Turn It Up, My Friends Got My Back

He’s pounding his fist on the steering wheel,  screaming to himself in the car. When will this ever end? Why is this happening to me? How do I make this stop?

His brain is spinning in endless circles. He calms down after a while, and just drives normally again. Just a few minutes ago, he was tailgating the guy in front of him, cursing him out all the while. He was weaving through traffic with his big and high seated pick up truck. He’s got his music blaring and his middle finger on the ready. He’s a big guy, likes to work out. He gets into lots of fights. He hangs out at the local bar and has quite a few friends there.

Last night, he was pulled over again, and warned by his police officer friend. But tonight, he doesn’t know what’s coming yet…there’s no more breaks for him,  and just like that, he’s in jail for drunk driving. This, after hitting that car with the family of four in it. He’s so lucky that no one is dead. He would have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. His intentional drinking and consistent getting behind the wheel when he’s drunk finally caught up with him.

He had always asked “why me?” His answer was all around him. There were always so many people that had been through what he had been going through. But instead of reaching out to them, or even looking for them, he found it easier to go down the block to the pub. There was no other way. He only thought the way he thought after all. He wasn’t the type to really listen much to others anyway. He liked to tell his story, but wasn’t much for the listening part.

He won’t be out in the 30 days that he’s supposed to serve. He will get into a fight with someone there and his sentence will be extended, and this will continue to happen and he will stay there longer and longer. His friends come in at first, begging him to stop fighting. He doesn’t need to take anyone else’s advice though. He knows how to take care of himself. He’s a big, tough guy. 

Soon, his friends stop coming. They are too busy at the bar and struggling with their own every day world. He has no family that wants anything to do with him and no girlfriend. He dumped her long ago and smeared her name to every person he could find. He’s going to have to get through this in his own way now. It’s how he’s always done it anyway.

-Janice M. Burke

Image by Alexandr - Pexels