Lifting the blade from the sink, he felt a tear drop down his cheek. Is this what his life had reached? Crying on his knees in a dormitory bathroom? Hands shaking, he lifted it higher . One quick movement, that's all it would take. I swift flick and it was all over; all the shit he'd been through in the past few years, gone. Shuddering harder, he lifted up his chin and gritted his teeth. The tears were falling thick and fast now. Why him? Why anyone? But why him? What had he ever done to end up like this? By now, he expected to be strutting around London, the world around his little finger and his pockets full of cash. Life has a strange way of fucking things up in the way you least expect it; of all the triggers and sparks, he had never imagined this. Slowly and decisively, he moved his hand into position. "3... 2... 1..." With a groan, he fell to the floor; the last thing he saw, the dim, sodium yellow lights above him.
"Oh because this is all my fault, isn't it? Poor little fucked up Eridan off his head again because good-for-nothing Cronus couldn't fucking check up on him every five minutes!" Cronus stormed back and forth outside the ICU, gaining wary looks from those around him. "It's never a problem of his own, is it? It's not my problem poor little daddy's boy can't take care of himself!" Running a hand through his slicked back hair, he span on one heel and continued to pace - glaring at the nurse eyeing him up from a distant help desk. "Bitter? Noooo! Why the FUCK would I be BITTER, dad?" Cronus stopped pacing, listening intently to the other side of the phone. "Oh really? Is that so? Well you can tell mum to go FUCK HERSELF!" With that, he hung up, crumpling into a nearby bench. His mind was plagued with thoughts of the worst; black coats and black umbrellas, rain and tears mixing. Sighing, he grabbed his coat and walked outside, fumbling for his lighter as he did so. Leaning against a wall and taking a long drag from his cigarette, he could relax for the first time in what felt like days. Closing his eyes, he listened to the noises of the hospital. Traffic, honking, the occasional siren; subdued talking, tears and laughter.. Just a normal day for the doctors and nurses, but the most out of the ordinary, traumatic events for the patients and families. It was strange how things turn out, he thought. Two hours, and his world was flipped upside down. He remembered the phone call, seeming to have happened an age ago; heated voices and cruel words. Oh god, it really was his fault. Cronus sank to the ground, head in hands. Why did both the Amporas have to be wastes of space?
After a few minutes, Cronus heard gentle footsteps approaching him, but continued to sit, eyes closed. "Mr Ampora?" A concerned, lilting voice brought him from his stupor. Slowly, he looked up, greasy locks in his face. "Mr Ampora, my name is Doctor Crocker, and I was wondering if you could come inside; we do need to have a discussion about your brother." Cronus looked up and saw a pale and delicate hand being proffered, and gladly took it. Heaving himself up, he followed Dr Crocker into the small room that had become Eridan's. "Mr Ampora, do sit down; I can't imagine the trauma you must be going through right now. Would you like any drinks?" Cronus, sighing, mumbled to himself, " Would I…" But the doctor stayed oblivious. She was young and pretty, with oval glasses and a short, dark hair framing her face. He watched her as she poured a glass of water, tucked her hair behind her ear, and came to sit in the chair next to him. "Forgive me if this seems a trifle impertinent, but it's been a long day and I really do need a seat." She looked down, adjusting her posture slightly before continuing. "You see, Mr Ampora, your brother is currently in a critical - but stable, I might add - position. Our surgeons have stitched the wound and stemmed the bleeding, so he should be returning here in the next 10 minutes or so." She paused, taking a sip of her water, and Cronus studied the room, looking anywhere but at Crocker; he didn't want her to see the single tear rolling down his face as he thought of his brother under the knife."Not the first time," he mumbled, focussing on his shaking hands. "Mr Ampora, did you say something?" Shakings his head, Cronus grimaced. That was a close one; a bit too close, he thought, as he looked up and saw the doctor frowning. "Look, Mr Ampora-" she sighed, and her face softened. "Mr Ampora, this is very serious. He may have to stay here for a considerable amount of time; the smallest movement could tear his stitches. We may also refer him to a rehabilitation clinic-" Flustered, Cronus jumped up. " I- I really don't think that'll be necessary, Doctor… w-We'll look after him-" Dr Crocker sighed, and prepared to respond, when the door burst open and she started out of her seat, grabbing a file and throwing rapid fire medical jargon back and forth with the incoming surgeon.
Cronus, stunned into silence, couldn't do much but stare at his brother, lifeless on the bed. His pale skin was all but vampiric from blood loss, and the bags under his eyes - normally something you wouldn't see on Eridan- gave him the look of an exhumed corpse. His lips, slightly parted, were tinged a purple to match his normally perfect hair, now greasy and spread across his face. A large bandage coated his neck, but the thing that shocked him the most, something he hadn't steeled himself for, were the criss-crossed scars emerging from beneath his hospital gown, on his normally smooth and muscular legs. "It wasn't a one-time thing, then," he thought, reeling back to his seat on the far side of the room.
Only once the doctors and surgeons started to leave, leaving only Dr Crocker and him once more, did he move over to his brother's bedside once more, conscious of his rapidly decreasing time to spend with him; their parents had called to tell him they would be arriving at the hospital in 20 minutes, and they had called a quarter of an hour ago. As he turned to leave, never one to spend any time with his parents, felt a hand loosely grab his own. "Cro?" Eridan's hoarse voice called out from behind him, and Cronus twisting round to look affectionately at his younger brother. " Hey, nosebleed," he said, watching his brother crack a weak smile at his loveable -if insulting- nickname. "Cro, look- I'm so, so sorry for all I've put you through. I-" Cronus stopped him with a smiling shake of the head. " Don' worry about that, daddy-o; you've got enough on your plate and besides, I put you through enough as a kid anyway. Mum and dad are on their way so I'm gonna scream, but I'll be back later, scamp." And with that, and a nod of the head to his brother, he left, feeling his stare penetrate his back as he closed the door.