for the life of me**

[Brandee Makenzi]

• • • • •

[/color][/center]

• • • • •

[/color][/center]

- - - Australia. The land of the sun some might say. To leave this winter wonderland (god I feel so odd calling Valkyrie California a winter wonderland) and go to a place with sun all year round was really quite tempting. Although to most Valkyrie natives this whole winter thing was new. The feeling could be described more like hell had frozen over than a beautiful walk down a snowy path through the woods. No most definitely not the latter. God the whole world was going to go through an ice age any second now! I mean if California was getting snow then everywhere else must’ve had it five times as worse. But alas the sun did shine elsewhere. A place Brandee had relatives but had never actually visited herself. She’d thought about flying over to Australia before but money had always come between her and what she wanted. Not that she’d ever been extremely poor but trips by plane these days were getting pricier by the minute. And it wasn’t one ticket she needed to pay for, return flights were in the cart too. But it wasn’t the thought of having to spend money that had brought Australia to Brandee’s mind. No it was her cousin, Shane Harkin, and let’s not forget adorable little Lily, both of whom had moved here from Melbourne.

- - - Her footsteps were quiet as she walked up the front steps to the door. Her body quivered silently as the bitter cold of winter began stinging beneath the warmth of her clothes. Although not snowing, the brisk breath of winter was still obviously in the air. The gigantic door in front of her received a couple of soft taps from her fist. Clouds of white were exhaled from Brandee’s nostrils but soon disappeared as a burst of warm air welcomed her to her cousin’s humble abode. Not only was it the warmth that Brandee had been waiting to feel but to see Lily’s face was also just as warming and welcoming. The little girl lit up with a bright smile as she wrapped her tiny arms as far around Brandee’s upper thighs as she could. Her voice was muffled by Brandee’s shirt when she said some sort of sweet welcome. ”It’s nice to see you too” her voice automatically responded to Lily, taking on a gentle and light tone. It wasn’t long before tiny fingers intertwined with Brandee’s and practically dragged her into the house. Although small and battling a terrible disease, little Lillian Harkin was tough for her age. She’d probably gotten it from her father.

- - - Brandee wasn’t sure what the rush was to get inside but she followed as instructed, giving the door a firm push behind her so that the amount of cold air let into the house was kept to a minimal. ”Lily, hey, what’s the ru-“ she spoke up as she was led down a hallway which led to the kitchen but she paused her words for half a second as her eyes scanned the room. ”-sh” The warm fingers from within her hand had disappeared and she blinked twice before watching the bubbly little girl bound up onto a stool at the side of the marble topped island in the middle of the kitchen. Brandee followed her quietly but her mind was still processing the stack of unwashed dishes, not only in the sink, but also surrounding it and creeping along the counter space. She also took in the clutter of papers spread out over the large table not very far from the cooking space and a few random boxes, some empty while others still contained objects. Both of which had been in every room she’d passed on the way to the kitchen. Oh how she was going to have fun fixing this. If Shane wasn’t going to do a good job of keeping his beautiful house at least looking somewhat nice on the inside, and not just the out, then she would do it herself.

- - - She was called back to earth by a friendly tapping on her hand. Lily had noticed she had gotten distracted and reminded her why she had been brought over here in the first place. Had she said something earlier in an answer to her question? Brandee didn’t know, and she gave Lily an apologetic look as she looked down at the counter top. Seeing as it was only 11 in the morning the day was still long before gone but apparently the little blonde hadn’t done much this morning because strewn all over the island counter top were pictures. Some of them had been drawn by a computer but colored by the amazing artist sitting in front of her, others had been drawn by Lily herself. Brandee gave her younger relative a toothy grin. ”These are awesome Lily” she said, a hint of pride in her voice, as she leafed through a few more. The images changed from zoo animals to stick figures and then to rolling waves and seagulls. The ocean scene had clearly come from being with her father down at the beach. Speaking of whom, where was Shane anyways? Sure 98% of the time it was Lily who answered the door or the phone so she wasn’t too surprised that her cousin hadn’t come down with open arms, but Shane was always two steps behind his daughter; quite literally, so she couldn’t help but wonder where he could be. Maybe he had gotten himself completely wasted last night and was lounging in his bed upstairs. Not that Brandee thought he would do something like that on a regular basis. I mean sometimes she’d caught him past tipsy but that was more rare nowadays.

- - - Although he’d turned to alcohol after the death of his wife and son, Brandee had never seen him so drunk that he couldn’t take care of his daughter. The man didn’t trust anyone with Lily so in order to be there for her he had to keep a somewhat of a level head. Right? I mean heck, even Brandee had had a hell of a time earning a micro inch of the guy’s trust. Although she was far from anyone he would have to worry about ever harming Lily, he had still been wary about leaving the two females alone together. She didn’t blame him for that though. The two of them hadn’t really been close cousins until now. Living in the same city sort of brings family together I suppose. Now that the excuse of “you live too far away and I have no money” couldn’t be used, they both were drawn together. Eliza had also called to ask if Brandee would keep an eye on the two, I suppose that helped with getting them together too; just a little. Now that the three had gotten closer, all Brandee had to do was take a short walk over and pop on in. She didn’t like to come without calling however. Even if over half of her calls were never answered, probably because she had started to annoy him with them, she never wanted to intrude on the family of two.

