Bad Juju (47 page)
“We made you a chocolate cake. Let’s have a piece,” Leah said. “And here, it’s a present from both of us.” She handed Jake a card.
Jake opened the generic birthday card and a plastic
giftcard
dropped out. “What’s this? Joe’s Steakhouse? I love this restaurant. Can’t believe you’re here.”
Don’t get too excited. This could be her just being nice.
“That
giftcard
is where I’m working. I want you to go there for dinner. And thought you could take me and
Rhianna
with you. Should be enough on the card for three big steaks,” Leah said. She smiled at him. He missed that smile. She looked more beautiful than he could remember.
“Two jobs?” he asked.
“Just one. No more Dollhouse. I want
Rhianna
to be proud of me. And…I want you to be proud of me,” Leah said and looked away. Jake momentarily saw her fill with tears.
“Me? I am proud of you. You’re the love of my life. I don’t care where you work, just as long as you’re happy.”
“The new job helps, but I’m still not happy. I don’t have you. Listen, we
might
have started off under…
unconventional
circumstances, and I stress the word
might
, but too much time has passed. I’m not under any spells right now. I even went out with a few guys to see if maybe I was just lonely, but I wasn’t. It’s you, Jake. You’re the love of my life, too. You’re officially a man. Will you take me and
Rhianna
out to Joe’s Steakhouse tonight?” Leah asked, no longer able to hold back her tears.
“Can’t think of a place I’d rather be than with my family!” Jake exclaimed.
***
Henry left his therapy session in anger. His mother suggested he cool off by going to the lounge area of the ward. He could watch television or play a game. He wished he could go home. However, he could tell by the pitiful looks from the panel of doctors he wasn’t going anywhere for a while. They were closed off to the possibility of demonic possession. Even though his mother witnessed it with her own eyes, she used terms such as ‘hypnosis’ and ‘delusions’, blaming Lucien for everything bad that ever happened in Hayward or even the state of Wisconsin.
Henry found one of the men from group therapy in the lounge and asked him to play a game of chess. The man was nice enough, but irritated Henry when he started talking about aliens invading the doctors and nurses in the hospital.
They sat by the TV and watched a morning news show as they played. As much as he hated the psychiatric ward, it had to be better than his other option, jail. The
djab
inside of him done some horrific things the law wasn’t willing to completely overlook. His mother stood in the hallway and talked to his new doctor.
Henry remembered bits and pieces of last summer, but was still foggy in many areas. He recalled killing Dr.
Resnick
, but not by his own hand, and remembered injuring Dr. Gold and some man at a gas station.
H
e held no recollection of hurting Ms. Fontana. Once she woke up from her coma, she couldn’t remember Henry hurting her either. Nonetheless, he was blamed for her condition so it must be true. As his favorite all time teacher, he was truly sorry and hoped she would one day forgive him. He would explain to her it was the demon inside of him who hurt her. He loved her and wouldn’t harm a hair on her head. If only the doctors would believe him. Then he could go home and sleep in his own bed.
Henry waited forever between each of his chess partner’s moves. The game turned monotonous and he switched his interest to a talk show on TV. The host announced her next guest, Dr. Justin Gold, would join her after the commercial break. He was invited on the show to talk about his new book.
“Mom! Get in here now! Dr. Gold’s going to be on TV!” Henry yelled as he raised the volume.
His mother abruptly ended the conversation with his new doctor and sat down next to him.
“There he is. His new book,
Patient H
. Am I Patient H?” Henry asked.
“Don’t know. Let’s watch,” said his mother.
“Sarah, thank you for having me on your show. My new book,
Patient H
, is a case study of the longest recorded period of time anyone has ever been fully under hypnosis. I included the legendary Dr. Phillip
Resnick
posthumously as co-author. Had he been alive…well, it was a joint effort.” Dr. Gold looked like a movie star. Henry’s new doctor came closer to see what was so exciting.
