The Wrong Way Around [Phan]

Chapter 9

One week later

Dan's Pov

Where was he?

Phil had been gone for over seven hours now, and he wouldn't answer his phone. I would be lying if I said I was starting to get worried, I had already been very worried for at least four hours now.

I again searched the house for a note. I had already done this at least twenty times, but I figured it wouldn't do any harm to try again. As I was looking, I must have heard about ten sirens going past the apartment, but of course I ignored them as usual.

And then I found it. Why in the world would he leave a note behind our toilet? In fact, why did I even look there?

...Unless he didn't want me to find it?

My hands had begun shaking as I opened the note and began reading.

Dan,
I wish I could say I had just gone out for some groceries, but I can't, because then I would be lying to you, and I would never do that. Don't bother calling anyone, if I succeeded all you'll probably have to do is turn on the news to find out what happened to me. I think-

I stopped reading and flung myself out the door and to the TV. I then realized that what I might see could scare me. This could be something I never wanted to see.

Without any more hesitation, I turned it on. The first story was just about some guy named Gary, who had apparently managed to go the first fifty years of his life not knowing the definition of sideways. The next story was about some car crash, actually not too far from our apartment. That would explain the sirens I had heard earlier.

I began to block out the news reporter to wait for the next story, but I just barely heard her showing a photo of the people in the crash and asking if anyone knew them. I glanced up at the picture, and at first I didn't recognize the person on the screen.

Then I started feeling sick as I realized who it was.

Phil.

I just about ran out of the apartment right there and then, but then I decided maybe I should watch for a bit longer to get a bit more information.

Collided with a concrete wall. Caused a huge traffic backup. Critical condition. On the way to the hospital at this very moment. I heard an ambulance driving past.

Phil was in there.

Without bothering to turn off the TV, I sprinted out the door and down to the street, got in a taxi, and told the driver to go to the hospital as fast as he could.

"Why the hurry?" He asked me. His voice was too calm, too unconcerned.

I just pointed at the radio, which was on the news channel, still talking about the crash. His face paled and he drove a bit faster.

When we reached the hospital, I didn't even give the driver time to properly stop the car before I threw probably more money than necessary at him and jumped out of the vehicle. As I neared the doors, I tightened my hold on the note in my right hand that I hadn't even noticed I was still holding.

I quickly composed myself before walking in. It seemed like it all happened in slow motion. Nurses ran up to me, asking if I was here to see Phil. So they had figured out who he was, then.

I answered yes and they rushed me down the hall, towards a room with a curtain over the tiny window in the door. By now there were only two nurses left, and time had caught up. I began shaking as they opened the door.

Then I saw Phil, and for some reason I stopped being to scared. No matter what condition he was in, he seemed to calm me down. But then I started shaking again as they left me alone with Phil, because I knew they thought they were giving us privacy in our last moments together.

But I wasn't going to let these be our last moments together.

I walked over to his bed and sat down on the chair next to it. I just sat there and stared at him, and I was going to sit there like that until he regained consciousness. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long.

He opened his eyes with a gasp and turned to look at me. He cried out in pain and turned his head back, but that was fine. I leaned over him to look him in the eyes. Brown into blue. And I couldn't stop myself anymore. I started crying.

And then Phil asked me why. Why was I crying? I told him I didn't want him to die on me, I didn't want him to leave me.

And he said he wouldn't. He promised me, no matter what, he wasn't going to leave me. And I asked him how he planned on keeping a promise like that. And all he answered was "by staying alive, as long as you do too..."

And he lost consciousness again.

But I wasn't going to leave him, because I wasn't going to lose him.