CHAPTER 85 - HYPNOSIS
Six years ago…
Dean.
I am back in the past.
My phone rings. “Hey, Dana,” I answer, smiling. She makes me so happy. This must be love. She is the first girl who hasn’t asked me to buy her stuff or take her to fancy restaurants or, on expensive holidays. She just wanted to spend time with me.
“Hey, Dean.” Her friends giggle in the background. “What time are you coming over?”
She invited me to spend the afternoon at her place, watching movies with her friends. My friends will also be joining me.
“Jason and I are on our way,” I tell her. Jason is in the shower. We got back late from baseball practice.
“Don’t be too late,” she tells me while her friends giggle again. I am sure she has me on speakerphone.
“I won’t,” I promise her, “I miss you so much already.” We’ve been dating for almost three months now and I miss her more every day. I never experienced this level of emotions for anyone else in my life. Ever.
“We’ll start making popcorn as soon as you and the guys come over,” Dana says.
“Okay.”
“I love you,” she whispers. Her friends mimic her in the background.
“I love you too.” It’s the truth. I love Dana with all of my heart and soul. I am thankful for the day I met her.
“Jason!” I yell, “How long does it take you to scrub your balls?”
“I am almost done,” he yells back.
Jason is the closest person I have to a sibling. He’s gotten me out of more fixes than I can remember. He pushed me to enroll at university, supported me throughout high school, and motivated me to continue with baseball practice. Jason also introduced me to Dana.
I freshen up, change into a clean pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, spray Dana’s favorite cologne and wait in the living room for Jason.
“I am ready, dude,” he announces a few minutes later joining me in the living room.
Jason looks like a member of a boy band. He’s ironed his shoulder-length blonde hair and left it loose. He’s dressed in a tailored blue shirt and tan chinos.
“You look dashing,” I tell him.
He grins. “Thank you.” He strikes a GQ pose.
“I guess we can leave now,” I tell him. It’s been more than a day since I last saw Dana.
“Sure.” He grabs his coat and follows me to my car. Jason sits in the front seat. “Are you going to get hammered tonight?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “I am not planning on drinking any alcohol tonight. Are you?”
“Nope. But I am available to be the designated driver if you change your mind,” he says.
“Thanks,” I tell him. I plan on spending good quality time with Dana and I don’t need alcohol to do that. I want to talk to her all night, make out and wake up with her next to me in the morning. I am not even planning on driving anywhere. She invited me to stay over. There is no place that I would rather be than with Dana.
Jason turns on the music while I drive. We don’t much on the way to Dana’s apartment which she shares with her older sister and two friends. It’s in a pretty decent neighborhood, so at least that keeps my parents off my back. Dana is a few years older than me and already has an internship at a law firm. I am so proud of her. Even though Jason motivated me to enroll for my bachelor’s degree, it is because of Dana that I am determined to make something of my life. I don’t want to be famous just for being an heir to my parent’s fortune.
The drive seems to last forever even though I reach Dana’s place in fifteen minutes. She greets me with a warm hug and a peck on the lips.
“I missed you,” I whisper against her lips.
“I miss you too,” she says and kisses me.
Jason clears his throat next to me and I realize we are obstructing the doorway.
“Sorry,” I murmur and move away. Dana doesn’t let go of my hand. We spend the rest of the evening watching movies. Dana’s sister makes popcorn. Four of my other friends join us about an hour into the first movie and order pizza. At around 9 PM. Jason suggests we visit a pop-up drive-in screening. He fixes us virgin mocktails before we leave. I drink mine in one gulp. It tastes a little bitter but I guess it’s because of the weird food combination we’ve been eating all night – popcorn, pizza, fizzy drinks, ice cream and the Lord knows what else.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Dana says.
“Let’s go then,” I tell her, and toss my keys to Jason. “Do you mind driving bro’?” I ask him.
He catches the keys with both hands. “Not at all.”
One of the other guys decides to ride with us. I don’t mind at all as long as I have the back seat all to myself. Dana cuddles next to me as soon as we leave her apartment. Her sister and most of her friends decide not to join us. They choose to return home instead. Jason doesn’t seem to mind at all. He is more than happy to go to the drive-in with us. Dana doesn’t mind Jason and our other friend joining us. It’s not like we will be making out the entire time we’re there. Dana loves screenings of old movies. We are happy to be with each other holding hands and just watching movies.
***
“What is your other friend’s name?” Dr. Jordan interrupts my recollection.
“Lance,” I reply, “Lance Garner.”
She jots his name down on her notepad. “Okay, you may continue.”
***
Dana falls asleep on our way to the drive-in. She rests her head on my shoulder and snores. A few seconds later I find myself dozing off as well. When I woke up, a policeman was shining a light in my face. I was in the driver’s seat. And there was a body bag next to our car.
“What happened?” I asked the police officer.
“There’s been an accident.”
***
“That’s enough for today.” Dr. Jordan snaps her fingers and I return to the present moment.
“Did it work?” I ask her.
She nods. “This session was far more fruitful than I expected it to be,” she says.
“Thank God.” I let out a long, relieved sigh.
“Are you ready to hear what you revealed?” she asks me.
Butterflies flutter in a frenzied rush in the pit of my stomach. “Yes,” I whisper.
“You were not driving on the night of the accident,” Dr. Jordan tells me.
“Who was?” I ask her.
“Your best friend, Jason.” She watches me closely. “Does he remember what happened on the night of the accident?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. But he supported me throughout the investigation. He insisted I was innocent. I cannot even remember if he said that he was driving that night.”
“Then perhaps it is time you got in touch with the detectives who handled your case, and ask them to get in touch with me,” she says.
My heart races. “Are you sure I said that? That Jason was driving?”
Dr. Jordan nods. “Yes, you did.”
“What if I somehow messed up my memories?” I ask her.
“When you visited me after the accident, your father emailed the reports from his private investigator. Those reports are like the perfect puzzle piece that fits in with everything you told me tonight.” She pauses. “I suggest you do not reveal anything that was discovered in this session. Ask your father to help you get the case reopened and then ask the detectives handling your case to get in touch with me.”
“Is there anything else I recalled?” I ask her.
She nods. “Yes, but it will be best for me to reveal that information directly to a private investigator so that we don’t jeopardize your case or give anyone a chance to cover up their tracks.”
I nod. “Thank you, Dr. Jordan.”
She walks me to the door. “Good luck,” she tells me.
“Thank you.” I really need good luck.
I walk in disbelief to my car. I still cannot believe that Jason was driving that night. He never mentioned anything. I remember that he left with Dana and I that night. I could never recollect much about what happened after that. But there is one thing I am certain of – Jason never mentioned that he was driving that night or that he was in the same vehicle as us. After my session with Dr. Jordan, I remember bits and pieces of that night. One of my former friends left with Jason and I that night. He was sitting in the front seat. My heart jumps hard. There is a witness. Nobody else died that night. So there is a good chance my former friend, Lance Garner is still alive. I step on the gas and race home.
My van screeches to a halt in the driveway. My father rushes out of the house.
“Dean!” he shouts, “Are you okay?”
It takes forever for me to jump out of my van. I rush inside the house and almost trip in the doorway. My father grabs me.
“Dean! You are scaring me. What’s wrong?” he asks, panic evident in his voice and on his face. He holds my hand and guides me inside the house.
I gasp for air. “You have to reopen Dana’s case,” I whisper.