fashion blogger, book one // phan (EDITING)

One

It was dark.

I wasn't sure where exactly I was. The house I was in, it kind of reminded me of the house his mother owned. But, looking around, it didn't seem like they still lived here. There was a thick layer of dust visible on every single piece of furniture, and it seemed filthy and old.

Why was I here?

"Phil?" I started looking for him, but when I called his name, he didn't react. "Phil, where are you?"

I walked up the stairs, looking at the pictures on the wall. It was always weird to me that there weren't many pictures of his father. He had died when Phil was younger, so you'd expect the wall to be plastered with pictures of him. But it wasn't.

I looked at the childhood pictures, smiling slightly when I my eye was caught by a specific picture of Phil and his older brother, Martyn. In it, they were sat next to a white dog, both smiling brightly, Phil's bright ginger hair reflecting the sunlight lightly.

I continued walking up the stairs until I eventually reached the second floor. I still wasn't sure why I was here, or where Phil was, so I continued looking for him. "Phil?"

Again, there was no answer. I furrowed my eyebrows and stepped closer to the door that I knew would lead to Phil's old room with the green and blue walls.

I've been to this house plenty of times, yet I felt... almost anxious, I'd say. The dust swirled around with every single step I took, and I placed a hand on my mouth so I wouldn't have to cough.

With a slow movement, I placed a hand on the door handle that would lead to his bedroom. I was sure he was in there, all of a sudden. I knew he couldn't be anywhere else. Imagine him in a different place, it just... it felt horribly wrong to me.

The door creaked when I opened it. More dust was swirling around, but it didn't matter. Because what I saw was so much worse.

My heart started running as I walked over to him with quick steps. "Phil!" I looked at him. No, this couldn't be. Not Phil, not my Phil. "Phil, what happened?"

There was no point in asking this. He wouldn't answer. He wouldn't even look at me, he would just continue staring blankly at the ceiling, without even one breath escaping his lips.

I let myself fall down next to him, falling right onto my knees. Tears started to roll down my cheeks, and they landed right on his when I bend over him. "Who did this to you?"

I placed one hand on his chest, pulling it back immediately once I realised it was covered in blood.

"Oh my god," I whispered. "Oh my god." I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer to me. With two of my fingers I closed his eyelids and buried my face in his hair. And I tried and tried, but I couldn't stop the tears. But can you blame me?

"Who did this to you?"

I pulled away slightly, just so I could look at him one more time. It looked so wrong. His skin was even paler than it already was anyway, and even though they were closed, I knew his lively blue eyes would never look at me the same way again. "I love you so much." I leant down to kiss him on the forehead.

But before I could do so, his eyes shot open.

And I started screaming.

"Dan, you need to leave."

Backwards, I crawled away from him, further and further until I reached the wall.

"Dan. You need to leave," he repeated, this time with more emphasis, but I didn't stop screaming. "Dan!"