blurry face - phan

chapter eight

Phil told them? How dare he? He has now put Dan in this mess that he will have to wake up to. If it wasn't for Phil he could've lied, saying it was a one time thing, or something along those lines. But Phil went and told them he does it all the time. Phil of all people, who Dan knows also drinks, pops pills, smokes and gets high in his spare time.

"I'll leave you with him for a while," the doctor says after possibly checking over Dan's condition, and the he one again hears the door shut.

"Dan, please wake up," Phil says, "I want to talk. I'm sorry for telling then but I had to, you understand that, right?"

But Dan doesn't understand that, he just sees a person who's betrayed his trust, who's made his life a mess even though it already was one.

Phil continues to talk to Dan, but he doesn't open his eyes. Dan has realised something now; he's in this world alone. He can't trust anyone. But the thing is, blurry faces are easy to lie to, but when he has to look Phil in the eyes, lying is virtually impossible.

And once again, Dan is cursing Phil and his stupid, visible face.

***

Dan finally decides to 'wake up' some five hours later, due to the rumble in his stomach and the pure boredom of sitting in a room by himself.

"Dan, how are you feeling?" a woman asks gently, standing over him, it's the same voice from before so it's the doctor.

"I'm fine," Dan replies, looking at the ground rather than the blur of her face, "honestly, can I just go home now?"

"Sorry, no can do. You collapsed, you at least have to stay overnight. Plus you took in too much alcohol," the doctor says, "we don't take these things lightly."

And those were the words Dan really didn't want hear.

"Why? It was just a one time thing I swear," Dan begs, struggling to sit up, "please."

"Your friend said otherwise. Besides, you need to rest, your stomach was pumped," She says, her voice stern, "and you need help with your alcohol."

Dan outwardly groans and lets out a huff of annoyance as he rolls his eyes. Dan knows that there is no getting out of this one. He has really fucked up and there's no escape out.

"Please! I don't need help," Dan begs once again, pleading desperately.

"I'm sorry Dan, but it's final," she says, "you need help."

***

And that is how, one week later Dan ends up sitting in a plain room with a small shelf, a large window and an oversized desk.

He is sitting on a chair in front of the large desk. There's a woman opposite him, his so called 'therapist'. With a typically blurred face, all Dan can see is that her oily, brown hair is pulled back into a bun so tight it looks painful. Dan assumes that she probably has a sympathetic look on her face, but Dan can't see it anyway, which is probably a good thing.

"Now Dan, tell me why you're here," she says, her voice soft but forceful.

Still, Dan is completely reluctant to be here and he's decided to show it. He has no problem giving sass out to people, especially to people like her who pretend to understand him when they're just trying to get inside your mind and meddle with your thoughts.

"You should already know that," Dan snaps, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest, "I mean, it's what my parents are paying you for right?"

"I know you are troubled Dan, and this behavior is only natural but I'm here to help you," She says softly, "you can't do this alone."

"Why not?" Dan asks, raising an eyebrow at her challengingly.