First the snow began with small snowflakes, only to become the size of quarters within minutes. The ground was easily covered in snow within a matter of minutes. After the snow started, it began to rain as well. This had to be the worst snow storm in years.
It didn't take long for the power to go out at the McCormick household. They already didn't have the money to pay for heat, so they only ran it maybe once a day. The heat turned off shortly after the power was gone. Kenny had been sitting on the edge of his barely able to stand bed, listening to his mother and father throw careless insults and reckless actions towards each other. Once the power went out, their yelling paused then they went back at it. Kenny felt himself getting a horrid headache, one that made it hard to think straight. He groaned and held his head before toppling over on his side onto the bed, it creaking as he did so. He pulled the strings of his parka to tighten the hood over his head. It sucked living like this, and now there was a storm. He couldn't escape the household with the weather conditions like this. It made him want to scream. "..." Silently, he laid there and just listened, trying his best to tone out his parents arguments. After a minute or so he was able to make out the sounds of sobbing...
Karen.
The blonde emerged from his bed and moved right to his feet. He knew the way to Karen's bedroom even in the dark and allowed his instinct to guide him there. It was a small house and had light walls, so her crying was also easy to make out. He followed the sound and knocked at her door, concern painted across his facial features. He hated knowing his sister had to go through this trauma. She's been dealing with it since she was real young, and now she was in her early teen years. At least Kevin was able to escape it by running away.
"G-go away.." She barely was able to let the words out, her cries choking her. Kenny sighed and turned the handle to the doorknob, opening the door. The first thing he saw was what his little sister had at hand. His eyes widened and he immediately rushed to her. "Karen! What do you think you're doing with that!" He exclaimed and yanked away the weapon she had been using to harm herself. Kenny couldn't hold back the tears that welled up in his eyes, now streaming down his cheeks. Had Karen really... started cutting? Karen luckily hadn't managed to cut too deeply, but it was faintly bleeding. Kenny couldn't believe what he was seeing... it was dark, but he knew it was most definitely blood. He knew the smell, the feel, its presence all too well. "K-Kenny... I-I'm sorry! I didn't think anyone would catch me and you came in so suddenly! I..it's not what you think it is!" Her tears were trailing down her cheeks at a faster pace now, her face red and expression worn with extremely heavy, mixed emotions. Kenny just stayed silent, staring at the knife he had grabbed from his sister, then to her wrist where she'd self harmed. He pulled his parka hood down, then slipped it off his body. He was shirtless underneath and it was cold as fuck, but he didn't care. He used to material of his parka to gently dab Karen's wound and clean it up. It was the best he could do, considering they didn't have a first aid kit. Karen winced as her brother took care of the wound, sobbing silently and wiping her eyes with her free hand. She couldn't stop crying.
"Karen, there's something you should know." Kenny finally spoke after he'd finished cleaning her wound. He moves the parka over Karen so she'd have some extra warmth. Karen sniffled and gave her brother a look of confusion. "..W-What is it?" She asked, trying to stop her cries. Kenny gave her a sad smile then pulled her to his chest, hugging her tightly. His fingers moved to her hair and began to stroke it. "You should never hurt yourself. I know what you were doing and Iknow more than you'll ever know how much it hurts to look into the eyes of death. Our life is shitty here, I know that... It's obvious." He pauses and holds her tighter, to which Karen squeezed back just as tight. She was listening to her brother very carefully. She didn't quite understand how he'd know the eyes of death better than her, or anyone at all, but she listened nonetheless. "This is going to sound... impossible, but it's the truth. And you know me, I'd never lie to you." He moved his head back a bit and looked at his sister in the eyes. A few more tears slip from her eyes, to which Kenny gently slides the pad of his thumb across the skin to wipe away the tears. "...I die, everyday, only to come back the next day. And nobody ever remembers... Part of me is glad that nobody remembers... because who would want to remember someone dying? Especially someone you care for. Yet, there's a part of me that wants people to know. I want them to know that I have immortality. I fucking hate how people make it out to be some great thing, when it's FAR from it. They have no idea how far from the truth they are... anyone who seeks immortality is a complete fool." Kenny's voice grew firm and he was trying his best not to sound angry. Karen's eyes were wide and she stared at her brother, trying to let the information he just spoke of sink in. Kenny wasn't even done speaking. The blonde took a few steps back from his sister and now looked off to the side. "And Karen, do you knowwhy it's so far from the truth?" He asks her, gaze fixed to the cracks in the bedroom wall.
Karen was silent for a good minute or two before she started to respond. "N-no... I don't Kenny. Will you please tell me?" She asks softly. As odd as it sounded, she believed her brother about this. She knew Kenny loved her and would never lie to her.
Kenny expected that answer from his sister. He smiled ironically and took in a long deep breath. "Because Karen, once everyone that I love dies, I won't be dead. I'll live with the memories of them, but they'll just be gone. I'll be alone. And do you know how scary that is to think about? It's torture. And when I saw you holding that knife, my heart nearly stopped. Because Karen, if I hadn't came in at that moment, there's a chance I wouldn't be here having this talk with you right now." Karen now looks guilty and regret filled her blue optics. "..." She was far too ashamed to speak. If she had succeeded in bleeding herself to death then Kenny would have never seen her again. He would have lived with knowing she was dead and out of his reach. This caused her to start crying again. This time Kenny stood there, his back turned to her. He silently let a few tears fall down his cheeks. "Karen, I want to keep you around as long as I possibly can. I don't want to lose you anytime before I absolutely have to." He then turns around and moves towards her, gaze locked on her own. "You hear me? I love you! And I'm going to do anything that I can to keep you alive! Until it is your time, you're not leaving. I won't allow it. And with that being said, I promise you once I finish high school next year we're leaving this household. I'm going to get a job to save up enough money for an apartment in some other town. I'm going to give you the life that our no good mother and father never cared to give you!" There was fire in his royal blue eyes, and his voice had been so loud that Stuart and Carol stopped arguing. They were listening in outside the door... Kenny sensed their presence after he finished his little speech and couldn't hold back his anger. The blonde marched to the door and yanked it open, now glaring down his parents. "Don't go anywhere near her." He demanded. Kenny was very protective over his little sister. Anyone who had eyes could see that. His parents stared at him with unreadable expressions. They studied Kenny from head to toe, then slowly walked away. They went out into the living room then headed out the front door. The wind howled and a flurry of snow entered the household as they exited. It would be a horrible choice to try and brave that storm, but it was too late to go after them. They had disappeared out into the white. As if Kenny even wanted to... He could take care of Karen on his own, it wasn't like he already had been anyways.
"Karen, they're gone." He says with a light sigh. Karen then latches her arms around her older brother. "Thank you... thank you... thank you so much..." She repeated this sentence like a broken record as she held onto her brother for dear life. Kenny holds her tightly like any good sibling would to comfort another and doesn't say another word. He knows that all Karen needed was to feel loved and affection.