[Karen considers the question for a moment - it's not something she usually talks about. But she's been trying to be more open about it, in recent years. And moreover, he deserves to know what exactly she means when she says her life has been a mess for a long time.]

No, it's okay. Uh, my mother died when I was 16, and he just kind of...checked out, you know. He's been in a fog since then. My brother and I were running the diner, but it wasn't exactly turning a profit. So I, uh, started selling coke for my ex. He was a real piece of shit, but I was just an absolute asshole. Anyway, my brother got into it with my ex one night. You know, trying to look out for me. I took off with my ex, we were drinking and getting high, and when we got back to his trailer, Kevin had set it on fire.

[Karen gives him a sad little smile at that.]

My ex went after him, so I shot him in the shoulder and got my brother out of there, but I was driving and I had no business driving. I flipped the car. Kevin died and it was my fault. I don't even blame my father for kicking me out, but uh, yeah. I haven't been back home since then. I couldn't even go to his funeral.