"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice." Nelson Mandela
—
Eden woke up at five in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Olivia was next to him on the bed, with her book open on her thighs. She spent the night reviewing her lessons. He carefully left the bed and put on his slippers before walking to the bathroom. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, and then he headed back to the bedroom to get his workout clothes. There was nothing to do at home, so early in the morning, so he decided to go for a jog.
After he got dressed, he entered Leo's room and grinned when he saw his little arms and legs spread on the mattress. No matter how cold it was, Leo would always throw the cover on the floor, and Eden had to pick it up every time. He kissed Leo's forehead, took his keys and headed outside.
It was cold and dark, but Eden liked this time of the day as he would jump outside of reality for a moment. Instead of thinking about his problems, he would focus only on his body, his arms and legs movements, feel the blood flowing in his veins and the sweat forming on his skin.
Eden ran in the middle of the road, inhaling and exhaling fresh air before the cars come to pollute it. His feet led him downtown, where people finally started waking up. Some were opening their shops, and others were running to catch the first bus. He stopped in front of the burger shop, and he looked at the red and black logo. He remembered how happy Leo was to eat there the day before. He played with the other kids until he was satisfied and ready to go back home.
Sitting with Leo yesterday made him realise he didn't give him much time and attention lately. He's been busy with university and his part-time jobs, and he didn't get to play with him or treat him to his favourite places. Harvey reminded him that his son needed his father by his side, especially at such a young age.
"Well, well. Look who we have here!"
A familiar voice surged from behind, and Eden rolled his eyes. "Seriously, man? Why are you here so early in the morning?" he asked the loan sharks, who surrounded him, wearing their usual black shirts opened to the chest.
"I would ask you the same," Jack rubbed his chin, "Instead of working hard to get money, you're out here running and living the life,"
"Living life, my ass," Eden muttered, "I don't know what it means anymore since the day I knew you,"
"Whose fault do you think it is?" Jack lifted a brow, "You shouldn't have borrowed money if you knew you couldn't pay it back,"
"It's not my fault you keep increasing interests," Eden glared at him, "I can't get all that money with shitty jobs,"
"That's your problem, Eden," Jack faked a smile, "You're late this month. The boss can't wait anymore."
Eden sighed and ran his fingers in his hair, "I need a few more days, okay? I just got a new job, and I promise I'll give you more this month,"
Jack started laughing, "A few more days, he said," he looked at his partners and shook his head in disbelief, "Do you think you can negotiate with the boss? You know he doesn't like to wait,"
"What am I supposed to do then?" Eden put his hands on his sides, "Do you want me to go all Money Heist and rob a bank?"
"That's an option you could consider," Jack shrugged, "As long as you pay the boss the money you owe him,"
Eden rolled his eyes and looked away for a moment as he thought about what he could do to get out of this situation. Jack had enough of his silence, and he approached him and pulled his training shirt, "Talk to that boss of yours or whatever, you hear me?" he muttered, "Tell him to give you an advance, or get yourself another job. I'll give you three days, and if you don't get us the money, we'll have to use other methods,"
Eden gulped and slowly nodded his head. There was nothing he could do nor tell him. Messing with a loan agency would be his biggest mistake.
Back home, Eden jumped into the shower and put on his university uniform. He kissed Leo and put his favourite cereals in a bowl before pouring the cold milk.
"I heard your new boss is generous," Olivia took a seat at the table. Eden guessed Leo must have told her about yesterday. "He treated you to eat burgers and all. How nice,"
"Yeah," Eden nodded, "I guess he likes kids,"
"Leo said he was wearing the same uniform," she said, pointing at his white shirt and his blue jacket. "Is he with you at school?"
Eden hummed, "He's my junior."
"I see,"
Eden looked at Leo and made sure he was busy watching cartoons before he faced Olivia and whispered: "I met Jack and his men this morning,"
Olivia stopped eating and looked at him with concern, "And?"
Eden sighed, "Do you think you could get a job? I'm crazy late, and there's no way I could pay it fully,"
"Seriously?" Olivia scoffed, "I'm a med student!" she whispered-shouted, "I have no time for a job!"
"Then what should I do?!" Eden ran his fingers in his hair, "I have to pay the rent, electricity and water bills, wifi and groceries. I can't handle all this, Olivia."
"I gave you a solution before," Olivia said, "You're just stubborn,"
Eden scoffed and licked his lower lip as he looked away for a moment to calm himself down. "There is no way in hell I would let your parents pay for us," he muttered.
"See? Then you can't complain," Olivia shrugged.
"Olivia," Eden put his hand on her thigh, "I will never forgive them for what they've done to us,"
"They didn't do anything," Olivia laughed, "You didn't even let them do it,"
Eden stared at her in surprise and wondered if she was joking. "Olivia," he whispered, "They wanted to take Leo to a foster home!"
"So what? They didn't take him. He's still here with us,"
"That's because I convinced the social work assistant that we could take care of our child," Eden said, his eyes watering, "I promised I would get a job and take care of our family. Your parents wanted to take our son away from us. How could you forgive them?"
"They just wanted to help us, Eden," Olivia sighed, "We were twenty and jobless."
"Yes," Eden nodded, and then he looked at Leo, "Twenty and jobless, and still, look where we are. Leo is now five, nearly six. He's healthy, he goes to school, and has both his parents to take care of him," he took a breath and faced his wife again. "Now imagine if we let other people take care of him instead. What would we tell him when he grows up? That his parents are cowards?"
