“Remembered?” Her face changed and her tone quieted.
“I remember everything,” I said softly, one tiny tear escaping from my eye.
“Kass, are you okay?” she asked as she reached for my glass and put it aside.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
“Talk to me, Kass!” She grabbed my hand and made me turn to look at her. I began telling her everything about that night, about Jason, about his brother.
“Shit. Now what?” she asked.
“Jason suffered more than me. So why am I making this about me?” I asked, wanting her to answer.
“You were there, Kass. It happened to you, too.” She took my hands in hers and held them.
“Tara, he lost everything that night. I can’t…I can’t help but think of only him right now.” I reached for my glass of wine and nearly gulped it down.
“Why don’t you go home? Genna will understand,” Tara offered.
“No. I want to be there for her. Besides what am I going to do at home? Sulk? Cry? I need to stop thinking of this and try to move on.”
We paid the bill and headed out; my mind still wrapped up in my problems. Tara tried to yank me out of my haze. She helped, but I was left still feeling dejected.
“Okay, listen, we’re here. Last chance, Kass. ‘Cause once you walk in there, there’s no way I'm going to let you be this way. Plus, Genna will smell it a mile away. Tonight forget everything and try to have fun.” She reached for my hand and squeezed it.
“Let’s go, bitch.” I smiled, trying my best to fake it.
“What’s wrong?” Genna shouted over the music blaring through the speakers.
“Nothing, why?” I tried everything to act as normal as I could.
“Don’t give me that shit, Kass. I’ve known you for seventeen years!” Genna accused.
“Hey, I thought we weren’t allowed to talk about our numbers.” I half smiled. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.
“Fine, don’t tell me,” she huffed.
The night was great. Genna did a fantastic job like always. Celebrities were there and so were the who’s who of New York. The free drinks flowed and I took advantage of it while Tara and Genna were busy dancing. I kept drinking, hoping whatever I felt would go away.
I waved at the girls as they were dancing, telling them I’d be back. I needed to go to the bathroom. I was waiting in line when someone bumped into me. I nearly fell over. I stood up to tell the person off, but they were gone. I continued to wait in line, but my head started to spin. Fuck! I must have drunk too much. I leaned up against the wall, but it didn’t help. The room around me began to spin and I lost my bearings. All I remember was the faint sound of a thud as I hit the floor hard.
“Kass!” I scarcely could hear someone calling my name. “Kass!” Then it was gone.
The Incident
My head was pounding as I began to wake up. “Kass?” I heard my brother’s voice.
“Stop yelling,” I said meekly. I opened my eyes, but I wasn’t home.
“Where the hell am I?” I asked in a panic. I was on a gurney and wearing a hospital gown.
“Do you remember anything about last night?” Darios asked me. I began to replay the night in my mind.
“Not really. I just drank,” I said, confused.
“Kass, you’re in the hospital. You were drugged,” Darios said regretfully.
“What? How?” I tried to remember what I was doing.
“All I did was have a few drinks and go to the bathroom,” I said quietly.
“The doctor said you must have ingested it in one of your drinks. Did you take any drinks from anyone?” he asked.
I could see how upset he was, the worry lines on his face were more pronounced than normal.
“No. We always get bottles and make our own,” I noted. “I drank and then went to the bathroom. I waited in line and someone bumped into me. After that my head started to hurt and I got the spins,” I said, trying to retrace my steps.
“I’ll tell the doctor what you told me. The police are here and so are Tiff and the girls.” Darios squeezed my hand.
“Fuck, Kass! You are never going anywhere without me ever again. Do you hear me?” he was yelling at me now. I nodded my head.
I began to cry, only because I was so confused at what had happened. He stood up and left.
The moment he did, the girls came running in.
“Holy shit, Kass!” Genna cried out as she hugged me. “You have no fuckin’ clue, girl, at how scared we were.” My tears were now overflowing.
“Kass, are you okay? Do you need the doctor or something?” Tara asked in a panic. I shook my head no.