Read Online The Drunk Logs by Steven Kuhn - Free Book Online

of them looking back at me with looks of sympathy mixed with irritation.
    “Now, I can finally get some sleep, as long as they keep that idiot out of the room until tomorrow,” I said as I picked up my comforter.
    I slid into bed, tried to relax, took a few deep breaths, and listened only to the distant noise in the hall.
    “Matt, I’m sorry. I need to check your vitals,” a young, thin nurse with short black hair said.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I sat up in bed and shook my head.
    “I know what happened and I’m sorry. You don’t have to go down the hall. I brought the blood pressure machine with me so I can check on you in your room tonight.”
    “Thank you, uh?”
    “Karen.”
    I lifted my eyebrows and tried to force my eyes open. “Karen, I’m sorry. I didn’t know your name.”
    “That’s all right. Let’s just get this on and…” She slid the belt around my arm and pushed the start button. “Well, it’s high again, but that’s understandable considering what happened. Here is another Valium, and do you need some water with that?”
    “No, thank you. I have some water on the nightstand,” I mumbled with the pill in my mouth.
    “Okay, I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Just try to relax now,” she said as she tapped me on the shoulder and left.
    I reached over to the nightstand and took a sip from the cup of water. I lay back in bed, when it occurred to me that I didn’t spill any water. I held my arms out in front and took a look at my hands. They were barely shaking.
    I closed my eyes and rolled to the left side and faced the window. I smiled as I hoped for a better tomorrow, and the Valium quickly lulled me to sleep.

Chapter 4
    “Matt?…Matt?…Matt?” Karen said as she shook my shoulder harder each time. “Matt, it’s time to check your vitals again before you see the doctor,” she said. The sunlight pierced through the window and slapped me awake.
    “What time is it?”
    “It’s almost nine o’clock,” she said as she pushed the button on the blood pressure monitor.
    I sat up and rubbed my face with my hand.
    “Come on, Matt, you know you have to lie still for this,”
    “Were you in here last night?” I asked.
    “Yes, I was in here a few times after the incident with Barry Eugene. Don’t you remember?”
    “No. I must have been really tired,” I said as I looked down at the monitor.
    The monitor beeped and flashed the results. “It’s down considerably, but we have to see what the doctor says. So I’ll wait on giving you another Valium. He should be here in a few minutes.”
    She wrapped the tubing from the belt around the monitor and walked toward the door.
    “Thank you, Karen.”
    “No problem.”
    I sat in bed, took a few deep breaths, and tried to wake up when I looked over to Barry Eugene’s bed, still empty. “No wonder I got such a good night sleep,” I said to myself. “The poop master wasn’t here all night. But it wouldn’t have mattered, with all the Valium they’ve given me. The building could have exploded and I wouldn’t have woken up.”
    I pushed myself out of bed, opened the closet, and panicked as I looked to see if everything was still inside. Wallet, money, keys: check. Everything of importance was there. I must have forgotten to lock it because of that idiot , I thought.
    As I looked around, I wondered if I should close the door before I undressed. “Nah, most of the people here in detox are so loaded on drugs they won’t even remember what they saw,” I said to myself. “Hell, for that matter, I don’t even remember what Karen looked like.”
    As I pulled off my sweat pants, I looked up and noticed Victoria standing in the doorway with a large smile. In only my neon yellow underwear, I realized there wasn’t much that I could do now. With a little bit of swagger, I turned back to my closet, grabbed my pants, and tried not to appear embarrassed by the situation.
    “I like the color, Matt,” she said as she walked down