Chapter 20

[Mimi]

The hotel room was eerily quiet as John gathered some clothes for Marlena to wear. He quickly dressed himself before her went to her. He had previously tried to engage her in a conversation, but his repeated attempts had been futile. She sat on the stool in front of the vanity staring at herself in the mirror. She’d made it clear that she didn’t want to be touched or to talk. John wondered what in the hell she had to talk to Roman about that she couldn’t share with him. He was jealous as hell that she didn’t trust him enough to share what the hell her nightmare was about. “Doc, we need to get you into some clothes,” John said as he approached her from behind. “Can you put these on or do you want me to help?” Marlena didn’t respond. John quickly ran his hand in front of her face. He received no response. “Doc,” he said as he slowly touched her shoulders. She didn’t move. “Come on Doc,” John said as he shook her shoulders a little hoping that she would snap out of the state she was in. No response. John turned her around on the stool and bent down to pick her up and carried her into the living room. He was ten feet from the bed when someone knocked on the hotel room door. John could hear a keycard being inserted into the lock, followed by the door being opened. He turned around to see who had entered the room and saw it was Dr. North. “What the hell are you doing here North?” John asked as he turned his back to Dr. North and proceeded to place Marlena gently on the bed. “Why the hell do you have a key to my hotel room?” He asked in anger. “Marlena gave it to me,” Alex said matter of factly as he caught of glimpse of Marlena’s bare breasts. After all these years she still had the same amazing body. “Do you normally enter places where you’re not invited?” John asked as he pulled a blanket over Marlena. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Alex not even trying to hide the fact that he liked what he saw. Bastard. “Don’t let me catch you looking at my wife like that ever again,” John warned him. Alex laughed, “Mr. Black, she’s my patient. I was concerned about her. Something is obviously not right. You’re wasting time. Look at her. Let me make sure that she’s okay.” John looked at his watch. “At five o’clock in the morning?” he asked in disbelief. “I had a feeling that someone was wrong.” “How the hell could you know that?” “Call it doctor patient intuition. Remember Marlena and I go way back. I can sense when things aren’t right with her,” Alex bragged. He looked over to where Marlena was laying on the bed and saw that there was no apparent change in her condition. He wondered how long John Black was going to let her lay there before he sought medical treatment. John wanted to hit him. “I don’t buy your shit for a minute. You may have my wife fooled, but not me. I can see your intentions from a mile away. You want my wife and will do whatever it takes to get her. Am I right?” John stared at him. Alex smirked, “Mr. Black, what has made you such a paranoid man. Always thinking someone or something is out to get you. What a sad little life you must lead.” “Are you denying that you have less than honorable intentions towards my wife?” John asked. “I refuse to engage in such a pointless conversation with you,” Alex admitted as he slowly walked toward Marlena who was lying on the bed, eyes open, staring at something neither of them could see. “Look, something’s wrong with my patient and I’d like to check her out.” “I’m sure you would,” John laughed, “but you’re not going anywhere near her.” “Black, I need to talk to her,” Alex said as he made his way towards Marlena. John blocked his path and put up his hands to block him from getting anywhere near Marlena. “You have done enough. Stay away from her,” John warned Alex. “I’m helping her,” Alex said as he slowly approached John. “Helping her?” John laughed. “My god, she’s in this mess because of you.” Alex reached out and touched Marlena softly on the arm. “No,” she cried out, “Don’t let him hurt me.” “Get away from her,” John yelled as he physically removed Alex’s hand from Marlena’s arm. John looked down at Marlena on the bed. She’d started to cry. He reached down to touch her face when she flinched at the contact. “Please don’t hurt me,” she begged him, as she looked him in the eyes. John was devastated; “I’d never hurt you Marlena. I love you.” “Let me see her,” Alex said as he went around to the other side on the bed and slowly lowered his weight. “I said get away from her,” John yelled at Alex, watching as Alex slowly approached Marlena’s trembling body. Alex continued to make his way to Marlena, when John bent over Marlena to push Alex back. He didn’t realize he had come into contact with her body until he heard her begging for him to get off of her. “Please, please, please,” she begged, he eyes shut tightly. “Please don’t do that to me.” John quickly broke the contact, heartbroken at the anguish in her voice. “Marlena, I’m not going to hurt