The Night I Could Not Remember (Short Story)

The Night I Could Not Remember

"Sit up." The voice said.

"Wha-where am I?" I said in the darkness. No. It wasn't dark. There was a light.

"Drink." The voice said. A hand appeared in front of my eyes. It held a cup. The voice came from a figure on the other side of the table. A cup... Drink what was in the cup. I downed the contents of the cup.

Everything around me was very disorienting. I couldn't feel my surroundings. The man was a big blur in front of me. The light that lit the table was too bright. My brain was fuzzy; I couldn't think. Something cold on my wrists; chains? I felt at it. Cuffs? I panicked and flailed my body around. The chair I sat in fell over. The ground was cold. Everything was cold. My body started shaking and sweating. The man cursed and then walked over to me and sat me back into the chair then sat back down in his own.

"My name is Detective Burns. The ID in your wallet says you are Christopher Warner? Where were you last night? And, don't lie because I already know, but I need you to talk." His voice was hoarse and sharp.

"I-I don't know."

"Tell me!"

"I don't know; I can't remember!" I said nervously sweating, yet cold and shaky. "My brain feels like a squirrel. Can I have a towel? I think I took a shower cause' I'm soaking wet. "

"Shut up."

"Yea, that's where I was last night, right? I was in the shower. But I'm still wet." What did I just say? I thought to myself.

"You're not wet. You're drugged."

"You drugged me?"

"No. Shut up." He cursed under his breath. I was making it hard for him. I feel bad. Do I though? I think he drugged me.

The room began to become more of a refined picture. The man looked like a cop. He had a badge on his shirt pocket.

"What can you tell me about this?" He slid a small envelope in front of me. I looked at it for a moment. Nothing came to mind. Then, he pulled a card out of the envelope. It had a reddish tint to it and the words "YOU'RE INVITED!" It was an invitation to a party dated the night before.

My eyes adjusted and it became clearer. "It's a party invitation."

"You were there last night."

I was? I can't remember anything about the night before.

"We found you at the station last night. A taxi dropped you off. The driver told me that you were knocked out the entire ride and so he just brought you here." He said and then pulled out a small object from another larger envelope and set it in front of me. I picked it up. It was a gold ring with a large diamond in the middle with smaller diamonds embedded into the side of the ring. I just stared at it and then looked back at the detective. I slid it back to him. He held it up, examining it. "A very fine ring. We found it in your pocket."

"I've never seen it before." I told him. Although I can't remember the night before so maybe I have. It's feels so foreign to feel this way-- to not be able to remember anything-- although my mind was slowly becoming clearer.

"Look, you have got to talk or you are going to be made guilty of stealing this ring." He handed me another cup. I downed that too. It was water.

"I can't." I said. Why can't he understand?

"Fine." The man stood up and walked out the door, leaving me in silence. He came back a minute later, but this time he brought a woman. The woman had dark hair and slightly tanned skin. Mrs. Rivens.

"That's him! He stole my wedding ring! I knew my daughter should never be with you!" She pointed at me and screamed while Detective Burns held her back. "Arrest him, Detective!"

He pushed her back out the door. "She says you stole it."

    "I didn't steal it!" I yelled, fed up.

"Do you know why you can't remember?" I shook my head. "I'm guessing you were at this party last night and you had a too much to drink and in your drunkenness, you stole the ring." I didn't answer. "Now, this can all be over with if you just confess."

No, I wasn't going to confess for something I didn't do. After a few moments of silence, he sighed and then began talking again. "There was one other thing that I think I should say. The taxi driver also told me that there was another person in the car. He couldn't tell whether it was a he or she, for they had a hood on. The driver also said that they said something to you. Then they got out at a bus stop."

That felt familiar. He left me in the room. I began to think stuff over; what I did before, at the party, and then halfway through my memory, everything went blank. I was with my girlfriend, the host, and two of my friends. I left for the bathroom sometime last night, but my friends watched my drink. I don't think they would put anything in there, would they? After I came back, we had a lot of fun. It wasn't until an hour later that I couldn't remember anything anymore. But, now, I remember the voice in the taxi. Well, not exactly, but I remember a familiar voice. What did it say?

Detective Burns came back. Again, he came back with another person. It was Trisha, my girlfriend. "Wow, Chris. I never would have thought you would come into this position. My mom was right about you." She sounded very disgusted at me.

"But, Trisha, I didn't do it. You have to understand."

"Oh I understand all right."

"Trisha, what do you remember from last night regarding to Christopher?" Detective Burns spoke.

"He had a couple drinks and got drunk. My mom had left her ring on the counter by accident after washing dishes before the party; she told me this afterwards when it turned up stolen. We were talking in the kitchen during the party and he took it I assume. He's stolen stuff before. Like a couple gum packets at the drugstore."

"I was six, Trish!" I interrupted and Burns gave me a hard glance.

"Anyways, he was one of the last to leave and he wasn't in any condition to drive, so I called a taxi for him."

    "Thank you, Trisha." The detective led her out. "Right now it looks like you are guilty, Christopher. Because you won't talk, you will be spending a couple nights in our cells until we get it proven." He walked over to me and stood me up.

    "I didn't do it sir; you have to understand."

    "You have no evidence. Walk." I walked out with him into the open offices. Two escorts took me and Burns was left behind. We began walking towards another part of the building, probably where the cells are, and I passed Trish and her mom.

    Trisha called out to me. "I'm sorry it had to be this way." And at that moment, it triggered another part of my brain. It was her in the taxi with me. She slipped the ring into my pocket. Before she left, she whispered a phrase into my ear. "I'm sorry it had to be this way." She said goodbye to the desk and then walked off with her mom, grinning.

I began to struggle against the guards and my cuffs. Anything to get to her. "No! It was her! No! Let go of me! I'm innocent!" They pushed me along and I struggled and struggled until the cuffs around my wrists made bruises, but I could not hold the guards back. "I'll get you Trisha Rivens! I'll get you for this!" And I screamed the entire way to the cell that was to hold me until I could get my revenge.