South Park: Senior Year

8. Frozen Peas

      Kenny opened his front door with caution, peaking his head in first to make sure his parents weren't screaming and fighting again. Luckily, it looked like his mom wasn't home. As Kenny entered the house, he noticed his father sitting on their couch holding a bag of frozen peas against the bruise Kenny had left on his eye the night before. They exchanged glares as Kenny past him.
Yesterday evening, his dad had come home reeking with the smell of beer and cigarettes. He had been out at a party with Mom but had come back without her. Kenny had been sitting on the living room couch while Karen doodled in her sketch book on the floor in front of his feet. Kenny watched his dad closely, already knowing the kind of mood he was in.
"Karen, go to your room, okay?" Kenny had instructed his sister.
As she stood up, their father grabbed her by the arm. "What's the rush? Can I not greet my daughter after a long day?"
Kenny stood immediately, ready to step in if he needed to.
"I have um... homework to do." Karen told their father, trying to tug her wrist from his grasp.
His grip tightened causing Karen to wince in pain. "Dad, let go." She tugged harder.
"What's the matter, huh? Is this how you treat me after all I've done for you? You run away to your room the second I get home and don't even say hi?" The smell of alcohol on his breath made Karen draw back, her nose scrunching with disgust.
"Let her go." Kenny said, stepping closer. He didn't want to anger his father anymore, knowing that would only put Karen in danger, but he wanted to stop his dad from hurting her.
"No. I'm gonna teach this stupid brat a lesson." He shoved Karen making her fall to the ground. "She'll know better than to-"
Kenny pushed his dad back.
Kenny stood in front of Karen, blocking her from anything his father might do.
His dad scowled at Kenny before pushing him back.
"Stop it!" Karen stood back up. She pushed her way in front of Kenny, looking at her father with pleading eyes.
Their father looked at Kenny with rageful eyes. "So you're gonna make me look like a monster in front of my own kid, huh, Ken? You're trying to make her hate me, aren't you? I swear to god I'm gonna beat some sense into that stupid head of yours. You brats will learn to respect me." His dad lunged for Karen, grabbing her by the hair.
She shrieked with pain. Kenny pushed forward, elbowing his dad in the chest as hard as he could. When he stumbled backward, Kenny swung his fist, hitting him square in the face. His dad lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Kenny stared at his father's pathetic face with piercing eyes. His hand throbbed with pain, his knuckles now cut and bloodied.
"If you ever lay a hand on her again, I will fucking kill you."

It was that fight that made Kenny beg Kyle to let Karen stay there today.
He sighed with relief, knowing that she was safe at the Broflovskis' house and he needn't worry about her. He had work in half an hour and wouldn't have been able to watch over her. After last night's fight with their father, there was no way he could leave her alone in this house with him.

Kenny arrived home from work around 11:00 pm. He was exhausted and had a headache so bad it made his vision blurry. He entered his house through his bedroom window, not wanting to risk waking his parents. As he crawled through, he saw light peering into his room from Karen's.
When Kenny went to turn off the light, he saw his older brother, Kevin, sitting on the floor against his bed.
"Kev?" He whispered, his face lighting up. He stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him so that the sound of their talking wouldn't reach their parents' room.
Kevin looked up at Kenny, smiling at the sight of his little brother. "Hey, Kenneth. How've you been?"
Kenny sat on the floor across from him, his back leaning against Karen's bed. "Uh, alright. How about you? You've been out of the house for a least a week. What've you been up to?"
"I was visiting Shelly down at DU." Kevin explained.
DU was the college Shelly had been attending since graduation. She did most of her classes online, but still went down to the campus to visit her friends or get out of her house. Kenny knew enough from Stan to understand why she wouldn't wanna spend her time at home.
"Oh cool. How's she doing?" Kenny asked.
"She's good. She's actually gonna start renting an apartment down there next month."
"Good for her." Kenny nodded. He wondered if Stan knew she was moving out. She wondered if Shelly would even tell him or anyone in her family.
"Where's Karen?" Kevin nodded towards her empty bed.
"She's spending the night with Kyles's little brother, Ike." Ken said, picking at the polish on his nails. He had let Karen paint them a few days ago. "Dad was being a piece of shit last night and I didn't want her to be here just in case."
Kevin tensed up. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah." Kenny nods. "I punched Dad. He's got a black eye."
Kevin chuckles. "Hell yeah, man."
Kenny smiles. He missed hearing his brother laugh. It's been a while since he's been sober enough to talk with too, so this was nice. Really nice.
"Karen will be back here tomorrow night. Do you think you'll be around long enough to say hi?" Kenny asks. "She misses you."
"Well, I..." Kevin pauses and then sighs. "Yeah, I'll be here." His gaze falls to the floor. "I miss her too."
Kenny studies his brother. He's lost a lot of weight this past year and his arms are covered in scabs and bruises making it clear that he's been using heroin again. He'd been sober a couple of months back, but clearly, it hadn't lasted. Kenny was worried for his brother. Kevin's addictions were the worst they'd ever been and Kenny worried he might lose him if this kept up.
"Hey, Kev, have you..." Kenny started cautiously. "Have you thought about signing up for rehab again? I mean, I don't wanna be that person but I just... I worry about you."
Kevin scratches at his scabs. "I don't know. I..." Kevin trails off, refusing to look Kenny in the eyes anymore.
"Kevin, please. I know it fucking sucks but you've done it before and you were sober for months after you got out. You were the happiest I'd ever seen you." Kenny brings his knees to his chest. He suddenly felt like a little kid again, begging his older brother to stop acting like their parents. "I don't wanna lose you."
"You're not going to lose me, Kenny." Kevin got up to sit beside his little brother. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? I won't leave you and Karen."
Kenny wiped his nose with the back of his hand, tears burning his eyes. He rested his head on Kevin's shoulder. "You better not. We have to stick together, remember?"
Kevin said nothing and wrapped his arms around his sibling, squeezing him tightly.
Kenny hugged him back, wishing he could make Kevin get better.
"I'm sorry, Kenny." Kevin said, his voice quiet.
Kenny hugged him tighter. He wished he could take all of his siblings' pain away. He just wanted them to be happy. They deserved to stop suffering for once. Kenny wondered if they could ever be okay. He hoped to god they would.