Can we know more about Eden's trauma? I'm so into their story
Good question, anon :]
tbh I've been pretty reluctant to go into too much detail about Eden's past on here, since even though he's a fictional character, the stuff that happened to him is more along the lines of "realistic fiction" - meaning that the mentioned events *can* occur in real life - and therefore could trigger real people who might've experienced anything similar.
BUT I think it should be fine, so long as I add a trigger warning.
// TW for talk of: physical abuse, domestic violence, verbal abuse, death while in labor, murder, alcoholism, & a brief mention of hypothetical miscarriage.
If any of the things listed trigger you, maybe don't read this one to be safe, ight? The short & sweet version is that Eden's father and stepmother are some stank bitches. and Eden's sister, Forrest's mother, & Eden's adoptive grandma are queens.
If you stuck around, here we go. (This is SUPER long, so I'm sorry ab that)
Eden Ash Harmon's birth - February 5th, 2000 - was a long, painful, & ultimately fatal one for his mother, Lauren May Harmon. various complications occurred, and she ended up not even surviving long enough to get to see him draw his first breath.
His father, Troy Harmon, was devastated over his wife's passing, and overwhelmed by the prospect of not only becoming a new parent, but now becoming a single parent. He had to grieve, whilst trying to raise Eden. which was even harder, because he was born prematurely and of course, smaller and weaker than normal, so he required a lot of extra care.
This took a serious toll on him, and Troy began to unfortunately rely on alcohol - a reliance which only got worse over time, and developed into just alcoholism. By the time Eden was just three years old, his father had grown to resent him, and blame him for all of the struggles he faced. and by the time Eden was 4, he'd unfortunately begun expressing his resentment aloud.
He'd say really nasty things like how he wished Lauren had just miscarried instead of giving her life to birth Eden, because he'd rather have his wife back than have Eden. To Eden's face. Both drunk, and sober. Making sure Eden knew exactly how much of a "burden" he was. Which, of course, was really harmful. Troy was also physically abusive toward him, doing things such as putting out cigarettes on his skin - the burn scars of which Eden still has to this day, though they're now more faint.
Then, one day Troy brought home a woman called Sharon, and introduced the two to each other. It wasn't uncommon for Troy to bring women home for one-night-stands, but come to find out, Troy and Sharon had actually been dating for around three months before this introduction. Eden, at first, was honestly excited. He thought this meant his father would be happy again, and he may get a mother.
The first part seemed true for a while. Troy was much calmer than he'd previously been, but that didn't last. because Sharon soon got pregnant. Now Sharon was originally indifferent towards kids for the most part, and because of this, didn't become too close with Eden at the time, but she found herself wanting to keep the baby.
The news of the pregnancy triggered Troy, and sent him into a panic. all of the memories of the day Eden was born and he lost his first wife, came flooding back. He didn't know how to handle this properly, and started to behave aggressive towards Sharon too, as he had with Eden. He hadn't physically hurt her, but he was getting close to it (think, punching walls or throwing things - aggressive hand gestures, etc.) and it soon dawned on Sharon that the home was not safe anymore.
So, she planned to leave without telling him. Eden himself still isn't sure why, but she opted to take him with her. maybe it was pity, maybe it was newfound maternal instinct due to having her own baby on the way, who knows? well, not long after her baby - & Eden's younger half sister - Beatrice Harmon, was born, while Troy was out one evening, Sharon packed what she could of their belongings - only the important things & clothing - that she could fit in her purse, & made for her mother's house, maybe 2 hours away.
Sharon's mother, Susan, was - for lack of a better term - an angel. Though they weren't blood-related, she immediately welcomed Eden as her grandson, with open arms. She stayed with them every day while Sharon was at work, and actively engaged with and played with them. Eden even had his first birthday celebration there when he turned five. This was by far the best year of his entire life at the time.
Well, of course, that also didn't last. (Here's where things take an even darker turn, so if you need to, refer back to the tw.)
Troy found them.
Susan was behind the corner, fixing lunch for Eden and Bea, when he showed up, and broke in. In broad daylight. Eden completely froze at first, unable to even believe that this was happening. Troy destroyed things, and stomped all throughout the small home, calling Sharon's name. But Sharon, ironically, wasn't even home - she was at work. Susan yelled for him to leave, and grabbed a kitchen knife in order to protect the kids, then dialed 9-1-1.