---

Status:

[/size] completed!
Tagged:[/size] Shane & Lily, of course <3 !
Words:[/size] 1243!
Outfit:[/size] here!
Credit/notes:[/size] I sort of played Lily, sorry, tried to keep it to a minimal. Also sorry for keeping this thread on hold for soo long… kinda crappy but I figured it was better than nothing... !

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Shane Harkin]

. . . .Last night was not a good night for shane harkin. in fact, most nights weren't good nights for the single dad. however, on a more optimistic overlook, it wasn't one of the worst nights he'd ever had either. it was pretty typical, really, no differnet from the majority. he really hadn't had an actual night to himself in a long time, at least not one he could remember being conscious or entirely focused mentally for. it didn't bother him, not in the slightest. it was actually probably good for him, to not be alone, to never do what he wanted. if that were the case, well then he'd probably be in a rehabilitation facility for the immense amounts of alcohol he would be taking in. or maybe he'd be dead. or maybe in jail. or maybe just a constant patient in the hospital, always being rushed in. now, therapy for his addiction wouldn't be so bad as it is, because it still is a little too intense to be considered healthy. jail wasn't something he would enounter anytime soon unless he came across the person who murdered his wife and son. but the hospital he saw much of, even in this current reality and not the one where he may have ended up the patient, though he would have preferred it over the present situation. lillian harkin was a patient at valkyrie's hospital. his daughter.

. . . .No very long ago, lily had been diagnosed with leukemia. they'd said they would do everything in their power to save her, but her life expectansy wasn't more than twelve months without a bone marrow transplant or something. once the rest of his family had been slaughtered, shane relocated to valkyrie, california from his lifelong home in melbourne, australia. it wasn't too different here, still an ocean, still some sunlit warmth, still had people. the main difference was here there weren't painful memories around every corner, nothing to incessantly puncture holes through him like he were a slice of swiss cheese. here he had living family, in particular, his cousin... brandee makenzi. he'd really hoped his sister, eliza, would eventually come stay with them, but that had yet to become true or even a possibility. so he was stuck with brandee.

. . . .Perhaps "stuck" was too harsh of a term to be used. it wasn't that he dsliked the young woman. he just didn't really know her. eliza was much closer to her than he'd ever been, and considering they'd been raised on different continents, there was never much visits, and the few that did happen weren't enough to build a strong bond. lily had taken an immediate liking to brandee though. the two acted as though they'd known each other all their lives, or all lily's life, per se. so that part was a definite bonus, considering shane by no means was equipped with the knowledge of maternal instincts and didn't know how to be that mother lillian no longer had.

. . . .Anyway, last night had been another visit to the hospital, and nothing good really came out of it. due to his past profession, shane was able to control his anger, though he had a certain bloodlust for those who upset him burried deep inside. the doctors were on that list. self-control was all that kept them alive, shane sane and out of jail, and lily with a father. well, maybe he wasn't that angry with them, but sometimes it got very close, like the previous night. lily had been added to a waiting list for bone marrow transplants, but she was put very low on it because she was said to have "more time" than some other patients. patients who were years older, some who's lives wouldn't last much longer anyway, some who were elderly, some who'd had their chance at life. lily was young, she was a child. she still had an entire life ahead of her, and not to mention, if she died, shane was positive he would die with her. those type of thoughts were forbidden in his mind though. there had been a plethora of deaths stringed throughout shane harkin's twenty-four years of life. first his parents, followed by two people who meant the world to him, two names he no longer said aloud, he even refused to think them. lillian was the only thing he had left, and by putting her low on that list, they were toying with his own survival, and like an animal, that set shane off. but on a little more positive note, depending on how you look at it, lily was going to start chemo soon to stop spreading.

. . . .When shane awoke this morning, it was to lily pulling on his ear, "dad, wake up. somebody is at the door." he'd only mumbled in response, vaguely aware of the empty bottle of vodka still clenched in his hand. there was a slight tugging sensation on it "not again dad. seriously?" she sounded so old in his head, just like eliza. sometimes he felt guilty that she was like the parent in certain aspects. it was like she took care of him, instead of the other way around. he loosened his grip on the bottle and let her take it, but just grumbled and turned over in his bed. lily pranced out, throwing the bottle away and answering the door. it was none other than brandee. shane could vaguely hear them speaking in the other room, the words didn't make much sense though. it sounded like she'd been showing brandee something, probably something she'd been doing this morning. she'd always been an early riser. shane slowly pulled himself out of bed. he should probably at least look like he had control over his life.

