I Need a Drink
There he stood waiting in line to get his possessions back, John had been in prison for the last 10 years for vehicular manslaughter. He couldn’t believe he was finally going to be this god awful place.
It was 10 years ago that he had gone out with his friends to celebrate his 21st birthday, he could finally drink legally. His friends were buying all the rounds and putting shots in front of him so fast he couldn’t keep up. He knew he was really drunk but wanted to get home to get some rest so he snuck out on his friends when he went to the bathroom.
He knew he shouldn’t drive but didn’t want to wait for an Uber driver to get there and pick him up either, that just gave his friends more opportunity to get him back in the bar and feed him drinks…and he was done.
He clearly remembers fumbling with his keys and then the rest is a blur. The next thing he knew he was laying in his car with blood running down his face and a police officer looking at him and asking if he was alright. John couldn’t even answer him and the police officer new he was intoxicated. He got John out of the car and over to an ambulance where they looked at him and bandaged up what were very minor cuts on his forehead.
The police officer came over after that and gave him Breathalyzer test and proceeded to read John his rights. It wasn’t till later he heard that a 10 year old and her mother had been killed in the other car. John was devastated and felt a sense of fear come over him when the police told him he was being arrested for vehicular manslaughter…2nd degree murder.
The trial was very short and John plead guilty, he knew what he did was wrong and was willing to accept responsibility for his actions. The judge was not so forgiving and gave him the longest sentence he could with no parole.
Prison was a terrible place and he felt remorse and guilt every day for what had happened. He spent most of the time in his cell and swore he would never drink again, no matter what. He went to meetings while in prison for addicts to help keep him off the juice when he got out.
John finally received all his possessions and was led to the door out of the prison. Ten years of his life gone and he was going to rebuild his life, where would he even begin.
As he walked out of the prison his best friend Brian was waiting in his car to take him home or wherever he wanted to go. He looked at John and asked ‘Where to buddy?’. John just looked at him and said ‘I need a drink’.
