Dan drifted in and out of consciousness. When he was conscious, he saw doctors, his family, and Phil. The doctors were saying something he couldn't make out and his mother was crying while Adrian tried to console her.
Adrian, Dan thought, you're being so strong. I'm so sorry.
When Dan didn't see his mother or Adrian or doctors, he saw Phil.
Oh my god, Phil.
He tried to stay awake for more than a few seconds so he could say something, but he was too weak to say anything, or to even open his eyes.
He just fell back asleep.
When he was sleeping he dreamt of drowning. He dreamt he was in the pool, trapped under the water, and he couldn't figure out which way was up, so he swam anywhere he could. He couldn't find any light, so he went further down, but he just kept drowning. Even when he could see light and he tried swimming in that direction, he was unable to because some invisible force was pulling him back down into the dark abyss.
He dreamt of nothing for a while before finally waking up. He found it difficult to open his eyes but forced himself to find the strength because he could hear soft breathing from next to him. He rolled his neck down to see Phil. He had pulled a chair up as close to the bed as possible and had his head resting in his arms on the bed as he slept. Dan didn't want to wake him up but he also didn't want to miss the opportunity to speak with Phil.
"Phil," he whispered extraordinarily quietly and weakly, his voice raspy and hard to hear. He was surprised when Phil turned his head and looked up at him.
"Dan!" Phil said as he sat up from the bed and grabbed Dan's hand. "You're awake! Should I get your family? Or the doctors?"
"No," Dan said, "I just want to be with you."
"How are you feeling?" Phil asked.
Dan answered honestly. "Like shit."
"It's okay." Phil stroked Dan's hair. "You'll be okay."
Dan scooted over on the bed and Phil sat down in the empty space. Dan laid his head on Phil's chest as he cried, Phil stroking his hair and back as he did. He cried until he fell asleep again.
Some time later, after many more bad dreams, Dan awoke once more to see his mother speaking frantically with a doctor, and not Phil like he had expected.
"Mum," He croaked. His mother whirled around and ran to his bedside. She wept while holding Dan's hand. "Please don't cry."
She wiped her eyes, trying to gather herself. She really was so fragile. "What happened that night, sweetie?"
Dan briefly flashed back to the feeling of drowning under everything, feeling like the world was crashing down upon him. The feeling of giving up.
"W-we just went for a swim and my m-muscles spazzed."
"What happened leading up to that incident? Anything out of the ordinary?" The doctor asked, scribbling notes on his clipboard.
Dan shook his head. "No, I j-just had small pains, b-but nothing that was unusual."
"Okay," he said, "if anything like that happens again, come here immediately."
The doctor continued to speak, but Dan spaced out. He thought of everything and nothing all at the same time. He, once again, replayed the events of the previous night in his mind. At least, he thought it was the previous night; he actually had no idea how long he had been in the hospital.
