Every Memory Repeats

Chapter 7

"We have to move faster!" John said, his eyes moving rapidly under his closed eyelids. "Gina accidentally tripped the alarm. We won't get another chance, we have to do it now!"

Marlena was quickly jotting down her notes, and had already flipped the cassette tape to the other side for recording. Todays session had been surprising. Marlena usually placed John under hypnosis and guided him based on his last session, but today, he had immediately gone somewhere else.

Stefano had used John as his mercenary, that was common knowledge. John being an art thief was not, but then Marlena thought about John's odd behavior when the codices were unveiled, and how he had disassociated while his hands hovered over the glass case. Marlena had pulled him back, getting his attention by whispering his name fervently in his ear. She remembered looking around, and hoping they hadn't drawn any attention. John had been confused and disoriented afterwards, telling Marlena he needed to go home.

"John, your partner. Her name is Gina, does she have a last name?" Marlena asked him.

"Von Amberg. Princess Gina von Amberg," he said. "Fuck!" John shouted. "We have to go, now!"

"John, step outside the memory. Can you do that?"

"Yes," he said, catching his breath slowly. "Yes."

"You're at a museum? Which one?"

"It's a home. Someone's home."

"Which painting are you after?"

"A Cézanne," he whispered, with a small smile. "Pyramid of Skulls. Stefano needs it for his collection. Gina paints the counterfeits. No one will even know it's gone."

"John, I'm going to bring you out now. You will remember everything you've told me, and you will even be able to recall your feelings for Gina, as well as what she looked like. I'm going to count backwards from five, and when I get to one, you will open your eyes...five...four...three...two...one..."

John's eyes fluttered open, and he stared at Marlena for a moment, overwhelmed with everything he had just learned. "Doc..." he started to say, but he couldn't even form a coherent thought. His hand reached for her, and she stood up, coming to sit beside him.

Marlena touched his cheek softly, "Are you okay?"

"He had me stealing fucking paintings?"

"John, it's a lot, I know. I have the recordings for this session. You may want to...you may want to go over them again, as well as my notes," she said softly.

"Gina...Doc, the woman named Gina...she looked like Hope," he said. "She looked just like Hope."

"I wonder if there's a way to research her? Maybe Shane knows something about her?"

"I was in love with her, Doc. I know that...I can still feel it," he said.

Marlena's heart jolted. She knew she shouldn't ask, but yet she couldn't stop herself, "Do you still love Gina?"

John looked up at her, thinking that he loved Marlena more than anything or anyone in the world, and he whispered, "No. But I did once." He tossed his legs over the side of the couch, standing up abruptly. Shoving his hands through his hair, John walked towards the window in Marlena's office, and said, "This is all so fucked up, Doc!"

Marlena approached him, smoothing her palm over the back of the flannel shirt he wore for his work on the docks, "John, we're going to take all of these pieces and put the puzzle together. I promised to help you do that."

The heat of her hand, made him tremble, and the breathy sound of her voice had his cock reacting in his pants. John knew he should step away. He was so vulnerable after these sessions. Without turning around, he said roughly, "I know we will, Doc. I know that. It's everything, you know? Isabella's planning the wedding, the baby coming in a couple months, and the dreams...my dreams have become more frequent since we started the hypnosis."