twisted (phan) || book #2

ten

fanart by @pianonieke

(a/n: if you guys were wondering where i got the name 'Nyla' from its from a song I heard called Nyla by Blackbear)

D A N ' S  P O V

I woke up on the ground. Sirens were ringing out, as well as sobs and arguing. The floor was cold. My hand was intertwined with someone's.

I weakly looked over to see Phil, his eyes shut, blood-drained and hardly breathing. I glanced at the black bracelet on his wrist.

"Phil," I tried to say, but I had lost my voice. It was raspy and cracking, like a broken headset. "Phil."

No response. Not even a twitch of movement came from the boy next to me. I struggled to sit up, pain seething through every limb.

I lifted my head up, seeing Alec, dead and face-flat on the ground. The smoke made it hard to breathe, my lungs burning and oxygen thin.

Was this the end?

"Dan!" I heard. I told myself it was all in my head.

I fell back, staring up at the stars.

"Dan! Oh my god, you're alive!"

I titled my head ever so slightly to see Bryony running towards me, burns and ashes covering her pale body. Her face was tear-stained and voice broken. Nyla wasn't with her.

A paramedic stopped her. "I'm fine," I heard her say, then she pointed to me. "They're not. Get them to a hospital."

"No," I tried to say, but by now my voice was barely a whisper. Paramedics rushed forward and picked up my love, carrying him away from me. I reached my arm out, grabbing at Phil's sleeve. "Don't take him away from me. . ."

Bryony kneeled over me. A paramedic set a breathing mask over my mouth.

"It's gonna be okay," Bryony reassured me, but I wasn't paying attention. Instead I watched Phil, his arms and legs limp as he was carried and placed on a gurney. They placed a mask onto his mouth and pulled him into an ambulance. I let out a sob. "No please. . . I. . . I love h-him."

"I know you love him, he loves you too," Bryony told me softly, petting my hair. "He's going to be okay. You'll be okay."

"Where's Nyla?" I tried to ask. "Nyla? Phil?"

Bryony continued to shush me. I felt myself being lifted, and then my body was placed onto a gurney. I looked to my side, seeing the last few seconds of Phil before the doors of the ambulance shut.

My eyelids shut, and I heard myself whisper one last word.

"Phil. . ."

✗

When I woke again, I was in a hospital bed. Phil wasn't next to me. Bryony sat, looking sad in a waiting chair outside my room. I looked over at her then noticed she was crying.

Why was she crying? Where was Phil? Where was Nyla?

I sat up, immediately yelping out at the pain shooting through my body. A nurse hurried in. "Daniel! You're awake!"

"It's Dan," I tried to say, but nothing came out but a scratchy whisper and a cough.

"Don't try and talk, the smoke from the smoke inhalation temporarily damaged your vocal chords. You won't be able to talk normally for a few days," she explained. I opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off. "The cops told us that the people inside the club managed to get out. Somebody warned them beforehand, so they all managed to survive."

"And Phil?" I mouthed.

"Who?"

I pointed to my white bracelet, then to a black frame on the wall, telling her through actions that we had matching ones.

She thought for a moment, then looked back at me. "Oh! Yes, him. He's fine, but he hasn't woken up yet. His heart is stable, for the most part. As for you, you've got a cracked rib, a diagnosed case of asthma, and a sprained wrist."

I tapped the bracelet again, then out the door.

She chewed her lip. "Fine, you can see him. just take your IV with you. No disconnecting anything, and no running."

I nodded once more. "Thank you," I mouthed.

She waved me away, walking off. I cautiously climbed out of my bed, looking at myself in the wall mirror. I lifted up my scrubs, my eyes running over all the scratches and bruises littering my skin. I sighed.

I held on tightly to my IV pole, the wheels attached screeching as I trudged out the door with it. Bryony's head titled up and she stood upon seeing me.

"You're awake," she murmured. "I would hug you, but I don't want you to black out again," I laughed softly. "I heard you can't talk, too."

I reached out and wiped her tears, furrowing my eyebrows as a way to ask what was wrong.

"I. . . well. . ." then she shook her head. "It's nothing. I was just scared for you and Phil." I nodded. "His room is right next to yours, I'll come with you."

I took hold of her shoulder with my free hand to keep myself upright, the two of us tiptoeing into Phil's room. He was facing us, his eyes closed, his knuckles wrapped in bloody bandages and a breathing tube on him, similar to mine. My eyes watered at the sight.

"At least he's alive, right?" Bryony spoke.

I forced a smile in reply, looking down at my feet. I watched my bare feet move with every step I took towards Phil's bed. I leaned down and press a kiss to his forehead. "I love you," I spoke, my voice scratchy.

And then, slowly, he woke up. His blue eyes fluttered open then locked with mine and I stared right back.

"Hey, Philly," Bryony chuckled lightly behind me. Phil blinked, slowly sitting up and looking over his own body, furrowing his eyebrows. He took a shaky breath, touching over his face, running his fingertips across the bruises that kissed his skin. "How are you feeling?"

He looked at me, then Bryony, then back at me. Finally, Phil spoke.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"