Lost Cause [Imagine Dragons Fanfic]

23 - Clarity I

We sit down at Wayne's couch and just wait in silence for his father who is about to get us all some water. I take a quick glance at Wayne, who still seems worried. Ben has already calmed down from the shock of getting mugged again and I still can't comprehend the fact that we found Dan, who now looks like he doesn't even want to be here. To be honest, he looks a bit scared.

Michael hands us all a glass of water, sits down in front of us and looks at us, his look stops at Dan, who is still holding his shoulder. Then he starts talking again: "Since you," he points at Dan. "Don't seem like you want to talk or tell me what's up with your shoulder, let the other two start to explain this whole story and then I'll have to look at it."

I send Ben a pleading look because I'm sure that I'm not able to form a correct sentence yet, he nods and starts talking: "So, Platz and I've been walking around the city searching for Dan, as always, and then we took a wrong turn or something and suddenly these two guys jump out, holding baseball bats in their hands, trying to mug us."

He takes a sip of his water and continues: "And a few moments later, Dan steps in, they panic, one of them shoves Platz against the wall, he hits his head, gets unconscious and then they're gone. And then I called you and that's pretty much it."

I'm always impressed by how calm Ben is after such a situation. He just tells them the important stuff, I would probably forget important things or stutter nonsense, but not Ben.

"Seems like, you'll have a lot to talk about after College..." Wayne tries to loosen the tension a bit.

"So and how did you hurt your shoulder? Michael asks.

"A dude hit me with a baseball bat."

"Ben didn't mention that in his story though."

"I never said that it was one of those guys!"

"So it happened before the fight?"

"Obviously."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"No."

Michael crosses his arms in front of his chest, sighs and leans back, silently holding eye contact with Dan, who now doesn't seem to be scared anymore, he rather looks determined. Silence hangs between us until Wayne's dad suddenly leans forward and forcefully says:

"Look. You can either tell me how you got that injury and what happened that you didn't show up for three weeks or you and I will walk outside this building, get into the car and drive to the nearest by hospital and then I will leave you there. The health of my son is really important to me and if you give a damn about their feelings or health, I won't hesitate to bring you to the hospital and contact the police to check your case, because there is obviously a lot going on. You have the choice!"

"Why do you care about me anyway?"

"I want to know what happened over the past few weeks because my son and his friends were going crazy, searching for you without getting even one sign that you are even alive. They've been out there every day, god knows what could've happened!"

"I never asked them to! Just let me go!" Now Dan crosses his arms and glares at Michael. I watch back and forth between the two of them, too intimidated to say a word.

"I won't let you go that easily! My son and his friends have a right to know what has been going on! And your shoulder should be checked too and you're for sure not going to a hospital, so simply let me look at it," his voice gets a bit calmer at the end, showing that he only means good.

"And then you'll stay here until your parents come and pick you up because we need to talk to them!" Wayne's mother suddenly says. I didn't even hear her coming, probably because of the heated conversation going on over here, but I'm curious how long she's been standing there.

Dan looks at her for a second, then looks down and runs his fingers through his hair. "Can we please leave my parents out of this? I'll tell you where I've been and I'll let you check my shoulder, but please keep them out of it," he begs, makes me sit up and I start questioning his parents.

But Olivia, now sitting next to Wayne, shakes her head. "No, we're not going to let you out of this house, until we've talked with your parents, face to face."

She hands him her phone and calmly says: "Here, call the right now. They have to come here or otherwise, we'll have to inform social workers. We only want to help you! You have to understand that! Why don't you just call them?"

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

He lifts his head and looks her in the eyes, he seems distant, but still full of emotion, calm, but still anxious as he answers.

.......................................

Thank you for reading! Please vote if you like the story and don't hesitate to leave comments.