. . . .The broken father stumbled as he got himself upright, noticing he was still in the exact same clothes as last night, shoes, coat, scarf, and all. he shrugged to himself, slapping his cheeks lightly. he languidly made his way into the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water and swishing some mouth wash in hopes of hiding and lingering stench of alcohol. his eyes were blood shot, but there was nothing to do about that. he could barely remember last night after he got home. he tucked lily in, and then everything after that was a blur. not a good thing. he walked out, feeling completely hammered, but a little more awake than before, and blinked rapidly. the house didn't look great. unpacked boxes, empty ones laying around. he really should take care of it, but he couldn't. the rental shop was downstairs and he'd been taking care of getting it started, and this upstairs living area, well, it really hadn't been his first priority. any clean areas were lily's doing. when he saw brandee and lily looking at pictures he stopped in the doorway from the hall into the kitchen, "hey," he muttered, suddenly surprised by how hoarse his voice was, "surprise much, dee?" he tried again, making his voice only marginally smoother, his thick accent echoing. lily jumped over to him and he lifed her up as she kissed him on the cheek "morning, dad," she grinned and he put her back down, "morning bug," he half smiled.

tagged . . . . brandee !
status . . . . complete !
setting . . . . shane's house, morning/early afternoon !
clothes . . . . here !
notes . . . . it's fine, do as you feel necessary (: !
lyrics . . . . miserable at best—mayday parade !
credit . . . . me !

[Hootieseek]

I like rock songs! I really do! And my favourite hardcore band is Hootie & Blowfish! All band members has came together to perform more than 50 concerts for their fans in 2019! To know more about Hootie&Blowfish in 2019 visit website Hootie and the Blowfish Group Therapy Tour USA. You won't miss any concert in 2019 if you visit the link!

[nkotbseek]

New Kids on the Block is my favourite pop-band of 90s. They had so many hit songs! The ones I remember are 'Tonight', 'Baby, I Believe In You' and their hit 'Step By Step'. These are real songs, not garbage like today! And it is sooo good they have a tour in 2019! And I'm going to attend their concert this year. The tour dates is here: newkidsontheblocktour2019.com/. Open the page and maybe we can even visit one of the performances together!

[BBoysseek]

Backstreet Boys BSB are an American rock band. The band was founded on April 20, 1993 in Orlando, Florida, by Lou Pearlman. Now this is the most successful rock boy bad with more than 100 million records sold worldwide. The group was named after a flea market in Orlando, the "backstreet flea market". In 2019 BB has more than 50 concerts in the US with their DNA World Tour. Check tour dates at Backstreet Boys DNA tour US site. Full list of tour dates & concerts!

[Carrieseek]

Carrie Underwood is my favourite US singer. She is young, beautiful and charming female in her 30s. Her strong voice takes me away from all troubles of this world and I can enjoy my life and listen songs created by her voice. Now she is on a Cry Pretty 360 Tour started in May of 2019. The concerts scheduled for this year, up to the last day of October. Ticket prices are moderate and available for all men and women with different income. If you are a country music lover as me, then you must visit at least one of her concert. All tour dates are available at the Carrie Underwood concerts 2019. Visit the website and make yourself familiar with all Carrie Underwood concerts in 2019!

[JohnnyGerry]

I like pop-folk bands! I really do! And my favourite blues band is Johnnyswim! The members Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez are about to perform more than 40 concerts to their fans in 2019 and 2020! To know more about Johnnyswim band in 2019 and 2020 visit website Johnnyswim concert tickets. You aren't going to miss any show by Johnnyswim this year if you visit the link!

[ChainGerry]

I like EDM bands! I really do! And my favourite EDM band is The Cheinsmokers! DJs Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart are about to give more than 50 concerts to their fans in 2019 and 2020! To know more about Chainsmokers in 2019 visit site Chainsmokers tour Detroit. You won't miss concerts this year if you visit the link!

[Carrieseek]

Carrie Underwood is my favourite US contry singer. She is young, beautiful and charming woman in her 30s. Her voice takes me away from all troubles of this world and I can enjoy my life and listen songs created by her mind. Now the singer is on a Cry Pretty 360 Tour started in May of 2019. The concerts scheduled for the whole 2019, up to the 31st of October. Tickets are available for all men and women with different income. If you are a country music lover as me, then you must visit at least one of her concert. All tour dates are available at the carrieunderwoodconcerts. Open the website and make yourself familiar with all powerful Carrie Underwood concerts in 2019!

[Breakseek]

Breaking Benjamin is my favourite band of 90s. They had so many hit songs! The ones I remember are 'The Diary of Jane', 'Tourniquet' and, of course their hit 'So Cold'. These are real songs, not garbage like today! And it is awesome that Breaking Benjamin have a tour in 2019! And I'm going to visit their concert in 2019. The tour dates is here: Breaking Benjamin tour dates. Open the page and maybe we can even visit one of the Benjamin's together!