blurry face - phan

chapter thirty four

// SECOND LAST CHAPTER!! how do you feel? I feel kinda sad (-_-; )

so much has changed for me since i began this book i can't believe it. //

dan

The sound of the gun hitting the concrete ground beneath him echoes through the alleys.

It feels like it's all happening in slow motion, the gun slowly bounces on the ground from the fall until it finally lies still, silence following. Dan kicks the gun behind him, away from Lyle.

Lyle looks at Dan, his face blurred and completely unreadable to Dan, which could be a disadvantage at this current point as Dan can't predict with his facial expression what he's planning on doing next.

He stays beside the boy, hoping he'll warn him if Lyle tries something. He's shaking, so Dan puts an arm around him. He's supporting the boy and the boy is supporting him at the same time. Dan still can't balance properly as the ground keeps tipping.

Dan still feels slightly drowsy and weak, whatever drug it was still circulating inside his system, the effect lingering inside his brain. He feels like there's a could of fog drifting around inside his mind, making it impossible for his thoughts to navigate clearly.

"W-why Dan? A-after all I did to you, why would you save me?" Lyle stammers.

"You don't deserve to die," Dan says quietly, his voice sounding dark and threatening to the point where Dan himself doesn't even recognise it, "you deserve to suffer."

Also, Dan did not want that kid to have blood on his hands. He is too young to live with such a weight upon his shoulders.

"You don't scare me Dan," Lyle says, but his voice sound unsure, shaky.

"Don't I?" Dan asks, sounding more like Phil in this situation, "you say one thing but the way you're trembling tells me another."

"It's just you, your unconscious boyfriend who's bleeding to death and a trembling kid against me, I'm not scared Howell," Lyle spits, standing up straighter.

"Oh, I called the police as well, so they'll be against you too," Dan says as Lyle is grabbed by two police officers.

"We'll come for you and your stupid boyfriend, we always will, you can't win," Lyle says threateningly before he is dragged away.

"You okay son?" A policeman asks as Phil is carried gently away from the scene, unconscious.

Dan nods his head slowly, still stuck inside a daze, even though he feels far from okay. Too much has happened to him at this age, he's gone through too much.

All that's soon left is a gun lying on the ground and a splatter of blood on the dull concrete. Dan feels frozen and trapped. It always comes back to this and he can't take it anymore.

He's stuck inside a constantly recycling series of events. The memories are too fresh, too haunting, too real. This could happen again, and again, and again, and again...

When he's with Phil, all that ever comes is danger. Maybe Phil will be safer if they're apart. Dan has to make this decision before Phil wakes.

But if Dan leaves, he'll probably never see a face again. However, that is just a sacrifice he'd have to make. Phil constantly tries to keep Dan safe, risking his life. It's time that Dan returns that. He has to keep Phil safe; whatever the cost.