Olivia looked away, unable to answer his question. Eden knew it was hopeless to talk to her, so he finished his breakfast and helped Leo brush his teeth and wear his shoes to walk him to school.
👔
Who wants to smash Olivia's head? Me!
👔 Is being a med student really an excuse not to get a job?
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Twitter: @AsmaaBenk97"Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it."Unknown—Eden entered the mansion and met Grayson in the main hall. "Good morning," he greeted him with a tired smile."Your suit is ready," Grayson told him, "You should start wearing it from now on,""Alright," Eden nodded and headed to the bodyguards' dressing room to change. There were about ten lockers with name tags. He smiled when he read his name and opened it to find his suit and shoes ready. He took off his uniform and put on a plain white shirt, black pants and a blazer."Hey man," Tyler opened his locker and put his sports bag inside. "How were your classes?"
"All these people everywhere, but my eyes on you."Unknown—The students took notes while the professor explained the lesson projected on the screen, everyone but Eden and Kian. Eden was opening and closing his pen while Kian watched him with confusion. He wondered why his friend was zoning out a lot lately. Kian grew impatient of looking at him repeat the same action, and he scooted closer to him to whisper: "Hey, what's wrong? You've been silent these last two days."Eden only shrugged without bothering to lift his head and look at his friend. Kian scrunched his brows and snatched the pen away from his hand. "Seriously, if there's anything, you've got to tell me."Eden let out a deep sigh and finally moved his head a little to look at his friend's concerne
"All the best heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary."Gerard Way—The stranger dragged Leo to a narrow empty street, and the boy didn't stop yelling and asking for help. Harvey followed them, swearing at the man as loud as he could. For once, he regretted not doing some cardio at the gym as he found himself short of breath very soon. But despite his lack of sportiness, Harvey succeeded to reach them and pulled the man's velvet sleeve."Leave him the fuck alone!" he shouted breathlessly."Mr Clarke!" Leo cried, his eyes wide as he recognised his dad's boss. He wanted to go to him, but the man tightened his grip around his wrist."Who the hell are you?!" the stranger, a man in his thirties, glared at Harvey. "What do you want with
"The reason we struggle with insecurities is that we compare our behind the scenes with someone else's highlight reel."Unknown—For the first time in months, Eden waited for Olivia in front of the medical faculty. It had been an eternity since they last walked together after classes. Before, they used to go on dates, but after Leo arrived, it all ended. Eden and Olivia weren't going to the theatre or each lunch somewhere. They planned to head to the hospital after they picked up Leo from school.Eden insisted Olivia visited Harvey to thank him for saving their son from Jack's man. She refused at first, thinking of her upcoming exam as an excuse to escape. Eden cared less about her studies now. The least she could do for their family now is to speak to the man who endangered himself for Leo.
"I desire the things which will destroy me in the end."Sylvia Plath—Few days passed after the incident, and Eden was still taking care of Harvey as he felt indebted to him after saving Leo. He helped clean his wound and dress it every day and night, after his classes and before going back home to sleep.Harvey was getting better and could now walk without having someone to hold his arm. He was relieved as his father was soon coming back from his business trip. He couldn't risk the Chairman seeing him in this state as he would scold him for being such an idiot. Something worse could happen if his father knew about the incident, he could fire Eden.Tonight, Harvey had enough of staying in his room, so he texted his friends to have a drink somewhe
"That feeling when you don't even know what the fuck you're feeling."Unknown—Henry stopped the car in front of the hospital, and Eden got out to open the door for Harvey. The Young Master's face was pale as he was scared unprotected sex would cause him some disease. In the beginning, he and his partner were both protected, but the other guy didn't warn him that the condom broke. Harvey was furious about it.Eden followed him to the reception hall, and as the nurses were expecting his arrival, one of them asked them to accompany her. They took the elevator to head to the sexual health floor."Doctor Smith, your ten am has arrived," the nurse knocked on the door, and soon, the man's deep voice sounded for them to enter.
"I sink into your eyes whenever I'm looking at you."Franz Kafka—Henry didn't stop laughing during the entire ride since he knew the doctor misunderstood Eden for Harvey's partner. He lost it when the bodyguard told him he was forced to take the two tests.Eden didn't dare mention the Collection Room. It wasn't because he was shy about talking of his intimate moments but rather the person he thought about.Harvey believed he thought about Olivia. Little did he know, he was the only one who occupied his mind at that moment.Eden had no idea why Harvey's image and voice surged at that time. He never thought about a man, not even before dating Olivia. He never sat down and thought about his sexuality. Since h
"You can heal broken bones, but you can't heal a broken mind."Dia Reeves—Eden entered his apartment after a long day of work. He was supposed to stay with Harvey, but Tyler told him he could rest with his family. Unlike Eden, Tyler wasn't married and didn't have anyone waiting for him at home. Eden was more than thankful to his friend because he needed to spend some time with Leo. He's been busy lately as he looked after Harvey after the incident. His boss couldn't move his legs for days, and he took care of everything for him."Hey, my boy," he fainted on the couch next to Leo and rested his head on his thigh. "How was school today?"Leo only shrugged and kept watching his cartoons. Eden thought he was mad at him for being absent, and he chuck