Page 80 of Barron's Second Chance
"I know these statistics because I was one of those twenty-one million people afflicted with mental health issues."
His hand shot out to the wall in front of him, steadying himself as the impact of her words hit him.
"Senior year was tough for me." she continued. "I won't go into the exact details of what happened, but I was devastated by the end of a relationship. Now, I've had some people tell me that it wasn't a big deal, that I was young, so a high school breakup shouldn't have affected me so much. That's the wrong thing to say to someone who's clearly having a tough time. It invalidates their feelings and causes them to bottle up their sadness, anger - whatever it is - until it explodes in other ways."
The fist that had grabbed his heart started to tighten with every word Eden said. Tears sprang into his eyes as he recalled the young, innocent girl Eden had been. She had been the perfect girlfriend, and he had been completely gone for her.
To think that he had taken that love and smashed it to smithereens… He shook his head, furious at himself. He knew he had hurt her, but to hear her speak on what she went through back then and the pain he caused. It was unbearable.
"To me, it was the catalyst to some really terrible choices later in life. I tried everything to try and numb the pain I felt - drugs, alcohol, and making terrible and dangerous decisions with men."
Once again, his chest tightened at the meaning behind what she said.Sex and drugs.
He heard a young girl's voice ring out, asking Eden a question, so he took that as his cue to leave. He felt guilty enough eavesdropping on Eden's private conversations. Listening to young girls discuss their issues was a line he wouldn't cross.
When Barron got to his car, he leaned against the steering wheel. Tears of sadness leaked through, falling onto his arms.
What Josh said to him made sense now. Wild parties. Self destruct. Turning her life around.
"I've never seen a more lost person in my life."
Hearing from her own mouth what Eden had endured at his own hands all those years ago, Barron knew what he had to do next.
18
Safe Space
AfteranotherattempttowatchBridgerton, Eden finally gave up and switched off the television.
The house was still; quiet.
Josh had turned in early after spending the day reviewing his set list for the fair. He played a few of his songs acoustically for Kelly and herself - much to the other woman's delight.
Without his band supporting him - the lights, electric guitar, bass - she forgot how incredible his voice was, stripped back and bare.
Kelly felt the same way; tears had glistened in her eyes at the intimacy of his performance.
After he ran through what songs he chose to perform - family-friendly with explicit lyrics changed, of course - Eden made him some lemon tea and encouraged him to take a soak in their bathtub. Josh's guilty pleasure was a relaxing bubble bath with a glass of Merlot.
With nothing holding her interest, Eden figured she might as well turn in. Truth be told, even if it was only eight o'clock, she was exhausted. Both physically and mentally.
She woke up a little sad, knowing that it was her last group talk today. She was enjoying it immensely and had already earmarked some charities to support aimed at adolescent girls. The next few months would be super busy for her, but perhaps she could do something similar to what she’d done now once her time freed up.
Today's session was an emotionally draining one for her. Eden hadn't planned on divulging to the girls details of her past depression, but she saw an opportunity that she knew she'd regret if missed.
A thirteen-year-old girl a few towns over had recently self-harmed and was currently on a ventilator in ICU. A girl in Eden's class mentioned a loose connection to her, and after a few in the group expressed their horror at the situation, Eden saw her opening.
She didn't get into too much detail about what happened to her. These were young girls, after all, and she wasn't sure their parents would appreciate her talking about sex and drugs with them, however innocent.
The whole experience, while provocative and beneficial, made her dog-tired and ready for bed.
Yawning widely, Eden went through the motions of turning plugs off at the wall, closing windows, and checking she had locked the back door. Years of living in New York made her extra vigilant in safety, even though New Haven rarely saw much serious crime.
As Eden poured herself a glass of water to take to bed, she rechecked her phone and frowned at the empty screen.
No new messages.
She couldn't deny the pit drop in her stomach. She was disappointed.