“Your book has made it to the New York Times Bestseller List practically overnight! Why so successful? What makes Patient H so interesting?” asked Sarah, the pretty blonde talk show host.
“He came to me misdiagnosed, catatonic, hopeless. With Dr.
Resnick’s
help, we devised a new kind of therapy, a real breakthrough. Our research has the potential to help millions,” claimed Dr. Gold.
“But all of this was at the expense of Dr.
Resnick’s
life and almost your own,” added Sarah.
“We made some mistakes. Having been pioneers in this particular field there are always risks. But Dr.
Resnick
did not die in vain. Our contribution to psychiatry has the same magnitude as Freud’s psychoanalysis, maybe more. We’ve only scratched the surface. With more research, who knows what else can spin off of our findings!” Dr. Gold announced. The interview segment ended and cut to a commercial.
“But Mom, what he said wasn’t…” Henry argued.
“Please,” his mother interrupted. Her eyes told him to quit talking. “Let’s go back to your room. I want to explain some things your new doctor and I talked about.”
They walked back to this room in silence. His roommate was gone. His mother shut the door.
“You know I never killed anyone!” Henry cried.
“Oh Son, of course I know that. I was there, remember? Your eyes…They were red. But you’ve got to listen to me if you ever want to get out of here.” Henry nodded in self-defeat. “What I’m about to suggest goes against every bone in my body, against all Christian principles, everything. Your doctors don’t believe in Voodoo,
djabs
, magic, none of it. And they never will. They will live like I did, in complete ignorance. Bottom line is you got to drop the demonic possession story. Lucien knew this; that’s why he wrote that letter taking the blame for everything.”
“So you want me to lie?” Henry asked.
“Yes! Say you were hypnotized. At least that offers up a more logical explanation to your behavior. Say you’re better now. Say that demons only exist in nightmares and you must have been delusional. Say whatever they want you to say and let’s go home and never look back,” said his mother. She gave him a hug and began to cry. He felt uncomfortable being held in her arms, but awkwardly returned the embrace.
“Okay, Mom. I’ll play,” Henry promised.
Henry’s new doctor came into the room to see how he was feeling about the disturbing story on the TV.
“Did seeing your old doctor bring up bad memories?” he asked. Henry could never remember his name.
“Oh yes. But I owe him everything. He pushed me out of my haze. I’m so sorry for talking about demons. I know they are a part of my nightmares,” Henry said. He saw a hint of smile on his mother’s lips.
“Well then, maybe seeing that talk show segment was a good thing. Mrs. Novak, Henry’s showing some progress. Can’t promise you anything, but he could be released ahead of schedule,” said the doctor.
Henry smiled.
If only he knew the power of Voodoo, the
Bizango
Society, sorcery, zombies, spells, possession…Lucien knew and now he’s gone. I almost forgot! The book! And I remember where I hid it! Lucien will live through me! I can’t wait to get out of here.
Other Books
b
y Dina Rae
A fallen angel runs an advertising agency, fathers a new race, hijacks an ancient religion, and wants to secede from Hell. (Horror, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance)
Freemasons and other secret societies prepare the world for takeover.
Preppers
hide underground
and wait
to strike. (Thriller, Conspiracy, Christian, Suspense)
A bouncer falls for a stripper. She is not what he expected.
(Short Story, Thriller, Introduction to The Last Degree)
Amazon Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Be-Paranoid-Prepared-ebook/dp/B007U00VFW/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kstore_1
About Dina Rae
Dina Rae is a new author here to stay. As a former teacher, she brings an academic element to her work. Her
three
novels,
Halo of the Damned
,
The Last Degree
,
and
Bad Juju
weave research and suspense throughout the plots. Her short story,
Be Paranoid Be Prepared
, is a prequel of sorts to
The Last Degree
, focusing on the James Martin character. Dina also
freelances
for various entertainment blogs.
She has been interviewed numerous times on radio programs,
newspapers,
e-zines, websites, and blogs.
