Page 63 - The Houseguest

BRIAN
Brian Gabel had just turned 40 before they released him from prison. Three DUI convictions, a kidnapping and a sexual assault charge bought him a 20–30-year sentence, but he was thankful for the overcrowded prisons of New Jersey for he only served ten until he was paroled for good behavior. He shook his head and smirked as he appreciated the irony. Good behavior. Not stabbing someone with a self-made shank accounts for good behavior in the 21st century.
He wasn’t a bad person. These days a good defense lawyer can bring up anything negative from a person’s childhood and use it to justify their actions. Yeah, his dad beat him, but after a while he wouldn’t even feel the pain of the punches. After the 20th beating, his nerves became a strange version of numb as they learned to adapt and overcome the pain, by ignoring it. He grew up believing it would make him a stronger man and he would never have to take shit from anyone. Brian was never a criminal as one might think when they hear the word, but he was no saint either. And even after the extensive abuse, he still felt a bizarre respect for his father. He couldn’t muster up tears at the man’s funeral, but he did sense an undeniable and undeserved reverence toward the man.
Alcohol is a peculiar substance. It is a simple clear liquid that possesses the power to distort a rational mind, a nearly weightless entity inside a glass that can destroy families, inflict physical and emotional pain, and cause death...one ounce at a time. In prison, he had read and reread the provided literature claiming to prove alcoholism is genetic. That made perfect sense to him. From an early age, he felt the
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The Houseguest by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life