all of it.
Mick stayed, I introduced him to Carolina in the morning, and explained that we worked together, he was too tipsy to drive home. We went for our jog. Mick was always watchful. No bodies, Mick asked me if I would give him all the notes. “What notes?” He smacked his forehead, and explained it to me.
Work was awesome. I liked seeing everything for the first time. “We have a tail, don’t look back.” Mick called his friend, they had a quick exchange and he cut the call. “Eventually, we will have to corner him, that will be the only way to catch him.” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that comment. We stopped for lunch. “Calma, my friend got him off our backs.” I had a burger, it was so good. Well better than it was a few days back. I had more driving lessons, and I got the hang of it. I had an appointment with Melo, Mick accompanied me, I had no secrets, they knew more about Ian Alvesio, than I did. Melo told me about my second wife, I think my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“Carolina is my third wife?” I was shocked to my core. I had to grow up, I had to accept the fact, that live started at forty for me, I will have to fill in the blanks daily. I allowed Melo to hypnotize me, I didn’t want another passenger in my head, all clear. I was Ian, the same Ian I was at seventeen, two hours before I killed my Mama. Melo purged. I didn’t feel bad, I wanted to but, hell that was a long time ago. I am now a new man. Mick drove me home. Carolina wasn’t home, so he checked the house for me, we locked all the doors, and windows. “Call me, at any hour, don’t take him on, on your own, he is a born killer, and he is after you. I need those papers, and photos.” I had to think, I had no idea where I put it, we found the locked draw, and the key. He took it and left.
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