Einron: A lifetime of Regret

Part 2: El Padre

Ein jolted awake, quickly laying back down as the pain pulsed through his body, tumbling off the metal table cradling his body. He slammed into the floor, jolting at the agonizing pain in his chest. He yelped as the front door slid open, "What the hell?" Zack stared confusedly at Ein. He dripped with water, legs coated in sand. "H-how?"

"Hey dad," he struggled to pick himself up, leaning against the table. "I'm back," he chimed.

He rushed toward Ein, ripping off what remained of his hoodie, the gash nearly completely healed, leaving only a gnarly scar behind, though the flesh looked rather thin. "How?" he yelled, "Y-you died, I held your body... I felt your pulse!" he held his forehead, "This defies all logic!"

"Damn," he looked at his tatters, "I liked that hoodie."

"You can buy another one. J-just, how? How are you alive?"

"If I had an answer, I'd tell you. As far as I know, Irene pitties me."

"What the hell?"

"I've been given a second chance, free of all those little additions you and Micheal made."

"Ein, please, believe me. I never wanted to use that potion on you."

"Did you even know what it did?"

"I-I didn't..."

"Yet you still used it?"

"It wasn't smart, I know that!"

Ein sighed, "No, it wasn't. It made me a slave." he stepped beside Zack, refusing to look him in the eyes, "How much have I missed?"

He smirked, "Michael's gone dead."

"And Aaron?"

"He's-he's seen better days but is still alive at least. I don't know how, But so is Aphmau."

"Where are they?"

"The hospital..."

"I'm going to go see them."

"Ein, wait, I don't think that's a good idea."

"You don't think I know that? I just... I want to apologize. I need to"

"Ein, please, let me take care of you. There's no way your body's fully healed after all of that.

"I'm fine on my own."

"Ein, wait-"

He continued walking, not paying attention to what Zack had to say, "Save your breath."

"Ein, don't be like this!" he chased after him.

He stopped, "Dad, throughout my life, you've never been there for me, even under all those potions, you expected me to be perfect, and then you still preferred Aphmau over me, you hardly even knew her. Admit it, ever since I've been born, you've hated me. It was my fault you didn't get to see Aph every day, it was my fault you never got to love her, and it was my fault you had to live without her."

"Ein-"

"-But it wasn't my fault, it was yours. you sealed your fate the moment you cheated on her mom!"

"Please-"

"I'm not going to take any advice from you until you've looked at the man you created. Just think about how many years of my life I've had to be subservient to another person, without a will of my own. I'm 29, dad. If I'm lucky It'll only have been a quarter of my life lost... but I won't be so lucky, it'll be more like half of it, now won't it? All because you just had to follow what Michael said."

He sighed deeply, "J-just go..."

"Thank you," he made his way to the front door, "And goodbye..."

"Bye, I-I'll see you around."

"Doubtful," he shoved the door open.