"dan, where have you been?" reagan's voice sounded quiet through the phone.
it had been over a week since his conversation with corey. over a week since he had his heart broken. and he felt stupid for it. he hadn't been in love the way corey had wanted him to be. he cheated, and he lied - with almost no remorse. yet, his world still felt like it was caving in on him.
and now, dan hated phil more than ever. because he was trying to be nice to him. his cockiness had vanished within twenty-four hours and suddenly, he was nothing but kind to him. dan wanted him to lure him back into his bedroom and fuck up his life even more. he didn't want this sympathy. he didn't deserve it.
"dan?"
reagan's voice pulled dan out of his trance. his hand reached up to tug at his hair as he tried to come up with a response.
"um, a-around," he whispered.
"i haven't even seen you at school, sweet. how is that possible?"
truthfully, dan hadn't been going to school. he feigned sickness for two days before his mother insisted he had to go back to school so we wouldn't miss anymore. but instead, he faked calls to the school and wandered around in parks and near rivers.
"i g-g-guess i h-have a kn-n-nack for st-s-staying hidd-den th-th-then,"
he could hear her sigh. "dan, love. your stutter has gotten bad again. why don't you come over, and we can-"
"n-no." dan cut her off.
"well, can i come over to yours? we can have some tea and chat about what's been bothering you." there was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "i don't even know what your life is like, daniel. we used to tell each other everything, didn't we?"
reagan took dan's silence as assent. "i'll be over in a minute bub. switch out your sheets for me, i'm staying over." and with that, she hung up, leaving dan in silence once again.
after switching out his bedsheets, dan heard the doorbell go off downstairs. reagan never used the bell, so it was strange to hear, but hearing his mother call that she would let her in allowed him to stay seated on his bed.
his phone buzzed frantically beside him and he looked down, seeing a text from reagan begin to pop up on the screen. he furrowed his eyebrows, but unlocked his phone nonetheless.
britney bitch: i think it's best that i don't come over. it's going to be okay dan. i love you.
dread bubbled up in his stomach as he quickly typed out a response.
dan: what do you mean reagan what's going on
"dan! come down here please." his mother's voice called from downstairs, sounding higher in pitch.
he locked his phone and stood up, hesitantly making his way out of the bedroom. he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mother stood, wiping her hands on her pants. it was a habit dan noticed she developed shortly before she and his father had gotten a divorce. she only ever did it when he was mentioned in conversation.
dan forced the lump in his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
"dan, sweetheart. i'm going to need you to stay calm, alright? this is going to be a lot to handle for you, especially with everything that's been going on. but i need you to trust me. i love you. it's going to be okay." she whispered, stepping forward and cradling his face in her hands.
tears welled up in dan's eyes. "w-w-why is-s ev-ev-v-eryone saying th-that t-t-to me? wh-what is-s happen-ppening?"
before she could answer, the bathroom door opened and a man walked out, looking straight at dan. there was something familiar about his eyes, and the small smirk he had set on his lips. he walked into the kitchen and stood behind dan's mother, whose eyes flickered nervously between the two.
"hello daniel,"
dan's heart sank to his stomach. his stomach sank to his toes. he took a step back, pressing himself against the counter. he shook his head, a movement that was so small he was sure no one else could have noticed it. he let the tears welled in his eyes fall freely as he struggled to speak.
he turned toward his mother, who looked about ready to cry as well. instead, she forced a pained smile, looking at dan with pleading eyes before turning to the man.
"dan, baby. i'm sure you remember your father."
this is it, isn't it?
--
surprise bitches
02.10.17
