PHAN -Save me, please.

Chapter 4

A/N: I dedicate this chapter to my good friend Ellen, the little lion! She is not feeling that well and maybe that'll cheer her up ^^ everything written in italics is the flashback.

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Dan didn't know for how long he had been in here for. He lost all count of time. Was the incident two weeks ago? Or 3 years? Is today Monday? Or Thursday? The only thing Dan knew for certain was that today was June 11th. He had heard two doctors talk about it earlier. So today was his birthday. He was turning 18. No. Oh no.

Dan hated birthdays. Every year, the doctors and nurses would bring him gifts. Or flowers. Or chocolate. But he never agreed to that. Every year, he would just ignore the presents piling up in his room. Not because he was rude and unthankful, just because he doesn't want presents to celebrate a day, that was so horrific for him. Horrific because his 16th birthday was the day his parents kicked him out.

Dan sat in the corner of his bunk bed, whimpering. The thoughts were rushing through his head. It has been 7 months since the incident, and still... Dan's head was filled with fear. He didn't go outside anymore. He would barely talk to people, even with his parents he was very brief. He would eat an apple or half a piece of bread a day. He lost weight, more and more. He didn't go to school anymore.

2 weeks ago he got hundreds of texts from his boyfriend Luke. Asking if Dan was okay. Asking why Dan didn't talk to him anymore. More and more texts were coming in, Luke becoming angrier and angrier. Until the last text came, that Dan would remember for ages - "You know what, I don't care. Ignore me how much you want. We're over."

"Dan? Could you come down to the kitchen please?" his mother shouted from downstairs.

Dan didn't answer. Why should he. His mom would just give him presents, a cake and sing 'Happy Birthday' to him. He hated it. Normally he loved birthdays, being surrounded by the people he loved, being the centre of attention, eating cake, having fun.

But this year was different. Maybe it was just because Dan wasn't able to focus on the things around him, because he was way to distracted with the things happening in his head. The voices in his head. These scenarios playing over and over. His face.

"DAN! Birthday-boy! Come downstairs please!" His mother shouted again.

Maybe Dan would just pretend he was sleeping, like he did most of the time. Whenever his parents or his brother wanted to talk to him, he would just hide underneath his blanket and pretend to be sleeping.

He didn't tell his mom, neither his dad, brother or stepfather. He didn't tell anyone. He didn't want to bother anyone with his shit. And his mom was the very last.

His mom had always been his hero, since he was a little child. She would always make a perfect balance between working and staying at home. Whenever Dan was in day-care or school, his mom would be working. But she always managed to pick him up and come home with him. They didn't have much, but they were happy. Dan's biological father broke up with his mother when Dan was 7. Since then, he, his mother and his brother had to make a living on their own. Of course it wasn't always easy, but Dan was happy with what they had. Of course he had to back-step a little when he wanted the newest toys or expensive things like a phone or a computer. But from time to time his mother would make him and his brother little gifts, and they always appreciated it. Like going to McDonalds for a milkshake, which was a rarity in their lives. Also things like a bag of sweets for each of them or going to a swimming bath were huge highlights in his life. His mother was always there for him, he could tell her everything on his mind. Dan trusted her 110%.