the broken

Chapter 31

JUNE, 2009

Phil

After a certain amount of time had passed, Dan decided it was time to go back to school.

I, of course, argued, equally torn between not wanting to be away from him and not wanting to let him walk back into the hands of Ryan. Dan countered with the fact that he was almost done with school, that this was his last year, and he wanted to finish so that he could have an accomplishment under his belt. Eventually, I agreed, asking one more time if I couldn't go to the administration and tell them about the bullying, and got the same answer, that it would just make the bullying worse. So, with complete reluctance, I had watched him walk out the door and away to school, and had been positioned in the same miserable spot on the couch ever since.

With an exasperated sigh, I steal yet another glance at the clock and tap my foot in frustration seeing that it had barely moved at all. Why is time going so slowly?

The time that was not spent worrying about Dan was spent thinking about Jamie, as the silence was a gaping reminder of him, or the lack thereof. Aside from one visit to the hospital when Dan still hadn't woken up, I had not seen or heard from him, and upon further inspection, I came to the realization that all of his stuff was gone as well. He seems to have disappeared without a trace, and I can't decide whether to be sad or happy about that.

I look back up at the clock again absentmindedly, before realizing that it's actually about the time that Dan normally gets home, and I jump off the couch and unsteadily slide my way to the door in my socks, where I perch myself like an over-excited puppy. Finally, the stupid door creaks open and as a whoosh of cool air trickles in, Dan appears on the doorstep. He barely steps foot over the threshold before I barrel into him, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him into my chest.

He stumbles back under my weight with a surprised look on his face. We crash against the door frame and he laughs, unfolding his arms from under mine and wrapping them around my neck.

"I missed you!"

"Phil, it's only been like 8 hours."

"That's way too long to be away from you."

A blush creeps up on his cheeks. 

"If you say so."

"I do."

He pushes himself off the door frame and gently pulls the door closed behind him, giving me a tired smile, cheeks pink.

"How was school?"

He just shrugs, so I force my face to go blank and turn on my heels, stalking off to the lounge. I can almost feel his confusion, and not even half a second later I can hear his footsteps pounding behind me to catch up.

"Wait, Phil, where are you going?" He says, grabbing my wrist, and I turn around and give him a pretend serious look.

"I'm not talking to you until you tell me about your day."

Dan rolls his eyes.

"You just talked to me," he points out, but I just turn around and continue towards the couch.

He sighs and flops down next to me.

"Fine. My day was just fantastic, school is just so fun and my dozens of friends are all just the greatest. Now will you talk to me?"

"Ryan?"

Dan shrugs.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal, it wasn't as bad as it normally is."