The 9th Life of Louis Drax Page #3

like Fat Perez.

Maybe.

I don't know what I would have made,

but you know, I think it's best

that we don't tell Mom

about meeting Caitlin.

You want me to lie?

No, I don't want you to...

I don't want you to lie.

Just...

you know, not tell the whole truth.

Your mom can be... very fragile.

Yeah?

Is that my favorite boy?

- Yes.

- Come here!

Mmm.

Oh, I needed that. Look at you. New shirt?

- Uh-huh.

- Uh-huh?

How was it? Come on. Did you have fun?

It was okay. We went to this restaurant.

- That was meant to be Hawaii.

- You did?

And we went on Journey to Atlantis

three times.

- Wow.

- And we met this lady

named Caitlin who used

to be married to Dad.

Oh.

Dad didn't want me to tell you,

but I don't see why you shouldn't know

because she has another family now,

two Chinese girls who are adopted

and a baby that isn't.

Lou-Lou, why don't you go up

to your room and watch some TV?

No.

Louis, do what you're told.

Go.

- Don't touch me.

- Oh, my god.

Jesus Christ!

- Shut up! Just shut up!

- Stop yelling at me!

Hey, hey, just shut up

for a second and listen to me!

Oh... oh, my god, I don't know

what I'm doing here anymore!

So why did you tell your mom

about what happened at Sea World?

Why not?

My parents don't love each other,

not the way that the lady and her husband

with the Chinese children do.

Maybe they hate each other.

Maybe all they want to do is get divorced.

They can't, can they?

They can't because of me.

Why is that?

They don't think I know, but I do.

Know what?

That my dad isn't my real dad.

He's just playing,

"Pretend You're His Dad."

Oh. H... how about your mom?

She's my real mom.

Uh-huh.

Well... who do you think your real dad is?

I don't have one.

Come on, everybody's got a dad.

Not me.

If you could choose anybody in the world

to be your dad, anybody.

- Anyone?

- Anybody, dead or alive.

You.

Me?

Just kidding.

Mom says you can come back now.

Didn't know I needed permission.

Are you the strongest man alive?

Not even close.

Is that why you stopped fighting?

I stopped because your mother asked me to.

And then I became a dad.

The strongest dad in the world!

Oh, man! Oh, oh, oh, ow!

Something's burning.

Finally, some people

I actually want to see.

You look wonderful.

- Nice to see you too.

- Excuse me. I'll be one minute.

- Hello.

- Hi, you look stunning.

- Thank you. You too.

- How are you.

- Hey.

- Hi.

- Is that for me?

- Looking for this?

Why don't you open it, okay?

And you, come with me.

Bring a present, get a hug.

Hey, take Alex,

out of the water okay? It's too cold.

Here, have this.

You invited Mrs. Drax?

I thought it could do her some good,

get her out of the house,

out of the hospital.

She's getting eaten alive out there.

I expect she's used to it by now.

Tammy, Tammy, don't run!

Men always behave like fools

around pretty girls.

How are things with you?

- Hi.

- Hi.

You caught me hunting for snacks.

- The food isn't very good.

- No.

Thanks.

I, uh...

I saw you earlier,

but you seemed, uh, occupied.

I thought maybe

you were trying to avoid me.

No. I'm... I'm happy Janek invited you.

I think he's taking pity on me.

- H... how are you coping?

- Is that your wife who you're with?

Yeah, it is.

She's very pretty.

That's nice.

- I'm coping as well as I can.

- Yeah.

- You, uh, disappeared.

- Hey, um...

I was just on my way to the restroom,

and I bumped into, uh, Mrs. Drax.

We were commiserating

over Janek's cooking.

I, uh, don't believe

we've been introduced.

Sorry. I'm so stupid. Um,

Sophie, this is Natalie Drax.

Natalie, this is my wife, Sophie.

Natalie's Louis' mother,

the new patient I was telling you about.

Of course.

Um, I heard about what happened.

I'm so sorry for everything

you've been through.

- Well, your husband's been very helpful.

- I'm sure.

Mrs. Drax brought a hamster in.

I brought Louis a friend

to keep him company.

Well, technically,

we're not allowed animals on the ward.

He's just a baby. He won't harm anyone.

And Louis loves him.

Okay.

I'll make an exception this one time.

This one time.

You're taking him

home with you when you leave.

Thank you.

Do you want to go for a walk?

It's such a beautiful day outside.

I was thinking of getting some air.

Uh...

Okay, short walk.

Let Louis and his old friend

get reacquainted.

Come here, Rasputin.

Time's up.

Abra... kadabra.

I've been thinking

about those poor hamsters.

Why... why they gotta die?

You're not very clever

for a doctor, Fatty.

Don't you know about the rules?

The rules?

Yes, there are laws,

and you go to prison if you break them.

But there are secret rules, too.

But what does that

have to do with the hamsters?

One of the secret rules

is about pet keeping.

If you own a small creature

and he lives for longer

than a small rodent's lifespan...

that's two years...

then you're allowed

to kill him if you want to

because you're his owner.

Does the, um, the secret rule have a name?

Yes, "The Right of Disposal".

"The Right of Disposal".

You're allowed to do it

with poison or weed killer,

if you have any. Or you can just drop

something heavy on him

like a medical encyclopedia

or Harry Potter

and the Order of the Phoenix.

So... where did you learn

about the secret rule?

Let's talk about your dad.

I don't like what you're insinuating!

Yes, it was my idea to bring Lou-Lou here!

Peter did nothing wrong!

Nobody is saying... Mrs. Drax?

Let's go, Lou-Lou.

What took you so long?

You won't be seeing Dr. Perez anymore.

What did I do wrong? What did he say?

Why were you so angry, young sir?

He said that whatever I tell him

will never leave the room,

because it's a secret between him and me.

But he lied. He did tell her.

He's a liar like all men are,

and he plays the same games they play,

like, "Pretend You Don't Hate Him."

Why don't you like men?

Because they did bad things to my mom.

I was looking through Louis' files,

and... I noticed that you ended

his sessions with Dr. Perez

shortly before the incident.

Perez was always very suspicious of Peter.

At the time, I thought he was trying

to turn me against my husband.

Now I'm not so sure.

Do you have family close by?

My parents have passed away.

Friends? People you can talk to?

I have a sister,

but we're not really in touch.

I know it's a sensitive subject,

but I'm a good listener.

You're always asking questions.

That's true. I do ask a lot of questions.

You know, it might help

to talk to someone about what happened.

It was Louis' ninth birthday.

My birthday, too, actually.

That's another thing we have in common.

Peter drove up from San Diego.

He's been staying there with his mother

since we separated.

I planned a picnic.

It was all very perfect.

We drove to the canyon.

And then we got into this argument.

Stupid argument.

What was the argument about?

Peter was upset

that I'd ended Louis' therapy.

I didn't want to tell him the real reason.

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