Edward's history

“Yo, Aria. You seem quiet. What's on your mind?”

“Just thinking about shit. As usual. Poor Edward's had a lot to deal with recently.”

“Damn, I know. I can't believe that psycho's starting shit again. Why'd he wait so long before comin' back?”

“No idea, but he seems to just want to punish Tate. I hope so anyway. I don't give a damn what happens to him, but that fucker had better stay away from Edward.”

“Fuckin' right. Oh, jeez, I've seen what he did to him.”

“Yeah, it's kinda obvious.”

“Nah, I mean, all of it. You ever seen him with a shirt off?”

“No? He's not the type, you know he's kinda conservative.”

“Yeah, well, he's lived with me before. Saw him by accident.”

“He's got scars all on his body too. In a Y shape starting at the chest and goin' down.”

“...whoa.”

“Kinda freaked me out the first time, I mean, what kind of mental case does that to another person?”

“That's Miles for you. Fucking asshole. ...So how did Edward come to live with you anyway? I know you helped him off the streets for a while.”

“Oh man, it wasn't easy. Refused to accept my help for ages. First met him in the store, he wanted some cheap shit to buy. Was obvious he was, y'know, a hobo. One of my friends was there at the time, told me he looked suspicious. He wasn't.”

“No, that's not him.”

“We got talkin', then I used to see him down the pub. A lot.”

“That's where I met him for the first time in years... my 18th birthday. Feels like a long time ago now, hell, I still lived with Tate back then. That's why we couldn't take him in straight away.”

“Yeah... Y'know, I asked him why he'd spend his little money on booze when he got nothin' else. Then he told me.”

"I've been like this for over a decade now, with no way out. I have tried to get myself into work, but nothing. I'm not stupid, Stanley.”

“I know, man.”

“I have a degree. But nobody's going to hire someone who looks like this. ...As for the drinking, well, I can't stop. If I go without it for too long, I get sick. I'm addicted.”

“Well that's the stereotype, ain't it? Homeless all bein' drunks and druggies and all that.”

“...It's the only thing that numbs the pain. I don't care if that sounds melodramatic. There's usually a terrible reason why people like me end up the way they are, and that's especially true in my case. Do you think I can forget about something like that? That I don't have constant nightmares?”

“No, but...”

“That my brother left me to die? Then took every single last thing I owned under the threat of death because, and I quote, he'd just 'get it back through the inheritance anyway'?”

“Edward, I'm sorry, man-”

“That I can ever go a day without worrying about those children because they're stuck with an evil man and I'm all they had? That there's no way out for me because I try, and try, and fucking try again and I STILL can't fix my life? And on top of it all, the whole world judges me for having a Goddamn drink whilst looking at the disgusting hobo with revulsion.... And if one more person asks me 'what happened to your face?' I am going to lose it. So yes, Stanley, I drink. Happy now?”

“No... fuckin' hell, not at all...”

“Jesus Christ, that's awful...”

“I felt like the biggest cunt. Anyway, I pretty much forced him to live with me. The first night he stayed over, he stole every last alcoholic thing in my house then ran.”

“Found him the next day passed out, all of it empty. I kinda had it coming.”

“Not really. Most people wonder it at some point; so did I until I found out the truth.”

“Yeah. So I took him in, he was gonna try to find a job, get himself stable then come get you.”

“...Really?”

“Yep. Never forgot about you once. He even showed me your baby photos.”

“...Thanks, Edward.”

“I know, haha. So that was gonna happen. Then I went and got myself put in jail. I'm an asshole. I felt damn terrible 'bout it, like I'd ruined his life again.”

“Oh Stan, you idiot.”

“Yeah. But as I said to you before, he wasn't pissed because he had to go back on the streets. He was pissed because I went to jail for no good reason. That's Edward.”

“It is... You know, I really hope he gets a Goddamn break soon.”

“Me too, man. Me too.”