Troy flew into a rage, and injured her, very badly. She was only in her mid-sixties, but she was still an older woman. She kept screaming for Eden to take his sister and run to the neighbors, since the front door was still ajar, but Eden couldn't yet hear anything. His ears were ringing, and his body was completely paralyzed with fear. Troy injured one of her legs badly enough that she couldn't get up off of the ground, and then ended up knocking her unconscious.
when Eden could finally make his body move, all he could think was not to stop Troy. Stop him from hurting Susan any further, and not to let him lay a finger on his baby sister. So, he grabbed the kitchen knife and did what he had to. The end result wasn't immediate however, and - still pumped full of adrenaline - Troy ended up injuring Eden quiet badly as well. Then, he realized how badly injured he *himself* was, panicked, and promptly took off on foot.
Eden was unable to move due to his injuries, but still semi-conscious. Susan was gravely injured, and he wasn't sure whether or not she was even still alive. Bea ended up being completely physically unharmed. Neighbors came outside, found them, and dialed 9-1-1, successfully hitting 'call' this time. All three were rushed to the hospital to be examined & treated. The hospital also contacted Sharon, and she got there as fast as she could.
At first, Sharon was just so relieved that her mother and Eden were alive, and that Bea wasn't injured. But after a day & a half, authorities found Troy. Not alive. He'd failed to get medical attention for his own injuries, obviously for fear of going to prison. When Sharon found that out, she was - surprisingly - devastated. apparently at one point, she'd gotten it in her head that they could reconcile someday in the near future, and had - stupidly - given him strong hints as to where they were all staying.
and of course, now that he was dead, all those plans went up in smoke. So, who does she blame? If you said Eden, you win! :,]
Eden, still being a kid - and a severely traumatized one, at that - of course did the same thing he did the last time he was blamed for someone's death, and believed that it really was his fault. So now, in his mind, he'd killed *both* his parents (which of course was not the case - it was not his fault at all.)
Sharon took custody of he and Beatrice, as she was pretty much all they had left. And like last time, she let her resentment fester, and turn into physical and verbal abuse. Only toward Eden though. Bea grew up witnessing this, and since her older brother was literally nothing but nice to her - and practically raised her due to Sharon's neglect of both kids - she fortunately stood up for him whenever she got the opportunity.
Susan held on as long as she could - until Eden was eleven - but eventually succumbed to her internal injuries. Infections played a role. Eden was forbidden from attending her memorial service, by Sharon, because - in her words - "She wasn't even really your grandma." She forced Bea to attend with her, and left Eden home alone that day.
Fast forward, and Eden's sixteen. Sharon demands that he start paying rent, or else she'll kick him out. Eden's not stupid, so he at first refuses, stating the obvious - that she couldn't kick out a sixteen-year-old. but she does anyway. she kicks him out, then calls the cops, and reports him as a runaway. Making him out to be an unruly teenager, who just wears her out all the time, and runs away when asked to do simple house chores such as cleaning his room (lies, lies, lies.)
She did this multiple times, and every time, the cops believed her. Eden got sick of it, and finally agreed to get a job so that he could pay rent. He went to work at a shitty local coffee shop, as a barista. There, he met Forrest! :] Yes, we finally get to some GOOD news.
At first, they didn't talk much, but after a while, Forrest noticed Eden struggling with certain things, and that whenever he asked for help, he was either ignored or insulted for "not knowing how to do his job." So, he offered to help him, since he knew his way around the place by then. That's how their interactions started. Coworkers to friends to lovers, basically.
Eden began spending every lunch with Forrest, listening to him infodump. everyone else thought Forrest's constant yapping was "annoying," but Eden was just glad to have someone who wanted to talk to him. Especially someone his age, and especially someone friendly.
By the time Eden was 17, he'd already filled Forrest in briefly about his home life, and Forrest and his mother Margaret, had made it clear to Eden that if it came down to it, he was welcome to stay with them. Sharon was constantly ranting about how she couldn't wait for the day when she was no longer legally responsible for him anymore, so Eden prepared. He made sure Bea still had a way to keep in touch with him whenever she needed, and he packed one bag of essentials, and kept it hidden until his 18th birthday.
On his 18th, he was immediately kicked out. I'm talking 2 o'clock in the morning, woken up, and told to get out and never come back. So, he did. He went to stay with Forrest & Margaret, and stayed there for 3 years. During which he remained working with Forrest at the coffee shop, and offered to pay Margaret rent, to which she laughed and told him to save his money, and he didn't need to do that.
Margaret too is an angel, fr.
Anyways, at 21, he and Forrest were dating and decided to move in together. And ofc, Beatrice later ended up moving out right away at 18 because she couldn't stand her mother. And the rest is history. :]
I always say, the silliest goose has the most fucked up backstory
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