Page 39 of Help Me Remember

Jim waved dismissively. “Fine, take them. This one just wants to yell anyway.”

Eric huffed. “Or, I would prefer to be listened to.”

“Well, I’m Officer Fitz, come on back, and I’ll hear what you have to say,” she told him, adjusting a stray strand of her dark hair out of her face. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“No,” Eric said just as I said, “Coffee would be great.”

“One no, and one coffee coming right up,” she said as she led us through rows of partitioned desks. Most of the officers paid no attention, while the rest barely gave us curious glances as we passed. She sat us down in front of a desk. “Be right back with that order.”

“Ugh, I hope she’s smarter than the last one,” Eric grumbled as he sank into his seat.

“I don’t think he was dumb. I don’t think he believed a thing you were saying,” I told him as I slid into the seat next to him. “It’s not exactly the easiest story to believe and…”

“And what?”

I hesitated but then decided I was going to live up to his accusation of not treating him like he was capable if I kept my thoughts to myself. “I just don’t think this will work out the way you want it to.”

Eric huffed. “Well, it was the only option I could come up with. I’m kind of hoping the cops prove their bad reputation wrong and do something.”

“I’m pretty sure they won’t, or can’t, whatever way you want to look at it,” I said, watching Officer Fitz as she stopped outside what looked to be a break room. She started chatting with a man about a head taller than her, with black hair practically shorn down to his scalp. “They’re either going to get curious about why we were involved in the shooting earlier, or they’re just going to file a report and tell you to call if we have any more information for them.”

“Christ, I hope it’s not that,” Eric said, looking at his phone. “At least they’re being understanding at the clinic.”

“Tell me what you told them later,” I said, noticing the officer making her way back with the man she’d been speaking to, who I was already guessing was her partner based on how easily they talked to one another. “Just do not tell them I have a gun on me right now.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not mine, it’ll cause trouble.”

Eric sighed. “Your memory is simultaneously the most frustrating and fascinating thing, I swear to God.”

I would have to discuss that with him later because the two officers were closing in, and I decided to keep my mouth shut. Now someone was paying attention to us, and I wanted to pay just as much attention back. No matter what Eric hoped, I firmly believed this trip would not benefit us. We would have to come up with an alternate plan if this didn’t work out, but it could wait.

“Hey there,” Officer Fitz said, handing me a coffee in a Styrofoam cup. “Here’s your coffee, and this here is my partner, Officer Patterson.”

“Hi,” Eric said, giving a little wave while I reached out and shook the man’s hand briefly.

“Alright, now we’re all taken care of,” she said, sitting down behind the desk in front of us, “why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

Eric glanced at me, but I gestured to him. “You’re better at explaining it.”

A brief twitch on his face told me he didn’t believe me. Thankfully, he wiped the expression quickly, but I noticed both officers were watching him intently.

“Alright, I’ll start from the top, I guess,” Eric said with a sigh, taking a deep breath.

I took my time sipping the small coffee she’d handed me while Eric went through the story. It seemed to fit the cluttered, noisy environment of the work floor, and I watched the two officers while Eric talked. Fitz took notes on her computer while Patterson sat at the desk next to hers and watched the two of us.

Fitz was the more expressive and probably empathetic partner of the two. Though she never outright reacted, save to ask the occasional question to clarify something or get more information, there were moments when her brow twitched, or I saw her lips thin. Patterson was the more observant of the two, keeping himself in check. I did notice a couple of times that he stopped paying attention to the story as he tried to hide the fact that he was examining me from the corner of his eyes.

Just as interesting was how Eric handled the story he gave the two cops. I had no idea if he’d been thinking about what he would tell them before we showed up at the station or if he was simply good at improvisation. He mentioned my lost memory, which I didn’t blame him for since it would have become evident at some point, but left it open-ended how I ended up that way. He mentioned my name, but not that he knew me from my original life, which I thought was interesting. And while he mentioned the name I had been addressed as, Riley, he hadn’t attached it to me.

And he’d taken my advice to leave out any mention of the gun I had hidden on me.

To her credit, Officer Fitz waited until Eric finally wrapped up his story before looking at me. “So, you…don’t remember anything of your life before?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

“So, how do you know your name is Dylan?”

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