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There was something in those brown eyes of his, something that told him this man beyond the glass, despite being a convicted murderer, was not inherently evil. He claimed he murdered his mother and father in cold blood, but Eric didn’t believe it. He saw the pain and the torment that radiated from his eyes and he knew the man had acted in self-defense.
As to why he didn’t admit that, Eric understood. Growing up with an abusive father, he understood it all too well.
He closed his eyes and sighed softly, recalling all those days when he had wished for the death of his own father, wanting to be free of his tyranny. All those moments he had cried alone, the harsh words of his father echoing in his mind. All the hatred that should have been love. He understood.
He had lived the same pain, the same guilt, the same dreams. The only difference between him and the murderer behind the glass, was that he had been desperate enough to kill those who should have loved him.
Eric felt tears well up in his eyes as he gazed at the other man. Was he looking into his own future, perhaps? In that very moment, he decided he couldn’t become him. He wouldn’t. He could still escape his own nightmare through other means. He had to.
Once again, he looked into the man’s soul, his eyes revealing everything to him. His heart ached for him and he wanted to help him. He couldn’t take away his guilt nor his prison sentence, but he could be there for him as a friend. As someone who understood him.
And in return, he could avoid following in those same exact footsteps, eventually saving himself from the same fate and from becoming him.