Speak [ phan ]

chapter five

***

Unlike most people in this situation, Dan can't yell at his dad to stop the car so he can get out and run away.

So Dan waits until his Dad has parked the car and turned it off. Dan's Dad has entered his number in Dan's phone, so they can 'catch up on lost time', but Dan does not feel like it. He needs to be by himself, to think, clear his head. So he sends a text to his Dad.

Dan: I don't want to spend dinner with you. In fact, I couldn't think of anything worse. Please stop bothering me.

Dan then exits the car, running off down the familiar street. He feels his dad behind him, but he's further away. Dan keeps running, he doesn't want to face his father again. He feels his phone keep buzzing in his hand, but he ignores it.

"Dan? What are you doing?" A voice suddenly asks, and Dan turns to see Phil getting out of a car.

'Hide me' Dan mouths and Phil nods, with a confused look on his face. So Dan jumps into the backseat of his car, and watches as his Dad runs past.

Dan sends a quick text to his mum, so she won't worry about him if his dad texts him.

Dan: Hi Mum, I don't want to talk to dad, coming home soon.

Mum: okay, see you soon x

"Are you going to explain?" Phil asks, looking back at Dan, his eyebrows creased in confusion, his lips pursed, "why were you running? Are you in danger? Are you okay? Please tell me, I'm your friend you can trust me..."

Dan nods, cutting Phil off by holding up his phone in Phil's face. Phil gives Dan a smile but is quite impatient while Dan is typing it out into a text. He twitches and keeps looking over at Dan, mentally praying for him to type faster.

"Dan, hurry up or those three dots with drive me insane!" Phil groans, staring at his screen.

Dan huffs and rolls his eyes, he's typing as fast as he can, it's just a long story. He finally finished the text, sending it, Phil whooping with joy when he finally received it.

Dan: please don't tell anyone this phil but when I was younger, like really young, my father was an alcoholic and my mother was trapped with him. One night, my father smashed a bottle into me, and my mother finally snapped, leaving him behind. I never heard from him since, but today he wanted to 'catch up'. And he told me why I am mute. When he hit me with that bottle, it hit my throat and then I fell back, hitting my head on something hard, loosing my power of speech forever. That's why I was running, to get away from my dad. I don't want to meet him, now after what he did.

"Oh Dan..." Phil says softly, his eyes watering slightly as he reads the text, "Dan I... I don't know what to say..."

For once, Phil is not rambling, his brain, usually so full of them, seems to be empty of any words to say. He has nothing to say, Phil doesn't know what to say to Dan. When he first met Dan, he had a strong impulse just to be friends with him, but after hearing this, he wants to be friends with Dan more than ever.

Dan: don't pity me, it's in the past now.

Phil: I know. At least your mum left him...

Dan: yeah. Um, can you take me home please?

"Of course I'll take you home Dan! We could hang out to, if that's okay, or if you just want to be alone..." Phil rambles, "but I think in these situations you're better off not to be alone, but I don't want to invite myself, but anyway, I think that-"

Dan successfully cuts Phil off with a text.

Dan: I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you stayed a little while, if you're not busy.