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***Welcome to Vanderwood Backstory! This fanfiction will cover my version of Vanderwood which I rp in this Mystic Messenger Discord server. Get to know my Vanderwood, and maybe cry, a lot…I sure did. ~Let’s Connect! FFC***
Update: Marion is not Vanderwood's Canon name.
Caleb was crying. Marion rolled over to check his clock. Yeah, it was time for the morning bottle. He hopped up to mark off another day on his calendar. Today was December 23rd, his 7th birthday. Marion started breakfast, an omelet for Dad, a bottle for Caleb, and a sandwich for himself. Mom would have wanted cereal…Marion bit his tongue. Surely she would come home for his birthday this year.
Once he’d gotten Caleb into the high chair, getting his hair pulled in the process and scolding the little two-year-old, he handed him his morning bottle and started the baby on his breakfast porridge as he munched on his own sandwich. Dad came in to grab his omelet before walking past the two boys and mussing their hair, going back up the steep stairs to his room. His appearance was in stark contrast to the two boys’, blond with blue eyes whereas the boys looked like their mother with brown hair and brown eyes. Marion had expected him to say something about his birthday, but maybe he was just too tired. There was probably something planned for later.
School was out, so he didn’t have to go to 1st grade classes today, instead he decided to get Caleb dressed up in his jacket and take his little brother to the playground. It would be Christmas tomorrow. Last Christmas they had sat around the tree waiting for Mom to come home until Dad just gave up. He’d said that Mom was going to come home from their aunt’s place in New York, but apparently something had come up. They barely even got to talk on the phone thanks to the time difference between London and New York.
Marion took Caleb down the slide a few times, the younger boy squealing with joy. They seemed to be the only kids outside, even though there was a nice fresh layer of snow. All the other children were probably home with their parents. The two boys started the trek back to their house, Caleb clinging to Marion’s hand like he’d taught him.
There was a man putting a tiny little tree down next to his trash bin. Marion’s eyes widened and his face broke out into a smile. Dad had said they didn’t have money for a tree, but maybe they could get this man to give them this one. It was just going in the trash otherwise. He picked up his younger brother, stumbling just a little in his haste to catch up to the man. “Hey! Can I have your tree?” The man raised his eyebrows at the boy running after him, a little surprised. “Sure, yeah, go ahead. I just hope you can carry it.”
Marion put Caleb down, taking his hand again before picking up the little tree under his other arm. He gave the man a big smile and nod. “Thank you so much!” The man watched as the two boys walked off, a smile on his face as well.
Once they were back in the house, Marion took care of preparing a snack for Caleb before placing the little tree in the living room near the couch where they’d placed the tree in years past. Hopefully his father would be pleased with his find once he finally got up. Of course, that wasn’t for another few hours.
The afternoon came around and his father brushed past the two boys where Marion was reading with Caleb’s head in his lap as the little boy napped. His father once more fluffed Marion’s hair, making Marion furrow his brows. Had he forgotten? Marion bit his tongue. He had. His eyebrow twitched a little, but he stroked his brother’s brown hair, which had become rather long since Marion didn’t know how to cut it with Caleb fussing. Maybe Mom would at least remember.
That’s when the doorbell rang. Marion practically jumped up, waking Caleb who made a soft cry. He patted his brother’s head before running for the door, his heart feeling like it was racing away with him. Marion flung the door open, a big smile on his face “Welcome ho-“ His words cut off as he looked at the four men who were standing on the doorstep. Those were Dad’s friends, and they certainly weren’t his Mom.
Marion’s smile fell away, and he called out to his father in the living room. “Dad, your friends are here.” He held the door open as the men brushed past him, hardly giving him a care in the world. They were all pretty much the same build, big bulky men that ran ‘stock’ for Dad, or at least that’s how his Dad had explained it. Dad had started a business of sorts shortly before Mom left, and now he said he was finally starting to make some money on it. Marion just hoped that would mean a big tree for next year or a trip to see Mom in New York.
After letting them in, Marion took Caleb to put him down for a nap in his crib before returning to the living room only to see something he never should have seen. Something no child should see. The men including his father were injecting themselves with something. Marion’s mouth dropped open, and then he noticed the tree knocked over on the ground. The tree his father hadn’t even bothered to say anything about. It felt like the world was crashing in around him, almost as though he was in a tunnel and the beams of an oncoming train were blinding his vision, but he couldn’t get away.
Marion turned and ran from the room, feeling anger boil up in his chest. He ran up to his room and knocked everything around, just wanting to do something, anything to get rid of that ugly feeling, the sight of whatever had been happening. Once he’d tired himself out ransacking everything, he realized that Caleb was crying and his father was grumbling at him to, “Shut that baby up!” Marion just shook his head, trying not to let tears well up, but he went to retrieve his brother, bringing him back to his own room and curling up in the bed with him.
There was only one hope left to save his seventh birthday, and Christmas. But she never came. Marion’s heart turned sour. The world was an ugly, ugly place.
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