Chapter 50

Kadeem

"Wake up, Mateo."

Kadeem leaned over his snoring friend. He grasped Mateo's shoulder firmly, shaking it. Mateo emitted a dull noise. Rolling away from Kadeem's grasp, Mateo cocooned himself in blankets.

Kadeem sighed loudly. "Get up, you asshole."

"Whadaya want?" Mateo croaked, voice thick with sleep.

"I need your help."

"Middle of the night," Mateo groaned. "Go away."

"Please."

Kadeem had been tossing and turning for hours. The alcohol had worn well off at this point. With the sobriety, came a dialing up of the edgy, troubled feelings in his heart.

Mateo pulled the covers down from over his face. Kadeem watched him try to force his heavy eyes open. "What's wrong," he asked, before his eyes snapped closed again.

"I need you to do more hypnotism on me."

Mateo's eyes flew open. "You've got to be kidding me," he growled. "You woke me up for that?"

"Yes," Kadeem said, suppressing a guilty wince. Maybe it was a shitty thing to do, waking Mateo up like this, but he couldn't bear it. The remaining missing pieces in his memories were irritating him in a Tell-Tale Heart fashion. It was not just an itch he couldn't scratch - it was a void that was driving him mad.

"You said you got your memories back," Mateo said, sitting up.

"I told you, a couple bits are still foggy." Kadeem sat down on the brown tufted chair next to the guest bed Mateo was using.

"Well, then," Mateo said, his tone dripping in acid. "If his Highness is in such desperate need for -" He grabbed for the alarm clock next to the bed, spinning it so it faced him. "2:37 AM hypnosis, then I live to serve!"

Kadeem growled. "Could you can the sarcasm, please?"

Mateo crossed his arms like a petulant child. "Fine," he said. "Let's get this over with so I can go back to sleep."

Mateo began to steady his breath and Kadeem could visibly see all traces of irritation begin to wash away from his friend's face. As Mateo's posture relaxed, Kadeem felt himself start to calm, too.

Mateo spun so that he was facing Kadeem, his legs hanging off the edge of the bed, bare feet planted on the ground.

"Take a deep breath," he said. "And let it go. Allow your body to relax, allow your eyes to close. You can let your arms fall limp by your side. Allow all your muscles to relax."

Kadeem shut his eyes and focused on his breathing and the sound of Mateo's words, his voice slow, soothing, and deep.

"Let shoulders drop. Let your jaw go slack. Let your body grow heavy and languid."

Kadeem felt as though he were melting into the leather armchair. Perhaps he should have just asked for hypnosis to sleep...

"You are aware of your surroundings, but you feel detached," Mateo said. "Your body is relaxed and heavy, but your mind is alert and awake. You can hear sounds around you, but they are distant. You can feel sensations on your skin, but they are distant. Your eyes are closed, but you can still see the world around you. Your ears are closed, but you can still hear the world around you."

Kadeem was still and focused inside. The world around dropped away, his sole concentration on Mateo’s voice.

"It is safe here with me," Mateo said. "You have nothing to fear from me. I will not hurt you. I will not let anyone hurt you. I am here to help you remember what happened to you. You don't need to be afraid. You are finding the memories you need to unlock."

In the fog of his mind, Kadeem saw the dim image begin to appear.

A tabby cat was perched on a porch rail. It jumped off and disappeared into the shrubs when Kadeem opened the screen door.

"You have the key to these memories," Mateo's voice was saying through the mist. "The memories are unlocking now, for you to find the truth."

The birds chirped in the sunrise. Kadeem juggled his coffee mug, his laptop bag, and the pile of file folders in his hand. He'd worked all weekend, and now he was trucking everything back to his office at the health club.

"You're not afraid of the truth. You're open, willing, and ready to see it."

The sound of footsteps caught Kadeem's attention first, then the recognizable scent of his uncle - a cross between cigars, cedar and tea leaves.

"You're ready to shine a light in the dark places. You're seeing the hidden places and spaces of your mind."

Bob was crouched by the side of Kadeem's sports car.

"Hey," Kadeem said, and Bob jumped about ten feet in the air.

"Oh, hey there, son," Bob said, his eyes still wide with anxiety. "You startled me."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to," Kadeem shrugged as he schlepped over to the car, key dangling from his pointer finger. "What are you doing out here,” he asked.

Bob shifted nervously. "I, um, I smelled something funny. I was just checking it out. Sometimes the ol' wolf gets the better of me." Bob laughed cheerily.

Kadeem didn't laugh with him. He raised his eyebrows. "But what are you doing at my house? At the crack of dawn?"

"Well, I was out for a walk," Bob said. "All your exercise talk has finally gotten to me. You're a good influence, I guess."

Kadeem's head felt muddled. He'd spent the weekend sleeping in the spare room after another argument with Ardal over Susan. The bed was comfortable enough, but it wasn't his bed, and Ardal wasn't with him. It wasn't the same, and his sleep had suffered for it.

"I guess so, Uncle," he said, setting his coffee mug on the roof of his car while he unlocked it.

He waved goodbye and climbed in. Bob's face stood out in the rearview mirror, an expression of glee.

"You're unlocking the past. You're not afraid to face and find the truth. You're remembering it now so clearly. It's as though you're living it again."

Hurtling down the freeway. The blur of trees and cars out the side windows. The visor pulled down to block out the bright rays of the rising sun. The radio turned to the news.

“And in the markets today, investors are…”

The click of the blinker. Red tail lights up ahead. Kadeem lightly began to press the brakes, but the car continued to speed unchecked, flying towards the vehicles stopped ahead in the heavy traffic jam.

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel, pressing harder and harder on the brakes. But the car didn’t slow down. Panic set in as he frantically slammed his foot on the pedal, but still nothing.

With one last ditch effort, he reached for the emergency brake, pulling it with all his might, but it was useless. The car careened out of control, tires screeching as it swerved madly across lanes of traffic. In a deafening explosion of metal and glass, the car collided with a semi truck. Pain ignites through his body like wildfire as he was thrown forward like a rag doll, snapping his spine, then thrust back by the airbag when it opened with the speed of a shotgun.

Metal was wrapped around him, crushing him. The air was thick with a white powder, like smoke. Shards of glass glittered on the dashboard.

Lights out.