you.” He instinctively reached out to stroke the side of her face when she flinched. “No.” “I’d never hurt you. It’s me John,” he tried to reassure her. He gathered her into his arms. “Don’t do that,” Alex warned John but it was too late. “No, No, No,” Marlena screamed at the top of her lungs fighting John off of her. With strength that he didn’t know she had, she escaped his grasp and started running toward the bathroom. “Marlena,” John said as he got up to run after her. He accidentally stepped on the blanket that was wrapped around her body and tripped her. They both fell to the floor, John’s body partially covering her torso and legs. Alex got up from the bed and ran over to them. “Get off of her John,” Alex warned. “No, she needs me,” John said as he held onto Marlena as she tried to free herself from his grasp. Marlena kicked her legs free from John and brought her legs up into her chest in a protective mode. Her eyes clenched tight, she rocked back and forth. “Look at her John. Look at her. She doesn’t know who you are right now. You’re frightening her,” Alex warned John as he moved in between John and Marlena. “What have I done?” John asked in horror as he looked past Alex to Marlena sobbing hysterically. “Roman. I need Roman. I need Roman. I need Roman,” Marlena said over and over and she rocked herself on the floor. John was devastated at the mention of Roman Brady and Alex North perplexed. “I’d advise against her seeing Roman Brady,” Alex said, hoping that he could convince John to keep Roman away. “Roman will just confuse the issue. John, it appears to me that aside from her dissociative amnesia, she may be also reliving some event in the past that she has tried to repress. Most likely this event is part of her amnesia and may be the trigger for her recent memory loss.” “Look North, if she wants to see Roman, then I’ll take her to him,” John said wearily. “I just want my wife back. I just want her back.” He sat down next to Marlena on the floor, inches away from her, desperately wanting to touch her. “Roman’s presence will just confuse her John,” Alex said kneeling down next to John. “What ever it takes to get her back, I’ll do it. But I’m going to do it on her terms, not yours. I was going to make her love me and remember me. I was hurting her North. Me, the one person who promised to love and protect her, caused her pain.” “Are you willing to risk further emotional damage to her psyche by allowing Roman to sell her his agenda?” Alex warned him. “I may not like the fact that Roman took advantage of Marlena, but I can swear to this on my life, Roman loves her and would never hurt her. Just like me, he’d die before he’d intentionally hurt her. I can’t say the same for you. So, the way I’m seeing it, no further harm could come from allowing him to talk to her. Hell, if he could get through to her I’d be grateful at this point. I just want my wife back.” Alex knew that he had lost this fight with John. John suddenly looked at Alex with a distrust in his eyes, “You know what’s wrong with her don’t you?” “How would I know?” “Why wouldn’t you know is the better question. For months you have been taunting me regarding my wife and some sort of sick friendship or whatever you want to call it you had with her in the past.” “It’s true, I knew her in the past.” “Then what the hell is happening to her? What is she reliving right now? Don’t you pull that “I don’t know” shit because I ain’t buying it. What the hell happened to her?” “I don’t know,” Alex honestly admitted. John looked at him with skepticism. “When is she going to come out of this?” “I couldn’t tell you. Episodes this like can last a few minutes, hours or days.” “If I find out that you have lied to me in any way concerning my wife or you have hurt her, I will kill you with my bare hands. Do you understand that?” “Mr. Black, I would never hurt a patient. I only want to see her get better.” “John,” Marlena moaned from the floor. “It’s me Doc,” he said, afraid to touch her. “What happened,” she asked as she tried to sit up. The blanket fell down around her waist. “Alex?” she said as she saw him kneeling next to John. She frantically attempted to cover herself. “How are you feeling Doc,” John asked with a smile on his face. “I’m really tired and my head hurts,” she admitted as she yawned. “I’m not surprised. You had us worried,” John smiled at her. “Marlena, what’s the last thing you remember?” Alex asked. She looked up at him perplexed as she thought back. “Nothing,” she said as she quickly looked away. “I’m fine.” “Marlena, you’re not okay,” John told her. “Just a few minutes ago you bordered between catatonic and hysterical.” She closed her eyes at his words and swallowed deeply. “I’m okay John. Must have been low blood sugar. I’m really hungry. I wouldn’t mind eating something.” “Must have been Marlena,” Alex said. “Let’s get some clothes on you and we’ll get something to eat on the way to Salem.” “Salem?” Marlena asked. “Salem, my dear. We’re going to see Roman.”