characteresque

character :: Kelsey Holmes

Kelsey had always walked the straight and narrow - but of course! That's what her parents expected of her. She was the first born, the apple of their eye, their perfect little princess from day one. With her father always away at work to make a comfortable life for the family, Kelsey was lovingly raised by her mother who taught her all the ways to be a good little girl: play with her dolls (never boy toys!), never talk back, never roughhouse; basically, never step a toe out of line and Kelsey obeyed, even when her little brother Sean came along. Throughout her schooling, she joined many extracurricular activities and pressed her troublesome brother to do the same. Choir, cheerleading, girl scouts - anything she wanted to do, her parents encouraged her to be the best, all while Kelsey saw what was happening in the background: Sean's talents beginning to blossom. And that's when the jealousy began.

She could see her brother's passion for music practically spring up overnight and although her parent's attention had suddenly diverted to him, it wasn't their affections that made Kelsey upset. He had found his desire to create music so easily and she could see that each time he performed for their parents or even in his room that he was faultless; why couldn't Kelsey have something she loved that much? Of course, by high school, she was still a cheerleader, still singing her heart out in choir and she had even become president of the student council but all of it felt so...forced, so fake. Did she have any creativity in her soul, any devotion for the arts? Fortunately for Kelsey, she had little time to puzzle it out before a new kind of love caught her eye: a man in her school named Jonathan, two years her senior, who had started to take notice of her. The two began to flirt back and forth and their dates, although chaperoned by her mother at every turn, were enjoyable but beneath it all, Kelsey could still feel that need, that burning desire to do...something. Then, Sean, once again, took the reins right from Kelsey's hands.

Consumed by an addiction, Sean rebelled like neither of them ever had before and by the time Kelsey had begun attending a nearby college and the family moved across town, she wasn't sure what was going to happen until one morning when it all boiled over. Sean admitted he had dropped out high school, first to Kelsey and then to their parents, who demanded that he leave immediately but Kelsey wouldn't have it.

She begged, pleaded with her parents to change their mind and for Sean to change his but as she looked into her brother's eyes, she could no longer see the boy she had grown up with and without a word, he walked out the door and fell deeper into the downward spiral of his addiction. And, just like before, Kelsey felt that uncomfortable emotion once more: the need for freedom, to rebel, just once. She settled on moving in with her boyfriend to escape her family's grip, which her mother was quick to shut down ("Moving in before you're married, I think not!"), forcing Kelsey to be creative in her pressure on Jonathan to propose sooner rather than later. Thankfully, the hint was clear enough and only months after Sean's departure, the two were engaged and a year later, married and moved out. Kelsey soon found work at a dead-end, mundane job as a front desk receptionist at a nursing home, a far cry from the gratifying job she had sought before while watching Sean live out his cultivated, artsy dreams. But Kelsey had little time to worry about that - a new storm was brewing but this time, it wouldn't be her brother's dilemma.

The couple's first child entered into the world two years later, a joyous time for both the first time grandparents and the parent's themselves...or it should have been. As Kelsey held him and looked down at her beautiful son Jonathan Jr., she could see the sweet smile grow on his face and even a small giggle escape his throat but there was something missing: happiness. Even when her precious boy opened his eyes, crawled or spoke his first word, all Kelsey could feel was emptiness in the pit of her stomach. She reached out to the fellow women at her church, the other women at the office and even her own mother but all of them responded the same way: "There's nothing wrong with Jonathan, so there must be something wrong with you." Kelsey kept the feelings to herself, even hiding them from her workaholic husband and treating what she thought was nothing more than a simple case of depression with natural remedies that the internet swore by, but nothing made her feel what she thought to be 'normal.'

Just three years shy of her thirties, Kelsey now feels as though she's watching a movie of her life; one that, quite frankly, she's not that interested in. But when Sean re-emerges after years of absence talking about Satan, his new boyfriend (?!?) and his new lease on life, Kelsey isn't sure if it's the drugs talking or if her younger brother has really come back for good. Either way, she's not certain she wants her son raised in that kind of environment...but there is something about that Satanic Temple that's calling her name...and more importantly, there's a certain person at the temple, that's caught her eye. Should she give into the temptation? Kelsey isn't sure but one thing is: the Holmes siblings have a bad track record for being pulled in by that devil-may-care charm.

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