Chapter 1
When Kenny got home, he knew it would be a rough night. As soon as he pulled up to his house in his shitty truck, he could hear his parents screaming at each other and glass shattering. He slammed his truck door and ran into the house. Karen was in there, and he didn't want her getting hurt. As soon as he opened the door he regretted it. One of the very few plates they have was being thrown at the door and broke on Kenny’s face.
"What the fuck!" Kenny screamed. His face had little pieces of porcelain in it and he was bleeding; he was lucky none got in his eyes. He looked over to his dad, who had thrown it aiming it at his mother's head.
"The fuck is wrong with you two; you could have fucking killed me!" Kenny yelled at them even though he knew it wasn't true; they didn't know that. He walked into the house, passing his father, slurring insults toward him and his mother. His mother looking at him like she wanted to comfort him but couldn't. They both knew the abuse would only worsen if she did that. He walked to Karen's room, grabbed the doorknob, and found it locked. He breathed a breath of relief he didn't know he was holding. He knocked and started talking to Karen.
"Hey, Karen, it's me; good job locking your door when they started. You should stay there the rest of the night."
"Okay, Kenny, I love you," Karen whispered through the door. Kenny let a small smile grace his face before telling her goodnight and that he loved her too. He walked back to where his parents were while his face was still full of porcelain.
"Stuart, get out or go to bed. I don't care; you're scaring Karen. Mom, drink some water; you can sleep in my room tonight; I'll stay with Stan or Kyle." He wouldn't stay with Stan or Kyle; he had a secret place away from everyone. His father walked up to him and stared him down.
"Who do you think you're talking to like that, Kenneth? I am the man of this house," Stuart grumbled.
"Ya, you're such a man when you're scaring your daughter, trying to hit your wife, and hitting your son in the face with a goddamn plate fuckface." Kenny knew the second the words came out of his mouth, he was about to get hit.
Kenny ducked the first one aimed at his face but missed his dad's left arm punching him right in the gut. He fell to the floor and put his hands over his head as his dad kicked him. He's pretty sure he has a broken rib with how hard Stuart kicks him. He stopped kicking Kenny, walked to his room, slammed the door, and locked it. His mother ran away to his room when Stuart started kicking him.
He slowly got up off the floor, wincing from his ribs. He walked over to the shitty bathroom and saw himself in the mirror. He looked pathetic, weak, and broken. His face had about six pieces of porcelain embedded in his skin; none looked deep enough for stitches, so that was good. He took his hoodie and shirt off and saw how bruised his ribs were already. Black and blue were slowly spreading across his stomach and chest. Yellow and brown could be seen on his back from when his dad beat him last week for stopping another fight.
He opens the cabinet under the sink to get the first aid box and sees that it's empty except for some bandaids and numbing cream. He groaned and stood up. He put the numbing cream all over his ribs and back. He found some tweezers in the bathroom and plucked the porcelain from his face. That would have to do for now. He had to go to the store and get disinfectant to clean all the cuts. They all stopped bleeding, but he didn't want to risk infection.
He grabbed his old vans and threw them on. He ensured he had his wallet and keys in his pocket, locked the door, and got in his truck. He grabbed his smokes and lit one while driving into town. He texted Craig to see if he had weed, but he didn't. He would have to go to the far end of the poor side to go to his dealer.
On his way, he saw Butters walking in the opposite direction of his house. Kenny didn't know why Butters was out this late at night all alone. He pulled up right next to Butters and honked. Butters jumped a foot in the air when he heard the honk. Kenny giggled a little and reached over to roll the window down. Butters looked like shit. He had a black eye, and tears were streaming down his face. He had his school bag on his back and a duffle bag hanging off his right shoulder. Kenny felt bad scaring Butters like that. When Butters realized it was Kenny who honked, he turned his head and wiped at his eyes quickly. When he faced Kenny again, he had a fake smile.
"O-oh h-hey there, Kenny, what are you doing out so late." The lights in Kenny's truck weren't on, so Butters couldn't see all the cuts on his face.
"I could ask the same of you, Butter's; I'm heading to the convenience store outside town, gotta pick up some shit." Kenny didn't mention going to his dealer, mostly because he needed to remember.
"Uh, well, um, I ran away from home," Butters said sheepishly. Kenny's eyes widen at that; he looks at Butters a little more closely to see that the bruise on his face is fresh, and he's betting that's not the only one.
"Holy shit, Butters, do you have a place to stay?" Kenny is seriously worried about this kid.
"Umm, no, I was just going to go to the school and sneak in." Kenny looked at Butters like he was an idiot. The school, Kenny thought, there's no way I'm allowing that. Ever since they were younger, Kenny would try to help out Butters when he could. Be it Cartman's horrible abuse and manipulation or his parents hitting him and punishing him undeservingly. He opens the passenger door and tells Butters to get in. Butters reluctantly does after trying to say he is okay. Kenny gave him the shut up and get in, you dumbass look. Butters starts tearing up again when he closes the door. Kenny started driving on the road again, heading to the store. He is still determining if he should ask about what happened or not. He knows what happened, but he wants the details. Kenny decided to man up and ask.
"Do you wanna talk about what happened, dude," this made Butters look at Kenny for the first time up close. He saw the cuts and gashes all over his face. His jaw dropped, and he was speechless. He snapped out of it after a few seconds of just staring at Kenny's face. The left side of his face had one small cut right under his eye and another about three inches long going from his eyebrow down his cheek. He has two scratches on the right side, one by his mouth and another right above his cheekbone. His forehead had about two minor cuts and one big one. He had two right above his eyebrow and a rough cut about 2 inches long by where his hair falls on his face.
"Holy shit Kenny, what happened to your face!" Butter yelled; he was worried. Kenny looked like a cluster bomb just blew up in his face. Kenny laughed bitterly before explaining he walked into his parent's fighting, and his dad tried to throw a plate at his mom but smacked him in the face instead. He didn't mention how his dad kicked him in the ribs about 5 minutes later, but that's probably for the best. Butters was tearing up by the time Kenny stopped talking.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that, Kenny," Butters realized he was going to the store to get first aid supplies. Something Butters forgot to pack.
"Nah, it's the norm; a plate thrown at my face is new, but what will I do? Enough about me, Butters. What happened to you, man."
"Gee, well, um, my dad was mad at me for coming home late, and he was drunk, and when he drinks, he gets violent. I was tired of it all, so I left. I don't care that I don't have a place to stay. I can't go back." Butters was openly crying now, and damn did Kenny understand how he felt. Kenny reached over, a newly lit cigarette in his left hand on the steering wheel and his right arm on Butter's shoulder.
"You don't have to go back Butter's. You can stay with me. Well more like I'm not letting you go back there because your parents are abusive assholes. I have a place outside of town that no one knows about. I usually stay there at night but always stop by home to check on Karen first. The best part is my parents don't know about it." Butters looked at Kenny in shock. He didn't know what to say. How could he accept this? Kenny was being so friendly and trying to help him out. Kenny saw Butters face; he was trying to figure out how to say no.
"Butters, you're coming with me. I don't care what you say; I am not letting you return there." Kenny said in his stern voice he usually only used it with Karen when she wasn't listening. Butters looked down and sighed, saying okay. Kenny reached over and ruffled his hair.
"Don't you worry, Butters were adults. We got this"